For Derick Hall, football started out as a way to feel like a regular kid, not to mention a way to strengthen his still developing lungs.

Over time, the kid who was born at 23 ½ weeks, weighing just 2 pounds, 9 ounces, not only caught up to his peers; he became a force to be reckoned with. And eventually, that preemie who doctors said had less than a 1 percent chance at survival made his way all the way to the NFL. Hall's unlikely journey included a standout college career at Auburn, which led to him becoming a second-round pick of the Seahawks in 2023, and he continued to thrive in the NFL, becoming a Super Bowl champion after his third season.

And now, Hall can add to his story a lucrative three-year contract extension, which he signed on Wednesday morning, locking him up through the 2029 season.

"It's amazing, it's a blessing, the feeling is second to none," Hall said after signing his extension Wednesday morning. "The biggest thing for me is knowing what I'm getting into coming to work every day—this is a pristine organization that allows me to be myself. You're going to win a lot of football games here, and then to have the staff and leadership that we have here, it's second to none. So it was a no-brainer, and I'm happy to be locked in here for a good while to come."

Following the Seahawks' Super Bowl LX victory over the Patriots, a game in which he had two sacks and a forced fumble, Hall reflected on the journey that he, as well as his mother, Stacy Gooden-Crandle, have been through, starting with Gooden-Crandle having to fight for her son's life when doctors told her he had almost no chance at survival, and even slimmer odds of living a healthy, normal life.

"Obviously, everyone knows my story, what it took for me to get here, what it took for me just to be alive and have a chance," Hall said after the Super Bowl. "All glory to God, I'm very blessed. Kudos to mom, that was a special moment after the game, hugging my mama, loving on her and sharing that moment with her. She's the unsung hero, the unsung warrior through this whole process. The love and compassion, she's always fought for me, she never gave up… Mom, this moment is for you. I wouldn't want to share that moment with anybody else.

"This is what every kid dreams about. I started playing this game just to get my lung capacity up, just to be able to run around a little bit, and I fell in love with the game. It allowed me to be a normal kid. I would always sit and watch other kids outside running around, and I wasn't able to do those things."

Thanks to the extension he signed on Wednesday, Hall will continue living his NFL dream in a Seahawks uniform for years to come, an important development both for his security and for the future of Seattle's defense. And fittingly, given the journey they have been on together, Hall was joined by his mom, and sister R'hana Gooden, for the signing after they flew from Mississippi, with a stop in Atlanta, to arrive in Seattle at 1 a.m. ahead of his signing before turning around to fly home a couple hours after.

"It means everything," Hall said of having his mom there to be part of the big moment. "It just shows again how much she means to me and how much I mean to her for her to fly here over night, leaving in a couple of hours, just to be here for this special moment. That means a lot."

For Gooden-Crandle, there have been a lot of emotions in the past few months after celebrating a Super Bowl title with her son on the field at Levi's Stadium and now seeing him sign a life-changing contract.

"It's been a range of emotions from joy to happiness, and sometimes fear, because it's a dangerous game and he has had some injuries," she said. "But I just thank God for him, and being able to celebrate that Super Bowl moment with him—he said before the Super Bowl, 'I didn't win anything in high school, and my college never went to a championship,' so to see him hoist that Lombardi Trophy, knowing that all of his hard work led him to that moment, that was a blessing."

Selected 37th overall in 2023 with one of the picks Seattle acquired in the 2022 Russell Wilson trade, Hall has emerged as a key piece of Seattle's defensive front over the past two seasons. Hall had a breakout 2024 season, recording 8.0 sacks and two forced fumbles as a starter, and while his playing time decreased a bit in 2025, in part due to the addition of DeMarcus Lawrence, Hall was still a big part of Seattle's Dark Side defense. Hall recorded only 2.0 sacks in the regular season, but was much more effective as a pass-rusher than that number would indicate, and as his two-sack performance in the Super Bowl showed. He was also a key part of a run defense that held opponents to a league-low 3.7 yards-per-carry average in 2025, with the Seahawks not allowing an individual 100-yard rusher the entire season, giving them a franchise-record 29-game streak, postseason included, without allowing a 100-yard rusher.

"He's played great football for us all year," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said after the Super Bowl. "He just plays the right way, man. Just plays so violently, relentlessly."