Freeman McNeil
Freeman McNeil (born April 22, 1959) is a former American football running back who played his entire 12-season National Football League (NFL) career exclusively with the New York Jets from 1981 to 1992.[1] Drafted third overall in the 1981 NFL Draft out of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), McNeil quickly established himself as a durable and effective ground-game leader for the Jets, rushing for 8,074 yards on 1,798 carries with 38 rushing touchdowns, while adding 2,961 receiving yards and 12 receiving scores for 50 total touchdowns.[1][2] His standout 1982 season, during the NFL players' strike that shortened the campaign to nine games, saw him lead the league with 786 rushing yards and earn First-team All-Pro honors alongside his first of three Pro Bowl selections (1982, 1984, 1985).[3] McNeil surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in six seasons, anchoring the Jets' offense through multiple playoff appearances despite persistent team inconsistencies.[2] Beyond his on-field production, he gained prominence as the lead plaintiff in the landmark 1990 antitrust lawsuit McNeil v. National Football League, where a jury ruled the NFL's Plan B free agency system violated federal antitrust laws, paving the way for expanded player mobility and influencing subsequent labor negotiations.[4]Early life and education
Childhood and family
Freeman McNeil was born on April 22, 1959, in Jackson, Mississippi.[1] His father, Freeman McNeil Jr., had played running back at a junior college in Mississippi before his death.[5] McNeil's father died when he was seven years old, at the age of 26, leaving a lasting influence as an absent but inspirational figure in his son's life.[5] Little is documented about his mother or any siblings, though the family's Mississippi roots reflected a background tied to modest athletic heritage through his father's college-level play.[5] The family relocated to Los Angeles, California, during McNeil's youth, exposing him to an urban environment that contrasted with his Southern origins.[6] This move occurred in his early adolescence, shaping his adaptation to new surroundings amid the loss of his father, which instilled a sense of personal drive without early structured activities.[5]High school career
McNeil attended Phineas Banning High School in Wilmington, Los Angeles, California, where he excelled as a tailback on the football team.[1] In 1976, as a senior, he led the Banning Pilots to the Los Angeles City Section 4-A championship, contributing to the start of the program's dominant run of six consecutive titles from 1976 to 1981.[7] His powerful running style and productivity as a 6-foot, 190-pound back marked him as a standout prospect, earning placement among the all-time great running backs in Los Angeles City Section history.[8] McNeil was also named California State Player of the Year for 1976, highlighting his foundational athletic skills that attracted attention from college scouts.[9]Collegiate achievements at UCLA
McNeil joined the UCLA Bruins in 1977 as a running back and rapidly ascended to become the team's primary ball carrier by his sophomore year, anchoring the ground attack under head coach Terry Donahue, who emphasized a balanced offensive scheme reliant on efficient rushing.[3][10] During his four seasons from 1977 to 1980, McNeil compiled 3,183 rushing yards on 599 carries, averaging 5.3 yards per attempt—a mark that established a UCLA standard for career efficiency at the time—and scored 21 rushing touchdowns, making him the program's most prolific rusher upon graduation.[10] His breakout 1979 season saw him lead the Pacific-10 Conference with 1,396 yards on 271 carries and 6 touchdowns, setting a then-school single-season rushing record and powering UCLA's offense despite a 5–6 overall mark.[10] In 1980, he added 1,105 yards and 10 touchdowns on 203 carries, contributing to a stronger 9–2 team record and second-place Pac-10 finish, while ranking among conference leaders in rushing attempts and yards.[10] McNeil's consistent production, including two seasons exceeding 1,000 rushing yards, underscored his role in elevating UCLA's rushing attack and provided empirical foundation for his status as a top NFL draft prospect, with his yards-per-carry average reflecting superior burst and vision against Pac-10 defenses.[10][3]Professional football career
1981 NFL Draft and rookie season
The New York Jets selected McNeil with the third overall pick in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, held on April 28–29 in New York City, choosing him ahead of other prospects due to his standout college production at UCLA, where he had amassed over 3,000 rushing yards.[1][11] This high draft position underscored the team's expectations for McNeil to become an immediate foundational running back, filling a need in an offense that had struggled with consistent ground production in prior seasons.[12] Negotiations for McNeil's rookie contract extended into late spring, with reports indicating initial offers around $2 million over six years were deemed insufficient by his representatives, leading to his absence from the Jets' voluntary rookie minicamp.[13][14] He ultimately signed a multi-year deal on June 12, 1981, prior to training camp, though exact terms were not publicly disclosed at the time.[15] In his rookie season, McNeil debuted on September 6, 1981, against the Buffalo Bills and appeared in 11 games with 6 starts, leading the Jets in rushing with 137 carries for 623 yards at a 4.5-yard average and 2 touchdowns.[1][16] Despite the abbreviated appearance—compared to the full 16-game schedule—his output reflected an adaptation to the NFL's greater physical demands and faster pace, compounded by variable support from the Jets' offensive line, which ranked middling in run-blocking efficiency that year.[17] McNeil's per-game average of 56.6 rushing yards highlighted a learning curve typical for high-profile rookies transitioning from college schemes to professional defenses emphasizing gap control and pursuit angles.[18]Peak performance years (1982–1985)
In the 1982 NFL season, shortened to nine games by a players' strike, McNeil emerged as the league's leading rusher with 786 yards on 151 carries, averaging 5.2 yards per attempt and scoring six rushing touchdowns.[1] This output, achieved amid the New York Jets' transition to a run-oriented offense under head coach Joe Walton, underscored McNeil's burst speed and cutback ability, which exploited defensive alignments disrupted by the league's playoff expansion format.[1] His performance earned First-Team All-Pro recognition from the Associated Press and a Pro Bowl selection, marking the first such league-leading rushing total by a Jets player.[1] McNeil's contributions extended to the postseason, where the Jets advanced to the AFC Championship Game; he carried 61 times for 349 yards and one touchdown across three playoff contests, providing a consistent ground threat that complemented quarterback Richard Todd's passing in a balanced attack averaging over 130 rushing yards per regular-season game.[1]| Year | Games Played | Attempts | Yards | Yards per Carry | Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 9 | 151 | 786 | 5.2 | 6 |
| 1983 | 9 | 160 | 654 | 4.1 | 1 |
| 1984 | 12 | 229 | 1,070 | 4.7 | 5 |
| 1985 | 14 | 294 | 1,331 | 4.5 | 3 |
Shared backfield dynamics (1986–1989)
In 1986, the New York Jets implemented a shared backfield approach featuring Freeman McNeil alongside Johnny Hector, distributing carries to maintain a balanced rushing attack amid McNeil's early-season elbow injury that limited him to 12 games. McNeil recorded 214 carries for 856 yards and 5 touchdowns, while Hector contributed 605 rushing yards on 151 attempts, helping the Jets achieve a team total of 1,942 rushing yards over 16 games for an average of 121.4 yards per game.[1][19] Head coach Joe Walton adapted the offensive scheme to leverage the complementary styles of McNeil's outside speed and vision with Hector's inside power and blocking, creating defensive uncertainty through varied formations and rotations. This tandem, often described by contemporaries as providing "double-trouble" for opponents, allowed for workload preservation and sustained ground production, as evidenced by the Jets' ability to rank 10th in NFL rushing despite injuries.[20] The partnership peaked in effectiveness during the 1988 season, with McNeil healthy for all 16 games and posting 219 carries for 944 yards and 6 touchdowns, complemented by Hector's supporting role in a Jets offense that emphasized run-pass balance under Walton. This duo's impact extended to the 1986 playoff run, where the Jets secured a 10-6 regular-season record, a 35-15 wild-card victory over the Kansas City Chiefs—fueled by 31 carries for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns from McNeil—and advanced to the AFC Divisional round, averaging 142.5 rushing yards per postseason game.[1][21]Decline, injuries, and retirement (1990–1992)
In 1990, McNeil's workload decreased significantly following the arrival of rookie Blair Thomas, who became the Jets' primary rusher with 123 carries. McNeil played in all 16 games but started only four, accumulating 99 rushing attempts for 458 yards at an average of 4.6 yards per carry.[1] [22] By 1991, the effects of accumulated wear from prior seasons limited McNeil to 13 games and one start, with just 51 carries yielding 300 yards and a 5.9 yards-per-carry average despite the higher efficiency.[1] This reduced volume reflected ongoing physical tolls on a high-contact position, where repeated impacts had begun to erode his starting status amid competition from younger backs. McNeil's 1992 season marked a further downturn, as he appeared in 12 games with one start, posting 43 rushes for 170 yards at a 4.0 yards-per-carry average—below his career mark—and zero rushing touchdowns; a rib injury late in the year contributed to his questionable status for games.[1] [23] Cumulative knee and ankle issues from years of twisting runs and blocking assignments curtailed his burst and carry tolerance, dropping his averages and role to situational duties behind backs like Johnny Johnson.[24] McNeil retired on April 21, 1993, shortly before turning 34, forgoing unrestricted free agency opportunities after the Jets did not retain him post-season, consistent with the limited longevity typical for running backs facing injury accumulation without trade leverage under prior NFL rules.[25][1]Performance metrics and records
Rushing and receiving statistics
Over his 12-season NFL career with the New York Jets from 1981 to 1992, Freeman McNeil accumulated 1,798 rushing attempts for 8,074 yards and 38 rushing touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry; he also recorded 295 receptions for 2,961 yards and 12 receiving touchdowns, while fumbling the ball 46 times.[1] The following table details his regular-season rushing and receiving statistics by year:| Year | Games Played | Rushes | Rushing Yards | Yards per Carry | Rushing TDs | Receptions | Receiving Yards | Receiving TDs | Fumbles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 11 | 137 | 623 | 4.5 | 2 | 18 | 171 | 1 | 5 |
| 1982 | 9 | 151 | 786 | 5.2 | 6 | 16 | 187 | 1 | 7 |
| 1983 | 9 | 160 | 654 | 4.1 | 1 | 21 | 172 | 3 | 4 |
| 1984 | 12 | 229 | 1,070 | 4.7 | 5 | 25 | 294 | 1 | 4 |
| 1985 | 14 | 294 | 1,331 | 4.5 | 3 | 38 | 427 | 2 | 9 |
| 1986 | 12 | 214 | 856 | 4.0 | 5 | 49 | 410 | 1 | 8 |
| 1987 | 9 | 121 | 530 | 4.4 | 0 | 24 | 262 | 1 | 1 |
| 1988 | 16 | 219 | 944 | 4.3 | 6 | 34 | 288 | 1 | 3 |
| 1989 | 11 | 80 | 352 | 4.4 | 2 | 31 | 310 | 1 | 1 |
| 1990 | 16 | 99 | 458 | 4.6 | 6 | 16 | 230 | 0 | 1 |
| 1991 | 13 | 51 | 300 | 5.9 | 2 | 7 | 56 | 0 | 1 |
| 1992 | 12 | 43 | 170 | 4.0 | 0 | 16 | 154 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | 144 | 1,798 | 8,074 | 4.5 | 38 | 295 | 2,961 | 12 | 46 |