CrossFit podcast spotlights NFL quarterback Tyson Bagent's gym roots

Tyson Bagent’s path to the NFL makes more sense when it starts in a CrossFit gym. CrossFit’s Sport of Fitness Podcast put that background front and center on May 20, pairing the Chicago Bears quarterback’s football rise with a family gym story that began in Martinsburg, West Virginia, when Bagent was 10 years old.

That matters because Bagent is not a casual celebrity guest dabbling in the methodology. CrossFit says he grew up in his father’s affiliate and has done CrossFit for most of his life, with the training culture helping build the confidence and work ethic he carried into football. His father, Travis Bagent, introduced him to the sport, and the family gym became part of his identity long before Soldier Field ever did.

Bagent’s own words make the connection even sharper. He has said that if football had not worked out, he would have “CrossFit my life away” and become a teacher at Martinsburg High School. That line lands because it strips away the usual athlete-polished narrative. For Bagent, CrossFit was never a branding layer added later. It was part of the backup plan, the daily routine and the home life that shaped how he approached competition.

The football résumé is equally useful context. Bagent signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2023, then made his first NFL start on October 22, 2023, in a 30-12 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. In that game, he completed 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards, threw his first career touchdown and avoided a turnover. Chicago later rewarded him with a two-year extension through 2027 on August 20, 2025, a move that underlined how far he had come from undrafted long shot to roster fixture.

His college production at Shepherd University explains why the Bears were willing to bet on him. Bagent started 53 games, won the 2021 Harlon Hill Trophy and finished with 159 passing touchdowns, 17,034 passing yards and 1,400 completions, marks the Bears cited as then-NCAA records. That arc gives the podcast episode extra weight: it is not just an NFL quarterback appearing on a CrossFit show, but a player whose development, family background and professional habits were shaped by the gym culture CrossFit keeps trying to sell to the wider sports world.