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President Donald Trump pardoned five former NFL players Thursday night.
White House pardons czar Alice Mary Johnson announced the pardons in a social media post. Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon received clemency.
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President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
“As football reminds us, excellence is built on courage, grace and the courage to rise again. So is our nation,” Johnson wrote in a post on X.
He added that Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones shared the news “personally” with Newton, who won the Super Bowl three times with the Cowboys.
Klecko, a former New York Jets star and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, pleaded guilty to perjury when he lied before a federal grand jury investigating insurance fraud.
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Dallas Cowboys guard Nate Newton (61) in action against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park on November 10, 1996. (James D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports)
Newton, a six-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro selection, pleaded guilty to a federal drug trafficking charge after authorities discovered $10,000 in his truck, as well as 175 pounds of marijuana in a vehicle in an accompanying car driven by another man.
Lewis, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, pleaded guilty in a drug case in which he used a cell phone to try to set up a drug deal shortly after his former team selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 2000 draft. He was the Offensive Player of the Year in 2003.
Henry, a former Pro Bowl running back who played for three teams in his seven-year NFL career, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine to finance a drug ring that moved between Colorado and Montana.
Oakland Raiders tight end (33) Billy Cannon catches a pass against the Green Bay Packers during Super Bowl II at the Orange Bowl on January 14, 1968. (Tony Tomsic/RED USA TODAY)
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Cannon, a star for the Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders, admitted to forgery in the mid-1980s. He was the Heisman Trophy winner in 1959 while at LSU. His forgiveness came posthumously as he died in 2018.
