Penei Sewell
Penei Sewell is a professional football offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions. He was drafted by the Lions in the 2021 NFL Draft. Due to testing positive for COVID-19 in May 2021, he was forced to sit out of minicamp. However, that same month he signed a four-year rookie contract work $24.1 million. He started in 16 games his rookie season. He was named to the 2021 Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie Team.
In the 2022 season, he started all 17 games and was named a Pro Bowl alternate. In 2023, Sewell was selected to his second Pro Bowl and first First-team All-Pro, and played in the NFC Championship with the Lions. On April 24, 2024, Sewell signed a four-year, $112 million contract extension with the Lions.
ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg recently called Sewell “the best offensive player in the National Football League.”[1]
He was born on October 9, 2000, in American Samoa, but his father moved the family to St. George, Utah, in 2012. Six years later, Sewell was one of the most highly recruited linemen in the country at Desert Hills High School in St. George, Utah. As a senior in high school, Sewell participated in the All-American Bowl and Polynesian Bowl. He chose to play for the Oregon Ducks, narrowed from 23 scholarship offers. As a sophomore (2019), he became the first Polynesian to win the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football. He also won the Morris Trophy. He was a co-recipient of the 2019 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award.
Sewell and his wife Isabelle are the parents of three children. His three brothers, Gabriel, Nephi, and Noah are each professional football linebackers.
