It’s inevitable to come across some flashy tattoos in a locker room full of NFL athletes. Tattoos have received a negative connotation in recent years, going as far as the NFL might hire police experts to study player’s tattoos, according to an article published by CBS. If the NFL pursues this action, then a reaction would be necessary. But, for now, I present the five best tat’s in the NFL.
5. Manti Te’o, LB San Diego Chargers
The highly dissected Samoan underwent a handful of controversy over the situation revolved around his “girlfriend.” While people may remember him for his media debacle before entering the NFL Draft, Te’o was selected in the 2nd round by the San Diego Chargers.
Fans and fellow players may question Te’o’s reputation, but there’s just no denying this intricate, Samoan masterpiece that looks beautiful and quite painful to experience. Multiple levels of detail combine to form a connected series of patterns in an all black tattoo.
4. Brandon Marshall, WR Chicago Bears
Brandon Marshall has had some off the field issues as well throughout his career. Good thing I’m not compiling a list of the NFL’s biggest attention getters.
Marshall is inked with the best of ‘em. On his left deltoid sits a rather large image of the Virgin Mary that includes dark shading that highlights her face and is intertwined in the rest of his sleeve tattoo.
It is quite the permanent display of his faith that looks so good it almost looks fake.
3. Steve Slaton Unsigned Free Agent RB
Slaton’s ink is definitely worth overlooking the fact that he is a free agent for inclusion in this list. On his right forearm is an image of Lady Justice who is blindfolded, obviously pointing at the common complaint that justice in America is blind. It reminds me that it is healthy and beneficial to constantly question authority and to remember to not believe everything you hear.
2. Malcolm Jenkins-DB New Orleans Saints
What’s more badass than a tattoo? Getting something branded onto your skin, etched by a smoking hot metal coat hanger that burns its mark in your skin. Malcolm Jenkins will probably tell you the same thing.
Jenkins is bold enough to brand two Greek letters of the fraternity he was a part of during his time at ‘The’ Ohio State University on his upper left arm.
The sheer act of getting branded is unimaginable for me, and I have to give Jenkins a ton of respect as I have never seen another player in any professional sport with a branding on their body.
1. Colin Kaepernick QB San Francisco 49ers
Technically, this was a tattoo competition so I couldn’t give the number one spot up to a coat hanger branding.
Kaepernick’s entire back is covered in a mural depicting the constant battle between good and evil. The top half of his back is draped with a maze of angels and their wings, while the bottom half of his back features demons engulfed in the flames of hell.
Kaepernick has made his tattoo’s rather public this Summer after posing for GQ magazine, drawing some negative attention to the rapidly growing stock that is Colin Kaepernick. Columnist David Whitley of Sporting News published a piece bashing the new age of tattoos in the NFL.
In an interview with Time, Kaepernick denied all of the nay-sayers regarding his body art by saying “All my tattoos, they’ve been thought out, thought over, been a work in progress for at least a year before I’ve got them…”
Kaepernick came out of nowhere last season even though he was the only quarterback in NCAA Division I history to throw for more than 10,000 yards and rush for over 4,000 yards at the University of Nevada.
Since this tattoo truly is a piece of art, the Super Bowl’s runner up quarterback will take the top spot in this ink filled list. It seems it would be easier to find places of his body that aren’t covered in ink rather than those that are.
