San Francisco 49ers wideout and former Olympic long jumper Marquise Goodwin beat Carolina Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson by .05 seconds in the final Saturday night to win the “40 Yards of Gold” competition and claim the $1 million prize.
The pay-per-view event, hosted by former NFL wideout Chad Johnson and held in Sunrise, Fla., featured 16 players running 40-yard dashes against each other in a single-elimination bracket.
Goodwin, a four-time All-American in track and field in college at Texas and a participant at the 2012 London games, advanced through the “offense” side of the bracket with wins over Arizona Cardinals wideout Damiere Byrd, Atlanta Falcons wideout Christian Blake and Denver Broncos running back Khalfani Muhammad before beating Jackson.
Muhammad was a replacement for New Orleans Saints wideout Ted Ginn Jr., who inspired the event by claiming he would race any NFL player in a 40-yard dash for $10,000 but did not show for Saturday’s action.
Blake replaced New York Jets wideout Robby Anderson after the latter withdrew from the quarterfinals. Anderson had beaten Saints running back Alvin Kamara in the opening round.
Jackson beat Minnesota Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes and free agent corner Jalen Myrick in the first two rounds before clipping Chicago Bears cornerback John Franklin III by .01 seconds in the semifinals.
