After a lifetime in football, Gil Brandt had a lot of thank yous

[Rowdy]

Gil Brandt, 86, has spent a lifetime in the NFL. So he had many people to thank, squeezing in some 50 names in his 19-minute, 29-second Hall of Fame speech.

Brandt was the first of eight inductees Saturday night in Canton. It seemed appropriate.

He drafted 501 players in his 29 years as the Cowboys’ director of player personnel and signed hundreds more. Fifty-three of his players went to 178 Pro Bowls, and 10 of his draft picks have busts in Canton, including Billy Shaw, who opted to sign with the AFL’s Buffalo Bills instead of the Cowboys after the NFL team drafted him.

Brandt named several of the former players he drafted or signed, including Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Everson Walls, Thomas Henderson, Mel Renfro and Cliff Harris.

His best story was about his presenter, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Jones fired Brandt a few days after Aikman arrived in 1989. Jones bought the team earlier that year, firing Tex Schramm and coach Tom Landry. He kept Brandt until after the draft, but losing $29,000 a day on his new toy, Jones told Brandt he couldn’t afford him.

“Jerry and I have come a long way since our first three months working together,” Brandt said. “When we parted ways following the 1989 draft, I could not have imagined how incredible the next three decades in the NFL would become. Jerry, thank you for today’s wonderful presentation. Thank you for inducting into the prestigious Cowboys’ Ring of Honor last season, and thank you for making me a free agent 30 years ago.”

Brandt has remained relevant, continuing to work for the NFL and SiriusXM NFL Radio to this day.