NFL Player Announces He's Expecting 11th, 12th Child Despite Vasectomy

Antonio Cromatie's wife is expecting twins later this year.

ByABC News
January 13, 2016, 5:39 PM

— -- New York Jets player Antonio Cromartie is reportedly expecting twins with his wife, Terricka Cromartie -- which is a bit of a surprise for the couple since the cornerback noted that he's had a vasectomy.

The pair announced their good, if unexpected, news in US Weekly today. The expected bundles of joy will be the 11th and 12th children for Cromartie, meaning he could field his own pint-sized football team.

Terricka Cromartie said she was surprised and slightly terrified to tell her husband they were expecting again despite his vasectomy.

"I didn’t even tell Antonio right away because I didn’t think it was possible," she told US Weekly. "I was going back and forth in my head how it could even happen. In my head we were good to go, we were having free sex! I just really thought that his procedure was the best protection you could have at this point."

Antonio Cromartie could not be immediately reached by ABC News for additional comment.

According to medical data, the Cromartie family isn't alone. Previous studies have found that vasectomies aren't always foolproof. The American Urological Association notes that a "vasectomy is not 100 [percent] reliable in preventing pregnancy" and that vasectomy surgery fails less than 1 percent of the time.

In one study mentioned in the AUA guidelines on vasectomies, 1 in 2,000 of the procedures failed. That does not mean that every failure resulted in pregnancy, just that the surgery didn't fully divide the passage that sperm passes through.

After the procedure, patients are advised to use an alternate form of birth control until they are checked by a doctor to ensure the procedure has worked, according to the Mayo Clinic. Doctors check for signs of sperm approximately three months after the procedure.