text: 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 . he 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 , easley played professionally for the nfl 's seattle seahawks from 1981 to 1987 . he is considered 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 , when he was diagnosed with severe kidney disease . after retirement , easley owned a cadillac dealership , and later , the norfolk nighthawks af2 team from 1999 – 2003 . in 1998 , he was inducted into the virginia sports hall of fame . early years easley was born in chesapeake , virginia . easley graduated from oscar f. smith high school in chesapeake , va where he became the first player in the history of virginian high school football to rush and pass for over 1 , 000 yards in a single season . as a result , he was named as an all - state and all - american selection at quarterback . on september 6 , 1996 , oscar f. smith high school honored easley and two other football graduates ed beard and steve delong by naming its football stadium " beard – delong – easley field " . college career allegedly recruited by 350 colleges , easley selected ucla for his college football career . he started 10 games his freshman year , recording nine interceptions and was named to his first all pac - 10 squad . his 93 tackles established a school - record for tackles by a true freshman . later , he became the first player in conference history to be honored as all - conference for four consecutive years . playing from 1977 to 1980 , easley finished his college career with a school - record nineteen interceptions and 324 tackles . easley was selected as a three - time consensus all - american selection — ( 1978 , 1979 , and 1980 ) and finished ninth in the heisman trophy balloting in 1980 . his jersey number was retired by the school , and in 1991 he was elected to the ucla athletic hall of fame and the college football hall of fame . he also played basketball at the junior varsity level for ucla and was drafted by the chicago bulls in the tenth round of the 1981 nba draft but did not play . professional career easley was selected as the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 1981 nfl draft by the seattle seahawks . he became an immediate starter as a rookie , recording three interceptions for 155 yards and one touchdown , earning him afc defensive rookie of the year honors . in 1983 , the seahawks hired former buffalo bills coach chuck knox as their head coach and easley immediately became the " backbone " of knox 's defense . in his first season playing for knox , easley won the afc defensive player of the year award and recorded seven interceptions . in 1984 , easley led the nfl in interceptions with ten , which tied a club record . he returned two of them for touchdowns and was named as the nfl defensive player of the year , the first safety awarded since dick anderson in 1973 . on november 4 , 1984 , during a 45 – 0 win against the kansas city chiefs , the seahawks returned four interceptions for touchdowns , including one caught by easley , breaking the record for most touchdowns scored from an interception in a game . he also took over the role of the team 's main punt returner when paul johns got injured earlier in the season . after the season , easley signed a five - year contract to stay with the seahawks , averaging $ 650 , 000 a year plus incentives . the contract made him one of the highest paid defensive players in the league . in 1985 , easley was selected for his fourth consecutive pro bowl , a team record until defensive tackle cortez kennedy was selected for his fifth consecutive pro bowl in 1995 . easley was injured for most of the 1986 season . he injured his knee against the san diego chargers on october 11 , and the next month , missed the remainder of the season due to ankle surgery . in december , easley was rumored to be in the trading block as 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 , and a leading figure in the 1987 nfl strike . seeking a new collective bargaining agreement with free agency a major factor , the head of the national football league players association gene upshaw managed to convince easley and hundreds of his fellow nfl players to go on strike . as a response , the league decided to use replacement players to fill up their rosters , along with a few veterans that crossed the " picket line " . when former teammate jim zorn offered his services to the seahawks , easley said he obviously is either desperate to play in the nfl or desperate for money . here 's a guy who played in the nfl for a long time and who was adored and was admired by his fans and teammates . now , he turns his back on us . easley also warned his fellow players that he was against the idea of using violence against the replacement players in order to prove a point . once the strike ended , easley had an off - year as the seahawks passing defense fell to 25th in the league . his last game was a 23 – 20 loss against the houston oilers during the 1987 nfl 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 . 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 idiopathic nephrotic syndrome , a severe kidney disease that voided the trade . easley had told moyer that he thought his days with the seahawks were numbered because of his involvement in the player 's strike . he was not surprised when the trade happened , but the kidney diagnosis had " shocked " him . the seahawks offered several draft picks as compensation to the cardinals to complete the trade , and easley announced his retirement a few months later . easley filed a lawsuit against the seahawks , their team trainer , and the team doctors stating that an overdose of advil ( ibuprofen ) for an ankle injury a few years before was the cause of his kidney failure . he knew as early as 1986 that there were issues with his kidney , but finally realized the severity of it when he failed the cardinals physical . easley claimed that he took 15 to 20 advil 's daily for three months to reduce the swelling in his ankle , before a doctor interfered and told him to stop . a former teammate said that advil and other medications were easily obtainable in the seahawks locker room in " large dispensers " without proper medical supervision . easley 's physicians claimed that they never told him to take the quantity of advil 's easley claimed he took . his case made national headlines and formed discussion involving the safe use of over the counter medication like advil . the lawsuit was later settled out of court . easley received a new kidney two years later at the university of washington medical center . after his retirement easley cut most of his ties with the seahawks organization , citing the lawsuit , how his " dignity " was affected by the stouffer trade , and how no one from the organization offered condolences after his transplant . after retirement in 1991 , easley bought into a car dealership ( along with partner rick johnson ) , alderwood oldsmobile & cadillac in lynnwood washington , ( which later moved to shoreline , washington in 1996 , taking advantage of a general motors program that made it easier for african - americans and other minorities to own an auto dealership . the dealership became successful and easley was named president of the african american dealers association . in 1999 , easley , along with buffalo bills defensive end bruce smith , were named as the new owners of the norfolk nighthawks of the af2 , a semi - professional arena football league branched out from the arena football league . the day after the city announced easley and smith as owners , a controversy arose with mark and page johnson , the owners of the hampton roads admirals minor league hockey team , and the city of norfolk , virginia . and johnson stated that they participated in the original af2 meetings and asked the city for exclusive rights to own the franchise , providing a $ 5 , 000 down payment . instead , the city allowed easley and smith to pay the league 's $ 75 , 000 franchise fee . the af2 started playing their first games in the summer of 2000 . in his first season as owner , the nighthawks averaged 6 , 500 fans at their home field per game , and sold 3 , 200 season tickets . the team made the af2 playoffs , but lost money in their first season , which easley blamed as " rookie mistakes " and startup costs . the team disbanded prior to the 2004 season . easley was named an honorary captain during super bowl xlix . 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 he was not interested . he was also named to the nfl 1980s all - decade team .