Former NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, and the late Billy Cannon were all granted clemency.
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Published February 13, 2026
President Donald Trump has pardoned five former professional football players, one posthumously, on charges ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.
The pardon was announced Friday by White House Pardons Officer Alice Marie Johnson. Former NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon were pardoned.
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“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, character, and the courage to rise again. Our country is no different,” Johnson wrote on social media site X, thanking President Trump for his “continued commitment to second chances.”
Johnson said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones “personally” broke the news to Newton, who won three Super Bowls with the team.
The White House did not respond to a request Thursday night for comment on why Trump, an avid sports fan, pardoned the players.
Klecko, a former New York Jets star, pleaded guilty to perjury after lying to a federal grand jury investigating insurance fraud. Klecco, a defensive lineman, will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023. He was named an Associated Press All-Pro twice and a Pro Bowler four times.
Newton, an offensive lineman, pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges after authorities found $10,000 in his pickup truck and 175 pounds (79 kg) of marijuana in an accompanying vehicle driven by another man. Newton was a two-time All-Pro selection and a six-time Pro Bowler.
Lewis, a former member of the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, pleaded guilty to a drug case in which he attempted to use a cell phone to complete a drug transaction shortly after becoming the top pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. Lewis, a running back, was named an All-Pro once and a Pro Bowler once. He was named the 2003 AP Offensive Player of the Year.
Henry, who played for the Denver Broncos, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in cocaine for funding a drug ring that moved drugs between Colorado and Montana. He played running back on three teams and was a one-time Pro Bowler.
And Cannon, who played for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, admitted to forgery in the mid-1980s after a series of bad investments and debt bankrupted him.
Cannon was a two-time All-Pro and a two-time Pro Bowler. Cannon also won the Heisman Trophy in 1959 while at Louisiana State University and made one of the most memorable plays in college football history, returning an 89-yard punt for a touchdown against Ole Miss, before passing away in 2018.
