Retired NFL player needed new path, decided to become a psychologist

There are more than a few troubling stories of NFL players struggling to find their way once their football careers are done, but there are also many great stories like Kareem McKenzie’s tale.

A fantastic story from the NFL’s player engagement site tells of how McKenzie, who played in 161 games over 11 seasons with the New York Jets and New York Giants, needed something to do when his playing career was done after the 2011 season. McKenzie was just 32 and even though he had made plenty of money (including a $37 million deal in 2005) and was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Giants, he was really just beginning his life.

So he decided to become a psychologist.

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The NFL site said McKenzie is on track to earn his Masters of Education in Professional Counseling from William Paterson University’s College of Education in 2016. He’ll pursue his doctorate after that. He wants to provide counseling to retired athletes and also retired members of the military.

“[The question] was, what to do with my free time,” he told the NFL’s player engagement site. “You can only go to the gym so many times, visit family and friends. You have to find something to do with your time, if not everything becomes very chaotic and dangerous. An idle mind is the devil’s playground.”

McKenzie said he got counseling before his retirement from the NFL and saw firsthand how beneficial it was. Now he wants to be on the other side of those talks. He told the player engagement site that he wants to help assist current players in planning for the next stages of their lives. He’ll be a great example for them.

The professional and major college football world isn’t really set up to prepare players to walk into a new profession after they’ve retired at 30 … if they’re lucky enough to have their football career last that long. Because it takes all of their time and effort to make it to the highest level of the sport, preparing for a career after the game is difficult at best. But many players have done well in careers outside of football after they’re done playing, as Dr. McKenzie will be able to tell those who are searching for a new identity after football.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab