Akbar Gbaja Biamila

Akbar Gbajabiamila was born on May 6, 1979, in Los Angeles, California, to Nigerian immigrant parents. He grew up in the Crenshaw district and attended Crenshaw High School, where he achieved success in both basketball and football. He earned all-league and all-conference honors in football during his senior year, recording 11 sacks and 74 tackles. Gbajabiamila then attended San Diego State University, graduating with a degree in communication and new media studies. He also completed a certified entrepreneurship program at the Wharton School of Business in 2005. During his college life, he was an all-Mountain West Conference player in 2002 and joined ‘Athletes For Education’, an outreach group that focused on developing life skills in young people.

Gbajabiamila’s professional football career began in 2003 when he signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent. He played in 13 games during his rookie season, recording seven tackles and one sack. In 2004, he appeared in 14 games, accumulating a career-high 14 tackles and another sack. After being released by the Raiders in 2005 due to injuries, he signed with the San Diego Chargers in 2006. In 2007, he moved to the Miami Dolphins, but was released after one game. He had a brief second stint with the Oakland Raiders in 2008 but did not appear in any games before his retirement.

Following his NFL career, Gbajabiamila transitioned into television. In 2005, he participated in the NFL’s Broadcast Boot Camp. He co-hosted ‘Football Night in San Diego’ from 2006 to 2008. In 2010, he appeared on the ABC adventure series ‘Expedition Impossible.’ Gbajabiamila joined the NFL Network in 2012 as part of the ‘NFL Fantasy Live’ cast. In 2013, he became a color commentator for ‘American Ninja Warrior’ on NBC, a role he continues today, alongside hosting its spin-offs ‘Team Ninja Warrior’ and ‘American Ninja Warrior Junior.’ He also served as a co-host for ‘The Talk’ on CBS from 2021 to 2024. He has made acting appearances in ‘Sylvie’s Love’ (2020), ‘The Night Shift’ (2017), ‘The Sac Fly’ (2015), ‘StoryBots: Answer Time’ (2023), and ‘The Neighborhood’ (2023). Gbajabiamila is an author, having released ‘Everyone Can Be a Ninja’ in 2019, and is actively involved in philanthropic work, serving on the boards of the Asomugha Foundation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.