Derrick Thomas Legacy

Lore & Background

Thomas played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, winning the Butkus Award in 1988. He was selected second overall in the 1989 NFL draft by the Chiefs, where he received nine Pro Bowl and two first-team All-Pro selections. Thomas also set the single-game sacks record in 1990. After the Chiefs' 1999 season, Thomas was rendered paraplegic in a car crash and died two weeks later from a pulmonary embolism. He was posthumously inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Arrowhead Stadium crackled with electricity under the Friday night lights. Thomas crouched in a three-point stance, the red and gold stripes on his shoulder pads gleaming. As the snap count echoed, he exploded off the line, leaving blockers in his wake. The roar of fifty thousand fans surged as he closed in, embodying the relentless spirit that defined an era of Chiefs football.

Reader's Guide

Thomas was named first-team All-Pro two times and was named to the Pro Bowl nine times. He is 18th all-time in sacks and at the time of his death in 2000, he was 9th all-time with 126.5. He remains the Chiefs' all-time leader in sacks, safeties, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries. During his career, he recorded 1 interception and recovered 19 fumbles, returning them for 161 yards and 4 touchdowns. Thomas said in interviews his favorite quarterback to sack was Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, whom he sacked 26 times. The sack total over Elway is most against any quarterback in Thomas' career and the most of any individual player who sacked Elway. He was posthumously inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2000, with the Chiefs breaking the tradition of waiting four years after the end of the player's career. In 2009, he was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Later that same year, the Chiefs retired the number 58 in honor of him. Following his death until it was officially retired, the Chiefs did not reissue the number. The Chiefs also named their player of the year award in Thomas' honor, an award he won twice himself prior to the award being named in his honor. He is the only NFL player to die during their career that was later inducted to the Hall of Fame.

Did You Know?

• Thomas set the single-game sacks record in 1990 with 7 sacks against the Seattle Seahawks.
• He sacked Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway 26 times, the most sacks by any individual player against Elway.
• Thomas was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.