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Former NFL placekicker Jay Feely is the latest professional athlete poised to transition to a congressional career, where leadership, performing under pressure and handling public scrutiny are essential in both arenas.
Fox News Digital reached out to Feely, who spent time with the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals before becoming an “NFL on CBS” commentator, for his take on why professional sports prepared him for public life as he seeks the seat of retiring Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz.
“Especially as a kicker — to be a successful kicker in the NFL, you have to be able to handle pressure, and you have be able handle failure. And I think those two attributes are very tangible attributes that will help you as you try to navigate the political field and try to be effective,” Feely said Friday in an interview with Fox News Digital.
He said the NFL also exposed him to teammates from different backgrounds and viewpoints, helping prepare him to represent a diverse constituency.
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“[T]he greatest advantage of being an NFL player was to be in those locker rooms where racial walls were broken down and conversations happened and you got to know people which otherwise you might not ever get to know.”
He recalled rooming with LeVar Arrington and Brandon Short while with the Giants in East Rutherford, sharing stories about their different life experiences and personal views as they played chess and other games.
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“Your job is to represent everybody and i think those experiences certainly are an asset,” Feely said.
He also mentioned a trip to the infamously unfriendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field to play the Philadelphia Eagles right after the “worst game of [his] career” against the Seahawks.
The prior night he had been “spoofed” on “Saturday Night Live,” and while preparing for what was a game-winning kick after an apparent icing timeout, Philadelphia played a montage of his Seattle misses on the Jumbotron to mock him.
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“They tried to deter me, but I made the kick and my career goes on for another nine years – you learn a lot through those processes,” Feely said.
Feely added that he got to know another athlete-turned-public official through their time with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA).
“There’s so many different correlations with the people in sports, and a lot of the best people I know that I met in sports have thought about getting into politics,” he said, reflecting on his time working with HUD Secretary Scott Turner, a former Washington Redskin.
He said he also hopes to see other athletes regardless of viewpoint who have acted on issues close to them, like former New Orleans Saints Drew Brees and Benjamin Watson.
Feely will face former state Rep. Amish Shah, D-Phoenix, who also worked for about two years as the New York Jets’ team doctor.
Just over two decades ago, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner was on the NFL gridiron, playing cornerback for the Washington Redskins and then-San Diego Chargers.
The skills and lessons learned on the field helped Turner grow into his new role at HUD, which was also preceded by a stint in the Texas House of Representatives.
“The Lord used football to change the course of my life, and through the game,” Turner told Fox News Digital.
“He taught me lessons that continue to guide me every day in public service: discipline, teamwork, perseverance, humility, and working toward a mission bigger than yourself.”
“Those values inform how I served in the Texas state legislature and how I lead HUD today. My experience on football teams shaped how I lead, how I serve, and the example I hope to set for the next generation.”
Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., had a successful mixed martial arts career before shifting from dodging fists to political blows on Capitol Hill.
Davids, who tried out for “The Ultimate Fighter,” compiled a 5-1 amateur record before a brief professional MMA career in 2013, when she went 1-1.
“Turns out getting punched in the face is pretty good preparation for Congress,” Davids told Fox News Digital on Friday.
She first left the octagon to support Native American communities, focusing on community development and expanding economic opportunities for Native people.
Davids later won her 2018 congressional bid in an upset against Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., in the largely red state.
“But really, fighting professionally taught me that you don’t solve every challenge by throwing punches. You have to stay disciplined, work hard, respect your opponent, and keep moving forward — and that’s how I approach this job, too,” she told Fox News Digital.
Former Auburn Tigers Coach Tommy Tuberville transitioned to the U.S. Senate in 2021 after compiling a slew of outstanding stats as a head coach.
The Republican — now running for governor of Alabama — declined comment for this story but spoke in 2020 about the parallels between success in athletics and government.
Asked about his then-11-month campaign against incumbent Democrat Sen. Doug Jones, Tuberville told the Alabama Daily News he had to approach it at “full speed” just like a football coach.
“We put together a good, good team. And a lot of people told me when I first got started they said, coach, this is just like being a head coach. You’re only as good as the team around you,” he said.
One of the most recognizable Republican figures of the last century was former HUD Secretary and former Congressman Jack Kemp.
Kemp’s political peak came in 1996 when he was the vice presidential running mate of Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., against President Bill Clinton.
Prior to that, Kemp led the same agency Turner did under the first Bush administration, and previously represented western New York in Congress for almost 20 years.
Kemp’s first public role, however, was as a journeyman NFL quarterback in the 1950s and 1960s. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills, among others, and also spent time in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell — whose father Charles Goodell represented Kemp’s area as a Republican in Congress in the 1960s — was quoted as calling Kemp an “extraordinary American leader who became a trusted colleague and exceptional friend to countless NFL owners, team personnel and commissioners after his MVP playing career with the Buffalo Bills.”
Kemp, who died in 2009, said that professional football gave him a “good perspective” for politics.
“When I entered the political arena, I had already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded, and hung in effigy,” he said, according to the Bills.
The only active member of Congress with an NFL history is Rep. Burgess Owens, a retiring Republican from Utah.
Owens, a former New York Jets safety, has alluded to his NFL career at times, largely focusing on criticizing the politicization of sports.
He previously told Fox Business during a time when players were kneeling for the national anthem that he would be boycotting games until Goodell was fired.
“I’m done,” he told host David Asman in 2020. “It’s time for these young men who make millions of dollars to say thank you [and respect the country].”
Owens did not respond to a request for comment.
Former longtime Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jon Runyan Sr. also parlayed his playing career into one on Capitol Hill.
The Republican represented part of South Jersey for two terms in a district now represented by Rep. Herb Conaway, D-N.J., that covers part of the Pine Barrens and Philadelphia suburbs.
Runyan is now a vice president of policy and rules with the NFL and his son Jon Jr. is a guard with the Giants. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Another NFC East player who went on to serve in Congress was former Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C.
Shuler, who played quarterback for the franchise now known as the Washington Commanders, parlayed his playing career into a congressional career in 2006 before being succeeded by Republican Mark Meadows, a later close ally of President Donald Trump.
Colin Allred, a former Tennessee Titan, also moved on to Congress, where he served until 2025.
This cycle, he unsuccessfully challenged state Rep. James Talarico and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, for Sen. John Cornyn’s seat.
Cornyn lost his primary earlier this year to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who now faces Talarico.
There have been several other top-name lawmakers who themselves were former professional athletes.
Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, an Indiana Republican who chose not to seek re-election in 2022 over political fallout from voting to impeach Trump, was a former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver.
Former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Steve Largent — an NFL Hall of Famer — went on to represent Oklahoma in Congress.
Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning went on to have a lengthy political career.
He was elected to the Kentucky State Senate in 1979, Congress in 1986 and later the U.S. Senate in 1999.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., now holds his seat.
New York Knicks star Bill Bradley, whose number 24 has been retired in MSG, went on to serve New Jersey in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in the 1980s and 90s.
He also mounted an unsuccessful presidential primary bid against former Sen. Al Gore, D-Tenn.
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Ex-Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Tom Osborne – who briefly played for the Redskins – also served his college’s home state in Congress in the early 2000s.
Former Rep. Adam Wyant, R-Pa., had a 10-year career in the early days of professional football. He played for the Greensburg Athletic Association in the 1890s.
Laverne Dilweg, an early Green Bay Packer, also represented Wisconsin in Congress as a Democrat in the 1920s and 30s.
Former Arizona Democratic Congressman Mo Udall — whose family is considered political royalty throughout much of the Mountain West — spent three decades in Congress after a brief stint with the Denver Nuggets.
Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete Bob Mathias returned to the United States after the Helsinki Games and represented California as a Republican for about a decade beginning in 1967.
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