TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-owner Bryan Glazer said Monday that defensive end Simeon Rice, who amassed 122 sacks in 12 seasons and helped lead the Bucs to victory in Super Bowl XXXVII, is “overdue” for a call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and that “it’s time to rectify that oversight.”

In announcing Rice on Monday as the newest member of the Buccaneers Ring of Honor — with an induction ceremony set for Nov. 30 when the Bucs host the Arizona Cardinals, with whom Rice spent the first five seasons of his career — Glazer pointed to the numbers.

“From 1996 to 2005, [Rice] totaled a league-best 101.5 sacks over those eight years — more than Hall of Famers Michael Strahan and Jason Taylor,” Glazer said. “During that same stretch, his mark of eight seasons with double-digit sack totals is the seventh most in NFL history, and six men ahead of him on that list are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“Simeon’s credentials for induction into our Ring of Honor are unquestioned, but he’s equally qualified and deserving of an overdue call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Notably, he’s the only retired player with 100 sacks over eight consecutive seasons who doesn’t own a gold jacket. It’s time to rectify that oversight.”

Rice, 51, was one of 50 semifinalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, but not a finalist. Upon retiring in 2007, he was ninth in career sacks; he now is No. 21. The non-Hall of Famers ahead of him are linebacker Terrell Suggs, who was named a finalist in his first year of eligibility in 2025 and had 139.0 sacks, John Abraham with 133.5, Leslie O’Neal with 132.5, Von Miller (who is still active) with 129.5 and Robert Mathis with 123.0.

Rice said that at one point, he felt like he “absolutely” needed Hall of Fame recognition, but that things have changed.

“I’m not burdened by that anymore,” he said.

He broke down while talking about his parents, Henry and Evelyn, who died in 2015 and 2016 and did not get to see him achieve the recognition he is now getting. It wasn’t until his fourth year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame that he was even on the initial list of candidates that comes out each September.

“At one point in time when my father was going through what he was going through, I was like, ‘I want to get the call before my father and my mom — but more so my pops.’ … I remember my mom and my dad on their deathbeds, and I remember my father was like, ‘Sim, this going to happen.’ I’m like, ‘Dad, don’t worry about that.’

“Then once my parents passed away, it wasn’t so much anymore,” Rice said.

Rice said the Ring of Honor nod “helps me reconcile a lot of things within my soul.”

The Bucs organization has thrown its support behind Rice. The team views its Ring of Honor designation as an important step in propelling a player to Canton, as it was with John Lynch and Ronde Barber, who have both since been enshrined. The team’s other Pro Football Hall of Famers — Lee Roy Selmon, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and coach Tony Dungy — were enshrined prior to being honored by the team.

“To be represented in the Ring of Honor is a cool thing,” said Rice, who will become the ring’s 16th member. “It’s cool. There are certain entitlements. These are man-made things. So these aren’t real things. We live real lives. The moment is real. The experience is real. I mean, mine was more in philosophy of an emotional connection with my parents. That was it. You know what I mean? That was it.

“I know I was the baddest motherf—er in the world. Excuse my language. I knew that. I already knew that. … I know what it feels like to get 4.0 sacks in games. I know what it’s like to get 6.0 sacks in games. I done taking over the guys that got jackets. I’m like, ‘Hey, I killed him, 3.0 sacks in the game, 2.5 sacks over there. I done won a Super Bowl. I done did all those things. You know what I mean? I literally did it.'”

The third pick in the 1996 NFL draft out of Illinois, Rice won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1996 after a 12.5-sack season. He was named a Pro Bowler and a second-team AP All-Pro after a career-best 16.5 sacks in 1999.

Rice signed with the Bucs in 2001 and produced seasons of 11, 15.5, 15, 12 and 14 sacks in Tampa from 2001 to 2005. He was named first-team All-Pro in 2002 and second-team All-Pro in 2003, when he led the league with six forced fumbles, along with LaVar Arrington and Leonard Little.

Glazer said that Rice played a pivotal role in “elevating our defense to new heights” and that he was “the missing piece that unlocked our championship.”

Rice had 15.5 sacks during the Bucs’ Super Bowl season, with three forced fumbles and four sacks coming in the postseason, including two against the Raiders’ Rich Gannon in the Super Bowl. Rice earned Pro Bowl honors in 1999, 2002 and 2003 and departed the organization in 2007 after suffering a shoulder injury. His 69.5 sacks for Tampa Bay are third most in team history, behind Selmon and Sapp.

“It’s nothing like being accepted and being honored at home,” Rice said. “I played at a lot of places, I played a little bit after I left in Denver [in 2007] and I played with [Dungy in Indianapolis] — that was towards the end, [and] I was injured. And I played with the Cardinals. But it’s nothing like being honored by a team that you helped take to the next level. And I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart to raise to this level.”