Did Reggie White convert to Judaism? Late Packers DE's wife once cleared air on his religious faith

Before retiring in 2000, former Green Bay Packers defensive end Reggie White was one of the most decorated defensive players in NFL history.

White was the winner of the Super Bowl once and was twice named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, he was chosen for the Pro Bowl 13 times and the All-Pro 13 times. White is second all-time among NFL career sack leaders with 198 sacks.

On December 26, 2004, White was found at his bedside, unconscious, and taken from his North Carolina house to a nearby hospital. When the former Philadelphia Eagle arrived at the hospital, he was declared dead. Arrhythmia and sleep apnea, for which he had previously received a diagnosis, were the causes of death.

After he died, White received recognition as a "Messianic believer" in a Messianic magazine, which caused misunderstanding about the former Super Bowl champion's religious views and whether or not he became a Jew.

During his time playing college football at the University of Tennessee, Reggie White was such a devout Christian that at a very young age, he showed a desire to become an evangelist. Before he joined the NFL, he was ordained as a Baptist preacher as well.

However, after leaving the league in 2000, White's beliefs started to shift. Ever the student, he started to wonder what the Bible was really instructing him, how it had been composed, and where it originated.

Many assumed White was turning to Judaism or had turned heretic due to his new school of thought and his studies, which finally encompassed six to seven hours a day of studying the Torah and learning Hebrew. In recorded interviews, White insisted that he was pursuing a closer relationship with God rather than converting to Judaism.

Reggie White's widow, Sara White, claimed that after studying the Torah, her husband ceased referring to himself as a Christian before his death and instead chose to be recognized as a "Believer". Although he rejected organized religion, he clung to most of his beliefs.

---

Reggie White's NFL timeline

Following his 1980–1983 college football career at Tennessee, Reggie White played in the USFL for the first two seasons of his professional career. But in 1985, he made a spectacular NFL debut with the Philadelphia Eagles, participating in 13 games and taking home the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

White amassed 124 sacks in 121 appearances during his first eight years in the league, but following the 1992 campaign, he moved teams to play for the Green Bay Packers. With a record three sacks in Super Bowl XXXI in 1996, White helped the Packers win the game and immediately changed the course of the team.

Reggie White played two more seasons with the Packers following his Super Bowl victory before taking a one-year break. He then spent a single season in 2000 as a player for the Carolina Panthers.

With 198 sacks, the renowned pass rusher retired as the NFL's all-time leader, although Bruce Smith has since surpassed him. White tragically died on Boxing Day, 2004, from a heart arrhythmia. The Minister of Defense was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.