Who is Tyson Bagent’s dad? Meet ‘The Beast,’ a 28-time arm wrestling world champion originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Over his NFL career, Tyson Bagent has developed a reputation as one of the league’s best backup quarterbacks.
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While Bagent has seldom been needed on the field — he had four starts in 2023, but hasn’t been a QB1 since — the Bears have raved about the former undrafted quarterback’s talented, even signing him to a $10 million contract extension in 2025.
There’s a case to be made, though, that Bagent isn’t even the most successful athlete in his family. His father has caught NFL fans’ attention in the past for his elite arm wrestling career.
Here’s what to know about Tyson Bagent’s father and his arm wrestling success.
MORE: Where did Tyson Bagent go to college?
Tyson Bagent’s dad is Travis Bagent, nicknamed “The Beast” as he’s captured world championships in his arm wrestling career.
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The elder Bagent began arm wrestling in the late 1990s, but still competes in events to this day.
Travis Bagent has claimed arm wrestling titles at the national and world levels, with NFL Network previously reporting that he owns 28 world championships over his 20-plus-year career.
As a CrossFit gym owner, Bagent has said he how to arm wrestle from his father, Rusty Bagent, who arm wrestled while serving in the Marines during the 1960s and 1970s. Rusty went on to open two West Virginia clubs, The Big Arm in Shepherdstown and Billy Jack’s in Charles Town, where arm wrestling competitions were held.
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Travis has said that the time he spent at his father’s clubs helped him become a successful arm wrestler.
“I had a lot of time to work at it and having all that experience before I went to the national championships gave me an edge. Few people have a situation like mine, a place where there are 10 tables and 400 to 600 competitors every Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” he told KatherineCobb.com in 2016. “And I cared desperately about finding someone in there I could beat! I didn’t stop until I did, and one thing I had the ability to do was beat people who were stronger than me. I don’t think most people get that.”
Also in that interview, Travis Bagent revealed the income he makes from tournaments, hosting expos and refereeing them: $500,000 to $1 million, after he called it previously “a $25,000 annual situation.”
When Tyson Bagent was an NFL prospect, Travis’ arm-wrestling skills only went more viral, as he did an interview with NFL Network and described the sport.
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“It’s real easy. If your hand hits that pad, you are great, you are the baddest dude in the history of the NFL Network,” Bagent told the network’s Tom Pelissero. “What usually happens is I win, what’s best for you is don’t fight it. Everybody’s good at something and this is what I do.”
