The NFL announced it will salute former Chicago Bears legend and Super Bowl XX MVP Richard Dent during Super Bowl XLVII.
Dent, who played the majority of his 14-year career with the Bears at defensive end, will participate in the Vince Lombardi Trophy ceremony at the conclusion of Super Bowl XLVII. Dent will carry the trophy to the stage and deliver it to Commissioner Roger Goodell, who will present it to the Super Bowl champion.
Dent, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, joins a number of other NFL legends who have been saluted in previous Lombardi Trophy ceremonies. The ceremony was expanded in 2006 to include a great from a prior Super Bowl and features the “Lombardi Theme,” special music scored by NFL Films.
An eighth-round draft choice out of Tennessee State in 1983, Dent was one of the most feared pass rushers in NFL history and collected 137.5 sacks, including eight seasons in which he recorded a double-digit sack count. One of Dent’s signature performances came Jan. 26, 1986 in Super Bowl XX at the Superdome where he accounted for three tackles, 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in the Bears’ 46-10 win over the New England Patriots. He was also a member of the San Francisco 49ers’ Super Bowl XXIX championship team, the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Following Dent’s retirement in 1997, he started his own consulting firm, RLD Resources, helping clients optimize their electricity purchasing decisions. He also founded the Make a Dent Foundation, a Chicago-based not-for-profit that facilitates the advancement of inventive ways to help people help themselves and those around them lead productive and satisfying lives.
