Dallas Neil is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 punter and tight end

Tight end

The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...

 for the Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He went to college at the University of Montana where he played with the Montana Grizzlies football

Montana Grizzlies football

The Montana Grizzlies football program represents the University of Montana in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision of college football. The Grizzlies have competed in the Big Sky Conference, where it is a founding member, since 1963...

 team as both a tight end and punter. He completed his master's degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 in May 2000, and founded a business, Kinetic Sports Interactive. He is the only known NFL Player to have played while also holding a masters degree from an accredited college.

After going undrafted in the 2000 NFL Draft

2000 NFL Draft

The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15–16, 2000...

, Neil was signed by the Atlanta Falcons. He played 6 games behind Dan Stryzinski

Dan Stryzinski

Daniel Thomas Stryzinski is a former American football punter who played fourteen seasons in the National Football League. He played in Super Bowl XXXIII as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Originally from Vincennes Indiana, Dan has called Atlanta his home for the last 15 years. Dan has a Finance...

 at punter, and dealt with injury problems for some of the season. In 2001 he was released and then signed to the Falcons practice squad. He was then re-signed to the regular roster on January 10, 2002. However, in a pre-season game Neil injured his ankle and was placed on Injured Reserve

Injured reserve

The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...

 on August 27, 2002. In 2003 Neil became a free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

before signing with the New York Jets. He was waived in early 2004, ending his NFL career.