Buccaneers owner: Hall of Fame honors for Simeon Rice 'overdue' - ESPN

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-owner Bryan Glazer said Monday that defensive end Simeon Rice, who amassed 122 sacks in 12 seasons and helped lead the Bucs to victory in Super Bowl XXXVII, is «overdue» for a call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and that «it's time to rectify that oversight.»

In announcing Rice on Monday as the newest member of the Buccaneers Ring of Honor — with an induction ceremony set for Nov. 30 when the Bucs host the Arizona Cardinals, with whom Rice spent the first five seasons of his career — Glazer pointed to the numbers.

«From 1996 to 2005, [Rice] totaled a league-best 101.5 sacks over those eight years — more than Hall of Famers Michael Strahan and Jason Taylor,» Glazer said. «During that same stretch, his mark of eight seasons with double-digit sack totals is the seventh most in NFL history, and six men ahead of him on that list are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

»Simeon's credentials for induction into our Ring of Honor are unquestioned, but he's equally qualified and deserving of an overdue call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Notably, he's the only retired player with 100 sacks over eight consecutive seasons who doesn't own a gold jacket. It's time to rectify that oversight."

Rice, 51, was one of 50 semifinalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, but not a finalist. Upon retiring in 2007, he was ninth in career sacks; he now is No. 21. The non-Hall of Famers ahead of him are linebacker Terrell Suggs, who was named a finalist in his first year of eligibility in 2025 and had 139.0 sacks, John Abraham with 133.5, Leslie O'Neal with 132.5, Von Miller (who is still active) with 129.5 and Robert Mathis with 123.0.

Rice said that at one point, he felt like he