Larry Fitzgerald Larry Darnell Fitzgerald , Jr . ( born August 31 , 1983 ) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Pittsburgh , and earned All - American honors . The Arizona Cardinals chose Fitzgerald with the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft , and he has played his entire professional career for the team . He has been selected for the Pro Bowl seven times , and currently ranks fifth all - time in NFL history in receiving yards per game for a career ( 76 . 0 yards per game ) , behind Calvin Johnson , Andre Johnson , Torry Holt , and Marvin Harrison . On November 24 , 2013 , at 30 years and 85 days of age , he became the youngest NFL receiver to reach 11 , 000 career receiving yards , surpassing the previous record - holder , Randy Moss . He agreed to an eight - year , $ 120 million contract extension on August 20 , 2011 . College career . Fitzgerald attended the University of Pittsburgh , where he played for the Pittsburgh Panthers football team . He was widely considered one of the best wide receiver s in college football from 2002 to 2003 . After his sophomore season , Fitzgerald was recognized as the best player in the NCAA with the 2003 Walter Camp Award and the Touchdown Club of Columbus ' s Chic Harley Award , and as the best wide receiver in college football with the 2003 Biletnikoff Award and the Touchdown Club ' s Paul Warfield Award . He was also a unanimous 2003 All - America selection and a runner - up for the prestigious Heisman Trophy , given to the most outstanding player in college football ; Oklahoma ' s Jason White won that award by a relatively slim margin . In just 26 games with the Panthers , Fitzgerald caught 161 passes for 2 , 677 yards and set a new Pitt record with 34 receiving touchdowns . He was the first player in school history with back - to - back 1 , 000 - yard receiving seasons , and his 14 games with at least 100 yards receiving broke Antonio Bryant ' s previous all - time Panthers record of 13 . Fitzgerald also holds an NCAA record with at least one touchdown catch in 18 straight games . On July 1 , 2013 , Fitzgerald ' s # 1 jersey was retired by the University of Pittsburgh . Fitzgerald is the 9th Pitt player to receive this honor . Professional career . Pre - draft . Although Fitzgerald had played at Pitt for only two years without redshirting , he petitioned the NFL to allow him to enter the 2004 NFL Draft , as he had left his high school , Academy of Holy Angels , during his senior year to attend Valley Forge Military Academy . The NFL granted an exception to allow Fitzgerald to enter the draft , as Fitzgerald had convinced the NFL that the time he spent at the Academy , combined with his time at Pitt , was the minimum three years removed from high school to make him eligible for the draft . Although former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett was suing the NFL at the time to overturn the rule ( a case Clarett initially won , but it was later overturned on appeal ) , the NFL considered Fitzgerald ' s case separate from Clarett ' s . Arizona Cardinals . Fitzgerald left the University of Pittsburgh after a tremendous sophomore year in which he caught 92 passes for 1 , 672 yards and 22 touchdowns . He was drafted third overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals , whose then coach , Dennis Green , knew Fitzgerald from his time as a Vikings ball boy . In 2004 , Fitzgerald had 59 receptions for 780 yards and 8 touchdowns . On December 12 , 2004 , Fitzgerald became the youngest player at 21 years and 110 days , to record at least 2 touchdown receptions in a single game . In 2005 he led the NFL with 103 receptions for 1 , 409 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named to his first Pro Bowl . Fitzgerald teamed with Anquan Boldin to create one of the most dangerous wide receiver tandem s in the NFL . In 2005 , they became only the third duo from the same team to each catch over 100 passes and also the third pair of teammates to top the 1 , 400 - yard mark . In 2006 , Fitzgerald was injured and missed part of the season but still produced 69 receptions for 946 yards and 6 touchdowns . As part of his 2007 Pro Bowl season , he caught 100 receptions for 1 , 409 yards and 10 touchdowns . Following the 2007 season Fitzgerald signed a four - year , $ 40 million contract extension with Arizona . While still under contract at the time , performance bonuses forced the team ' s hand into a massive extension . Fitzgerald ' s numbers earned him the nickname " Sticky Fingers " and " The Best Hands in the NFL " in local media . During the for the 2008 NFL season , Fitzgerald tied an NFL record with three touchdown receptions in a playoff game . His three touchdown catches occurred in the first half ; he became the first player in NFL history to accomplish that feat in a conference championship game . Fitzgerald also set a single postseason record with 546 receiving yards , 30 receptions , and 7 touchdown receptions , surpassing Jerry Rice ' s records of the 1988 – 89 NFL playoffs . He and the Cardinals represented the NFC in Super Bowl XLIII . During Super Bowl XLIII , Fitzgerald caught two touchdown passes in the Cardinals 27 – 23 loss to the Steelers . Fitzgerald followed up this performance by catching two more touchdown passes in the 2009 Pro Bowl , earning him MVP honors . After the Pro Bowl was over it was revealed that Fitzgerald had been playing at least the whole postseason with a broken left thumb as well as torn cartilage in the same hand . It is speculated that Fitzgerald has had this injury since November 5 , 2008 , when he showed up on the injury report with an injured thumb . After his record - breaking postseason , capped by his Pro Bowl MVP award , many analysts , including NFL Network ' s Jamie Dukes , regarded Fitzgerald as one of the best receivers in the NFL . Despite having about 300 yards less than the year before , he set a personal record with 13 touchdowns in 2009 . He added two more touchdown catches in the Wild Card game against the Green Bay Packers in a 51 – 45 win . However , the Cardinals were eliminated the next week , beaten 45 – 14 by the New Orleans Saints . The 2010 season for the Cardinals was a major let down from the previous two years , as the retiring of Kurt Warner greatly affected their offense . Despite this , Fitzgerald was still able to catch 90 passes for 1 , 137 yards , and 6 touchdowns . After the season he was named to his 5th Pro Bowl , and his 4th in a row . On August 20 , 2011 , Fitzgerald signed an 8 - year $ 120 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals , tying him with Richard Seymour as the 5th highest paid player in the NFL . Fitzgerald would reward the Cardinals by having another stellar season , catching 80 passes for 1 , 411 yards and 8 touchdowns and setting a personal record of 17 . 6 yards per catch . Fitzgerald ' s accomplishments were recognized by an All - Pro second team selection as well as his 6th Pro Bowl selection . Personal life . Fitzgerald ' s father , Larry Fitzgerald Sr . , is a sportswriter for the " Minnesota Spokesman - Recorder " . When he covered Super Bowl XLIII , he was believed to be the first reporter to cover his own son in a Super Bowl . Fitzgerald ' s mother , Carol , died of a brain hemorrhage while being treated for breast cancer in 2003 . Fitzgerald also has a younger brother , Marcus Fitzgerald , who was a wide receiver for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League . Fitzgerald has a son named Devin . He had an order of protection filed against him by the mother of his child in October 2008 after an altercation between the two . In the media . Fitzgerald was featured on the cover of the EA Sports video game NCAA Football 2005 . He was also one of two players ( along with Troy Polamalu ) featured on the cover of Madden NFL 10 , making them the first two players to be featured on a Madden NFL cover together .