Ronald Mandel Lott (born May 8, 1959) is an American former professionalfootball player in theNational Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons from 1981 to 1994.
Lott playedcollege football for theUniversity of Southern California (USC), and was honored as a consensusAll-American. A first-round pick in the1981 NFL draft, he played for theSan Francisco 49ers,Los Angeles Raiders,New York Jets, andKansas City Chiefs of the NFL. Lott was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and theInternational Sports Hall of Fame in 2023,[1] and is widely considered to be one of the greatest of all time at thesafety position in NFL history.[2][3]
Ronald Mandel Lott was born on May 8, 1959, inAlbuquerque, New Mexico. Lott attendedEisenhower High School inRialto, California. While in high school, Lott playedfootball,baseball,basketball, andwrestled.[4][5]
Lott played for USC from 1977 to 1980. After lettering in limited time as a Freshman in 1977, Lott made the starting lineup in 1978 and recorded 3 interceptions, assisting the team to a 12–1 record and splitting the national championship with Alabama in 1978. The 1979 season saw more success for SC. Lott recorded 3 interceptions again as a key member of an elite secondary that included future NFL playersJeff Fisher,Dennis Smith, andJoey Browner. Along with an offense that included all American quarterbackPaul McDonald, Heisman winnerCharles White, future Heisman winnerMarcus Allen, and four future NFL first round picks in the offensive line, he helped USC finish with a 11–0–1 record and a #2 ranking in bothpolls, In his senior season, Lott led the nation in interceptions (8) and return yards (166),[6] earning himself unanimous All-American honors as the team went 8–2–1 with a final ranking of #11 while the team served a one-year NCAA probation.[7]
In 1999,Sports Illustrated included him on its All-Century Team for college football.[8]
Lott was selected in the first round (8th overall) of the1981 NFL draft by theSan Francisco 49ers.[9] The level of skill demonstrated by the 6-foot, 203-pound standout was instantly recognized, and from the very beginning of training camp he had the job as the 49ers' starting leftcornerback. In his rookie season in1981, he recorded seven interceptions, helped the 49ers to winSuper Bowl XVI, and also became only the second rookie in NFL history to return three interceptions fortouchdowns. His outstanding play resulted in his finishing second forrookie of the year honors, behindNew York GiantslinebackerLawrence Taylor.
Lott switched to the safety position in1985. He had the tip of his left pinky finger amputated after the 1985 season when it was crushed while tackling running backTimmy Newsome, and a bone graft surgery would not have allowed him to start the1986 season.[10] While Lott told doctors to amputate the tip of his pinky, years later, he regretted having the procedure done saying he should have just had an operation to fix his finger. An injury sidelined him for the season's last two games in 1986, but he still led the league with a career-best 10 interceptions, while recording 77 tackles, three forcedfumbles, and twoquarterback sacks. In his 10 years with the 49ers, Lott helped them win eight division titles and fourSuper Bowls:XVI (1981 season),XIX (1984),XXIII (1988), andXXIV (1989). He is one of five players that were on all four 1980s 49ers Super Bowl wins. The other four are quarterbackJoe Montana, linebackerKeena Turner, cornerbackEric Wright, and wide receiverMike Wilson.[11]
After his career with San Francisco, Lott signed as a free agent in1991 with theLos Angeles Raiders. In 1991, he led the league in interceptions (8) for a second time.[12]
Lott signed in1993 with theNew York Jets.
He returned to the 49ers in1995, but the injuries he had suffered over the previous four seasons continued to plague him, and he announced his retirement before the season began. He was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility, and was also named to theNFL's 75th Anniversary Team in 1994 and the100th Anniversary Team in 2019.
In his 14 NFL seasons, Lott recorded 8.5 sacks and 63 interceptions, which he returned for 730 yards and five touchdowns. He recovered 17 fumbles, returned them for 43 yards, and gained 113 yards on kickoff returns. Lott also played in 20 postseason games, recording nine interceptions, 89 tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and two touchdowns. He was named All-Pro eight times, All-NFC six times, and All-AFC once. Lott had an uncanny awareness of how a play was developing, which allowed him to break up passes and earn a reputation as one of the hardest and most efficient open-field tacklers in the history of the league.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career-high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | ||
| 1981 | SF | 16 | 16 | 89 | — | — | 0.0 | — | 7 | 117 | 16.7 | 41T | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 1982 | SF | 9 | 9 | 68 | — | — | 0.0 | — | 2 | 95 | 47.5 | 83T | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1983 | SF | 15 | 14 | 108 | — | — | 1.0 | — | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1984 | SF | 12 | 11 | 51 | — | — | 1.0 | — | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | SF | 16 | 16 | 104 | — | — | 1.5 | — | 6 | 68 | 11.3 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1986 | SF | 14 | 14 | 77 | — | — | 2.0 | — | 10 | 134 | 13.4 | 57T | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1987 | SF | 12 | 12 | 55 | — | — | 0.0 | — | 5 | 62 | 12.4 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1988 | SF | 13 | 12 | 74 | — | — | 0.0 | — | 5 | 59 | 11.8 | 44 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 1989 | SF | 11 | 11 | 42 | — | — | 0.0 | — | 5 | 34 | 6.8 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | SF | 11 | 11 | 53 | — | — | 0.0 | — | 3 | 26 | 8.6 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1991 | LA | 16 | 16 | 93 | — | — | 1.0 | — | 8 | 52 | 6.5 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1992 | LA | 16 | 16 | 103 | — | — | 0.0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1993 | NYJ | 16 | 16 | 123 | — | — | 1.0 | — | 3 | 35 | 11.6 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 1994 | NYJ | 15 | 15 | 106 | 73 | 33 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| Career | 192 | 189 | 1,146 | 1,113 | 33 | 8.5 | — | 63 | 730 | 11.6 | 83 | 5 | 16 | 17 | |
Lott turned to broadcasting following his retirement, serving as an analyst onFox NFL Sunday in 1996 and 1997, and working on the network's game coverage in 1998. He is currently[when?] on a show called PAC-12 Playbook on thePac-12 Network, an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network. He also serves on the Board of Selectors ofJefferson Awards for Public Service.[16]
Lott was born inAlbuquerque, New Mexico. His father served a career in theUnited States Air Force, retiring as aSenior master sergeant.[17] He now lives inCupertino, California, with his wife, Karen, and his children, Hailey, Isaiah, and Chloe.USA Today praised him as "one of the most successful athletes at making the transition to business." Along with former teammatesHarris Barton andJoe Montana, Lott was a managing partner and a founder of HRJ Capital. Lott ownsToyota and Hyundai car dealerships. He advises professional athletes who are making a transition to the business world. Lott is also the father of formerTampa Bay Buccaneers linebackerRyan Nece.
In 1991, Lott, along withJill Lieber Steeg, wrote an autobiography,Total Impact.[18] Lott inspired theLott IMPACT Trophy, which is given annually by the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. The trophy was first awarded in 2004.[19] Lott was the guest of honor at a CYO fundraiser at Sharon Heights Country Club in Menlo Park, CA in May 2012 where he discussed the importance of helping the community. Lott credits the late Coach Ben Parks as a central figure in the development of his vigorous philanthropic work. On February 17, 2015, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of GSV Capital Corporation, now known as SuRo Capital Corp., a publicly traded investment fund.[20]
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
