As you probably already know, NFL is one of the most popular sports competitions in the world. The NFL fan base keeps growing in numbers and a greater number of them are deciding to place bets on particular matches and players each day while the NFL season lasts. That is perfectly understandable when you consider how popular American football is in the States. There are many people who love watching the sport, betting on it enthusiastically while researching the NFL odds, and predicting the scores.
Now when it comes to professional NFL players, many people dream of becoming top-tier athletes just like the most outstanding NFL sportsmen. And if we look at the American youth, most young boys and girls want to be NFL players from early on in their childhood. But what is it like to have a career as a professional NFL player? Do all NFL players consider it the best career in the world and do they all stick to it until their retirement?
Well, quite frankly, whether you believe it or not, the answer is – No. Not all NFL players stick to the career of being a professional athlete until retirement. Some of them have, quite surprisingly, taken a turn and chosen another career along the way. Today, we are going to discuss the legendary NFL players who had to change their careers, but they made it in the movie business.
Terry Crews
Did you know that there is a former NFL player who became a comedian? From NFL to comedy – who would have expected that? Well, it’s time to talk about Terry Crews.
Terry Crews is an American actor, comedian, and former NFL player. He is best known for his roles in the television series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Everybody Hates Chris. But, this talented man also made wonderful appearances in the films Friday After Next and White Chicks.
He was born in Flint, Michigan, and raised in a strict Christian household. He played football at Western Michigan University before being drafted by the Los Angeles Rams back in 1991. He spent four seasons with the Rams before leaving the club in 1995.
That is when Terry decided to dedicate his life to acting, appearing in small roles on television and in films. He found success and fame by acting in 1999 with the film Friday After Next. He has since appeared in a number of films, including White Chicks, which is his most successful movie.
But, Crews did not play only in movies. After he became famous, TV directors wanted him on their crew. Since then, he has played in many television shows, including Everybody Hates Chris and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He has also been a judge on America’s Got Talent.
You’ve probably heard of at least one of these movies or TV shows if you haven’t heard about Terry Crews before. And what can we draw as a conclusion from this? Did Terry Crews find his fortune after leaving the NFL? Was it a turn for the better or a turn for the worst?
Well, the answer is quite self-explanatory and it is pretty safe to say that Crews had a wonderful career in show business after leaving football. So, in his case, leaving the NFL wasn’t a mistake after all.
John Matuszak
And now it’s time to learn about yet another NFL player who tested his luck as an actor. It’s time to talk about John Matuszak.
John Matuszak was an American football player who had a successful career in the NFL. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft, and he played for the team for six seasons. He won two Super Bowls with the Raiders, and he was named the MVP of Super Bowl XI. So it’s safe to say his career as an NFL player was quite successful.
But what about his acting career? Matuszak also had a successful acting career, appearing in movies such as “The Goonies” and “The Lost Boys.” These are now popular movies among the 80’s generation, but those are brilliant movies, nonetheless and the millennial generation should give those movies a chance if they haven’t done so already. Unfortunately, Matuszak died in 1989 at the age of 38, leaving us short of a couple of more movies or TV shows.
He had a short career in the movie business, but the 80s children are, as we’ve already mentioned, still rather fond of him. He was an important part of the 80s pop culture and people loved working with him on sets. Unfortunately, he left too soon and we simply did not get a chance to see more of his wonderful movies and what he was capable of bringing to the movie industry.
Terry Bradshaw
And the third great name on our list of NFL players who also had success in the acting business worth mentioning is Terry Bradshaw.
Terry Bradshaw is a former professional American football player who was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL. He is definitely the best player on this list because he played 14 seasons with the Steelers, winning four Super Bowl titles during the six years with the club. He also became the first quarterback to win three and four Super Bowls.
After being drafted by the Steelers in 1970, Bradshaw became the team’s starting quarterback during his rookie season. He helped lead the team to three consecutive Super Bowl titles from 1974 to 1976, winning Super Bowl MVP honors in both 1974 and 1975. He was also one of the main reasons why the Steelers won the fourth Super Bowl title back in 1979. One of the things that impress the most when it comes to his career is that Bradshaw passed for more than 3,000 yards in nine different seasons and threw for more than 300 yards in eight different games. Because of that, it should not come as a surprise that he was named NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) twice (1978 and 1979) and was selected to four Pro Bowls (1975, 1977–1979).
Bradshaw retired from football after the 1983 season and has since then he is an actor and a TV personality. He usually acted in romantic comedies, but one of the most important films of his movie career is the Burt Raynolds movie called Hooper. The movie was made back in 1978. Other than movies, Terry Bradshaw also acted in popular TV shows. The most successful ones are Malcolm In The Middle and Married… With Children.
Those are some quite popular TV shows to this very day. He had a wonderful acting career and we cannot wait to see what he will film next.
The list doesn’t end here. There is a number of other professional American football players who played in the NFL and then had pretty decent careers in the movie business. But, for this article today, we decided to honor those three men. Every single one of them has had a wonderful NFL career and a pretty amazing movie career. That is exactly why they are so respected in the world of pop culture. People love seeing them on screen and we hope they will make more films and TV shows. For that, though, we’ll just have to wait and see.