As the Kansas City Chiefs' dynasty continues to unfold and they pursue the first-ever Super Bowl three-peat, it's kind of easy to forget the time before Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Travis Kelce and Co. took the NFL by storm.
Sadly, right as the Mahomes era was ready to begin, electrifying running back Jamaal Charles was on his way out of the NFL. He played sparingly for two games in Jacksonville during his last season in 2018, in which Mahomes won the MVP in his first year as a starter. Injuries cut Charles' prime short, limiting him to eight total regular-season games in his last two years with the Chiefs, and robbing him of a couple playoff appearances.
Prior to all that going down, though, Charles was legitimately one of the most exciting players in all of football, logging five 1,000-yard rushing campaigns in a six-year span from 2009 through 2014. A torn ACL only two games into 2011 was the only reason Charles didn't cross the four-digit threshold. He also owns the highest yards per carry in league history among backs who've had at least 1,000 rushing attempts.
https://twitter.com/NFLLegacy/status/1116462262720421889
The NFL's cliché faux acronym of "Not For Long" is typically an allusion to how short the shelf life is of the average player's career. Despite defying the odds by sticking around for parts of 11 seasons, the "Not For Long" acronym is apropos to describe how even some of the biggest stars can be quickly forgotten by the vast majority of fans. It can be difficult for even raging successes like Charles to find fulfillment in retirement, with so many years of life ahead and an identity predominantly defined by football since childhood.
In a commendably vulnerable interview on the Second Acts podcast hosted by ex-NFL defensive backs Charles Tillman and Roman Harper, Charles revealed how tough it was for him once he walked away from the field (edited for clarity and concision):
"I rolled out, and — people don't really know…I went to try to work with people, and invest with people, and it didn't go well. I started to lose money in investments you know what I'm saying? So I started to get really depressive, like suicidal. I still continue to basically…[I’m] still trying to find my way. Going through that situation and transition…it's really hard. My situation was hard for me, because I didn't know who to lean on, who to look for, or where the help [would] come from."
https://twitter.com/AryePulli/status/1799954382005629103
NFL content police won't allow the embedding of this full podcast, but it's linked above. It's a noble mission that Tillman and Harper are on to give former players a platform to open up about some of their more trying experiences once playing football is no longer an option.
https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1778754941093568626
Stories like that of Charles and countless others are why anyone can miss me with any take related to complaining about players trying to maximize every dollar they earn. Their time in the NFL is so short. Yes, they get paid lots of money to play a child's game, but what do they do afterwards? It's not easy. Charles evidently trusted the wrong people with his money and got burned. There's no one-size-fits-all playbook for how to handle any of that.
What has to make matters even tougher for someone like Charles is how much NFL revenue and the salary cap continue to explode. The cap has doubled since Charles ran for a career-high 12 TDs in 2013. His career earnings were just under $42 million. Look at what San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey stands to make from his latest contract extension
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1798042911222939918
Love to see the NFL continue to boom. However, there's a "Not For Long" collective memory of players like Charles and his most accomplished peers — partially because they just missed out on the league's financial windfall.
Good for Charles to open up like he did. Wishing him the best as he continues to navigate retirement.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
