Career
He was the first round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns and played in 278 games over 19 NFL seasons, the 17th most appearances in league history. Matthews had 1,561 tackles in his career, the third most in NFL history, and is trailed most closely by Junior Seau with 1,522 tackles. He played his Senior year of high school football at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. Coached by Gene Chichowski.
Matthews was drafted by the Browns out of the University of Southern California with the 12th pick in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft.
Clay was a four-time Pro Bowler for Cleveland. He is also the oldest player to record a sack at 40 years, 282 days.
Matthews was one of the first players to negotiate a large contract going into the NFL. Matthews was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week twice in his career with the Cleveland Browns (Week 12, 1984 and Week 9, 1991). Matthews resides in Agoura Hills, California.
After his retirement, Clay Matthews opened a Pontiac Dealership in the Cleveland suburb of Euclid in 1992.
Matthews"s dealership has since closed. One of five questions he was asked in the final round was "What is the ideal age for a United States. President?". He answered "32". The constitutional requisite age to become President is 35.
In 2014, he was named Director of Football Operations at Carter (Tenn) High School, where he once served as an assistant coach.
After graduation, Clay Matthews III was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. Casey Matthews played linebacker at the University of Oregon (2007–2011), and was selected in Round 4 of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Matthews football dynasty family tree:.