Tom Brady, Russell Wilson and the Most Notable NFL Players Drafted by MLB Teams

The 2024 NFL draft is in full swing, and while most athletes only hear their name called once on draft day, a handful of players over the years have been selected multiple times across multiple sports.

Tom Brady, Russell Wilson and John Elway are three of the more notable examples of NFL stars who were also selected in the MLB draft, but they are far from the only players who hold that distinction.

Ahead we've highlighted the most notable NFL players who were also drafted by MLB teams, with a mix of big names you know were two-sport stars and others you might have had no idea were baseball prospects once upon a time.

Expect at least a few surprises along the way.

Cedric Benson: Played in nine games for the Los Angeles Dodgers rookie ball affiliate after going in the 12th round of the 2001 draft. Went 5-for-25 with three doubles, two triples, two steals and 10 strikeouts before returning to the University of Texas for his sophomore season on the gridiron and ultimately giving up baseball.

Mark Brunell: Selected in the 44th round of the 1992 draft by the Atlanta Braves.

Matt Cassel: Made eight appearances for the USC baseball team prior to his senior year of football, allowing 15 hits and 12 runs while striking out 10 over 8.2 innings. Also played in the 1994 Little League World Series final. Selected in the 36th round of the 2004 draft by the Oakland Athletics.

Kerry Collins: Selected in the 1990 (26th round, DET), 1991 (60th round, DET) and 1994 (48th round, TOR) drafts, but never signed.

Daunte Culpepper: Selected in the 26th round of the 1995 draft by the New York Yankees.

Eric Decker: Hit .324/.406/.471 with 34 extra-base hits and 20 steals in 110 games as an outfielder on the University of Minnesota baseball team. Selected in the 2008 (39th round, MIL) and 2009 (27th round, MIN) drafts.

Jack Del Rio: Teammates with Randy Johnson and Mark McGwire at USC in 1984 and two-year starter at catcher on the Trojans baseball team. Selected in the 22nd round of the 1981 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.

D.J. Dozier: Originally drafted in 1983 by the Detroit Tigers, but opted to attend Penn State where he played only football. Eventually signed with the New York Mets as an amateur free agent in 1990 and reached the majors in 1992, hitting .191/.264/.234 over 54 plate appearances as a 26-year-old rookie.

Marshall Faulk: Selected in the 43rd round of the 1993 draft by the California Angels.

Ray Guy: Racked up 266 strikeouts in 200 innings on the mound at Southern Miss. Selected in the 1969 (14th round, CIN), 1971 (third round, HOU), 1972 (17th round, ATL) and 1973 (third round, CIN) drafts.

Drew Henson: Selected in the third round of the 1998 draft by the New York Yankees. Signed a six-year, $17 million deal to forgo his senior year of football at the University of Michigan. Appeared on the Baseball America Top 100 prospect list four years in a row, peaking at No. 9 prior to the 2002 season, but never found MLB success. Went 1-for-9 with three strikeouts in eight games at the MLB level in 2002 and 2003.

Chad Hutchinson: Went 11-0 with a 1.20 ERA and 116 strikeouts during his senior year at Torrey Pines High School to win 1995 Gatorade National Player of the Year honors. Did not sign as the No. 26 overall pick in the 1995 MLB draft, instead playing football and baseball at Stanford. Selected in the second round of the 1998 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals and signed a four-year, $3.5 million deal to play exclusively baseball. Appeared on Baseball America Top 100 prospect list in 1999 and 2000, but made just three career MLB appearances, allowing nine hits, six walks and 11 earned runs in four innings.

Colin Kaepernick: An All-State selection in baseball, basketball and football in high school. Selected in the 43rd round of the 2009 draft by the Chicago Cubs.

Jake Locker: Did not play college baseball at the University of Washington, but was named the top MLB prospect in the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League during the summer of 2008. Selected in the 10th round of the 2009 draft and signed to a $200,000 bonus, but never played pro baseball.

Kyle Long: Selected in the 23rd round of the 2008 draft by the Chicago White Sox.

Archie Manning: Selected in the MLB draft four different times between 1967 and 1971, and also played basketball and ran track in high school.

Johnny Manziel: Selected in the 28th round of the 2014 draft by the San Diego Padres.

Steve McNair: Selected in the 35th round of the 1991 draft by the Seattle Mariners.

Matt Moore: Selected in the 22nd round of the 2004 draft by the Los Angeles Angels.

Kyler Murray: Hit .296/.398/.556 with 13 doubles, 10 home runs, 47 RBI and 10 steals during the 2018 season for the Oklahoma baseball team and went No. 9 overall in the MLB draft later that spring to the Oakland Athletics. Returned to Oklahoma for his junior football season with the intention of reporting to spring training in 2019, but ended up pursuing an NFL career following a Heisman Trophy win. His draft rights still belong to Oakland.

Rodney Peete: Selected in the MLB draft four different times between 1984 and 1990, and hit .338 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI to earn All-Pac-10 honors during his senior season at USC.

Antwaan Randle El: Selected in the 14th round of the 1997 draft by the Chicago Cubs. Played football, baseball and basketball during this time at Indiana University.

Ken Stabler: Selected in the 1966 (10th round, NYY), 1967 (11th round, NYM) and 1968 (second round, HOU) drafts as a left-handed pitcher.

Golden Tate: Hit .329/.388/.414 with 13 extra-base hits and 13 steals in 255 plate appearances during his sophomore season at Notre Dame. Selected in the 50th round of the 2010 draft by the San Francisco Giants. Returned to baseball in 2022 when he signed with the Port Angeles Lefties of the West Coast League and went 5-for-19 with two doubles in five games.

Joe Theismann: Selected in the 39th round of the 1971 draft by the Minnesota Twins.

Shaq Thompson: Selected in the 18th round of the 2012 draft by the Boston Red Sox out of high school and signed for $100,000. Went 0-for-39 with 37 strikeouts in 13 games at the rookie ball level before attending the University of Washington to play football.

Michael Vick: Selected in the 30th round of the 2000 draft by the Colorado Rockies.

Charlie Ward: Won 1993 Heisman Trophy and played 11 seasons in the NBA with the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets. Selected in the 59th round of the 1993 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and the 18th round of the 1994 draft by the New York Yankees.

Hines Ward: Selected in the 73rd round of the 1994 draft by the Florida Marlins.

Brandon Weeden: Selected in the second round of the 2002 draft by the New York Yankees. Went 19-26 with a 5.02 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 344 strikeouts in 374.1 innings over five seasons in the minors, failing to advance above the High-A level. Retired from baseball after the 2006 season and enrolled at Oklahoma State to play football.

Chris Weinke: Selected in the second round of the 1990 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Hit .248/.337/.381 with 69 home runs and 402 RBI in 716 games over six seasons in the minors, reaching Triple-A. Retired after the 1996 season and enrolled at Florida State as a 25-year-old to play football.

Pat White: Selected in the fourth round of the 2004 draft by the Anaheim Angels and turned down a six-year contract to play college football. Also selected in the 2007 (27th round, LAA), 2008 (49th round, CIN) and 2009 (48th round, NYY) drafts.

*Note: Tim Tebow was never selected in the MLB draft. He signed with the New York Mets as an amateur free agent.

Drafted: 18th round in the 1995 draft by the Montreal Expos

Tom Brady had a legitimate pro baseball future had he chosen to pursue a career on the diamond rather than honoring his commitment to the University of Michigan to play football.

"I think he could have been one of the greatest catchers ever," Expos general manager Kevin Malone told Bill Speros of Bleacher Report in 2017. "I know that's quite a statement, but the projections were based on the fact we had a left-hand-hitting catcher, with arm strength and who was athletic. ... But his first love was football."

He was featured in the 2003 Bowman Draft baseball card release as a "what could have been" card of sorts, with the 1-of-1 superfractor parallel among the most sought-after cards of the year.

Hot take: He made the right decision choosing football.

Drafted: Second round in the 1981 draft by the New York Yankees

The New York Yankees were serious about convincing John Elway to play professional baseball, giving him a $150,000 bonus to play for Low-A Oneonta in 1982 where he hit .318/.432/.464 with 12 extra-base hits and 13 steals in 42 games.

He used that performance as leverage to try to prevent the Baltimore Colts from selecting him No. 1 overall in the 1983 NFL draft, and when they did select him, he stated he would play baseball if he was not traded.

The Colts eventually shipped him to the Denver Broncos, and he went on to have a Hall of Fame football career, but he could just as easily have been patrolling right field at Yankee Stadium.

The legend goes that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was enamored with the idea of Elway in a Yankees uniform, and essentially offered him the starting right field job by the 1985 season if he left football behind to focus on baseball.

Drafted: Fourth round in 1986 by the Kansas City Royals

The greatest pure athlete in professional sports history, Bo Jackson might have been a Hall of Famer in football or baseball if he had focused on one sport and avoided the injuries that brought his career to a premature end.

He was an All-Star outfielder for the Kansas City Royals in 1989 and a Pro Bowl running back for the Oakland Raiders in 1990, but he suffered a football career-ending hip injury in his age-28 season.

He still went on to play baseball through 1994, posting a 112 OPS+ with 141 home runs, 415 RBI and 8.3 WAR over eight seasons with the Royals, White Sox and Angels.

Drafted: First round pick in 1988 by the St. Louis Cardinals

He is not often mentioned alongside Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, but Brian Jordan also played pro baseball and football simultaneously.

With a strong 6'1", 205-pound frame, he was the starting strong safety for the Atlanta Falcons in 1990 and 1991, tallying five interceptions during that time before leaving the gridiron behind to focus his full attention on baseball.

Selected No. 30 overall in the 1988 draft, he made his MLB debut as a 25-year-old in 1992, and he enjoyed a breakout season in 1995 when he hit .296/.339/.488 with 22 home runs, 81 RBI and 24 steals to emerge as the Cardinals starting right fielder.

Over 15 seasons in the big leagues, he had 1,454 hits, 184 home runs, 821 RBI, 119 steals and 32.9 WAR, receiving MVP votes three different times and making his lone All-Star appearance in 1999.

Drafted: Second round in 1992 by the Florida Marlins

Before he was a hard-hitting safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, John Lynch was a right-handed pitcher in the fledgling Florida Marlins organization.

In fact, he threw the first pitch in the organization's history while pitching for the Erie Sailors in 1992, posting a 2.15 ERA in 29.1 innings, though he tallied more walks (17) than strikeouts (16) along the way.

He made two more appearances with Single-A Kane County the following spring before leaving baseball behind to focus on football after he was selected in the third round of the 1993 NFL draft.

Fun fact: There are a few different minor league baseball cards of him floating around out there if you're into that sort of thing.

Drafted: 37th round in 2014 by the Detroit Tigers

Patrick Mahomes was a legitimate pro baseball candidate coming out of high school, ranking No. 419 on Baseball America's list of the Top 500 draft prospects prior to the 2014 draft.

Here's his predraft scouting report:

"Mahomes' father of the same name spent parts of 11 seasons in the major leagues and was still pitching in independent ball until 2009. His son has a bigger, more physical frame at a listed 6-foot-2, 214 pounds and has shown a low-90s fastball on the mound while also showcasing excellent arm strength when he plays right field. Some evaluators like him better as a hitter who is an average runner with plus raw power from a raw offensive approach. Mahomes appears to prefer football, however, with good reason. He's a quarterback committed to Texas Tech."

Football was the right decision, but he had serious potential on the mound.

Drafted: Fourth round in 1979 by the Kansas City Royals

Before he laid the groundwork for his NFL career with four seasons under center at the University of Pittsburgh, Dan Marino was a high-level prep baseball prospect from the Pittsburgh high school ranks.

He was the No. 99 overall pick in the 1979 draft by the Kansas City Royals as a right-handed pitcher, but he opted to focus on his football career and did not sign.

Drafted: 30th round in 1988 by the New York Yankees

Deion Sanders is the only athlete ever to appear in both the Super Bowl and the World Series, and that is a distinction that might stand the test of time.

He was actually drafted higher in the MLB draft out of high school, selected in the sixth round of the 1985 draft by the Kansas City Royals, but he opted to attend college where he was a decorated three-sport athlete.

"Prime Time" was a star cornerback on the football team, outfielder on the baseball team and part of a conference champion track team during his time at Florida State, and he was chosen No. 5 overall in the 1990 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons.

He played nine seasons of Major League Baseball, peaking in 1992 when he hit .304/.346/.495 with an NL-leading 14 triples and 3.2 WAR in 325 plate appearances. He went 8-for-15 with two doubles and five steals in the 1992 World Series.

All told, he tallied 558 hits, 186 steals and 5.5 WAR in 641 games with the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.

Drafted: Fourth round in 2010 by the Colorado Rockies

Russell Wilson was a 41st-round pick by the Baltimore Orioles out of high school, and the team offered him a $350,000 bonus to forgo his commitment to NC State, which would have been the third-largest bonus they gave out that year behind Matt Wieters and Jake Arrieta.

He instead opted to honor his college commitment but continued to play sports, hitting .282/.384/.415 in 285 plate appearances over his three collegiate seasons before signing with the Colorado Rockies as a fourth-round pick in 2010.

He hit .229/.355/.356 with nine doubles, eight triples, five home runs, 26 RBI and 19 steals in 93 games with Low-A Tri-City and Single-A Asheville in 2010 and 2011 before leaving baseball behind to focus on football in 2012.

Wilson attended spring training with the Texas Rangers in 2014 and 2015 and the New York Yankees in 2018, striking out against Max Fried while pinch-hitting for Aaron Judge in 2018 in his lone professional at-bat.

His attendance was more publicity than any real attempt to make the team, but the Yankees do still hold his rights.

Drafted: 15th round in 2012 by the Texas Rangers

One of the most hyped quarterback recruits in recent memory, Jameis Winston was never viewed as a signable high school baseball prospect, but he had the talent to be taken much earlier than the 15th round.

Here is his predraft scouting report:

"He is one of the better athletes in the draft class, and at times it appears there's nothing beyond his reach. He's a 6.6-second runner in the 60 who switch-hits and has excellent arm strength, having touched 92 mph on the mound. Winston has shown premium bat speed in showcases as well, and at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, it's easy to project him to hit for plus power down the line."

He played two seasons of college baseball at Florida State, hitting .209/.356/.304 with 12 extra-base hits in 195 plate appearances as an outfielder while posting a 1.94 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 52 strikeouts in 60.1 innings with nine saves in 41 appearances out of the bullpen.