Hackett signed with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL) on November 11, 1982.[6] He was assigned jersey number 82 and spent a significant amount of time on the injured reserve list with a broken hand as well as on the developmental squad. He was activated for game 3 of the 1983 season.
He was selected by the San Antonio Gunslingers in the 14th round (81st player selected) of the USFL expansion draft on September 6, 1983. He would see extensive playing time for the Gunslingersin1984 and 1985. In these two seasons, Hackett played in 36 games and had 63 receptions for 946 yards, including eight touchdown receptions.[7] Due to the financial problems that the Gunslingers incurred they released all 46 players on July 22, 1985, just minutes before the deadline to pay the players for two overdue paychecks.[8]
On May 16, 1986, Hackett signed a free agent contract with the Denver Broncos[9] He played in 16 regular season games and in three playoff games, including Super Bowl XXI for the Denver Broncos during their 1986 Season.[10] He returned in 1987, but was released as part of the final roster reductions on September 7, 1987.[11]
After the completion of his athletic career Hackett moved back to his hometown of Pleasant Garden, NC. He married Deborah Maret in 1987 and they have two children. Their son, Jody, born January 27, 1989, went on to play football at Elon University and their daughter, Haley, born May 11, 1990, played basketball at Appalachian State University.
