Devin Hester

CTL-E-6838 · Person · other · contemporary

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07710 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6838.

Devin Hester is the most prolific return specialist in NFL history and the first player who was predominantly a return specialist to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Born November 4, 1982, in Riviera Beach, Florida, and a multi-position standout at the University of Miami, Hester was selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft, 57th overall. He played eight of his eleven NFL seasons with the Bears. The Chicago Bears report that Hester holds NFL records with 19 kick-return touchdowns, 14 punt-return touchdowns and 20 total return touchdowns, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2024 announcement records that he opened Super Bowl XLI with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown — the only time in Super Bowl history that has occurred — and set an NFL record with six combined kick returns for touchdowns in his second season. Hester was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

The record

• Also known as: Devin Devorris Hester Sr.

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0404. Born in Riviera Beach, Florida — no 'from Chicago' relationship is emitted. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Hester changed what a roster spot could be worth — a return specialist drafted by Chicago in 2006 who forced opponents to kick away from him and became the first primary returner in the Hall of Fame; a defining figure of the Lovie Smith-era Bears.

Relationships

• Chicago Bears — played for
  Hester played eight of his 11 NFL seasons (2006–2013) with the Chicago Bears.
• Chicago Bears — drafted by
  Selected by the Bears in the second round (57th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Miami.

Sources

• Chicago Bears, 'OFFICIAL: Steve McMichael, Devin Hester and Julius Peppers have been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame,' chicagobears.com, February 2024, https://www.chicagobears.com/news/mcmichael-hester-peppers-voted-into-hall-of-fame (accessed 2026-11-03). (build store)
• Pro Football Hall of Fame, 'Pro Football Hall of Fame To Enshrine Seven In Class Of 2024' (Hall of Fame press release, republished by WHBC Sports), whbcsports.com, February 2024, https://www.whbcsports.com/pro-football-hall-of-fame-to-enshrine-seven-in-class-of-2024/ (accessed 2026-11-03). (primary source · build store)

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Record CTL-E-6838 · Combined Graph record U-07710 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 2 sources · 2 mapped relationships.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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