Life

Fullback. Duluth native. Ten seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. C.J. Ham's road to the NFL was anything but typical: a Division II running back who went undrafted, switched positions, and became a two-time Pro Bowl fullback and four-time team captain. Here is how he got there.

1. 1993–2011

   Upbringing

   C.J. is born on July 22, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois, and grows up in Duluth, Minnesota, the city he still calls home. From age five through eighteen he is a regular at his local Boys & Girls Club, a steady second home while his parents work long hours and the place he credits with investing in him and opening doors. The lesson sticks. Years later he is still there, encouraging, inspiring, and connecting with the next generation of Duluth kids.

   He grows into a multi-sport standout at Duluth Denfeld. A Denfeld coach who played alongside him recalls a consistent worker, a good person, and a family man, the reputation that would follow C.J. all the way to the NFL.

2. 2011–2015

   Augustana University

   C.J. plays his college football at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He is voted a team captain and, as a senior in 2015, rushes for 1,097 yards and 16 touchdowns, leads the NSIC in rushing, and ties the school’s single-season rushing-touchdown record, closing his career with roughly 2,662 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. He earns All-NSIC and Academic All-NSIC honors and wins the NSIC’s Glen Galligan Award, given to the senior who best combines achievement, character, and leadership, while helping Augustana reach its first NCAA Division II playoff since 2010.

   He is just as dominant in track and field. A four-year letterwinner, C.J. becomes the NSIC champion in the weight throw, earns All-NSIC honors in the shot put, and sets what were then Augustana school records in both the indoor weight throw and the outdoor hammer throw.

3. 2016–2026

   Minnesota Vikings

   Undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft, C.J. earns a tryout at Vikings rookie minicamp and signs with Minnesota as a free agent. In 2017, he converts from running back to fullback and develops into one of the best at the position: a two-time Pro Bowler and a four-time team captain whose teammates lean on him through changing coaches and rosters.

   Through it all, he is known as much for how he carries himself as for any accolade. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has called him “the hallmark of consistency,” a man who treats everyone the same and does whatever is asked. “Being a good teammate is something that I value more than any personal accolade I can get,” C.J. has said. In 2024 and 2025 his teammates name him the Vikings’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, the league’s highest honor for excellence on the field and impact in the community.

   In early 2026 C.J. retires after ten seasons, all with the Minnesota Vikings, a rare one-team career, closing it out with a touchdown in a Week 18 win over the Green Bay Packers. He retires respected as a player who did everything the right way.