New England to Hall of Fame: Where is Richard Seymour now?
BOSTON (BVM) – Richard Seymour was an absolute menace on the defensive line during his football playing days. In the NFL, his hard work, will and talent led him to the top, as he won three Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots.
Since he retired, Seymour has been busy with various endeavors outside of the game he loves. But this year, the defensive lineman has finally gotten his due as one of the greatest of all-time.
Seymour’s early life and college career
Seymour grew up in South Carolina and played high school ball at Lower Richland High School. As a senior, the team captain and all-area performer recorded 83 tackles and eight sacks.
Out of high school, Seymour’s football career took him west to the University of Georgia. After seeing playing time primarily at defensive tackle in nine games as a freshman, Seymour’s Bulldogs’ career picked up as a sophomore as he made nearly 70 tackles and registered four sacks.
The final two seasons of Seymour’s Georgia career were the highlight, as he was a first team All-SEC player both years. Starting every game for the Bulldogs in 1998, the South Carolina native led his team with 74 tackles in addition to four sacks and an interception. In 1999, Seymour racked up 78 tackles, 10.5 of which went for loss.
The defensive tackle finished his college career with 223 tackles and 9.5 sacks while getting to play alongside some future NFL talent across his four years at Georgia including Charles Grant, Marcus Stroud and Johnathan Sullivan.
Seymour’s Patriots career
Seymour’s 6-foot-6, 310-pound size and elite talent were highly coveted as he transitioned to the NFL. With the sixth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, the Patriots selected the Georgia product to add to an already talented defense.
https://twitter.com/BigSey93/status/1519715222700838914
Year one in the NFL was about as good as it gets for Seymour as the Patriots upset the Rams to win Super Bowl XXXVI with Seymour starting 10 games, registering 45 tackles and making three sacks. While the Patriots didn’t have the same team success in 2002, Seymour took a big leap individually, making 56 tackles and 5.5 sacks to earn his first Pro Bowl nod.
Seymour became even more dominant in 2003 and 2004. Making 96 tackles and 13 sacks between the two seasons, the defensive lineman became one of the staples of a Patriots’ defense that won back-to-back Super Bowl titles as a dynasty was born in New England.
In the years to follow, Seymour continued to put up good numbers, with over 40 tackles and four sacks in both 2005 and 2006. In one of the Patriots best seasons in 2007, the Georgia product saw limited action as his injuries finally caught up to him, sitting out the first half of the season due to knee surgery.
Yet, he came back to have one of his best statistical seasons with 51 tackles and eight sacks in 2008. However, that would be his final year playing under Bill Belichick.
Seymour’s Raiders tenure
Entering the final year of his contract, the Patriots traded the then 30-year-old Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a 2011 first-round pick just days before the 2009 season began. Truly shocked by the move, Seymour did not want to play for the Raiders at first, and sat out his first few days with the team before finally reporting just two days before Oakland’s first game. In that first game, Seymour would make six tackles and two sacks against the Chargers.
Despite the new surroundings, Seymour continued his dominance as one of the best defensive lineman in the league with a strong 2009 campaign, and returned to the Pro Bowl in 2010 and 2011. He embraced the Raiders’ culture, and helped shore up the team’s defense significantly.
By 2012, injuries derailed Seymour yet again, as he missed half the season. As a result, the Raiders opted to move on from the defensive lineman in early 2013. There was still some interest in Seymour following his release, but not seeing the contract numbers he wanted, the Georgia product decided to hang up his cleats.
Seymour finished his NFL career as a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time All-Pro who made 498 tackles, 57.5 sacks and forced four fumbles with eight recoveries. He was also named a member of the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade team.
7x #ProBowl selection
5x All Pro selection
3x Super Bowl champion@BigSey93 belongs in Canton. pic.twitter.com/WTyiRN05Oa— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 25, 2020
Seymour’s post-NFL endeavors, family life and net worth
In his post-playing career, Seymour has enjoyed a successful business career through 93 Ventures, an Atlanta-based firm aimed to create strategic partnerships and value-added investments through athletes and entertainers. Seymour is a managing partner of the firm alongside venture capitalist and strategic advisor Albert G. Sye IV, who he was introduced to by former Raiders teammate Jason Campbell.
Together, the partnership has made many investments together including in beverage companies like ZenWTR and Dezo, and technology startups such as Rad, Calaxy and Dapper Labs. In 2020, they also invested in Heliogen, a solar power firm owned by Bill Gates.
Aside from his business ventures, the 42 year old’s competitive juices have never left as he has become a professional poker player. He has earned some impressive winnings in his pro poker career, with one example coming from his 131st-place finish at the main event of the 2019 World Series of Poker. Seymour took home $59,295 at the event, the most of any former player across the four major sports. It is estimated that Seymour has earned nearly $650,000 in his pro poker career.
incredible experience… disappointed to leave! really appreciate the outpour of support #grateful #champion #whatsinthebag 🧐 pic.twitter.com/E6rXnJ9NPg
— Richard Seymour (@BigSey93) July 11, 2019
Over his 12-year NFL career, Seymour made close to $90 million in earnings, actually making more with the Raiders than he did in his eight years with the Pats. Currently, his net worth is valued at $21.6 million.
Seymour now resides in Atlanta. He has been married to his wife, Tanya, for over a decade, and the couple has three kids: Kennedy, Kayla and RJ.
Seymour makes the Hall of Fame
Throughout his retirement, Seymour has remained close to his Patriots roots and teammates, frequently staying in touch with guys like Rodney Harrison, Willie McGinest and Teddy Bruschi. A member of the Patriots 50th Anniversary team and the 2000s Patriots All-Decade team, Seymour was officially inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2021.
Richard Seymour back in #Patriots red Friday. He will be enshrined in the team’s Hall of Fame Saturday. pic.twitter.com/hezAOQp7gV
— Jim McBride (@globejimmcbride) October 22, 2021
However, the one thing still missing from his resume was making the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Finishing as a finalist three times prior, guys like Tom Brady and Belichick have been calling for Seymour to be enshrined.
In February 2022, Seymour received a knock on his door from Patriots teammate Ty Law. The former Pats corner was there to inform Seymour that after being named a finalist for the fourth time, he had finally made the Pro Football Hall of Fame and would be inducted in the 2022 class.
The tradition of "Hall of Fame Door Knocks" is special, and you can see why when Ty Law surprises Richard Seymour to let him know he made it to the @ProFootballHOF ❤️ #PFHOF22 pic.twitter.com/8mCBAEr0Pw
— NFL (@NFL) February 20, 2022
While Brady will eventually be a first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever he officially calls it quits, Seymour and Law are surprisingly the only players to reach Canton thus far from that early-2000s dynasty.
Seymour joins Tony Boselli, Cliff Branch, LeRoy Butler, Art McNally, Sam Mills, Dick Vermeil and Bryant Young as members of the 2022 Hall of Fame class.
i humbly and graciously accept this opportunity to stand alongside some of the greatest legends of the game of football.
football has given me the opportunity to live out my dreams and my passion. for that, words will never fully convey my gratitude and appreciation.
— Richard Seymour (@BigSey93) February 11, 2022
A truly special talent during his playing days, Seymour has gone on to have a successful life after football. But now, he will put the finishing touches on his football legacy by being honored as one of the game’s best to ever play.
