Zack Baun Bio
Zack Baun (born December 30, 1996) is an American professional football linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft. After four seasons in New Orleans, Baun signed with Philadelphia and emerged as one of the league’s top defensive players, earning Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors. In 2025, he won Super Bowl LIX with the Eagles and cemented his reputation as a versatile, sideline-to-sideline defender.
Early Life and Background
Zack Baun grew up in West Bend, Wisconsin, and initially attended West Bend East High School, where he played wide receiver. After his sophomore year, his family moved to Brown Deer, Wisconsin, and he transferred to Brown Deer High School, where he switched to quarterback and linebacker while also playing basketball and running track. As a senior, Baun was named the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association State Offensive Player of the Year and the Dave Krieg State Quarterback of the Year after passing for 1,936 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushing for 1,837 yards with a state-leading 39 rushing touchdowns. Off the field, Baun was a starter on Brown Deer’s 2013 WIAA Division II State Championship basketball team and placed in the state track championships in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.
Baun committed to play college football at the University of Wisconsin with the intention of gray-shirting his freshman year, a sign of his long-term planning toward a professional career. His multi-sport high school background, which combined basketball, track, and football, helped him develop the speed, change-of-direction skills, and overall athleticism that would later define his NFL profile.
Path to the NFL
Baun redshirted his true freshman season at Wisconsin after breaking his left foot before the year began, then appeared in 12 games as a redshirt freshman, recording 15 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. His development was further slowed when he missed the entirety of his redshirt sophomore season after re-injuring the same foot during spring practices, a setback that tested his patience and resolve. Baun earned a starting outside linebacker role as a redshirt junior and finished that season as the Badgers’ third-leading tackler with 63 stops, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three pass breakups, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
Entering his redshirt senior year on the Butkus Award watchlist and voted a team captain, Baun earned midseason All-American recognition from the Associated Press and Sporting News after leading Wisconsin in sacks, tackles for loss, and forced fumbles through six games. He closed the year with 76 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 12.5 sacks, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors and consensus first-team All-American recognition from the Football Writers Association of America and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. His combination of production, leadership, and athletic testing convinced the New Orleans Saints to select him with the 74th overall pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Zack Baun Career
Early Career (2020–2021)
Baun made his NFL debut on September 21, 2020, on Monday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders, contributing primarily on special teams in his rookie season. Across his first two seasons with the Saints, he worked to earn a larger defensive role, rotating at outside linebacker while continuing to develop his pass-rush technique and coverage skills. The Saints used him in a variety of sub-packages, valuing his ability to set the edge against the run.
New Orleans Saints Tenure (2022–2023)
In 2022, Baun was on pace for a career year before a calf injury suffered in Week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens landed him on season-ending injured reserve on December 17, 2022. The injury interrupted his momentum and forced him to re-establish himself the following season. Baun returned healthy in 2023 and continued to contribute on defense and special teams for New Orleans, though his role remained rotational as the Saints featured other pass-rushers off the edge.
Philadelphia Eagles Era (2024–Present)
On March 13, 2024, Baun signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles and transitioned to inside linebacker during the offseason, a position change that unlocked his full athletic potential. He announced his new role in spectacular fashion in Week 1 of the 2024 season, recording 15 total tackles and two sacks, his first career multi-sack game, in a 34–29 win over the Green Bay Packers in São Paulo, Brazil. Baun was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after Week 10, when he forced two fumbles and recovered one in a 34–6 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, and he was later selected to his first Pro Bowl. He capped the 2024 regular season as an Associated Press first-team All-Pro and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
In the 2024 postseason, Baun recorded his first career interception against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round. He then intercepted Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs, returning the pick to set up an Eagles touchdown two plays later as Philadelphia cruised to a 40–22 victory, earning Baun his first Super Bowl championship. He finished the Super Bowl as the Eagles’ leading defender with seven tackles and one interception. On March 5, 2025, Baun agreed to a three-year, $51 million contract extension with $34 million in guaranteed money, a deal that reflected his emergence as one of the league’s premier linebackers.
Driving Style and Strengths
Baun is a sideline-to-sideline linebacker whose strengths include lateral range, blitzing from inside alignments, and coverage in the flat. His basketball and track background shows up in his sudden closing speed and his ability to redirect in space, while his pass-rush production has grown substantially since moving off the edge and into a more hybrid role with the Eagles.
Notable Events and Milestones
Baun’s career-defining stretch came during the Eagles’ 2024 playoff run, when his Wild Card interception against the Packers and his Super Bowl LIX interception against the Chiefs helped power Philadelphia to a championship. His Week 1 two-sack debut in Brazil and his NFC Defensive Player of the Week performance against Dallas also stand out as signature moments in his breakout campaign.
Zack Baun Career Wins
Zack Baun’s professional résumé now includes a Super Bowl championship, multiple Pro Bowl selections, and first-team All-Pro recognition, all earned after a positional change in Philadelphia. In college, he captured first-team All-Big Ten and consensus All-American honors, establishing himself as one of the most productive linebackers in Wisconsin history.
NFL Highlights
Baun won his first Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles in February 2025, intercepting a pass in the title game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He earned his first Pro Bowl nod and a first-team All-Pro selection following the 2024 regular season, a campaign in which he was also a top-five finisher in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He agreed to a three-year, $51 million extension with Philadelphia in March 2025 that keeps him under contract through 2028.
Other Wins & Performances
At Brown Deer High School, Baun was a WIAA Division II state basketball champion in 2013 and a Wisconsin Football Coaches Association State Offensive Player of the Year, foreshadowing the multi-sport production he would later deliver at Wisconsin and in the NFL.
Zack Baun Family
Family Background and Lineage
Zack Baun was raised in a Wisconsin family that supported his athletic development across multiple sports, eventually relocating from West Bend to Brown Deer during his high school years. That family move proved pivotal, as it placed him at Brown Deer High School, where he would star in football, basketball, and track.
Personal Life
Baun resides in the Philadelphia area following his 2024 signing with the Eagles. He was one of a dozen members of the Super Bowl LIX championship team who did not participate in the team’s White House visit in April 2025.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season marks Zack Baun’s second year in the Philadelphia Eagles defense and the first year of his new three-year, $51 million contract extension agreed to in March 2025. After moving to inside linebacker in 2024 and finishing fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Baun entered the year as a centerpiece of the Eagles’ defense rather than a breakout story. The team built its defensive game plan around his range, blitzing ability, and coverage versatility, allowing the Eagles to deploy more creative sub-package looks.
Baun’s production continued to reflect his elevated role, with steady tackle numbers, splash plays against the run, and the same disruptive blitzing that fueled his 2024 All-Pro campaign. He also remained a factor in the postseason, having delivered a Super Bowl-clinching performance in the 2024 title run. With Philadelphia returning a deep defensive core and Baun locked in as an every-down linebacker, the Eagles entered the season viewed as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
Looking ahead, Baun’s outlook centers on sustaining the play that earned him his contract, anchoring the middle of the Eagles’ defense, and pursuing a second championship. With his contract running through 2028 and his reputation as one of the league’s most versatile linebackers, Zack Baun remains a long-term pillar of the Philadelphia Eagles.