Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps may be taking up another profession. The retired swimmer signed a deal with PING on Wednesday. Phelps was outfitted with customized clubs before the Pro-Am contest at Scottsdale TPC just before the Waste Management Phoenix Open there this weekend. Phelps will also appear on a reality show on the Golf Channel for his efforts, and said he would love to compete in the Olympics for golf someday.
Phelps calls Baltimore Ravens linebacker one of his closest friends and mentors, as Lewis has offered guidance to the swimmer over the years. Phelps even credits his willingness to compete in the 2012 London Olympic Games because of Lewis' convincing.
Phelps would not be the first athlete to compete at a high level in two sports if he were able to up his golf game. Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson both played football and baseball simultaneously during their respective careers, with Sanders making his reputation as a cornerback with the Dallas Cowboys and Jackson logging his most impressive accomplishments with the Oakland Raiders.
Although he never reached the major leagues, the NBA's Michael Jordan played baseball professionally in the Chicago White Sox' system during his first retirement from basketball. He is the athlete with the most name recognition to ever play two sports.
Mark Hendrickson, a former Major League Baseball pitcher, also played in the NBA, but gave up his basketball dreams to become a pitcher.
Multiple other athletes have had success in a couple of sports, including Colin Kaepernick, who was drafted as a pitcher by the Chicago Cubs, but stayed with football instead. Russell Wilson of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks played in the Colorado Rockies' minor league system before switching to college football. Brandon Weeden of the Cleveland Browns played minor league baseball before his days as an NFL quarterback too.
Phelps has 18 career gold medals at the olympics.
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