Former NFL Player and Poker Crusher Richard Seymour Elected to NFL Hall of Fame

08:46
21 Feb

Richard Seymour’s football legacy was recently cemented as he was elected to be in the National Football League Hall of Fame last week. Offensive lineman and running backs aren’t the only thing he has crushed in his life. The now hall of famer has displayed his skills on the felt since his retirement and has racked up over $600,000 in live poker earnings.

Stellar Career

To say Richard Seymour was a staple on the New England Patriots defense during their multiple Super Runs would be an understatement. Patriots CEO and Chairman Robert Kraft released a statement praising Seymour’s work for the perennial powerhouse. “I am thrilled that Richard Seymour will forever be recognized as one of the greatest players in the 102-year history of the NFL,” Robert Kraft said. “He laid the foundation for a defense that helped propel the Patriots to three Super Bowl championships in his first four seasons in the NFL.” From 2002 to 2006, Seymour was elected to five Pro Bowls and earned three consecutive first team All-Pro nods from 2003 to 2005. Throughout his stellar career for the Patriots, Seymour racked up 460 total tackles – including 256 solo tackles – and 39 sacks. He was also responsible for two interceptions and six fumble recoveries.

He was drafted sixth overall in 2001, and his presence on defense was immediately felt, as his defensive prowess helped the Patriots win a Super Bowl in his rookie season.

From The Turf To The Felt

After retiring from the NFL, Seymour found a new way to stay competitive in poker. His first recorded cash was in July 2014, and he has continued to display his poker skills.

His biggest cash came in 2018 when he took third in the $25,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller for a whopping $376,360. Not too shabby for a former football player!

More recently, he gained traction in the poker world in 2019 for becoming the longest-lasting athlete or former athlete in the World Series of Poker Main Event with his 131st place finish.

“It was definitely fun,” Seymour said about his run in the Main. “Put it like this. If you were in a tournament with over 5,000 people and think you’re going to final table it, that’s a sucker bet. You just go out, you have fun and at the end of the day you let the results be what they are.” Seymour grew up playing poker with his family, specifically learning the game from his dad and testing his skills against his cousins. “Even in the [National Football] League, we would have Monday night poker games,” Seymour said. “I would play with some of the guys while we watched Monday Night Football. We would just fool around, not even for money but bragging rights.” During a lockout year in 2011, Seymour invited his teammates to Atlanta and organized dealers and a venue to host a poker tournament for his entire team.

To Seymour, poker is a fun way to satisfy his competitive needs.

“It’s a fun hobby,” Seymour said of poker. “It’s something to keep your competitive juices flowing. We still have that fire to keep it going, so it’s a great outlet.” Seymour took a break from live poker after 2019, but last fall he notched more earnings in the $550 Wynn Fall Classic in Las Vegas.

Congratulations to Richard Seymour for having his legacy cemented in Canton, and we wish him the best of luck in all of his future poker endeavors.

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