Athletes And Tattoos Make For The Best Relationships
Professional athletes spend a large portion of their life practicing the game they love. All the hard work and dedication allows them to earn these insane contracts. They start making more money then they've ever seen before and sometimes don't know what to do with it. A popular place these players enjoy spending their cash at is tattoo parlors. Some athletes don some of the wildest, coolest body art you've ever seen. In some cases, the ink they decide to get is insanely obscure. Take a gander for yourself.
Fighting With A Tiger
Not only can Connor McGregor take a beating, but he can also take the pain of needles all over his body. The Irishman has some of the most colorful and beautiful looking tattoos of any professional athlete.
With the tiger on his belly right below some larger black animal that looks wild, he could have saved his money after those. Instead, he decided to get even more on his forearm, and more than likely has many more in areas we don't want to look.
Hitting With Flowers
Meet Bethanie Mattek-Sands. She is a pro tennis player with incredible accolades. She has an Olympic gold medal, five Grand Slams titles in women's doubles, and three titles in mixed doubles. She's a bonafide star on the tennis courts.
As she viciously serves against her opponents, you can see a sizeable flowery design located on the inside of her arm which has honeybees as well. A fitting tattoo for someone who floats gracefully on the court like a bee.
The Man Who Keeps His Shirt Off
J.R. Smith is one of the most eccentric players in the NBA. From hoisting ridiculously deep three-pointers whenever he wants to making LeBron James question life for forgetting the score in an NBA Finals game, Smith is wild.
That goes for his tattoos, too. Smith is a man of many symbols. He famously went shirtless for weeks after winning his first NBA championship with the Cavaliers. There are so many; we can't even begin to think about where to start.
Patriotism Runs Through Shockey
For those of you familiar with Jeremy Shockey, you probably know him best from his time with the New York Giants. He spent the better part of his career playing tight end for the Boys in Blue before getting traded away to the New Orleans Saints at the end of his career.
Shockey has numerous tattoos on his body, including a very patriotic and colorful sleeve on his right arm. You can see an eagle with the American flag wrapped around it.
Many Faces On Clarkson
In 2018, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson went ink crazy. His tattoo artist estimated that he spent $20,000 that year alone on covering his body. Before he arrived in Cleveland, his skin was free of anything. It wasn't until he came to a certain realization.
"Once I got my first tattoo I was like, this is what I want to do," Clarkson said. “I had the time. All I did this summer was hoop, sit at my house and get tattooed, wake up and hoop again.”
Birdman Chris Andersen
Chris Andersen is a fiery player who currently balls in Ice Cube's Big 3 league. The lengthy center has a knack for blocking shots and has one of the best nicknames in basketball. He also has the craziest slew of tattoos over his body including "Free Bird" on his neck.
“I like all of them, it ain’t something I regretted," Andersen revealed. "It wasn’t like I got drunk and went and got a tattoo. Every tattoo has a meaning."
Lots Of Kicks And Ink For Messi
There's no doubt that Lionel Messi is the leader of the Barcelona soccer team. He's practically a living legend as far as futbol goes. Messi has been accumulating goals and skin artwork for as long as we can remember.
His tattoos are almost as impressive as his skills on the pitch. He has a sleeve on one leg and the opposite side arm. The color on them looks sensational as well. We're sure his artist loves when Messi comes in for some new work!
Leg Tatts For Days
Odell Beckham Jr. is one of the most eccentric players in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns wide receiver made a name for himself early in his career when he played for the New York Giants not only due to his amazing play style, but for his antics off the field.
We won't get too much into the wild lifestyle of Beckham Jr., but we will show you his fancy leg tattoos that started with a portrait of Michael Jackson. Soon, his leg became covered in ink.
Kemp Pays Tribute
The former Los Angeles Dodger Matt Kemp got a pretty huge and loving tattoo on his chest. It's a tribute to his grandparents, who at the time his grandfather had already passed away. The tattoo artist was only 23 when Kemp got this piece done in 2013.
Kemp posted the photo of the fresh ink on Twitter with the caption, "If it wasn't for my grandparents I wouldn’t b where I’m at 2day!" That's pretty sweet of him if you ask us.
What Is That On Andrei Kirilenko's Back!?
Andrei Kirilenko is a former NBA player who spent most of his years on the Utah Jazz. His shtick was playing amazing defense and hitting open threes. He's originally from Izhevsk, Russia and he now serves as the Russian Basketball Federation.
As far as this amazing tattoo, what exactly is it? Well, for all you gamers out there, you'll love this. It is a tattoo of his World of Warcraft character riding on a dragon. Probably one of the coolest things we've seen.
Just Look At His Chest
We get it, Brock Lesnar is a scary dude. We wouldn't jump in the ring with him even if we were paid one million dollars (okay, we're kidding. Punch away). Who willingly hops into a fight with a guy that has a dagger on his chest?
That's just not a bright idea if you ask us. Hey, some people do crazy things and we aren't here to judge. We actually think that's a cool tattoo he has.
Identical Twins With Identical Ink
Marcus and Markieff Morris are two very solid NBA players. Each help their teams in ways that don't always appear on the stat sheet. They once played with each other, but since getting traded they only compete against each other now.
The crazy thing part is that they are identical twins with the same exact tattoos. If they really wanted to, they could swap jerseys mid-game and no one would notice. Of course, each would have to know the playbook, but they're smart.
Two Sleeves Please
Footballer Natasha Kai has some pretty nice ink on her. She made her international debut in 2006 and as you can tell, she has a very unique style. With two sleeves that reach down to the back of her hand, Kai is clearly dedicated to tattoos.
Sometimes that's how it goes. You start off slow, then you realize that you need way more. That's just a warning to everyone out there considering getting some ink on their skin.
D-Loading
The former Los Angeles Laker and current Brooklyn Net D'Angelo Russell doesn't play around with his tattoos. After he left the Lakers, he had something to prove to the world after his infamous dating scandal. We guess that includes getting covered in tattoos.
He has a ton. The list of is long and includes, Bob Marley, a strange mouth, Jason Voorhees, and Muhammad Ali. As you can tell, there is a load more, but those are a few that stand out the most.
Jumping High With Colorful Ink
Who we have here is American high jumper Inika McPherson. Track and field isn't that popular of sport outside of Usain Bolt, and since he's retired, the sport is struggling. There are few that bring hope, though, and McPherson is one of them.
Outside of her short haircut, the tattoos she dons really are eye-grabbing. McPherson reportedly has over 30 tattoos, including a kiss mark on her left cheek that's dark red. That's sure to get people staring.
Bring On The Color
We know that Connor McGregor has some pretty colorful tattoos as we showcased earlier, but this man might him beat. Scott Jorgensen is a UFC fighter as well. He might not be as well known, but he does have the tattoos that make it seem like he's Mr. Popular.
When he's in the ring, he has colorful antics that can only be matched by the ink on his skin. We wonder how much this all cost him.
Devin Thomas Loves His Tatts
Wide receiver Devin Thomas has some of the most unique tattoos all over his body. For anyone who is a fan of anime, they will love the Goku he has on his back. It's massive in size and looks great.
On his rib cage you will find Conan the Barbarian. "That's Conan. Yeah, and I got the Predator on the other side. I got my favorite movies: Conan, Predator, and 300," Thomas said. We're happy he did this.
Austin Rivers Pays Homage To A Legend
Austin Rivers is an NBA point guard who currently plays for the Houston Rockets. He's the son of legendary coach and former player, Doc Rivers. Austin had one of the best high school careers and a pretty good college run. His NBA life hasn't been as stellar but he manages to help enough.
As for his tattoos, he has a sleeve on one arm and a portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his right leg.
The Hamsa Hand
Boston Celtic point guard Kyrie Irving is a wonder to watch on the court. Many have argued he handles the ball the best in this NBA and out of the players from the past. That's pretty high praise to give someone this young.
The star has a few tattoos on his body, but the one that had people thinking he was in the Illuminati is the hamsa hand he has on his arm. The words around it read, "Let no sadness come to this heart Let no trouble come to these arms Let no conflict come to these eyes"
Dennis. Rodman.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dennis Rodman. The championship player who helped Michael Jordan secure some rings has art all over his body and he is proud to share it. His tattoos really speak for themselves.
As wild as he was on the court, he was even wilder off of it and has a very suggestive portrait covering his back. No one can tell this man anything because he just does what he wants and has fun while doing it.
