Tony_Graziani

Tony Graziani

Anthony Robert Graziani (born December 23, 1973, in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States) is a current Arena Football League quarterback for the Philadelphia Soul. He previously played in the National Football League from 1997-2000 and NFL Europe in 2000.

High school career

Graziani attended Thomas Downey High School in Modesto, California. As a quarterback, he passed for 3,956 yards and 35 touchdowns in his prep career while leading his team to a share of the Central California Conference title.

College career

Graziani was a four-year letterman the University of Oregon, playing in 28 games in his collegiate football career. At Oregon he majored in political science. He accumulated the following stats:

Completed 362-of-670 for 4,498 yards and 25 touchdowns
Was 92-of-171 for 1,353 yards and eight touchdowns during an injury-plagued senior season in 1996
As a junior, led the Ducks to the Cotton Bowl, completing 231-of-426 passes for 2,604 yards and 13 touchdowns
Passed for 287 yards in Oregon’s first victory over USC at the Coliseum in 23 years in 1994
Was on the Ducks team that went to the 1995 Rose Bowl

NFL career

Graziani was a 7th round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in the 1997 NFL Draft. He played for the Falcons for 3 years, from 1997 to 1999. During his NFL career, he threw for 999 yards and 2 touchdowns with 8 interceptions. He also had 16 carries for 51 yards. Also, during his one-year tenure with the Cleveland Browns, he played for the Barcelona Dragons, of NFL Europe, in 2000.

Arena Football career

Los Angeles Avengers

Graziani signed with the Los Angeles Avengers prior to the 2001 season. He completed 23 out of 37 passes that season for 262 yards, 7 touchdowns and 1 interception. He became the starter in 2002 as he completed 282 out of 467 passes for 3,568 yards, 67 touchdowns, and 1 interception. In 2003, he completed 304 of 495 passes for 4,290 yards, 96 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. In 2004, he had his finest season as he completed 333 of 510 passes for 4,265 yards, 99 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.

Philadelphia Soul

Prior to the 2005 season, Graziani signed with the Philadelphia Soul and became the highest-paid player in the league. He completed 328 out of 555 passes that year for 4,272 yards, 90 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions as Philadelphia had a disappointing 6-10 season. In an injury-riddled 2006, he completed 232 of 389 passes for 2,981 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, but Philadelphia went 9-7 and made the playoffs for the first time ever. Through Week 4 of the 2007 Arena Football League season, Graziani has completed 75 of 116 passes for 1,041 yards, 24 touchdowns, and only 3 interceptions and the Soul are undefeated at 5-0. In Graziani's third start against the Colorado Crush he threw for 8 touchdowns topping out over 300 yards and only 1 interception, making the soul 3-0 at the time. Graziani went down with a shoulder injury in week 6, and remained out of the game through the next 5 weeks. He came back in week 12 against the New Orleans VooDoo and went 7 of 15 for 81 yards and 4 touchdowns. The soul won the game 78-34.

Week 1 of the 2008 season Graziani set the Soul franchise single game record for TD most TD passes in a game (9). In Week 3, Graziani suffered a sprained ankle. He was scheduled to return Week 7 against the San Jose Sabrecats, but before the game it was decided he wouldn't play. He returned Week 8 against the Columbus Destroyers, but left the game with an injury. He briefly returned against the Dallas Desperados, but left the game with a concussion.

Interesting Facts

Tony Graziani is related to Rodolfo Graziani, an Italian military officer who led expeditions in Africa before and during World War II.

In 2006, he was the highest paid Arena Football League player. He signed a 3-year contract with the Philadelphia Soul for about $160,000 per season. NFL rookies receive a minimum salary of $235,000 for the 2007 season.

During the AFL offseason, Graziani works as an analyst on the Sports USA Radio Network.