Tyrann Mathieu
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Tyrann Mathieu will be getting a key to the city in New Orleans on August 21
There are very few professional athletes who have come to personify a city like Tyrann Mathieu has with the city of New Orleans. Mathieu was born in New Orleans, went to high school in New Orleans, starred in college 80 miles up the road from New Orleans at LSU, and then spent the final three years of his NFL career playing for the New Orleans Saints.
Born, bred and forever entrenched in the Big Easy, Tyrann Mathieu is earning a unique distinction often reserved for a city’s most accomplished heroes.
“August 21, 2025 will be named Tyrann Mathieu Day by the city and city council,” Ross Jackson of Louisiana Sports shared on X. “In celebration of his retirement, 12-year NFL career and his contributions to the city, a celebration will be held Thursday at the Mayor’s Office and City Hall inc. a key to the city presentation.”
Tyrann Mathieu: New Orleans Royalty Even Before Saints Tenure
Had Tyrann Mathieu never once suited up for the New Orleans Saints, it’s possible he would’ve still received this distinction. Mathieu wasn’t just a star at LSU… he was a borderline iconic figure on a pair of Tigers teams that continued to establish LSU as both one of the premier powerhouses in the SEC, and as the undisputed
Mathieu was named the Cotton Bowl Classic Defensive Player of the Game as a freshman, and then went on to set the college football world ablaze as a sophomore. He was a consensus All-American, the Chuck Bednarik Award winner and Heisman Trophy finalist. He recorded 77 tackles, 1.5 sacks, forced five fumbles, recovered four more, picked off two passes and scored four total touchdowns (two fumble returns, two punt returns).
Mathieu was eventually dismissed from the program before the 2012 college football season began. Although then head coach Les Miles didn’t indicate why, multiple news outlets reported it was due to failed drug tests. In late October of that same year, Mathieu and three former LSU players ended up being arrested for marijuana possession.
Even in his dismissal from the team, nobody in the state of Louisiana turned their back on their native son. It was only appropriate that when Mathieu announced his retirement from the NFL earlier this summer, he did so as a member of the New Orleans Saints.
Tyrann Mathieu Staying Close to the NFL
It hasn’t even been one month since Mathieu announced his retirement from the NFL, and already, the man once known affectionately as The Honey Badger is making a return to the league he had tremendous success in for over a decade.
Along with former Saints teammate Derek Carr, Mathieu will be in the studio for the opening Friday night game of the season in Brazil… a big-time AFC West showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers. Carr, whose tenure in New Orleans was nearly just as brief as Mathieu’s, won’t be getting a key to the city any time soon.
This may end up being a temporary venture for Mathieu. The former LSU star recently voiced a desire to return to Baton Rouge to coach the team he once suited up for. Predictably, one of New Orleans’ favorite son’s will be staying close to home for the foreseeable future.