Now in his sixteenth seasons in the NFL, Larry Fitzgerald has proven that he is one of the most consistent and dependable wideouts to ever hit the field. Surprisingly, Fitzgerald did not fit the requirements to play football at the collegiate level as a freshman. However, Fitzgerald eventually made his way to the University of Pittsburgh where we would play two seasons of football in 2002 and 2003. In his final season with the team, Fitzgerald led the Big East in receptions with 92 and 1,672 yards and led the NCAA in touchdowns with 22 in a single season. In just two seasons, Fitzgerald set a school record with 34 touchdown receptions.
After being voted All-American at Pitt, Fitzgerald was drafted 3rd overall in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals where he's played his entire NFL career. The 11x Pro Bowler has led the NFL in touchdowns two times (2008, 2009) and receptions twice (2005, 2016). Fitzgerald's initial rookie contract landed him $55.4 million for five years of commitment and his 2011, seven-year extension with the Cardinals made him $113 million. Since 2016, Fitzgerald has renegotiated his contracts for one-year deals worth $11 million. If he continues to stay healthy and productive, he can continue to milk the system until the day he decides to hang his cleat up for good.
When we think of inventors, the image that comes to mind is usually that of a frazzled scientist toiling away in a lab, not celebrities pulled from the pages of Us Weekly. However, a number of well-known public figures hold patents for various innovations. Some are related to the work that made them famous, while others are offshoots of hobbies or just a single great idea.
Part of guitar wizard Eddie Van Halen's signature sound was his two-handed tapping technique, but letting all ten fingers fly while simultaneously holding up the guitar's neck could get a bit tricky. Van Halen came up with a novel way to get around this problem, though; he invented a support (top) that could flip out of the back of his axe's body to raise and stabilize the fretboard so he could tap out searing songs like "Eruption." While Van Halen was obviously interested in improving his guitar work, the patent application he filed in 1985 notes that the device would work with any stringed instrument. Want to tap out a scorching mandolin solo? Find someone selling Eddie's device.
It’s probably not surprising that James Cameron—who designed a submersible to take him to the deepest known part of the ocean—will often invent technology to make his films if what he needs doesn’t exist. He holds a number of patents, including US Patent No. 4996938, “apparatus for propelling a user in an underwater environment,” that he and his brother, Michael, created to film The Abyss and patented in 1989. The device is basically an underwater dolly equipped with propellers that makes it easy for a camera operator to maneuver in the water—and allowed Cameron to capture the shots he wanted for the 1989 film, part of which was filmed in an abandoned nuclear reactor.
In 1987 Jamie Lee Curtis designed and patented a disposable diaper that included a waterproof pocket that held baby wipes. She hasn't profited from her idea yet, though, since she refuses to license the patent until diaper companies make biodegradable products.
You know him as a rock legend, but Neil Young also loves trains—so much that he owns a stake in a model train manufacturing company and has an extensive collection. He also holds seven patents related to model trains, including Patent No. US5441223, "Model train controller using electromagnetic field between track and ground."