Derrick Thomas

Derrick Vincent Thomas (January 1, 1967 – February 8, 2000), nicknamed D.T., was an American football linebacker and defensive end who played for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Thomas was drafted fourth overall by the Chiefs in the 1989 NFL Draft where he spent the entirety of his 11-year career until his death in 2000. Considered one of the greatest pass rushers of all time, he was named to nine Pro Bowls and holds the record for most sacks in a single game at seven. After the conclusion of the Chiefs' 1999 season, Thomas was involved in a car accident during the 1999–2000 NFL playoffs that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Days later, he died from a blood clot that developed in his paralyzed legs and traveled to his lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism. Thomas was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.