During five seasons with the Seahawks, Bennett recorded 39 sacks, including the best 10 of his career in 2015 when he garnered the first of three consecutive Pro-Bowl nods, and was equally disruptive against the career as a versatile line player who could wreak havoc. a defensive or final tackle, as was evident in his 69 tackles to lose in five seasons in Seattle, including 18 in 2015 when he ranked fifth in the NFL in that category.
But the numbers, Pro-Bowl nods and even wins only scratch the surface of who Bennett was during his time in Seattle and the rest of his career. Bennett was a half-joker, philanthropist, outspoken advocate of social justice, and at the same time trying his hand as an author.
Bennett, aka Black Santa, had a prank for almost every occasion, a funny critique of every opposing quarterback, a sultry sack dance, and he once got a famous Seattle police bike to give a victory lap for CenturyLink Field after Seattle’s improbable overtime win over the Packers in the NFC Championship Game. But Bennett was not only a fun-loving comedian, he was also a player worthy of being the Seattle nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2017, a player who used his platform to help around the world, from its adoption. Hawaii’s home state, his wife, Pelé, is from there, where he ran free camps and health clinics in the summer; Seattle and his hometown of Houston; to South Dakota, where he visited the Lower Brule Sioux tribe and organized a camp and health clinic; to Africa, where its foundation partnered with the global iamtheCode movement to bring marginalized girls from Africa to STEAMED programs (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics, entrepreneurship, and design); to Haiti, where he supported Avril’s efforts to build a school.
