25 Badass Pics of Athletes Lounging
When an athlete is in front of the camera, most of the time they're doing their job—dragging the left foot through the end-zone sideline, carrying the puck on a two-on-one breakaway or ending the series on a walk-off home run.
If they're not in the game, they're almost always doing something associated with it; whether it's a postgame presser or getting their official team photo taken.
So when a great image of a star athlete emerges showing them just being...well...a human being outside the competitive environment or limelight, it can be both compelling and revealing.
Compelling, because you're seeing an athlete at a moment when their sport may be as cognitively distant as possible, and revealing, because it gives a glimpse into who they are as a person.
These are 25 badass pics of athletes lounging.
Al Jefferson
1 of 25
Date: April 2009
Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson, then with the Minnesota Timberwolves, watches his teammates take on the Dallas Mavericks while lounging comfortably at home in his media room. At the time he was resting his surgically repaired knee, which was injured in a game against New Orleans.
Ed Jones, Randy Hughes and Rafael Septien
2 of 25
Date: January 1979
Various Dallas Cowboys players lounge on the beach with some beautiful bikini babes prior to their Super Bowl XIII loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Miami.
Eli Manning
3 of 25
Date: July 2008
It doesn’t get much more country than the Manning brothers, particularly two-time Super Bowl-winning New York Giants quarterback Eli, which is why it’s always so fascinating seeing them at a black-tie event like the ESPYs. Here, Eli is pictured lounging with singer Justin Timberlake up in the front row.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Jimmie Johnson and Eli Manning
4 of 25
Date: February 2010
Here's Giants quarterback Eli Manning looking decidedly un-Manning again at the Eden Roc Super Bowl party in 2010—he was in Miami to see his brother Peyton and his Indianapolis Colts take on the New Orleans Saints. Manning is pictured with NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, the physical embodiment of Captain Morgan rum and two unknown ladies. This is as badass as Manning gets.
Fran Tarkenton
5 of 25
Date: November 1973
Hall of Fame Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton is seen maxing and relaxing before practice at Metropolitan Stadium. If you’re thinking it looks like he has swag for days, you’re right. At the time the 8-0 Vikings were the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL.
Roger Federer
6 of 25
Date: January 2013
All-time Swiss tennis great Roger Federer is so amazingly intense that it’s very rare to see him with his guard down like this, laughing with Australian rugby player Ben Barba. Much more badass than seeing Federer crying after losing to Novak Djokovic.
Kellen Winslow
7 of 25
Date: January 1981
Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow, who played his entire career with the San Diego Chargers, is pictured lounging on an injury cart, which is being driven by former teammate Charlie Joiner. Although Winslow wasn’t injured—he was just catching a ride prior to his team’s win over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC divisional round. They would go on to lose to the Cincinati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game.
Thurman Thomas
8 of 25
Date: July 2007
Retired NFL running back Thurman Thomas, who played all but one season of his career with the Bills, is seen kicking back with his dog Snoop at a vacation home in upstate New York. Thomas and his family traveled together in a motor home from Orlando, Florida, to Canton, Ohio, that summer, en route to his enshrinement in the NFL Hall of Fame.
Derek Jeter
9 of 25
Date: August 2006
Recently retired New York Yankees great Derek Jeter doesn’t make all that many public appearances, especially in a corporate-shilling capacity. Which makes this goofy picture of him with his fantastically silly Avon fragrance "Driven" all the more amazing.
Wayne Rooney
10 of 25
Date: June 2006
Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney, who also serves as a captain for the English national soccer team, is pictured lounging with teammates Ashley Cole and David Beckham before England’s World Cup training session ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which Italy won against France.
Terry Bradshaw
11 of 25
Date: December 1972
Here's Hall of Fame Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw lounging in the locker room two years before winning his first Super Bowl with the team. His helmet is referencing the fan club of teammate Franco Harris, who is also in the Hall of Fame.
Patric Young
12 of 25
Date: September 2014
New Orleans Pelicans forward Patric Young, who went undrafted out of Florida in 2014, lounges confidently on a backdrop, posing for his team portrait on media day. It doesn’t look like he has a care in the world.
Sione Houma
13 of 25
Date: August 2013
Michigan junior fullback Sione Houma looks ridiculously casual lounging on the field in Ann Arbor during the Wolverines' preseason media day in August 2013. His coolness didn’t really display itself on the field the last two years, but that doesn’t mean Houma isn’t something special.
Muhammad Ali
14 of 25
Date: May 1976
All-time boxing great Muhammad Ali is seen looking confusingly causal in the VIP lounge at the Munich Airport in 1976—he was heading to Madrid at the time. He had spent two weeks in Germany ahead of his bout with England’s Richard Dunn. Only Ali could make trying to nap at an airport look so badass.
Brett Favre
15 of 25
Date: February 2009
Having spent the entire season with the New York Jets, quarterback Brett Favre, who was “recently retired,” spent some time hanging with Goofy at Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Favre would go on to play two more seasons with the Vikings, despite casually retiring among Walt Disney’s faithful.
Shaquille O"Neal
16 of 25
Date: October 1995
Retired NBA big-man extraordinaire Shaquille O'Neal never shied away from a photo-op. Few NBA stars seemed as custom-made for the limelight and as eagerly photogenic as Shaq was over his nearly 20-year career. After suffering a ligament injury, O'Neal is so very himself, flashing the peace sign in an outfit that could never survive outside the ideal conditions of the mid-'90s.
Tom Landry
17 of 25
Date: January 1971
The late, legendary Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry is known for his old school intensity—and trademark fedora. What's terrific about this photo is Landry transformed the act of lounging beachside into an activity that makes you want to tuck your shirt in and run a few suicides.
Chris Evert
18 of 25
Date: January 1973
American tennis player Chris Everertt, who won 157 singles and 29 doubles championships in a career that spanned nearly two decades, is pictured lounging poolside at a Miami hotel. The exact date and circumstances are unknown, but what is known is that Everett looks pretty freaking fantastic.
Michael Jordan
19 of 25
Date: September 2014
Chicago Bulls Hall of Fame great Michael Jordan smokes a cigar during the Ryder Cup golf tournament in Scotland during the most recent outing.
Yasiel Puig
20 of 25
Date: August 2013
Then-rookie Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Yasiel Puig lounges comfortably at third base after advancing from first on a single by teammate Andre Ethier during a game against the perennial basement-dwelling Cubs in Chicago. Puig has badassery lounging skills that extend well beyond your average rookie.
Mike Ditka
21 of 25
Date: January 1971
Then a tight end with the Cowboys, Mike Ditka, famed coach turned person who yells on ESPN once a week, is seen lounging at a Fort Lauderdale beach with an unknown lady friend prior to meeting the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V. How fantastic is that beachwear? I couldn’t even imagine Ditka in anything less than a polo shirt and a pressed pair of khakis—and that’s a blessing.
David Beckham
22 of 25
Date: June 2006
England soccer great David Beckham lounges without concern on the field during a training session prior to the World Cup.
Joe Namath
23 of 25
Date: February 1965
Let’s get real—nobody in sports history knew how to lounge with more badassery in his prime than Hall of Fame Jets quarterback “Broadway” Joe Namath. Here he is pictured in a chauffeur-driven car on his way to the airport in New York City, returning to the University of Alabama after signing a massive (for the time) $400,000 rookie contract with the Jets. At the time injuries were already a problem for Namath, who is wearing a knee-to-ankle protective cast.
Joe Namath
24 of 25
Date: December 1966
Speaking of Joe Namath, here he is pictured in Lenox Hill Hospital after having torn knee cartilage removed. At his side, naturally, is a beauty queen—Miss Sunken Garden, Karol Kelly, from St. Petersburg, Florida. Lounging with beauty queens is a tried-and-tested formula to getting into the fast lane of recovery.
Joe Namath
25 of 25
Date: January 1969
It only seemed right to end on a trio of badass Joe Namath pics, as it's clear that nobody has ever done or will ever do lounging better than he. Here he is pictured in the locker room chatting with reports following the Jets' legendarily unlikely victory over the Colts in Super Bowl III.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
