Dave Levy, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ long-time video director and a legend in the industry, is headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His nearly four-decade journey to Canton started with a broken toboggan.
On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that Levy was a recipient of its Award of Excellence as part of a new program that recognizes significant contributors to the game of football in five categories – film/video directors, assistant coaches, athletic trainers, equipment managers and public relations personnel. Recipients of the award are honored with a plaque in a special wing of the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Rondé Barber, the Bucs legendary cornerback who was just inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer, is thrilled to welcome his good friend and colleague into Canton.
“I didn’t know that this was a thing, but the fact that it is awesome,” said Barber. “And there’s no more deserving guy for the honor. I remember when [current Buccaneers Video Director] Brett [Greene] came here and was taking over for Dave. I think the level of reverence that he had for Dave kind of speaks to what we’re all recognizing in him – there’s a Hall of Fame for video directors and Dave is part of that. I’m not in that industry so I couldn’t tell you exactly what it was he did that was cutting edge or different or better but I know he was known around the league as an innovator. And the way he treated us and everybody at One Buc I can’t believe there would be a better choice for the award.”
In just its second year of selecting candidates for the Award of Excellence, a six-person committee of NFL video directors chose three luminaries in their profession for the honor in 2024 – Levy, Bob “Mac” McCartney of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tom Atcheson of the Atlanta Falcons. Pat Brazil, who worked in Levy’s department with the Bucs for 15 seasons before being hired as the Kansas City Chiefs’ video director in 2006, is one of the six people on that committee. It was likely only a matter of time until Levy was chosen for the award, but his inclusion in just the second Hall of Fame class of video professionals was meaningful.
“He was humbled by the fact that he got in during the first two years of this,” said Brazil. “I said to him, ‘Dave, there’s a lot of Hall of Famers, but if you look at the…
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