Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill officially challenges Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles to 50-yard race

Tyreek Hill is serious about racing Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles in a 50-yard dash. The Miami Dolphins receiver officially and publicly threw down the gauntlet on social media on Sunday.

“Sign the contract and go for that 50-yard race,” Hill wrote.

This back-and-forth between the athletes began when Hill—widely regarded as the fastest player in the NFL—said he could beat Lyles in a race. Lyles won the gold medal in the men’s 100 meters at the Paris Olympics, earning the unofficial title of fastest man in the world.

“I would beat Noah Lyles,” Hill said on theUp and Adams” last week. “I wouldn’t beat him by much, but I would beat Noah Lyles.”

Hill also questioned whether Lyles was really sick when he won bronze in the men’s 200 meters after testing positive for COVID. The sprinter later withdrew from the men’s 4×100-meter relay final due to his illness.

When asked about Hill’s comments on the “Nightcap” podcast, Lyles said the outspoken NFL star is “just chasing clout” and challenged him to back up his bold claim.

It’s worth noting that Hill said he wanted to meet Lyles in a 50-yard dash, perhaps under the impression that the Olympic star would pass him in 100 meters, while NFL players are typically measured in 40-yard dashes. That distance could be part of a negotiation if Hill’s representatives were to talk to Lyles’ people about making the race happen.

When such a competition would take place is another question. The Dolphins probably don’t want to have it during the season. This would be a great event to schedule for the Pro Bowl Games in the week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

This seems more likely to be an offseason event, though. Perhaps during the NFL scouting combine, since speed is already a prominent topic among fans, media, scouts, and NFL executives? It’s probably time to let agents—and probably TV executives—do the talking.