You'll often hear people say they don't like to mix politics and sports, and that's a fair choice. After all, sports serve as an escape from the real world for a lot of people, and they may not want politics weighing that down.
But it's hard to separate sports from politics in one particular election during this upcoming cycle, as the race for the US House of Representatives in Arizona's 1st Congressional District has a unique tie to the NFL.
Jay Feely and Amish Shah used to work for the same NFL franchise – now they face-off for a seat in the US House of Representatives
Jay Feely is best known to NFL fans for his tenure as a kicker in the league from 2001-2014, during which he spent time with seven different franchises. One of those stops was with the New York Jets from 2008-2009. Now, Feely is running as a Republican for the US House of Representatives in Arizona, and he's
quite familiar with his opponent.
That opponent is Democrat Amish Shah, who previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives. But Shah original field was medicine, and after earning his Doctor of Medicine degree, one of his jobs was serving as the team physician for the New York Jets – a job which he held during Feely's stint with the organization.
Former NFL kicker Jay Feely has won the Republican primary for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District and will advance to the general election in November.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) July 23, 2026
He'll now face Democrat Amish Shah, who was the team doctor when Feely played for the New York Jets from 2008-09. pic.twitter.com/PzSUcbVTjE
Now, after being colleagues over a decade ago, the two men will battle it out on the campaign trail in a significant swing district in a purple state. It's quite a turn of events for the former Jets' employees, and their race will likely be one of the House races in the national spotlight during the 2026 midterms.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Retired NFL star battles former team doctor for US House seat
