13 WWE Superstars who signed with NFL teams
The allure of playing in the NFL is too hard to resist, even for WWE Superstars. At the end of the day, football is America's national pastime and so you get a chance to endear yourself to a bigger audience if things go well.
Then, there's the money. The NFL is one of the highest paying sports leagues in the world but don't just take my word for it. The fact that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes signed a 10-year extension worth more than $500 million proves the point.
In WWE history, we've had several Superstars changing career trajectories after failing to cut it in the NFL. Some have gone on to win Super Bowls but decided that professional wrestling was their calling. One name, in particular, left WWE in his heyday to pursue a career in football.
Thus, without further ado let's look at these 15 gentlemen who both donned the jersey of an NFL team and also squared it out in the middle of a WWE ring.
#13 Brock Lesnar
Let's get started with the most recognizable name in WWE today to have an NFL background. Back in the early 2000s, Brock Lesnar was WWE's next big thing. He was the youngest WWE Champion in company history and a main event regular.
That's when he decided to put his pro wrestling career on a back burner to make a career in NFL. After wrestling the infamous match against Goldberg at WrestleMania XX, Lesnar took part in the NFL Combine that year where he had a great showing.
Eventually, a road accident would prevent The Beast from being at his best during workouts with teams. However, he was still picked up by the Minnesota Vikings and played a few preseason games with them too.
Eventually, Lesnar's luck ran out as the Vikings cut him before the start of the season and he returned to pro wrestling through NJPW.