NFL Hall of Famer Joe Thomas turned five cows and a bull into a 4,100-acre Wisconsin cattle operation after retiring and losing 70 pounds.
WISCONSIN — NFL Hall of Famer Joe Thomas spent his career battling defensive linemen on Sundays. After retirement, he found a very different challenge: building a cattle operation from the ground up.
The former Cleveland Browns offensive tackle is now the owner of Hall of Fame Farms, a roughly 4,100-acre Wisconsin operation that raises hundreds of cattle, including Wagyu beef.
Thomas started the venture with just five cows and a bull.
His journey from NFL star to cattle farmer began years before he left professional football, when he purchased the original 1,200-acre property in 2012 while still playing for Cleveland.
Joe Thomas wanted a farm of his own
Thomas grew up outside Milwaukee and did not come from a farming family. But he said he had always enjoyed being outdoors and dreamed of eventually owning his own piece of land.
His NFL career gave him the financial opportunity to turn that ambition into reality.
What started as a 1,200-acre property eventually grew into a much larger operation. Today, Hall of Fame Farms covers approximately 4,100 acres and has expanded from its original handful of cattle to hundreds of animals.
The farm increasingly focuses on Wagyu beef, adding another dimension to Thomas’ post-football career.
Retirement changed Thomas’ approach to food
Thomas’ interest in raising cattle became even more personal after he retired from the NFL in 2018.
As an offensive lineman, Thomas had spent years maintaining the enormous physical frame required to compete at the highest level. After leaving football, he no longer needed the same body size and began focusing more heavily on his health and nutrition.
He lost approximately 70 pounds after retirement.
That transformation also changed how he thought about the food he was eating.
Thomas began looking for ways to eat more intentionally and wanted greater control over where his food came from. Raising cattle offered a way to connect his interest in nutrition with the farm he had already begun building.
From five cows to hundreds
Thomas’ cattle operation illustrates just how dramatically the farm has grown.
The former Browns star initially purchased five cows and a bull. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently highlighted that origin story, emphasizing that Thomas did not simply purchase an established agricultural operation.
Instead, he gradually developed the business from a small starting point.
The farm’s growth has also coincided with increasing interest in premium beef, particularly Wagyu cattle.
For Thomas, the operation is more than a hobby connected to his football fame. It has become a serious agricultural venture occupying thousands of acres in Wisconsin.
Thomas remains connected to football
Although agriculture now occupies much of Thomas’ attention, he has not completely stepped away from football.
The former offensive tackle remains involved in broadcasting and continues to be associated with the sport that made him famous in Cleveland.
Thomas played his entire 11-year NFL career with the Browns and became one of the most durable offensive linemen in league history. He famously played 10,363 consecutive snaps, an NFL record cited in the Fox News report.
His retirement in 2018 marked the end of one career but opened the door to another.
Instead of spending his post-NFL years solely around football, Thomas has built a life centered on land, cattle and food production.
A very different kind of second career
Thomas’ story offers an unusual look at life after professional sports.
Many former NFL players remain connected to football through coaching, broadcasting or business ventures. Thomas has done some of that, but his most distinctive pursuit has taken him away from the stadium and onto a Wisconsin farm.
What began with a desire to own a small piece of land has become a 4,100-acre cattle operation.
And the foundation of that enterprise remains remarkably modest: five cows and a bull.
As a new NFL season gets underway, Thomas is watching the sport from a different perspective — while continuing to build the agricultural business that began during his playing days and expanded after retirement.
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