The frequency with which Tim Duncan is parodied as an intellectual wonk reminded me of former NFL player Myron Rolle, who flat out stated that he was told in college to concentrate more on football and less on his potential studies at Oxford, and John Urlacher, Baltimore Ravens player and published mathematician. What are other prominent examples?
Gene Tunney.
Byron “Whizzer” White, AKA Supreme Court Justice Byron “Whizzer” White.
We may want to confine this to the last 25 years or something. Then it gets a lot harder. 
Bill Bradley.
And I’ll just shoehorn this in here, although it’s a stretch — I just learned yesterday that William Smith, a very muscular actor in motorcycle movies, co-star of Laredo, and Falconetti in Rich Man, Poor Man, spoke five languages fluently, and taught Russian at UCLA.
Cy Young Award winner Mike Marshall got a Ph. D. in education after retiring. He’s known for his radical theory on pitching – a different type of motion that he says eliminates arm injuries (Marshall developed it himself, pitching in over 106 games in 1974 without arm troubles). He also suggested to Tommy John to try a new type of surgery to repair his arm.
Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks.
Another Colorado athlete - Joe Romig. He was an All-American football player, in the College Football Hall of Fame. He bypassed pro ball to take a Rhodes Scholarship and complete his PhD. in Astrophysics. He worked for NASA and Martin-Marietta in the space program.
He’s my neighbor.
I am surprised to be the first to mention Celebrity Jeopardy star Kareem Abdul Jabbar. (Recent article)
A reporter once said, “Kareem isn’t a ‘smart athelete’, he is a phenomenally smart person. That is half the problem he had with the press”
Moe Berg. Played 15 seasons as a catcher in the American League, 1923-1939, and later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II.
John Urschel, not Urlacher.
Fromer Viking (and Hall of Famer) Alan Page is an Associate Justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. A number of other former NFL players have law degrees - Cris Collinsworth, Steve Young, Ron Mix, Pat Haden…
Pat Haden was also a Rhodes Scholar.
Aaron Rodgers may also qualify for this list. Fromlast week’s cover story in SI:
Frank Ryan quarterbacked for the Rams, Browns, and Redskins. He won the championship with the Browns in 1964 and got his Ph.D. in mathematics at Rice University in 1965. He carried a full teaching load at Case Institute in Cleveland while he was still active as a quarterback. He was later athletic director and lecturer in math at Yale.
Socrates, the Brazilian football player, was both a medical doctor and a Phd in Philosophy.
Yes, brain fart, thanks for the correction.
And actually, yes, limiting to the past 25 years would be kinda interesting. 
More than 25 years (40 actually) but NFL quarterback Pat Haden was a Rhodes Scholar and later on a lawyer.
I remember reading that when David Robinson was at Annapolis, in a joint press conference during the NCAA basketball tournament, the players from the other team (Cleveland State?) were amazed at his eloquence. Of course he could just be a good speaking service academy graduate but at the very least he is reasonably intelligent.
There were a couple of baseball players who later became medical doctors: Bobby Brown, Ron Taylor and George Medich. Taylor had actually graduated from University of Toronto as an engineer, pitched for 11 years and then convinced a reluctant dean at University of Toronto to take him as a medical student.
Red Sox pitcher Craig Breslow majored in molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale.
I remember when Myron Rolle was being recruited out of high school and he kept emphasizing that academics was his #1 priority. Then he picked Florida State. Lot of people scratching their heads at the time.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t getting into the naval academy itself be quite a feat? IIRC admissions is as selective, if not more selective, than most ivy league schools.
I actually never knew this until moving to the DC area.
Todd Christiansen (Raiders TE, and later a broadcaster) claimed membership in Mensa.
Bill Bradley. Olympic Gold medalist. Basketball Hall of Fame. Rhodes scholar. Degrees from Princeton and Oxford.
He won 0 states when he ran against Al Gore for the Democratic nomination in 2000.
Former Bengals punter Pat McInally was a Harvard graduate and the only NFL player ever to get a perfect score on the Wunderlic Test.
Tenley Albright, a gold medalist in Olympic figure skating, went to medical school and became a surgeon.
Hall of Fame Vikings tackle Alan Page got a law degree, and became a judge on the Minnesota State Supreme Court.