Michael Sam revealed in a recent interview that were he to make an NFL squad, he’d be far from being the only gay player in the league.

Michael Sam On Gay NFL Players

Sam, who was on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad during a portion of the 2014 season, made history by coming out as a gay man ahead of entering into the NFL draft following a stellar college career at the University of Missouri. Much has been made of the potential for Sam to be a distraction on the field and off by virtue of being a gay athlete. However, according to Sam, there are already plenty of gay men competing in the league.

“I am not the only gay person in the NFL. I’m just saying there is a lot of us,” the free agent told the Star-Telegram.

In fact, according to Sam, many gay players in the NFL came out to him after learning of his orientation. “I respect the players that did reach out to me and had the courage to tell me that they were also gay, but they do not have the same courage as I do to come out before I even played a down in the NFL,” said Sam.

“The players who have reached out to me and told me about their sexual orientation, it just means a lot,” Sam, who is currently competing on Dancing with the Stars, added. “But I will never say anything about who they are, what teams they are [on]. I’m just saying there’s some famous people, and I’m not the only one.”

Though Sam’s professional career in the NFL didn’t get off to the start he had imagined last fall, he has no intention of curtailing his dreams of playing in the league. “As long as I stay healthy and I still train, I think my chances of being on a team are quite high,” Sam told reporter Marc Sessler, qualifying, “In my own view.”