“I Wasn’t Good Enough to Play”: Bodybuilding Legend Ronnie Coleman Once Opened Up on His Potential NFL Career

Ronnie Coleman’s bodybuilding career is legendary. A career filled with so many achievements, it’ll be hard to top. The eight-time Mr. Olympia was such a gifted athlete that he was pushing more weight in the gym than nearly anyone of his contemporaries. However, while Ronnie Coleman loved working out even as a teen, he didn’t always want to be Mr. Olympia. In fact, in college, Ronnie was making his way as a football player and he revealed about the same in an interview back in 2019.

In college, Ronnie Coleman played as a middle linebacker for his university team, the GSU Tigers. The King was so good that pro scouts started turning up to watch him play. However, things soon took a turn for the worse.

Ronnie Coleman’s NFL career that never happened

In 2019, Ronnie Coleman sat down for an interview with Valuetainment’s Patrick Bet-David. Early in the interview, Patrick asked Ronnie about his college football days. When Patrick asked if Ronnie could go to the next level, the former Mr. Olympia said, “I had talked to some pro scouts but I never got drafted so I felt like if I wasn’t good enough to get drafted, I wasn’t good enough to play. That was just my attitude”. However, Ronnie also clarified, “Maybe if I went out there and gave it my all, I could’ve made a team.”

According to Patrick, the scouts were from the Eagles. Ronnie was nervous before the match, but ended up with, “14 solo tackles, two sacks and an interception.”; Coleman played so well that the scouts said, “if you play like this, we’re going to draft you.”

However, Ronnie suffered a neck injury quite early on. The injury happened when Ronnie tackled a quarterback during a game. An injury to the neck in a full-contact sport like American Football is usually career-ending. After the injury, Coleman didn’t go after a career in football.

READ MORE: After Tasting Unparalleled Success, Ronnie Coleman Opens Up on Feeling a Void After Retiring From Competitions- “I’m a Little Bored”

When Bet-David asked, “So if that (neck injury) doesn’t happen, we could be talking about a retired NFL player Ronnie Coleman?”. Coleman answered, “possibly”. While a neck injury robbed Ronnie of a potential NFL career, he used his gifted physique to rule the Mr. Olympia stage.

Ronnie Coleman before becoming Mr. Olympia

Apart from being a gifted athlete, Ronnie Coleman was also a bright student. The King graduated with an accounting degree from Grambling State University. However, Coleman couldn’t land a job. He began working at Dominos Pizza while trying to find an accounting gig. In 1989, Coleman joined the Arlington (Texas) Police Department. A job Coleman loved so much that he kept doing it even after winning two Mr. Olympia titles.

Ronnie Coleman is arguably the greatest bodybuilder ever. From 1998 to 2005, no one could dethrone the King of bodybuilding. While no one will ever know how good Ronnie would’ve been as a football player, one can be certain that Coleman would’ve given it his all.

Watch this story – Revealed: a Rare Photo of Ronnie E Coleman Show Triple H Giving Him a Run for His Money With Big Equally Biceps

What do you think? Would Ronnie be an all-time great NFL player if the neck injury didn’t happen? Let us know in the comments.