Dan Carter, the rugby union legend from New Zealand, has revealed that he was nearly an NFL star.
Snippets from Carter’s autobiography Dan Carter: The autobiography of an All Blacks legend recounts how he was offered a role with the New England Patriots.
Carter and his agent even visited the Patriots’ training grounds thinking that they were receiving a tour, but they were wrong.
After entering the grounds, special teams coaches even asked Carter where his boots were so that he could trial, because they thought that’s why someone like Carter would be in their facility.
Carter even spoke to legendary owner of the Patriots Robert Kraft, who is worth $4.8 billion. Kraft purchased the team in 1994 for $172 million, saying that it broke every single one of his financial rules but it was acceptable for the team he loves.
Since becoming owner, the Patriots have made the playoffs 16 years out of 21 and 14 of those playoff appearances included finishing atop of the AFC East. To add to that ridiculous amount of success the Patriots also won the AFC title six times, which resulted in four Superbowl victories.
Kraft’s large financial investment is certainly warranted as New England created an NFL dynasty much like the Joe Montana, Jerry Rice-led 49ers of the 1980s.
Carter recently won a memorable World Cup at Twickenham against a valiant Wallabies team, but had he converted to the NFL when he was first courted in 2013 he would have a Superbowl to his name.
Carter’s class is undeniable but could he have been a successful NFL kicker? He would have had to get accustomed to a different sized ball and the threat of a defender launching over the lineman and taking him to the ground. There is no doubt he is a class athlete and I think he would be successful in almost anything.
Unfortunately we won’t be seeing Carter in the NFL anytime soon as he has just signed with French rugby union club Racing Metro, although one can dream.
What do you think, Roarers? Do you agree that Carter would be successful in the NFL?
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