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Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend Lavonte David announced his retirement on Tuesday at a press conference.
David, 36, spent 14 seasons with the Buccaneers and was the team’s longest-tenured player, including being a key member of their Super Bowl-winning team. He spent 12 seasons as a captain.
“I just want to start off by saying, man, ‘God is amazing.’ 14 years of football, to come to this moment, I never thought I’d be in this situation. I never thought I’d be here,” David said.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough, File)
Since David entered the NFL in 2012, he leads the league in solo tackles (1,171) while having the second-most tackles for loss (177) in that span. He is one of three players to record 40-plus sacks and 35-plus takeaways in his career. Pro Football Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher are the other two.
David said he played football for the “fun of it, for the love of it.” He called his career a journey.
“Every time I stepped on the field I wanted to prove myself right, and all my doubters wrong.”
David got emotional talking about his late parents and the sacrifices they made for him.
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FILE – Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) with his family before an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Oct. 26, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Ella Hall, File)
“Growing up where I grew up, it ain’t easy. It ain’t easy but they found a way for me and you don’t understand that until you get older and until you have kids of your own, the sacrifices they made for you. The things they did for you,” a tearful David said.
“It’s just, thinking about my dad, the sacrifices he made. He was never the breadwinner in our family, but for some reason he and my mom made it work and their relationship lasted for so long. And when you saw how they was compatible with each other and how they made our lives easier. We had one car, my mom took the car to work and my dad used to take me to practice on his handlebars on a bike. We used to walk sometimes, and as a kid you’d be like, ‘Dang man, that walk was a far walk.’ You realize it’s a sacrifice that you gotta make to help your sons, kids dreams come true. And they did it.”
When David’s mom passed away in 2016, he said he didn’t care about football anymore because he wanted to help her make her dreams come true after she made his dreams come true.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy during a celebration of the team’s Super Bowl LV victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Tampa, Florida, on Feb. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
David’s father passed away shortly after the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in 2021.
David tied Pro Football Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks’ franchise tackle record of 1,714 in his final regular-season game. He has played the third-most games in Buccaneers history behind Brooks (224) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Rondé Barber (241).
The Buccaneers selected David with their second-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft out of Nebraska. He made the Pro Bowl once in his career, was named a first-team All-Pro once and a second-team All-Pro twice.
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