"Coach Green gave me an opportunity of a lifetime to be around Cris Carter, Warren Moon, Joey Browner, Randy Moss, and Robert Smith.

[17] Fitzgerald did not meet NCAA requirements to play football as a freshman, so he spent a year at Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania.

[39] In the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl, Fitzgerald had five receptions for 77 yards against Virginia in the final game of his collegiate career, a 23–16 loss.

He was a unanimous All-American selection in 2003 and a runner-up for the prestigious Heisman Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in college football; Oklahoma's Jason White won the award that year with 1,481 total points to Fitzgerald's 1,353.

[44] In just 26 games in his collegiate career, Fitzgerald caught 161 passes for 2,677 yards[45] and set a new Pitt record with 34 receiving touchdowns.

[58] On December 19, against the St. Louis Rams, Fitzgerald became the youngest player at 21 years and 110 days, to record at least two touchdown receptions in a single game.

For the first time in his career, the Cardinals finished with a winning record at 9–7 and won the NFC West, giving Arizona their first home playoff game since 1947.

His three touchdown catches occurred in the first half; he became the first player in NFL history to accomplish that feat in a conference championship game.

[109][110] After the Pro Bowl was over, it was revealed that Fitzgerald had been playing at least the whole postseason with a broken left thumb as well as torn cartilage in the same hand.

[124] However, the Cardinals were eliminated the next week by the eventual Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans Saints by a score of 45–14 in the Divisional Round.

[126] Fitzgerald started the 2010 season recording a go-ahead 21-yard receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter against the St. Louis Rams in a 17–13 victory.

[132] On August 20, 2011, Fitzgerald signed an 8-year, $120 million contract with the Cardinals, tying him with Richard Seymour as the fifth highest paid player in the NFL at the time.

[169] In Week 2, in the 48–23 victory over Chicago Bears, Fitzgerald had 112 receiving yards and caught three touchdown passes, the first time he accomplished the feat during the regular season in his career.

[180][181] On January 16, 2016, Fitzgerald helped his quarterback Carson Palmer record his first playoff win with eight catches for a franchise-record 176 yards in the NFC Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers in a Week 16 rematch.

[198] With the retirements of Steve Smith and Anquan Boldin at the end of 2016, the 34-year-old Fitzgerald entered the 2017 season as the career leader in receptions and receiving yards among active players.

[199] In Week 3, on Monday Night Football, Fitzgerald had 149 receiving yards on 13 receptions, which tied his career high, and a touchdown in a 28–17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, his highest output in almost three years.

[201][202] The next week, he caught a 19-yard sudden death touchdown from Palmer with 0:31 left in overtime to defeat the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 18–15.

[205] In Week 13, against the Los Angeles Rams, Fitzgerald had 10 receptions, his fourth game in double digits, for 98 yards and his fifth touchdown in the 32–16 loss.

[213] Nursing a sore hamstring, he failed to reach 50 yards in any of his next six games, and did not record a touchdown reception until a Week 7 45–10 loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football.

[225] In Week 1 against the Detroit Lions, Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 113 yards and one touchdown from rookie quarterback Kyler Murray in the 27–27 tie.

[227] In a Week 4 27–10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, he passed Tony Gonzalez for second-most career receptions in NFL history.

[228] In the 12 games from Weeks 3 to 17, Fitzgerald averaged just 41.9 yards on 4.4 receptions for a total of three touchdowns, as Christian Kirk emerged in his second year.

[289] In 2016, Fitzgerald completed his undergraduate degree with the University of Phoenix, fulfilling a promise that he made to his mother to finish his education.

[293] Fitzgerald developed a friendship with Arizona politician John McCain, and spoke at the memorial service for the U.S. senator and Presidential candidate held in Phoenix on August 30, 2018.

[296] Prior to his retirement, Fitzgerald was the second active NFL player behind Aaron Rodgers to hold an ownership stake with a franchise in the NBA.

In 2018, he made history by becoming the first African American amateur to win the event, partnering with PGA Tour professional Kevin Streelman.

The organization offers support to causes that Fitzgerald's mother held dear, including educating urban youth about HIV/AIDS and breast cancer issues.

[320] In August 2012, he was honored with the 14th annual Pro Football Weekly Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian Award for his community and charitable contributions.

[320] Fitzgerald has made five USO tours to visit soldiers overseas and has raised financial support for injured and critically ill members of the U.S.

[324] In 2017, Fitzgerald received the Heritage Award from the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry due to his ongoing commitment to improving the lives of Arizonans.