KC Chiefs: Appreciating Tamba Hali

Tamba Hali may be the most important player for the KC Chiefs in 2015. He is not one of the best players in the NFL. He isn’t one of the best players on his team. He isn’t even the best player at his position on his team.

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In a day and age where the NFL is riddled with DUI’s, domestic violence, violations of the leagues substance abuse policy, the KC Chiefs are lucky to have Hali.

In a league filled with players holding out every year to get every possible dollar they can out of a team, the Chiefs have Hali.

In a league filled with players that pledge their loyalty to teams and promise to finish their careers with a team, but then leave the first opportunity they get, the Chiefs have Hali.

Tamba Hali was drafted in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the KC Chiefs out of Penn State University, but his character was built long before he came to Kansas City or Penn State.

Hali was born and grew up in Liberia that was under a constant civil war. When Hali was ten years old he joined his father in the United States, but his mother was left behind in Liberia. Hali vowed to make a name for himself in the United States so he can be reunited with his mother and rescue her from Liberia.

In 2006 that dream came true for Hali and his mother. Hali’s mother saw him play football for the first time on October 1st, 2006 when the KC Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in convincing fashion with a 41-0 shutout victory.

On August 4th, 2011 Hali and the Chiefs agreed to a new five year, $60 million contract that was set to keep Hali in KC through 2016.

After an effective but down year by Hali’s standards in 2014 there was speculation that Hali could be a cap casualty and the Chiefs could release Hali to free up cap space to make moves in free agency, and to sign the younger Justin Houston to a big new contract.