Former Philadelphia Eagles Player Keith Carlos Wins America’s Next Top Model

Former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Keith Carlos was crowned America’s Next Top Model on Friday during Tyra Bank’s long-running reality show’s season finale. This makes Carlos the first man to win the competition, since ANTM started including male models last season.

According to FOX 29, Carlos beat out 30 other men and women for the top prize, which earns him a contract with Next Model Management and a spread in Nylon magazine.

In a statement to Zap2It, Carlos said, “”I was very surprised that I won, because Will was such a strong model and Adam was so red-hot towards the end. The fact that I came through and pulled it out was very surprising for me.”

“I’ve always been told I should model … but I was so attached to football that I never really immersed myself into it. So once my career came to an end, I was like, ‘I’m gonna do something different.’ So I jumped into modeling and America’s Next Top Model is this huge platform and a great start, where I can get the international exposure that I need. So I decided to try it out and look what happened!”

Folks with Philly ties have had luck on ANTM. Just last year, local singer Cory Wade Hindorff made top 3 on the show.