‘The Rock’ never played in NFL. But his college football card just sold for $45,000
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took to Instagram ahead of Super Bowl LV on Sunday to announce that his University of Miami football card sold for a whopping $45,000.
“This story of how my UNIV of MIAMI football card’s value continues to rise has become so surreal to me,” the wrestler-turned-actor wrote on the social media website under a photo of his rookie card. “Playing in the @NFL was my dream and playing in the Super Bowl was my even bigger dream. Of course, neither dream came true for me, but years later...On SUPER BOWL Sunday my... card gets sold for 45K!! Congrats to the winning bidder!”
While Johnson’s football career was short lived and never manifested to the pros, he did managed to leave an impression on his coaches and teammates. During his four years playing defensive lineman, Johnson, or “Dewey” as he was known by teammates, appeared in 39 games with a total of 77 tackles and 4.25, according to ESPN.
“He was a highly recruited kid,” said Ed Orgeron, the University of Miami defensive line coach when Johnson came to the team. “We were excited to have him, he came to us ahead of his time. He was developed and was extremely quick. He was a hard worker and a humble young man.
“Everybody liked him. He was easily coachable and everybody was impressed with him. He came in and played a lot as a freshman,” said Orgeron, now the head coach at LSU.
But why did his career come to an end? Two words: Warren Sapp.
During Johnson’s freshman year, he established himself as a “jack-of-all-trades” lineman, but when Sapp switched from being a tight end to a defensive lineman, he knocked the future “Fast and Furious” actor out of his own spot.
“I went down and sat in the D-lineman room,” Sapp said according to SB Nation, “and Dewey walks in and says, ‘What are you doing here?’ I looked at him and said, ‘I’m here for your job, b---h.’”
While Sapp went on to have a colorful career in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders — he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013 — the Rock was able to look back at his time on the field with a hint of glee.
“I never made it as a player to the big dance, so this humbling irony is not lost on me one bit,” he wrote on Instagram.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 12:55 PM with the headline "‘The Rock’ never played in NFL. But his college football card just sold for $45,000."