Ray Lewis Retiring After 17 Years of Pro Football

Some call him a hero. Others call him a glorified thug who should be in jail. Regardless of what you think of Ray Lewis, he’ s one of the all time greats on the football field. At 37 years of age, he announced his retirement. He was drafted 25th overall in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft where he has been a Baltimore Raven for his entire career. A lot of people love Ray Lewis because of his intimidation and force on the field. Many consider him them greatest defensive player of the last decade.

There are others who hate Ray Lewis because of his alleged involvement in a murder in January 2000 at a Super Bowl party in Atlanta. The white suit that Lewis was wearing on the night of those murders was never found and therefore he was only sentenced to 12 months probation and fined 250,000 dollars by the NFL. A few years later he settled two civil suits with the the two victims families. In 2006, he became a born again Christian and re-devoted his life to Christ. In the end, his haters don’t realize how much charitable work he has done especially by founding the Ray Lewis 52 Foundation which is non-profit that helps disadvantaged youth.

Ray Lewis has much to be proud of in terms of his football career. Here is a recap of all he has done in his career.

-13 time Pro Bowler
-7 time AP First Team All-Pro
-3 time AP Second Team All-Pro
-Super Bowl champion (XXXV)
-Super Bowl XXXV MVP
-2 time AP NFL Defensive Player of Year
-3 time AFC Defensive Player Of The Year
-2 time NFL Alumni Linebacker Of The Year
-2 time All-American