Jake Paul Claims Multiple NFL Teams Want to Sign Him: Why This Cleveland Browns Fantasy Is Going Nowhere
Jake Paul thinks he can play in the NFL. He thinks it will be, in his words, quite easy. He also thinks the current league is full of super mediocrity and not-good athletes.
At Fanatics Fest this week, the 29-year-old boxer and social media star told Front Office Sports that a couple of NFL teams and coaches have already reached out about adding him to their roster. He said all he really needs to do is finish out his boxing career and practice some routes.
Sure. Let us take a look at this.
The Claims Do Not Match the Resume
Paul has not played organized football since his days at Westlake High School in Ohio. He was a wide receiver at the time and by all accounts a decent one, though nothing that put him on any recruiting board. He is now 29 years old with no college experience, no combine numbers, and a professional record that consists entirely of getting punched in the face.
His boxing career is 12-2. He has beaten a decent list of aging fighters and one legitimate opponent. That does not translate to NFL athleticism. Speed, agility, hand-eye coordination in a full-contact football setting and the ability to read coverage are entirely different skill sets.
Front Office Sports quoted Paul saying there is a lot of super mediocrity in the NFL. There is not. There are 32 teams, 53 players each, and the bottom of that talent pool still contains athletes who were the best players on their college teams for four years. Practice squad players run 4.4 forties and bench 225 pounds 20 times. Jake Paul is not doing that.
The Browns Connection Is the Only Thing That Makes Sense
Paul grew up outside Cleveland. His mother is a diehard Browns fan. He has publicly said he wants to play slot receiver for his hometown team. That part is at least believable as a childhood dream.
The Browns, meanwhile, could use help at wide receiver. They also could use a functional quarterback, a competent offensive coordinator, and a franchise reset. Jake Paul is not going to solve any of that. He would not make the practice squad on the worst NFL team in a normal year.
The most charitable read on this is that Paul is doing what Paul does best: generating attention. He said something outrageous, tagged it with a mention of his boxing career and his Browns fandom, and let the internet do the rest. Job done.
No Team Has Actually Confirmed Interest
Here is the key line from the Front Office Sports report. No NFL team has publicly confirmed any interest in signing Jake Paul. Not one. That is because no NFL team is actually interested in signing Jake Paul.
Somebody in a scouting department may have exchanged texts with his people out of morbid curiosity. Somebody in a marketing department may have floated the idea as a preseason attention grab. Nobody is actually preparing a contract offer for a 29-year-old boxer with high school football experience.
This story will fade in a week. Paul will announce his next fight, the news cycle will move on, and no NFL roster will look any different. That is fine. He has already accomplished what he set out to do, which is get every sports outlet in America to write about him again.
Consider us fooled once more.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
