newsweek
Harry Kane, the captain of England's national soccer team that finished third at this year's World Cup, is contemplating a surprising career shift: trading the soccer pitch for the gridiron as an NFL kicker. At 33, Kane has expressed a serious interest in pursuing a kicking role in the NFL, according to a report by Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic.
A longtime admirer of American football, Kane has frequently considered how he might extend his athletic career once his days on the soccer field are over. While he had previously mentioned golf as a potential avenue, his focus now appears to be on the NFL. "That is something I will try and look at a bit more seriously," Kane said. "It all depends on what happens in my career over the next five or six years, the motivation and what I want to do. The NFL is a lot more realistic than the golf one, let's put it that way."
Kane also floated the idea of playing both sports concurrently, potentially in a lower-tier soccer league. "Maybe if I am in the MLS in the future or somewhere like that it might be a thing where you could connect the two, with the seasons," he said. "But it is in the back of my mind because right now, I am feeling that I want to play as long as I can here."
Given Kane's timeline, the MLS is set to adopt a summer-to-spring schedule, which would cause the NFL season to fully overlap with the soccer season. Balancing two sports simultaneously would be challenging, but the kicker position demands far less team practice than other roles. Moreover, there is precedent for NFL players competing in two sports at once, though typically with baseball as the second sport.
Key Analysis
Deion Sanders famously attempted to play NFL and MLB games on the same day, even scoring a touchdown and hitting a home run in the same week. If Kane were to successfully juggle both careers, he could etch his name in history alongside Sanders. However, he would need to ensure his right leg remains in prime condition.
Originally reported by newsweek.