Kalil's father, Frank, played football for the University of Arkansas and the University of Arizona. He was drafted by the National Football LeagueBuffalo Bills in 1982 and later played in the United States Football League until 1984. His mother, Cheryl, was Miss California in 1981. He is of Lebanese and Mexican heritage, and has two siblings: brother Matt, is a former starting offensive tackle at USC, was drafted fourth overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 2012, and is now an offensive tackle with the Houston Texans. They were the third set of brothers to play on the same offensive line in the NFL when Matt joined Ryan on the Panthers in 2017 and the first set of brothers to do it in 24 years. Their sister Danielle sang the national anthem at the Vikings–Panthers game, which featured both her brothers, on October 13, 2013. Kalil and his siblings, Matt and Danielle, are descendants of Wolphert Gerretse through their mother, Cheryl.
Kalil ran the 40-yard dash in 4.94 seconds at the 2007 NFL Combine and bench pressed 225 pounds 34 times. His performances at the combine and the Senior Bowl impressed scouts and led many analysts to project he would be selected in the first or second round of the 2007 NFL Draft.
Carolina Panthers
Pre-draft predictions turned out to be correct, as Kalil was selected in the second round of the draft with the 59th pick by the Carolina Panthers. He was the first center to be selected in the 2007 draft and joined his teammate from the USC Trojans, Dwayne Jarrett, who the Panthers also selected in the second round. In 2007, Kalil started three games at center. In 2008, Kalil was named the full-time starter at center. He started in all 12 games that he appeared, missing four games due to injury. In 2009, Kalil was voted second-alternate to the 2010 Pro Bowl. He later was given a spot due to an injury by the first alternate. In 2010, Kalil was named a first alternate, but was added to the roster after Giants center Shaun O'Hara pulled out. In 2011, Kalil received a franchise tag from the Carolina Panthers. On August 19, 2011, the Panthers signed Kalil to a six-year $49 million deal, making him the highest paid center in NFL history. He was selected to the Pro Bowl as the starting center of the NFC team. On February 7, 2016, Kalil was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10. It was announced on December 23, 2015 that Kalil was one of ten players on the Carolina Panthers voted into the 2016 Pro Bowl, making it his fifth appearance. He could not play in the Pro Bowl due to the Panthers appearance in Super Bowl 50. For the 2015 season, PFF rated Kalil as the third-best run-blocking center in the NFL. He was ranked 79th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016. On June 6, 2016, Kalil signed a two-year extension with the Panthers. He had been dealing with a shoulder injury for several weeks before leaving the Week 11 game against the New Orleans Saints. He was placed on injured reserve on November 29, 2016, ending his season. In 2017, Kalil started only six games after dealing with a neck injury for most of the season. On December 31, 2018, Kalil announced his retirement from the NFL after 12 seasons.
On August 1, 2019, Kalil came out of his brief retirement to sign a one-year contract with the New York Jets. He was placed on injured reserve on November 16, 2019.
Personal life
Kalil and his wife, Natalie, a former USC cheerleader, have two daughters. Kalil has interests in the film industry, having made claymation films as a child and worked with fellow USC-alumnus Will Ferrell on a football training spoof for the NFL Network. In June 2016, Deadline Hollywood announced he will serve as an executive producer along with Dwayne Johnson producing Sony Pictures film "Son of Shaolin." Kalil financed production of the underlying graphic novel through his Strange Turn Entertainment banner.
