Nick Mangold Briefly Toyed With Running for Congress — Let's Take a Look at His Politics

The pipeline from professional football player to politician is pretty robust. One of the more controversial figures to shift from the field to the polls is Herschel Walker, who ran as a Republican against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia.

Despite the fact that it was one of the most expensive campaigns in history, Herschel lost. It's possible his loss was partially due to the fact that two women came forward with allegations that the pro-life candidate paid for their abortions.

Not every football player fumbled their political career as hard as Herschel did. Former players like Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Steve Largent and quarterback Jack Kemp both became members of Congress. Jack even tried to run for president in 1988.

Sometimes players dabble in politics without fully jumping in. Nick Mangold spent 11 seasons with the New York Jets and briefly considered heading to Capitol Hill before his death.

What are his politics? Here's what we know.

Nick is a conservative who has never shied away from publicly showing his support for Republicans. In March 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made a stop in Ohio, where he was joined by Nick, who played football at Ohio State University, per CNN.

"If I was as big and strong as Nick, this race would already be over," Mitt said to an appreciative crowd.

Four years later, Nick introduced Donald Trump at a Dayton, Ohio campaign rally, reported The Hill. Two years later, Nick was less interested in talking about politics.

According to the New York Daily News, Nick said, "There’s some things I agree with, there’s some things I don’t," when asked about Trump's proposed Muslim ban. "It was a good election. As far as politics go, this is football."

Around the time Nick was focusing more on football than politics, the GOP was trying to tempt him into running in the GOP primary to replace retiring Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen in New Jersey.

Essex County Republican Chairman Al Barlas told Politico in a phone interview that Nick was intrigued by the idea but had to think it over and speak with his wife.

Nick quickly posted to X that he was not running for Congress, reported ESPN, but appreciated the support while he considered it.

Following the assassination of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, 2025, President Trump ordered the United States flag to be flown at half-staff at all public buildings and grounds, military posts and naval stations, and naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, Sept. 14, 2025.

On Sept. 13, Nick drove by a government building in his hometown of Madison, N.J., and snapped a pic of a flag at full staff.

He shared the photo on X while tagging Governor Phil Murphy, the two gubernatorial candidates who are hoping to succeed Murphy, state Rep. Mikie Sherrill, Jack Ciattarelli, Donald Trump, and Fox News' Jesse Waters.

"This is wrong on so many levels," wrote Nick, "as an American husband and father was assassinated for expressing his right to free speech."