Tamba Hali set to retire as a Chief

According to an announcement on their official Twitter account, the Kansas City Chiefs have signed their former pass rusher Tamba Hali to a one-day contract so that he can officially retire as a member of the team.

Hali, 37, spent all 12 of his NFL seasons with the Chiefs after being selected out of Penn State in the first round (20th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. First as a defensive end and then as an outside linebacker, Hali appeared in 177 Chiefs games (starting 157) from 2006 through 2017, accumulating 596 tackles (460 solo, 105 for loss), a pair of interceptions, 33 forced fumbles and 16 passes defensed. But his 89.5 career sacks are the second-most in franchise history, behind only Pro Football Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas.

A native of Gbanga, Liberia, Hali came to the United States with his father at the age of 10 — and decided to become a football player while attending high school in Teaneck, New Jersey. During his time in Kansas City — in which the team had a record of just 91-101 — he remained one of the team’s most reliable (and popular) players.