NFL Safety Kenny Vaccaro Retires From Football, Launches G1 Esports
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| Author Matt Pryor
Former Saints and Titans safety retires from the NFL to focus on his esports organization and pursue a Halo Championship.
The competitive Halo scene gained an intense competitor yesterday evening as former National Football League (NFL) safety Kenny Vaccaro retired from professional football to focus on his organization Gamers First (G1 Esports). An eight-year veteran of the NFL, Vaccaro went 15th overall in the 2013 Draft to the New Orleans Saints. He spent four years in the Bayou before signing with the Tennessee Titans in 2018.
Two years later, the NFL Safety decided to step back in favor of his passion—esports. He’ll look to provide support as G1’s Halo Infinite team hopes of rising through the ranks and bringing home a title.
Kenny Vaccaro Retires from NFL & Launches G1
Former first-rounder and long-time NFL safety @KennyVaccaro is retiring from the league after 8 seasons with the #Saints and #Titans to launch an Esports organization named G1, also known as Gamers First.
Release: pic.twitter.com/Ul7x8BN5qc— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 1, 2021
First reported by Ian Rapport of NFL Network, Vaccaro announced the official launch of his esports organization known as Gamers First (G1 Esports) via a press release. The former professional athlete teamed up with entrepreneurs Hunter Swennson and Cody Hendrix to make this dream a reality and end his football career.
“Gamers First comes from the fact that while Kenny has excelled as a football player all his life, he identifies as a ‘gamer first,’” according to the release.
“This isn’t a reflex decision for me,” said Vaccaro. “I’ve been a gamer even longer than I’ve played football, and I’ve always thought of myself as a gamer first. So this is the realization of a long-term dream for me.”
The Pursuit of a Halo Championship
| Transcend | pic.twitter.com/yp4BzZi4j9
— G1 Savage (@kennyvaccaro) December 1, 2021
The retired NFL superstar now puts all of his energy into the Gamers First brand. The organization currently possesses a formidable Halo Infinite roster on the Halo Championship Series (HCS) circuit. Team members Nathan “Squallaye” Kostal, Devon “PreDevoNator” Layton, Casey “Sargoth” Current and GuN Shot have finished 33rd-49th and 5-6th in the first two weeks of competition.
G1 Esports hopes to capture its first title at the HCS Raleigh Kick-Off Major later this month in North Carolina. Professional athletes are taking notice of esports in the grander scheme, and Vaccaro is the latest to endorse the industry.
Feature Image: @kennyvaccaro
Matt is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University. He appreciates all esports titles but primarily focuses on Fortnite and Call of Duty. Matt continuously analyzes gameplay and plays the games himself to better understand in-game decisions by the best players in the world.