THE Coach John Madden (Photo courtesy of KTVO/File).
In any group of people, like the NFL, you can find unique people everywhere. Some of us are just a little bit different, and some have an entire checklist of eccentricities. We have picked out the 10 most unique NFL-affiliated individuals, ranking them from least to most eccentric. Hang on to your hats, because things are going to get wild!
#10 – John Henderson: Unique Motivation
Former Jacksonville Jaguars player John Henderson (2002–2009) had a unique form of motivation. Sigmund Freud would have a hayday with this player’s pre-game ritual. The defensive tackle would request one member of the training staff to slap him in the face—hard. It’s uncomfortable and slightly disconcerting, so Henderson is number 10 on our list.
#9 – Sam Braford: NFL Eats
The multi-team former QB (2010–2018) has an eccentric habit when it comes to his food. Call it superstitious or something else, but Mr. Sam Bradford had to eat all of his food in three parts. In theory, that doesn’t sound particularly difficult, but in practicality, it would be challenging to execute at times. How do you eat a chia seed in three parts? How about an almond? Hopefully you don’t have teeth sensitivity because it could get uncomfortable if you have to eat that ice cream cone in three bites. Large burgers and steaks sound a bit painful to eat in three pieces. We need more details on how this works, Bradford!
#8 – Ted Hendricks: Halloween Every Day
Ted Henricks had a head-scratching appreciation for the arts. Cosplay before it was popular, if you will. However, his choices in costume are so unique that he easily enters this list at number eight. One of our more well-seasoned gentlemen on the list, Hendricks, was a linebacker from 1969 to 1983. A fun fact about Hendricks is that he was born in Guatemala to an American father and an Italian mother who was also Guatemalan-born. The couple both worked for an airline company and met in the Central American country, falling in love on the job.
By the time Hendricks made it to his third NFL team in 1975, he was going to let his eccentric side out. On his first day of training with the Oakland Raiders, the linebacker rolled in on a horse, wearing his uniform along with a spiked-war helmet and a traffic cone as his lance. Whatever floats your boat, Hendricks!
#7 – John Madden: No Planes, Please!
As the lone NFL coach on this list, Madden secured his slot because of his unique distaste for plane flights. It’s not an ideal fear to have, considering how often NFL teams have to travel around the country. It’s probably a good thing that in his one season in the NFL, he never played a snap of the regular season, because rookies can’t be choosy. Interestingly enough, Madden also choked down his phobia of planes throughout his entire coaching career as well. However, when his broadcasting duties came about, he said enough was enough.
Madden said that as he got older, the claustrophobia on the plane got worse and worse. He experienced the symptoms since the 1950s, but after a few anxiety attacks related to his fear of confined places, he said, No more planes, please. Instead, he had done his duty in the NFL, and in the last juncture of his career as a broadcaster, he was able to make things work for him.
Hence, the “Madden Cruiser,” a luxury bus (and a driver), was awarded to the former head coach by the Greyhound company in an endorsement deal. The cruiser became a mainstay in the NFL community, with business conducted on the cushy seats regularly. The original bus was donated to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
#6 – Travis Jervey: Nala Six
Number six on the list of the most eccentric individuals in the NFL easily goes to Travis Jervey. The former running back is most infamous for his selection of pets. If you could call Nala the lion a pet, that is. The young player lived with fellow Green Bay running back LeShon Johnson near the Oneida Native American reservation. Between the two men, they had 18 pitbulls and one lion.
Jervey got Nala when she was cat-sized and kept her for five months until she got more “dog”-sized. The 18 pitbulls protected the lion when she was little, but she was soon outgrowing them all. The running back remembered playing with Nala all the time, but she was getting more and more aggressive and began chewing on things. She had to stay at home because the NFL players were afraid of her freezing in the Wisconsin winters. They felt it was a bit unethical to keep her so confined.
Travis Jervey knew enough was enough when one night Nala was sleeping with him, and the running back reported that “it did bite me one night and that’s pretty much when we decided to get rid of it.” That’s a wise choice from a young man foolish enough to buy the lion from a wildlife distributor in Texas (was it Tiger King?) after he was dissuaded from buying a monkey.
He and Johnson purchased the lion for $1,000 and deemed Nala “safe” because she was declawed and had her canines removed. How horrifically unethical. This all occurred in the 1990s. Hopefully, wildlife regulation is better in this day and age. Jervey said that Nala was rehomed to an Oklahoma ranch where her environment was good, according to Travis, and her owner was experienced with caring for animals. Free Nala!
#5 – Jack Reynolds: Hacksaw Fun
The former linebacker (1970-1984) Jack Reynolds earned his nickname “Hacksaw” after one particularly eccentric event. After a brutal loss playing college ball with the Tennessee Volunteers, Reynolds took his frustration out on an abandoned chevy truck. He wanted to make a trailer for his new Jeep, and he was going to use half of the chevy to do it.
Being as broke as the typical college student, the angry linebacker bought the cheapest hacksaw K-Mart had to offer along with 13 replacement blades. He ended up needing all 13 blades and eight hours to cut through the frame of the truck and the drive shaft. Reynolds brought his teammates back to see his insane handiwork, but when they got to the vehicle it had been completely removed. Harsh! Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds never got his Jeep trailer, but he did get a lifelong nickname.
#4 – Mark Gastineau: Pathologically Problematic
Mark Gastineau made number four on our list of eccentric NFL-affiliated individuals for his problematic ways. Short of Nala getting declawed, Gastineau was harmful with his behavior. Besides using ‘roids (allegedly) during his career, he also lied about something despicable and had most of America believe it. Gastineau had the nerve to say that he retired because his former wife Brigitte Nielsen had uterine cancer (which many believe to not be true) instead of confessing that he had a dirty pee test that forced him to hang up the cleats, allegedly.
We won’t even touch on the domestic violence, estranged children, prison time, multiple marriages, and other scandals that follow Gastineau like the plague. We wouldn’t mind more accountability from the former defensive end. However, that’s unlikely considering that he battled colon cancer and has been diagnosed with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Gastineau believes his brain diseases were caused by football, which is probable. We won’t hold the former NFL player’s feet to the fire over his former claims, but we will put him at number four on an already questionable list of individuals.
#3 – Herschel Walker: DID Diagnosis?
By the time we reach number three of the most eccentric individuals in the NFL, we are getting a little less quirky and a little more “mad scientist.” Herschel Walker wins the bronze for his self-diagnosed mental condition of dissociative identity disorder (DID). Walker claims that he forgot entire seasons due to other personalities, remembering key events like the season he won the Heisman and that one time when he pointed a gun at his head.
Claiming he was diagnosed by a professional, we find out that Herschel was diagnosed by an evangelical pastor who has his bachelors and masters in Bible Studies and a PhD in counselor education with a minor in psychology. Can you even get a minor when you’re a doctoral student? That is usually relegated to four-year degrees. Although we can’t confirm that his diagnosis is false, it is worth a second opinion considering the professional who diagnosed him believes in demon possession. Walker has never consulted another mental health professional to confirm he has DID, a condition that many people in the field of psychiatry don’t believe exists.
Walker has kept the eccentric train chugging by claiming in 2022 that he was no longer suffering from DID. A condition that is generally considered containable but not curable. It’s convenient that Walker can blame a long history of controversial behavior on his “12 alters,” which conveniently allows him to “not remember” anything. However, now he has been delivered from his disease and is fully functioning in time for his convenient career change. It’s harder to blame this on neurocognitive decline due to football players like Gastineau. This is far-fetched, even for an eccentric NFL player.
#2: Larry Csonka: Alligator Antics
The former infamous fullback, Larry Csonka, is quite the character. He’s eccentric, but at least, unlike the last two, he is lighthearted and funny (usually). He makes number two on the list due to just how wild he was. He racks up antics like they’re candy. A self-proclaimed slow but not dumb farm boy, Larry Csonka, was a real character. Most notably, the joke he played on head coach Don Shula, who was as fun as Csonka, was serious. Allegedly, it was his idea to plant a three-foot alligator some of the guys had wrestled from the Everglades in Shula’s shower. Rumor has it that he “threw” the alligator at Shula mid-shower. He also stuck around to laugh when the man ran from the shower naked.
Another antic only a 6’3′ monster could get away with during his career in the NFL in the 1960s and 1970s occurred when Larry was a rookie. Rumor has it that the gentleman got a wad of tobacco and spit on his new suit when he was a rookie for the Miami Dolphins, thanks to a veteran teammate. Allegedly, Csonka ran up to the veteran and kissed him on the mouth. The hazing ended, and the eccentric fullback created a name for himself. That’s one way to do it!
#1: Tim Rossovich: LT’s Twin In Spirit
Rossovich and LT have a lot in common. Lawrence Taylor ate glass, and Tim Rossovich also ate glass. Rossovich went a bit further by also eating insects, pages of his playbook, and cigarettes. He would also bite the lids off of beer bottles, earning himself a beer and a glass snack. A two-birds-with-one-stone scenario. Rossovich was under the impression that he could revitalize his body if he always made sure to sleep with his head facing north.
In one of the most believable stories of his era of play in the NFL (1968–1976), Rossovich earned his place as one of the most eccentric individuals in the NFL until proven otherwise. Don’t agree? Sound off below! As a college student, the linebacker flung himself into a bed of rocks with the help of a rope swing. The resulting cuts got infected when he fratted out at a party and jumped in a fish pond. Rossovich didn’t get help until he fell into a coma from the infection and had to be hospitalized.
His coaching staff and doctors agreed that an eight-week break from football would be ideal for the young man recovering from a coma. That was a long time designated for recovery in the 1960s, and Rossovich wasn’t having it. He repeatedly banged his head into a locker to prove to his coaches that he wasn’t heading for a second coma and was ready to play ball. The linebacker made his point, but he also didn’t play for eight weeks. He was definitely made to play in the NFL in one of the most dangerous eras of the game. That’s for sure.
