Donald Trump personally gifted $1 million to NFL star to convince him to quit rival team

Long before he became the president of the Unites States, Donald Trump owned an American football teams. And in his typical style, he was a controversial, boundary-testing presence in the sporting world.

Trump is a renowned golf lover, owning several resorts and courses around the world and regularly playing a round or two in his spare time – so much so, in fact, that the cost of his golf excursions to the US taxpayer has been a point of contention once again since his re-election.

But the 45th and 47th president  – who was in attendance at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans February to watch the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 – has also been involved in football in the past.

Trump once owned the New Jersey Generals of the USFL, a now-defunct former rival to the NFL. And in his stewardship of the upstart American football team, he'd push for the USFL to challenge the NFL's supremacy at all costs.

Donald Trump, owner of the USFL's New Jersey Generals, in 1983 (Getty)

And according to an article by PBS, Trump once even made a tantalising offer to one of the NFL's biggest stars.

Throughout the 1980s and early '90s, Lawrence Taylor was a household name. The imposing pass rusher was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and, to this day, remains the last defensive player to be named the NFL's MVP.

When Taylor was in a contract dispute with the New York Giants – whom he led to two Super Bowl triumphs – Trump sent him $1 million to try to persuade him to join his USFL team.

"Trump frequently drew attention by sparring with the NFL," the article claims. "When the New York Giants got into a public contract dispute with star Lawrence Taylor, Trump wired $1 million into the linebacker’s bank account and signed Taylor to a future contract. To get Taylor back, the Giants 'gave me a million dollars and hated me ever after,' Trump recalls."

“Donald was the big, crazy-spending owner, and the NFL guys were scared to death of him,” Bill Tatham Jr., an owner of the USFL’s Arizona Outlaws who admired Trump’s antics, told PBS.

“I think Donald Trump looks at the United States like his franchise in the USFL. Don’t ever think he doesn’t know what he’s doing.”