Former NFL player Jay Feely launches bid for Congress in Arizona

Victor Feldman, CQ-Roll Call on Apr 23, 2025

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With a vow to be a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker and sports commentator, entered the Republican primary for Arizona’s deep-red 5th District, which Rep. Andy Biggs is vacating to run for governor.

At a campaign kickoff Tuesday in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, Feely, 48, tied his candidacy to his support for Trump’s sweeping second-term agenda, including the president’s immigration and economic policies, as well as his opposition to transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

“In Congress, I will work tirelessly to codify his America First agenda — securing our border, rebuilding our economy, and unleashing American energy — to restore the American Dream for every citizen of Arizona’s 5th District,” Feely said in a statement announcing his congressional bid.

He joins a crowded GOP primary that already includes former Arizona House Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham, Army veteran and conservative activist Alex Stovall and businessman Daniel Keenan.

The winner of the Republican primary is almost certain to prevail in the general election in a district Trump carried by 20 points last year, according to calculations by elections analyst Drew Savicki. Registered Republican voters in the district, which encompasses the southeast suburbs of Phoenix, outnumber Democrats by nearly 2-to-1, according to the Arizona secretary of state’s office.

Biggs, the former chair of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus who was first elected in 2016, announced in January that he would run for governor next year. On Monday, he earned an endorsement from Trump, but the president also reiterated his support for former Arizona Board of Regents member Karrin Taylor Robson, whom he had previously backed for governor. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has not yet said if she’s running for a second term.

Feely said it was Trump who inspired him to leave sports and jump into politics.

In an interview with ESPN, the former Arizona Cardinals kicker said Trump had encouraged him to run for Congress in 2022 but he declined because his children were still in school.

That changed following the July 2024 attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania. The event, Feely recalled, inspired him to jump into the race. “I think that I feel God’s calling, pressing me into service,” he told the sports outlet.

And he’s wasted no time shoring up support for his candidacy. Last month, Feely and his wife met with congressional Republicans in Washington, ESPN reported. This week, his campaign said he had secured the endorsement of Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a close Trump ally and also a former chair of the House Freedom Caucus.

Despite never having held elected office, Feely is following a well-worn path of professional athletes-turned-politicians, including current lawmakers such as former New York Jets starter Burgess Owens, now a Republican congressman from Utah, and Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., both former mixed martial arts fighters.

In his campaign promotional materials, Feely leans heavily on his football career and name recognition to stand out among the crowded field. He retired from playing football in 2014, following a 14-season career with the NFL that included a four-year stint playing for the Arizona Cardinals and a final season with the Chicago Bears.

Since his retirement, Feely has served as a sports analyst for CBS.

On occasion, Feely has also appeared on television to weigh in on political debates, including using a 2009 appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News broadcast to criticize President Barack Obama.