Every single member of the Kansas City Chiefs' Ring of Honor

A Ring of Honor is a common way for sports teams to celebrate some of the biggest and best players in a franchise's history. The name stems from putting the names of those players around the stadium for all to see at every game.

The Kansas City Chiefs started their Ring of Honor in 1970 and have inducted one player every year except for two. Those absences came in 1983 and 2020, with '83 being skipped due to the players' strike and no one getting inducted in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The most recent inductee in 2026 was none other than Derrick Johnson, who played with the Chiefs from 2005 to 2017. Johnson is still a beloved member of Chiefs Kingdom and was a well-deserved inductee into the organization's Hall of Fame.

Who is every player in the Chiefs' Ring of Honor?

Every Chiefs Ring of Honor inductees

1970s

It makes perfect sense that Lamar Hunt would be the first-ever inductee into the Chiefs Ring of Honor. After all, he founded the team and was a pivotal member not just of their organization but of football as well, creating the AFL. Hell, the team that wins the AFC hoists a trophy named after him, so yeah, he's pretty important.

From there, it was probably difficult for the organization to decide who to honor each year. Those early years of the Chiefs after they relocated from Dallas were pretty special, with the team reaching two of the first four Super Bowls and having won three AFL titles before then.

The franchise did a pretty good job with who they honored from those teams. With the tradition continuing into the 1980s, there'd be plenty of time to continue to ensure that everyone got their moment of appreciation at some point.

1980s

The 1980s continued to honor those players from those early Chiefs teams, with linebacker Bobby Bell kicking things off for the next decade's group. The players ranged from defensive stalwarts like Bell to receiving threat Otis Taylor to guard Ed Budde to Super Bowl-winning coach Hank Stram.

This is one heck of a group honored here, as four of them were inducted to the Hall of Fame. Those who aren't, like Taylor, should be in too, for what it's worth. The Chiefs had a lot of guys to choose from thanks to their early success so they were virtually guaranteed to choose a legend during the second decade of the Ring of Honor.

1990s

The Chiefs were still working their way through those magical 1960s/early 1970s teams when the '90s rolled around, honoring them with the majority of their slots during the next decade. The first member not to have been on that Super Bowl-winning team was Jack Rudnay, who entered the league in 1970. He was still on some great teams, though, and played center for the Chiefs for 13 years.

Deron Cherry, Art Still, and Lloyd Burruss marked the Chiefs officially shifting their attention to honoring players from the 1980s. That decade wasn't a very good one for the organization but these guys were some of the few bright spots.

It's worth noting that this was the first decade not to have a personnel member enshrined. That being said, it was still early enough in the Chiefs' history that they didn't have a ton of options in that department.

2000s

The 80s might not have given Chiefs fans much to cheer about, but it still provided us with some great players. Christian Okoye wasn't a Chief for very long, but he began playing for them in 1987 and spent six years in Kansas City. His best year came in 1989 when he rushed for over 1,400 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Chiefs had to pivot in 2001 after Derrick Thomas tragically passed away in a car accident. He'd have been a no-brainer to induct as soon as he officially retired but his tragic death made inducting him as soon as possible an easy decision to make.

Kansas City went back to the '80s and early '90s for the next few inductees, with John Alt and Gary Spani getting their names cemented in Arrowhead Stadium next. It was a bit surprising to see the Chiefs wait so long to induct Joe Delaney, given his tragic death in 1983 when he drowned while attempting to rescue kids in a lake.

The personnel member honored in the 2000s was Jack Steadman, who served as the team's GM from 1961 to 1975. Curley Culp was another member of the Super Bowl-winning team to finally receive his due this decade as well.

2010s

The Chiefs made sure to induct one coach or personnel member in the next decade, with Marty Schottenheimer getting that honor in 2010. He coached the team for 10 years and was always successful wherever he coached.

From there, the Chiefs started jumping around more with who to honor. Ross played for them in the '80s and '90s while Shields was on the team in the 2000s. Barbaro was a '70s/'80s guy while Holmes was running roughshod over defenses in the 2000s. The decade continued like that, jumping around from decade to decade but trying to hit all of the key members.

Tony Gonzalez had his moment in 2018, and Brian Waters closed things out for the 2010s. What a group of legends this group was.

2020s

Now, we're into the current decade, and the Chiefs haven't missed with their decisions so far. They've spread things out by inducting '90s guys like Grunhard and Anders, then pivoting to the 2000s with Hall and Hali, going back to the '80s with Maas (that one was long overdue), and then, finally, catching up to current times with Derrick Johnson getting in.

The Chiefs clearly have a system for how they decide who goes in each year, but it's been interesting to see them jump between decades recently. If Johnson was the most recent inductee, that probably means the team is going to jump back into the '90s or go even further back in the time machine.

• Stephone Paige could be an interesting callback, as he played for the team in the 1980s and was a talented receiver for the team. K.C. was not good then, however, so that's probably why he's not a more well-known name.
• Dale Carter was an exceptional corner for the Chiefs in the early '90s.
• Joe Montana might have only spent two years in Kansas City, but he did something not many Chiefs quarterbacks had done during that time, which was win in the playoffs.
• Marcus Allen might also not be known for what he did in Kansas City, but he was such a force during his five years as a Chief. Plus, it'd be really fun to stick it to the Raiders by putting him in the Chiefs Ring of Honor.

If the Chiefs want to keep things more current, there are plenty of names to look for there as well.

• Jamaal Charles is a no-brainer. For many years, he was the only one worth watching on this team.
• Trent Green helped power one of the best offenses in Chiefs history in 2003.
• Willie Roaf was on the unstoppable offensive line in those early 2000s seasons and deserves his moment in front of the fans.
• Alex Smith provided the Chiefs with a reliable quarterback after so many duds.
• Eric Berry was an incredible guy on and off the field and deserves to have his time to be appreciated by Chiefs Kingdom.
• Justin Houston notched 22.0 sacks in 2014 and was such a game-wrecker during his time in Kansas City.

Of course, as we know, the Chiefs will be leaving Arrowhead in a few years but the Ring of Honor will still exist in the new stadium and will be joined by new names each year. There are plenty of legends to choose from and it'll be exciting to see who's next.

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