Former New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress is widely remembered for a scandal-filled 11-year career in the NFL. Although the wide receiver had several impressive seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants, his 2009 prison sentence made him one of the league’s most infamous characters.
Plaxico Burress Makes Wild Claim About Jets
During a recent segment of the “Joint Venture Show” with rapper Lil Wayne, Burress compared his prison sentence to playing for the Jets.
When Wayne asked him, “What was worse, playing for the Jets or prison?” Burress replied, “So, they’re both kind of similar because when I walked in the prison on my first day, I was like, ‘Damn man, you are a (expletive) loser.’ And I had the same damn feeling every day I walked through the door with the Jets. I’m like, ‘Dang, I hope we can win this weekend.'”
After an electric college football career with the Michigan State Spartans during which he earned first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-Big Ten honors, Burress was one of the most hyped prospects ahead of the 2000 NFL Draft. He was selected No. 8 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers on draft night, and he spent five eventful seasons with the franchise before joining the New York Giants.
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Burress was a key cog in the Giants team that won Super Bowl XLII, tallying 1,025 receiving yards on 70 catches and 12 touchdowns in that season. He caught the game-winning touchdown pass from legendary NFL quarterback Eli Manning in the Super Bowl game against the undefeated New England Patriots.
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In June 2026, Burress shocked the NFL world when he put his Super Bowl touchdown ball up for auction. Former Giants teammate Lawrence Tynes defended Burress on X.
“Yes, sometimes players are in need of money but also as you age, things like this become less important. A lot of my former teammates have sold things that are just fine financially. I would sell my NFC Championship Game Winning FG balls (Green Bay and San Francisco) for the right price. Everything is always for sale,” Tynes wrote.
On November 28, 2008, Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a nightclub, and he turned himself in to the police for criminal possession of a handgun. He was indicted by a grand jury on two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and one count of reckless endangerment in the second degree. In 2009, the Giants’ wide receiver accepted a plea deal that put him behind bars for two years.
In 2011, he was released from prison after serving 20 months. After being released, Burress declined a two-year contract offer from the Steelers and instead joined the New York Jets on a one-year deal. In his sole season with the Jets, the wide receiver managed 612 receiving yards on 45 catches and eight touchdowns.
In his 11-year NFL career, Burress managed four 1,000-yard seasons. He had his best season in Pittsburgh in 2002 when he registered 1,325 receiving yards on 78 receptions and 7 scores.
