# College Teammates With Longest Pro Careers **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 18, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042 "2013-04-18T16:00:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/1 "2013-04-18T16:00:36Z")
I just saw a picture of Antawn Jamison and thought, he’s been in the league for a long time, and so has Vince Carter. They were drafted in '98 (and traded for each other!), so combined, they have been in the NBA for 30 years. After poking around, I see that Juwan Howard just finished his 19th season; combined with Jalen Rose, they’d end up with 33 years, and with Chris Webber, 34 years (I imagine they could be the longest tenured trio, at 47 years combined) Any other notables? Other sports? ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/2 "2013-04-18T16:48:35Z")
Rick Monday and Reggie Jackson played on 1965 College World Series Champions ASU and about 40 seasons of Major League baseball. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/3 "2013-04-18T17:07:16Z")
Jerome Bettis and Craig Hentrich played for 30 years combined. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/4 "2013-04-18T17:07:16Z")
Mark May and Rickey Jackson both played 15 pro seasons and were on same 1980 Pitt football team. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/5 "2013-04-18T17:12:19Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > I just saw a picture of Antawn Jamison and thought, he’s been in the league for a long time, and so has Vince Carter. They were drafted in '98 (and traded for each other!), so combined, they have been in the NBA for 30 years. After poking around, I see that Juwan Howard just finished his 19th season; combined with Jalen Rose, they’d end up with 33 years, and with Chris Webber, 34 years (I imagine they could be the longest tenured trio, at 47 years combined) > Any other notables? Other sports? Not on their team, but they played against Grant Hill and he is still in the NBA, which is amazing. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/6 "2013-04-18T17:15:08Z")
If you count high school, Tommy Agee and Cleon Jones played a combined 25 years in the majors. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/7 "2013-04-18T17:28:56Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Jerome Bettis and Craig Hentrich played for 30 years combined. Update: Tim Grunhard played for 21 seasons, so Grunhard and Hentrich combined for 38. I’m sure there are other solid football pairings, likely involving kickers and linemen. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/8 "2013-04-18T17:39:30Z")
Hall of Famers Bruce Matthews (19 NFL seasons), Marcus Allen (16), and Ronnie Lott (14) all played for USC in 1980. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/9 "2013-04-18T17:58:38Z")
I would imagine Miami would have a lot of combined years from all of those early 2000s teams. The 2001 team alone put 42 players into the NFL (eventually). If they each only lasted one season that’s 42 years right off the top. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/10 "2013-04-18T18:47:37Z")
My first thought was James Worthy and Michael Jordan, but Worthy only played 12 years and Jordan 15. Hakeem Olajuwon had 18 years and Clyde Drexler 15, which comes to 33. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/11 "2013-04-18T19:24:12Z")
USC had several successful players in the class of 1981: 1. Ronnie Lott played defensive back 15 years, mostly with the 49ers 2. Keith Van Horne spent 13 years as an offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears 3. Dennis Smith spent 13 years as a safety for the Denver Broncos Their teammate Jeff Fisher didn’t last long as a player, but has been a coach in the NFL a long time. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/12 "2013-04-18T19:50:40Z")
Looks like Jeff Feagles (Miami (FL) class of 1988) played 22 years And Vinnie Testaverde (Miami (FL) class of 1987) played 21 years Total for those two is 43 years I assume that they were teammates in 1987 ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/13 "2013-04-18T20:34:15Z")
Don Shula and Carl Taseff were teammates at John Carroll University in Cleveland (2 years), with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts (6 years), and then Taseff served on Shula’s coaching staff with the Miami Dolphins (24 years). Not quite what the OP was looking for but a long association nevertheless. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/14 "2013-04-18T20:56:26Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I would imagine Miami would have a lot of combined years from all of those early 2000s teams. The 2001 team alone put 42 players into the NFL (eventually). Just the 1st rounders: Andre Johnson (drafted 2003), has played 10 years (so far) Sean Taylor (2004), 3 years Kellen Winslow II (2004), 8 years Bryant McKinnie (2002), 10 years Antrel Rolle (2005), 8 years Jonathan Vilma (2004), 8 years Jeremy Shockey (2002), 9 years Jerome McDougle (2003), 6 years Phillip Buchanon (2002), 10 years DJ Williams (2004), 9 years Vernon Carey (2004), 7 years Vince Wilfork (2004) 9 years Willis McGahee (2003), 8 years Ed Reed (2002) 11 years William Joseph (2003), 7 years Mike Rumph (2002), 5 years Kelly Jennings (2006), 5 years That’s 133 years, and there were 25 more players drafted in subsequent rounds who played with these guys. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/15 "2013-04-18T20:59:31Z")
Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro were teammates at Mississippi State University. Palmeiro spent 20 seasons in the major leagues, and Clark played 15 seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/16 "2013-04-18T21:02:26Z")
IIRC, Clark batted 3rd and Palmeiro 5th in that team’s lineup. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-teammates-with-longest-pro-careers/656042/17 "2013-04-18T21:23:19Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Not on their team, but they played against Grant Hill and he is still in the NBA, which is amazing. Grant Hill just finished his 19th season. Laettner played 13.