Michael Jackson (wide receiver)


Michael Dywane Jackson Dyson was an American professional American football wide receiver and politician.
Jackson was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He played college football at The University of Southern Mississippi. Jackson played in eight seasons in the National Football League, from 1991 to 1998, for the Browns and the Baltimore Ravens. Jackson signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks to play the 1999 season, but was cut at the end of the preseason.

Career

In college, Dyson was teammates with quarterback Brett Favre during the 1989 and 1990 seasons.
He was an immediate contributor for the Cleveland Browns under then head coach Bill Belichick with 3 seasons over 40 catches, 710 yards, and 7 TD. He had a then career-best season in 1993 when he hauled in 41 catches for 756 yards with 8 TD.
In 1993, Jackson changed his name to Dyson. Although, his legal last name was always Dyson, he was partial to using Jackson. He changed his name, when the NFL regulated numbers for positions and forced him to lose number 1 for number 81. After the first week of the season, he changed his name back to Jackson.
In 1996, Jackson was tied with San Diego Chargers wide receiver Tony Martin for most receiving touchdowns in the NFL with 14. He also had career highs with 76 catches and 1,201 yards.
Jackson was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He served as mayor of his hometown, Tangipahoa, Louisiana, from 2009 through 2012.

Death

Jackson was killed in a motorcycle accident in the early morning hours of May 12, 2017. He was riding his motorcycle at high speed on US 51 in Tangipahoa, Louisiana when he struck the driver side of a vehicle that was backing out of a driveway. The high impact of the collision also killed the driver of the other vehicle, who was a 20-year-old woman by the name of Destiny Alexus Gordon.