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LeBron James has been an avid football fan since his college days and has also followed the NFL keenly.
James used to play a lot of football growing up. Many analysts from the football and basketball world have plenty of debates on whether the four-time MVP would be a great NFL player or not.
According to several reports, LeBron James had offers from multiple NFL teams during the 2011 NBA lockout to try out for them. However, James never made his way into the NFL.
He still follows the league, though, and has become good friends with a lot of NFL players over the years. On that note, let's take a look at five NFL stars LeBron James has been friends with.
#5 Myles Garrett
2017 NFL draft's #1 pick Myles Garrett is a player LeBron James has closely followed. That's because Garrett plays for James' hometown team, the Cleveland Browns, in the NFL.
The two have been in the news recently and were seen praising each other. Garrett claimed he wants to be the LeBron James of NFL defenders. He also went on to say that James is always in any of the top three debates that happen.
This came after James posted a story on Instagram stating Garrett should be ranked as a top 10 player in the NFL. The Browns star was ranked 16th on the NFL's list of top 100 players. Garrett was also spotted attending an LA Lakers game in January 2020. He sat alongside James' close friends like agent Rich Paul and business partner Maverick Carter.
#4 Tom Brady
LeBron James and Tom Brady have drawn a lot of comparisons over the years because of how successful they have been in their respective careers. Another reason has been their longevity. James will be entering the 19th season of his NBA career, while Brady will be entering his 22nd season in the NFL.
The two have shown a lot of mutual respect on social media. The last such instance was when Brady won his seventh Super Bowl in February this year.
Brady recently made an appearance on "The Shop," an HBO show in collaboration with "Uninterrupted," founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter.
#3 Odell Beckham Jr.
LeBron James and Odell Beckham Jr. have been friends for quite some time now. The two became friends in 2017. Beckham was always under heavy scrutiny at that time. James turned out to be a great advisor for the football star in that stretch which was key in them having the kind of relationship they have.
Beckham has always praised LeBron James for his achievements and has even attended multiple NBA games that the latter was a part of. Beckham now plays for James' hometown team, the Cleveland Browns, in the NFL.
#2 Shannon Sharpe
Former NFL star turned TV presenter Shannon Sharpe is one of LeBron James' closest friends from the NFL. Sharpe has always regarded James as the greatest basketball player of all time.
Sharpe, an NFL Hall of Famer, has always been the one to present the case for LeBron being a better player than Michael Jordan on his own show co-hosted by Skip Bayless - "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed."
#1 Andrew Hawkins
Former NFL player Andrew Hawkins and LeBron James became good friends in 2017 when the former retired from playing football. Hawkins joined James' and Maverick Carter's company Uninterrupted in 2018. He works as a Director of Business Development for the company as of now.
James has always shared a close relationship with the people associated with him on the business front, which has led to him developing a great bond with Hawkins over the last few years.
