Former Seattle Seahawk Cliff Avril talks with Spokane NAACP President Lisa Gardner, left, at an event called the Juneteenth Fireside Chat Thursday, June 19, 2025 at Gonzaga University. The former NFL tight end is now a real estate develop and philanthropist. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
From his favorite Super Bowl halftime performance to mentoring the next generation, former Seattle Seahawk and Super Bowl champion Cliff Avril spoke to a crowd of about 75 people Thursday night at Gonzaga University as part of the Spokane NAACP’s “Challenging the Narrative” fireside chat to celebrate Juneteenth.
“I think it’s an opportunity for people to celebrate and understand how far we’ve come,” Avril said of Juneteenth, the federal holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
He acknowledged there’s more work to be done.
“If we look in that rear view mirror, we’ve gone pretty far,” Avril said. “And again, there’s a lot more to go.”
Avril played 10 years in the NFL, including the second half of his career with the Seahawks.
He was one of the key defensive players during the two Seahawks Super Bowl appearances in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The Seahawks throttled the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl 48 and then fell, 28-24, to the New England Patriots the following year in Super Bowl 49.
Avril joined Spokane NAACP President Lisa Gardner on stage Thursday in Gonzaga’s John J. Hemmingson Center Ballroom.
Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, Avril said playing in the NFL wasn’t his dream right away. He didn’t start playing football until high school.
The son of Haitian immigrant parents, he said he wanted to work a job that took the pressure off his parents, who worked multiple jobs.
“For me, it was all about finding a way to be able to support and help my family,” he said.
Avril said he always loved to compete and sports was the best avenue to do that, and he eventually made it to the NFL.
“I think that’s what drove me to have a 10-year career in the NFL and do some really cool things on the football field,” he said of his desire to compete.
Now a real estate developer and founder of the Cliff Avril Family Foundation, Avril said he carries lessons, like teamwork and selflessness, to his business. He said football taught him how to work with others, which is what he needs to do to be successful with his real estate team.
Avril said the Seahawks’ Super Bowl teams had an abundance of superstars, including Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch, “but everybody was selfless” and knew the value each player brought to the table.
Avril mentors youths as part of his foundation and he emphasizes exposing children to careers and opportunities they may not have known existed. He said it’s important for him to give back.
“For me, I think it’s all about just trying to be an example, but also exposing the youth because they’re our future at the end of the day,” he said.
Avril said he took the boys in his foundation on tour of the Seahawks facility, which is filled with an array of professions, including doctors, chefs and security officers. It’s not just football players, he said. Avril said almost everyone in that building got a Super Bowl ring in 2013.
“You can win a Super Bowl without actually being on the field,” he said.
He said dreams can be accomplished by people who work hard, have discipline and believe in themselves.
“Be the best version of yourself,” Avril said.
He also stressed the importance of learning.
“I think it’s extremely important for our youth to be thirsty for knowledge,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a finish line to growth.”
He said children should consume as much information about what they think they might be interested in.
“Continue to learn,” Avril said.
Gardner also asked Avril about his pregame music and favorite Super Bowl halftime performance. The latter was Bruno Mars, who performed during the Seahawks Super Bowl win.
As for music, he said he popped on his headphones before a game and listened to a variety of artists, from Usher to Adele.
“Slower music just to keep the heart rate down before I go out here and try to dominate one of these quarterbacks or something like that,” Avril said.