The question, Is Dean Janikowski Related To Sebastian Janikowski? has been ringing in Dean’s ears since his high school days.
Both players share nothing in common except for their surnames and love for football.
Dean Janikowski is a football player from the United States who currently plays as a placekicker for the Washington State Cougars.
Born in Fallbrook, California, Dean received the Special Team Most Valuable Player award three times at Cathedral Catholic High School.
On the other hand, Sebastian Janikowski was born on March 2, 1978. He is a Polish-born former American football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders.
Janikowski is the Raiders’ all-time leading scorer and has appeared in more games with the organization than any other player.
He is one of only three NFL kickers to be drafted in the first round of an NFL draft.
Moreover, he tied the then-NFL record for the longest successful field goal, a 63-yarder that ranks third in league history.
Is Dean Janikowski Related To Sebastian Janikowski?
Thanks to their same surname, many fans believe that Dean Janikowski is related to Sebastian Janikowski.
However, this is not the case, and the Janikowski are not related in any way.
Dean has often been asked if he is related to his surname, which he has denied. In his high school, they would ask him if he was related to Seb.
Later, he grew tired of refusing and simply embraced taking pictures and accepting compliments.
Family Tree
Dean was born into the household of his father, Dan, and his mother, Heather.
There are little details about his father, but we know that his mother passed away due to cancer.
She was a kinesiology major, physical therapy assistant, and physical education teacher.
Dean’s mother would wake up every morning at 3 a.m. to get in her morning run. She regularly took yoga classes and hiked and rode her horses daily.
On the other hand, Sebastian was born in Poland as the only child of Henryk and Halina Janikowski.
His father was a professional soccer player who relocated to the United States in the early 1980s to resurrect his career.
Sebastian’s parents split years after his father immigrated from Poland, and Henryk married an American citizen.
He began to flourish at soccer after being left at home with only his mother, and at the age of 15, he gained a place on the Polish under-17 team.
Sebastian was able to legally immigrate to the United States due to his father’s marriage to an American.
He knew very little English but picked it up quickly by enrolling in a three-week night class and watching television.
Dean’s Mother Heather Died From Cancer
Dean’s mother died of cancer, which she had to battle for ten years. Initially, it was diagnosed as breast cancer.
In 2018, doctors diagnosed her with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in the brain. With prayer and faith, she became the first known individual to go into remission, defying the physicians’ prognosis of only two months to live.
Heather lived her life cured, and as a living miracle, she continued to help those in need. She cared for numerous cancer patients and held their hands when they died.
Unfortunately, she lost her battle with breast cancer on January 19, 2022. Heather passed away peacefully at her home in Fallbrook, California, with her husband Dan, children Dean, Megan, Jack, and sweet chocolate labrador Chip by her side.
