Derrick Brooks Derrick Dewan Brooks ( born April 18 , 1973 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League ( NFL ) for fourteen seasons . He played college football for Florida State University , and was twice recognized as a consensus All - American . He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft , and he played his entire professional career for the Buccaneers . An eleven - time Pro Bowl selection and nine - time All - Pro , Brooks was named AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 , and earned a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII . He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014 . He is currently a co - owner and president for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League . Early years . Brooks attended Washington High School in Pensacola . In his senior season in 1991 , Brooks carried Pensacola to the state playoff semifinals , where they lost to the eventual champion Manatee Hurricanes of Bradenton , FL . In 2007 , he was named to the Florida High School Association All - Century Team , which selected the Top 33 players in the 100 year history of high school football in the state of Florida ' s history . College career . While attending Florida State University , he played for the Florida State Seminoles football team from 1992 to 1994 . He was a four - year letterman , a consensus first - team All - American his junior and senior years , and a three time first team All - Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) selection . After playing as safety as a freshman he switched to linebacker as a sophomore . He was a member of the 1993 Seminoles National Championship team . He finished his career with 274 tackles , five interceptions , 8 . 5 sacks , 13 passes defensed , four forced fumble s and three fumble recoveries . In November 2010 , Florida State retired Seminoles jersey number 10 in honor of Brooks . Professional career . Early career ( 1995 – 2002 ) . In the 1995 NFL Draft , the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded their second - round picks , in exchange for the Dallas Cowboys first round draft choice ( 28th overall ) , which the team used to select Brooks . Brooks played 14 years for the Buccaneers and is widely considered one of the best ( if not " the " best ) players in franchise history and one of the best linebackers in NFL history . From 1995 to 2008 , 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 ) . He was selected to the Pro Bowl 11 times , including 10 straight from 1997 to 2006 , was an All - Pro nine times , was the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 , and led the team to the franchise ' s first Super Bowl win in Super Bowl XXXVII . As a rookie in 1995 , Brooks started 13 of 16 games . He finished the season with 78 tackles with a sack and earned first team all - rookie honors from " Pro Football Weekly " and " Pro Football Writers Association " . During his second season 1996 , he started all 16 games and finished with a team leading 132 tackles and his first career interception . In 1997 , Brooks earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl after recording 144 tackles , 1 . 5 sacks , and two interceptions in 16 games . In 1998 , Brooks had another Pro Bowl season after recording 156 tackles and an interception . In 1999 , Brooks made the Pro Bowl for the third time and was a first team All - Pro selection for the first time in his career . For the season he had 153 tackles , two sacks , and four interceptions . In 2000 , Brooks earned his fourth consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl and his second consecutive first team All - Pro selection . He finished the season with 140 tackles , a sack , and had his first career touchdown on a 34 yard interception from Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper . Brooks was also , along with Jim Flanigan of the Chicago Bears , the winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award , given to a National Football League player for his community service activities as well as his excellence on the field . Brooks made his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl in 2001 after recording 112 tackles and three interceptions . Continued success and Superbowl victory ( 2002 – 2008 ) . Brooks ' best season came in 2002 . During that year he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the " Associated Press " and helped the Buccaneers win the franchise ' s first Super Bowl . He also made his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl and was a first team All - Pro selection for the third time . For the season he had 117 tackles , a sack , five interceptions , and returned a NFL record , for a linebacker , four touchdowns ( one off a fumble and three off interceptions ) . During the Buccaneers 48 - 21 victory over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII , he returned an interception off of Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon 44 yards for a touchdown . He thus became one of only six players in NFL history to make the Pro Bowl , be named Defensive Player of the Year and win a Super Bowl or NFL title . The others are Joe Greene , Jack Lambert , Lawrence Taylor , Ray Lewis , Reggie White and his teammate for nine years , Warren Sapp . In 2003 , Brooks broke Lee Roy Selmon ' s team record for most consecutive Pro Bowl appearances with seven . He finished the season with 101 tackles , a sack , two interceptions , and returned an interception for a touchdown . In 2004 , Brooks made his eighth consecutive Pro Bowl and fifth first team All - Pro selection after recording 137 tackles , three sacks , and an interception . In 2005 , Brooks made his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl and earned his sixth first team All - Pro selection . He finished the season with 125 tackles , three sacks , and an interception . In Brooks ' 10th consecutive Pro Bowl in 2006 , he was named the MVP after returning a Trent Green interception 59 yards for a touchdown to secure the victory for the NFC . During the regular season he had 121 tackles , three interceptions and a touchdown . In 2007 , Brooks had 109 tackles and was not voted to the Pro Bowl for the first time since 1996 . In Brooks last year with the Buccaneers in 2008 , he recorded 73 tackles and an interception and was selected to his 11th Pro Bowl . The 11 Pro Bowls are tied for second most by a linebacker in NFL history . Tampa Bay exit and retirement . On February 25 , 2009 , the Buccaneers released Brooks . He was one of 5 veterans that the Bucs released on that day . The others were wide receivers Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard , running back Warrick Dunn and linebacker Cato June . The Bucs had previously fired Head Coach Jon Gruden and General Manager Bruce Allen and were looking to build a younger team under the likes of 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 January 10th , 2014 , Brooks was named among the 15 modern - era Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists . He was joined by other former Buccaneers , as safety John Lynch ( who was Brooks ' teammate from 1995 to 2004 ) and head coach Tony Dungy ( who coached Brooks from 1996 to 2001 ) were also finalists . On February 1 , Brooks was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility . He is the third Hall of Famer to have earned his credentials primarily as a Buc , the others being Lee Roy Selmon and Warren Sapp ( Brooks ' teammate from 1995 to 2003 ) . Personal . Brooks is married and has four children . Derrick Brooks is the founder of the Brooks Bunch charity and youth scholarship foundation in the Tampa Bay area . He has taken local youngsters across the nation and South Africa with the objective of presenting a first hand experience , or a " mobile classroom . " Brooks also headed the founding of the Brooks - DeBartolo Collegiate High School in Tampa . Brooks is well known for his charity work and his advocacy of the importance of education . He was the co - recipient of the 2000 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and was named to the Florida State University Board of Trustees in 2003 by Governor Jeb Bush . Brooks is now a football analyst for ESPN and co - host of The Red Zone on Sirius NFL Radio along with analyst duties on ESPN FirstTake usually alongside Lomas Brown . In 2011 , Brooks became a part owner and the team president for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League .