PENSACOLA, Fla. — Derrick Brooks is a Pensacola football icon and an NFL legend.
He played as a linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Friday, the team announced he was the greatest player to ever put on their jersey.
Brooks retired from the Buccaneers in 2009, but his retirement did not stop him from giving back to the local community.
For 14 years, Pensacola native Brooks proudly wore the Tampa Bay colors. During his NFL career, Brooks racked up countless awards, including 11 Pro Bowl nominations, 2,198 tackles — the most in NFL history — seven defensive touchdowns — which is the 2nd largest amount in the team’s history.
“I’m extremely humbled about the honor,” Brooks said. “I thank God that people thought well enough of me to bestow that honor on me.”
Brooks started his football career in Pensacola at eight years old.
“I quit my first practice in,” Brook said. “Man, I was getting beat so bad that I just didn’t want to play and this wasn’t for me.”
Brooks said a message from his father got him back on the field the next year.
“He said, ‘Derrick, I’m not going to force you to do anything,'” Brooks said. “But he said, ‘Let this be the last time you start something and don’t finish. We are not quitters in this family.'”
Brooks went on to play football at Washington High School. He then played for Florida State, and was eventually drafted to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995.
Though he lives in Tampa, in retirement, Brooks stays active in the Pensacola community. He donates to countless charities.
WEAR News: Why is it important to keep giving back to Pensacola?
Brooks: I just want to continue to serve. My spirit of serving, especially to Pensacola, is the spirit and representation of my mother. She started this journey when I was playing my rookies year, working with Sue Straughn and Community’s Caring at Christmas, where we were purchasing toys and finding schools to adopt and giving away. I just wanted to take her spirit and extend it. It’s why i do it.
“Again, I’m proud of our home town,” said Brooks. “I want to do everything I can to just give our kids and others a chance to succeed.”
With football season about to get underway, Brooks is predicting another great year for the Buccaneers.
“I think we’re going to repeat again as AFC South Champions,” said Brooks. “And I’m looking for a deep run into the playoffs. Also looking for a rebound year with my Florida State Seminoles against Alabama.”