People love to ask if famous athletes play MTG, like it’s some secret clubhouse. And honestly, I get it. Magic has that “wait, you play too?” energy built in.
The good news is: yes, famous athletes play MTG. The better news is we don’t have to rely on random rumor lists and vibes. A few athletes have talked about it publicly, shown up on streams, or straight-up said, “yeah, I play this nerdy card game.”
Here are the best-documented examples I could find, plus how to sanity-check the next name that pops up on your feed.
Quick list, if you just want names
- Cassius Marsh (NFL)
- Leonard Williams (NFL)
- Chris Kluwe (NFL)
- Hunter Pence (MLB)
- Trevor Williams (MLB)
- Josh Barnett (MMA)
- Hugh Watanabe (Pro basketball)
How I chose these names (because the internet lies for fun)
If you Google “pro athletes who play Magic,” you’ll find a lot of “my cousin said” and “I saw it on Reddit once.”
So I filtered hard. Everyone below has at least one of these:
- a direct quote in an interview
- a documented appearance on a Magic show/stream
- a reputable sports outlet mentioning their MTG hobby
That’s also why this list is shorter than people expect. It’s not that only seven athletes play. It’s that only a handful have talked about it in a way you can point to without feeling silly.
Why MTG clicks with athletes
MTG scratches the same itch sports do, just without the knee pain.
- Competition without contact. You still get the “outplay the other person” satisfaction.
- Pattern recognition. Reads, bluffing, sequencing, managing resources.
- It travels well. A deck box fits in a backpack. That matters if you live on planes and hotels.
- Downtime with a brain on. Some people decompress by turning their brain off. Others relax by doing math with goblins.
And yes, it’s also just a fun hobby. Not everything needs a deep psychological explanation.
NFL athletes who play MTG
Cassius Marsh
Marsh is the clearest “yes, he really plays” example.
He’s talked about finding Magic young and going to Friday Night Magic whenever he could. In an interview with the NFL Players Association, he described going to FNM at his local shop as a kid and staying late when he didn’t have a football game. He also talked about building a business around trading cards, including Magic.
He also showed up publicly for Magic events while he was with the Seattle Seahawks. The team’s site covered him playing at Mox Boarding House and helping run a charity tournament.
And they even wrote about him appearing on Game Knights, with a quote about wanting to get more athletes into the game.
If your question is “do any legit NFL players play Commander?” Marsh is basically Exhibit A.
Leonard Williams
Williams was refreshingly straightforward about it.
In an interview on Seahawks.com, he called it a “really nerdy card game” and talked about being into it while the team was in the Seattle area. That’s not a “my friend plays” answer. That’s “I play.”
He’s also popped up in Magic-adjacent content and social posts, but even if you ignore all of that, the quote alone is enough to count him as a real one.
Chris Kluwe
Kluwe has been publicly tied to MTG for years, mostly through appearances in nerd-culture media.
He’s been listed as a guest on Spellslingers, a show built around playing Magic with guests.
And multiple listings/snippets for the show point directly at him playing Magic on camera.
Could he be a “played a bunch back in the day” guy rather than a “plays every week” guy? Sure. But he’s not a rumor. He’s documented.
MLB athletes who play MTG
Hunter Pence
If you only know one baseball player who plays Magic, it’s probably Pence.
A sports piece about him notes he “really, really loves” playing, has appeared on Magic streams, and even ran a Twitch channel where he played MTG Arena heavily.
That combination matters. Streams are the ultimate receipts. You can’t accidentally stream a hobby you don’t have.
Trevor Williams
Williams shows up in an MLB.com segment about players’ hobbies, and they don’t tiptoe around it.
The write-up calls him “addicted to Magic the Gathering” and mentions his social posts being full of it.
So yes, famous athletes play MTG… and sometimes they also tweet about it like the rest of us.
Combat sports athletes who play MTG
Josh Barnett
Barnett might be the funniest entry on the list because the framing is basically: “it’s comforting to know I could beat this guy at something.”
A piece on MMA Mania points to coverage of Barnett’s hobby and explicitly calls out Magic as one of his interests.
And there’s also dedicated coverage focused on him playing and talking about his passion for Magic.
This is one of those cases where MTG feels like the perfect off-switch for someone who spends their day getting punched for a living.
Pro basketball athletes who play MTG
Hugh Watanabe
This one is less “celebrity gossip” and more “yep, here’s an hour-plus conversation.”
The Humans of Magic episode description straight-up introduces him as a pro basketball player and Olympian, and it includes a segment specifically about getting into Magic.
If you want the cleanest proof possible, long-form interviews like this are it. Nobody does a full episode because they once bought a starter deck in 2012 and then forgot about it.
How to verify the next “athlete plays MTG” claim
If you see a new name going around, here’s what actually counts as proof:
- Team site interviews (surprisingly good for hobby stuff)
- Big sports outlets covering the hobby
- A recorded show appearance where they play
- Their own posts that clearly show them at events or playing
What doesn’t count:
- a “trust me bro” thread
- a screenshot with no source
- “they were seen holding a deck box” (people hold lots of things)
And if you’re the one repeating the claim, do everyone a favor and link the source. The bar is low. We can clear it.
Want to play what they play? Start here
Most athlete crossover stories orbit two things: Commander and Arena.
And if you’re coming at it from the “I want to try decks without buying a small car” angle, here’s a practical walkthrough: How to Make MTG Proxies.
Final thoughts
So yes: famous athletes play MTG. Some of them play casually. Some of them stream. Some of them show up at events and talk about it like it’s totally normal, which, honestly, it is.
If you know of another athlete who has a real interview, stream, or documented appearance, that’s how this list grows without turning into fan fiction.
