Jay Bilas recalls NFL tryout offer after college basketball career

This week, Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke with ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas.

In his interview with Easton Jr., Bilas discusses his participation in this year’s American Century Championship, which will take place July 10-12 at Edgewood Tahoe and air on NBC and Peacock. He recalled his unexpected NFL tryout offer after his college basketball career.

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“The people are amazing, not just the competitors, and being a fan boy, seeing all these people that you’ve admired for all these years,” said Bilas, “but being around the American Century Investments people, whether it’s the American Century folks or their clients, the events they have are amazing.”

Bilas will be alongside Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce and many other celebrities in this year’s tournament. The former Duke college basketball standout nearly considered a career in the NFL as a tight end after an unexpected invitation.

“Yeah, I never played any football growing up. I played baseball and basketball, and played a little bit of baseball in high school, in addition to basketball. “Still, back then in the 1980s, the NFL was using some players who had competed in different sports,” said Bilas. “There were several basketball players who played many, and ended up in the league that way.” Renaldo Nehemiah, the hurdler, played wide receiver for the (San Francisco) 49ers. It’s not terribly unusual, but after my senior basketball season ended, I got a call from Bobby Beathard of the Washington Redskins, who invited me to training camp. I thought about it for about 20 minutes, then decided I’d get killed if I went there, so I gave up and played professional basketball for a little while. Still, I definitely toyed with the idea for about 20 minutes before I decided those guys would kill me and wised up a little. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in traction.”

The annual tournament awards $750,000 in prize money, much of which the celebrity players donate to local and national charities. Over the years, over $8 million has been donated to non-profit causes. Network television exposure on NBC/Peacock and a first-place prize of $150,000 make the celebrity tournament one of the most prestigious in golf.