Jason Pierre-Paul 4th of July fireworks accident, revisited: How former Giant overcame career-threatening injury

Daniel Mader

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Jason Pierre-Paul 4th of July fireworks accident, revisited: How former Giant overcame career-threatening injury image

Jason Pierre-Paul's NFL career took a major turn in July 2015.

The longtime linebacker and defensive end, who played for the Giants at the time, had his right index finger amputated on the Fourth of July after an accident that resulted from Pierre-Paul lighting fireworks.

But despite the gruesome incident that left Pierre-Paul without a finger, his NFL career didn't just continue — he was remained an elite defender for years, using variations of gloves over his right hand while racking up sacks. A 36-year-old free agent as of 2025, Pierre-Paul even told ESPN in July 2025 that he's continued training to play in the NFL and is seeking a return, potentially targeting the Giants.

Pierre-Paul's fireworks incident was one of the major stories from the 2015 offseason. But it did not slow him from remaining a Pro Bowl-level defender in the following seasons, earning a multi-year contract along the way.

Here's a look back at Pierre-Paul's 2015 firework incident that left him without a finger, including how it affected his play on the field and what he's had to say about it in retrospect.

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Jason Pierre-Paul fireworks accident

In 2015, Pierre-Paul was already five years into his NFL career. A 2010 first-round pick for the Giants, he reached lofty status very quickly, recording 16.5 sacks for New York in just his second season in 2011. The South Florida product was a key member of that 2011 Giants Super Bowl roster, and by 2015, he was already a two-time Pro Bowler.

Given all of his accomplishments in a Giants uniform already, Pierre-Paul was among the NFL's most productive and decorated defenders at a young age. So when news dropped of his firework incident on the Fourth of July in 2015, it became a major storyline for New York's offseason.

Pierre-Paul was lighting fireworks he bought for a neighborhood party in Deerfield Beach, Florida for Independence Day that evening. After he had trouble lighting the last group of fireworks, they discharged and injured his right hand.

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The longtime defensive end told ESPN in July 2025 that looking back on the incident, he remembers "being on the verge of fainting because he was losing so much blood" while being driven to the hospital, and he told doctors, "don't cut my hand off."

With the severity of the injury to his right hand, Pierre-Paul's right index finger was amputated.

At the time, his NFL future was up in the air due to the injury. Former Giants vice president of player personnel Marc Ross told ESPN in 2025 that at the time, the team thought there was "absolutely no way" Pierre-Paul would return to the field, then calling him a "medical marvel."

Fortunately, Pierre-Paul recovered from his hand injury after his finger was amputated, and he found ways to continue succeeding on the field anyway. He officially signed a one-year deal with the Giants in October 2015, a few months removed from the fireworks incident, and wound up getting back in action later in the 2015 season.

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He initially played with a club-like glove over his right hand, which didn't allow his individual fingers to stick out.

Later on, he would be able to wear a much smaller glove on his right hand.

He would go on to play in the NFL for several more seasons, even winning another Super Bowl ring in Tampa Bay in 2020.

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What happened to Jason Pierre-Paul's fingers?

Pierre-Paul's right index finger was amputated in July 2015 following an incident where a firework exploded and injured his hand while he was lighting it. While the NFL star's career was temporarily on pause due to the accident, he returned to the field with variations of gloves that led to him remaining an elite pass rusher.

As of 2025, Pierre-Paul has 94.5 career sacks, most of which came after his fireworks incident. With his NFL career slowing down since 2023, the last time he was on a roster, Pierre-Paul has often spoke publicly about firework safety.

"My message to kids is you never know how life is going to go," Pierre-Paul told ESPN in 2025. "Don't put yourself in a predicament that you're going to regret later."

Pierre-Paul's fireworks-related injury is something he's completely owned, trying to help others prevent doing the same while handling fireworks.

"At the end of the day, I'm a big person, but this happened to me. It could happen to anybody. So put it out there. What's to be embarrassed about? There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's just you live and learn from it," Pierre-Paul told ESPN. "To have 10 fingers is a natural gift. You don't know how you're going to be created. You don't know in life if you're going to have trauma or you're going to have dramatic changes but just be ready for it."

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Jason Pierre-Paul hand meme

Social media, of course, was very much a thing in July 2015, and some NFL fans poked some fun at Pierre-Paul following his accident — given that the star defender has completely owned the fireworks incident and overcame it by still posting a few more elite seasons, some memes were light-hearted enough, also often using Pierre-Paul as an example of why everybody should practice firework safety.

Here are some of the memes and annual firework safety reminders that have gone viral in the years since the star's accident.

Jason Pierre-Paul recovery 

Pierre-Paul impressively returned to NFL action in the same year his injury occurred, playing eight games in the 2015 season and recording one sack. While he never hit the massive 16.5-sack total that he did in 2011 again, not many players with 10 fingers did either — Pierre-Paul still posted five more NFL seasons with at least 7.0 sacks after his finger was amputated.

Not only did Pierre-Paul have to get used to playing with his new glove in 2015, but he also lost weight while in the hospital, affecting his recovery. But on Nov. 7, 2015, he was placed on New York's active roster once again.

He returned to the Giants in 2016 after undergoing further offseason surgery on his hand that allowed him to wear a smaller glove, and in Week 12 of the 2016 season, he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for a three-sack performance.

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Pierre-Paul recorded 53 tackles and 7.0 sacks in 2016, then 68 tackles and 8.5 sacks in 2017, all marks that were right on par with his career trajectory before the firework incident, if not better. In 2018, he was traded to the Buccaneers, and he recorded 12.5 sacks that season.

A neck fracture that Pierre-Paul suffered during a car accident in 2019 threatened his NFL career once again, but the defensive end still fought back to return to action, recording 8.5 sacks in 10 games that season. He then won a second Super Bowl ring in 2020 with Tampa Bay, a season that would ultimately be one of the final elite seasons of his career.

Pierre-Paul wasn't as effective from 2021-23, the last period he was on an NFL roster, but that can be attributed more to his age than his amputated finger. 

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Jason Pierre-Paul stats

Here's a full look at Pierre-Paul's career numbers.

SeasonTeamGamesTacklesSacksINTsForced Fumbles
2010Giants16304.502
2011Giants168616.502
2012Giants16666.511
2013Giants11272.010
2014Giants167712.503
2015Giants8261.000
2016Giants12537.003
2017Giants16688.502
2018Buccaneers165812.501
2019Buccaneers10308.502
2020Buccaneers16559.524
2021Buccaneers12312.501
2022Ravens14263.010
2023Saints, Dolphins320.000
Career: 18263194.5521

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Jason Pierre-Paul net worth

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Pierre-Paul has a net worth of $35 million. Over the Cap estimates that he had a career earnings around $101.35 million, most of which came from a four-year, $62 million deal he signed with the Giants in 2017.

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Daniel Mader

Daniel Mader is a Content Producer for The Sporting News. He joined SN in 2024 as an editorial intern following graduation from Penn State University. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, the Centre Daily Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Collegian and LancasterOnline. Daniel grew up in Lancaster, Penn., with a love for baseball that’ll never fade, but could also talk basketball or football for days.