Nick Bolton has been a brute force in the heart of any defense he's played within, whether at the collegiate ranks or at the professional level. While his legacy with the Kansas City Chiefs is stilll unfolding year after year, the University of Missouri has decided to honor Bolton for his body of work and leadership while playing for the Tigers with an induction into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame.
Bolton received the news earlier this month from his own head coach, Andy Reid. It was an unexpected moment for Bolton, who was huddled together with his teammates to hear from Reid earlier this month at an offseason practice before being singled out.
The Tigers and Chiefs recently released the footage of Reid telling Bolton about his honor, and it's a joy for fans to see the star linebacker hear the news for the first time.
Congratulations @_nickbolton2 on being a member of the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026! 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/Dv2qEdd4FS
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) June 29, 2026
"You guys know I'm a Missouri Tiger at heart," said Reid. "I had a chance to coach there, for you that didn't know before I got in the NFL. We got a couple of Missouri Tigers here, but we've got one that's real, real famous—right now, real famous. And not only for his play here with the Chiefs, but also what he did at the University of Missouri, which was great things—he did great things there.
"We know him as kind of a team guy. He's Nick Bolton, right? We know him as a team guy, the ultimate team guy. But today, today, you're going to get an individual award, bud. Today, you're going into the University of Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame."
Shortly after announcing this in the presence of Bolton's teammates, Reid invited Bolton to address everyone with a speech saying, "You're on the spot, baby. You're gonna have to give one later, [so you] might as well get ready now."
"Yeah, man, just an honor. The state, the city from Columbia all the way to Kansas City, man, it's kind of been my home and my peace. I've made a lot of friends, lot of memories. So I hope to continue to make them man, so [I'm] proud of you guys. Ya'll helped me get to this and be who I am as well," said Bolton before closing with "M-I-Z, baby."
Bolton played at Missouri for three seasons, where his production climbed year over year from 2018 to 2020. After seeing rotational snaps as a freshman, with 22 tackles and a sack, he broke out as a sophomore in 2019 by leading the SEC with 107 tackles and 2 interceptions. That performance earned him first-team All-SEC honors. Bolton's junior year was shortened to ten games by the COVID pandemic but he still racked up 95 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 5 pass breakups, which was good for a second straight first-team All-SEC selection and second-team All-America honors.
The Chiefs selected Bolton in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft after he declared early. He became an immediate starter with 112 tackles in his rookie season, and then he followed that with a franchise-record 180 tackles in 2022. He quickly grew into Steve Spagnuolo's trusted communicator in the heart of a championship-winning defense, which is why Kansas City committed to paying him a $45 million extension in 2024 that keeps him with the Chiefs until 2027.
Add us as a preferred source on Google