Swann played high-school football at Western Harnett High School in Lillington, North Carolina and graduated in 1989.
[2] Swann was bound for North Carolina State University but was ruled academically ineligible.
Rather than enrolling under Proposition 48,[3] he left Wake Technical in 1990 to join the semi-pro Bay State Titans in Lynn, Massachusetts with a $5-per-hour salary.
[11] Two weeks later, he signed a one-year, veteran minimum deal with the Carolina Panthers along with Reggie White.
[12] In 2007, Swann played for the Hudson Valley Saints of the North American Football League.