Jim Carter Kleinsasser(ˈklaɪnsɑːsər; born January 31, 1977) is an 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...

 player who currently plays fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

, H-back

H-back

An H-Back is an offensive position in American football, and is also known as power back. The position is a hybrid of a fullback and a tight end. The position was made notable in the NFL by the Washington Redskins under head coach Joe Gibbs who ran a two tight end system...

, and tight end

Tight end

The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...

 for the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

 of the National Football League

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...

. Sometimes referred to as Jim Clank Clank.

High school

Jim Kleinsasser attended Carrington High School in Carrington, North Dakota and was a letterman and a standout in football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, and track & field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

. In football, he was a two time All-Region honoree and All-State honoree, and was twice named the Gatorade

Gatorade

Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...

 Circle of Champions North Dakota Player of the Year. At Carrington High School, Kleinsasser was a starter on the 1995 Class B State Championship basketball team

North Dakota High School Activities Association

The North Dakota High School Activities Association is the governing body for North Dakota high school athletics and fine arts. In many athletics, the state's teams are divided into Class A and Class B . One exception to this is football, which is divided into four divisions: AAA, AA, A, and 9-man...

. In track he has the N.D. Class B State Track and Field Meet records for shot and discus.

College

Kleinsasser attended the University of North Dakota and played for the University of North Dakota

University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...

 Fighting Sioux football team

North Dakota Fighting Sioux

The North Dakota Fighting Sioux are the athletic teams of the University of North Dakota , which is located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota, in the United States. The logo is a Native American figure. The logo was designed by Bennett Brien, a local artist and UND graduate of Ojibwa...

.

Minnesota Vikings

Kleinsasser was drafted as a tight end in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft

1999 NFL Draft

The 1999 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17-18, 1999...

, and is used mostly for run blocking. He has shown remarkable durability throughout his career, playing in all 16 games up to 2010, except for missing 15 games because of injury in 2004.

On February 27, 2009, the Minnesota Vikings signed TE Kleinsasser to a 3-year deal worth $9 million, $3 million per year.

Other

Jim was mentioned in the movie 50 First Dates

50 First Dates

50 First Dates is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Segal and written by George Wing. The film stars Adam Sandler as a woman-chasing veterinarian and Drew Barrymore as an amnesiac, along with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, and Dan Aykroyd.Most of the film...

when Sean Astin's character is watching a football game being played on television.