Keanu Neal career earnings: A look at former Falcons star’s time in NFL

After eight seasons in the NFL, former first-round pick, safety Keanu Neal has announced his retirement from the game of football. Neal was selected 17th overall in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and played for four different teams in the NFL.

Neal announced his retirement on Sunday on Instagram and said:

"God has blessed my family and I in so many ways. Particularly in the game of football. 20 years ago, I started this journey. Today, I am retiring from the NFL. Gods' timing is always the right timing."

Keanu Neal's career earnings

In eight seasons in the NFL, Keanu Neal made a total of $24.5 million according to spotrac.com. In five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Neal made the bulk of his NFL earnings, making $17.3 million. He then earned $4,000,000 with the Dallas Cowboys in one season and made $3.27 million in his last two combined seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A look back at Keanu Neal’s NFL career

Keanu Neal during Green Bay Packers v Pittsburgh Steelers - Source: Getty

Known as a physical safety coming out of Florida, Keanu Neal was selected in the first-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2016 NFL Draft. Neal had a productive first two seasons in his NFL career.

He racked up over 100+ tackles, had at least six pass deflections, and forced at least three fumbles in each of his first two seasons. He was named a PFWA All-Rookie in 2016 and made the Pro Bowl in 2017.

In the next two seasons, Neal was limited to just four games as he suffered a torn ACL (2018) and a torn Achilles (2019). The following year, in 2020, he had 100 tackles, a career-high nine tackles for loss, and an interception in his final season with the Falcons.

Through the next three seasons, Neal would play for three different teams, playing in 40 games and starting in 21. In his last playing season (2023), the Steelers placed him on injured reserve on November 18, 2023, and then released him after a failed physical the following March.

Neal played in 89 games in his career (starting 69 of them), and had 523 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, 22 pass deflections, four interceptions, eight forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries.