Gbajabiamila was born in Los Angeles, California to Nigerian immigrant parents. He is one of seven children. He attended Crenshaw High School in South Los Angeles, where he was a star basketball player on teams which were part of the Willie West Jr. coaching era. He and his teammates won back-to-back City and State Championships in 1996 and 1997. Gbajabiamila moved to play football during his senior year. He was an all-league and all-conference choice. He was also named team’s defensive lineman of the year, compiling 11 sacks and 74 tackles in his senior campaign.
College career
In his senior year, Gbajabiamila received scholarship offers from Oregon University, University of California, Berkley, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Colorado State. He chose to go to San Diego State University, where his older brother also attended. Gbajabiamila was all-Mountain West Conference in 2002. He joined the group Athletes For Education, an outreach group that sent players to go into communities to work with young people on developing their life skills. He graduated with a degree in communication and new media studies, before completing a certified entrepreneurship program at the Wharton School of Business in 2005.
Professional career
Oakland Raiders
Gbajabiamila went undrafted in the 2003 NFL Draft and later signed with the Oakland Raiders as a free agent. He made the team out of training camp and played in 13 of the team's 16 regular season games. He recorded seven tackles on the season, with his first and only sack of the season coming against Daunte Culpepper, then with the Minnesota Vikings. In 2004, Gbaja-Biamila split time between defensive end and linebacker, occasionally filling in for players such as Travian Smith and Tyler Brayton. He appeared in 14 games for the Raiders during the regular season and was inactive for two games. He accumulated a career-high 14 tackles and added a sack on the year. That sack came against Brad Johnson and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while he recorded a season-high three tackles in games against the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. Gbajabiamila also recovered a blocked punt against the Carolina Panthers which led to a Raiders touchdown. Battling injuries during the 2005 training camp, Gbajabiamila was released by the Raiders on September 3. He had a workout with the Green Bay Packers two days later, but he was not signed and spent the season out of football. In 2008 re-signed with the Raiders and was released to retire as a Raider.
San Diego Chargers
Gbajabiamila returned to the NFL in 2006 after being signed by the San Diego Chargers on January 12. The fit was a good one for him, who as slightly undersized yet quick defensive end was a perfect fit for the 3-4 defense employed by then-defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and the Chargers.
Miami Dolphins
On February 6, 2007, it was announced that Gbajabiamila had been signed to a future contract worth $7.4 million with the Miami Dolphins. The move reunited him with new Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron, who was offensive coordinator in San Diego the season before when Gbaja-Biamila was a member of the Chargers. On September 11, 2007, he was released by the Dolphins. He spent the season out of football.
Other
In 2005, Gbajabiamila was selected as one of the NFL’s first athletes into their Broadcast Boot Camp, held in Mount Laurel, N.J., and designed to give 20 players a short and rigorous look into the skills needed to embark on a broadcast or journalism career after their playing careers. He also took advantage of some time between playing stints to volunteer at KSWB, the NBC affiliate in San Diego, and ended up as the co-host for Football Night in San Diego. He hosted the show for two and a half seasons before getting one last shot in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins.
Television career
With his playing career over, Akbar turned his focus to the broadcast booth in addition to his philanthropic work, serving as an analyst for the Mtn. Network and CBS Sports Network for two years, while also taking voice and acting classes. He also founded Rush The Passer, a year-round athletic, academic and life skills program for youth in Southern California. In 2010 he was approached by reality producer Mark Burnett to be part of a three-man athlete team for his latest project on ABC, Expedition Impossible. His team "The Football Players" finished in 4th place on the show. That role, and the exposure that came with it, helped further Akbar’s exposure. , he has joined the NFL Network as a member of the NFL Fantasy Live cast of hosts. In 2013, he became a co-host alongside Matt Iseman for American Ninja Warrior being broadcast on G4, Esquire Network, and NBC. Akbar is also the co-host of Team Ninja Warrior alongside Iseman, a spin-off of American Ninja Warrior that debuted on Esquire Network in 2016, and American Ninja Warrior Junior with Iseman on Universal Kids in 2018. On May 10, 2018, Gbaja-Biamila threw out the first pitch at Citizens Bank Park prior to a game between the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies which was widely seen as being among the worst.
Personal life
Name meaning
Akbar’s full name is Akbar Oluwakemi-Idowu Gbajabiamila. Akbar is Arabic and means "greatest." His middle and last names are of the Yoruba language. The middle names, Oluwakemi means "God blessed me" and Idowu means "born after twins." Their last name, Gbaja-Biamila means "big man come save me." This name comes from his paternal great-great-grandfather who was tall and was the village moderator in his Nigerian village.
Family
He is of Nigerian ancestry. Both of his parents were Muslim, until his mother converted to Christianity. While he was raised under a Sunni Muslim household, he converted to Christianity while in college. In 2000, his father, Mustapha, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In 2002, his mother, Bolatito, died in a car crash. While a member of the Chargers in 2006, Akbar routinely drove back-and-forth from San Diego to Los Angeles to spend time with his father. Akbar has four children.
Charity
Gbajabiamila currently serves as a board member for the Asomugha Foundation, an organization aimed at creating better educational opportunities for impoverished communities. Akbar also serves on the Board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which raises millions of dollars for Parkinson’s research.
