Kenny Easley ✝

Kenneth Mason Easley Jr. (born January 15, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a strong safety in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was a three-time consensus All-American. A first-round pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, Easley played professionally for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks from 1981 to 1987. Easley has been considered to be among the best defensive backs during his era and one of the Seahawks' all-time greatest players. Easley was one of Seahawks' defensive unit leaders and one of the finest defensive players in the NFL during the 1980s. In 1984, Easley was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. He was a four-time All–Pro selection and was elected to the Pro Bowl five times in his career. Easley's career ended after the 1987 season, when he was diagnosed with severe kidney disease. After retirement, Easley owned a Cadillac dealership and later, the Norfolk Nighthawks AF2 team from 1999 to 2003. In 1998, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.