What is up? Sports Spectrum fans, Jonathan Isaac here, founder of the really, really dope Christian footwear and apparel brand called Unitas. This week, we're partnering with Sports Spectrum. All you have to do is use code SS10 at we are Unitist.com and check out for a discount. Thanks so much.

This is the Sports Spectrum podcast. Matt Forte at the 15 to the 20.

Splits defenders crossing midfield, a first down to run, a 42-yard run.

Where Sports and Faith Connect.

Forte, Diamond Catch, touchdown!

Forte, who gets the call, he'll slice his way in for the touchdown.

And now here's your host, former NFL Pro Bowl running back, Matt Forte.

What's up Sports Spectrum? We're here with Ryan Leaf here on Radio Row down at the Super Bowl, and, man, how are you doing? It's good to see you. Yeah, it's good to see you too. I always love this week just seeing, you know, our NFL brothers. You know, we don't, when we play against each other, we don't get a chance to really talk. And then post career, you know, it's we're trying to figure everything out transition-wise. And so it's really

great to have like this week, see what everybody's up to and hear about your families and everything

you're doing. That's really cool. Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned transition too. I've been through

that process now after 10 years in the league. And you play for you were the second pick of the draft

in 98, I believe. Right right and um you know i guess

talk about that transition out of the league because i know people know your name is is

synonymous with um you know being highly tired and being drafted high and then things not working

out in in the way that you would have wanted them to as well.

But I guess walk us through the mindset of that and I guess the hardships that you went through.

Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, I probably could have been a backup for a lot of years.

You know, and I finally, you know, my ego wouldn't let me be that. You've been the starting quarterback your whole life. All of a sudden, your backup, I just, you know, I remember walking into Mike Holmgren's office in my last stop in Seattle and just said, I quit. You know, I can't imagine wanted to quit something that I wanted to do since I was like four years old, you know, um, selfish on my part. But I was also just kind of really, you know, sick and tired of being beat up, not only physically, but like emotion like you talked about. There's a lot of expectation with being the second pick in the NFL draft. And, you know, I'm synonymous with like failure of that, especially with Peyton Manning being the guy that was drafted just ahead of me. And he's a pro football Hall of Famer. And so the crash and burn of all that, I didn't know how to deal with healthy in a healthy way. And so the transition is already difficult as it is. You know, the identity of you as a football player, now what are you? You know, that's what you are to everybody. So now not only was my identity of a football player gone, like I had a new one, like this failed football player. And I did not know how to deal with that. And I didn't understand that you could ask for help and seek therapy. And I thought that is weakness type of thing. I'd never seen another man do that or a peer of mine. So, you know, I tried to deal with it myself and that ended up being in the only thing that ever numbed me and that was like, it was painkillers. I mean, it's only drug I've ever taken in my life after surgeries and everything like that. And it absolutely ruined it for me. Like, you know, I just, I disappeared in it. I was a slave to it.

It just, and it took every bit of my life over the next eight years so much so that I had to end up

being a criminal and going to prison for three years, which is crazy to think. And so I'm,

you know, I was that story, you know, and, and when I walked out, either I had to make a conscious

choice to start over and have a different ending or it was just going to be the same. And so,

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