To be better than Peyton Manning at football, you have to be something else. Let’s just say there may not ever be another player quite like Reggie White. Like Manning, he got his start playing in Knoxville for the Vols. After four years with Tennessee, White briefly played for his home state’s Memphis Showboats in the USFL.
Once the USFL collapsed, White would go on to play the next eight football seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. After the 1992 NFL season, something called NFL free agency began and White would be the first marquee player to switch teams. He would play the next six seasons with the Green Bay Packers, winning a Super Bowl and going to another.
White would retire after the 1998 NFL season but came back to play one year with the 2000 Carolina Panthers. He would sadly pass away at age 43 in 2004 from sleep apnea. White’s untimely passing only added the mystique of his illustrious NFL playing career.
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He was a 13-time Pro Bowler and an eight-time All-Pro. White led the NFL in sacks twice and was Defensive Player of the Year on two occasions. He totaled 198.0 quarterback sacks, 1,048 tackles, 33 forced fumbles, and 20 fumble recoveries before hanging up the spikes for good in 2001.