Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offered contract to LeBron James to play in the NFL

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James' love for football (American football) and the NFL is widely known. A talented wide receiver during his high school days, LeBron James is known to have harboured a dream to play in the NFL for quite some time. The 2011 NBA lockout had LeBron giving some serious thoughts into making a career in football after he received a contract offer from Jerry Jones to play for the Dallas Cowboys.

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LeBron James NFL dream: Contract to play for the Cowboys

LeBron James recently took part in a podcast on Uninterrupted with hosts Maverick Carter and Paul Rivera, where he revealed he seriously gave some thought to the offer he received from Jerry Jones to play for the Cowboys. "I had no idea how long the lockout was going to be,” LeBron James said explaining the 2011 NBA lockout. "Myself and my trainer, Mike Mancias, we really started to actually train to be a football player when it came to October or November."

James revealed he started incorporating for football-related workouts in his daily regimen as tried to gain some strength during the lockout. Exercises like bench presses, sleds and 40-yard dashes became a regular part of his training routine. This is when James revealed he had a mammoth offer from Jerry Jones to fulfil his NFL dreams and play for the Cowboys.

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"The thoughts came into my mind. But never having the ability to finish my high school career of playing like my senior year, I have dreams all the time about playing football," explained LeBron James, who is a massive supporter of the Cowboys. "It’s crazy because I actually never run on the field in my dreams. It always gets to the point where I’m either in the locker room or getting dressed or talking about it or seeing the fans. As soon as I am about to run onto the field, something else happens in my dream. Something always happens like that.”

Maverick Carter, who is also LeBron's business partner, revealed that the Lakers star had the Cowboys contract from Jerry Jones framed and put in his office. 

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LeBron James NFL: LeBron James football highlights

Despite a chance to play for the Cowboys, LeBron James stuck around with the NBA after the lockout. Playing for Miami Heat, he ended his wait for an NBA championship in 2012 before winning it again in 2013 and 2016. While his NFL dream still yet to be fulfilled, LeBron James enjoyed a stellar high school football career playing for St. Vincent-St. Mary. Recently, LeBron James shared a small newspaper cutout from his junior year.

At that time, LeBron was considered as one of the top football recruits in the state of Ohio, which was highlighted in the stats he mentioned. James wrote he caught 60 passes during his junior year for 1200 yards and 16 touchdowns, starting as a wide receiver. The 35-year-old was also a two-time all-state receiver in Ohio.

Many expected LeBron James to excel in college football. However, the basketball prodigy ended up declaring for the NBA draft right after high school before being drafted as the No. 1 overall pick by the Cavaliers in 2003. 

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