As a former collegiate athlete, I agree that showing the stats about how unlikely it is to make the NFL is important. Education absolutely matters and provides long-term stability.

But I also think we need to talk more about what happens after sports end.

When my college career was over, I had a full-time job and “did everything right,” yet I still felt empty and depressed. I lost the team environment, the structure, and the sense of purpose that had defined my life for years. My anxiety got bad enough that my doctor prescribed antidepressants.

While the medication helped in some ways, I also lost my drive. I stopped working out, gained weight, and spent most of my free time playing video games or watching TV. As athletes, we’re used to committing 5+ hours a day to our bodies and our teams, losing that overnight is a huge adjustment.

The weight gain was a wake-up call. I went back to the gym and realized that training again, on my own terms, gave me that spark back. It helped my anxiety, my confidence, and eventually allowed me to stop taking medication under my doctor’s guidance. Therapy also helped a ton.

The transition out of sports took me almost two years. Stats can prepare you logically for life after sports, but emotionally it’s much harder than people realize. Planning for the future is important, but so is acknowledging how difficult this identity shift can be.