‘I Just Want To Have My Own Little Farm’: NFL HOFer Reveals Life On 4,100-Acre Small Town Property

A Hall of Fame lineman who never missed a snap now spends his days tending cattle across thousands of Wisconsin acres.

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Joe Thomas, the former Cleveland Browns tackle who set an NFL record with 10,363 consecutive snaps, has turned his post-football life into a roughly 4,100-acre ranching operation called Hall of Fame Farms, according to Fox News.

The dream took root long before he left the game. “And then when I had the opportunity to go into the NFL, I said if there’s only one thing I get out of the NFL, I want to be able to buy my own piece of dirt. I just want to have my own little farm,” Thomas told Fox News. (RELATED: Ranchers Say Beef Market Has ‘Been Hell’ As Trump Announces Plan To Try And Help)

He bought the first 1,200 acres near Muscoda in 2012 while still playing, Farm Progress reported. A native of Brookfield who starred at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Thomas got the idea after his children asked about keeping a few cows, according to a 2023 announcement from WisBusiness.

Everything shifted after his 2018 retirement. Free from the demands of an offensive lineman’s frame, Thomas shed about 70 pounds and grew far more deliberate about what he ate, he told Fox News. “I wanted to try to focus on my health and be more intentional about eating real food,” he said.

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A Wagyu tasting overseas pushed the business in a new direction, Farm Progress reported, and the herd has since grown to hundreds of cattle finished for premium beef. Top American Wagyu cuts can run past $100, while imported Japanese steaks reach as high as $250 per pound.

The farm has drawn notice in Washington. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins toured the property and credited Thomas for building it himself, Fox News reported. “He started with five mama cows and a bull,” Rollins said. “So, it’s not like he came in and wrote a giant check and became a hobby farmer. Like, he literally built this thing from nothing.”

Thomas later stood with Rollins at the White House as President Donald Trump signed two executive orders backing American ranchers, according to Fox News. Thomas still works in Browns broadcasting but now builds his second act far from any stadium.

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