Derrick Thomas lived life to the fullest

On the football field, Derrick Thomas had a motor that never stopped. He was virtually unblockable coming off the end, often making an offensive tackle’s feet look like a pretzel.

Off the field, Thomas’ motor revved almost as much. His agent during his playing days, Leigh Steinberg, once called the 6-foot-3, 243-pound linebacker “the social director of the NFL.”

Living the fast life made for a difficult transition for the loved ones left behind when Thomas died Feb. 8, 2000, at 33 years old. Thomas, never married, left behind seven children from five women.

A USA Today story written shortly after Thomas’ death painted a bleak picture of his estate finances. Thomas earned about $20 million in his final six seasons with the Chiefs, but, according to the story, there was less than $2 million in the estate.

“Much has been written about that, and I’m not really interested in those stories,” said Kelly Harmon, whose daughter with Thomas, Alexa, is now 13. “There are seven kids out there leading their lives, and much to everyone’s disbelief, everyone gets along.

“You could get them in a room after not seeing each other for a while, and after 20 minutes, it’s like it was yesterday. They’re brothers and sisters, and they’re all good kids.”

In addition to his estate, Thomas had a $1.2 million insurance policy and another $300,000 policy from the NFL Players Association. Each of his children receive about $285 a month from the NFLPA, as well.

Thomas’ son Darrion will deliver his late father’s acceptance speech. He is a walk-on football player at the University of Missouri. Alexa is a standout AAU track athlete with 29 national championships and 19 national age-group records.

“We live in Lawrence, which is UK (University of Kansas) territory, and Alexa is trying to figure out how in the world she’ll ever put on a UM jersey or a Missouri T-shirt,” Harmon said.

In addition to Alexa and Darrion, Thomas’ other children are Macailah, Robert, Burgundy, Darius and Derrick.

“Emotionally, it has been tough for the children,” said Edith Morgan, Thomas’ mother. “Financially, I don’t think it has been that bad. The estate has been pretty good to them.”

Morgan filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against General Motors, the maker of the SUV Thomas was driving when he wrecked it in a snowstorm. Thomas was not wearing a seatbelt and died about two weeks after the accident because of a blood clot as a result of his paralysis complications. Morgan did not win the suit.

The oldest of the children was 10 when Thomas died. They’ll leave Canton and the enshrinement with a much better understanding of what a great player their father was.

“I don’t think (Alexa) has any idea of how good and how big a deal her father was,” Harmon said. “She was not quite 4 when he passed. I think she will finally get it this weekend. I think she will have an understanding.”

When Thomas was alive, he made sure his children did not go without. At Christmas, he usually showed up with a huge delivery of gifts.

Thomas’ Third and Long Foundation is still active and run mostly by former teammate Neil Smith, according to former Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson.

Meanwhile, Darrion has spent much of his summer crafting his speech. It isn’t an easy job.

“I’m just trying to figure out what to put in so few words about a person that did so much,” Darrion said. “He was a huge family guy. Behind all that was a huge kid who loved gadgets and anything new that came out he had to have.”

Darrion got a late start on his football career. He didn’t begin playing high school football until his junior year.

“I think about him when I play football,” Darrion said. “Me and him, we never really discussed football. It’s hard. When I play, I go back and look at old videos of him and try to pick up some of his techniques.”

Canton Repository