Ten Pro Athletes That Could Have Played In Another Sport

Introduction

At some point, I think we take pro athletes for granted. We see them dominate their respective sport but we often wonder if they could do more. Luckily for us, there are some athletes that could have certainly played more than one sport. The ten guys on this list not only could have played another sport, they could have been regarded as one of the best.

There have been some great ones that have played more than one sport. Michael Jordan did try his hand at baseball. That ended up being a horrible decision. Michael may have cost himself two more titles by taking a sabbatical. On the other hand, you have a guy like Bo Jackson. Bo did play multiple sports and was great at them. He doesn't qualify for this list because he did the two sport thing and succeeded.

Of course, none of these guys could live up to what Deion Sanders brought to the table. He did try the whole two sport thing and he did it at the same time. Not only does that involve a lot of skill, it shows you how great of an athlete that he really was. He could have been one of the best of all time in one sport, but he decided to be very good at two.

I am sure that there will be some disagreements about this list. That is why the list was created in the first place. Nothing wrong with getting some good discussion going about a topic. If you love or hate this list, let us know in the comments. Better yet, share it with all your friends so they can take a look and see if they agree or disagree with the rankings.

10. LeBron James

LeBron James is the best player in basketball right now. There is really no argument to that. However, he was also quite the high school football player. If he would have went that route, we'd be looking at the best tight end to ever play the game.

9. Julius Peppers

Peppers is a freak of nature on the football field but he also has game on the basketball court. He played heavy minutes for North Carolina and even made a Final Four back in the day.

8. Joe Mauer

Mauer could be the best pure hitter in baseball. I also think he could have been an absolute star on the football field. We may have missed out on one amazing quarterback.

7. Tony Romo

At the rate his career is going, Romo might just want to switch to golf full time. The football crowd might think he's overrated, but he wouldn't have that issue on the PGA Tour.

6. Todd Helton

Helton has had one heck of a career on the baseball diamond. However, not many people remember him in college. You know that Peyton Manning guy? Yeah, he's was Helton's backup at Tennessee for a time.

5. Antonio Gates

Gates is one of the better tight ends to ever play professional football. He was also quite the basketball player as he took Kent State to an Elite Eight. Not bad for a mid-major guy.

4. Jeff Samardzija

Since I'm wired to hate all things Notre Dame, I rooted for Samardzija to fail each game. Instead, he dominated every time he stepped on the football field. He was a fifth round pick of the Chicago Cubs but could have easily made the NFL as a standout wide receiver.

3. Jim Brown

Brown is one of the best athletes to ever play any sport. He was a football star but also played basketball and lacrosse at Syracuse. Not a bad variety of sports right there.

2. Charlie Ward

Ward was a long time NBA veteran at the point guard position. However, college football fans will always wonder what might have been. At Florida State, he brought home a Heisman trophy but ultimately decided his future was on the hardwood.

He was also drafted as a pitcher in the 1993 and 1994 MLB Draft. He didn't pitch in college. That's what I call impressive

1. Dave Winfield

Winfield wins this spot, simply because no one has the resume that he had. He was drafted in three sports, including two separate basketball leagues. He was taken in the NFL Draft, even though he did not play the sport.

By the way, he ended up being a Hall of Fame baseball player. If Charlie Ward would have made the basketball Hall of Fame, we might have an argument on our hands. For now, this spot belongs to Dave.