Life after retirement isn’t the same for every athlete, and this was especially true for former Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. His productivity drastically decreased due to knee injuries, leading to a 2016 season where he didn’t even start a single game for Kansas City. His final two years in the NFL, spent with Denver and Jacksonville, followed the same trend. Thus, the retirement Charles envisioned never came true, and in his own words, it thrust him into the ‘dark side.’
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During his recent appearance on the ‘Second Acts Podcast,’ Jamaal Charles recalled how his storied tenure in the Big League abruptly ended. The four-time Pro Bowler admitted that he no longer had the physical prowess he once did — which made him contemplate life and what he would do now that he was hanging up his cleats. More sadly, Charles revealed that no one came forward to help him transition into life after football.
“My body wasn’t the same. It’s like man, what do I do next? And I just went into basically a dark side,” Charles narrated. “Nobody (was) reaching out to me; got me out to transition to life after football.”
It only got worse from there, as Charles recalled losing a lot of money due to bad investments. This led him to a point where he almost crossed a line that could have ended his life.
“People don’t really know I went to try to work with people and invest with people. It didn’t go well. I started to lose money and investment. So, I started to get really depressive like suicide — suicidal,” Charles recalled.
The former Longhorns star didn’t know who to ‘lean on’ or where to seek advice, and it truly bothered him that during the NFLPA meetings, he didn’t pay attention and grasp the intricacies of investments and lucrative opportunities. However, he didn’t linger in the pit; he fought his battles silently and found the light, one step at a time.
Jamaal Charles Talks ‘Therapy’ and How He Found the Light
Jamaal Charles believes that he can be successful in anything that he puts his mind to, and it’s also the mentality that helped him overcome depression. During the same interview, the former NFL star recalled finishing a class with a pro football community, which helped open his eyes and taught him about real estate and good investments.
Since he got to hang out with other football players who were possibly transitioning to life after retirement, it felt like home. For Charles, it was almost as if he were back in his locker room. He then opened up about receiving therapy, where he could finally discuss suicidal and depressive thoughts.
While he appears physically fit, there is still ongoing rehab, which poses a bit of a challenge for Charles. However, he admitted that therapy helped him overcome those thoughts and that he continues to attend therapy sessions even now.
“At that time I was still going through therapy and I’m still is today,” Charles said. “But it was also my body — just bone on bone and shoulders… Just because I look good; I still have problems; my body feels like I’m 70. I might be here, but my mind might be checked out. I might be here and might look like I’m happy, but at the same time, people don’t understand what I’m going through.”
That said, it certainly appears that Charles is facing his challenges head-on. The former running back even had a moment in Detroit during the draft, where his former team afforded him the opportunity to announce their second-round pick (63rd overall).
Charles was all smiles as he announced that his former team had chosen BYU offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia. Surely, we will see more of him as time progresses.
