Many of the best athletes have signature moves that they can pull off better than anyone else. Think of Michael Jordan’s fadeaway, Patrick Mahomes’ no-look pass or Mariano Rivera’s cutter. But you don’t need to be a great athlete to have a signature hairstyle that is unique in its own right. When you have the money that pro athletes have, you can have any hairstyle in the world that you want — and get serious attention for it.
We’ve gone through the best of the best (and the best of the worst) hairstyles and selected 30 that we’ll never forget. This includes not just the hair on one’s head but also facial hair, so beards, mustaches and sideburns are also part of the deal. Some athletes have just one defining feature, like James Harden’s beard, while others have multiple, like Johnny Damon’s entire look when he played for Boston.
The follicly challenged may want to look away for this one because these athlete hairstyles may just make you jealous (or laugh out loud).
Bottom Line: Gardner Minshew
David Zalubowski / AP Photo
Minshew’s mustache first gained prominence while in college at Washington State, as his coach, Mike Leach, donned a fake ’stache for a similar look. But the mustache really caught on when Minshew was a rookie with the Jaguars, in part because his whole look was very popular in Jacksonville.
Minshew, who was born and raised in The South, had already expressed his love of jorts, so adding a mustache to his appearance caused North Florida fans to fully embrace him. He’s been a good sport about it, too, really playing into the cult-like following he’s attracted. And in 2020, Minshew (jokingly) debuted his new mullet look, which only added to the endearment.
Bottom Line: Troy Polamalu
Ross D. Franklin / AP Photo
Polamalu’s luscious mane has surpassed two decades of growth, as he started growing out his hair in 2000. It’s gotten him into trouble at times because the NFL doesn’t forbid players from getting tackled by their hair, and Polamalu was yanked down by his after an interception. But it’s also worth its weight in gold — literally. In 2010, he got a $1 million insurance policy on his hair, and Guinness World Records anointed him with the highest insured hair in the world.
Polamalu has leveraged his locks into numerous endorsement opportunities, including with Head & Shoulders, P&G and Suave, but he’s also used his hair to raise money. In 2013, he had four locks of his hair cut off to benefit the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Mane Event, which brings awareness and offers aid to struggling veterans.
