Tamba Hali: 'Big Deal' Getting Inducted Into Chiefs' HOF, Ring of Honor

The 2024 NFL Draft captured most Kansas City Chiefs-related attention over the weekend, but some pretty significant news regarding a franchise legend served as a tremendous positive story as well.

On Saturday, it was announced that former Chiefs defensive lineman Tamba Hali will be inducted into the club's Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor. Things won't become official until later this year, but it's a well-deserved distinction for one of the better players to suit up for the franchise.

Amid draft-day chaos, Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt tipped his cap to Hali for going down forever in Kansas City history. Hali, in turn, spoke about what this means to him.

“It’s a big deal," Hali said. "It hasn’t really hit me like it should but being around the people that surround me today – my people (and) some of the people I came up here with. They’re proud of me, and I’m sure my dad is proud of me and I’m sure my coach from high school, he’s really proud of me. So, it’s a big deal for me. It’s one of the most prestigious awards you can get from an organization, I really think so.”

Earning this honor was a long time coming for Hali. After leaving his childhood home in Liberia to come to the United States, he eventually played college football at Penn State and had a tremendous final campaign with the Nittany Lions. That was enough to hear his name called 20th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft, with him landing in Kansas City and recording at least 7.5 sacks in three of his first four seasons.

The early 2010s saw Hali truly break out. In his prime from 2010-2013, he amassed 46.5 combined sacks and 85 quarterback hits across four seasons. That, in addition to 215 tackles (49 for loss), 14 forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries, made him one of the NFL's premier pass rushers. He'd go on to play four more years thereafter and cap off his Chiefs career in his age-34 2017 season.

It's difficult to tell the story of the Chiefs in great detail without bringing up Hali's name. After all, he holds top-three franchise rankings in career tackles for loss (first), quarterback hits (second), sacks (second) and forced fumbles (second). His time with the organization coincided with a down period for the team but ended as things were progressing into what's now known as the Patrick Mahomes era.

Now retired as a Chief and soon commemorated for his career, Hali describes his journey as "some kind of movie" in which someone else wrote the script. With him living out the dream and seeing the benefits, both he and Kansas City are slated to have just another reason to remember 'Tamba Time.'