Shaquil Barrett, Cowboy No. 57, Honored with Boys Town’s First-Ever Jersey Retirement

NFL All-Pro player Shaquil Barrett had his Cowboy No. 57 retired at the Boys Town All-Star Youth Awards, where he spoke about using important life lessons he learned at Boys Town to successfully work his way through college and into the NFL.

Remembering the solid support he received during his time at Boys Town and beyond, Barrett encouraged the gathered athletes. “… if you lean into the Boys Town program and start working on your accountability, start working on everything that we learned with the six pillars of character, that will set you up for success in the real world.”

The NFL star also reminded the youth in attendance about the importance of being a kid and having dreams. Barrett said, “Sometimes we allow our reality to shape us into more of an adult, but we need to still be kids and still be dreamers at heart, because that’s what we need to be able to succeed.”

And Shaquil Barrett, a former Boys Town youth, dreamt big. Some of his NFL accolades include:

- Super Bowl LV champion (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2020)

- Pro Bowl selection (2019)

- Second-team All-Pro (2019)

- NFL sacks leader (2019)

- Franchise leader in sacks for a single season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019)

However, Shaquil humbly considers his greatest achievement to be his role as a father and husband.