NFF National Scholar-Athletes
A four-year starter at linebacker under College Football Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden at Florida State, Derrick Brooks helped the Seminoles to a 44-5-1 record, three ACC titles, four bowl victories and the school’s first-ever national championship in 1993. A two-time Consensus First Team All-American, he finished his career with 274 tackles, five interceptions, 8.5 sacks, 13 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. A three-time First Team All-ACC selection, Brooks was the 1994 ACC Player of the Year and a finalist for the Butkus, Lombardi and Football Writer’s Defensive Player of the Year Awards in 1993 and 1994. In 2010, his jersey No. 10 was retired by Florida State. A two-time Academic All-American, Brooks compiled a 3.25 GPA in communications and was twice named to the ACC Honor Roll. In 2014, he was inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame.
Brooks was selected with the 28th overall pick of the 1995 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He started 13 of 16 games as a rookie, accumulating 78 tackles with a sack and earning first team all-rookie honors from Pro Football Weekly and Pro Football Writers Association. He enjoyed a 14-year career with the Buccaneers and is considered one of the best players in franchise history and best linebackers in NFL history. Brooks started 221 of 224 games, recording 1,698 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 25 interceptions, and six touchdowns (tied for the most in NFL history by a linebacker with Bobby Bell). A nine-time All-Pro selection, he was selected to the Pro Bowl 11 times, including 10 straight from 1997 to 2006. Brooks was the MVP of the 2005 Pro Bowl after returning a 59-yard interception for a touchdown that helped the NFC to a 23-17 victory. In 2002, Brooks was named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year and the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year. That same year, he led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVII.
A star off the field, Brooks received the Walter Camp Man of the Year Award in 2000 and the Whizzer White NFL Man of the Year Award in 2003. A member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade team, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014. The Buccaneers retired Brooks’ No. 55 jersey and inducted him into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor. He is the founder of the Brooks Bunch charity and youth scholarship foundation in the Tampa Bay area and headed the founding of Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School in Tampa. He has served as a football analyst for ESPN and co-host of The Red Zone on Sirius NFL Radio along with analyst duties on ESPN FirstTake. In 2011, Brooks became a part owner and the team president for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League. He currently serves as an appeals officer for the NFL and NFLPA.
