Highlights
- Former NFL wide receiver Devin Funchess is the first ex-NFL player to sign a pro basketball contract, as he’ll play in the Professional Colombia Basketball league this year.
- Few athletes have ever successfully played in multiple sports leagues, and even fewer have had impressive careers spanning multiple sports.
- Funchess’ ultimate goal is the NBA, though no NFL athlete has ever made it to the NBA (or vice versa).
Being a two-sport athlete is difficult at any level, but it’s an utter anomaly in the pros.
Bo Jackson, perhaps the single greatest athlete throughout the entire anthology of human history, was an MLB all-star and an NFL Pro Bowler. Deion Jackson was an all-time great cornerback who also stole 186 bases across nine seasons in Major League Baseball.
Others have tried – even the great Michael Jordan tried to swing it in baseball for a few seasons in the Chicago White Sox farm system, though he never made it past Double-A (besides one exhibition game in 1994) – but few have succeeded, and it’s difficult to make a claim for anyone other than Jackson and Sanders as having been successful in two different professional sports.
Even facing those improbable odds, former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Devin Funchess is going to try to make a second career in professional basketball. According to the team’s official website, Funchess is signing a one-year contract with the Caribbean Storm Llaneros, who play in the Professional Colombia Basketball league (Baloncesto Profesional Colombiano).
Though the road to the NBA is (very) long from here, Funchess has already made history by becoming the first former NFL player to sign a professional basketball contract.
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Funchess “Made A Promise” To Play Pro Basketball
No one has ever played in both the NFL and NBA before
According to Funchess, he made his grandfather a three-pronged promise from a young age: he’d win a Super Bowl, he’d play pro basketball, and then he’d retire and work as a farmer.
He fell just short of the first goal, as the Panthers lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 during Funchess’ rookie year. Still, the wideout has a prosperous five-year career in the NFL, catching 164 passes for 2265 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Now, Funchess is pursuing step two of his childhood plan, and he’ll have a chance to show out in front of scouts ahead of open tryouts for the Los Angeles Clippers’ G league team, the Ontario Clippers, and Charlotte Hornets’ G league team, the Greensboro Swarm.
Though his decision to pursue basketball wasn’t motivated by it, the timing of Funchess’ move is funny, as just a few days ago NBA veteran Austin Rivers sparked a huge debate about which sport could send players to play in the other league.
Though Funchess’ ultimate goal is to play in the NBA, that is currently a road untravelled. Basketball rosters are by far the smallest of all the professional sports leagues, which means the amount of talent in the best league in the world is heavily concentrated.
Just because something is unprecedented doesn’t mean it’s impossible, though, and Funchess has already proved capable of competing with the world’s best athletes during his time in the NFL.
As for the Panthers, they’re preparing for an important 2024 following a disastrous season last year. Sophomore quarterback Bryce Young must show big improvements on the field, and the team is hoping their first-round wide receiver will help Young develop into an NFL-caliber starter.
Source: Carolina Panthers
All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.
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