Byron Paul Franklin is a former professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

 in the NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 for the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Auburn University

Auburn University

Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

. A native of Sheffield, Alabama, Franklin starred in football at Auburn from 1976–1980 and received a B.S. in vocational and distributive education in 1991. His professional football career lasted from 1981 to 1987. He served as assistant director of athletic development at AU from 1991-93. Appointed to the AU Board of Trustees by Gov. Don Siegelman, Franklin now represents the 9th District for a term that expires on April 21, 2011. He currently chairs the university Student Affairs committee. Franklin was licensed to minister in 1998, and is the pastor of the Living Word Church in Livingston, Alabama. He is the director of special marketing and public relations for Birmingham-based Buffalo Rock Co., vice president of B.B.C. Foods, and co-owner of Buffalo Connection restaurant in Auburn. Franklin is a husband and the father of four children.