Watch CBS News

The 'Butt Army': Broncos Jake Butt Encourages Fans To Wear Jerseys That Bear His Name

BALTIMORE (AP/CBS4) - Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt's family learned long ago to have fun with their last name.

Jake Butt
(credit: Evan Semón/CBS4)

His father, Rob, wore a Broncos jersey with the name "Head Butt" stitched across the back in Denver when his son made his NFL debut with two catches for 29 yards in the Broncos' win over Seattle.

Jake Butt (5)
(credit: CBS)

Jake Butt, who sat out his rookie season after tearing up his right knee in his final game for Michigan, remembers asking his dad if he could change his name when he was younger.

Jake Butt (1)
(credit: CBS)

"Shoot, I remember in kindergarten I would get terrorized, and that's like when you take everything personally," Butt says. "I hated the first-day-of-class roll call, because they'd always call out 'Butt.' I'd just get beet red and I'd come home to my dad and tell him that I wanted to change my last name.

"He'd laugh and tell me, 'You're going to have fun with this someday.' So, here we are. We're having a lot of fun with it."

Jake Butt (3)
(credit: CBS)

Jake Butt didn't have to wait for adulthood for the teasing to stop.

"I was getting bigger than everybody, so I could just laugh at them, probably like seventh, eighth grade," he said.

He now stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 250 pounds, but would get heckled for his last name on the road in the Big Ten, too.

Jake Butt (2)
(credit: CBS)

"Yeah, some Iowa fans got creative, like, 'Haha. Your last name's Butt.' I'm like, 'Man, that's not that creative. You've got to do better than that," Butt said. "Yeah, even away fans, they kind of have fun with it."

Butt is now encouraging Broncos fans to get custom embroidered jerseys bearing his last name.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.