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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love shared his struggles with almost quitting football at the age of 14 in an article he penned for “The Players Tribune” on Monday.
At 14, Love’s father tragically took his own life during the summer after his freshman year of high school.
Love recounted that when football season started in the fall, he contemplated giving up the sport.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) during warmups prior to the game against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on Jan. 5, 2025, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Jeff Hanisch/Imagn Images)
“When football started that fall, I wanted to quit. It wasn’t even that big of a deal. I was a nobody. I was the smallest kid on the field — literally. My freshman year, I was 5’6″, 136 pounds. Maybe 5’7″ with my Vans on. I didn’t even make JV. I was the backup QB on the freshman team. Just some dude,” Love wrote in “The Players Tribune.”
Love revealed that his mom intervened and convinced him not to quit by striking a deal with him.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) on the field after loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field on Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Eric Hartline/Imagn Images)
“She said, ‘Just give it one more year. If you don’t love it at the end of this year, and you want to stop, then we’ll stop.’”
Although Love did not achieve instant success during that season, he acknowledged that playing football provided him with an escape from his troubles.
Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love runs a drill during an NFL football practice Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Kayla Wolf/AP Photo)
Love credited his mother and the camaraderie of football for pulling him out of a dark place.
“That camaraderie of football took me out of a really dark and lonely place. Through everything, the one thing that I could always count on was my friends and family. There’s just no way I’d be here without them. No way I’d have made it out of Bakersfield. No way in hell that I’d be the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers,” Love said.
Love, now in his fifth season with the Packers and third season as the starting quarterback, led the team to a 9-6 record in his starts last season, with a completion percentage of 63.1%, 3,389 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
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