Bill Peters
Beast Mode co-owner of the Seattle Kraken
Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American actor and former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football for the California Golden Bears, earning first-team All-American honors and winning Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year in 2006. Lynch was selected in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills, where he played three full seasons and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2008. He was traded to the Seahawks during the 2010 season. Since retiring for a third and final time, he has co-owned the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL), Beasts of Fan Controlled Football (FCF), and the Bay Area Panthers of the Indoor Football League (IFL).
Quick Facts
- Role
- Head Coach
- Stanley cups won
- 2 (2020, 2021 — Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Coaching style
- Defensive structure
- player development
- systems-driven
- Prior affiliation
- Tampa Bay Lightning (head coach, 2014–2024)
- Seattle hire
- 2024 offseason
Lore & Background
Lynch grew up in Oakland, California, with three older siblings. He was raised by his mother, Delisa, who once held a 200-meter track record at Oakland Technical High School. Lynch started playing youth football in Oakland at a young age. He attended and graduated from the same high school as his mother, Oakland Technical High School, from 2000 to 2004. At Oakland Tech, Lynch was a four-sport star for the Bulldogs football, basketball, track, and wrestling teams. In his 2003 season, Lynch amassed 1,722 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns in only eight regular-season games and an additional 375 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in two postseason games. He was voted a PrepStar and SuperPrep All-American and was also voted the San Francisco East Bay Player of the Year. In basketball, he played on the Oakland Tech's team alongside future Cal star Leon Powe. Lynch helped lead his team to the state semi-finals. As an athlete in the Bay Area, Lynch befriended and often played against film director and writer Ryan Coogler; who also grew up in the same part of Oakland as Lynch. In addition to football, Lynch excelled in track and field, where he competed mainly as a sprinter, but also in jumping events. He recorded a personal-best time of 10.94 seconds in the 100-meter dash as a senior, while also posting top-leaps of 1.94 meters (6 ft, 4 in) in the high jump and 6.38 meters (20 ft, 10 in) in the long jump. Lynch was a versatile athlete on the football field. He played defensive back, quarterback, wide receiver, and linebacker in high school. Rivals.com recruiting network had him ranked #2 in the nation at running back behind Adrian Peterson. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in social welfare and played for the Golden Bears football team from 2004 to 2006. In 2020, he received an honorary degree from Princeton University after he was invited to be the Class of 2020 speaker.
Reader's Guide
Lynch is a co-owner of the Seattle Kraken. His NFL career included stints with the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, and Oakland Raiders. He is known for his 'Beast Mode' nickname and the 'Beast Quake' touchdown run during the 2010–11 NFL playoffs. He retired three times, with his final retirement coming after the 2019 season with the Seahawks.
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