For decades, sports fans have gone back and forth over one hard question: which league has superior athletes, the NFL or the NBA? Every fan— whether football or basketball— has an opinion, while every analyst has a logical argument on why playing on the gridiron takes more athletic ability than the court and vice versa. It is an endless debate, but the three-time Super Bowl champion Shannon Sharpe and six-time Pro Bowler Davante Adams recently gave their take on it.
They weighed in on which game and league produce better overall athletes on Club Shay Shay, where the NFL athletes were declared the clear winners, labelling the comparison ‘not even close.’
“I think football players are the most athletic. They can jump the highest, they can run the fastest, they’re the strongest, they’re the toughest,” said Sharpe on the recent episode of his podcast. “If you talking athlete for athlete, it’s football. We vertical jump standing still. They get a running jump for the combine. As far as flat-out speed and ability, oh no.”
The Rams‘ wide receiver concurred with his idea, giving an interesting perspective to this debate.
“It’s not even close. The physical aspect is just one piece. Then when you get into the speed, they agile, but being able to move on grass is different,” said Davante Adams, who was the special guest on the podcast.
“It’s not even close. The physical aspect is just one piece. Then when you get into the speed, they agile, but being able to move
Sharpe and Adams Argue Football’s Mental Demands Separate NFL Athletes
The two legends also explained how two main things make the NFL more challenging than the NBA. On the ground, you have hundreds of plays, where the players require mental clarity to remember them. In comparison, basketball doesn’t have those complex play calls, making it easy on the brain, besides the physical part.
“Y’all got like four plays in basketball. We got 150; we have to remember. And a dude trying to knock your block off,” added the Denver Broncos legend.
GettyShannon Sharpe
Moreover, the waiting period to enter the NFL is far less than that in the NBA, which also shows the difference in athleticism, per Davante Adams. For instance, a young and talented basketball player could spend a year in college basketball before declaring for the NBA draft. However, the NFL rookies spend, on average, three to four seasons in college football, learning how to process film and get better pro-style playbooks before putting their names in the NFL Draft.
“These boys don’t even be going to college for more than five minutes half the time in the NBA. I don’t know how much they’re going to be able to retain,” Adams pointed out.
While both legends made fair points, their viewership and revenue could not be more different.
NFL Beats the NBA in Both Viewership and Revenue
GettySeattle Seahawks win Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, California
There is a striking difference in game format between the two leagues. Super Bowl is the single event and the most-watched sporting spectacle in the United States, whereas the NBA Finals are a multi-day game series. Super Bowl LX this year reportedly had 125.6 million viewers, and the NBA Finals between the Spurs and the Knicks averaged about 20.6 million viewers every game, meaning it still fell well short of the Super Bowl.
On the other hand, the revenue also has a big gap. As per data, the NFL is the richest sports league in the world with an estimated revenue of $22.5 billion in 2026, whereas the NBA sits second in that list with $13.2 billion, meaning the revenue difference is $9.3 billion, even though the NBA has a broader global reach.
‘Not Even Close’: Football Veterans Settle NFL vs NBA Athleticism Debate