Mark E. May is an American former professional football player who was a guard for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. May played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers and earned unanimous All-American honors. He was selected in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft         and played professionally for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, and Arizona Cardinals. May became involved in broadcasting following his retirement from the NFL in 1993. Most notably, he was employed by ESPN between 2001 and 2017.

At Oneonta High School in his hometown of Oneonta, New York, May lettered in four sports and was named 1st team All STAC as a junior and senior in basketball, football, track & field, and wrestling. May was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in October 2007. May attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he played for the Pittsburgh Panthers football team from 1977 to 1980. As a senior in 1980, he was a unanimous first-team All-American and received the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate interior lineman. He earned the nickname “May Day” for “wreaking havoc on the opposing defensive ends. The university retired May’s jersey number (73) in 2001 was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005, becoming the 23rd Pitt player or coach to earn the honor. He was also named an ACC Legend in 2018.

The Washington Redskins drafted May with the 20th pick of the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, and he played guard for the Redskins from 1981 to 1990 under Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibbs. He was a member of the famed “Hogs” offensive line, which was instrumental in the Redskins’ victories in Super Bowl XVII and XXII. He was named one of the 70 greatest Redskins of all time and started 115 games for the Redskins. May returned to Washington and was the first Redskin to Sign a one-day contract to retire as a Washington Redskin

After football, May jumped into sports broadcasting in 1994, returning to his alma mater. May joined commentator Bill Hillgrove as the color analyst for Panthers broadcasts. From 1995 until 2001, May was a studio and game analyst for NFL contests, serving stints on TNT for Sunday Night Football and CBS Sports as a game analyst. He returned to calling college games in 2001, joining Lou Holtz on ESPN, making appearances on the College Football Scoreboard and College Football Final shows.

In 2001, May joined ESPN as a football analyst and commentator on college football. Along with Lou Holtz, he was a regular on the popular College Football Scoreboard and College Football Final as well as appearing on pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage during the season, and on College Football Live in the off-season, and offering analysis on ESPN2 and ESPNews.

May ventured into other endeavors while playing football that resulted in business success. In 1983, he co-wrote Mark May’s Hog Cookbook which features recipes like “Hog Balls” (a mixture of pork sausage and cheddar cheese) and “Aunt Jeannette’s Sweet Potato Pie.” The last entry is for “Hog Quiche” (which reads, simply, “Hogs don’t eat quiche”). In 2005, he co-wrote with author and close friend Dan O’Brien Mark May’s Tales from the Washington Redskins, a book detailing his experiences with the Washington Redskins.

For three years during the offseason, May took classes and sold cars at a Ford dealership.  He is now the owner-operator of Mark May Montross Auto Park and Salisbury Ford Mercury along with Angry Crab Shack Restaurants in AZ and NV. May also hosts the Mark May Celebrity Charity Event in Oneonta, NY.  For the past two-plus decades the event supported Hospice and the YMCA. Currently, the event is hosted to benefit Oneonta Boys and Girls Club.

May currently hosts a one-hour show on ABC Phoenix, Saturday Night covering college football, Sunday and Monday covering NFL and the Arizona Cardinals. May brings his talents to radio programs on Radio Little Rock, in Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC.  He is an in-demand motivational speaker and father of two daughters, Abra and Bryce.