John Lynch (Finally) A Hall Of Famer

Good things come to those who wait. For John Lynch, the wait had to be excruciating but it’s all done.

Yes, John Lynch, will be forever enshrined in Canton, Ohio in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Lynch, a key member of the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers that won Super Bowl XXXVII, has been a finalist for eight years and was the final player of that initial finalist class to make it in. He marks the third players from that vaunted Buccaneers defense to make it into the Hall, joining teammates Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp.

Drafted in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Buccaneers, Lynch was the first of the three Hall of Fame Bucs to win that Super Bowl to enter the league. With a promising baseball career, he was promised an opportunity by then head coach Sam Wyche and decided to give football a go. As a result, he gained a reputation as one of the hardest hitting safeties the game has ever - or will ever - know.

Lynch was a key cog in that defense and was as opportunistic as they come. When the team needed a big play, it was number 47 that was there. He finished his Buccaneers career with 132 starts, 788 total tackles (528 solo), 19 tackles for loss, 23 interceptions, seven forced fumbles, six sacks, eight fumble recoveries, and 42 passes defensed.

Following the 2003 season, Lynch would go to the Denver Broncos and add 59 more starts to his resume with 271 total tackles (199 solo) with nine tackles for loss, four interceptions, nine forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and 26 passes defensed.

Lynch was named to nine Pro Bowls and was a two-time All Pro. He’s also the only player inducted into the Ring of Honor for two different franchises.

Now, as the General Manager of the San Francisco 49ers, he has built a contending team that made it to Super Bowl LIV but fell short against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Lynch is joined in the Class of 2021 by Calvin Johnson, Charles Woodson, Peyton Manning, Alan Faneca, Tom Flores, Drew Pearson, and Bill Nunn.