Trump Pardons 5 Former NFL Players In Major Clemency Move

President Donald Trump on Thursday granted presidential pardons to five former NFL players convicted of federal crimes, underscoring his administration’s continued emphasis on second chances and redemption, the White House announced.

The clemency actions were disclosed by Alice Marie Johnson, who now serves as the administration’s pardon adviser. Johnson, herself the recipient of presidential clemency during President Trump’s first term, shared the news in a series of social media posts.

“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again,” she wrote and added, “So is our nation.”

Johnson also revealed that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones personally informed former Cowboys offensive lineman Nate Newton of his pardon.

“Special thanks to Jerry Jones for personally sharing the news with Nate Newton. I’m holding Nate’s pardon in my hands today — what a blessed day,” Johnson wrote.

Expressing gratitude to the president, she added, “Grateful to @POTUS for his continued commitment to second chances,” and, “Mercy changes lives.”

The Players Granted Clemency

Among those receiving pardons:

• Joe Klecko, former New York Jets defensive lineman and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, convicted in the 1990s of lying to a federal grand jury in an insurance fraud case.
• Nate Newton, former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman, who previously served federal prison time for drug trafficking.
• Jamal Lewis, former Baltimore Ravens running back, convicted in connection with a cocaine-related offense.
• Travis Henry, former Buffalo Bills running back, who pleaded guilty to financing a cocaine trafficking operation.
• Billy Cannon, former Heisman Trophy winner and professional football player, who died in 2018 and was posthumously pardoned for a counterfeiting conviction.

The move continues President Trump’s long-standing use of constitutional clemency authority to address cases he believes warrant mercy after accountability has been served.

A Record of Clemency

The U.S. Constitution grants the president broad authority to issue pardons and commutations for federal offenses. During his first term, President Trump issued 237 acts of clemency, according to federal records.

By comparison, Barack Obama granted 1,927 acts of clemency over two terms, while Joe Biden issued 4,245 acts of clemency in a single term, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.

Johnson’s prominent role in the current White House follows her own high-profile clemency case. During President Trump’s first term, he commuted her life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense, a decision widely viewed as a landmark criminal justice reform moment.

Previous High-Profile Pardons

In November, President Trump also granted a full pardon to former New York Mets star Darryl Strawberry for a federal tax evasion conviction dating back to 1995.

“President Trump has approved a pardon for Darryl Strawberry, three-time World Series champion and eight-time MLB All-Star,” a White House official told multiple outlets, including the New York Post.

“Mr. Strawberry served time and paid back taxes after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion. Following his career, he found faith in Christianity and has been sober for over a decade — he has become active in ministry and founded a recovery center that still operates today,” the official added.

Strawberry expressed his appreciation directly.

“Thank you, President @realdonaldtrump for my full pardon and for finalizing this part of my life, allowing me to be truly free and clean from all of my past,” he wrote.

The pardon applied solely to Strawberry’s federal tax conviction and did not affect separate state-level offenses from later years.

Mercy and Accountability

Supporters argue that clemency — when applied judiciously — reflects both accountability and grace. In many of these cases, the recipients served prison time, paid restitution, or demonstrated long-term rehabilitation.

For President Trump, now serving his second term, the pardons reinforce a broader theme: justice must be firm, but America also remains a nation that believes in redemption.