Jon Runyan


Jon Daniel Runyan is an American athlete and politician who was the U.S. Representative for from 2011 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Before entering politics, he was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League, where he played for 14 seasons. He was a participant in the 2003 Pro Bowl following the 2002 NFL season.
He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the fourth round of the 1996 NFL Draft and later played for the Philadelphia Eagles and San Diego Chargers. Runyan was the last active NFL player to have played for the Oilers. He played college football at Michigan where he was a 1995 All-Big Ten Conference selection. In high school, he had been an All-State selection in basketball and two-time state champion shot putter. He retired at the end of the 2009 NFL season and launched his campaign for Congress against incumbent freshman Democrat John Adler, winning the general election on November 2, 2010.
On November 6, 2013, Runyan announced he would not seek reelection to Congress in 2014.
On May 17, 2016, the NFL announced they hired Runyan as their Vice President of the Policy and Rules administration.

Football career

Early years

Runyan was born in Flint, Michigan where his father was an employee of General Motors.
Runyan continues to hold the Flint, Michigan Carman-Ainsworth Middle School shot put record with a 1988 heave of. Runyan was a two-time Michigan High School Athletic Association state shot put champion for Carman-Ainsworth High School. He was a 1992 Detroit News second team All-State basketball center. He was recruited by Michigan State men's basketball, though he declined in order to play football. He chose to play for the Michigan Wolverines football team where he was an All-Big Ten Conference selection for the 1995 Wolverines.

Professional

Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans

Runyan was drafted in the fourth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. He played with the Houston Oilers in 1996 and became a starter in only the sixth game of his rookie season. He moved with the team as they became the Tennessee Oilers in 1997 and 1998, and finally played one year in the new jerseys as the Tennessee Titans in 1999 when the team made it to Super Bowl XXXIV. Runyan was the last active player in the NFL to have played for the Houston Oilers.

Philadelphia Eagles

Runyan was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles to a six-year, $30 million contract on February 14, 2000 as an unrestricted free agent. The contract made him the highest paid offensive lineman in NFL history at the time. Runyan was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2002.
On March 24, 2006, the Eagles announced that Runyan had re-signed with the team with a three-year contract. He had visited with the New York Jets on March 21 prior to re-signing with the Eagles.
In a Sports Illustrated magazine in October 2006, Runyan was ranked second on a list of the Dirtiest Players in the NFL. Bills linebacker Shawne Merriman stated that Runyan "was one of the dirtiest players I've ever been against in my whole entire life. He was real good at being dirty". Runyan did not deny the charges, criticizing the current game instead: "That's the way the game's supposed to be played. I think they’ve tried to change that over the years. It's turned into a basketball game out there."
In a 2007 game against the Dallas Cowboys, Runyan instructed Eagles running back Brian Westbrook to take a knee at the one-yard line rather than score a touchdown with two minutes left in the game so that Dallas would not get the ball back. Westbrook followed Runyan's direction, the play worked, and Philadelphia won the game.
A 2008 poll revealed that getting blocked by Runyan on a screen pass was one of the scariest things in the NFL.
Runyan held the remarkable streak for an offensive lineman of having started 190 consecutive regular season games. This was the second longest streak among active NFL players in 2008. He has also started in all 18 playoff games his teams have appeared in during this streak.
On January 28, 2009, Runyan had microfacture surgery on his right knee. In February 2009, Runyan's contract expired with the team. He worked out for the Eagles on September 10, but did not sign a contract. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers, playing in five games before retiring.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

;2010
In November 2009, published reports indicated Runyan was interested in running for Congress. On November 24, 2009, Runyan announced his congressional bid to challenge one-term Democratic incumbent John Adler for, which included parts of Burlington, Camden and Ocean Counties. Libertarian nominee Russ Conger and Your Country Again nominee Lawrence J. Donahue were also running. Even though he now played for the Chargers, he maintained a home in Mount Laurel, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. On March 7, 2010, the Ocean County Republicans endorsed Runyan. On June 8, Runyan won the Republican nomination.
On November 2, 2010, Runyan defeated Adler 50%–47%, becoming the first challenger to unseat an incumbent New Jersey Congressman since Rush Holt in 1998. He lost the Burlington and Camden portions of the district, but carried solidly Republican Ocean County by nearly 20,000 votes, far exceeding his overall winning margin of over 6,000 votes. Runyan is the fourth former NFL player to be elected to Congress, after Jack Kemp, Steve Largent, and Heath Shuler.
;2012
Runyan was re-elected, defeating attorney Shelley Adler, the widow of John Adler. Shelley Adler had defeated Jason Sansone for the Democratic nomination. Runyan won 54% of the vote, to Adler's 45%.
;2014
Runyan announced that he would not seek re-election, after expressing frustration with his fellow Republicans over the government shutdown.

Tenure

Over the course of his tenure, Runyan had sponsored 15 pieces of legislation. Like most New Jersey Republicans, he was considered moderate relative to the national party. He voted with the Republican party 92% of the time. Key votes he supported included the payroll tax cut, the Balanced budget amendment, defunding of National Public Radio, and the Republican budget plan.
In June 2013, Runyan was one of the sponsors to pass an amendment to H.R. 2217, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014, which increased the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants, and the Assistance to Firefighter Grants by $2.5 million each.
On November 6, 2013, Runyan announced he would not seek reelection in 2014.

Sponsored legislation

The following is a partial list of bills specifically sponsored by Rep. Runyan.

YearDemocratVotesPctRepublicanVotesPct3rd PartyPartyVotesPct3rd PartyPartyVotesPct3rd PartyPartyVotesPct
2010John Adler104,25247%Jon Runyan110,21550%Peter DeStefanoNew Jersey
Tea Party		3,2841%Russ CongerLibertarian1,445<1%Lawrence J.
Donahue		Your Country
Again		1,113<1%
2012Shelley Adler145,50645%Jon Runyan174,25354%

Personal life

Runyan has three children with his wife, Loretta; they reside in Moorestown, New Jersey. His son, Jon Runyan Jr., played offensive line for the Michigan Wolverines football program and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2020.
Runyan appeared as a construction worker alongside other Philadelphia Eagles in the Season 4 episode "America's Next Top Paddy's Billboard Model Contest" of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
In his spare time, Runyan works as an Uber driver in the Philadelphia area.