His maternal uncles, Jackie, Dinny, Mickey, and Teddy Lyne, all won All-Ireland medals at various grades with Kerry throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

Spillane first appeared for the Templenoe club at underage levels, before winning a county novice championship medal in 1973.

[1] After being chosen on the Munster inter-provincial team for the first time in 1976, Spillane was an automatic choice on the starting fifteen for the following six years.

His media career began with RTÉ in 1992, where he started as a co-commentator before progressing to the role of studio analyst with the flagship programme The Sunday Game.

After fighting his way back from a potentially career-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury, he was named in the right wing-forward position on the Football Team of the Century in 1984.

Born in Templenoe, County Kerry, Spillane arrived into a family steeped in Gaelic football history.

A number of maternal uncles (his mother was bred by the Lyne Family of Killarney's Legion)[citation needed] also had the distinction of representing their county in football.

[citation needed] Spillane was educated at the local national school and later attended St Brendan's College in Killarney, where one of his best friends was future Kerry teammate Páidí Ó Sé.

As a result of the Croke Park Agreement, he retired as principal in 2012 to secure his right to a pension but expressed regret at feeling forced to do so.

[8] By the early 1970s, Spillane had joined the Kerry minor football team, however, he had no success in this grade as Cork dominated the provincial championship.

Spillane made his senior inter-county debut as a substitute in a National Football League game against Galway in March 1974.

It was the beginning of a glorious era for Kerry football and Spillane played a key role in orchestrating much of the success for the team that would come to be regarded as the greatest of all time.

Reigning champions Dublin provided the opposition and were installed as the red-hot favourites over the youngest Kerry team of all time.

Because team captain Mickey 'Ned' O'Sullivan had left injured in the first half, Spillane, at the age of nineteen, was given the task of accepting the Sam Maguire Cup on the Hogan Stand.

The year began with Spillane capturing a first National League medal on the field of play and a third consecutive Munster title following another win over Cork.

In one of the greatest games of football ever-played 'the Dubs' triumphed and Spillane was still left waiting for a second All-Ireland medal.

Another defeat of Cork in the provincial final gave Spillane a sixth Munster winners' medal in succession.

Mikey Sheehy popped up again to score the decisive goal, as Kerry went on to claim a 1–9 to 1–6 victory in a game that contained sixty-four frees.

In 1981 Spillane won his seventh consecutive Munster title; however, he later damaged his knee in a club game in August of that year.

Spillane was brought on with only a few minutes left in the match and he captured his fifth All-Ireland winners' medal on the field of play as Kerry won by 1–12 to 0–8.

While many players would never play again following such an injury Spillane fought his way back to fitness in time to win his second National League medal and his eighth Munster title in 1984.

Jack O'Shea scored a key goal after eleven minutes and Kerry stormed to a nine-point lead at half-time.

Kerry were subsequently defeated by eventual champions Down in the All-Ireland semi-final and Spillane decided to retire from inter-county football.

In 1986 Spillane and his three Kerry teammates broke Danno O'Keeffe's long-standing record by capturing an unprecedented eighth All-Ireland winners' medal.

His inter-county football career, which spanned three decades, saw him earn a record nine All-Star awards, more than any other player in the history of the game.

Also in 1984, the GAA's centenary year, Spillane was singled out as one of the greatest players of all-time when he was chosen in the left wing-forward position on the Football Team of the Century.

The three Spillane brothers – Pat, Tom and Mick – hold the record number of All-Ireland senior winners' medals in either hurling or football with nineteen.

As an analyst of games, Spillane has often expressed his disdain for Ulster football teams, particularly those of Armagh, Tyrone and, latterly, Donegal.

Spillane said Bradley was "the best of a bad bunch" and didn't deserve the award at all, causing Donegal manager Jim McGuinness to react furiously.

On 9 July 2022, Spillane announced his retirement as a pundit on The Sunday Game after three decades and that the 2022 All-Ireland Football Final would be his last appearance.