"It gave me the biggest f*cking chip on my shoulder" - Dwayne Johnson reveals how NFL rejection pushed him to be the superstar he is today

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. Before joining the Tinseltown elite, he was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, certainly in terms of the amount of revenue he generated. It is fair to say that The Rock has assended to the mountain top in almost every field he has entered.

But there is one notable exception: professional football. Before the Great One dropped "The People's Elbow" or saved the world, the Rock had been one of the many college kids trying to make it to the NFL.

Unfortunately, that was not on the cards for Johnson, and that pain is one that he still carries. Writing on Facebook, he had this to say:

"There are 53 men on an NFL roster who ball out on Sundays and live their dreams. I was #54. I was that player who was told, you’re good, but you’re not good enough, thank you for all your hard work and this is where it all ends. When you worked, lived and breathed a lifetime for something you were so passionate about, only to be told you’re not good enough and there’s nothing you can do it about."

The Rock, who has now purchased his own football league in the form of the XFL, continued:

"But as painful as it was to accept the dream is over, it also created a hunger, intensity and it gave me the biggest fucking chip on my shoulder to attack life with a relentless ferocity. This is why #54 on my back is so deeply personal to me. Grit, resolve, ferocity, passion, relentlessness.Life is much different for me these days and I’m forever grateful, but that chip never goes away. Ever."

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's NCAA career

Johnson spent four-years at the University of Miami. He played for the Hurricanes as a defensive tackle and appeared in 39 games. He recorded 77 tackles and 4.25 sacks. Although he only started one of those thirty-nine games, he was part of the 1991 Hurricanes team that won a national championship.

However, the competition for reps in Miami was ferocious, as the Hurricanes roster was stacked. The Rock found his path to a starting place blocked by none other than Warren Sapp. Sapp would go onto have a Hall of Fame career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, lifting the Super Bowl, and being named defensive player of the year. The Super Bowl winner had this to say about his former teammate:

"He was a specimen. He looked great. He always looked great. He was tan, curly hair. He was the kind of guy you want your sister to date, because he was a nice guy. I always said that to him."

Johnson would go onto the CFL were he made the roster of the Calgary Stampeders, only to be cut two months later. His life would then take a different path, which did not work out too badly for him, but the NFL rejection is something he has not forgotten.

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