# Bruce Smith: 200 Sacks, 19 NFL Seasons & the Legacy of a Hall of Famer | On the Line with Jim Pyne

An episode of [On The Line with Jim Pyne](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/6794668286), 13 Oct 2026, 28 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2632213/episodes/19953675-bruce-smith-200-sacks-19-nfl-seasons-the-legacy-of-a-hall-of-famer-on-the-line-with-jim-pyne.mp3

NFL legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith joins former NFL offensive lineman Jim Pyne on On the Line with Jim Pyne for a powerful conversation about football, family, perseverance, business, and the legacy we leave behind. With 200 career sacks, 19 NFL seasons, four Super Bowl appearances, and 12 surgeries, Bruce Smith built one of the most remarkable careers in football history. But behind the records is a story of hard work, discipline, faith, and the people who helped shape him. Two proud Virginia Tech Hokies reconnect as Bruce reflects on his journey from Norfolk, Virginia, to becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft and one of the most dominant defensive players the game has ever seen. In this episode: • The secret to Bruce's remarkable 19-year NFL career and all-time sack record. • How his parents, coaches, and Virginia Tech shaped his work ethic and character. • His memories of Virginia Tech and thoughts on the future of Hokies football. • How he transitioned from the NFL into successful real estate development, including a billion-dollar casino and entertainment project in Petersburg, Virginia. • Why Bruce believes the NFL must do more to provide lifetime healthcare for former players. • His approach to overcoming adversity, seeking wise counsel, and staying grounded in faith. • The powerful advice he received at Virginia Tech: "You don't work, you don't eat." • What Bruce hopes people will remember about him long after his football records are broken. Bruce also shares why relationships matter, how decisions made early in life shape your future, and why family, faith, and community mean more than individual accomplishments. From the gridiron to the boardroom, this is a conversation about much more than football. 🎙️ On the Line with Jim Pyne — Real conversations with the people who have lived it, led it, and learned from it. Subscribe, follow, and share for more conversations with legendary coaches, athletes, and leaders. #BruceSmith #JimPyne #OnTheLineWithJimPyne #NFL #ProFootballHallOfFame #VirginiaTech #BuffaloBills #Leadership #Football Support the show Connect with Jim Pyne Thanks for listening to On the Line with Jim Pyne. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show, leave a rating and review, and share it with a friend. Your support helps us bring you more conversations with the leaders, innovators, and game changers shaping sports, business, and entertainment. Follow Jim on LinkedIn and social media for updates on future episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive clips. New episodes released often!

## Transcript

[0:00] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to On the Line with Jim Pine.
[0:02] SPEAKER_00: I'm Jim Pine.
[0:03] SPEAKER_00: This episode is brought to you by PLS Aviation.
[0:06] SPEAKER_00: Private Aviation perfectly executed.
[0:08] SPEAKER_00: Now let's get on the line.
[0:10] SPEAKER_00: Today on the line, we have one of the greatest defensive players in football history.
[0:13] SPEAKER_00: He played 19 seasons, four Super Bowls, pro football hall of fame, 200 sacks in the NFL, most record, most of anybody ever, all time, but most importantly, a great guy, a fellow Virginia Tech Hokie.
[0:26] SPEAKER_00: Bruce Smith.
[0:27] SPEAKER_00: Bruce, welcome to the show.
[0:28] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, thanks, Jim.
[0:30] SPEAKER_02: It's good to be here.
[0:31] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I want to thank you right off the bat.
[0:34] SPEAKER_00: I remember when I was a young guy in the NFL, I just gotten in the league.
[0:37] SPEAKER_00: It was a seventh round pick.
[0:39] SPEAKER_00: Just made the team and ended up playing nine years.
[0:41] SPEAKER_00: But early on, you invited me to your every year to your golf tournament.
[0:45] SPEAKER_00: I tell you, to me, that was a big deal.
[0:47] SPEAKER_00: You were obviously the superstar you were, and you reached out and you invited me, and you and your team did to the tournament.
[0:53] SPEAKER_00: Always had a fun time.
[0:54] SPEAKER_00: Fun, great time getting to know you and have kind of in a relaxed setting and a bunch of great guys.
[1:00] SPEAKER_00: I remember all the former Bills guys, Jim Kelly, and uh a bunch of guys.
[1:04] SPEAKER_00: So I really appreciate that, Bruce.
[1:05] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for including me.
[1:06] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're you're quite welcome.
[1:08] SPEAKER_02: We uh, you know, we try to we try to bring everybody into the tent and enjoy ourselves, and and obviously, if you're uh a part of the Hokie family, that's what we do.
[1:19] SPEAKER_00: That's right.
[1:19] SPEAKER_00: The Hokies are different.
[1:20] SPEAKER_00: No, it's a special play, special time.
[1:23] SPEAKER_00: You're a special guy.
[1:24] SPEAKER_00: I mean, you know, as an offensive lineman, you were a defensive end tackle guy that nobody wanted to play against.
[1:30] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I remember being, I I think I played against you in a preseason game, you were the Redskins at the time, Commanders, and uh I was with the Cleveland Browns, and just you know, the the the the your ability, the way you played, unbelievable.
[1:42] SPEAKER_00: I mean, it you know, 19 years.
[1:44] SPEAKER_00: Bruce, what was the key?
[1:45] SPEAKER_00: How did you make it 19 years?
[1:47] SPEAKER_00: What how did you do that?
[1:50] SPEAKER_02: I had a lot to learn uh when I first got into the league, and I my brain was like a sponge.
[1:58] SPEAKER_02: You know, my athletic ability and my God-given ability that I was blessed with was one thing.
[2:05] SPEAKER_02: But to sustain a level of play that is that is unmatched and to to overcome the injuries, the the 12 surgeries that I had while I was playing in the in the league.
[2:20] SPEAKER_02: It it took a lot of what was put inside of me by my parents, their work ethic, their belief in in hard work and overcoming adversity.
[2:33] SPEAKER_02: And as a kid, I I learned so many lessons growing up in northern Virginia.
[2:38] SPEAKER_02: And uh one of the things that that really helped to reinforce what my parents taught me was having excellent coaches that knew that the lessons that I was being taught in sports transfers to life.
[2:55] SPEAKER_02: My high school football and basketball coach, Cal Davidson and Zeke Gabriel, my college coach, coach Bill Dooley at Virginia Tech.
[3:03] SPEAKER_02: And and when I got to to to Buffalo, Marv Levy, but I had a few coaches prior to that, but when I Marv Levy finally came, that's when everything started to come full circle, and and just so many things came together, and I was shaped and molded from a rookie to my second year, to my third year to becoming this dominant player.
[3:31] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I and I watched your Hall of Fame speech, unbelievable speech.
[3:34] SPEAKER_00: I loved watching the passion.
[3:36] SPEAKER_00: I saw your mom there, I saw your brother.
[3:37] SPEAKER_00: Your brother's six foot nine.
[3:39] SPEAKER_00: I didn't realize that bit.
[3:40] SPEAKER_00: But your mom, I love this, the mom stuff, I love.
[3:43] SPEAKER_00: I was close to my mom.
[3:44] SPEAKER_00: Your mom was a basketball player, right?
[3:45] SPEAKER_00: So she sure was.
[3:47] SPEAKER_00: So so so some of that ability that comes from mama for sure, right?
[3:50] SPEAKER_00: So talk about your dad, too.
[3:52] SPEAKER_00: You mentioned how your dad, military kind of belief background, and then maybe a second day of football ever.
[3:58] SPEAKER_00: This is a great, great story.
[3:59] SPEAKER_00: You said, you know, you you weren't feeling it, you're like, yeah, I'm gonna go do something else, but your dad came and had to speech to you.
[4:04] SPEAKER_00: What was that like?
[4:06] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, well, a couple of factors.
[4:08] SPEAKER_02: My my mom still holds the single game record for the most points scored in Blayton County for her high school playing basketball.
[4:18] SPEAKER_02: My father boxed in the military.
[4:21] SPEAKER_02: And um my father was a very stout and strong and well-built man that that believed in in hard work and he was a no-nonsense kind of guy.
[4:34] SPEAKER_02: And uh he did everything he possibly could to keep me in a productive environment and constructive environment.
[4:45] SPEAKER_02: Whereas I wouldn't just be hanging out on the corner and and and and and doing the things that that that that causes mischief and so forth and so on.
[4:55] SPEAKER_02: So I I I would all to my mom and dad.
[5:00] SPEAKER_02: They uh they loved me to the extent that I couldn't fail because they put me in the right positions at the right time and steered me uh down that path.
[5:13] SPEAKER_02: But more importantly, they showed me by that living example and the character that they displayed uh of how to be successful through hard work.
[5:26] SPEAKER_02: My father's saying was everything will work out all right.
[5:29] SPEAKER_02: You put God first, family, and education.
[5:34] SPEAKER_00: Amen.
[5:35] SPEAKER_00: Great stuff, great, and you know, I let me say this too.
[5:38] SPEAKER_00: Coming on, I went to Virginia Tech in 1990, and I was from Massachusetts.
[5:43] SPEAKER_00: I got recruited down.
[5:44] SPEAKER_00: I never heard of Virginia Tech.
[5:46] SPEAKER_00: But they the one the one qualifying thing they said, hey, Bruce Smith went down.
[5:49] SPEAKER_00: I was like, whoa, that that gave instant credibility right to the school and stuff.
[5:53] SPEAKER_00: And you know, I got down and done some research before this too.
[5:56] SPEAKER_00: You had four years, you were four winning seasons, Coach Dooley was a legend, right?
[6:00] SPEAKER_00: He you guys built kind of that program, I think, years before, maybe a couple Liberty Bowls, but you guys really were great teams, great players, obviously.
[6:09] SPEAKER_00: You were the number one pick in the NFL draft, a legend in Virginia in the whole country of football.
[6:14] SPEAKER_00: And I just remember that.
[6:15] SPEAKER_00: I remember coming down the stairs every day in the old athletic facility, and they're in the big picture, you with your arms crossed with the flag behind you, looking good, and uh, you know, the number one pick.
[6:25] SPEAKER_00: So I mean as a hookie, I was always proud that I was at Virginia Tech, and you know, Bruce Smith won here.
[6:30] SPEAKER_00: And you're you're a legend, you know, they're everywhere.
[6:33] SPEAKER_00: So it was it really hats off on all that.
[6:35] SPEAKER_00: Talk to me about your time at tech, because again, you had a nine and two season.
[6:39] SPEAKER_00: I think you're number one defense in the country.
[6:41] SPEAKER_00: You were an all-American, you're a great player.
[6:43] SPEAKER_00: I mean, what what was that team?
[6:44] SPEAKER_00: What are those teams like for you?
[6:46] SPEAKER_02: It it was it was such a electric and and great atmosphere.
[6:52] SPEAKER_02: Having teammates, I I learned under Pedro Phillips, Ashley Lee, Cyrus Lawrence, who got rest his soul, who passed uh passed away a few years ago.
[7:03] SPEAKER_02: Leon Gordon, Jesse Penn, and and just so many other great athletes.
[7:09] SPEAKER_02: And again, it was that process of coming from Hooga T.
[7:14] SPEAKER_02: Washington High School and being sought after by every college in the country.
[7:20] SPEAKER_02: But I wanted to stay in Virginia and I wanted to make a name for myself in Virginia, and I wanted to have an impact that would would leave no doubt that Virginia produces some of the best athletes that the world has ever seen.
[7:38] SPEAKER_02: And uh I I think uh later on Michael Big and so many other talented athletes that have come out of Virginia Tech, you got Dale Curry, who played on the basketball team, and and uh so many others.
[7:54] SPEAKER_02: Uh it it was just an honor to represent Virginia and and still represent Virginia.
[8:00] SPEAKER_02: And whenever we uh whenever I'm around my my Hall of Fame buddies, I uh that's one of the subjects I talk about.
[8:08] SPEAKER_02: Who produces the the the best athlete or the most talent out of their state?
[8:14] SPEAKER_02: And and uh once I run down the list of names, uh the conversation kind of ends.
[8:19] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
[8:20] SPEAKER_00: Well, it was 757, right?
[8:22] SPEAKER_00: I mean, Michael Vig, Tyrod Taylor, you saw that that area Well you you I mean you you you just stopped at football.
[8:28] SPEAKER_02: It's not Alonzo Morning, uh Moses Malone is right down the street, Pernel Sweet P.
[8:34] SPEAKER_02: Wicker, uh Whitaker, pound for pound, the greatest boxer that that played that uh fought at that uh division.
[8:42] SPEAKER_02: I mean the list just goes Is it Alan Iverson, right?
[8:46] SPEAKER_02: Alan Iverson.
[8:46] SPEAKER_02: Alan Iverson, uh Kenny Easley.
[8:49] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[8:51] SPEAKER_00: Lawrence Taylor.
[8:52] SPEAKER_00: Was it Lawrence Taylor from running 15?
[8:53] SPEAKER_01: LT.
[8:54] SPEAKER_01: Newport News, yeah.
[8:56] SPEAKER_02: So that that list is long and extensive, and excuse me.
[9:00] SPEAKER_02: Bless you the best at every sport that you can talk about.
[9:07] SPEAKER_00: No question.
[9:08] SPEAKER_00: I and I remember years ago, I had Dabbo Sweeney on the show, right?
[9:12] SPEAKER_00: Clemson, you know, he had a he had a run there, won a few national championships and stuff, and I talked to him, because I remember for years Tech was doing well with Coach Beamer.
[9:19] SPEAKER_00: They were humming like 2011, all of a sudden, you know, they started recruiting against Coach that he was getting older and all that stuff.
[9:26] SPEAKER_00: But you know, schools like Clemson and other schools, what I said to him, I said, the reason you guys won championships, you came into Virginia Beach and you started taking the guys that Tech was getting.
[9:35] SPEAKER_00: 757.
[9:36] SPEAKER_00: The 757, they did a great job doing it.
[9:39] SPEAKER_00: And now I coach Franklin's there now.
[9:41] SPEAKER_00: I like what he's doing, recruiting.
[9:42] SPEAKER_00: He's he looks like he's he's writing the ship there, kind of directing it back, which I'm excited for.
[9:48] SPEAKER_00: And uh, I think there's good things ahead for for the hokies with Coach Franklin.
[9:51] SPEAKER_00: What do you what do you see so far?
[9:53] SPEAKER_00: Because I know you're big, you go to the games, you you're around the program, always good to the program.
[9:57] SPEAKER_00: It's fun to see you've been a uh obviously a legendary hokey.
[10:00] SPEAKER_00: So what is your are you optimistic about the future at tech right now?
[10:04] SPEAKER_02: Well, uh Frank uh James and I text after every game, and he has this this uh text that he likes to send me uh every week after I reach out to him and tell him great game and so forth.
[10:18] SPEAKER_02: He he says one and oh.
[10:20] SPEAKER_02: And I say, Well, you keep putting together all these one and oh's after the first after after game, pretty soon we're gonna be double digits in the in the win column and uh zero in the loss column.
[10:34] SPEAKER_02: So I I just like his his positive attitude and and and the way he approaches the game and the fact this man can recruit.
[10:42] SPEAKER_02: One of the reasons for the success that we're having today is his ability to or him being able to bring in some talent that followed him to Virginia Tech.
[10:54] SPEAKER_00: That's right.
[10:54] SPEAKER_02: So that that's uh that was exciting to see, and it's paying big dividends.
[10:59] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
[11:00] SPEAKER_00: No, it's exciting to see too, to watch, and I'm excited to see the progression of it all.
[11:04] SPEAKER_00: And Bruce, one thing we talk about, I talk on the show a lot, being a former player, you you know a ton of former guys you played with 19 years in the NFL.
[11:12] SPEAKER_00: The transition, right?
[11:13] SPEAKER_00: Guys, I've seen guys struggle with transition from you're playing football, you're top of the world, to what's next, right?
[11:19] SPEAKER_00: Whether the league doesn't do enough or whatever, but you're another great example of a guy.
[11:24] SPEAKER_00: Like for myself, I I just got out of football just in my dad day.
[11:27] SPEAKER_00: Keep my to someone to your point, I saw my parents work, keep working, get in, dive something, find out what you like to do, don't like to do, and get passionate and take that energy somewhere.
[11:36] SPEAKER_00: You've done a great job because I've seen you from afar with, you know, especially in Blacksburg.
[11:40] SPEAKER_00: You own Smith Landing, there's a you know, a big developer there.
[11:44] SPEAKER_00: You develop, you've been a real estate developer, developed a big uh real estate development in Blacksburg, but you've also done several of those, and I looked it up kind of you've been very good at that, very successful, almost a 30-year period here of real estate development.
[11:57] SPEAKER_00: Talk to me about transitioning from playing to what's next and how you have been so so so successful at it.
[12:03] SPEAKER_00: One of the keys are maybe advice for anybody in life transitioning from something to something else.
[12:08] SPEAKER_02: Well, um for for me it it started with building relationships during the my playing days, going to different charity events and uh making sure sure I was trying to help out the community and and do the things that are necessary to to improve those in less fortunate circumstances.
[12:31] SPEAKER_02: I can recall um it was about midway through my career, I went to an event for Operation Smile and uh it was a telethon and and I met my business partner, uh Dan Hoffman, and we started talking with a big time developer and and so forth, and one thing just led to another.
[12:52] SPEAKER_02: And during my off seasons, I would basically spend my off-seasons learning about real estate in his office.
[13:04] SPEAKER_02: Uh, I would sit in meetings, I would be on telephone calls, I would take trips to to to continue to learn the business and and reinforce what I was being taught in the classroom and and put it to use in actually seeing how deals were being constructed from the ground up.
[13:24] SPEAKER_02: And uh again, coming full circle.
[13:28] SPEAKER_02: Being in a productive and constructive environment where you can learn, learn a skill, learn a trade, and and for me, it it worked out pretty well.
[13:40] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you talk about a few of the projects, but one of the ones that I'm most proud of is the casino and entertainment and development and resort that we're building in Petersburg, Virginia right now.
[13:55] SPEAKER_02: It's uh we're in the first two phases of a billion-dollar deal in Petersburg, Virginia, and there's not a city in the state of Virginia that needs this tax revenue and the creation of these jobs more than Petersburg, Virginia, it's going to be transformational uh for this city, and I couldn't be more proud of it.
[14:16] SPEAKER_00: That's great.
[14:17] SPEAKER_00: Oh, you know, again, I opened up with thanking you.
[14:19] SPEAKER_00: You always you're a good great guy, as big as you were, powerful, you're in the NFL, you're a good guy, which is rare, because sometimes, you know, guys with all the success have an arrogance to them.
[14:28] SPEAKER_00: You weren't that, you're a good guy.
[14:30] SPEAKER_00: You reached out to me and other guys, and I guess one thing too, but that's great to hear about that development.
[14:34] SPEAKER_00: You're helping Petersburg, Virginia, and in your in the in the town there, and that's great.
[14:38] SPEAKER_00: What Bruce, one big thing, 200, the number 200.
[14:42] SPEAKER_00: You know, I mean, all time.
[14:43] SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna put an asterisk next to it, too, because that was with 16 regular season games.
[14:48] SPEAKER_00: The NFL now's gone to 17.
[14:50] SPEAKER_00: So there's more opportunity for guys, so they're watering down the content, right?
[14:54] SPEAKER_02: And they're throwing the they're throwing the ball about 30% more.
[14:57] SPEAKER_00: That's right.
[14:58] SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
[14:59] SPEAKER_00: They're throwing it a lot more, to your point.
[15:01] SPEAKER_00: A lot more games.
[15:02] SPEAKER_00: They're gonna go to 18 games, whether the players realize it or not, that's gonna happen.
[15:05] SPEAKER_00: You know, the revenue they're gonna keep growing.
[15:08] SPEAKER_00: So 200 is unbelievable.
[15:10] SPEAKER_00: Number one all time.
[15:11] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I I looked at some of the how these guys, I think, who Vaughn Miller's gotta have, he's gotta go like 60 or 70 here at the end of his career to even come close to you.
[15:21] SPEAKER_00: But that number's so high, so up there.
[15:23] SPEAKER_00: Unbelievable.
[15:24] SPEAKER_00: Congratulations on that.
[15:25] SPEAKER_00: But I mean, again, the longevity and what you did and how you rushed to pass or is that a prideful, you know, you feel good about the 200?
[15:32] SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's something you gotta be real proud about.
[15:35] SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm I'm extremely proud about it, but the way it was done.
[15:41] SPEAKER_02: Achieving that that historical number in a 3-4 defense.
[15:49] SPEAKER_02: Not a 4-3.
[15:51] SPEAKER_02: You know, 3-4, you're you're double teamed.
[15:55] SPEAKER_02: And on on some occasions you you get triple team.
[16:00] SPEAKER_02: But I give a great deal of credit to the offense that I played with that was so prolific.
[16:09] SPEAKER_02: Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, they put points on the board so quickly that it made teams have to pass.
[16:19] SPEAKER_02: And therefore it gave me an opportunity to to uh to rush the quarterback.
[16:25] SPEAKER_02: And uh, you know, those th those guys when you you know that your offense is gonna go and put 30, 40 points up on any given day, uh, it it gives you a lot of opportunities to to get back there and rush the quarterback.
[16:42] SPEAKER_00: No, 100%.
[16:43] SPEAKER_00: It's a great point.
[16:43] SPEAKER_00: Three-fourths for people that don't know know it is three down linemen versus four of them.
[16:47] SPEAKER_00: So as a center guard guy, I could slide over to that end, right?
[16:51] SPEAKER_00: And we we might be, you'd always be getting a lot of slides to you, so you'd have the tackle, the guard on you, maybe a third guy, like you said.
[16:57] SPEAKER_00: Very, very difficult for you rushing.
[17:00] SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, and then yeah, the offensive chains.
[17:02] SPEAKER_00: I have a son in high school as a quarterback, and everything's spread now, spread it out, throw, throw, throw.
[17:07] SPEAKER_00: They've taken the fullback out of football, right?
[17:09] SPEAKER_00: There's no more fullbacks.
[17:10] SPEAKER_00: So we used to, you know, back when we played, you'd line up with guys, they would run down the hill.
[17:15] SPEAKER_00: We'd want to run the ball all day on you and stay out of those third downs so you couldn't tee up.
[17:20] SPEAKER_00: That's right.
[17:20] SPEAKER_00: But and today they're starting off the quarterbacks and shotguns, it's it's a pass almost every time.
[17:25] SPEAKER_00: So to your point, if you could rush today, you you might have had 300.
[17:29] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and and making 50 million a year.
[17:33] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[17:33] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, unbelievable.
[17:35] SPEAKER_00: Talking about that and the money and the stuff the guys are making.
[17:38] SPEAKER_00: Hey, I remember when I played, they would say, hey, guys, older guys were saying, man, I can't believe you guys are making that.
[17:42] SPEAKER_00: Wait till you're older.
[17:43] SPEAKER_00: We'll be saying the same thing, but my gosh, the thing that gets me, you're a former guy, a smart guy working, doing all your stuff.
[17:50] SPEAKER_00: The guys that are struggling, guys we played with, man, I see these franchises go from I was here at the Buccaneers, 180 million they paid for the team in 96.
[17:58] SPEAKER_00: It's worth 10, 15 billion, right?
[18:01] SPEAKER_00: But our former player, our medical benefits and our retirement has not gone up that at all, if not to that thing.
[18:09] SPEAKER_00: So they haven't done a great job of going back and reaching back to the guys and being like, hey, we're gonna take care of the guys that got us here.
[18:15] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't know if you had a thought on all that.
[18:17] SPEAKER_02: And and don't get me started.
[18:19] SPEAKER_02: You you don't have an You talk about the evolution of the game economically.
[18:24] SPEAKER_02: If if I'm not mistaken, Ralph Wilson bought the Buffalo Bills for fifty thousand dollars.
[18:34] SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
[18:34] SPEAKER_02: Oh, exactly.
[18:35] SPEAKER_02: So you would have talked about return on your investment.
[18:38] SPEAKER_02: I I think when his his family finally sold it, he uh they received roughly a billion dollars somewhere in that neighborhood.
[18:49] SPEAKER_02: And then the Paculas bought it, they paid roughly 1.8 billion and now the teams were seven billion possibly somewhere in that neighborhood.
[19:02] SPEAKER_02: And having said that, uh I'm glad you brought that point up because I think it's a travesty that former players don't have lifetime health care.
[19:12] SPEAKER_02: We make more money meaning the the the the NFL than all three sports combined baseball, basketball, and hockey.
[19:27] SPEAKER_02: All three sports combined, we make the NFL makes more money.
[19:33] SPEAKER_02: They've gotta find a way to get players Lifetime health care.
[19:39] SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm one of the fortunate ones, uh, thank God that you know there there have been some health issues in the family and and so forth and so on.
[19:49] SPEAKER_02: It didn't ruin uh the family's financial situation, but there are so many thousands of hardships that are taking place from former players because of health issues and bills that that follow from these devastating events.
[20:08] SPEAKER_02: I talked to Roger about this and and I'm gonna continue to to talk to Roger about this.
[20:14] SPEAKER_02: Former players talk about this all the time.
[20:16] SPEAKER_02: The league just signed, I think it's about two years ago,$110 billion new TV package revenue.
[20:27] SPEAKER_02: That doesn't include gambling.
[20:29] SPEAKER_02: That doesn't include uh naming rights of the stadium and royalty and things of that nature.
[20:34] SPEAKER_02: And I I just think that and and okay, you go to 18 games you know, this game is brutal enough and it can only take so much.
[20:47] SPEAKER_02: And God bless the players for for for making as much as they can while they can, but a priority has to be health care for the rest of your life if you play this game.
[21:02] SPEAKER_00: I agree a hundred percent.
[21:03] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I know you I can't imagine 19 years.
[21:05] SPEAKER_00: I played nine, I you know, I I had a knee, an ankle, broke my leg, neck, this I have all kinds of things.
[21:10] SPEAKER_00: The biggest thing I did is I you look great, you're in great shape.
[21:13] SPEAKER_00: I I lost weight, but you know, I was my the demands of my job, I had to be 300 pounds, which those are health issues within itself, right?
[21:20] SPEAKER_00: I mean, so all that I did then was great and stuff, but yeah, you you would think what again, with the revenues that they have, that plus, you know, there's been no bumps in any kind of retirement for guys, which those other sports, they're set for life with retirements if they play 10, 15 years.
[21:35] SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, baseball and basketball, they have they have the best.
[21:39] SPEAKER_02: The best healthcare, the best retirement packages.
[21:45] SPEAKER_02: And we are yeah, yeah, it's it it's just not right.
[21:51] SPEAKER_00: We've had a problem on our side as far with the players that the the group that's represented us that has to do a better job of representing the former guys, too, because I've heard talks about the Past guys that were in there, not Gene.
[22:01] SPEAKER_00: Gene did a good job, in my opinion.
[22:03] SPEAKER_00: We missed Gene Upshaw.
[22:04] SPEAKER_00: He wasn't perfect, but did a good job fought for the former players.
[22:07] SPEAKER_00: The guys that have been there most recently, I've heard this from several people.
[22:10] SPEAKER_00: They say, I don't represent the former player, I represent the current player.
[22:14] SPEAKER_00: So they they literally didn't have us as former guys in the room anymore.
[22:17] SPEAKER_00: So that's part of the problem, too, because no one's gone back to fight and help.
[22:21] SPEAKER_00: And I've been told by some NFL executives, the CEO of a team, he said, Jim, it was on the table.
[22:26] SPEAKER_00: They just didn't ask for it.
[22:27] SPEAKER_00: So there's things that need to be done, and hopefully things will be done here in the next round.
[22:32] SPEAKER_00: But uh last couple questions, Bruce.
[22:34] SPEAKER_00: So adversity, right?
[22:36] SPEAKER_00: We all face adversity in life.
[22:38] SPEAKER_00: Whether you you faced it before, it's coming down the road for all of us.
[22:41] SPEAKER_00: How does Bruce Smith, legendary guy, hall of fame guy, when you see something coming or adversity comes in your face, how do you face that?
[22:48] SPEAKER_00: How do you attack it?
[22:48] SPEAKER_00: What what do you what's the process you do for adversity?
[22:54] SPEAKER_02: Get on my knees and pray.
[22:57] SPEAKER_02: And seek seek wise counsel.
[22:59] SPEAKER_02: I I still talk to my relief who's a hundred and I think he's a hundred and two years old, three years old.
[23:09] SPEAKER_02: Somewhere in that neighborhood.
[23:11] SPEAKER_02: I I talk to individuals that that that have experience in certain fields that that I don't necessarily have have that expertise.
[23:22] SPEAKER_02: So so that's how I I I try and tackle adversity.
[23:27] SPEAKER_00: Sure.
[23:27] SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely.
[23:28] SPEAKER_00: I just talked to Coach Beaman the other day, he's turning 80 next month and told him I loved him and all that stuff.
[23:33] SPEAKER_00: So it's you know, like you're saying, reach out to these guys that they've seen things so many more years than we've seen.
[23:38] SPEAKER_00: We think we know more than we know, but those seek counsel from guys that know, and that's that's a great advice too.
[23:44] SPEAKER_00: Bruce, what's what's the best advice?
[23:46] SPEAKER_00: Could be peace, nugget here, whoever gave it to you.
[23:48] SPEAKER_00: What's some of the best advice you ever got?
[23:52] SPEAKER_02: You know, it might be comical.
[23:54] SPEAKER_02: I don't know if he was there when uh when uh you were you were at tech, but there was uh there was an old timer that was at tech, uh older guy, kind of kind of redneckish looking guy.
[24:10] SPEAKER_02: I can't remember his name right offhand.
[24:13] SPEAKER_02: But he uh I I remember he uh I was out with uh an injury, I didn't practice one or two days or something like that.
[24:26] SPEAKER_02: And uh it was time to go into uh to the training table against LB.
[24:34] SPEAKER_02: And he said, You don't work, you don't eat at night.
[24:37] SPEAKER_02: You know, it it you know, I'm looking around like I'm hungry, man.
[24:41] SPEAKER_02: I don't know what you're talking about.
[24:42] SPEAKER_02: But but the the the the simple fact is Yeah, you don't work, you don't eat, you don't put in a honest day's work, you're not gonna get an honest day's pay.
[24:57] SPEAKER_02: And uh, you know, it's just the little things that that stuck with me, just getting those little nuggets here and there and and just and and having them resonate within your mind as you go about your day-to-day activities and decision makings and and work ethic and and things of that nature because when you're 19, 20, 21 years old, even a little older, what you do today and the decisions you make today will determine how your life will be 20, 30, 30 years from now, by the foundation that you've built at that young age.
[25:45] SPEAKER_02: And uh those those are just some of the things that that were implanted into me uh at a very young age.
[25:52] SPEAKER_00: I love it, that's great.
[25:53] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you gotta work if you wanna eat, you gotta work.
[25:55] SPEAKER_00: I love that.
[25:56] SPEAKER_00: That that that's it's simple.
[25:57] SPEAKER_00: Keep it simple.
[25:58] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but it's that's power keep that's powerful.
[26:01] SPEAKER_00: And the last one, Bruce, 20, 30, 40 years from now, someone brings up the name.
[26:05] SPEAKER_00: I I know what they'll say, but Bruce Smith, what do you what do you hope they say?
[26:10] SPEAKER_03: Oh man, wow.
[26:15] SPEAKER_03: He believed in God, and boy, could he play some football.
[26:21] SPEAKER_02: You know, he he loved his family, he loved his community, and that's all a maturation process that has to take place and unfold in an individual and find out what's truly important in life.
[26:41] SPEAKER_02: But the the the legacy you leave behind is one in which uh you have control over right now.
[26:49] SPEAKER_02: And uh that's what I'm hoping I'm doing.
[26:52] SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
[26:52] SPEAKER_00: No, great stuff, really appreciate it.
[26:54] SPEAKER_00: Bruce Smith, Go Hokies, the greatest greatest hokey, greatest hokey of all time.
[27:00] SPEAKER_01: Ango Bills.
[27:01] SPEAKER_00: That's right, go Bills, that's right.
[27:04] SPEAKER_00: Keep it right.
[27:05] SPEAKER_01: And go commanders.
[27:07] SPEAKER_00: That's right.
[27:07] SPEAKER_00: That's right.
[27:08] SPEAKER_00: You gotta be loyal.
[27:08] SPEAKER_00: You're a team guy, no question.
[27:10] SPEAKER_00: That's right.
[27:11] SPEAKER_00: But no, you you you built the program at Virginia Tech into what it is, what it could hopefully big things ahead.
[27:17] SPEAKER_00: I hope that we we're raising a trophy national championship here soon and uh getting the playoffs doing some great things.
[27:21] SPEAKER_00: But thanks, Bruce, thanks for the time.
[27:23] SPEAKER_00: We'll have you on again sometime.
[27:24] SPEAKER_00: Really appreciate you.
[27:25] SPEAKER_00: All right, yeah.
[27:26] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
[27:27] SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
[27:27] SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
[27:28] SPEAKER_00: All right.

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