CANTON, Ohio — Kenny Easley may have been as great as any player in Seattle 
Seahawks history, but he often seemed as distant as any of the team’s legends.

Easley played seven incredible years as a safety for the Seahawks from 1981 to 1987 before a contentious ending to his career resulted in him largely disappearing from view for 15 years before current owner Paul Allen helped bring him back into the fold in 2002.

So maybe it made sense that a roughly 25-minute speech Saturday celebrating his official enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — becoming the fourth player who spent his entire career in Seattle to be inducted — was largely devoted to issues outside of football and to Easley’s life before and after the NFL.

While Easley made no mention of any team executive from his time with the Seahawks, he noted that it was Allen’s call in 2002 asking him to agree to become a member of Ring of Honor that led to him renewing relations with the team and the NFL.

“Thank you, sir, for reaching out to Kenny Easley in 2002 after a 15-year isolation from the organization,” 
Easley said of Allen in a speech that kicked off the official Class of 2017 enshrinement ceremony. “I believe in the old adage ‘water runs downhill’ and thus winning starts at the top and you have run a great organization with a terrific head coach in Pete Carroll. The Seahawks back to the Super Bowl? How does that sound?”

Easley retired in 1988 when it was discovered he had kidney damage that he alleged was due to an overdose of painkillers prescribed by 
Seahawks trainers due to an ankle injury. A trade to Arizona was aborted when the condition was found. Easley later sued the team, with the Seahawks eventually making an out-of-court settlement.

That Easley’s career ended suddenly at the age of 28 and after just seven seasons — during which he was named to five Pro Bowls and won defensive player of the year honors when the Seahawks went a then franchise-best 12-4 in 1984 — resulted in him receiving little consideration for the Hall in 1992 when his name was first raised.

Easley thanked those who led a revival for his candidacy, including NFL writer Frank Cooney and longtime fan and current Minnesota schoolteacher Bob Kaupang, whose efforts helped result in his nomination by the Senior Committee last summer and eventual election in February.

“The Hall of Fame was dropped on the shoulders of Kenny Easley like a pair of shoulder pads,” he said. “Some folks said I deserved to be in the Hall earlier. I don’t believe that. Others said, ‘Maybe he didn’t play long enough.’ I don’t believe that either.”