Former Packers safety LeRoy Butler earns induction to Pro Football Hall of Fame

February 10, 2022
|In Packers
|By Zach Heilprin

Make it 28 former Green Bay Packers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

After a long wait, safety LeRoy Butler finally got the knock on his door Thursday afternoon and will be a part of the 2022 class that will be inducted in August.

“LeRoy was a great leader and teammate,” said former Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who announced Butler’s induction during the NFL Honors show. “In professional football, great players have a knack for being around the ball and producing big plays, and LeRoy was that player.”

Butler played a major role in Green Bay’s revitalization as a franchise in the 1990s. Drafted in the second round out of Florida State in 1990, Butler was a four-time All-Pro during his 12 years with the team. His production of 38 interceptions, 13 forced fumbles and three touchdowns landed him on the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 90s. Along with Reggie White, Butler powered the defense in the Packers run to a Super Bowl XXXI title in the 1996 season.

“It is wonderful that the premier safety of the 90’s is getting his just reward by entering pro football’s sacred chamber, THE HALL OF FAME,” said Ron Wolf, the team’s general manager for nearly Butler’s entire career. “It is well earned due to his passion for the game and his dedication to the Green Bay Packers along with his superb play.”

Butler is also credited for being the originator of the Lambeau Leap, doing so after taking a pitch from White after a fumble and taking it to the house in a game against the then-Los Angeles Raiders.

With Butler’s induction, there are now three Packers from the mid-90s teams in the Hall of Fame, as he joins White and Favre.

Here is the full class of 2022:

Tony Boselli
Cliff Branch
Leroy Butler
Art McNally
Sam Mills
Richard Seymour
Dick Vermeil
Bryant Young