‘I thought about it’: LeBron James reveals he was offered NFL contracts

Basketball superstar LeBron James has revealed he considered switching sports during a turbulent period earlier in his career.

LeBron James has revealed just how close he came to switching from basketball to football and joining an NFL team midway through his career.

The NBA superstar was a talented American football player in high school, where he played the wide receiver position.

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And James has now divulged he had the chance to change sports during the NBA lockout in 2011 when the league’s previous collective bargaining agreement expired.

The tumultuous six-month period saw the season suspended and players unable to sign contracts or even access their teams’ facilities to train.

At the time, James was a seven-time All-Star but had yet to win a championship, and has recalled he received offers from the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks during the NBA’s labour dispute.

LeBron (left) was offered NFL contracts while he was at the Miami Heat. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

Speaking with former NFL stars Peyton Manning and Eli Manning on ESPN’s Monday Night Football coverage, the 36-year-old revealed he was courted by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.

“Jerry Jones offered me a contract, and actually Pete Carroll in Seattle did as well during our lockout time,” James said.

The Los Angeles Lakers star said he considered the opportunity to play a sport he dearly loves at the highest level, but decided to stick to basketball when the NBA lockout was eventually resolved.

“Definitely got my blood flowing again, got my mind racing again about the game of football, being out there on Sundays,” he said.

“We was able to get a deal done in the NBA and I was back on the court in no time, but I definitely thought about it.”

LeBron James high school football highlights 🔥

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A massive American football fan, James still has some mementos to remember how close he was to signing an NFL contract.

“I still got the jerseys, too, that Jerry and Pete Carroll sent me from 2011,” he said.

The four-time NBA MVP said his ideal position in the NFL would have been tight end.

Could LeBron James have made it in the NFL? (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

“I wanted to be a red-zone specialist, like Gronk,” he said, referring to Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end and four-time Super Bowl winner Rob Gronkowski.

Peyton Manning joked he would have made “75 touchdowns” had James played in the same team as him.

The decision not to accept an NFL offer proved a sliding doors moment for James, who went on to win his first NBA championship with the Miami Heat after the season resumed in December 2011.

He went on to win another title with Miami the following season, before claiming his third and fourth NBA rings with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2016) and the Lakers (2020).

Originally published as ‘I thought about it’: LeBron James reveals he was offered NFL contracts