How many Olympic track stars have played in the NFL?

Answer 1

A few were:

1) Bob Hayes - gold medalist in the 100 meter dash at the 1964 Games in Tokyo who played for the Dallas Cowboys between 1965-1974 and the Sam Francisco 49ers in 1975.

2) James Jett - a member of the gold medal winning 4x100 meter relay team at the 1992 Games in Barcelona who played for the Raiders between 1993-2002.

3) Renaldo Nehemiah - a member of the 1980 US team (110 meter hurdles) that did not participate in the Games in Moscow who played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1982-1984.

4) Jim Thorpe - gold medalist in pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Games in Stockholm who played with several teams in the NFL in the 1920s.

5) Ollie Matson - silver medalist in 4x400 meter relay and bronze medalist in 400 meter dash at the 1952 Games in Helsinki who played with the Cardinals, Rams, Lions, and Eagles between 1952-1966.

6) Ron Brown - gold medalist in the 4x100 meter relay at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles who played with the Rams and Raiders between 1984-1991.

7) Willie Gault played for the Chicago Bears in the 80s.

Other Olympians that participated in sports other than track that played in the NFL include Dudley DeGroot (Olympics: rugby at the 1924 Games in Paris - NFL: Washington Redskins in 1944-1945), Sam Francis (Olympics: shot put at the 1936 Games in Berlin - NFL: Bears, Steelers, and Dodgers between 1937-1940), John Spellman (Olympics: wrestling at the 1924 Games in Paris - NFL: Steam Roller and Braves between 1925-1932), Jack Riley (Olympics: wrestling at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles- NFL: Redskins in 1933), and Herschel Walker (Olympics: bobsleigh at the 1998 Games in Nagano - NFL: Cowboys, Vikings, Eagles, and Giants between 1986-1997).