Robert Spillane

Western Michigan and the 2016 Cotton Bowl Season

Spillane played linebacker at Western Michigan from 2014 to 2017. He started 40 games there and finished with 312 tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, four interceptions, and five pass breakups. The 2016 Broncos won the Mid-American Conference and played in the Cotton Bowl. He was named Second Team All-MAC as a junior and again as a senior, when he made 88 tackles and returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown against Kent State.

One Rep in Three Days

He expected to hear his name in the 2018 draft. "I thought I was going to be a drafted player," he told Raiders.com years later. "Then the draft comes, it goes by, and I get no calls." The Minnesota Vikings invited him to rookie minicamp, and the camp went badly for him: "Those three days go by, and I got one rep in three days during rookie minicamp."

The Tennessee Titans gave him a tryout at their own three-day minicamp. He was one of five tryout players who earned a contract, and he signed as an undrafted free agent in May 2018. Western Michigan announced the signing on May 15. His head coach in Tennessee was Mike Vrabel.

The Titans cut him from the 53-man roster at the end of camp, kept him on the practice squad, and elevated him for two games, mostly on special teams. He was waived on October 29, 2018. He then spent five months living with his parents waiting for a call. "Football is all I've ever done and all I ever wanted to do," he said.

Pittsburgh, 2019 to 2022

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed him on February 8, 2019, as a street free agent. He worked first on special teams. In 2020 he started seven of the 12 games he played, with 45 tackles, two sacks, and an interception he returned 33 yards for a touchdown. He played 14 games in 2021 and made 56 tackles. Before the 2022 season the Steelers placed the restricted free agent tender on him, worth $2.433 million for one year, according to Pro Football Rumors.

Las Vegas and the Raiders Tackle Record

In March 2023 he signed a two-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. The reported value differs by outlet. Steelers Now, citing AtoZSports, put it at $9 million with $4 million guaranteed. Pro Football Rumors lists it at $7 million and does not state a guarantee. Neither source explains the gap.

He started all 34 games of his two seasons in Las Vegas. He made 148 tackles in 2023 and 158 in 2024, the second figure a Raiders team record, according to the Patriots' roster page. In 2024 he also recorded 14 quarterback pressures and two sacks and reached at least 10 tackles in eight games. He served as a team captain in both seasons.

His best-known Raiders moment came on November 12, 2023, when he intercepted Jets quarterback Zach Wilson to seal a 16-12 win on Sunday Night Football. He used the postgame interview to announce that he was about to become a father, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Three Years, $37.5 Million in New England

When free agency opened in March 2025, Spillane joined the New England Patriots, now coached by Vrabel, his first head coach in the NFL. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported a three-year deal worth $37.5 million with $20.6 million guaranteed, and Pro Football Rumors gives the same figures, credited to Ian Rapoport, Fowler, and Vic Tafur of The Athletic. CBS Boston, citing Spotrac, reported three years and $33 million without a guarantee figure. ESPN counted his career at that point as 497 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and six interceptions in 86 games.

These contract figures are pay, not wealth. Taxes, agent fees, and the non-guaranteed share of the deal all stand between a reported contract value and what a player keeps, and no outlet we found has published an estimate of his net worth. FamousBio therefore does not give one.

Denver, the AFC Championship, and a Captaincy

In his first New England season he was a defensive captain, his third straight year as a captain counting the two in Las Vegas, and he led the team with 97 tackles in 13 games. The Patriots beat the Denver Broncos 10-7 in the AFC Championship Game on January 25, 2026. Spillane made one tackle in that game and left early with an ankle injury.

The Patriots' roster page credits him with 105 games, 69 starts, 633 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and eight interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. He wears number 14 and is listed at 6 feet 1 and 234 pounds. In an April 2026 Sports Illustrated feature on the team's captains he talked about fatherhood: "Those girls are my life."

Fourth-and-2 Against the Jets

The Patriots beat the Jets 26-19 at Gillette Stadium on October 18, 2026. In the second quarter the Jets went for it on fourth-and-2, and Spillane met running back Braelon Allen in the hole and held him to one yard, turning the ball over on downs. In the third quarter, with the Jets in the red zone, he and Milton Williams combined on a first-down tackle for loss, and Elijah Ponder's sack on the next play pushed the Jets back to a field goal. Yahoo Sports called the win "more gritty than pretty."

The undrafted rookie who got one rep at a Vikings camp had, by that afternoon, played more than 100 NFL games. His own summary of the lesson, given to Raiders.com: "When given the opportunity, you have to immediately show you're ready."

Sources

• Robert Spillane
• Fenwick football alum reaches Super Bowl
• Spillane Signs Free Agent Contract With Tennessee Titans
• The 8th Round: The journey from overlooked to acknowledged for three undrafted players
• Steelers All 90: Robert Spillane Provides Crucial Insurance at ILB
• Las Vegas Raiders to Sign Steelers ILB Robert Spillane
• Robert Spillane - Pro Football Rumors
• Robert Spillane shares he and his wife are expecting on Sunday Night Football | Raiders | Sports
• Sources: Patriots reach deals with Milton Williams, Carlton Davis - ESPN
• Patriots reportedly sign Robert Spillane, Carlton Davis to help on defense - CBS Boston
• Patriots Captains Leaned Into Fatherhood This Offseason
• Patriots vs. Jets recap: 26-19 win more gritty than pretty - Yahoo Sports
• Patriots 26-19 Jets (Oct 18, 2026) Final Score - ESPN