It’s about damn time.
LeRoy Butler will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the class of 2022. The legendary Packers safety last played the game in the 2001 season and has been waiting 20 years for this day.
The first NFL player to achieve 20 interceptions and 20 sacks, he was the ONLY player from the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team that had yet to hear his name called in Canton. That wait is finally over.
Butler recorded 38 interceptions, forced 13 fumbles, recovering ten of them, made 721 tackles, and 20.5 sacks throughout his pro career, a career spent entirely in Green Bay with the Packers.
The league started compiling sacks in 1982, and since then only four players have at least 35 interceptions and 20 sacks — Butler (38 and 20½), Charles Woodson (65 and 20), Brian Dawkins (37 and 26) and Ronde Barber (47 and 28).
It is indisputable the Packers were among the NFL’s top teams in the 1990s and that Butler was its third-best player, after Brett Favre and Reggie White. Of the six teams that dominated the decade — Buffalo, Dallas, Denver, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and San Francisco — only the Packers had fewer than three players in the Hall – until today.
Butler was named to the Pro Bowl four times, selected as an All-Pro four times, was a part of the 1990’s all-decade team, and was enshrined in the Packers Hall of Fame in 2007. In addition to all of these accomplishments, he is also credited with creating the Lambeau Leap, the most iconic celebration in the National Football League.
“On behalf of the entire Green Bay Packers organization, I want to congratulate LeRoy on his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is an honor that he earned through his hard work, leadership and outstanding play,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. “I’m so happy for LeRoy and his family. He was a versatile player and key part of the teams that helped return the Packers to championship level football.”
Butler played in more games, 181, than any other defensive back in team history, and only seven players overall saw action in more contests. He played in 116 consecutive games from 1994-2001 and appeared in all 16 games in nine of his 12 seasons. Butler registered 38 interceptions, the fourth most in club history and only one short of third-ranking Herb Adderley (39).
Butler is the 28th member of the Packers to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.