Trump Grants Clemency to Five Former NFL Stars Convicted of Drug Trafficking and Counterfeiting

By Theodore Bunker | Friday, 13 February 2026 12:20 PM EST

President Donald Trump has pardoned five former NFL players convicted of various offenses ranging from counterfeiting to drug trafficking, according to an announcement posted online by Alice Marie Johnson, White House clemency adviser.

Johnson revealed on social media Thursday that Trump granted clemency to former New York Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko, former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Nate Newton, former Baltimore Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, former Buffalo Bills running back Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon.

“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again,” she wrote and added, “So is our nation.”

Johnson also credited Cowboys owner Jerry Jones with relaying the news to Newton, writing that Jones “personally” informed him of the decision.

“Special thanks to Jerry Jones for personally sharing the news with Nate Newton. I’m holding Nate’s pardon in my hands today — what a blessed day,” Johnson wrote.

Newton, 64, served 30 months in federal prison beginning in 2002 on a drug trafficking charge and has remained active in team events and media appearances since his release.

Cannon, a College Football Hall of Famer who died in 2018, served more than two years in prison after admitting in 1983 to participating in a counterfeiting scheme. He played for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, and Kansas City Chiefs and was a two-time All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowl selection.

Klecko, a former defensive lineman for the Jets inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023, was sentenced to three months in prison for perjury in an insurance fraud case.

Lewis, a former Ravens running back who won the Super Bowl in 2001, pleaded guilty in 2004 to using a cellphone to facilitate a drug transaction.

Henry, who played for the Bills, pleaded guilty in 2009 to conspiracy to traffic cocaine and served three years in prison.

In her post, Johnson thanked Trump for the clemency actions, writing, “Grateful to @POTUS for his continued commitment to second chances,” and adding, “Mercy changes lives.”

Johnson’s new role in Trump’s White House follows her own high-profile clemency case, after Trump granted her clemency during his first term when she had been serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense.

Clemency power belongs to the president under the U.S. Constitution and can take the form of pardons or commutations, with Trump issuing 237 acts of clemency in his first term according to compiled federal records. By comparison, President Barack Obama granted 1,927 acts of clemency over two terms, and former President Joe Biden granted 4,245 acts of clemency over one term, per a Pew Research Center analysis.

Theodore Bunker has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.