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Smart Man Usain Bolt Says He Turned Down NFL Offers Because of the Hits

While a Super Bowl ring sounds nice, there's that whole CTE thing that you don't have in track.

Usain Bolt went on the Dan Patrick show this morning, and seemed like an entirely rational human being for several reasons. He humbly admitted that he might not do well in a mile race, he talked about how intimidation isn't a legitimate way of getting an edge, and discussed how the 2020 Olympics seem too far away, even for him.

But perhaps the most lucid of many lucid moments came when Dan Patrick asked Bolt if he had ever thought about playing in the NFL.

"What about football? Did you ever give it any thought of playing wide receiver?" Dan Patrick asked.

"I used to watch [football] when I was younger," Bolt said. "And the hits that the guys used to take. I know that it is not as bad now, but the hits that the guys would take kind of turned me off. I've never really thought about going. But I've gotten offers and people have asked me."

Bolt didn't name any names, but it's not surprising that NFL teams would approach him—a few Olympic sprinters have made that exact transition. From two-time Olympic gold medalist (in 1964) sprinter "Bullet Bob" Hayes, who transitioned into an NFL career and won Super Bowl VI with the Dallas Cowboys, to 2004100m champion Justin Gatlin, who tried out with the Cardinals and the Texans, only to stop playing before the season started.

Bolt, though, thought better of it at the time, and was maybe all the wiser for it. While a Super Bowl ring sounds nice, there's that whole CTE thing that you don't have in track and field.