Scout reportedly approached David Beckham about kicking in the NFL

How’s this for the NFL growing its fan base in London?

According to the Daily Mirror, retired soccer star David Beckham was offered a tryout with an undisclosed NFL team as a kicker. The report says Beckham, 38, was approached by a scout during his playing days, when he was mulling his future with the Los Angeles Galaxy and before his swan song with Paris Saint Germain.

“The offer came in and he politely said that it wasn’t right for him,” a source told the British national tabloid. “Perhaps in the next few months he could change his mind.”

The notion is a little far-fetched, despite the accuracy and distance Beckham can achieve with a soccer ball. Kicking a football is so specialized, and there are so many kickers who spend virtually every waking moment perfecting their craft for a chance at one of 32 jobs, it’s a reach to think someone in the twilight of his soccer career – even someone as talented as Beckham – could make an instant, seamless transition to an entirely different sport.

Still, it’s fun to consider, and it mercifully would lure cameras away from the expected Tim Tebow circus.

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