What Is Richard Seymour's Net Worth?
Richard Seymour is a retired American football player who has a net worth of $25 million. During his career, Richard Seymour earned $90 million in NFL salary. He played most of his professional career with the New England Patriots.
Early Life
Richard Seymour was born on October 6, 1979, in Gadsden, South Carolina. He played sports from a young age and was very athletic. He began playing football in middle school and then played at Lower Richland High School in Hopkins, South Carolina. Richard won first-team All-Region honors while playing there. As a senior, he was voted the team's best defensive lineman. He was also a team captain, won an All-Area Player of the Week award, and led his team to four All-Area Team of the Week honors. He finished the season with 8 sacks and 83 tackles. After high school, Seymour attended the University of Georgia, where he played for the Bulldogs from 1997 to 2000. Some of his teammates were future NFL players Marcus Stroud, Charles Grant, and Johnathan Sullivan. As a senior, he was named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.
Career
Seymour was drafted by the Patriots in the first round as the sixth overall pick of the 2001 NFL Draft. In July 2001, the Patriots signed Seymour to a six-year, $14.3 million contract. He played in 13 games in his 2001 rookie season. The Patriots made it to Super Bowl XXXVI that year, and Richard started in the game at the defensive tackle position. He helped the Patriots secure the win and earned a Super Bowl ring for the team's victory over the St. Louis Rams.
In 2002, Seymour started in all 16 games in his second season in the NFL. In the 2003 season, the Patriots changed up their defense strategy, and Richard moved outside to defensive end. He was named a defensive team captain for the first time in his career. He finished the season with a career-high eight sacks and 57 tackles in the 15 games he played. Seymour was twice named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week during the season. He would go on to win his second Super Bowl ring after the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Seymour was elected to the 2004 Pro Bowl and was a first-team All-Pro selection following the season. He started all 15 games he played during the 2004 season, though he did suffer an MCL injury in Week 16 of the season. However, Richard was back in the game by the Super Bowl and helped the Patriots secure a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
In 2005, Seymour entered the final year of his rookie contract. He missed the first four days of training camp in hopes of securing a new contract. Though the Patriots did not fulfill his request, they did give him a pay raise in order to end his holdout. In April 2006, he signed a three-year, $30 million contract extension through the 2009 season.
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Seymour appeared in all 16 regular season games in the 2006 season, though he did suffer a number of injuries that year. In the 2007 offseason, he had surgery on his left knee that he had originally injured two years before. The surgery kept Richard out of training camp and the preseason. Eventually, the Patriots decided to keep Seymour on the Physically Unable to Perform list and kept him out of the first six weeks of the regular season. The 2008 season proved to be a much healthier one for Seymour, who started in the first 15 games of the season and only had to sit out in the season finale after he suffered a back injury.
In September 2009, the Patriots traded Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Seymour refused to report to the Raiders in the days following the trade, as he was unhappy about being traded to the team. He ultimately did report to the team and went on to start all 16 games of the 2009 season with the Raiders.
In 2010, Seymour signed a one-year deal with the Raiders valued at $12.4 million. The next year, he agreed to a two-year, $30 million contract extension with the Raiders, making him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. During the 2011 season, Richard recorded 29 tackles and six sacks. He was one of four Raiders selected to attend the 2012 Pro Bowl. Seymour suffered an injury midway through the 2012 season, resulting in him missing the final eight games of 2012. The Raiders later voided the rest of his contract in February of 2013. He then became a free agent before ultimately deciding to retire from professional football.
Seymour went on to become a professional poker player. He was a participant in the 2019 World Series of Poker main event, where he finished in 131st place. He also participated in the 2023 World Series of Poker main event.
Personal Life
Seymour met his wife, Tanya, in high school, and the two were high school sweethearts. In 2009, Tanya and two of her friends were charged with second-degree lynching in South Carolina after assaulting two women at a New Year's party. However, the charges were later dismissed. The couple has three children – RJ, Kayla, and Kennedy.
