Former Chiefs linebacker Jerry Blanton inducted into Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame

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Updated: 8:46 PM CDT Jul 16, 2026

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Taylor Kauffman

KMBC 9 News Sports Reporter

Former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jerry Blanton is being recognized for a football career that took him from the University of Kentucky to the NFL.

Blanton, who played seven seasons with the Chiefs during the 1980s, was recently inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"Being an 11th round draft choice by Buffalo, you're really not even supposed to make pro football," Blanton said. "So I've been blessed just being able to survive and to play as long as I have for one team."

Although the Chiefs struggled to reach the playoffs during his career, Blanton made his mark on the field.

One of his most memorable performances came on Monday Night Football, when he recorded 21 tackles.

"I remember that game like it was yesterday," Blanton said. "Monday night, I knew people back from Toledo, Ohio, were going to be watching. People at Kentucky were going to be watching, and I had probably the best game of my career."

Blanton laughed as he recalled returning home afterward.

"When I went back home to Toledo, I said I played like that every week," he said.

Now, decades after his playing career ended, Blanton is being honored alongside some of Kentucky's greatest professional football players.

"When I got there and seen all the players that's been inducted, some of them Damani Dawson and some of the other players, I like, whoa, this is a big ordeal here," Blanton said. "But I said also, it's good. I can come up and say how much grateful I am and appreciative of getting a position like that."