Walter Payton

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Brooks attended Washington High School in Pensacola, Florida, and in his senior season in 1991 carried Pensacola to the state playoff semifinals, where they lost to the eventual champion Manatee Hurricanes. In 2007, he was named to the Florida High School Athletic Association All-Century Team. At Florida State, he played from 1991 to 1994, was a four-year letterman, a consensus first-team All-American his junior and senior years, and a three-time first-team All-ACC selection. After playing as a safety as a freshman he switched to linebacker as a sophomore. He was a member of the 1993 Seminoles National Championship team, finishing his college career with 274 tackles, five interceptions, 8.5 sacks, 13 passes defensed, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. In November 2010, Florida State retired Seminoles jersey number 10 in honor of Brooks.

In Their Own Story

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Brooks in the first round (28th overall) of the 1995 NFL draft after trading both of their second-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys. Brooks started 13 of 16 games as a rookie, finishing with 78 tackles and a sack, earning first-team all-rookie honors. In 1997, he earned his first Pro Bowl trip after recording 144 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two interceptions. His best season came in 2002 when he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year, helped the Buccaneers win the franchise's first Super Bowl, and returned an NFL-record four touchdowns (one off a fumble and three off interceptions). During Super Bowl XXXVII, he returned an interception off Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon 44 yards for the clinching touchdown. Brooks never missed a game in his 14 years in Tampa Bay, a total of 224 consecutive games, and was the starting weakside linebacker for the last 208 of those games, an NFL record for that position.

Reader's Guide

Brooks was released by the Buccaneers on February 25, 2009, along with four other veterans, as the team looked to build a younger roster under Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik. After spending all of the 2009 season as a free agent, Brooks officially announced his retirement on August 11, 2010. On February 1, 2014, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, becoming the third Hall of Famer to have earned his credentials primarily as a Buccaneer, the others being Lee Roy Selmon and Warren Sapp. Following his retirement, Brooks served as co-owner and president of the Tampa Bay Storm in the Arena Football League from 2011 to 2017. In 2025, he became the chief operating officer for the South Florida Bulls athletics program. Brooks is the founder of Derrick Brooks Charities and also headed the founding of the Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School in Tampa with fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame member Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.

Did You Know?

• Brooks returned an NFL-record four touchdowns as a linebacker in 2002, including one off a fumble and three off interceptions.
• He started 208 consecutive games at weakside linebacker, an NFL record for that position.
• Brooks was a co-recipient of the 2000 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, sharing the honor with Jim Flanigan of the Chicago Bears.
• He was selected to 11 Pro Bowls, tied for second-most by a linebacker in NFL history.
• Brooks returned a Trent Green interception 59 yards for a touchdown to win the 2006 Pro Bowl MVP.