Amari Cooper is an American Football Wide Receiver in the NFL, he played college football with Alabama and professional football with the Cleveland Browns. Here's The Top 10 Facts You Didn't Know About Amari Cooper.
10. Amari Cooper is a good Reader
NFL players often get a bad rap for not being smart. However, Cooper has proven time and again that he is one of the league’s brightest players on and off the field. One of Cooper’s must-have items when the Dallas Cowboys go on the road is a book. He became an avid reader in college at the University of Alabama. During his sophomore year at Alabama, each player was given a book titled, “100 ways to Motivate Others”. He read the inspirational book and it changed his life. The wide receiver learned so much from this one book that it inspired him to read more books to gain more knowledge. One of Cooper’s favorite books is “Shoe Dog” by Phil Knight.
9. Cooper was unreal in high school at Northwestern in Miami, Florida.
The 6-foot 1-inch player was the No. 5 college football recruit in 2012 and the No. 8 overall high school football recruit in Florida that same year. While he was a top 10 recruit in Florida, Cooper was the No. 45 recruit in the entire United States in 2012. His brilliance at Northwestern led the University of Alabama to land Cooper’s signature in September of 2011. Read Also another Facts about Deshaun Watson.
8. In February of 2020, a tweet claiming Cooper had been shot in a Dallas parking lot went viral.
The tweet got so much attention from football fans around the globe that the Dallas Police Department and Cooper had to go on social media and refute the claims. The tweets that stated Cooper had been shot appeared to be ‘fake news’. Cooper even texted friends to inform them he was okay. The wide receiver’s tweet read: "That was fake news, y'all. Everything good over here.''
7. Amari Cooper Relationship
Cooper has been very secretive about his personal life and has kept his relationship status quiet for the most part. In 2020, Cooper was in a relationship with Destiny Jones. The couples’ status was so secretive that a start date has not been confirmed. It was rumored that Jones was the daughter of American rap star Nas, but that is not true. Rumors had surfaced previously that Cooper was in a relationship with the rapper’s daughter, however, Jones is of no relation to Nas. Jones is a psychiatrist and she graduated from an HBCU school, Alabama State. Jones is a former Stingettes dance squad member at Alabama State University. Cooper’s personal life is so secretive that it isn’t known if the two are still together as of the 2021 NFL season.
6. Cooper’s upbringing wasn’t easy.
He grew up in the Miami projects in an area known as Liberty City in Coconut Grove, which is located in North Miami. Cooper was raised in a single-mother home. Michelle Green, Cooper’s mom, worked multiple jobs to put food on the table. She also walked miles each day to go to work or the grocery store as the family couldn’t afford a car.
In 2017, Cooper recalled a story about being too tired to go to the grocery store with his mom. She had to walk three miles alone with bags full of groceries. The incident left a mark on Cooper’s mind and he has always regretted not helping her on that day. In 2017, Cooper purchased his mother a new house and car to thank her for all of her love and hard work. The wide receiver tweeted in 2017: “It took us 20-plus years, but now my mom has a house and car of her dreams.”
5. Amari Cooper Contract
The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver earns an average salary of $20 million a year. It is a long way from the North Miami neighborhood he grew up in. Cooper was the youngest child of five kids. Cooper’s father, Terrance wasn’t in the future NFL player’s life. Terrance went to prison when Cooper was a toddler. In 1996, Terrance was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being arrested for the burglary of an unoccupied property. His projected release date is in 2022.
4. Cooper puts his football and life success down to his mother, Michelle.
According to the wide receiver, he never visited his father in prison. Terrance’s incarceration was difficult for Cooper to deal with growing up, but the Dallas Cowboys player says he has come to terms with it now. Michelle’s struggles as a mother created more issues for Cooper when it came to Terrance.
Related : 10 Facts You Didn't Know About Trevon Diggs
3. Amari Cooper loves the game of chess
There are certain cliches and expectations around NFL players, especially ones who grew up in the projects. What many people do not know about Cooper is the wide receiver loves the game of chess. Yes, chess! Cooper learned the game in elementary school. The school’s music teacher taught students the game following music lessons. Cooper even went to after-school chess club once or twice a week when he wasn’t playing football. After years of not playing chess, Cooper picked the game back up in 2015 when teaming with Rod Streater when they were on the Raiders. According to Streater, he stole some of Cooper’s chessboard moves. In 2021, a video posted on Twitter showed Cooper thrashing Cowboys rookie linebacker Micah Parsons on the chessboard. Parsons had challenged Cooper only to be destroyed.
2. Amari Cooper Diet
A lot of professional athletes have gone vegetarian and vegan over the last decade. Some studies claim going plant-based allows athletes to stay fit and healthy while extending their careers. However, other studies claim that going vegan or vegetarian prevents players from getting the vitamins, minerals, and protein needed to properly recover from playing high-level sports.
Cooper is one of those players that going vegan didn’t help. In 2019, Cooper went vegan, which didn’t work out well for the wide receiver. He spent much of the season injured and stated not eating meat kept him from being 100% throughout the NFL season. Cooper personally believed veganism caused more injuries.
1. There are a few things Cooper cannot live without.
One item is a travel chess board. His other essential items are a hairbrush, Baccarat Rouge 540 cologne, and watch holder.
Cooper loves watches and collects them. He was afraid to spend money when he joined the NFL, but once he was okay with shelling out large sums of cash, he began collecting expensive watches. He takes a number of watches with him when he travels and his watch holder keeps everything sorted at home. When the Cowboys go on the road, Cooper packs several watches and he brings some select pieces of jewelry with him in a travel case.
That’s all 10 Facts You Didn't Know About Amari Cooper, tell us where you would rank Amari Cooper among the best wide receivers in the NFL!