Luke Gifford was born on August 28, 1995, he is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He wears the number 43 jersey number. He played college football at the University of Nebraska.
Gifford attended Lincoln Southeast High School, where he was a two-way player as a tight end and safety. As a sophomore, he contributed to the team winning the 2011 state championship. As a junior, he received second-team All-Nebraska honors. As a senior, he was named the starting quarterback.
He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Nebraska with the intention of playing safety but was converted into a linebacker.
As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in 6 games, tallying 7 tackles (one for loss) before suffering a season-ending hip injury. As a sophomore, he appeared in 4 contests as a backup, making only one assisted tackle.
Gifford was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent after the 2019 NFL Draft on April 30. He suffered a left high ankle sprain in the first preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, after making one interception, one tackle, and one pass breakup. Even though he was injured, the Cowboys protected his player rights by keeping him on the regular season roster.
In 2020, he appeared in 8 games, playing mostly on special teams. He was declared inactive for the season opener with a hamstring strain. On November 24, he has suspended two games by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, forcing him to sit in Week 12 and Week 13.
Although he was reinstated from suspension on December 9, the club opted to declare him inactive for 2 additional games. He finished second on the team with 7 special teams tackles. On March 21, 2022, Gifford re-signed with the Cowboys on a one-year contract.