LeBron James came close to making an impact in the NFL. In an interview with The Athletic, the Los Angeles Lakers star revealed that two NFL teams offered him to try out during the NBA’s lockout in 2011. And he’s confident he would have made either team if he decided to go through with the tryouts.
“I would have made the team,” James told The Athletic, as reported by CBS Sports. “I would have tried out, but I would have made the team. One thing about it, I don’t mind working for something, so if I would have had to try out for the Cowboys or the Seahawks, or if I’d have stayed home and went back home to Cleveland, I’d have tried [out], but I would have made the team. I just know what I’m capable of doing on the football field. Especially at that age.”
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James said that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones invited him to come try out for his team. He then said that Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll not only offered him to try out, but he also sent him a custom jersey. Obviously, James turned down both offers but “seriously considered” joining the Cowboys. It was people from James’ inner circle who talked him out of it.
This interview is not the first time, James talked about is NFL dreams in May of last year, James and his longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter appeared on Uninterrupted, and Carter talked about how the Cowboys offered James on contract in 2011. In fact, James was training for the NFL at the time.
“I had no idea how long the lockout was going to be, and myself and my trainer … we really started to actually train to be a football player,” James said. “We started to clock our time in the 40, we started to add a little bit more to our bench presses and things of that nature.”
James didn’t play college football since he went straight to the NBA out of high school. However, he did play football at St. Vincent-St Mary High School in Ohio and was an All-State wide receiver. James was recruited to play football by Division I schools such as Norte Dame and Ohio State University. He decided not to play football his senior year so he can focus on basketball.
