Author: Mike Colagrossi / Source: Big Think
Left: Jack Kemp, American politician and a professional gridiron football player. Right: Myron Rolle, neurosurgery resident at Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital. (Photos: Getty/Wikimedia/Big Think)
It’s the 2018 NFL draft and that means the future of the league is at stake one pick at a time.
Football is a dynamic game that requires a whole lot of brawn and some quick thinking, and only the best of the best make it to the top. The National Football League draws its players from some of the most competitive talent pools: players are drafted from prestigious American universities that strive for excellence both on the field and in the classroom. So it comes as no surprise that some of these guys are super-intelligent.
We’ve looked through the rich history of the NFL and found some of the smartest players to ever have been drafted. At a time when the league is contending with player safety and learning how the majority of their players have tested positive to degenerative brain injury (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) – or CTE; it’s heartening to know many of these men still have some genius-level intelligence. By looking at GPA scores, collegiate scholastic endeavors and intellectual careers we came up with this comprehensive list.
John Urschel
Photo by Matt Hazlett/Getty Images
Drafted out of Penn State, John Urschel actually quit the league a few years ago due to the high likelihood of CTE. Urschel is a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Distinguished mathematics professor, Ludmil Zikatanov, had this to say about him: “He is the best master’s student that I have ever had… He works hard, all the time.” He has already published nine research papers in his field.
Sam Acho
Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images
Drafted from the University of Texas, Sam Acho has a number of awards and credentials already to his name in his early years. He was awarded the William V. Campbell Trophy because he was the top scholar-athlete. He also can speak three different languages.
Jack Kemp
Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images
Believe it or not, before he was a vaunted politician, Jack Kemp was an NFL quarterback for 13 seasons, even briefly playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. While his football career was long and fruitful, his subsequent years were filled with even…
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