Sharod "Roddy" Lamor White (born November 2, 1981 in Template:City-state) is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League. He was selected with the 27th pick overall in the 2005 NFL Draft out of the UAB.

White attended James Island High School (now James Island Charter High School) in Charleston, South Carolina, and was a three-sport letterman and standout in football, baseball, and wrestling. In football, he broke every school career receiving record, was a two-time All-Low Country honoree, a two-time All-State honoree, and was also listed as one of the top receivers in the nation on Rivals.com. In wrestling, he was a two-time state champion often pinning his opponent in a move that was coined the "Shanaz".

While attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham, White was a football star and a sociology major. As a football wide receiver, he finished his career with 163 receptions for 3,112 yards (19.1 yards per rec. avg.) and 26 touchdowns, was an All-Conference USA second selection as a junior, and was an All-Conference USA first-team selection as a senior. He also led the nation with 1,452 receiving yards and ranked third in the country with a 20.5-yard per catch average in 2004 and accounted for six 100-yard receiving contests. He was named a Pro Football Weekly All-American and a third-team selection by the Associated Press in his senior season. He was the ace pitcher for the UAB Blazers and he was also a Blazer.

White saw instantaneous action in his rookie campaign. He ranked fourth among all rookie receivers in 2005. Although a high ankle sprain caused him to remain on the sidelines for much of the preseason, he recovered by Week 2 of the 2005 season and was put on the team's roster. In Week 4 of the 2005 season, against the Minnesota Vikings, he was inserted in the lineup as the No. 3 receiver. During the course of the game he racked up 64 yards on 5 catches. However, during the rest of the season, his performance was spotty at best. He made a fantastic leaping catch over three defenders on a trick play against the New Orleans Saints during Week 14 for a 54-yd touchdown, but dropped a touchdown catch the next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, although he had a 108-yard receiving performance vs. Tampa Bay (11/20) which was the second-highest receiving total put up by a rookie wide receiver in 2005, only surpassed by Jaguars WR Matt Jones (117 yards vs. Baltimore).

In the Falcons 2007 game against the New Orleans Saints, White showed his support for fellow Falcon Michael Vick by wearing a t-shirt that said "Free Mike Vick" and pulling up his jersey after scoring a touchdown. Earlier that day, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail on dogfighting charges. ^[1] White was fined $10,000 by the league for his actions. ^[2]

Roddy White became the first Falcon WR since 1999 to reach 1,000 single season receiving yards on December 23, 2007. He also finished tied for 8th among all NFL wide receivers in receiving yards in 2007 with 1,202 yards. He had 6 receiving touchdowns.

Roddy White's 2008 performance was even better than the previous year, finishing 4th in the NFL in receiving yards (3rd in the NFC). He finished the year with 1,382 receiving yards (career high and team record), 88 receptions (career high), and 7 touchdowns (career high). He broke Alfred Jenkins team record of 1,358 receiving yards, which stood since 1981.

After his Week 14 performance in the team's 29–25 loss to the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome, ESPN personality Chris Berman (while reporting the highlights of the game on SportsCenter) gave White the nickname "Rowdy" Roddy White, named after professional wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Roddy White caught a touchdown pass in a playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals, who defeated the Falcons.

On December 16, 2008, White was named to the 2009 Pro Bowl along with fellow teamate Michael Turner.^[3][4]

On July 31, 2009, White began a holdout, boycotting the 2009 training camp in an attempt at an early contract extension. On August 8 he signed a six-year, $48 million extension with $18.6 million guaranteed and $28 million dollars over the first three years of the deal. The extension makes him the third highest paid wide receiver in the league, behind Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald and Carolina's Steve Smith.^[5]

On October 11, 2009 White became the all time receiving leader in yards in one game in Franchise history in a game against the 49ers. In this game White had 8 receptions for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns.

• Atlanta Falcons bio