Willie Gay
Willie Gay Jr. is an American football linebacker for the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. He was born on February 15, 1998, in Starkville, Mississippi. He is 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 246 pounds.
Gay played high school football at Starkville, where he helped win the 2015 6A state championship and played in the 2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. A four-star recruit, he chose Mississippi State, playing there from 2017 to 2019. He appeared in 31 games, starting six, and finished with 99 tackles, six sacks, three interceptions and a touchdown. In 2019 he played only five games and missed eight due to suspension, then declared for the NFL Draft.
He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. He recorded his first career sack in Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Gay spent four seasons with the Chiefs (2020–2023). He was placed on injured reserve in February 2021 and again in September 2021, missing Super Bowl LV. The Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII and later LVIII, with Gay contributing in both games (eight tackles in LVII and four tackles in LVIII).
In 2022, Gay was suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after an arrest in January 2022. In 2023 he had 58 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, three fumble recoveries, one interception and four passes defended, helping Kansas City reach and win Super Bowl LVIII (played in February 2024).
Gay signed with the New Orleans Saints on March 13, 2024. He then signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins on March 19, 2025.
Career NFL stats through 2025 include 281 total tackles, 9.0 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 4 interceptions, 24 passes defended and 1 defensive touchdown.
Personal note: In January 2022 Gay was arrested for misdemeanor criminal destruction of property after an argument at his son's mother's house, during which he damaged items and parts of the home.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:34 (CET).