Exclusive: Devin Hester Talks Hall of Fame Career, Bears, Seahawks, Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund & much more

Arguably, the greatest kick returner in NFL history is Chicago Bears legend Devin Hester. He is the first and only player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who primarily returned kickoffs and punts, even though he also spent time at wide receiver during his incredible playing career in the NFL.

A lot like Primetime before his time, Hester was drafted as a cornerback to the NFL, but it didn’t take much time for him to transition into a return specialist. His extraordinary ability to evade defenders and turn on the jets at short notice enabled Hester to conjure up some of the greatest football highlights ever – most memorably, from Super Bowl XLI, when he became the only player in Super Bowl history to return an opening kickoff for a touchdown.

Hester recently spoke with EssentiallySports about several different topics from his Hall of Fame career, who reminds him the most of himself in the NFL today, and who he has winning the Super Bowl and NFL MVP, as well as his work with the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund and partnership with PorkRinds.com.

You’re working with Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, partnering with PorkRinds.com. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

“Yeah, so it’s pretty much kind of like a foundation that they’re raising money for a lot of retired players. I’m benefiting, you know, the insurance policy for us, you know, helping the guys out this, struggling, or maybe in need of help medical issues. So we are just raising money funds to help out those types of guys.”

There’s going to be an appreciation day, right? Pork Rind Appreciation Day is on February 8.

“Yes, correct. So it is pretty much appreciation day. February 8 is the day that we came up with this round of support time; we will be helping out. We also 2027 Superbowl will be giving out two tickets as well as air flight, air flight hotel, and expenses at all. And what we try to do is get a lot of people to subscribe to porkrind.com and go on that benefit to help out to raising the funds as well.”

“It’s all now, just go to porkrind.com, subscribe, and get the opportunity to win those two tickets as well as for the Super Bowl, as well as the flights, hotel, flares, and all the accessories.”

So you said this is for the Super Bowl next year or this year?

“This is for next year, for 2027. But we’re trying to get people on and subscribed yet. So, going on PorkRind.com and helping out. Two lucky winners. Two lucky winners will be able to win.”

Do you see a bright future for the Chicago Bears with Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson leading the way?

“I do. I honestly do. I feel like what Caleb did this year opened up a lot of eyes. Um, to what we’re capable of being, you know, being with Coach Ben coming in, which is a great offensive-minded guy, with him coming along, helping out, and changing the whole program around. When looking at the Chicago Bears, we haven’t been that deep in the playoffs for forever, and with this being his first year and what he did to the program, you know, I’m pretty sure a lot of Bears fans are geeked to see what’s gonna happen next year.”

Who do you think is going to take it all this season, heading into the AFC and NFC Championship games?

“I think Seattle is a scary team right now. The way they play, they play with a lot of confidence, putting up a lot of points, and the defense is playing great.”

When people say that you’re the greatest returner of all time, what does that mean for you now that you’re a Hall of Famer?

“It means a lot because you don’t get a lot of players where you can say that it’s the greatest of all time. And just to have that quote above my name, it speaks highly of what I did in the league.”

What return do you remember the most that you think kind of defines you the most?

“Probably the Super Bowl. Super Bowl is kind of what stands out in everybody’s mind when they talk about the best returns I ever had. So I would probably say the Super Bowl one.”

Defensive players have said that you were one of the scariest men in the NFL with the ball in your hands. Do you feel that? Did you feel that fear from opponents?

“Oh, yeah, most definitely! Whenever I touched the ball, even on offense or specialty, I felt I had a chance of taking it to the house. It’s something I always felt.”

Today’s NFL is different, right? With returns and all that. Do you think a player like you could dominate the same way in today’s rules?

“Most definitely, yeah. With the great offensive-minded coaches that they have now, you know, everything is evolving to a new era, you know what I mean? New plays, new designs, again, the playmakers have had the ball in their hands a lot easier and just creating more opportunity and, like I say, special plays to really, really get them, to keep guys involved.”

Who in the NFL right now reminds you of yourself, if anybody?

“I would say a lot of the receivers from Seattle, man. No. 11, I believe. Jaxson Smith-Njigba. I think that the offensive scheme that he has based around him, a lot of slants, a lot of one-on-one matchups, you know what I mean? And you get a lot of man coverage, a lot of cross and routes and things like that that utilize his talent, you know what I mean? And that’s what Seattle does so great with him.”

As a specialist, did you ever feel like you had to fight harder for respect compared to quarterbacks and wide receivers?

“I didn’t think so until the Hall of Fame committee came out with the voting and things like that, and then it kind of showed how hard it was for specialists to really get recognized.”

What did it feel like to hear that, to hear your name in the Hall of Fame?

“For a player, that’s a dream come true, that’s the highest honor you can get in the National Football League, to make it to the Hall of Fame. And I don’t think there’s no other recognition or honor higher than being in the Hall of Fame.”

When young NFL players ask you for advice in the league right now, what do you tell them?

“I just tell them, just continue to work hard. Make sure that you keep your nose clean, stay out of trouble, and don’t take anything for granted, to be honest with you.”

A couple of just rapid-fire questions. Who’s the fastest player you’ve ever seen in the NFL?

“Probably Tyreek Hill.”

What’s the most brutal hit you ever took on a return?

“On a return? Oh, I don’t know. I can’t recall anything. I know the toughest hit I ever took, period, was probably by Brian Dawkins when I was playing receiver. Return-wise, I can’t recall any.”

If there’s one rule you could bring back, like make returns more dangerous again, what would it be?

“Bring it back to the wedge.”

You said Seattle’s going to win the Super Bowl, right?

“Yeah, I feel like right now, if I had to put my money on it, it’d be Seattle.”

What about the NFL MVP, who would you take? I know most people are saying it’s either Drake Maye or Matthew Stafford right now.

“I like Matthew Stafford. Just because of what he did this year. Look at how many touchdowns he threw. He’s playing with almost 40 right now, played over close to about 20 years in the league right now, and this is the most touchdowns he ever threw in his career.”