Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden reveals grim epiphany about mission and it involves the NFL

A United States navy SEAL who was part of the operation to kill Osama bin Laden in 2011 has revealed he had an epiphany about the mission the week before it happened - involving the NFL.

Robert O'Neill travelled to nearby Afghanistan as part of SEAL Team 6 in April 2011.

The CIA identified a compound in September 2010 in Abbottabad, Pakistan, which they believed housed 9/11 mastermind Bin Laden and members of his family. Bin Laden claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks in 2004.

The operation was launched in Afghanistan - around 120 miles away - in April 2011, and the al-Qaeda founder was shot and killed by SEAL Team 6 in Abbottabad as part of 'Operation Neptune Spear' on May 2, 2011.

Now, O'Neill has revealed how he had a bizarre epiphany before taking on the mission - about the NFL draft.

O'Neil told OutKicks' 'The Ricky Cobb Show': "We trained for about two weeks and then went to Afghanistan to stay. It was a weird time to be in Afghanistan.

"I remember watching the NFL draft. And I was on a treadmill, thinking that the [Washington] Redskins needed an offensive tackle.

"Then I realised, 'It doesn't matter for me, I guess. I'm gonna be dead next week'."

"It doesn't matter to me I guess, I'm gonna be dead next week"

Ex-Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill was wondering who the Redskins would draft back in 2011, but quickly realizes it doesn't matter, as eliminating Osama Bin Laden was a one-way mission. @Super70sSports @mchooyah pic.twitter.com/cy6RCMsJQf

— OutKick (@Outkick) February 19, 2025

The Redskins - who were renamed as the Washington Football Team in 2020 and then to the Washington Commanders over criticism surrounding the name's association with systemic racism - did eventually sign an offensive tackle in the NFL Draft.

They signed Ryan Kerrigan, who stayed with the team for 10 seasons before joining the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021.

The Bin Laden mission, meanwhile, had another unexpected connection to sport - as a number of Americans heard the news of his killing for the first time through WWE's John Cena.

Cena delivered news to the live crowd after the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view - and although he didn't realise the show was still on-air when he made the announcement, said he did it solely to inform the in-person audience.

"I thought it was something that people should know," he told 'Pardon My Take' in 2022. "Like, 'Okay, I know this information now, I am in front of this audience. They should know this'.

"To be in a position where pay people attention to your message, there's no doubt, like I said, that's a moment that had a ton of gravity.

"I didn't do it for the broadcast, I thought we were off-air. I just did it literally for the people in the area ... for the live people in the arena that may not have instant access to that piece of information."