Dante Hall

Lore & Background

Hall played for Texas A&M University as a running back and return specialist. In 1996, he led the nation with 573 punt return yards. In 1998, he was named offensive MVP of the Aggies football team. His 4,707 career all-purpose yards place him second in school history behind Darren Lewis. He majored in Ag Leadership & Development. On November 8, 1999, Texas A&M announced Hall's dismissal from the team for violations of the team's policy. Hall stated he thinks he was ousted due to parking violations. Hall was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021.

In Their Own Story

The stadium lights cut through the Kansas City night as the opposing kicker prepared for a routine start. Hall waited deep in the end zone, knees bent, eyes tracking the flight. The kick landed; he didn't just catch it—he absorbed it at the five-yard line, pivoted left, then snapped back right, slipping past three defenders who grasped only air. He found the seam in the secondary and exploded through it, a blur of red and gold crossing the goal line before the coverage unit could reset. The Human Joystick had proven once again: on any given play, he was unstoppable.

Reader's Guide

The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Hall in the fifth-round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut on September 24, 2000, as a kick/punt returner. In five games, he returned 17 kickoffs for 358 yards and six punts for 37 yards. He spent the spring of 2001 playing in NFL Europe for the Scottish Claymores as a wide receiver. He led the league with 26 kickoff returns for 635 yards and was second in punt returns with 15 for 177 yards and second in combined net yards with 1,286. In 2002, Hall had his first NFL touchdown off a 60-yard reception at the New York Jets on October 6, 2002. Hall returned one kickoff and two punts for touchdowns. His two touchdowns off punt returns tied him for first in Chief franchise history. The 2002 NFL season earned Hall his first NFL Pro Bowl, being selected as a kick returner. Hall became the second player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt return for a touchdown in the same game. In 2003, Hall returned a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown four games in a row, which is an NFL record. The most memorable moment of the season came against the Denver Broncos in which he reversed direction twice to evade the entire special teams unit en route to a 93-yard punt return for a touchdown, his 7th in the 10-game stretch from the previous season, then went on to score 10 total touchdowns in 13 games. In the playoffs that year against the Indianapolis Colts, Hall had another kickoff return for a touchdown, giving him five for the year, as well as a receiving touchdown. Hall was named to the 2004 Pro Bowl as a kick/punt returner for his second time. In 2004, Hall touched the ball eight times for 242 yards vs. the San Diego Chargers on November 28, 2004. His six kickoff returns for 233 yards with a 96-yard touchdown in the game set a career-high. On December 19, 2004, he returned the opening kickoff 97-yards for a touchdown. This touchdown made him the Chiefs' franchise leader in career kickoff return touchdowns and career special teams touchdowns. During the 2004 NFL season, Hall set single-season Chiefs' franchise records with 68 kickoff returns and career-high 1,718 kickoff return yards. In 2005, in a memorable game against the Denver Broncos, Hall appeared to be on his way to a kickoff return for a touchdown, but he surprisingly fumbled the ball without being touched by a defensive player. With a touchdown on a kickoff return agai

Did You Know?

• Hall is the co-author of Dante Hall: X-Factor, a book that details his journey from Texas A&M running back to one of the best kick returners in the NFL.
• He is mentioned in Lil Wayne's song "Dipset (Reppin Time)" in the line "I'm like Dante Hall, I just throw up the X."
• Hall appeared as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman on October 30, 2003.
• In 2004, he was selected to star in the inaugural advertisement for Gatorade's X-Factor sports drink because he often proved to be the "X-factor" in many Chiefs victories during the 2003 NFL season.