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Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, winning the Lombardi Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and Bill Willis Trophy as a junior. Sapp was selected by the Buccaneers in the first round of 1995 NFL draft. He spent nine seasons with the Buccaneers and was a member of the Oakland Raiders in his last four seasons. Since 2024, he has served as a graduate assistant for the Colorado Buffaloes.
With Tampa Bay, Sapp made seven Pro Bowl appearances, earned first-team All-Pro honors four times, and was part of the team that won the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVII. He compiled 96.5 career quarterback sack by the time of his retirement, which are the third-highest career sacks for a defensive tackle and the 28th-highest overall for a Defensive tackle. His career, however, was also checkered by controversy from his hard-hitting style of play and occasional verbal outbursts. Along with Lee Roy Selmon and teammate Derrick Brooks, Sapp is one of three players to have their retired number by the Buccaneers. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
In 2007, Sapp was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team comprising the top 33 players in 100 years of high-school football in his home state.
He finished his rookie season with 27 tackles and one interception, and continued to be a prolific tackler for the Buccaneers. He registered 51 tackles and nine sacks in 1996, and 58 tackles and 10.5 sacks in 1997. His Pro Bowl selection in 1997 was the first of seven straight. In 1998, he signed a contract extension paying him $36 million over six years. He was honored as NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1999.
In an exchange caught by television cameras following the game, Packers coach Mike Sherman approached Sapp and said to him, "That was a chickenshit play." In response, Sapp screamed at Sherman: "You talk tough? Put a jersey on!" Sapp later called Sherman "a lying, shit-eating hound. ... If I was 25 years old and didn't have a kid and a conscience, I would have given him an ass kicking right there at the 30-yard line." Sherman later added, "The joviality that existed after the when a guy's lying on the ground, with numbness in his legs and fingers, I just thought that wasn't appropriate for any NFL player."
The next Sunday, October 12, 2003, before the Buccaneers took on the Washington Redskins, Sapp, while running onto the field, bumped into an NFL referee and drew a $50,000 fine. His response: "It's a slave system. Make no mistake about it. Slavemaster say you can't do it, don't do it. They'll make an example out of you."
He started all 16 games in his first season in Oakland, splitting time at defensive end and defensive tackle, recording 30 tackles (18 solo) and 2.5 sacks and recovering two fumbles after having lost an estimated 20 pounds before joining the Raiders for the 2004 season.
His 2005 season got off to a great beginning back in his familiar defensive tackle position. He started the first 10 games of the season with 29 tackles (26 of them solo), and finished second on the team to Derrick Burgess with five sacks before being sidelined for the last six games of 2005 with a shoulder injury.
He returned to his All-Pro form in 2006. He had 10 sacks to go along with 32 tackles (16 solo) and one forced fumble.
On December 23, 2007, Sapp got ejected after an altercation with the officials near the end of the second quarter of the Raiders' game at Jacksonville. The incident began when linesman Jerry Bergman mistakenly assumed that the Raiders would decline a 10-yard Jaguar penalty. Sapp, the defensive captain, shot back at referee Jerome Boger that the Raiders wanted to accept the penalty. The conversation became heated, with Sapp gesturing and swearing, provoking Boger to flag him for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Sapp and the rest of the Raider defense continued to mouth off at the officials, resulting in a second unsportsmanlike against Sapp and a third unsportsmanlike against teammate Derrick Burgess. Finally, the coaches ran onto the field, and along with the officials, began physically separating the disgruntled players. Boger claimed that Sapp had "bumped" him in the process, while Sapp denied any physical contact. In any event, Boger then levied a third unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Sapp (fourth against the team) and ejected him. The league eventually fined him $75,000, and Burgess $25,000 (i.e., $25,000 for each unsportsmanlike penalty).
On January 3, 2008, Sapp told Raider owner Al Davis over the phone that he would retire and confirmed this on his website, qbkilla.com, in just two words: "I'M DONE!" The retirement became official on March 4, 2008.
| NFL Defensive Player of the Year | |
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
In 2023, Sapp graduated from Texas Seminary Christian University with a bachelor of arts in Christian sports management. The degree allowed him to work as a Colorado Buffaloes football staff member.
On August 19, 2008, Sapp was hired as a studio analyst for Inside the NFL on Showtime, a position he held until 2011.
In the fall of 2008, Sapp appeared as a contestant on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars. Sapp's partner for the competition was professional dancer Kym Johnson; the pair made it to the finals, where they were eventually named runner-up of season seven.
He made his stand-up comedy debut at the Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy on March 16, 2009.
He worked for NFL Network as an analyst featured on NFL Total Access and NFL GameDay Morning until he was fired in 2015 following his arrest for solicitation. In the summer of 2012, he released a book titled Sapp Attack through St. Martins Publishing.
In June 2012, Sapp teamed up with the Network of Champions (NOC), a YouTube premium content channel, to produce a TV show series called Judge Sapp. He also participated in Fox's dating game show The Choice.
In January 2013, Sapp worked with Dr. Jonathan Greenburg to raise awareness about the importance of getting tested and treated for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.
He was also a celebrity judge on the second season of the reality show BBQ Pitmasters.
On July 27, 2016, Sapp was bitten by a shark while lobstering off the coast of Florida.
In October 2020, the internet sportsbook BetUS announced Warren Sapp and Brian Jones as the hosts of the weekly podcast "BetUS Unfiltered". Sapp and Jones have interviewed celebrities such as Derrick Johnson, Adam Schefter, Ray Lewis, Kevin Carter, Rick Neuheisel, and Jennifer Welter on the podcast.
On February 2, 2015, the day after Super Bowl XLIX, Sapp was arrested on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute and assault. Later that day, Sapp's contract was terminated by the NFL Network. In May 2015, the charges were dismissed.
On April 7, 2012, the Associated Press reported that Sapp had filed for bankruptcy in an effort to discharge debt from failed businesses. In these Chapter 7 filings, he claimed to have lost his University of Miami championship rings and his Buccaneers Super Bowl ring. The balances in his checking and savings accounts were said to be less than $1,000. He claimed no credit card debt and owned no automobiles, but owed National Car Rental $90,685 through his business, Nine-Nine, LLC. Court filings indicated Sapp's assets totaled $6.45 million against a debt of $6.7 million. His monthly income was reported as $115,861. On November 1, 2012, Sapp's house in Windermere was auctioned off for $2.9 million.
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