Derrick Thomas

Chiefs Hall of Fame linebacker and one of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history, who set the single-game sack record with seven against Seattle in 1990 before his career was tragically cut short.

Born in Miami, Florida, on 1 January 1967, Derrick Thomas overcame a difficult childhood — his father, an Air Force pilot, was killed during the Vietnam War — before starring at the University of Alabama, where he won the 1988 Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker and set the NCAA career sacks record. Thomas was selected fourth overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1989 NFL Draft and immediately made an impact, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year. In just his second season, he set an NFL record with seven sacks in a single game against the Seattle Seahawks on 11 November 1990, part of a league-leading 20-sack season. Over an 11-year career spent entirely with the Chiefs, Thomas earned nine consecutive Pro Bowl selections (1989-1997) and finished with 126.5 career sacks, the fourth-highest total by a linebacker in NFL history at the time of his death. His coaches created a hybrid linebacker-lineman role, nicknamed the 'Falcon', specifically to maximize his unique pass-rushing skill set. Thomas's career and life were tragically cut short after the 1999 season when he was paralyzed in a car crash; he died two weeks later on 8 February 2000 from a pulmonary embolism, at age 33. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

Explosive, relentless pass rusher with elite closing speed

Remembered as one of the most dominant and beloved players in Kansas City Chiefs history