The 15 Most Jaw-Dropping Pro Athlete Body Transformations Of All-Time

Professional athletes often undergo massive weight swings before, during, and after their careers. Some players coming into their leagues under or overweight and adjust quickly. Some lose a ton of weight in retirement while others gain. But every time it is jarring and these are the 15 most drastic pro athlete body transformations of all-time.

Body transformations are not uncommon for pro athletes. Some athletes begin their careers undersized, like Tiger Woods and Ken Griffey Jr., while others lose an enormous amount of weight in retirement like Russell Okung and Antone Davis. These are the 15 most jaw-dropping pro athlete body transformations we’ve seen.

1. Former Broncos OT Russell Okung

During his playing days in the NFL, former 1st Round Draft pick Russell Okung weighed a beefy 310 pounds (141kg) as an offensive tackle. In retirement, that weight proved to be far too much for his 6’5″ frame and he used a wild method to drop a ton of weight.
You would be hard-pressed to find any nutritionist that would ever recommend this, but over a 40-day fast where Russell Okung only drank water he lost a whopping 100-pounds. For Russell, the weight loss was also related to other health issues (lacerated lungs, pulmonary embolism) but drinking only water for 40 straight days and not eating food is wild.

2. Colts Legend Jeff Saturday

Former Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday was a leader on that team and played a crucial role in protecting QB Peyton Manning during Indy’s run up to winning Super Bowl XLI. Jeff Saturday’s playing weight under center was a robust 295 pounds (134kg) but after retiring in 2013, Jeff Saturday lost over 50 pounds and appeared drastically slimmed down when he took over as interim coach of the Colts for 8 games in 2022.

3. SF Giants Legend Barry Bonds

There are several baseball players who make an appearance here but none came to mind faster than Barry Bonds when I set out to put this list together. In fact, Barry Bonds’ body transformation from his rookie year up to his historic run 2001 season was the impetus for this list.
When Barry Bonds entered the league he weighed just 185 pounds while standing 6’2″. For context, the recommended weight range (via BMI) for a 6’2″ male is between 171 – 209 lbs. By 2001, Bonds’ historic season, his listed playing weight was a beefy 228 pounds and possibly much higher than that. The dude had packed on a ton of pounds.

4. Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest golfer of all time, was a string bean and weighed just 158 pounds during his rookie season on the PGA Tour while standing 6’2″. That gave TW a 29in waist and he looked every bit of his youth on the course. Then Tiger hit the weight room, and he kept going, and going, and hitting hit harder until he was jacked.
Woods put on around 30 pounds of pure muscle and went up from 158 to 185 in just six years and stayed very muscular through the prime of his playing career. Even these days after all of Tiger’s health issues he still remains a gym rat.

5. Former QB JaMarcus Russell

JaMarcus Russell’s weight was a popular topic from the moment he stepped foot in the league. The former #1 overall pick weighed 265 pounds at the NFL Combine and stood 6’6″. But when he showed up to the league his weight was immediately a point of contention.
Russell would later admit that he “was overweight” and reached 315 pounds. But in a later attempt to rejoin the league, he dropped 27 pounds in 2 months to get back to his playing weight of 288 and later dropped a total of 51 pounds.

6. Steelers G Alan Faneca

Former Pittsburgh Steelers guard Alan Faneca, a 2001 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, stood 6’5″ and played at a weight of 316 pounds which became unsustainable for him after retiring in 2011 following 9 Pro Bowl appearances and 1 Super Bowl ring. Faneca then set out on a body re-composition mission and on a diet of just 1,800 calories/day he dropped 70 pounds in 3 months and later even got down to marathon weight.

7. Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr., The Kid, came into the major leagues at just 195 pounds on his 6’3″ frame. During his prime, Ken Griffey Jr. played at around 205-215 pounds, all muscle, but in the years since retirement Ken Griffey Jr. has seen considerable weight gain. After a lifetime of being on a strict pro athlete’s diet, he earned the few extra pounds.

8. Buccaneers DT Brad Culpepper

During his playing days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brad Culpepper maintained a playing weight of 280 pounds so he wouldn’t get tossed around by running backs coming at him like a bowling ball.
Following Culpepper’s retirement in 2005, lost 80 pounds (36kg) and would later say it was all part of wanting to live longer and seeking health and longevity. Cardio, resistance training, and diet helped Culpepper get down to 200 pounds, a weight he maintains now.

9. Yankees Pitcher CC Sabathia

New York Yankees legend CC Sabathia has always been a big fella. Standing 6’6″, Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. entered the Major Leagues at 250 pounds for his rookie season in 2001. His weight would only go up and up each season from there and by the time he retired, Sabathia’s playing weight was listed at 300 pounds which might have been generous to him.

10. NFL Guard Antone Davis

Antone Davis, a former Guard for the Eagles, Falcons, and Packers, had a hefty playing weight of 330 pounds on his 6’4″ frame. The former Tennessee Volunteer retired in 1999 after a 7 year NFL career and from there he gained weight and reached a whopping 475 pounds.
In life after football, Antone Davis appeared on the 12th season of The Biggest Loser where he would finish runner-up but still lose 200 pounds along the way. Just an unreal swing in weight.

11. Braves CF Andruw Jones

Former center fielder Andruw Jones was with the Atlanta Braves for the bulk of his 17-year MLB career. He came into the league at 6’1″ and 170 pounds according to Baseball-Reference, and from there he kept on gaining weight throughout his career. By the time Jones retired, his playing weight was listed at 2010 pounds marking a 40-pound weight gain over his playing years.

12. Golfing Legend Phil Mickelson

For the bulk of Phil Mickelson’s career he would have been defined as slightly overweight, or at least it appeared that way because he was often competing alongside Tiger Woods who showed up to the first tee jacked every day.
Mickelson would eventually lose a very noticeable 25 pounds and look svelte, a weight he appears to have maintained through this day as Lefty looks fit anytime we see him on YouTube with Grant Horvat or on the LIV Golf Tour.

13. MLB Pitcher Roger Clemens

Roger Clemens is one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game and his weight never seemed to be a detractor throughout his career but that doesn’t mean it didn’t heavily fluctuate. Clemens came into the league at a list 205 pounds and 6’4″ his rookie season. His playing weight later in his career wold be listed at a beefy 235 pounds. Roger’s WAR peaked in 1997 with Toronto at 10.7, 14 seasons into his MLB career, so it does not appear that the 30 pound weight gain slowed him down at all.

14. Bartolo Colon

Dominican pitcher Bartolo Colon had a marathon 21 season career in Major League Baseball. He came into the league as a rookie in 1997 with Cleveland at a formidable 215 pounds while standing 5’11”. Year after year, Bartolo Colon would show up to Spring Training having packed on a few extra pounds and his listed weight at retirement was a hefty 285 pounds, a gain of 70 pounds on the mound.

15. Rory McIlroy

Last but not least on this list is Rory McIlroy, another golfer and pro athlete who has seen formidable swings in his weight over the years. He always looked a bit doughy in his early years and went on to hit the gym, following in the footsteps of his idol Tiger Woods.
Rory cuts fat and builds muscle methodically, and maintains a body fat percentage of around 10%, an incredibly difficult number to maintain.