From the desk of Jan Hommel, Museum Director:

Q: Which president was offered professional football contracts by the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers after college?

A: Gerald Ford. Ford was a star center for the South High Trojans football team in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the University of Michigan he grabbed the spotlight as a senior, when he was named most valuable player for the Wolverines and appeared in the 1935 Chicago Charities College All-Star Game against the Chicago Bears. Soon after, he was offered the opportunity to go pro, but opted to study law instead. He coached football at Yale before becoming a full-time law student there. (Smithsonian Presidential Trivia)