Walter Payton played his entire 13-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears. One of the league’s all-time greats, he is remembered and celebrated by fans everywhere, but he belongs to Chicago and Chicago belongs to him.
Payton is Chicago. Cal Ripken is Baltimore. Mario Lemieux is Pittsburgh.
Derrick Brooks, the 11-time Pro Bowl linebacker who is sure to join Payton in the Hall of Fame in a few short years, played his entire 14-year career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Thursday, he held a press conference at One Buccaneer Place to close that chapter of his life, officially announcing his retirement from the NFL.