Lester Hayes Net Worth, Income, Salary, Earnings, Biography

Lester Craig Hayes (born January 22, 1955) is a retired professional American football player who played for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League. He played with the Raiders from 1982 to 1986. He was known as “the Judge” and “Lester the Molester” because of his coverage of Bump and Run plays on the football field. He is a huge Star Wars enthusiast, and he made the claim that he is the “only real Jedi” in the NFL during pregame interviews for Super Bowl XVIII. 

He was also well-known for his use of Stickum, which was outlawed in 1981 under a regulation that bears his name. It was clear that he had an unique posture, as shown by his picture on the Raiders’ web page, in which he was stooping very low while facing the opposing wide receiver. During his collegiate career at Texas A&M, he was named an All-American safety. After being selected by the Raiders in 1977, Hayes had his position changed to cornerback. Hayes had a key role in the Raiders’ two Super Bowl victories (1980 and 1983), and he was named to the Pro Bowl five times between 1980 and 1984. He was widely regarded as one of the best shutdown cornerbacks in the history of the NFL. His most memorable performance was most likely in Super Bowl XVIII. He only made one tackle, but it was because he was so successful in covering Charlie Brown and Art Monk that Joe Theismann threw very little to the left side of the field as a result of his coverage. Hayes led the NFL with 13 interceptions in 1980, tying Dan Sandifer for the second most all-time (he set the record in 1948) and trailing only Dick “Night Train” Lane (14 interceptions in 1952). 

He was named the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year and the National Football League Defensive Player of the Year. After the 1986 season, he retired with a total of 39 interceptions, which he shared with Hall of Famer Willie Brown for the Raiders’ single-season record. He is eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and in 2007 he was selected from a pool of 26 semi-finalists. Hayes struggled with stuttering throughout his childhood and into his professional career. He preferred to remain silent rather than attract attention to himself and his situation. As a result, he was frequently seen as being unintelligent; but, after successful treatment, people “couldn’t stop him up,” according to former Raiders coach John Madden, and it was discovered that Hayes was an eloquent and bright guy. Hayes now resides with his wife in the California city of Modesto.

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