2001: Voted to team-record 11th-consecutive Pro Bowl...named Chargers’ Most Valuable Player for fifth-consecutive season…team’s second-leading tackler with 96 stops…tied team high with seven stops against Seattle Dec. 30…had team-leading eight tackles against Oakland Dec. 15…led squad with 11 stops against Cardinals Nov. 25..also on Nov. 25 moved past Dan Fouts on team’s career service list by playing in 182nd career game…recorded first sack of season vs. Buffalo Oct. 28…had first interception of season and 14th of career vs. Cincinnati Sept. 30…final season statistics include one interception, one sack, two forced fumbles and six passes defensed. 

Throughout his career, Seau has managed to post some incredible statistics. While playing in 171 games during his 11-year career he has racked up 1,300 tackles, 44.5 sacks and 13 interceptions. He's been the team leader in tackles in eight of his 11 seasons, averaging 118 tackles a year. The Chargers' top pick and the fifth player selected overall in the 1990 NFL Draft, Seau has led the team in tackles in 81 of the 171 career games he's played in and has recorded 10 or more tackles in a game 46 times.

As great a player as Seau is on the field, he is equal to the task off the field. Seau is a loving father, an astute businessman and a community leader. When he's not hard at work behind the scenes at SEAU's the Restaurant in Mission Valley, he enjoys spending time with his three children, Sydney, Jake and Hunter.

Junior also oversees the efforts of the Junior Seau Foundation, an organization which he established in 1992. Through his work with the foundation, Seau has awarded more than 200 scholarships to college-bound students, and every December, he leads the holiday charge, taking more than 200 underprivileged kids on a shopping spree to buy gifts for friends and family through the "Shop with a Jock" program.

In his free time, Junior is a gym rat and golf enthusiast. He is one of the founding fathers of the team's "Breakfast Club," a group of players who wake up early and work out five days a week at 6:45 a.m. at the team's training facility throughout the season. He is also a member of the La Jolla Country Club where he's a 13-handicap. This past offseason, Seau had the rare distinction of scoring an Albatross, a double eagle on the club's par-5 15th hole.
College: 
Unanimous first-team All-America choice at Southern California after recording 19 sacks and 27 tackles behind line of scrimmage in 1989...posted six sacks in 1988 after sitting out season under NCAA Proposition 48 rules...majored in public administration.
Personal: 
Born Tiaina Seau Jr., January 19, 1969 in San Diego...moved to American Samoa at early age and returned to mainland prior to entering grade school... did not speak English until age seven... played linebacker and tight end as senior for Oceanside High Pirates...earned CIF San Diego Section Defensive Player of Year, All-State, and USA Today All-USA honorable mention as well as All-North County and Avocado League Offensive Player of Year as senior ...also consensus San Diego Section Basketball Player of Year...named to California's all-Academic team with 3.6-grade-point average...established The Seau Foundation in 1992...hosts annual Junior Seau Celebrity Golf Classic to raise funds for The Seau Foundation...foundation's mission is to inspire young people to face life's challenges with enthusiasm, hope and dignity...inducted into National Boys and Girls Clubs Hall of Fame in 1999 ...selected as San Diego's United Way representative in 1992 and 1999, an honor going to athletes who demonstrate superior community involvement...Seau's charitable efforts earned him National Football League's highest honor in 1994 as he was named True Value Hardware NFL Man of Year...serves as National Pop Warner Football representative...spokesperson for NFL's national youth programs...opened "Seau's The Restaurant" prior to 1996 season and it is now San Diego's most popular and largest sports-themed restaurant... "Seau's" was voted "Best Sports Bar" in 1997 by San Diego Restaurant Association ...has three children, daughter, Sydney Beau (Aug. 27, 1993) and sons, Jake Ryan (Oct. 18, 1995) and Hunter (Sept. 11, 2000). 
 ==========================================
Team gives star's agent OK to talk with other clubs
By Jim Trotter
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 14, 2003
 
CHARLIE STARR / Union-Tribune
When he signed a contract extension three years ago, linebacker Junior Seau thanked the organization and said he was proud that he would end his career as a Charger.
When he signed a contract extension three years ago, linebacker Junior Seau thanked the organization and said he was proud that he would end his career as a Charger.
That was then.
Last night, Seau said he has played his final game for the team he grew up idolizing. The Chargers have given his agent permission to talk trade with other NFL clubs, and if one doesn't materialize, Seau said he expects to be released.
"It's definitely good and bad," Seau said after speaking with coach Marty Schottenheimer. "It's time for us to part ways. There will be some disgruntled people and disgruntled fans, but it was time. I have so many great memories from my time in San Diego, but I look forward to the challenge ahead. I have no regrets about what was done. I wish everyone the best."
Seau, 34, a future Hall of Famer and 12-time Pro Bowler who has been the public face of the Chargers almost from the day they selected him in the first round of the 1990 draft, said he will discuss the situation in greater detail today during a 3 p.m. news conference at his Mission Valley restaurant.
He said he was surprised by developments, even though the Chargers have undergone a dramatic turnover since John Butler took over as general manager two years ago.
"For the most part, this is a moment that we all need to think about and rehearse for and be prepared for," Seau said. "There's just so much going on when a transaction such as this happens. For the most part, what we want to do is better ourselves. But this is an action that's coming from above."
Schottenheimer spoke by phone with Seau last night. He said it was an organizational decision to allow Seau to seek a trade, although it remains unclear what prompted the action.
"Look, this is not easy for me," Schottenheimer said. "Junior Seau embodies everything you want in a player – work ethic, dedication, passion. But we felt this was something we needed to do, and we wanted to do it right. That's why we extended the courtesy to Junior and his representative to try to see if there's a trade that can be reached."
Schottenheimer said it's not implausible that Seau could return next season. Seau said there's no chance. The Oceanside native has tremendous pride, and there's no way he's going to return to a team that ostensibly said it no longer desires his services.
Seau said he already has talked with at least two teams. Complicating matters is that teams are leery of making a trade if they feel they can wait and get the player without compensation when he's released.
"Marvin and I are going to be proactive," Seau said, referring to his agent, Marvin Demoff. "No matter what's being said, I'm here to say that we have a deal where we have permission to seek the market, and that's great. We're going to do that.
"All I want to do is put on another hat and carry on and do what I do best – on two healthy ankles. That's where we are."
Seau missed three games and part of another last season because of an ankle injury that required postseason surgery. The Chargers' defense ranked last in the league against the pass in 2002 and suffered a handful of fourth-quarter collapses that contributed to seven losses in the final nine games.
It's doubtful there will be a quick fix for the unit this offseason, especially considering so much money has been spent on the offensive side of the ball with the signings of fullback Lorenzo Neal and wide receiver David Boston.
So perhaps the Chargers think it would be wiser to go with younger players rather than stick with veterans who aren't likely to be on the roster in a couple of years when the club might be ready to turn the corner.
Whatever the case, the fire and intensity that Seau brings will be missing this fall.
"There's something hidden between the lines here," Seau said. "It just doesn't make any sense. But there's nothing that I can say that is negative. It's definitely going to be different. But I look forward to carrying on somewhere else."