The Worst NFL Player Cameos and Movie Roles of All Time

It's no secret that players who excel in front of a camera are a dime a dozen in the NFL. 

But as comfortable as those athletes seem to be in front of a reporter, many of them don't show the same comfort in front of a director.

While there are the Peyton Mannings, Ray Lewises and Troy Polamalus of the game, the majority of NFL football players are not good actors.

Among the few appearances NFL players have made in movies, let's face it, none of them were award-winning performances by any means.

But then there are those a cut below the rest. So awful you can hardly bare it.

By the way, just so you all can fully appreciate the extensive and rigorous research I did for this article, some of these cameos are so obscure and unattractive that you can't even find them on YouTube.

So here they are, the worst movie appearances of players who really should have stuck to the NFL. 

Sources: YouTube, TheEagleOnline.com, Google Images, TVGuide.com

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Lynn Swann in "The Waterboy"

Scott Boehm/Getty Images

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 28: Pro Football Hall of Fame member Lynn Swann holds a Pittsburgh Steelers bowling ball on his arm during the Super Bowl Bowl Celebrity Classic at Pin Chasers Veterans Bowling Center on January 28, 2009 in Tampa, Florida. (Scott Boeh

Wait, Lynn Swann was in The Waterboy?

I guess you would have to see the movie to know that.

Swann was an incredible receiver at the professional level and one of the game's all-time greats, but apparently his acting skills (or lack thereof) aren't one of his God-given talents.

Stick to football, Lynn.

Terry Bradshaw in "Failure to Launch"

Another former Steelers great, another movie I haven't seen and another butchered NFL player movie cameo.

It isn't that Bradshaw is a bad actor though.  He's actually fun to watch in front of a camera.  It's the content of this appearance that makes it painful to watch.

Unlike Lynn Swann's appearance, Bradshaw's is probably all over YouTube.  Go ahead and watch it—if you dare.  

Because I value my eyesight, however, I refuse to add the link here.  Stumbling upon a movie still of his bare backside was quite enough for me.

Just a little advice, Mr. Bradshaw—never, ever get that comfortable in front of an audience.

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Dan Marino in "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective"

Dan Marino will forever go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen, and is a legend and idol in Miami.

But his skills as an actor total about half the leg of a grasshopper compared to his ability to throw touchdown passes.

In a limited role in the corny-but-comical Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Marino's shy and awkward acting starkly contrasted with Jim Carrey's over-the-top style.

Suffice it to say the movie makers should have picked a Marino look-alike to play the role in this instance.

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Brett Favre in "There's Something About Mary"

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 02: Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings talks at a post game press conference after a 13-20 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on January 2, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

I'm sure you've all seen the Wrangler commercials starring Brett Favre.

You know, the ones where it looks like Favre's pants are making him a better football player?

Anyway, he's not such a bad actor in those.  

Apparently he took a few lessons after his miniature appearance in There's Something About Mary, in which he produced a brilliantly awkward, monotone performance.

Favre may have been a legendary quarterback in the NFL, but he never did pick up the acting thing too well.