Late Raiders Star Among Five Former NFL Players Pardoned by Trump

Washington — President Donald Trump on Thursday granted full pardons to five former National Football League players, including the late Oakland Raiders standout Billy Cannon, for offenses ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.

White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson announced the clemency actions, which also benefited ex-Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko, ex-Cowboys offensive lineman Nate Newton, former Ravens running back Jamal Lewis and ex-Broncos running back Travis Henry.

“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation,” Johnson wrote on X, thanking Trump for his “continued commitment to second chances.”

Cannon, who died in 2018, earned the 1959 Heisman Trophy at Louisiana State University after an 89-yard punt-return touchdown against Ole Miss that is still considered one of college football’s signature moments. He played for the Raiders from 1964-69 in the American Football League, twice earning All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. In the mid-1980s, following failed investments that left him bankrupt, Cannon pleaded guilty to counterfeiting.

Johnson said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones personally delivered news of the pardon to Newton, a six-time Pro Bowler who helped the franchise win three Super Bowls. Newton had pleaded guilty to a federal drug-trafficking charge after authorities found 175 pounds of marijuana and $10,000 in cash during a traffic stop.

Klecko, enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023, admitted to perjury in connection with an insurance-fraud probe. The two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler spent his career anchoring the Jets defensive line.

Lewis, a first-round draft pick in 2000 and 2003 AP Offensive Player of the Year, pleaded guilty to using a cellphone to facilitate a drug transaction. Henry, a one-time Pro Bowler, admitted financing a cocaine ring that operated between Colorado and Montana.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment Thursday night on what prompted the president, a well-known sports enthusiast, to issue the pardons.

The five men collectively accounted for 17 Pro Bowl selections, four Super Bowl titles and one Heisman Trophy, their on-field exploits long overshadowed by their off-field legal troubles. With Thursday’s action, each conviction is formally forgiven, closing decades-old chapters that followed their football careers.