Joe Profit (born August 13, 1949) is a former American football running back for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League (NFL). He spent two seasons, plus part of a third, on the Atlanta Falcons before moving to the New Orleans Saints. He was selected in the first round with the seventh overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft. In his three seasons in the NFL, he rushed 133 times for 471 yards and three touchdowns. He spent the 1974 season with the Birmingham Americans and 1975 with the Birmingham Vulcans, both of the World Football League. He played college football at Northeast Louisiana University. Profit ran as a Republican in 2018 for Congress in Georgia's 4th congressional district, losing to incumbent Democrat Hank Johnson. Early life and college career Joseph Profit was one of nine children born to Simon and Ethel Profit in one of the poorest areas in America, Lake Providence, Louisiana. He graduated from Richwood High School in Monroe, Louisiana, and afterwards briefly attended Alcorn State before transferring to the University of Louisiana, Monroe. Profit “only played three (football) games as a high school senior.” In those three games he managed to score seven touchdowns. With such success, he received scholarship offers from various schools, including Grambling, Southern and Alcorn. Profit chose Alcorn State. However, due to various reasons, Profit left Alcorn with his sights on the University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM). While attending ULM, Profit “became the first black athlete to play football in the Gulf States Conference” (now the Sunbelt Conference). He was the Conference's all-time rushing champion with 2,818 yards, 538 carries and he set 10 school records, including most yards in a game. Unanimously, he was chosen as a member of the All–Sunbelt Conference team three years in a row. He also received first-team honors on the 1970 Little All-America college football team. He was, also, named Most Outstanding Running Back in the Senior Bowl and was invited to play in the North–South Shrine Game. According to Atlanta's Journal Sports Writer, Van Scott, during Profit's collegiate career, he scored 19 rushing touchdowns and, at one time, placed 27th in the NCAA College Division rushing statistics. Profit was the first athlete to have his number retired in the school's history. Career NFL Profit was drafted in the first round of the 1971 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He was the first running back