In September of 2016, a group of men hatched a plan to assault and rob an unsuspecting pizza delivery driver. 

They had it all figured out. Hole up in an abandoned house, order some pies to an address in the suburbs of Chicago, and pounce on their victim. 

What they didn’t realize – their delivery driver was none other than former NFL linebacker Napoleon Harris.

“This wasn’t the average 5’9” delivery guy,” Harvey Police Department spokesman Sean Howard told local reporters.    

At 6’3” and 250 pounds, Harris was not the target the attackers had in mind. They followed their playbook anyway, attempting to put a chokehold on the seven-year Vikings, Chiefs, and Raiders vet. When that didn’t work, one of the men punched Harris as hard as he could.

“Napoleon never moved,” said Howard. “He just looked at him like Hulk Hogan, and from that, the guys knew that we better get out of here, because we can’t keep this guy down.”

Their QB sneak didn’t work – the former first-round pick ran after their Chevy Tahoe, called 911, and helped police track the car. Eventually, cops found the abandoned truck and traced it to a man who had been reported missing in Georgia. Thanks to Harris’ remarkable heroism, authorities tackled an open murder investigation and brought the criminals to justice.    

Harris was not supposed to be the delivery driver, in any sense. After making millions in the NFL, Harris launched into new careers as a Beggars Pizza franchise owner and an Illinois state senator. When the order came into his shop at 10pm on that fateful night, he made the delivery himself so that his staff could clock out on time.

These days, Harris doesn’t like to talk about the attempted robbery, but he continues to serve the people of Illinois with pizza, plus initiatives to support education, small business development, pensions, and crime prevention.