WASHINGTON, — U.S. President Donald Trump has granted pardons to five former NFL players—Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, and the late Billy Cannon—in a high-profile clemency action announced Thursday by White House pardon adviser Alice Marie Johnson.
Johnson disclosed the pardons in a social-media statement emphasizing “second chances,” writing that football and national life both reward resilience after failure. She also said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones personally informed former lineman Nate Newton of his pardon.
The White House had not publicly detailed why these five names were selected, according to wire and AP reporting.
The pardons cover convictions spanning perjury, narcotics offenses, and counterfeiting:
- Joe Klecko, former New York Jets defensive star and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee (2023), had pleaded guilty to perjury in 1993 after lying to a federal grand jury in an insurance-fraud probe.
- Nate Newton, a three-time Super Bowl winner with Dallas, served federal prison time after a 2002 drug-trafficking conviction tied to marijuana seizures.
- Jamal Lewis, a former Baltimore Ravens running back and 2003 AP Offensive Player of the Year, pleaded guilty in a drug-related case and served a short sentence in the mid-2000s.
- Travis Henry, who played for Buffalo, Tennessee and Denver, pleaded guilty in 2009 to conspiracy in a cocaine-trafficking case.
- Billy Cannon (posthumous pardon), the 1959 Heisman winner and AFL-era star, had been convicted in a counterfeiting case in the 1980s; he died in 2018.
The move continues Trump’s recent use of clemency in sports-related cases. In late 2025, he also pardoned former MLB star Darryl Strawberry.
Politically, the pardons align with a broader redemption-focused message advanced by Johnson, who was herself granted clemency by Trump in his earlier term and now serves in his pardon operation.
