Oronde Gadsden played three seasons at Winston-Salem State before signing a free agent contract to play on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad in 1995. He did not appear in an NFL game that season, but was still awarded a Super Bowl ring after the Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17 in Super Bowl XXX. He was granted his outright release after the 1996 preseason, and also failed to make the Steelers squad after the 1997 preseason.
Gadsden was discouraged after being twice cut, so he took to the Arena Football League's Portland Forest Dragons for the 1997 season, scoring 37 touchdowns in only 14 games.
Gadsden made the Miami Dolphin's roster out of training camp in 1998, which would be his "official" rookie season. On opening day against the Indianapolis Colts, Gadsden made his first career reception count, catching the ball in stride and chugging 44 yards for a touchdown. The Dolphins would win, 24-15. He appeared in every game that season, starting 12 and gaining 713 yards on 48 catches, second on Miami's roster only to O.J. McDuffie. He also tied for the team lead, scoring seven touchdowns.
1999 would see Gadsden lead the Dolpins with six receiving touchdowns, finishing second behind Tony Martin with 48 catches and a career high 803 yards.
After Dan Marino's retirement following the 1999 season, Gadsden opened up 2000 as new starting quarterback Jay Fiedler's favorite target. He led Miami with 56 catches for 786 yards and six touchdowns.
In 2001, Gadsden's fourth season with the team, he would catch 55 passes for 674 yards.
In six years on the Miami Dolphin's, Gadsden would catch a total of 227 passes for 3,252 yards and 22 touchdowns. He is remembered for catching Dan Marino's 420th and final touchdown pass, and has two catches featured in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He now runs a clothing company called "Original Gear."