He earned it

Texans legend Andre Johnson celebrates HOF election with star-studded, champagne-fueled bash

Andre Johnson and Kareem Jackson

Photo courtesy of Public Content

Houston Texans legend Andre Johnson celebrated his election to the Pro Football Hall of a Fame with a lavish party at nightclub and restaurant Ciel on Sunday, April 7. Johnson will be the first Texan enshrined in the hall at a ceremony that will be held on August 3.

The event was packed with 250 of Johnson’s closest and most famous friends. These included Texans chair and CEO Cal McNair, fellow Hall of Famer Edgerrin James, Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green, and Houston Astros owners Jim and Whitney Crane. Other celebs in attendance included Houston hip hop legend Bun B, former Texans coach Gary Kubiak, and a number of former NFL stars including Adrian Peterson, Vonta Leach, Clinton Portis, Jonathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson, and Santana Dotson. Johnson’s mother Karen gave a speech about her son’s incredible career.

Ciel chef Will Ducante served a luxurious five-course meal that started with wagyu dumplings, wagyu tartare, tempura rock shrimp, and avocado salad. Guests dined on a surf and turf of lobster and Australian wagyu filets. For dessert, noted Houston bakery Who Made the Cake! prepared a towering six-layer red velvet construction designed by Nadine Moon. As an extra special touch, each layer was colored to coincide with the various teams Johnson has played with since high school.

The event was sponsored by Brown-Foreman, the illustrious distiller responsible for iconic brands like Tequila Herradura, Old Forester, and Woodford Reserve, and produced by Lasting Empressions Event Design & Production. With the drinks flowing, the party was hosted by 97.9 The Box’s DJ Keisha Nicole, a close friend of Johnson’s.

Johnson also received a selection of gifts from his well-wishers. The Cranes presented him with a custom Astros Jersey featuring his name and the number 24 to mark his induction into the Class of 2024. Johnson’s friend Lynn Price gave him a vintage Chevrolet Corvette, painted with the Texans logo and a large 80 on the doors, his Houston Texans jersey number.

The party went deep into the early morning, according to a release, and featured a toast with premium Ace of Spades champagne.

Johnson was selected third by the Texans in the 2003 draft and played with the team for 12 seasons. In that time, he made his mark as one of the finest receivers in NFL history. He holds the Texans records for most career receptions, career receiving yards, career receiving touchdowns, receptions in a single season, receiving yards in a single season, seasons with 100+ receptions, and best receiving yards per game average.

The former wide receiver is also famous in the Houston area for his philanthropy. For Christmas 2012, he spent nearly $20,000 on presents for children in Child Protective Services, funded by his own Andre Johnson Foundation. Afterwards, he worked with the Houston Police Department as part of their Blue Santa program.

Other players who were announced as part of the Hall of Fame 2024 Class were Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Dwight Freeney, Randy Gradishar of the Denver Broncos, football player turned pro-wrestler Steve “Mongo” McMichael, return specialist Devin Hester, defensive end Julius Peppers, and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis. The Houston Texans and Chicago Bears will begin the NFL pre-season by playing in the Hall of Fame Game on August 1.

Photo by Xavier Burke

Rockets star Jalen Green and Andre Johnson.

parties houston-texans celebrities

Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates swipe nearly $2B in packages from Texas homes this year

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

Getty Images

The Grinch isn't the only one stealing Christmas these days.

’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

holidays porch pirates crime