Kevin James loves sports. He admits as much in his 2018 Netflix standup special, Never Don't Give Up. But the actor, who plays New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton in the family comedy Home Team, once hoped for a very different career path. 

"My dream was to play professional sports. I don't think I have to tell you people how that turned out, but I still love it," he admitted in the special before telling a story about the time he tried to get an endorsement deal with Under Armour.

But football isn't his only love — the former athlete, who played the sport in both high school and college, was also on the same high school wrestling team as WWE hall of fame wrestler Mick Foley. As James revealed in an episode of the YouTube talk show Hot Ones, which came out before the premiere of his Netflix NASCAR sitcom The Crew in 2021, he was a running back on his high school football team but tried his hand at wrestling when the team needed another heavyweight to compete against Foley. 

"We had some battles," James said of his longtime friend. "I used to throw him around a little more. I think I was in better shape than him."

Football, however, is still James' first love as both a player and fan. Despite playing New Orleans Saints coach Payton in Home Team, his loyalty has never wavered from his beloved New York Jets — despite the team's notoriously subpar record. As he told Hot Ones host Sean Evans, while eating spicy chicken wings, the fact that his team isn't winning tons of championships doesn't even bother him anymore. 

"I'm so used to it now," he said. "I've been doing it forever."