It is Super Bowl week and it’s a wild one in the football world. However, after thinking about football while watching pro wrestling, there have been a ton of former players who went on to have full-time pro wrestling careers. So, I did a little bit of brainstorming and there is a list of names that I have come up with including 10 notable pro wrestlers who also played in the NFL.
Let’s just get Goldberg out of the way now as he’s the obvious one. Goldberg’s first career in sports was in football and played as a defensive tackle. He was a solid player in his days at the University of Georgia. Goldberg was selected in the 1990 NFL Draft in the 11th round 301st overall by the Los Angeles Rams. Goldberg played with them from 1990-1991. He is often known for his football career playing with the Atlanta Falcons from 1992-1994.
The most fascinating fact about Goldberg’s football career is he was a part of an NFL expansion draft. This was in 1995 when both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers were joining the league. Both teams were involved in the expansion draft and Goldberg was one of the final picks. He was taken by the Carolina Panthers, however he never played a snap for the team and was one of the first players released from the franchise.
Goldberg suffered a severe abdomen injury which would end his football career. While training for a comeback he had a chance encounter with both Sting and Lex Luger who convinced him to to try professional wrestling. Speaking of Lex Luger…
That’s right, even Lex Luger the man who told Goldberg to become a pro wrestler was also a former NFL player. In college, he played multiple positions on offense and defense until he settled on being an offensive lineman. While originally on scholarship at Penn State, he is known for his time at the University of Miami with a scandal. In 1978, Luger was kicked off the football team for “off-the-field issues”. While doing some research I found out that Luger trashed his hotel room due to not getting any playing time. When it was found out what he did, Miami just cut all ties with him.
After leaving the college football team, he decided to go north and play in the CFL. He played for the Montreal Alouettes from 1979-1981. Did you know that Lex Luger played in the 67th Grey Cup game with the Alouettes in 1979? Unfortunately, the Alouettes lost to the Edmonton Eskimos 17-9.
Luger was on an NFL roster in 1982 signing with the Green Bay Packers, but he never played a game. Injuries affected him and a serious groin injury ended his season in 1982. While Luger was released in 1983, the man himself has constantly stated if his NFL career panned out, he never would have become a pro wrestler.
He did try his luck in the USFL. He played for the Tampa Bay Bandits, Memphis Showboats, and Jacksonville Bulls. While in Tampa Bay he became teammates with a notable rival in his pro wrestling career. In fact that man is also a WWE Hall of Fame, Ron Simmons.
Well since I just mentioned his name when going through Luger’s career let’s talk about Ron Simmons. Simmons to me is one of the greatest African American professional wrestlers of all time. He was the first recognized wrestler to ever win a major world championship in professional wrestling. Technically the first ever African American champion was Bearcat Wright as in 1963 he won the LA WWA World Heavyweight Championship, but Ron Simmons is recognized as the first.
Ron Simmons was also a very good football player. He is in the College Football Hall of Fame and was a very notable name at Florida State University. He once finished 9th in the Heisman voting in 1979. Simmons did get drafted by the Cleveland Browns during the 1981 draft in the 6th round. Simmons got cut during his rookie season but did play in the CFL with the Ottawa Rough Riders. He also was on the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits, with Lex Luger as his teammate for multiple years. He left the sport in 1985 and started a professional wrestling career. The rest became history.
Out of all the pro wrestlers in TNA right now, I am a big fan of Moose’s work. Excluding Joe Hendry, he is my favorite part of that promotion. The current TNA X Division Champion has had a very interesting backstory too, with an extensive football career. Moose’s real name is Quinn O. Ojinnaka and that name sounds very familiar.
Moose was a very good blocker during his time in Syracuse and he got drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the 5th round, 139th Overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. Moose was the starting left tackle for multiple games with the Falcons. He had a lengthy NFL Career, but he chose to pursue a pro wrestling career. Heck, there is even a story where his first ex-wife chose to divorce him for his decision. Moose was still getting contract offers and previously played with the New England Patriots, St. Louis Rams and Indianapolis Colts.
I think it’s safe to say he made the right decision to go into pro wrestling and he’s a really good one. I don’t know what his contract status is with TNA, but it would be cool to see him in a WWE ring. Hopefully, with that partnership with WWE, we get a Moose appearance.
Roman Reigns has had a very successful career in WWE. However, did you know that WWE was not his first choice? That is right, Roman Reigns’s original career path was to be a professional wrestler. He was a defensive tackle and he showed flashes during his time in Georgia Tech. However, Reigns went undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft but was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent. During his time with the Vikings that was when he was first diagnosed with leukemia. During his physical, while doing medical tests they discovered it in his bloodwork. The Vikings saved his life as they caught it early.
While he didn’t last too long with the Vikings, the Jaguars also brought him in, but he only lasted a week. Reigns tried the CFL signing with the Edmonton Eskimos, but he only lasted a year. Once he was released from the Eskimos, Reigns decided to follow the family tradition and become a professional wrestler.
That right before Hacksaw Jim Duggan became a pro wrestler he also had a stint in the National Football League as an offensive tackle. Before he joined the NFL, he was recruited to play for Ohio State but chose to play at Southern Methodist University (SMU). In fact, on one of his trips to SMU, he met Fritz Von Erich and kept a close connection with him. He never got drafted into the NFL but did get a chance to play with the Atlanta Falcons. Unfortunately, Duggan had constant knee issues and the Falcons decided to let him go. As he was connected to the Von Erichs, he took a chance at pro wrestling and had a successful hall-of-fame career.
I always have a soft spot for Steve “Mongo” McMichael. Not only because he chose to pursue a pro wrestling career in the mid-90s with WCW, but he was one of my favorite football players on that legendary 1985 Chicago Bears defense. He had a legendary career in the NFL as a multiple-time pro bowler and even won a Super Bowl in 1985 with the Bears. He also played with the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots, but he will forever be known for his time as a Bear. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2024 and that video of him getting enshrined and seeing his Hall of fame bust is awesome. ALS is just a cruel disease, but I am glad Mongo got in the Hall of Fame while alive.
Ernie Ladd has had a fascinating career as both a professional wrestler and a football player. As a football player, he was drafted in both the NFL with the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers in the AFL. He chose to sign with the San Diego Chargers and he became a great 6’9” offensive tackle with the team. Not only is he a part of the Chargers Hall of Fame, but he also was on the team with the 1963 Chargers that won the AFL Championship. Honestly, I am surprised he has not been inducted into the Hall of fame as along with a career with the Houston Oilers and Kansas City Cheifs, he was a multiple-time all-star in the 60’s.
Knee problems ended his football career in 1969, but he transitioned into professional wrestling and became a big star in the territory days of pro wrestling in the 70s. He made a lot of money in his feuds with Andre The Giant and was a key figure in the booking of Bill Watts’s Mid-South Wrestling. Ladd is a big reason why Junkyard Dog became a big superstar as he helped develop him in the business.
I discussed Pillman’s football career when reviewing the first part of his Dark Side of the Ring episodes. Pillman played for multiple football teams including the Cinncinati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, and Calgary Stampeders. It was his time in Calgary when he decided to get trained in the Hart Dungeon thanks to a recommendation from Bengals strength and conditioning coach Kim Wood. He was a hidden figure in Pillman’s success in the Loose Cannon Gimick.
Want to know a crazy fact about Pillman and football? John Harbaugh the current head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, was his roommate in college at Miami (OH). Harbaugh is close with the Pillman family and would exchange gifts with them in the holiday.
Ah yes, the man they call Vader. Leon White before he was doing moonsaults and dominating in the ring had a pretty interesting football career. He played as a center and guard with the University of Colorado and he was a very intriguing prospect. He was a third-round draft pick (80th Overall) in the 1978 NFL Draft with the Los Angeles Rams and did play in a Super Bowl XIV against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Whote had a ton of potential, but then he suffered a brutal knee injury by rupturing his Patella. After a few years of recovering, Vader went on to pursue a career in professional wrestling. By the way, Dark Side of the Ring is doing an episode on Vader in season 6 and I wonder what else they will mention about his NFL/Wrestling career.
Now there are so many other examples of NFL Players who went on to have full-time professional wrestling careers. I may even make a part two of this article in the future. However, out of the list I have given, who did I leave out? Did you learn something from this article? Let me know in the comment section and don’t forget to check out the rest of Stadium Rant’s content.
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