Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson Recall Ben Roethlisberger’s Serious Accident as Justin Jefferson’s ATV Stunts Go Viral

The Minnesota Vikings knew exactly what they had in Justin Jefferson even before drafting him. The video of their brain trust celebrating when he fell to them at No. 22 in the 2020 NFL Draft is legendary, to say the least. And he wasted no time proving them right, surpassing 1,000 yards in each of his five seasons. He also racked up four All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods.

Safe to say, Jefferson was worth every penny of that record-setting four-year, $140 million contract he signed last year, making him the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history at the time. That’s a massive investment — one that Jefferson nearly put at risk with his reckless ATV stunts.

A video of the Louisiana native doing donuts on an ATV this week sparked some concern in Minnesota. He was wearing mostly protective gear, like gloves, shoes, a thick-looking hoodie, and full pants. But no helmet. And the terrain he was tearing up was anything but forgiving.

It wasn’t just in the Twin Cities that people were watching Jefferson spin around on the ATV, waiting for the worst to happen. Nightcap host Shannon Sharpe was also concerned while watching the wideout have his fun. However, his co-host, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, wasn’t as worried.

Sharpe even mentioned how it reminded him of a time about 20 years ago when Ben Roethlisberger, an adrenaline junkie himself, got into a motorcycle accident.

“Remember Big Ben Roethlisberger… No helmet,” Sharpe yelled at his co-host, who was brushing off the stunts.

An ATV veteran, Johnson shot back, “Hey Unc, we don’t wear no helmets on no ATVS, man!”

Sharpe, however, stuck to his point: “Okay. Ask Ben Roethlisberger does he wish he had a helmet on.” But his co-host wasn’t having it, “We ain’t got nothin’ to do with Ben.”

Sharpe wasn’t backing down either: “See, that’s the thing, athletes, what makes us great is what makes us fallible. Because we don’t believe it’s gonna happen to us… See what you said! You said don’t nobody riding an ATV wearing a helmet!”

So, why bring up Roethlisberger? The future Hall of Famer famously crashed his motorcycle the summer after becoming the youngest QB to lead a team to the Super Bowl in 2006. He wasn’t wearing a helmet and suffered a broken nose and jaw. The accident required seven hours of surgery, and he was later reported to be in serious but stable condition.

He was lucky to come away with only a few facial fractures, but Roethlisberger recovered in time for the start of the regular season. However, he ended up missing Week 1 anyway, as he had to undergo an emergency appendectomy. Talk about an unlucky summer after one of the luckiest seasons of all time.

Stories like that are why a seemingly innocuous video of a guy having fun on an ATV can cause so much concern. Ochocinco was fine with it, citing how common it is to ride around on ATVs in the South.

On the other hand, Sharpe’s worry certainly reflected the anxiety the Vikings’ management felt while watching that clip.