We often bestow nicknames to people we’re familiar with, to those who transcend their position, or just because their birth names or body frame make it WAY too easy. After poring over hundreds of the best NFL player nicknames, this post presents the top 25.
A few notes before we get to the countdown. This list will be about individual player nicknames, not group nicknames like “The Legion of Boom“, “Thunder and Lightning,” or “Purple People Eaters“. Nor will we be honoring “Edge“, “Fitz“, “Gronk“, “C.C.“, “T.D.“, “A.P.“, “T.O.“, or “L.T.“, because that’s just plain lazy.
There are some really awesome nicknames that, for whatever reason, didn’t catch on nationally, but deserve some recognition. Like, calling Kyle Orton “Uncle Rico” for his similarity to the character in Napoleon Dynamite. Or calling Ryan Fitzpatrick “Amish Rifle”, a take on Andy Dalton’s “Red Rifle”, because the Harvard grad looked like an Amish person on account of his long scraggly beard. Likewise, it’s tough to include “LightsOut” because of its usage only by San Diego Chargers fans and Shawne Merriman himself.
Update: Merriman actually earned this nickname in high school. Not only was he sure to note it himself, but his Wikipedia page notes that he received it after knocking four players unconscious in the first half of a high school game. His “LightsOut” nickname inspired a celebration, a clothing line, a construction company, and a nightclub.
Other nicknames weren’t adopted AT ALL by the players given to them. Doug Martin shunned “Muscle Hamster” and Maurice Jones-Drew aka “Mojo“aka “MJD“shied away from “Pocket Hercules”. Some sounded super sleek like Dick “Night Train” Lane until you find out he only got that tag because he was scared of flying and took the train to away games instead. Then there were labels that weren’t necessarily inspiring or clever like “The Gunslinger” for Brett Favre or “The Sherriff” for Peyton Manning (though “Five-Head” always makes me laugh).
No, these individual player nicknames are embraced by more than just one’s own fanbase because they’re that good. So, let’s start with #25…
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