Jason Bean (American football)
American football player (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jason Bean (born June 9, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback for the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the North Texas Mean Green and the Kansas Jayhawks. He was drafted first overall in the 2024 UFL draft by the Memphis Showboats.
Bean with the Louisville Kings in 2026 | |
| No. 12 – DC Defenders | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Roster status | Active |
| Personal information | |
| Born | June 9, 1999 |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas) |
| College | North Texas (2018–2020) Kansas (2021–2023) |
| NFL draft | 2024: undrafted |
| Career history | |
| |
* Offseason or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
Bean attended Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield, Texas.[1] After graduation, he committed to playing college football at the University of North Texas.[2]
College career
North Texas
Bean attended the University of North Texas from 2018 to 2020, during which time he played for the university's football team, the Mean Green. He played in only one game his first year on campus, thus returning as a redshirt freshman his second year. He received various accolades in his third year, including being named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week, Manning Award Star of the Week, and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week. He was also included on the Davey O’Brien Award Great 8 list.[1]
After the conclusion of the 2020 season, Bean entered the NCAA transfer portal.[3]
Kansas
Bean transferred to the University of Kansas in the spring of 2021 to continue his collegiate career.[4] He was made the starter the 2023 season opener and completed 22 of 28 passing attempts for 276 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding 41 yards on the ground, as he helped the Jayhawks beat Missouri State.[5] In the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl, Bean threw for 449 yards and six passing touchdowns, which were the most passing touchdowns by a Big 12 player in a bowl game in conference history.[6]
College statistics
| Season | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record[a] | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2018 | North Texas | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | -100.0 | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | 0 |
| 2019 | North Texas | 7 | 0 | — | 22 | 35 | 62.9 | 176 | 5.0 | 3 | 3 | 116.2 | 14 | 80 | 5.7 | 0 |
| 2020 | North Texas | 8 | 7 | 3–4 | 79 | 155 | 54.5 | 1,131 | 7.8 | 14 | 5 | 145.0 | 56 | 346 | 6.2 | 5 |
| 2021 | Kansas | 11 | 9 | 1–8 | 102 | 182 | 56.0 | 1,252 | 6.9 | 6 | 6 | 118.1 | 92 | 400 | 4.3 | 2 |
| 2022 | Kansas | 12 | 4 | 1–3 | 87 | 136 | 64.0 | 1,280 | 9.4 | 14 | 4 | 171.1 | 38 | 222 | 5.8 | 4 |
| 2023 | Kansas | 12 | 10 | 6–3 | 124 | 199 | 62.3 | 2,130 | 10.7 | 18 | 7 | 175.0 | 47 | 280 | 6.0 | 3 |
| Career | 51 | 30 | 11–18 | 414 | 699 | 5,969 | 59.2 | 8.5 | 55 | 26 | 149.5 | 251 | 1,342 | 5.3 | 14 | |
- Accounts for only GS as a QB. On 9/8/23 Bean started at WR.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+3⁄4 in (1.87 m) | 196 lb (89 kg) | 31+3⁄4 in (0.81 m) | 9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 6 ft 6+1⁄4 in (1.99 m) | 4.56 s | 1.62 s | 2.63 s | 4.45 s | 7.07 s | 30.5 in (0.77 m) | 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) | |
| All values from Pro Day[7] | ||||||||||||
Indianapolis Colts
Bean signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent on May 9, 2024.[8] On July 17, he was drafted first overall by the Memphis Showboats in the 2024 UFL draft.[9] Bean was waived by the Colts on August 27, during roster cuts and signed with the teams' practice squad the next day.[10][11] He was listed on the Colts' roster as a quarterback/wide receiver.[12] He signed a reserve/future contract with Indianapolis on January 6, 2025.[13] Despite being under contract with the Colts, Bean has been incorrectly written about by multiple press outlets as being a member of the Showboats in the lead-up to the 2025 UFL season, including ESPN.[14][15][16][17]
On August 26, 2025, Bean was waived by the Colts as part of final roster cuts.[18]
Louisville Kings
On January 12, 2026, Bean was allocated to the Louisville Kings of the United Football League (UFL).[19] Unlike with the Showboats, Bean agreed to report to Kings training camp and was named the team's starting quarterback.[20] Bean started the Kings' first four games of the season before being traded.
DC Defenders
On April 19, 2026, Bean was traded to the DC Defenders in exchange for quarterback Mike DiLiello.[21] In the 2026 United Bowl, Bean was forced out of the game due to a left shoulder separation that would ultimately require surgery; the Louisville Kings would go on to beat the Defenders, 27—20.[22]