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Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former Panthers WR Devin Funchess signs professional basketball contract

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Brian Jones | Last updated 5/8/24

Former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Devin Funchess is now a professional basketball player. He recently spoke to Kassidy Hill of Panthers.com about signing a basketball contract with the Caribbean Storm Llaneros of the Professional Columbia Basketball League (Baloncesto Profesional Colombiano). Funches is the first former NFL player to then go on and sign a professional basketball contract.

Funches, a former Michigan Wolverines football star, talked about how he got back into basketball in 2020 after not picking up a basketball in years. He began dribbling the ball with his cousin – McDonald’s All-American Aden Holloway and never stopped.

“I just started dribbling and once you start dribbling, you just get addicted to it,” Funchess admitted. “That’s what all the greats in that sport say, like you got to do it every day, you got to do it every day and make sure you fall in love with that.

“So, I was just doing that to kind of cope with something that I never had to deal with—being away with football…then it was just like, this was an outlet for me to think of all the different possibilities.”

Former #Panthers WR Devin Funchess has signed a deal with the Caribbean Storm Llaneros of the Professional Colombia Basketball league.

Funchess is the first former NFL player to go on and sign a professional basketball contract.

Here are his highlights:pic.twitter.com/hyZuHp2KHo
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 8, 2024

Funches played with the Panthers from 2015 to 2018. He then spent time with the Indianapolis Colts (2019) and Green Bay Packers (2020) before joining the practice squads of the San Francisco 49ers (2021) and Detriot Lions (2022).

After Funches was cut from the Lions, he decided to transition to basketball. He made his professional basketball debut in November of last year, playing for the Statham Academy of the AsiaBasket league. Funches made his debut with the Storm in April.

Devin Funchess looking to play in the NBA G League

Funchess, 29 wants to play in the United States down the road, specifically the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G-League. “I really want to play with the Swarm just because it’s like so much, it was so much love,” he said. “When I look at my life and I go back to my life, yeah, Detroit (his hometown and the last NFL team to sign him) gave me a lot of love, a ton of love. But Charlotte opened so many doors for me,

“My whole family is from North Carolina anyway. So, it’d just be dope just to get my fam to the games.”

Swarm general manager Cole Teal shared his thoughts on Funchess’ chances of playing in the G League. “With Devin, I think, it is super tough to make that transition,” Teal admitted, “but credit to him for pursuing his passion and really giving it a go…I think him playing in the professional league in Columbia is a good starting point. It’s really kind of like the real world in that, you have to build up a resume and have an organization feel comfortable in taking a risk.”

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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