Did Brock Lesnar play in the NFL? WWE legend's football career explored

Multisport Athlete Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar is best known for his career in combat sports and his role in the WWE. In fact, he is the only person in history to win a heavyweight championship in both the UFC as well as the WWE. Before entering the worlds of mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, he was first a highly successful amateur wrestler. He won a national championship in college and had a 106-5 career record.

Brock Lesnar is a massive force and an excellent all-around athlete, especially for his size. He won multiple championships in the WWE and headlined many major events. In the UFC, he defeated an all-time legend of the sport in Randy Couture to win the heavyweight title. His fighting career is highly decorated and widely recognized, but what about his professional football career?

What team did Brock Lesnar play for?

Football is definitely not the first sport that comes to mind when thinking about the legendary athletic career of Brock Lesnar. Nevertheless, he did have a short run in the NFL as a defensive tackle with the Minnesota Vikings. Even as successful and as popular as he was in the fight world, it was always his lifelong dream to one day play professional football.

Brock Lesnar made his professional wrestling debut in 2000 at 23 years old. He made his first appearance in the WWE in 2002 after climbing the developmental ranks. Shortly after his debut, he won the WWE Championship at the age of just 25 years old, making him the youngest person to ever win that title. In 2004, after losing the title, he announced that he would be leaving the WWE.

The reason for his departure was that he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a professional football player in the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings eventually gave him an opportunity to try out for the team as a defensive tackle. Interestingly, Lesnar did not play football at all in college, so this was his first real action on a football field in about ten years.

Unfortunately, the professional football career for Brock Lesnar was much shorter and less successful than his fighting career. He appeared in preseason games for the Vikings but never made it to the regular season before being cut. It's important to mention he was in a motorcycle accident while trying to pursue the NFL, which may have hindered his progress a bit.

It's unknown how his football career would have played out if he had stuck with it, but Brock Lesnar returned to professional wrestling in 2005 immediately following a short run with the Vikings. He is likely satisfied that he took the chance to play football, but even more satisfied with his legendary career in the fight world.