Buccaneers Legend Names Choice for Next Ring of Honor Inductee originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor is a distinguished place where only the best former Bucs have their name displayed at Raymond James Stadium.
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It’s a list full of Buccaneers legends and a virtual “who’s who” of former Bucs players and personnel.
Looking closely, you’ll notice numerous players from the franchises’ first Super Bowl in 2002, including Ronde Barber, Mike Alstott, John Lynch, Simeon Rice, coach Jon Gruden, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks.
On his show, The Ronde Barber Show, Barber thinks there’s at least one player from that era missing from the Ring of Honor, and thinks he should be the next inducted.
“I’ve got a list. I could tell you, like, five names… The No. 1 on my list, without a doubt, the next person that goes into the Bucs Ring of Honor needs to be Hardy Nickerson,” Barber said.
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“When I got here in 1997, there was like a Darth Vader presence walking around the locker room and on the football field that just commanded respect. The way of doing your job was one person — 56. It’s an intangible… he came here in ’93, and the culture changed when Tony [Dungy] got here, but Tony needed a guy to be the mouthpiece… it all started with Hardy. [Nickerson] was the guy who changed the culture here in Tampa.
“The way we went about doing our jobs, the manner of which we played the game, the physicality.”
Nickerson was gone from Tampa Bay by the time the team made the 2002 Super Bowl, but, as Barber points out, he was an integral part of the team that was built into a championship contender.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.