Kony Ealy

Ealy with the Carolina Panthers in 2014

On May 29, 2014, Ealy signed a four-year $3.55 million deal.[14] Per Pro Football Focus, Ealy was one of the highest-graded run defenders of the NFL in the preseason.[15] He made his NFL debut performance in week 2 when the Panthers defeated the Detroit Lions in a 24–7 victory.[16] In their week 8 matchup against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, Ealy had his best game of the season with two solo tackles and the first sack of his NFL career against Russell Wilson.[17] In their week 14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ealy recorded his 2nd career NFL sack against Josh McCown. Ealy followed this up with another sack of Brian Hoyer during the Panthers week 15 win over the Cleveland Browns, beating Joe Thomas.[18] On December 23, 2014, Ealy was named to Sports Illustrated All-Rookie Team.[19] During the final game of the season, Ealy recorded a sack on Atlanta quarterback, Matt Ryan, recording a sack in each of the final three games of his rookie season. Over the final four games of the season, Ealy also recorded nine QB pressures to double his total over any other four game segment of his rookie season.[20] Ealy finished his rookie season with 12 tackles, 4 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. He was named to the Sports Illustrated All-Rookie Team of 2014.

Ealy's development continued through the 2015 preseason where he recorded 2 sacks and was named a full-time starter opposite to Charles Johnson.[21] During the Panthers Week 2 victory over the Houston Texans, Ealy recorded his first quarterback pressure of the year.[22] During the Panthers week 4 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ealy recorded a career-high five tackles, 1 TFL, and a QB hit.[23] During the Panthers victory over the Indianapolis Colts during week 7, Ealy recorded his first strip sack of the season against quarterback Andrew Luck.[24] During the Panthers 37–29 victory over the Green Bay Packers that helped the Panthers move to 8–0 in the first time in franchise history, Ealy recorded a strip sack for the second consecutive week against quarterback Aaron Rodgers.[25] Ealy managed 10 quarterback pressures through six games, but recorded six over the last two games.[26] The following week, Ealy picked up a sack in his third straight game against Marcus Mariota during the Panthers 27–10 victory over the Tennessee Titans.[27] The next week, during the Panthers 44–16 victory over the Washington Redskins to move them to 10–0, Ealy had his fourth straight game with a sack of quarterback Kirk Cousins and on the same play, recorded a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.[28] During the Panthers 33–14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, Ealy recorded a sack in his 5th straight game.[29] During Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos, Ealy tied the Super Bowl record and set the Panthers' postseason record with three sacks, accomplishing this in only 23 total snaps. In addition, he recorded an interception and forced fumble in the game.[30] The Panthers lost the Super Bowl by a score of 24–10.[31] Ealy became the first player in Super Bowl history to have an interception and multiple sacks. He was the first player since 1993 to record multiple sacks, an interception and a forced fumble in a postseason game.[32] He tied both Reggie White and Darnell Dockett for the most sacks in a Super Bowl with three.

In 2016, Ealy played all 16 games, but only started six. He recorded 32 tackles, five sacks, and one interception.

On March 10, 2017, Ealy was traded to the New England Patriots along with a third-round draft pick in the 2017 NFL Draft in exchange for New England's 2017 second-round draft pick.[33][34][35] On August 26, 2017, Ealy was waived by the team.[36][37]

On August 27, 2017, Ealy was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets.[38] In the Week 4 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, he recorded his second interception after batting down a pass from quarterback Blake Bortles.[39]

On April 5, 2018, he signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, who coveted him as a player since the 2014 NFL Draft.[40] He could never distinguish himself in preseason, even after being tried at defensive tackle. He was released on September 1.[41]

On November 5, 2018, Ealy was signed by the Oakland Raiders.[42] He was released on November 13.[43] He was signed on December 5.[44] He wasn't re-signed after the season.

In October 2019, Ealy was picked by the Houston Roughnecks during the open phase of the 2020 XFL Draft.[45] In March, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season.[46] Playing in all 5 games, he had 9 tackles (2 for loss) and half a sack.[47] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[48]

On February 22, 2021, Ealy signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.[49] In the following year, he was released with the final training camp cuts on June 5, 2022.[50]

On June 15, 2022, Ealy signed with the Vegas Knight Hawks of the Indoor Football League (IFL).[51]

On July 21, 2022, Ealy signed with the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[52]