Editing Merlin Olsen (section)

== Professional football career ==
After college, Olsen had offers from both the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League and the [[Denver Broncos]] of the rival [[American Football League]]. He chose the security of the NFL and signed with the Rams. Olsen's first contract was for around $50,000 for two years, plus a signing bonus. It was [[1962 NFL season|1962]], and the average football player salary at the time was around $12,000 a year. He was the first USU Aggie to be drafted in the 1st round of the [[NFL draft]].<ref name="Utah State University Media Guide"/>

Olsen played professionally ([[1962 Los Angeles Rams season|1962]]–[[1976 Los Angeles Rams season|1976]]) for the [[Los Angeles Rams]] of the National Football League.  A leading defensive star of his era, he missed only two games in his 15-season NFL career. He was named the NFL's Rookie of the Year in 1962 and was First-team [[All-Pro]] in 1964, and 1966 through 1970. He was voted Second-team All-Pro in 1965, 1973 and 1974.<ref name="2008 St. Louis Rams Media Guide">2008 St. Louis Rams Media Guide</ref>

Olsen almost ended up on [[offense (sports)|offense]], but was later moved to the [[defensive line]] after a few experiments in practice. Soon he became part of one of the best front fours in NFL history. [[Deacon Jones]], [[Rosey Grier]], and [[Lamar Lundy]] joined Olsen on the defensive line in [[1963 Los Angeles Rams season|1963]] that was nicknamed "The [[Fearsome Foursome (football)|Fearsome Foursome]]".<ref name="2008 St. Louis Rams Media Guide"/> He was named the [[Associated Press|AP]] NFL Defensive Player of the Week for week 12 in 1965. Olsen scored his first touchdown in that game. As Jones was the face of the Fearsome Foursome, offensive linemen often double- or triple-teamed him, leaving Olsen one on one with a clear path to the ball carrier.

Throughout the 1960s, this quartet terrorized opposing offenses. Olsen's play helped the Rams to the playoffs in [[1967 Los Angeles Rams season|1967]] and [[1969 Los Angeles Rams season|1969]]. He was voted the club's Outstanding Defensive Lineman from 1967 to 1970 by the Los Angeles Rams Alumni. In week 14, 1967, Olsen and the rest of the Fearsome Foursome were named the AP NFL Defensive Players of the Week for their performance against the Baltimore Colts. In the 1970s, Olsen continued his dominant play at defensive tackle and his 11 [[Quarterback sack|sacks]] in [[1972 Los Angeles Rams season|1972]] were second on the team. After week 8 in 1972, Olsen was named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in his career.<ref name="2008 St. Louis Rams Media Guide"/>

The Rams won the [[NFC West]] crown in [[1973 Los Angeles Rams season|1973]] through [[1976 Los Angeles Rams season|1976]] thanks in part to the play of Olsen. They ranked first in the NFL in run defense in 1973 and 1974 and finished second in sacking opposing passers both years. In 1973 Olsen was voted the [[National Football League Players Association|NFLPA]] NFC Defensive Lineman of the Year and the next season, 1974, he was the recipient of [[Bert Bell Award]] as the NFL MVP as voted by the [[Maxwell Club]]. Olsen accepted the award "on behalf of all who toil in the NFL trenches".

Merlin and two of his brothers, [[Phil Olsen (American football)|Phil]] and [[Orrin Olsen|Orrin]], played in the NFL; Merlin and Phil playing together for the Rams from 1971 to 1974. Their nephew Hans, son of their brother Clark, also played professional football.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/O/OlseHa20.htm | title=Hans Olsen Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College | website=[[Pro-Football-Reference.com]] }}</ref> In 1975 and 1976, the Rams defense finished second in the NFL against the run while ranking in the top five in sacking opposing quarterbacks and compiling a 22-5-1 record over those two seasons.

Olsen's last game was the [[List of NFC Championship Game winners|NFC Championship game]] in [[1976 NFL season|1976]] at [[Bloomington, Minnesota]]. The [[Minnesota Vikings|Vikings]] took advantage on a freak play early in the game. A blocked [[field goal (football)|field goal]] returned 90 yards for a [[touchdown]] shocked the Rams in the first quarter. The defense was later victimized by a couple of big plays by the Vikings. The Rams came up short, losing 24–13, bringing the storied career of the Rams' finest defensive tackle to an end.

Olsen made the [[Pro Bowl]] a then-record 14 times, missing it only in his final year. He was inducted into the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] in 1982 in his first year of eligibility; he selected his college position coach [[Tony Knap]] as his presenter.<ref>[http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?PlayerId=168&tab=Speech profootballhof.com] - Merlin Olsen - enshrinement speech - 1982 - accessed 2012-03-25</ref> In [[1999 in sports|1999]], Olsen was ranked 25th on ''[[The Sporting News]]''' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://tsn.sportingnews.com/nfl/100/list-complete.html| title=NFL News, Scores, Schedule & Standings - Pro Football| journal=[[Sporting News]]| access-date=2010-03-13| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309062226/http://tsn.sportingnews.com/nfl/100/list-complete.html| archive-date=2010-03-09| url-status=dead}}</ref>