Kenny Easley

Kenneth Mason Easley, Jr. (born January 15, 1959) is a former American college and professional football player who was a strong safety in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. Easley played college football for the University of California, Los Angeles, and was a three-time consensus All-American. A first-round pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks from 1981 to 1987. He is considered as one of the greatest Seahawks players of all-time and one of the greatest safeties in NFL history.

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 after being diagnosed with severe kidney disease.

In 1998, was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Early years
Easley was born in Chesapeake, Virginia. He attended Oscar F. Smith High School in Chesapeake, and was an All-State selection and high school football All-American.

College career
He played college football at UCLA from 1977 to 1980, where he finished his college career with a school-record nineteen interceptions and 324 tackles. He was a three-time consensus All-American selection—(1978, 1979, 1980); a four-time All-Pacific 10 Conference selection (1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980); and finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1980. His jersey number five was retired by the school, and in 1991, Easley was elected to the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame.

Easley was also drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the tenth round of the 1981 NBA Draft but didn't play.

Pro career
Easley was drafted as the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Seahawks where he started in safety as a rookie. He earned AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors that season when he recorded three interceptions for 155 yards and one touchdown. In 1983, the Seahawks hired former Buffalo Bills coach Chuck Knox and Easley immediately became the "backbone" of Knox's defense. In his first season playing for Knox, Easley was selected as AFC Defensive Player of the Year and recorded seven interceptions. In 1984, Easley led the National Football League in interceptions with ten, returning two of them for touchdowns and was named as NFL Defensive Player of the Year. After the season, Easley signed a five-year contract to stay with the Seahawks which averaged $650,000 a year plus incentives. The contract made him one of the highest paid defensive players in the league.

Easley was injured for most of the 1986 season He suffered an injured knee against the San Diego Chargers in October. Easley then missed the remainder of the season for an ankle surgery in November. In December, Easley was rumored to be in the trading block while the Seahawks was attempting to get the first overall pick in the 1987 NFL Draft from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in order to draft quarterback Vinny Testaverde.

In 1987, Easley was the Seahawks player representative during the 1987 NFL strike. Once the strike ended, Easley had an off-year as the Seahawks passing defense fell to 25th in the league. His final game was a 23-20 loss against the Houston Oilers during the 1988 playoffs in overtime.

Trade and retirement
Prior to the 1988 season, the Seahawks offered Easley to several clubs in an attempt to get a quarterback in return. Easley's declining play, which was partially blamed on his work during the strike, and the blossoming of Easley's backup Paul Moyer had made Easley expendable to the Seahawks. On April 22, 1988, the Seahawks traded Easley to the Phoenix Cardinals for quarterback Kelly Stouffer. During the mandatory team physical, Easley was diagnosed with a kidney disease which voided the trade. The Seahawks instead offered several draft picks instead as compensation to the Cardinals to complete the trade, and Easley announced his retirement a few months later.

After retirement
He filed a lawsuit against the Seahawks, the team trainer, and the team doctors saying that an overdose of Advil for an ankle injury a few years prior to his retirement was why his kidney failed. The lawsuit was settled out of court. He received a new kidney two years later at the University of Washington Medical Center. After his retirement Easley cutoff most of his ties with the Seahawks organization, citing the lawsuit and how his "dignity" was affected by the Stouffer trade.

He bought an car dealership, Alderwood Oldsmobile & Cadillac in Shoreline, Washington in 1991, taking advantage of a General Motors program that made it easier for African-Americans and other minorities to own a dealership. He became a successful dealer, becoming president of the African American Dealer Association. From 1999-2003, Easley was the owner of the Norfolk Nighthawks of the AF2, a semi-professional arena football team. In his first season as owner the Nighthawks managed to average 6,500 fans at their home field, and sold 3,200 season tickets. He is currently a business entrepreneur.

Legacy
In his seven-year career, Easley recorded 32 interceptions for 538 yards and three touchdowns, while also returning 27 punts for 302 yards. In 2002, Easley was elected to the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor after several attempts by the Seahawks to nominate him, but Easley wasn't interested. He was also selected for the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team.