The fastest man in history, Usain Bolt, has already tried his hand at soccer in his post-athletics career but with that door seemingly closed, the Jamaican sprinter says he is tempted to try his luck in the NFL.
Bolt's pursuit of a soccer career came after the sprinter admitted that it would be a "dream come true" to play for Manchester United but after a series of trials yielded only contract offers from lowly clubs like Norway's Stromsgodset and Valleta of Malta, Bolt announced last year that his "sports life is over."
Also on rt.com 'It was fun while it lasted': Usain Bolt signals end of professional football dreamOr is it? Bolt's unique physical characteristics of being both incredibly rapid and also physically imposing (he stands 6ft 5in tall) has led to some speculation that he would be an ideal wide receiver in the NFL, so long as he would be able to learn the nuances of route running and develop an ability to actually catch a contested ball - and when asked on the matter, Bolt didn't rule it out.
"If the Patriots or Aaron Rodgers call me," Bolt said when asked by TMZ. "If they call me, I'm ready!"
Of course, if Bolt was to transition sports once again his liabilities on the field would be shortened by having a top quarterback delivering him the ball and in New England Patriots legend Tom Brady, there has been no finer man under center in the league's history.
The Patriots are currently in the midst of some uncertainty in the receiver position with Josh Gordon expected to leave the team in the coming weeks and injuries forcing the Super Bowl champions to draft inexperienced practice squad players into the senior panel.
Rodgers, meanwhile, is the heartbeat of a Green Bay Packers offence and is another candidate as someone who holds the necessary experience to paper over Bolt's shortcomings. He threw a remarkable five touchdowns to five different receivers in last week's victory against the Oakland Raiders.
Also on rt.com Bolt turns down 2-year deal with Champions League hopefulsIt helps that Bolt is an admitted Packers fan but he describes Rodgers as the best quarterback of his generation.
"I think so," Bolt says of Rodgers' candidacy. "I don't think he has the right amount of wide receivers right now. You know what I mean? If he had the right players with him I think he would be way better."
Despite his comments, it is incredibly unlikely that Bolt will ever come close to receiving an offer from an NFL team but these comments may serve another purpose in alerting the scouting teams in the Canadian Football League and the soon to launch XFL, the brain child of WWE boss Vince McMahon.