Retired Sports Stars Who Became Poker Icons
Retirement is something all athletes must face eventually. Some are lucky to have a long career at the highest level, such as Tom Brady, who had an unprecedented 23-year NFL career and retired for the second time at 45. Others have had their professional career cut short.
Former first-round pick Billy Price was forced to retire at just 29 after a pulmonary embolism. No matter how they retire, The Conversation reports that many athletes find it difficult to find a new purpose beyond their professional careers due to a lack of adaptability.
However, this has not been the case for some sports stars, and retirement has allowed them to transfer their skills to a new competitive sport: poker. Not only are these retired sports stars finding some success at the felt, but they are also becoming poker icons in their own right. Below are five retired sports stars who have become poker icons.
Richard Seymour
Three-time Super Bowl champion Richard Seymour has mirrored his success on the poker table since retiring in 2012. In the 2023 World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas, he placed 284th out of over 10,000 entrants, winning a prize of $50,900. Seymour sharpened his poker skills during his career at the Patriots by organizing a weekly poker game with fellow teammates, including Tom Brady. Since becoming a poker pro, he has earned $793,780. His latest tournament was in February at the World Series of Poker Circuit – WSOPC Cherokee, where he placed 54th and won $6,815.
Terrence Chan
The former flyweight MMA fighter had his last fight in 2018 and has gone on to have a lucrative poker career. An avid fan of poker throughout his fighting career, Chan has transferred his competitive spirit to the card table and has won over $1.38 million playing live poker, with his biggest win since retiring being the $79,210 he walked away with at the 52nd World Series of Poker – WSOP 2021 in Las Vegas. His total winnings have placed him 84th on the Canada All-Time Money List. His success at the tournament tables has made him a poker icon and one of the most successful retired sports stars in poker.
Jon Pardy
Unlike the other stars on this list, Jon Pardy didn’t choose to retire. After successful seasons at the Amherst Ramblers and the Yarmouth Mariners, reaching the playoffs twice, his career was cut short through injuries. Pady’s journey didn’t end there, and Pardy reinvented himself twice, first as a reality TV star winning Big Brother Canada season 2 and then as a poker player, where he found even greater success. His journey as a poker player has made him an icon in the industry, with Americas Cardroom documenting how Jon Pardy went from sleeping on sofas and broke to the glitz and glamour of the high roller circuit in London. Pardy joined online poker in 2020 and honed his skills at the Thirst Lounge. The training paid off, and he has been successful in tournaments across the globe, including the 54th World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, where he placed 65th. Pardy shows how early retirement doesn’t mean the end of a journey but the opportunity to start a far more lucrative one, which is why he is considered a poker icon.
Michael Phelps
It should come as no surprise that Michael Phelps is a successful poker player. The most decorated Olympian has put the same dedication into developing his poker game, and it has paid off. In 2022, he won his first live poker tournament and regularly cashed in during 2022, 2023, and 2024. In 2023, he took part in the Global Poker Celebrity Challenge, which also featured basketball superstars Paul George and Karl-Anthony Towns and musician DJ Khaled. In 2024, he further committed to the sport by partnering with Global Poker.
Gerard Piqué
Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué is used to winning and is one of soccer’s most decorated players, both at a domestic and international level. Piqué has taken this winning mindset and applied it to poker with some success. In 2019, he finished 2nd in the €25,000-entry No Limit Hold’em High Roller event at EPT Barcelona and walked away with €352,950. Since retiring in 2022, he entered the 2023 EPT Barcelona and finished in 6th place. A recent retiree, Piqué has an exciting poker career ahead of him.
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