​Add another honor to Nick Bolton’s growing list of accolades. The two-time Super Bowl champion, two-time All-SEC first-team selection, and former consensus All-American is headed for his alma mater’s hall of fame. The Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame announced Bolton as the first confirmed member of the Class of 2026.
In a video posted by Mizzou Athletics, Bolton learned the news from former Missouri assistant and current Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. “You guys know I’m a Missouri Tiger at heart,” Reid said from the Chiefs’ OTAs. “We’ve got a couple Missouri Tigers here, but we’ve got one that’s real, real famous right now. Real famous. And not only for his play with the Chiefs, but also what he did for the University of Missouri, which was great things. He did great things there. We know him as kind of a team guy. He’s Nick Bolton, right? We know him as a team guy, the ultimate team guy. But today? Today you’re going to get an individual award, bud. Today you’re going into the University of Missouri Athletic Hall of Fame.”
The announcement makes Bolton the 2026 class’ opening inductee. Since being drafted 58th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, Bolton has earned two Super Bowl rings with the Chiefs and signed a three-year contract in March 2025 to remain in Kansas City. In 87 games (82 starts) for Kansas City, he has registered 714 total tackles, six sacks, five interceptions, and five fumble recoveries, including a 36-yard touchdown on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVII victory over the Eagles.
Bolton enjoyed a standout three-year run at Missouri from 2018 to 2020 after committing to then-head coach Barry Odom as a three-star recruit in the Class of 2018. In 35 games with the Tigers, he accumulated 224 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, and four sacks. He earned consensus second-team All-American honors in 2020 and was a back-to-back first-team All-SEC selection by the AP and the league’s coaches in 2019 and 2020.
“I’m honored,” Bolton said in the video. “The state, the city of Columbia all the way to Kansas City, it’s kind of been my home, my peace. A lot of friends, a lot of memories, so I hope to continue to make them. Proud of you all—you helped me get to this and helped me be who I am.”