From Amherst to Dallas

AMHERST, Wis. — It was on his grandparents’ dairy farm that Tyler Biadasz first learned the value of a hard day’s work. Lessons learned on the farm helped prepare this athlete for the demands of playing professional football.  

“Weather delays and getting up early — it takes discipline and consistency to be successful, and you have to respond to adversity,” Biadasz said. “When discing fields and a rock gets struck, you have to respond to it. Rain, sleet, snow — you’re always continuing to work through different scenarios.” 

The former Dallas Cowboy grew up a half mile from where his grandparents, Norm and Marge, milked 100 cows in a tiestall barn near Amherst. Here he saw his dad, Dave, work alongside Biadasz’s uncle, Chucky. While he was in high school, the dairy herd was sold, but his father still works in agriculture, operating a beef and cash crop operation. 

“I got to do everything once,” Biadasz said. “I was in a silo, drove a tractor, milked cows, fed them, herded them, cleaned gutters and cleaned the calf barn. I got to experience it all.”

Through those experiences, along with watching the older generations of Biadaszes work in the barn, he learned what it took to succeed and keep the farm running smoothly.

“The biggest thing I took from dairy farming, and farming in general, is the work ethic,” Biadasz said. “It provides not only for you, but how you live your life; it’s everything you do.”

The consistency and mindset needed to be successful in sports were taught to Biadasz as he was growing up around the farm. He saw how self-improvement year after year powered the farm’s progress, and he took those lessons to the gridiron. 

“Farming and football, the course of action every day is the same,” he said. “We write down where we can get better, what we need to get done by when, and what we need to get accomplished today. You have to be detailed. You have to have a growth mindset and at times, have some delusional faith.”

As Biadasz got older and was asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, he consistently aimed high as football was his top priority. It felt like a long shot for someone growing up near a town of just 1,122 people.

“It’s crazy until it’s not,” Biadasz said. “Coming from a small town like I did, no one had a scholarship, until someone did. No one’s been to the NFL, and then someone did.”

There was no plan B, Biadasz said.

“I was going to continue to get better at my craft; continue to have better footwork, better nutrition, whatever I needed to do to get me where I needed to be,” he said.

In high school, Biadasz was a standout in the trenches, but not on the side he currently plays. He was a 2-time all-state selection as a defensive lineman. After camps at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Minnesota and others, he was offered a chance to wear the red and white uniform at Madison.

“I wanted to play for my home state,” Biadasz said. “There’s a lot of pride that went into that and I wanted to be closer to family.”

When he arrived in Madison, he was told he was switching to the other side of the ball, snapping to the quarterback instead of trying to tackle him.

“That was a lesson in delusional faith,” Biadasz said. “Control what you can control. I was told my coach had a plan for me and that was starting at center.”

Biadasz took his role in the middle of the offense and worked to perfect his craft. It resulted in him earning the Rimington Award in 2019 as college football’s best center. He was a fourth-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 and earned a spot in the Pro Bowl in 2022.

“It was surreal to be drafted by Dallas,” Biadasz said. “In college we would always watch Dallas film, so when they drafted me, I had been watching these guys for like a year and a half. I had goosebumps.”

He recounted what it took to get him to that position, knowing the sacrifices that his family had to make, and that his career that started as a dream was becoming a reality.

“The amount of time my mom, dad, brother and high school football and basketball coach put in, there are so many people that have impacted me throughout my life,” Biadasz said. “You have to keep the perspective, keep the faith, keep the grind, the belief and the intentions of how you want to do this, and continue to go after it.”

After four seasons in Dallas, Biadasz signed a free agent contract with the Washington Commanders, where he played in the 2024 NFC Championship game. In the summer of 2026, he was a free agent, signing with the Los Angeles Chargers this offseason.

Biadasz suffered a season-ending injury in training camp prior to the start of the 2026 season, but he remembers that when he puts on his helmet and shoulder pads, he represents more than himself. He represents all the people who helped him get there, through hard work  and a little willful delusion.

“I get to put Amherst on the map,” Biadasz said. “When we do our intros and say our hometowns, it’s cool because I get to say Amherst, Wisconsin. I hit both my hometown and my university. To continue this journey and bring everyone with me, I feel like I have a lot of purpose and how I play the game, loving the game throughout its ebbs and flows and to continue to get better.”

On the farm, Biadasz learned how to respond to situations outside of his control. He took examples of what his dad, uncle and grandpa encountered and saw how he could learn from those.

“You are provided the rain, and you don’t know when it’s going to come or not,” Biadasz said. “If it comes early, the crop grows faster and you have to be ready. If it comes later, it’s going to be a timetable. You learn that life is about responding. My family taught me and my brother that every day is a new day. Whether you get what you want or not, you have to go for it.”