Nate Solder

On March 15, 2018, Solder signed a four-year, $62 million contract with the New York Giants with $35 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the league at the time. He was named the Giants starting left tackle in 2018, starting all 16 games. However, Solder missed the playoffs for the first time in his 7-year career, as the Giants finished 5-11.

On February 5, 2017, Solder was part of the Patriots team that won Super Bowl LI. In the game, the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime. The Patriots trailed 28–3 in the third quarter, but rallied all the way back to win the game, which featured the first overtime game in Super Bowl history and the largest comeback in the Super Bowl.

Solder came back in 2016 after the injury the previous season and started 15 regular-season games at left tackle for the Patriots. Solder helped the Patriots reach Super Bowl LI.

In April 2015, Solder revealed that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer after his annual team physical. Doctors removed the affected testicle, and, after missing a few weeks of offseason activities, Solder went on to start every game for the Patriots in the 2014 season. He is one of two Patriots linemen to have battled cancer: fellow 2011 Patriots draftee Marcus Cannon was diagnosed with lymphoma prior to his being drafted.

After the 2013 season, the Patriots exercised their fifth-year option on Solder. On September 9, 2015, the Patriots gave Solder a two-year extension, through the 2017 season adding about $20 million in new money, A clause in the extension prohibited the Patriots from using the franchise tag on Solder in 2018. Before the 2015 season, Solder was voted a captain by his teammates for the first time in his career.

In 2012, after Light's retirement, Solder became the Patriots' starting left tackle. He started every game of the season, and played 1,234 snaps on offense, the highest of any offensive player in the NFL. Counting special teams, he played 1,333 snaps, second only to fellow Patriots lineman Ryan Wendell.

The New England Patriots made Solder the second offensive tackle chosen in the 2011 NFL Draft (after Tyron Smith) when they drafted him 17th overall, with the pick they received from the Oakland Raiders in a 2009 trade for Richard Seymour. Solder had a private workout with Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia just a few days before the draft.

Solder signed a contract on August 4, 2011; per the new CBA, it was a four-year deal worth $8.54 million including a $4.7 million signing bonus. Solder played his first regular season game against the Miami Dolphins on September 12, 2011; he allowed just one sack against Pro Bowler Cameron Wake.

At the end of the 2011 season, Solder and the Patriots appeared in Super Bowl XLVI. He started the game, but the Patriots once again lost to the New York Giants, this time by a score of 21–17.

Solder was one of three finalists for the 2010 Outland Trophy, along with Gabe Carimi and Rodney Hudson; Carimi won. Jon Gruden of ESPN said that Solder "has a huge upside. But remember he's a converted tight end and a work in progress."

Following Christmas 2009, he traveled to Guatemala and volunteered at an orphanage; as a sophomore, he went to Italy during the summer to help rebuild a town after it suffered many collapses from an earthquake. At CU, he regularly participated in the "Read with the Buffs" and "Buffalo Hugs" programs.

In the Spring 2006, Solder signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Colorado, where he played for the Colorado Buffaloes football team from 2006 to 2010. Recruited as a tight end, Solder red-shirted in 2006. In 2007, he played at tight end, catching three passes for 50 yards. As a red-shirt sophomore, Solder was asked to bulk up and shift from tight end to tackle: he quickly won a spot in the starting offensive line, a position he would keep for the rest of his Colorado career, starting every game over the next three seasons. In his junior season: he again started every game, and was named a fourth-team All-American by College Football Insiders. Solder came to Colorado as a redshirt freshman in 2006 as a 6'7", 230-pound tight end; by 2009, he was listed as 6'9", 305 pounds.

Solder started all 16 regular-season games at left tackle for the Patriots. The Patriots reached Super Bowl LII, but failed to repeat as Super Bowl Champions for the first time since 2004 after falling to the Philadelphia Eagles 41-33, in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX.

Nathaniel Perry "Nate" Solder (born April 12, 1988) is an American football offensive tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Colorado, and was recognized as an All-American. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft and won two Super Bowls as a member of the team.