| IRVIN | Michael ___ retired American football player nicknamed The Playmaker |
| SIMPSON | O.J., former American Football player nicknamed 'The Juice' (7) |
| CHANG | Michael _, retired American tennis player who is still the youngest male player to win a Grand Slam tournament (5) |
| JORDAN | Michael ___ retired American basketball player with 2 Olympic medals and a wax statue at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas word craze |
| PHELPS | Michael ___ retired American swimmer with 28 Olympic medals and a wax statue at Madame Tussauds Washington DC word craze |
| OWEN | Michael _, retired Liverpool and England footballer (4) |
| PARKINSON | Michael _, retired TV talk show host (9) |
| NAMATH | Joe, American Football player who led the New York Jets to victory in the 1969 Super Bowl (6) |
| QUARTERBACK | American football player who directs the attacking play (11) |
| RAPINOE | Megan Anna ..., American football player who retired recently. (7) |
| LINEBACKER | American football player behind the scrimmage (10) |
| CARL | _ Weathers, American football player who played Apollo Creed in the Rocky films (4) |
| DOAK | Ewell ___ Walker II American football player who was inducted in Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 |
| ALAN | ___ Page former professional American football player turned lawyer who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018 |
| OJSIMPSON | Disgraced former American football player (1,1,7) |
| KEMP | Jack ___ former American football player and politician |
| BLOCKBUSTER | Hit American football player around chest |
| LEAGUER | American football player maybe in old camp |
| TIGHTENED | American football player rumoured to be made faster (9) |
| WIDERECEIVER | American football player who catches long passes from a quarterback (4,8) |
