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On August 19, 2013, coach Leslie Frazier announced that Ballard would be taking time off from the team to deal with personal issues. The next month, in an interview with USA Today, Ballard stated:

"I wasn't really having a good time playing football. It wasn't fun for me. It wasn't a blast for me..."Making that much money – that was fun. But money is still a material thing. You can always make money. You can't make that time that you lose with your friends and your loved ones. Time is something that you can never get back."

Ballard had been a part of the Vikings defensive line rotation since being drafted in 2011. He recorded his first NFL sack on December 12, 2012 on Sam Bradford in a game against the St. Louis Rams.

At the University of Iowa Ballard made an immediate impact by playing as a true freshman and collecting 15 tackles, four tackles-for-loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks from the defensive end position. He also returned two kickoffs for 32 yards on special teams that season. As a sophomore Ballard become a starter at defensive end for the Hawkeyes. For the season he tallied 40 tackles, 3.5 tackle-for-loss and 1.5 sacks. Ballard burst onto the national scene as a junior when he played both defensive end and defensive tackle, starting at both positions throughout the season. He teamed with fellow Hawkeye Adrian Clayborn to become one of the most feared defensive lines in the nation. For the season he totaled 54 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss and 5.5 quarterback sacks. At the end of the season, he was named third Team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele College Football Magazine and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the Coaches Association. Prior to his senior season Ballard was named First Team All-Big Ten by Sports Illustrated, despite being the source of constant double-team blocks he would go on to gather 43 tackles, five tackles for loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks. After the season, he again earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the Coaches Association as well as the Associated Press. He also received the Coaches Appreciation Award and earned an invite to the 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl.

At the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine Ballard, who had received a first round grade from NFL Draft pundit Mel Kiper Jr., graded out as one of the most athletic defensive lineman at that year's combine. However, soon after, it was reported that he and another player, Justin Houston of the University of Georgia, had tested positive for marijuana. This caused some teams to red-flag him with the much-feared "character flaw" label. It is said that this is the reason he slipped to the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft despite performing very well at the Combine and receiving such high marks from draft analysts such as Kiper and Todd McShay.

He was rated eleventh among defensive end prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft.

At Lawrence Free State High School Ballard competed in football, basketball as well as track. In football, Ballard was a 2006 Preseason Prep Star All-American, he earned first team All-State and All-Conference awards as a senior after being honorable mention all-conference as a junior and sophomore. Prior to his senior season was listed amongst the Rivals.com Top 100 and ranked the #4 tight end prospect in the nation by Sports Illustrated.

Christian Ballard (born January 3, 1989) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iowa.