By the Green Bay Packers
For the Press Times
GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Inc. recently announced Packers national scout Sam Seale, whose eye for talent has contributed to the selection of several shining stars over the Green Bay Packers’ 32-year and counting run of success, will receive the Bob Harlan Leadership Award presented by MillerCoors.
The award will be presented at this year’s Packers Hall of Fame Induction Banquet, set for Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in the Lambeau Field Atrium.
The Bob Harlan Leadership Award is presented in honor of former Green Bay Packers President/CEO and Packers Hall of Famer Bob Harlan, who demonstrated exceptional and extraordinary leadership throughout his career with the Packers.
Recipients demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities, over and above the call of duty during or after their career or association with the Packers. Above all, they must have served with the integrity, character and determination emblematic of Harlan.
In 1995, Seale was hired as a Packers scout by general manager Ron Wolf and is part of a small fraternity in the player personnel department to have served under Wolf and his three successors as general manager: Mike Sherman, Ted Thompson and Brian Gutekunst.
Seale started as a college scout covering the Southwest territory, then was assigned to the West Coast in 1997. He was promoted to National Scout in 2018.
Over Seale’s 29 seasons with the Packers, they compiled a 296-169-2 record for a winning percentage of .636, second best in the NFL during that period. They also have won two Super Bowls and 15 division titles.
The list of Packers picks that Seale went to bat for over the years in pre-Draft meetings includes quarterback Aaron Rodgers, linebacker Clay Matthews, wide receiver Davante Adams and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
Seale’s background work on quarterback Jordan Love, when he was at Utah State, also was instrumental in Gutekunst’s decision to draft him at No. 26 in 2020.
“Sam is fantastic,” said Gutekunst, who was named the general manager of the Packers in 2018 and promoted Seale shortly thereafter. “He’s a really good scout. He does it his own way. Great personality, played with the Raiders when they were very good. But Sam has a unique ability to get to know players, what makes them tick. He has always been able to talk to players in a way where he can discern what they’re made of. He’s got a gift that way.”
Seale played football collegiately at what was then Western State College in Gunnison, Colo.
A star running back there, he went on to play 10 years in the NFL, five with the Raiders and five others with the San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams.
Two years after his final season, Seale was hired by Wolf to become a college scout.
To read Packers Historian Cliff Christl’s full story on Seale’s selection for the award, visit packers.com/news/sam-seale-nailed-reports-on-aaron-rodgers-clay-matthews-davante-adams-kenny-clark.
Limited tickets and tables are available for the banquet, which begins at 4 p.m. with a cash bar, with dinner and program to start at 5:30 p.m. To inquire about tickets, fans can contact Sam Kluck at [email protected].