The Green Bay Packers have had a number of promising players come through their doors during the course of their 100+ year history. Many times, these promising players end up making the team and, sometimes, carve out a nice long career with the Packers, or in the NFL in general.
However, the majority of players that get a tryout or a shot with any NFL team do not end up that way. Indeed, only a select few end up putting together long careers in arguably the most physically punishing sport in the United States.
Many players pursue other passions when their playing career comes to an end. Some go into coaching, some go into media, and some pursue business ventures. Others do something else entirely.
Former Packers wide receiver Devin Funchess is doing something that no former NFL player has ever done: playing professional basketball.
Former Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver Devin Funchess Has Signed to Play Professional Basketball
Funchess never appeared in a regular season game for the Packers. After four seasons with the Carolina Panthers and one with the Indianapolis Colts, he signed with the Packers as a free agent in April of 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fragile health of his family members, he opted out of that season in August.
While he did appear in preseason games for the Packers in 2021, he did not make the roster. After failing to make the Detroit Lions’ roster in 2022, his football career is over.
Now, Funchess is pursuing another sport: basketball. Former Packers reporter Kassidy Hill now works for the Panthers and interviewed Funchess about his career change. According to her, Funchess promised his grandfather that a basketball career is something he would try when his football days were over:
“I told my grandfather, I said, man, I’m going to go win the Super Bowl and then I’m going straight to basketball.”
According to Hill, he also told his grandfather that after basketball, he would become a farmer.
Funchess has signed a contract to play a 28-game season with the Caribbean Storm Llaneros of the Professional Colombia Basketball league.
While it may not be the NBA or a high-profile European league, Funchess is the first former NFL player to have signed a professional basketball contract.
Former Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver Devin Funchess Fell Back in Love with Basketball During the COVID-19 Pandemic
According to Hill, Funchess did not play basketball for years because he was afraid he would get injured and jeopardize his NFL career. However, during the pandemic, he was convinced to shoot around with one of his cousins:
“I just started dribbling and once you start dribbling, you just get addicted to it. That’s what all the greats in that sport say, like you got to do it every day, you got to do it every day and make sure you fall in love with that.
“So, I was just doing that to kind of cope with something that I never had to deal with—being away with football…then it was just like, this was an outlet for me to think of all the different possibilities.”
Hill also reports that Funchess plans to attend open tryouts for the G League affiliations of the Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte Hornets.
And yes, he still plans on becoming a farmer eventually.
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