Vernon Davis is an American football tight end for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers sixth overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. Upon entering the league, Davis signed a five-year, US$23 million deal that made him the highest paid tight end at the time. In 2009, Davis co-led the NFL in touchdown receptions.
In the 2011–12 NFL playoffs with the 49ers, Davis caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Alex Smith against the New Orleans Saints, referred to by fans and the media as "The Catch III". In 2015, Davis was traded to the Denver Broncos, where he won Super Bowl 50 with the team over the Carolina Panthers. The following season, he signed with the Washington Redskins.
In track & field, Davis recorded a personal best of 10.7 seconds in the 100 meters, and was the DCIAA champion in the high jump with a jump of 6 ft 6 in (198 cm). He was also a member of the 4 × 100 m (43.68s) relay squad.
Davis played tight end and safety, but he also played wide receiver, kick returner, linebacker, and defensive end for Dunbar High School. In his senior season, he caught 21 passes for 511 yards and five touchdowns, despite missing three games with a deep bone bruise below his knee. He also caught three two-point conversions and returned two kick offs and two punts for touchdowns. As a junior, he had 35 receptions for 385 yards.
On November 2, 2015, Davis and a 2016 seventh-round draft pick were traded from the San Francisco 49ers to the Denver Broncos for sixth-round picks in 2016 and 2017. His first game as a member of the Broncos was against his brother Vontae and the Indianapolis Colts. With Brock Osweiler as the starting quarterback, he had four receptions for 69 yards in a 17–15 win over the Chicago Bears. He then added a combined four receptions for 35 yards in wins against the New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers. Davis had a season-high seven catches for 74 yards in a 15–12 loss to the Oakland Raiders. On February 7, 2016, Davis won his first Super Bowl championship after the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10 in Super Bowl 50. Despite ending the Super Bowl with no receptions, Davis made a key block downfield during a crucial 34-yard run by teammate C. J. Anderson, the longest rush of the game.
On March 31, 2016, Davis signed a one-year contract with his hometown Washington Redskins. In a Week 6 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Davis caught his first touchdown pass in over two years, helping the Redskins win their fourth straight game of the season. Davis had started the game in replacement of an injured Jordan Reed and finished with two receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown. The following week, he earned his third start in a row and finished with six receptions for 79 receiving yards in a 17–20 loss to the Detroit Lions. On October 30, 2016, Davis caught five passes for 93 yards in a 27–27 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals. During a Week 9 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, he caught three passes for 66 yards and caught a 38-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Kirk Cousins during the Redskins' 26–20 victory.
On March 8, 2017, Davis signed a three-year contract extension with the Redskins. Overall, in the 2017 season, Davis finished with 43 receptions for 648 yards and three touchdowns. He recorded his first touchdown reception of the 2018 season in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers.
In October 2013, it was reported that Davis would be offering stock in his future earnings via a venture with Fantex as part of a new financial instrument being sold by Fantex. Davis planned to offer a 10% share of all future earnings from his brand marketing company to Fantex, which would then turn around and divide it into shares of a tracking stock that can be traded within their own exchange. In January 2014, the stock offering was confirmed. The proposed offering was 421,100 shares, valued at $10 per share, for a total proposed valuation worth $4.2 million.