Gonzalez's Cuban-American father immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba after Fidel Castro took power. His father is now president of Ferragon Corporation, a steel company. His mother is the daughter of a World War II veteran. Gonzalez attended St. Joseph grade school in Avon Lake, Ohio, and then attended Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was a two sport standout in both football and track. In football, he was a two-way player. As a senior, he was a first team All-State honoree as well as the Associated Press and The Plain Dealer Co-Defensive Player of the Year, catching 71 passes for 1,873 yards and 21 touchdowns. His 26.4 yards per catch set a school record. In track, he lettered for four years and qualified for the state finals as a junior and senior. Gonzalez also played basketball as a freshman.
Gonzalez was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 32nd selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, and was taken to become the Colts slot receiver. He was one of three Ohio State receivers selected in that draft. In Gonzalez's first year, he caught 37 passes for 576 yards and 3 touchdowns. The following season Gonzalez caught 57 passes for 664 yards and 4 touchdowns. In 2009, Gonzalez earned the starting wide receiver position along with Reggie Wayne after Marvin Harrison was released from the team in the off-season. He injured his right knee during the season opener against Jacksonville Jaguars and was expected to miss up to eight weeks, although he failed to return that season and was placed on injured reserve on December 24. In 2010, Gonzalez lost the starting wide receiver position due to missing the 2009 season being on injured reserve. He played in a total of two games as a slot receiver with only 5 catches for 67 yards and no touchdowns. He injured his PCL in his left leg in week 8 against the Houston Texans and was placed on Injured Reserve for the rest of the year. Gonzalez's role in the Colts offense diminished even further during the 2011 regular season. He played in only eight games and did not catch a pass. He became an unrestricted free agent the following off-season.
Gonzalez filed to run for the United States House of Representatives in Ohio's 16th congressional district in 2018 as a Republican. His predecessor, Republican Jim Renacci, retired from the seat to mount an unsuccessful Senate campaign against incumbent Sherrod Brown. Gonzalez won the election on November 6, 2018, with 57 percent of the vote, becoming the first Latino to represent Ohio in Congress. Gonzalez raised over $525,000 in less than a month after announcing his run, including donations from former NFL teammate Peyton Manning, Cleveland Browns' owner Jimmy Haslam, and several other former NFL and college football players. Along with Texas Democrat Colin Allred, he was one of two former NFL players to be elected to Congress in 2018.
Tenure
Committee assignments
In the 116th Congress he is serving on the following committees:
