Jake Paul says NFL dream could begin with Stanford football

Jake Paul has never met a career pivot he didn’t like.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer is already plotting life after boxing, and his latest plan sounds like something straight out of a Hollywood pitch meeting: enroll at Stanford, play college football, then make the NFL.

Yes, he insists he’s dead serious.

Speaking on the a16z podcast, Paul revealed that once he’s done chasing boxing titles, he wants to become a slot receiver and eventually play professional football.

“I wanna play on the Stanford football team actually. I’m being serious,” Paul said.

The 29-year-old doubled down, explaining that he originally thought he could skip college altogether and head straight to the NFL.

“I was originally thinking I’ll just go straight to the Cleveland Browns or Dallas Cowboys,” Paul said. “But they’re probably going to want to see me play first.”

The internet reacted exactly how you’d expect.

So did former NFL star Antonio Brown.

After Paul’s comments started making the rounds online, Brown delivered a five-word reality check on social media.

“Dude would get [expletive] rocked.”

Harsh? Maybe. But Brown’s point isn’t exactly controversial.

Paul has built an impressive pay-per-view sideshow, transforming himself from social media influencer into one of combat sports’ biggest attractions. He’s also no stranger to taking hits, recently suffering a broken jaw in a sixth-round loss to Anthony Joshua.

Still, getting punched by aging heavyweights and running routes over the middle against NFL linebackers and safeties are two very different experiences.

NFL slot receivers routinely absorb devastating hits from defenders who have spent their entire lives mastering the sport. While Paul has proven he’s willing to step into the ring against past-their-prime athletes, squarign off against elite football players would present an entirely different challenge.

Beyond the physical toll, there would likely be no shortage of defenders eager to make an example of one of the attention economy’s most polarizing figures.

And while Paul played football growing up, the idea of walking onto Stanford’s roster at nearly 30 years old before launching an NFL career has been met with far more skepticism than support.

Then again, skepticism has followed Paul for most of his career.

From Vine star to Disney actor to professional boxer, he’s made a habit of turning unlikely dreams into reality.

Whether football becomes the next chapter or simply the latest viral headline remains to be seen.

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