There’s been a fascination into LeBron James for almost two decades now, as the young high-schooler was on the cover of Sports Illustrated before he even made his decision to go straight from high school into the NBA. In the time since then, there have been random sub-interests on LeBron throughout the years, including “The Decision”, his “rivalry” with Stephen Curry, as well as his Hollywood ventures.
There’s another topic of interest that has been discussed throughout the years as it pertains to LeBron, supposedly sourced from his astonishing build and his reputation as one of the best athletes not only in basketball, but in the world.
Naturally, people wondered if LeBron could even make it in the NFL, as he had played football in high school. LeBron James recently revealed on the WRTS: After Party presented by Uninterrupted, that he actually considered playing in the NFL in 2011 when the status of the 2011-12 NBA season was in doubt in midst of the NBA lockout that was going on. Check out what he had to say about it below, including Maverick Carter indicating that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offered him a contract to play for his favorite football player (h/t Harrison Faigen and Silver Screen & Roll).
LeBron started training to be a football player during the NBA lockout in 2011 and Mav Carter said Jerry Jones even sent LeBron a contract.
(via @uninterrupted) pic.twitter.com/Yq4MJ3Zwp7
— ESPN (@espn) May 19, 2020
It’s interesting that LeBron stated that he considered it. Even if an entire NBA season was lost, the possible ramifications in playing in the violent NFL would have probably resulted in his biggest endorsers trying to stop LeBron from playing in fear of jeopardizing the rest of his NBA career. Of course, we never were able to see LeBron in the navy, silver, and white for the Cowboys, as the NBA season started on Christmas Day that year resulting in another eventual championship for LeBron James.
It would have been an entertaining spectacle rivaling Michael Jordan’s entry into the MLB, especially considering the insane popularity of the NFL compared to other major sports and the insane popularity of “America’s Team”, the Cowboys. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to see LeBron James assert himself as the best tight end in NFL history. We can dream, at least.
