“They Will Have to Beg Me”: Ndamukong Suh Explains Why He Won’t Let His Sons Play Football

Most athletes either dream of playing with their kids on the same team or of seeing their kids extend their legacy on the field. But that’s not the case for former Super Bowl champ Ndamukong Suh.

That’s right, Suh, a 13-year NFL veteran, is against the idea of seeing his sons try to go pro in football. It may sound ludicrous to some, as his kids could have a leg up on the competition for their age. But the defensive lineman wants to take a hands-off approach to parenting that doesn’t force them into any sport.

Suh recently talked about this during his latest media appearance.

“My boys will not [play football]… they will have to beg me to play football,” Suh said on The Rich Eisen Show.

The statement caught Eisen off guard, and he immediately wanted to know why that was the case. Suh then elaborated.

“You have to have a mentality and a grind to you, and just you gotta be a little bit off to play football in a positive manner. Not saying my boys don’t have that, and won’t have that in their future, but it’s not something I’m going to push on them by any means,” he stated.

It’s an interesting point to note. Football is a vicious sport, and sometimes it takes being a little crazy to work up the will to play. Clearly, Suh believes his sons have the “crazy” gene, but he doesn’t want to force it out of them.

The former Detroit Lion then made a surprising revelation.

“Selfishly, we love basketball. We’ve got family that are head coaches in the NBA and coaches all over the league that we love being around,” Suh shared.

In case you didn’t know, Suh’s cousin, Kam Chatman, played basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. He went unsigned in the 2018 NBA Draft but has played professionally overseas ever since.

Furthermore, Suh’s sister, Odette, played college soccer for Mississippi State as a midfielder and also represented the Cameroon women’s national team. So if his kids ever wanted to be soccer stars, that would make his family proud.

“I love soccer, I grew up around it. My dad would be elated if they were soccer players and playing in the EPL.”

Suh’s father, Michael, sadly passed away in July 2024. He was a massive soccer fan, and his dying wish was for his son to walk away from the NFL, believing Suh had achieved everything he possibly could. One year later, Suh retired.

July 12, 2024 was the hardest day of my life.

It’s the day I said goodbye to my father, the man who raised me, shaped me, challenged me, and believed in me before I believed in myself.

He wasn’t just a dad. He was my idol, my coach, and my anchor.
He taught me what it meant to… pic.twitter.com/WkefQaDrsQ

— Ndamukong Suh (@NdamukongSuh) July 12, 2025

No one knows better than Suh how physical the NFL is. So, as a protective father, it makes sense that he doesn’t want his kids to play the sport. But that doesn’t mean he’s against them pursuing sports altogether. And even if they do decide to play football after some convincing, Suh sounds like he’d be fully supportive of the decision.