Solomon Thomas

Solomon Thomas Speaker Biography

Solomon Thomas is a Defensive End for the Las Vegas Raiders of the NFL. He played college football at Stanford University, and was drafted by the 49ers with the third overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

One of Thomas’ career touchdowns at Stanford came at Levi’s Stadium, returning a fumble recovery 34 yards for the victory over USC in the 2015 Pac-12 Championship Game. In recognition of his successful 2015 season, he was named as an honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection. As a junior, Thomas was named first team All-Pac-12 and earned the Morris Trophy, a prestigious honor voted on by opposing Pac-12 offensive linemen. Following the 2016 season, Thomas declared his intentions to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

Coming out of Stanford, Thomas was projected to be a first round pick by the majority of analysts and scouts. He was ranked the second best defensive end in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated. Thomas was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round.

In January 2018, Thomas’ sister died by suicide, and it became one of the most impactful moments of his life. As Thomas learned more about the stigma that can be associated with mental health and suicide, he discovered an outlet to turn the family's tragedy into something more meaningful. He now speaks about the loss as openly as possible, and each year, walks to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Thomas wants to slice through the stigma that goes with discussing mental health and suicide, especially in the case of young men and even more so among male athletes participating in sports, where any sign of vulnerability has long been considered a sign of weakness.