Vernon Davis Gunning To Dominate Acting After NFL Retirement

And, the Oscar goes to ... Super Bowl champ Vernon Davis?!?!

Maybe someday!! 'Cause the recently retired NFL tight end tells TMZ Sports he's got 10 toes down in the acting industry!!

FYI -- Davis is a 2-time Pro Bowler and led the league in TDs in 2009 ... so he had one helluva career.

But, the 36-year-old tells us he ain't sittin' back and relaxing on the beach in retirement -- he's already started his own production company called Reel 85 Productions!!

So how did we get here?? Davis says he caught the acting bug when he was with the 49ers ... and hasn't looked back since.

"I wrote in a class when I was in San Francisco called Shelton Theater of Art," Davis tells us. "That's when I entered into a play and from there, it was all downhill after that."

Davis ain't the only player going from the gridiron to the silver screen -- he name-drops an NFLer who might join him as an acting star!!