Faith Over Fame: Why BYU Star Eli Herring Walked Away From the NFL
In the high-stakes world of professional sports, the NFL Draft is the ultimate lottery ticket. For a player with the physical tools and collegiate pedigree to be selected, it represents more than just a career—It’s a life-altering windfall of wealth, celebrity and athletic validation. But for Eli Herring, a towering presence on the offensive line at Brigham Young University (BYU), the allure of the league wasn’t enough to outweigh a lifelong commitment to his faith.
The story of Herring, a 6-foot-8 tackle with the frame designed for professional dominance, has recently resurfaced as a poignant example of the tension between professional athletic demands and deeply held religious convictions. While most athletes spend their entire lives dreaming of the moment their name is called, Herring made the rare and jarring decision to refuse a professional career in the NFL for one specific reason: the Sunday schedule.
The Sabbath Conflict: A Professional Dead End
To the average sports fan, the NFL is synonymous with Sunday. While “Thursday Night Football” and “Monday Night Football” have expanded the league’s footprint, the heart of the professional game remains the Sunday slate. For a player whose faith mandates a strict observance of the Sabbath—a day dedicated to rest and worship—this schedule isn’t just an inconvenience; it is a spiritual impossibility.
Herring’s refusal to play stems from these religious beliefs. In the context of the NFL, where players are expected to travel, prepare, and compete on Sundays, there is virtually no room for a “Sabbath exception.” Unlike some corporate environments where religious accommodations can be negotiated, the NFL’s product is the game itself. If a starting tackle cannot play on the day the game is scheduled, he cannot perform the primary function of his job.
For Herring, the choice was binary. He could either compromise the tenets of his faith to pursue a professional career or walk away from the game he had mastered to maintain his spiritual integrity. He chose the latter.
The BYU Connection: Why College Was Different
Readers often wonder how a player could excel at a high level in college only to find the professional transition impossible. The answer lies in the unique structure of the NCAA and the specific culture of Brigham Young University.
BYU is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The university’s culture is deeply intertwined with the faith’s teachings, and the athletic department operates with these values in mind. Most importantly, the vast majority of college football games are played on Saturdays. This alignment allowed Herring to compete at an elite level, showcasing his 6-foot-8 frame and tackling prowess, without violating his religious commitment to the Sabbath.
In the collegiate ranks, the “Saturday tradition” serves as a natural shield for athletes with Sunday restrictions. However, the jump to the NFL strips that shield away. The transition from the collegiate game to the pros is often described as a leap in intensity and speed, but for Herring, it was a leap into a scheduling conflict that no amount of athletic talent could resolve.
A Pattern of Conviction
Herring is not the only athlete from the BYU system to make headlines for prioritizing faith over the grind of the sporting calendar. This mindset is a recurring theme within the university’s athletic programs, extending beyond the football field to the hardwood of the basketball court.
Recently, BYU basketball player Delaney Gibb gained viral attention for explaining her team’s refusal to practice on Sundays, even during the high-pressure environment of March Madness. Speaking before a Final Four matchup against the Kansas Jayhawks, Gibb noted that some things “are bigger than basketball.”
Whether it is a basketball player refusing a practice session during the most important tournament of the year or a football star walking away from the NFL entirely, there is a consistent thread: a belief that professional success is secondary to spiritual obedience. It is a perspective that is increasingly rare in an era of hyper-commercialized sports, where the “grind” is glorified above all else.
The Professional Cost of Faith
From a purely tactical and financial standpoint, Herring’s decision is staggering. A 6-foot-8 tackle is a rare commodity in the NFL. Height and reach are the primary currencies of the offensive line, providing the leverage and protection necessary to keep a quarterback safe. By walking away, Herring didn’t just leave behind a jersey; he left behind millions of dollars in potential earnings and the chance to compete at the highest level of human athletic achievement.
However, to understand this decision, one must move past the balance sheet. For those within the LDS community and similar faith traditions, the Sabbath is not a suggestion—it is a covenant. The “cost” of playing in the NFL, in Herring’s view, was not the loss of money, but the loss of peace and spiritual standing.
Key Takeaways: Faith vs. The NFL
- The Core Conflict: Eli Herring refused the NFL specifically because the league’s primary game day is Sunday, which conflicted with his religious observance of the Sabbath.
- The BYU Factor: As an LDS-affiliated school, BYU’s Saturday game schedule allowed Herring to excel in college without compromising his beliefs.
- Physical Profile: Standing 6-foot-8, Herring possessed the ideal physical attributes for an NFL tackle, making his refusal a significant sacrifice of potential career earnings.
- Broader Context: This decision mirrors other BYU athletes, such as Delaney Gibb, who have publicly stated that their faith is “bigger than” their sport.
The Legacy of the “Unplayed” Career
In the record books, Eli Herring will be remembered as a star who never played a professional snap. In the eyes of NFL scouts, he may be viewed as a “what if”—a physical specimen who could have anchored an offensive line for a decade.
But in the broader narrative of sports, his story serves as a reminder that the “dream” of professional sports is not the same for everyone. While the world sees the NFL as the pinnacle, for some, the pinnacle is a life lived in total alignment with their convictions. Herring’s decision to walk away isn’t a story of failure or missed opportunity; it is a story of a different kind of victory—one where the internal compass proves stronger than the roar of a stadium.
As the NFL continues to expand its schedule into more days of the week, the conflict between professional demands and personal faith remains a complex intersection. For now, Eli Herring stands as a rare example of an athlete who looked at the glitz and glamour of the league and decided that his Sunday mornings were worth more than a Sunday afternoon in the spotlight.
For more updates on collegiate athletes transitioning to the pros and the intersection of sports and culture, stay tuned to Archysport.
