He was named as one of the 25 greatest players in Arena football history on the list compiled in 2012 as part of the league's 25th anniversary celebration.
Hammond went unselected in the 1988 NFL draft and worked at a Ben & Jerry's[1] plant while completing his Sociology degree.
[2] He then spent two years as a graduate assistant at Penn State under head coach Joe Paterno where he completed his degree in Turf management.
[2] In 1989, he was invited to the New Orleans Saints' training camp as a free agent, but released before the season began.
However, the night before his flight to camp, he decided he was too "burned out" to focus on football and did not attend.
In 1996, Hammond was a First-team All-Arena selection for the second time, after leading the Stampede 74 receptions for 860 yards, and 16 touchdowns.
In 1997, Hammond joined the expansion Nashville Kats and was the team's second-leading receiver, recording 50 receptions for 607 yards and four touchdowns.
He tied a career-best with seven tackles in opening win against the San Jose SaberCats.
He was named Ironman of the Game twice for the season, as well as the Dick Butkus Football Network Defensive Player of the Week twice.
He was placed on injured reserve on June 4, and in his first game back, against the Tampa Bay Storm, he recorded four receptions for 32 yards, for one touchdown.
In 1999, Hammond was an All-Arena Team selection for the third time, and chosen as Nashville's co-Ironman of the Year, an award he shared with James Baron.
The Kats made their way through the playoff and to ArenaBowl XIV in Orlando, where he recorded three receptions, for 88 yards, two touchdowns, and two tackles.
He recorded 36 tackles, and two interceptions, despite missing two late season games due to injury.
In ArenaBowl XV in Grand Rapids he recorded one receptions for 11 yards, 2.5 tackles, and one pass broken up.
In 2002, the Nashville Kats moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and were renamed the Georgia Force, similar to the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens move of 1996, whereas Nashville retained the Kats' name, colors, logo, and history.
In 2006, Hammond recorded 21 tackles, one sack, two passes broken up, one fumble recovery, and two interceptions, one for a touchdown.
Also, in 2004, he was Michael Irvin's stunt double on the set of the Adam Sandler movie The Longest Yard, and played Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Harold Carmichael in the Mark Wahlberg film, Invincible.
Hammond served as a STARS counselor as well as an assistant football coach for the Independence High School football team in Thompsons Station, Tennessee Darryl Hammond died from Lou Gehrig's disease on February 19, 2017.
[3] He was one of at least 345 former NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.