DerrickBrooks

Derrick Dewan Brooks is a former linebacker born April 18, 1973, who spent his entire 14-year career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being drafted 28th overall out of Florida State in 1995. He's the 2002 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, five-time first-team All-Pro, and 11-time Pro Bowler, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

Brooks became a cornerstone of Tampa Bay's defense almost immediately, starting 221 of 224 games across his career and never missing a single one — an NFL record for a linebacker at his position. His best season came in 2002, when he was named Defensive Player of the Year and helped lead the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title, capping it with a 44-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Super Bowl XXXVII rout of the Raiders.

Brooks made 10 consecutive Pro Bowls from 1997 to 2006 and was named Pro Bowl MVP in his tenth appearance. He also won the 2000 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for his community service, particularly his work promoting education for underprivileged youth.

Brooks retired in 2010 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2014. Since retiring, he has co-owned an arena football team, served as an NFL/NFLPA appeals officer, and in 2025 became chief operating officer of South Florida's athletics program.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history, Brooks remains deeply tied to Tampa Bay, where the Buccaneers retired his No. 55.