Background and career
Casey Hampton Jr. (born September 3, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a five-time Pro Bowl nose tackle and two-time Super Bowl champion over twelve seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to that he was an All-American college football player for the Texas Longhorns and a first round pick of the Steelers in the 2001 NFL draft.
Hampton was born in Galveston, Texas. He attended Ball High School in Galveston, Texas, and was a letterman in football and track. He was twice named as the District Defensive Player of the Year, and as a senior, he was a Texas Class 5A All-State first-team selection. His Ball High jersey number (No. 63) was retired at a dinner and parade on April 6, 2009. Hampton is the only football player in school history to receive such an honor. In track & field, Hampton was one of the state's top performers in the throwing events. He had top throws of 16.13 meters in the shot put and 48.08 meters in the discus throw.
Hampton attended the University of Texas, and started 37 consecutive games for the Texas Longhorns football team between 1997 and 2000. He became the first defensive lineman to lead the team in tackles two consecutive seasons (1999–2000), and recorded 329 tackles (177 solos) to rank 11th on the school's all-time list. Hampton registered 56 quarterback pressures and caused nine fumbles in his college career. He earned consensus first-team All-American recognition as a senior, having received first-team honors from the Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News, the Walter Camp Foundation. He was also a first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year by the Conference Coaches. Hampton was an All-America first-team selection by the Football Writers Association and Associated Press as a junior in 1999. In 1998, he was named the team's Most Consistent Defensive Player and started every game. That season, he recorded 60 tackles (29 solos) with two sacks and eight stops for losses and registered six quarterback pressures, five pass deflections and recovered one fumble. He also appeared in three games in 1997 before being granted a medical redshirt but played in every game as a true freshman in 1996, starting six at nose guard and recorded 77 tackles (51 solos), one sack and seven stops for losses. In his freshman season, he also had three quarterback pressures and a forced fumble. Hampton majored in history. In 2000, The Daily Texan, the student daily paper at Texas, characterized Hampton as "relentless," even quoting Hampton. "The way I see it, you never know when your last play is going to be," Texas' star defensive tackle said. "So you should go hard all the time. There's no reason to take a play off.." At the time, Hampton was 6'1 and 325 lbs and safety Greg Brown said "I have never seen him take a down off, he's just so intent on destroying people that he never takes time to rest. It's gotta be a gift." Hampton played with Shaun Rogers, a 2nd round pick of the Detroit Lions in 2001 and a Longhorn from 1997 to 2000; and after Hampton was quoted saying "No one guy can block me. Two guys can probably get it done but never one guy. I can always overpower one," the Daily Texan printed this: "He's says he's never even been caked. Ever," fellow defensive tackle Rogers said. "He says he wasn't even caked in junior high, but I, at least, am humble enough to say that I might have been once or twice. So I'd say some of what he says is questionable."
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Hampton in the first round (19th overall) of the 2001 NFL draft. Hampton was the fifth defensive tackle drafted in 2001. On July 22, 2001, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Hampton to a five-year, $6.80 million contract with a signing bonus of $3.10 million. Throughout training camp, he competed for the job as the starting nose tackle against Kendrick Clancy. Head coach Bill Cowher named Hampton the backup nose tackle behind Kendrick Clancy to start the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opening 21–3 loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars. On October 26, 2001, Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Bill Cowher named Hampton the starting nose tackle for the remainder of the season, but stated he would still be rotated by Kendrick Clancy. On October 29, 2001, Hampton earned his first career start and recorded two combined tackles during a 34–7 victory against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7. In Week 9, he collected a season-high four combined tackles and made his first career sack on quarterback Tim Couch in the Steelers' 15–12 win at the Cleveland Browns. He finished his rookie season with 22 combined tackles (nine solo) and a sack in 16 games and 11 starts. The Pittsburgh Steelers' defense was ranked as the No. 1 defense overall and also finished first against the run. The Pittsburgh Steelers finished first in the AFC Central with a 13–3 record and clinched a playoff berth. On January 20, 2002, Hampton started in his first career playoff game and recorded three combined tackles in a 27–10 victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round. The following week, he made two combined tackles in the Steelers' 24–17 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
Hampton entered training camp slated as the starting nose tackle and was officially named the starter to start the 2002 regular season. Defensive coordinator Tim Lewis also retained Aaron Smith and Kimo von Oelhoffen as the starting defensive ends. He started in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener at the New England Patriots and made three combined tackles in their 30–14 loss. In Week 4, Hampton collected a season-high six combined tackles during a 16–13 win against the Cleveland Browns. In Week 16, he collected two combined tackles, two forced fumbles, and had a season-high two sacks in the Steelers' 17–7 victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hampton forced a fumble by fullback Mike Alstott and recovered it for the first fumble recovery of his career in the second quarter. He also had a strip/sack on quarterback Rob Johnson and the ball was recovered by teammate Kendrell Bell to stop a potential touchdown on the Steelers' five-yard line in the third quarter. Hampton also sacked quarterback Shaun King and earned his first multi-sack game of his career. He finished his second season with 40 combined tackles (23 solo), two sacks, and two forced fumbles in 16 games and 15 starts.
Hampton, Aaron Smith, and Kimo von Oelhoffen returned as the starting defensive line to start the 2003 regular season. On September 14, 2003, Hampton collected a season-high three solo tackles and sacked quarterback Trent Green in a 41–20 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2. In Week 14, he collected a season-high four combined tackles during a 6–0 loss at the New York Jets. On December 18, 2003, Hampton was voted to the 2004 Pro Bowl and earned his first career Pro Bowl selection. Hampton started all 16 regular season games in 2003 and made 39 combined tackles (27 solo), a pass deflection, and a sack. The Pittsburgh Steelers finished third in the AFC North with a 6–10 record and did not qualify for the playoffs.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
