For Browns tight end David Njoku, chief is now more than a nickname — it's 'a great honor'

BEREA — David Njoku concedes he didn't really know how to react at first when the women of his family's Nigerian village bowed their heads to show him respect.

The undisputed No. 1 tight end of the Browns has been nicknamed “Chief” since he was a middle school student because people thought he resembled his father, Innocent Njoku Sr., who has long held a chieftaincy title.

Whenever Njoku scores touchdowns for the Browns, he leaps and flings the ball toward the ground, a popular celebration he dubbed “The Chief Slam.”

But chief is no longer merely a moniker for Njoku, who headlines a tight end group also occupied by primary backup Harrison Bryant.

On March 16, Njoku was formally named a chief, an honorary title granted in recognition of his humanitarian efforts.

“All my life, I've been always called 'Chief,'” Njoku, 26, told the Beacon Journal last week during Browns training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. “To have the actual title bestowed upon me, it was a great honor.

“I give God all the glory. I want Him to take all the credit because without Him, I would not be here.”

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By the way, Njoku has grown accustomed to others bowing their heads in his presence.

“After a while,” he said, “it became second nature that I welcomed them.”

Felix Kumah-Abiwu, the founding director of the Center for African Studies and an associate professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Kent State University, said Njoku's new title signals to villagers he is someone they should emulate.

“They are looking up to David for direction," Kumah-Abiwu, a native of Ghana who has followed Njoku's football career, said by phone. "So in essence, he's on the top of the social ladder in the community now. He has moved from being a commoner to a very distinguished circle of traditional leaders.”

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A first-generation American, Njoku is the seventh of Innocent Sr. and Stella's nine children. The two oldest children were born in Nigeria before their parents emigrated from the West African country in 1987.

Njoku, who grew up in New Jersey, had traveled to Nigeria a handful of times before the Browns traded up to draft him in the first round (No. 29 overall) out of the University of Miami in 2017. Since then, he has regularly visited his family's homeland and donated food, water and essentials. He also funded the construction of a borehole, which was completed early this year, to provide a source of fresh water.

The project contributed to Njoku becoming a chief, a process initiated upon his father's recommendation. Among the requisite steps were meetings between Njoku and His Royal Highness Eze Barr. Martins Uchegbu, the king of Umuozu Autonomous community, the village from which the Njoku family hails.

“To become an honorary chief, you must really achieve a lot," Kumah-Abiwu said. “The village has recognized his achievement and the elevation of his community, his family name, his country and Africa. The work that he's doing, supporting financially, building a borehole to supply water, that's a major achievement. David has really distinguished himself as a good citizen of his community.”

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Because of tradition, Njoku explained, he couldn't become a chief unless his older brother, Innocent Jr., held the title.

“So they inaugurated him as a chief, too,” Njoku said, adding his younger brothers, Evidence and Charles, became princes.

Osi Umenyiora, a former All-Pro defensive end and two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants, received a chieftaincy title about a decade ago when his late father, a king in the family's Nigerian village for 45 years, rewarded him for a long track record of philanthropic work.

“It's something that I'll never forget for the rest of my life,” Umenyiora, who was born in London and lived in Nigeria from the ages of 6-14, said during a phone interview.

“It's a very, very big deal, especially if you grow up in that area, you grow up in that environment, which we did. It's the highest title you can get other than being a king.”

Umenyiora said Njoku is the only other NFL player he knows of who is a chief, adding former defensive end Adewale Ogunleye is a Nigerian prince.

“There's nothing you can compare it to in America," said Umenyiora, who earlier this summer helped lead the NFL's first official events in Africa. The league held a talent identification camp, a flag football clinic and festivities for fans in Ghana. Umenyiora and Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah were among the players of past and present who made the trip.

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When someone becomes a chief, a glamorous, festive ceremony is conducted, Kumah-Abiwu said.

One of the houses owned by Njoku's father was chosen as the venue for the inauguration. The family knew it needed to use a property with enough land to accommodate a substantial crowd.

“There were roughly 15,000 people there, so when we walked out of the house, we walked around to each tribe, each village, and we shook the hands, we waved and everything,” Njoku said. “It was really presidential, and it was an awesome feeling.”

It proved to be an emotional experience for Njoku, one he considers a major life event, even for someone who owns a list of momentous occasions, such as being drafted five years ago, becoming a father in 2020 and signing a four-year contract extension worth a maximum of $56.75 million in May.

“It's definitely up there because not only was I inaugurated as a chief, but I also was able to give back to my community again and see all the happy faces,” he said. “The faces of hope was really what drove me the most.”

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Njoku revealed he aspires to start an agency to help talented Nigerians break through in sports, entertainment and other industries.

“This is just the start, I believe,” Njoku said. “I plan on doing much more for my home country.”

The favor was returned when a nickname turned into something much more significant.

“I was very appreciative of the love they gave back to me,” Njoku said.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Browns' David Njoku reflects on becoming a chief in Nigeria