American football •
John Jackson (offensive tackle) (born 1965), former NFL offensive tackle •
John Jackson (wide receiver) (born 1967), former NFL player •
Johnnie Jackson (American football) (born 1967), cornerback •
John Jackson (wide receiver, born 1999) (born 1999), American football player
Association football •
John Jackson (football manager) (1861–1931), first manager of Brighton and Hove Albion •
John Jackson (footballer, born 1885) (1885–?), Scottish footballer (Clyde, Leeds City, Celtic, Dundee) •
John Jackson (footballer, born 1906) (1906–1965), Scottish football goalkeeper (Partick Thistle, Chelsea) •
John Jackson (footballer, born 1923) (1923–1992), English footballer for Stoke City •
John Jackson (footballer, born 1942) (1942–2022), English football goalkeeper for Crystal Palace
Baseball •
Bud Fowler (born John W. Jackson, 1858–1913), pioneer black baseball player and club organizer •
John Jackson (baseball) (1909–1956), Major League Baseball pitcher, 1933 •
Big Train Jackson (John William Jackson Jr., born 1917), American baseball player
Boxing •
John Jackson (English boxer) (1769–1845), English boxer •
John David Jackson (boxer) (born 1963), former super welterweight boxer •
John Jackson (Virgin Islands boxer) (born 1989), Olympic boxer from the Virgin Islands
Cricket •
John Jackson (cricketer, born 1833) (1833–1901), English cricketer •
John Jackson (cricketer, born 1841) (1841–1906), English cricketer •
John Jackson (Worcestershire cricketer) (1880–1968), English cricketer •
John Jackson (cricketer, born 1898) (1898–1958), Chilean cricketer
Other sports •
John Jackson (jockey), British classic winning jockey •
John Jackson (sport shooter) (1885–1971), American Olympic sport shooter •
John Angelo Jackson (1921–2005), mountaineer •
John Jackson (athlete) (born 1941), British steeplechaser •
John Jackson (speedway rider) (born 1952), British speedway rider •
John Jackson (racing driver) (born 1964), professional racing driver •
J. D. Jackson (basketball) (born 1969), Canadian basketball coach and former player •
John Jackson (bobsleigh) (born 1977), British bobsledder and Royal Marines commando •
John Jackson (field hockey) (born 1986), Irish field hockey player ==Others==