Anthony Edwards claims he will move to the NFL if he wins the NBA title soon

Extreme self-confidence is a prerequisite to making a living as a professional athlete, and there is perhaps no professional athlete in all sports who embodies this more visibly than Anthony Edwards. The Minnesota Timberwolves superstar exudes a level of confidence that stands out even among his peers. This is one of the reasons Edwards has become so popular in recent years — and also the reason why his quotes regularly go viral, as was the case on Sunday.

ESPN released an excerpt from a conversation in which Edwards sat down with Minnesota superstar Justin Jefferson to recreate the iconic Kevin Garnett-Randy Moss magazine cover from a few decades ago. In the clip, Edwards discusses with Jefferson whether NBA players are better athletes than NFL players before making a bold statement about his future plans.

Edwards told Jefferson that he plans to switch sports and play football if he wins an NBA championship in the next few years.

“Football players can’t play basketball,” the All-Star shooting guard said. “Absolutely not. I told my buddies, ‘If I win a ring in the next three to four years, I’m going to play football.'”

“No, you’re not,” Jefferson can be heard saying as the clip ends.

It’s impossible to imagine Edwards actually doing this because, well, it’s never been done before. At lower levels, there is a lot of overlap between football and basketball players. In fact, some NFL legends like Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates famously played college basketball before becoming incredible football players. But no athlete has ever played professional basketball and then given it up to play football.

Interestingly, however, it happened the other way around. And recently too. Devin Funchess, who played receiver for Michigan before the Carolina Panthers selected him in the second round of the 2015 draft, dropped everything to become a professional basketball player in 2022. He made his overseas debut in 2023 and is currently under contract in the Basketball League of Columbia for the Caribbean Storm.

Anyway. A bold claim from Edwards. But he has to win a championship first.