Lakers great believes he could've been an NFL tight end
Lakers great believes he could've been an NFL tight end
Many people know about LeBron James' stint as a football player in high school. He played wide receiver for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, and he was even recruited by some prominent schools, including the University of Notre Dame.
Ultimately, a wrist injury sidelined James during his senior year of high school, and he decided to place all of his focus on basketball.
But some may not know that Shaquille O'Neal, another Los Angeles Lakers superstar, was once a football player. He claims he was a very good gridiron player, but that he quit because he realized he could make a lot more money playing basketball.
Via Washington Post:
"I was a tight end in high school," he said prior to Super Bowl XLI in 2007. "No line play for me. No, no, no. Tight end. I would have been a tight end if I'd kept playing, too, because of my exceptional hands and foot speed. But my junior year -- of course, I was all-world -- some little scrawny dude hit me in the knee after I had scored. And that was it. Done. I thought, $2 million a year to play football or $80 to $100 million to play basketball? This is what we call a no-brainer."
He recently appeared on the "New Heights" podcast, which is hosted by star Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce. On the show, O'Neal elaborated on why he quit football while implying he still would've made it as a tight end in the NFL.
'A lot of people don't know this that when I was coming up, football was my sport. I was football all the way and I was really good. I used to tell people [Ed] 'Too Tall' Jones was my father. I played nose guard on defense and I played tight end on offense and I used to bring the pain. All the kids in school they used to talk trash and this was in the days when you could rough people up and try to hurt them, and I was that guy. And then one day my junior year I scored, and a little freaking dude hit me on the side of my knee and I was out for about eight weeks. So football was my thing, and then my father came in the house one day and smacked me in the back of the head with a paper and was like, 'you need to [expletive] stop playing football and focus on basketball.' And when I opened up the paper, Jon Koncak had just signed $15 [million] for three [years]. So I'm like, first of all who is Jon Koncak? And my dad was like 'I got some tickets we're gonna go watch him.' I was living in San Antonio at the time so the Hawks were playing the Spurs and no disrespect to Jon Koncak, he was in the NBA, he was a pro, he was a good player, he made a lot of money, but I was doing the things in high school like he was doing in the pros. And I was like [expletive], if this dude is making 15 for three, my dream was to make $8 million for 10 years, that was my whole dream coming out. I wanted to make $8 million for 10 years and I had a little setup. I wanted a Mercedes Benz, I wanted a Jimmy Bronco like that was my whole thing. So I started playing basketball, but I used my football pain experience when I was playing basketball. Like when I turned with the elbows up, I'm trying to knock your teeth out of your mouth. People always go back to the Hack-a-Shaq and they're like 'he got fouled a lot,' I never felt it. That's because of my football prowess and my football experience. I think if I would've stuck with football I probably would've definitely made tight end. I hate when people look at me and say 'Oh, you'd be a good offensive lineman.' I'm not a lineman, I'm a showman.'
Tight ends over the years have evolved and become bigger and more athletic. However, O'Neal as an NFL tight end would've represented a drastic step forward in that evolutionary process.
At 7-foot-1 and anywhere from 300 to 400 pounds, he could've perhaps been Rob Gronkowski on steroids if he had applied himself. He would've been able to easily hold off pass rushers, and his speed and athleticism would've made him prolific as a pass-catcher.
However, given O'Neal's amazing success in the NBA, which includes four championships, three finals MVP awards and two scoring titles, it's safe to say he chose the correct sport.
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