Manti Malietau Louis Te’o is a linebacker in the National Football League. Te’o was a consensus All-American at Notre Dame and won eight national accolades during his time there. The San Diego Chargers selected him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Te’o signed a four-year contract with the Chargers on May 10, 2013. The deal was for little over $5 million and featured a $2,141,768 signing bonus, as well as over $3.1 million in guaranteed money. After Junior Seau, he is the Chargers’ second linebacker of Polynesian ancestry.

Te’o is recognised as one of the most highly recruited athletes in the state of Hawaii’s history, both in football and in any sport. He was rated as one of the top prospects of the class of 2009. Rivals.com rated him as a five-star recruit, the first from Hawaii since Jonathan Mapu in 2002, and ranked him second only to Vontaze Burfict among inside linebackers. Te’o was also a five-star recruit according to Scout.com, who regarded him as the best strongside linebacker in his class. Te’o committed to the University of Notre Dame on National Signing Day in 2009. Over Brigham Young and Southern California, he chose the Fighting Irish, who were then coached by Charlie Weis. Since Kory Minor in 1995, Te’o was the first USA Today Defensive Player of the Year to commit to the Irish. After four seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Te’o left the team in 2017 and has gone on to play for the New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears. He keeps up with his fans on Instagram, where he boasts over 80,000 followers.