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Jared Scot Allen (born April 3, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. A five-time and four-time All-Pro selection, he recorded 136 career quarterback sack. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
Allen played college football for the Idaho State Bengals and was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft. After four years with the Chiefs, Allen was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for three draft picks, including a first-rounder. He spent six years with the Vikings before joining the Chicago Bears as a free agent in 2014. He was traded to the Carolina Panthers during the 2015 season, with whom he played in Super Bowl 50. After retiring from the NFL, Allen took up curling and formed a team with other former NFL players.
Allen first attended Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, but transferred to Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos for his senior year after he was expelled for selling stolen yearbooks. By then, Allen had lost many of his athletic scholarship offers, including from the University of Washington where he had already verbally committed. As a senior at Los Gatos, he was named First-team All-League and Defensive Player of the Year. He was also a First-team All-Central Coast Section selection, and a member of "Who's Who" in Sports Illustrated. Allen was selected by the North squad for the North vs. South San Jose Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star football game, after a senior season where he racked up 96 tackles, 12 sacks, five forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries."
As a freshman in 2000, Allen was originally slated to redshirt the season, but this was reconsidered, and he eventually played in eight games for the Bengals and earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors without ever being a starter. In 2001 Allen earned First-team All-Big Sky honors, and led the Bengals with 16 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. As a junior in 2002, Allen was named Second-team Division I-AA All-American by the Associated Press, and was also named first-team All-Big Sky for the second consecutive season. He led the team in sacks, tackles for loss (with 18), and also led all Bengal linemen with 63 tackles.
In 2003, as a senior, Allen won the Buck Buchanan Award, recording 17.5 sacks, 102 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles, three recovered fumbles, and nine pass deflections during 2003, ranking among the Big Sky Conference leaders in several defensive categories. Allen, a first-team Division I-AA All-American and a first-team All-Big Sky selection for the third straight season, led ISU to an 8–4 record that season, helping the school post its first back-to-back eight win seasons in school history. Idaho State finished the regular season ranked No. 21 in the nation. Sports Network.com
After leading the NFL in sacks in 2007 with 15.5, Allen was selected as a starting defensive end for the AFC in the 2007 Pro Bowl and was also named in the All-Pro team for 2007.
In February 2008, the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Allen, giving him a one-year, $8.8 million contract for 2008.
During the 2008 season, Allen recorded 54 tackles, along with 14.5 sacks, 3 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 enforced safeties, while battling both knee and shoulder injuries throughout the season. He was named First-team All-Pro and selected to his second Pro Bowl. His first sack as a Viking was in a game against the Indianapolis Colts, when he sacked quarterback Peyton Manning. In his first playoff game as a Viking, Allen recorded three tackles, along with two sacks and a forced fumble. Allen also forced a safety when he chased Dan Orlovsky out of the end zone during a game against the Detroit Lions, and he forced another safety in the week 10 game against the Green Bay Packers, when he sacked Aaron Rodgers in the end zone.
On October 5, 2009, against the Green Bay Packers, Allen set a career-high with 4.5 sacks, as well as having his third safety in the previous two years. A week later, against the St. Louis Rams, he returned a fumble 52 yards, for the first defensive touchdown of his career. Minnesota Vikings at St. Louis Rams - October 11th, 2009 - Pro-Football-Reference.com He also made the 2009 Pro Bowl, as the starting defensive end for the NFC team. For the 2009 year, Allen made 51 tackles with 14.5 sacks, an interception, 4 passes defended, 5 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, a defensive touchdown, and a safety enforced.
Allen started the 2010 season slowly, having only one sack in the first 7 games, but had 10 sacks in the next 9 games, making him 10th in the league with 11 sacks. In the season finale against the Detroit Lions, Allen scored his second career defensive touchdown, a 36-yard interception return. Overall in 2010, Allen finished with 60 tackles, 11 sacks, 2 interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 6 passes defended, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. He was ranked 80th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2011.
In 2011, Allen returned to Kansas City. The Vikings lost the game 22–17. On January 1, 2012, Allen set the single-season franchise record for most sacks by a Viking, with 22 sacks. In Week 17 against the Chicago Bears, Allen sacked Josh McCown 3.5 times, but fell a half sack short of the NFL record held by former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. Allen appeared on NFL's Top 100 players of 2012, and was ranked #13. Allen was voted 67 spots higher than last year, the biggest leap on the list. Allen fell seven votes short of winning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year. On October 2, 2012, Allen was fined $7,875 for grabbing Tampa Bay Buccaneers lineman Donald Penn's facemask.
With the Bears using a 3-4 defense for the 2015 season, Allen was transitioned to the outside linebacker position.
Allen first came up for Pro Football Hall of Fame eligibility in 2021, but failed to get inducted on the first ballot, as he was passed over in favor of fellow first-year eligibility mates Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson and Calvin Johnson.
On July 29, 2022, Allen was announced as the 27th inductee of the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor. On October 30, 2022, Allen was formally inducted into the Ring of Honor, riding into U.S. Bank Stadium on a horse. He was announced as a member of the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class at the 14th NFL Honors.
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Allen played in the 2021 United States Men's Curling Championship playing second for 2007 US Champion Todd Birr. At nationals, the team went 0–9.
Allen competed in the 2024 United States Men's Curling Championship with Team Ruohonen led by skip Rich Ruohonen. Allen played lead.
In April 2024 it was announced that Allen, as well as Canadian curlers John Morris, and Jennifer Jones, were part of a sports business venture, The Curling Group, which purchased ownership and operations of the Grand Slam of Curling series from Sportsnet.
Allen serves as an advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and raises funds through his "Sack Diabetes" program. Allen was also an active role model in the JDRF's Children's Congress 2009. Jared Allen #69 He is an avid hunter, and has been interviewed by Field & Stream.
Allen was among four NFL players who were sent overseas on an NFL-USO tour to visit with U.S. military troops: "It has been one of the best experiences of my life – something that I'll never forget. We as players probably get more out of it than you do as soldiers and Marines." He created his own charity, the Jared Allen's Homes for Wounded Warriors (JAH4WW), in October 2009, in order to build handicapped-accessible homes for severely wounded military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. His grandfather and younger brother also served in the Marines.
In September 2010, Allen contributed $3,000 to Downey, California, animal shelter SEACCA's reward fund for information leading to an arrest, in connection to a horse being starved and abandoned on a Los Angeles city street. SEACCA.org
Allen was featured in the 2010 film Jackass 3D, doing a stunt, alongside Erik Ainge, which features him blindsiding Johnny Knoxville.
On October 27, 2011, Allen's wife, Amy, gave birth to their first child, a girl named Brinley Noelle Allen.
The Alliance of American Football named Allen as an investor and player relations executive in 2018.
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