In Cleveland, Joe Thomas became the rare franchise star whose greatness was measured less by noise than by the standard he brought every Sunday.
Thomas gave Browns fans an early glimpse of that character on draft day. While the league gathered its top prospects in New York, he spent the 2007 NFL Draft fishing with his father on Lake Michigan, then took the Browns’ call and became the No. 3 overall pick.
Now retired, leaner and fully invested in life beyond the NFL, the 2023 first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer joined OutKick Outdoors to revisit that unforgettable draft-day call, the health transformation that changed his life and Hall of Fame Farms, his Wisconsin cattle business.
Thomas made national news before he became a Browns legend by skipping the New York draft spectacle. While other top prospects wore custom suits, walked across the stage and hugged Commissioner Roger Goodell, Thomas preferred a fishing rod and open water.
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“I wasn’t really interested in the pomp and circumstance of the NFL Draft,” Thomas said. “Didn’t have a suit, and would much rather spend the day fishing with my dad.”
When NFL representatives called to urge him to attend, warning teams might hold it against him, Thomas held his ground. On draft morning, he headed onto Lake Michigan to fish for salmon and trout with his father.
“I had a nice little Motorola flip phone with me. The Cleveland Browns called me, number three overall, and I said, ‘Yup, I’m excited to be a Cleveland Brown. I’ll be there this afternoon.’ And that’s what happened.”
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That down-to-earth approach defined Thomas’ 11-year career in Cleveland and continues to shape his post-football life in Wisconsin. But retirement in 2018 also forced him to confront the toll of playing at 310-plus pounds.
“I had so much inflammation, so much pain, couldn’t even walk down the stairs, was basically sliding down on my butt,” Thomas recalled. “The doctor said, ‘Your knee needs a knee replacement or you can lose weight.’ And I was like, ‘Well, say less.'”
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Thomas went all-in on rebuilding his body, cutting processed foods, refined carbohydrates and seed oils while embracing intermittent fasting, garden vegetables and high-quality animal proteins.
He said the result was less joint pain, restored mobility and a physique that now looks closer to an NFL tight end than the 310-pound lineman Browns fans remember.
That health overhaul eventually led to Hall of Fame Farms.
What began as a Wisconsin cash-crop operation took a turn when Thomas’ kids decided a “real farm” needed livestock.
“My passion that I had from football that made me a perfectionist and allowed me to be a Hall of Famer started to get poured into the cattle business,” Thomas said.
“We treat each one of our animals like a professional athlete. I learned a lot about health and nutrition and how to treat myself to get the best out of me on Sundays. And I’m learning that if you treat your cattle the exact same way, you’re going to have beef that’s deserving of the Hall of Fame.”
These days, Thomas’ Hall of Fame Farms is turning out Wagyu and Certified Angus beef, from premium steaks to Wagyu beef tallow.
But the bigger payoff is right there on the Wisconsin farm: raising four kids, working the land and enjoying the life he worked his tail off to build.
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Whether he’s chasing smallmouth in Canada, tagging calves at the farm or fishing the Bassmaster Randy Moss Pro Football Hall of Fame Pro-Am alongside Randy Moss, Thomas is happiest sharing the outdoors with his kids.
“When I see them catch their first fish and the joy that they have, I feel like that’s even more exciting than when I caught my first fish,” Thomas said.
“Because I’m able to pass that onto the next generation: that love of fishing, that love of the outdoors, that respect for nature. It’s one of those things that make you feel like, ‘All right, Dad, you’re not doing a bad job. You’re doing all right.'”
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