“Jerry Jones offered me a contract, Pete Carrol did as well”: LeBron James reveals how close he was to being in the NFL to Peyton Manning and Eli Manning on Manningcast MNF broadcast

LeBron James

LeBron James playing in the NFL might seem like a ridiculous idea, but at one point, it was very likely he could have played for the Seahawks or Cowboys.

The Lakers star definitely has the physical talent to play in the NFL as he’s built like a modern day tight end or wide receiver. LeBron played football in high school, and not only was he good at football, he was also the number one prospect in the country at one point.

On Monday Night Football, LeBron joined the Manning brothers in the booth on the MNF Manningcast broadcast, and he discussed LeBron’s NFL prospects.

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LeBron James reveals Pete Carrol and Jerry Jones offered him contracts

During the 2011 NBA lockout, James was reportedly drawing interest from many NFL teams. James not only drew interest from teams, but he also feels like he could’ve definitely made either the Seahawks or Cowboys teams.

In an earlier interview with The Athletic, James would say:

“I would have made the team. 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, but I would have made the team. I just know what I’m capable of doing on the football field. Especially at that age.”

On the MNF broadcast, LeBron took it a step further saying that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carrol both had offered him contracts to play for their teams:

It’s crazy to imagine LeBron doing anything other than playing basketball, but at one point, it was incredibly close to happening. How would LeBron have been in the NFL? We have no clue, but if he kept up his high school pace, there’s a good chance he would’ve been dominating the league like he has the NBA.

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Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones LeBron James NFL Pete Carrol Seattle Seahawks

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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