Celebrating the Packers ‘Minister of Defense’ Reggie White

Most casual fans don’t realize that some of the best players to ever play the game come from all different kinds of avenues.

Packers great Reggie White chose to play in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons before choosing to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft in 1985 when the USFL disbanded. White was chosen in the first round as an All-American defensive end from the University of Tennessee prior to playing for the USFL’s Memphis Showboats.

White was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles and spent eight amazingly productive seasons there racking up 124 sacks to become the Eagles’ all-time sack leader. The defensive icon became a free agent in 1993 and signed with the Green Bay Packers and played six glorious seasons anchoring the defensive front. White’s 68.5 sacks as a Packers defender ranks him second all-time in that category in franchise history. Throughout his six seasons with the Packers, White made the Pro Bowl each season and First Team All-Pro three times.

During his career, he reached 13 Pro Bowls and 10 First-Team All-Pro selections. In 1998, the man every NFL quarterback feared became the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year for the Packers. The year prior, he became a Super Bowl champion as his defensive dominance catapulted the Packers to a victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. 

As vicious as Reggie White was on the playing field, he was also known for his Christian ministry as an ordained Evangelical minister, leading to the nickname, “The Minister of the Defense.” As a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame, NFL.com has White rated as the seventh best player of all-time. The 198.5 sacks that The Minister accumulated during his career rank second only to Bruce Smith’s 200 in NFL history.