Warren Sapp Retires After 13 Years in the NFL

Fans of the Oakland Raiders and standout defensive tackle Warren Sapp might have been a bit shocked when they logged in to the outspoken star's website Thursday, where he had posted a two-word statement announcing his retirement.

On an otherwise blank, black screen, the words "I'm Done" dominated the front page of Sapp's website, www.qbkilla.com, with no active links. According to Foxsports.com, Sapp confirmed the end of his career Thursday morning by officially delivering the news to Raiders owner Al Davis.

Sapp was named to seven pro bowls during his 13-year career and was named the Associated Press's Defensive Player of the year in 1999, when he collected 12.5 sacks and caused four fumbles despite playing much of the year injured. He totalled 96.5 sacks over his career - an average of 7.4 per season. His glory days were between the 1996 and 2000 seasons, when he averaged 11 sacks per year - including 16.5 in 2000.

This year, Sapp collected only two sacks, the lowest of his career and a significant drop from his 2006 total of 10, his most since 2000. Sapp was quoted in USA Today as being resigned to the idea that he was no longer the player he once was.

""Every defensive tackle that's drafted in the top five is supposed to be the next (me)," Sapp said.. "All of them have that tag. ... I've played the game pretty well, so if I'm the standard by which (they'll) be judged, that's tough, because I'd like to relive that guy, too. He's a bad boy. He's dead now. I give you flashes of him every now and then but, nah, that guy was sick."

Warren Sapp, however, was not drafted in the top five despite the talent he obviously displayed at the University of Miami, where, in his senior season, he won the Lombardi Trophy for best college defensive lineman, was named as a consensus first-team All American, was nominated for the Outland Trophy for best lineman on either side of the ball (Zack Wiegert won), and was named the Defensive Player of the Year by the Football Writers Association. At the scouting combine in Indianapolis, he blew away all of his rival defensive line prospects in the 40-yard dash, but also tested positive for marijuana.

The drug test sent Sapp's stock plummeting, and he was eventually drafted by Tampa Bay at 12. He went on to serve as an anchor on a defense that catapulted the Buccanneers from perennial losers to Super Bowl champions in 2002. His statistics backed up the awards he earned during his senior season. In 2004, he accepted a contract with the Oakland Raiders, where he appeared to have turned things back around in 2006.

But Warren Sapp's time in the NFL was not all awards and accolades. One of the most widely-known incidents came during a game in 2002 against the Green Bay Packers, when Sapp threw a brutal block to Chad Clifton, who was jogging downfield away from the main action during an interception return. Blindsided, Clifton suffered a pelvic injury that ended his season. Packers then-coach Mike Sherman confronted Sapp for what he called a "cheap shot," and for the "joviality" that he showed as Clifton lay on the field, according to Sports Illustrated.
Sapp was also criticized and fined for skipping through the Pittsburgh Steelers' pregame warmup before a Monday Night Football game in 2002. He made a similar Monday Night Football entrance against the Indianapolis Colts in 2003. A week later, he was slapped with a $50,000 fine for bumping into a referee as he ran onto the field, as reported by espn.com. In 2007, Sapp was again fined for an altercation with officials after a referee mistakenly declined a penalty that Sapp, the Raiders' defensive team captain, wanted to accept. A heated discussion that eventually involved several officials and Raiders players resulted in three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against Sapp and an ejection, not to mention a $75,000 fine.

Sapp's aggressive nature, which led to the fines and ejection, benefitted him on the field, where many will likely remember him as one of the best to ever play the position.