Reggie White is a legendary figure, and the main reason Javon Hargrave landed an $84 million contract from the San Francisco 49ers.
A unanimous All-American at Tennessee, White spent two seasons playing for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL) before he was selected in the first round of the 1984 Supplemental Draft.
A key cog on Buddy Ryan’s famous Eagles defenses, White played 15 NFL seasons for Philadelphia, Green Bay, and Carolina, becoming one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history.
White passed away on December 26, 2004, at 43.
Now, ESPN Films is set to unveil a 30 for 30 documentary titled “The Minister of Defense.”
ESPN Films today announced that it is in production on a 30 for 30 documentary, “The Minister of Defense,” that examines the complex and sometimes controversial life of Reggie White, one of the greatest and most faith-driven players in NFL history. Told in part through never-before-seen footage from a 2004 interview filmed two months before his death, the film chronicles both White’s incredible dominance as one of the best defensive players ever and his spiritual journey as an ordained evangelical minister who questioned his blind faith toward the end of his life. Along with interviews with teammates from both the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, the film features Reggie’s son Jeremy who embarks on a journey to understand his father’s life, which ended tragically short at the age of 43. “The Minister of Defense” is a portrait of a man who constantly strived to “do right” but found that sometimes there is no easy answer as to what “right” means.
The documentary will be directed by Ken Rodgers (“Bullies of Baltimore,” “The Tuck Rule,” “The Two Bills”) and Courtland Bragg (“Hard Knocks: Training Camp,” “Hard Knocks: In-Season,” “All or Nothing”)
White was a Two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Super Bowl XXXI champion, 13-time Pro Bowl, and 13-time All-Pro selection, and is second place all-time among NFL career sack leaders with 198 (behind Bruce Smith’s 200 career sacks). He was selected to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, and the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team.
