Professional football players face physical and mental stressors, including risks related to injuries. But for Alaric Jackson, the reality of competing in the NFL includes more upsides than downsides.
From the outside looking in, life on the gridiron looks like a golden ticket, albeit with some occasional hard hits on game day. To the average American, professional football players have wealth, fame and a lack of “normal” everyday problems. In reality, competing at the highest level of football comes with its own stresses, including physically demanding training, lack of job security, the potential for injury and the demands of life in the public eye.
In 2025, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and ESPN surveyed former NFL players from the 1988 season. Many of those former players had poorer physical, mental and cognitive health than other men their age. Even so, most said they’d make the decision to play in the NFL if they did life over again, even knowing the costs.
Alaric Jackson, offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams, enters his sixth season with the team in 2026. After six years in the NFL, Jackson knows what it means to compete at this level, including highs and lows.
IMAGE: UNSPLASH
The Real Challenges Of Competing At The Highest Level Of Football
The challenges of competing in any sport are physical and mental. As athletes rise to higher levels, the pressure intensifies.
Training For Physically Demanding Positions
Elite sports demand physical fitness. For football players, who take hard hits on the field, workouts often need to build strength, speed and the ability to go down and get back up. During the season, that may mean giving up favorite foods, hitting the gym early and often and adopting proactive and reactive symptom management. One player said they take ibuprofen so often during the season to manage aches and pains related to playing that they avoid anti-inflammatories as much as possible during the offseason to detox.
Next-gen data analytics, which have reduced workloads and made life easier for many professionals, have turned up the heat on pro athletes. Performance is tracked at a granular level, and training may be planned with data-driven benchmarks in mind, raising the bar for what coaches and managers expect from players.
Jackson, who trained his way into a spot on the Rams, is no stranger to the physical demands of his job. And as part of the offensive line, he has to incorporate high levels of athleticism to maintain the balance, footwork, coordination and agility required to protect his quarterback’s blindside.
Hard Work Isn’t Guaranteed To Pay Off
Hard work that pays off is one thing, but professional athletic careers rarely come with any type of guarantee. It’s a lesson learned by many even before that level; less than a fraction of a percent of high school football players end up going pro.
Around 259 players are drafted into the NFL annually. Even those who catch a team’s eye enough to be drafted don’t always make rosters as rookies. Another 450 to 500 players sign as undrafted free agents; even fewer make rosters.
Jackson had to take that harder road into the NFL himself. He was undrafted in 2021 and signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent that year. While he did make the 53-man roster his rookie year based on performance in training camp, he did so against odds.
Injuries And Health Concerns Create Instability
It’s when, not if, elite football players are injured. Not everyone has a dramatic game day incident that calls for team medics on the field, but all players experience bruises, pulled muscles and other minor injuries. The KFF/ESPN report indicated a high likelihood of long-lasting physical consequences from play, but for most elite athletes on the gridiron, it’s not a question of whether injuries occur. It’s whether they’ll derail careers.
Even more challenging is the fact that health concerns outside of the game can impact a player’s livelihood too. Setbacks that keep players off the field can result in career and financial instability, since roster spots aren’t guaranteed the way other jobs are. That’s true for all players, but especially true for free agents.
Jackson has lived this truth. In 2022, he was diagnosed with a blood clot issue that involved medication and treatment and took him out of gameplay for a while. He had another run-in with clots in 2025. Talking about how he felt about the diagnosis, he said, “I was kind of in shock…I’m in a good space now about it, but I thought I was done [playing]…” He also says there’s only so much an elite player can control, and NFL players must be prepared for the fact that they may suddenly stop playing.
The Public Eye Creates Pressure
On top of everything else, constant public scrutiny can make it difficult to live life as an elite athlete. Off the field, players navigate fan expectations that may not align with reality. They also have to be available for interviews and other appearances; that visibility can increase stress and make a bad game or minor setback feel like something bigger.
The Rewards Of Competing At The Highest Level
According to the KFF/ESPN survey data, even with all the above challenges, most of the 1988 players would do it all over again. That’s in hindsight and despite the fact that many of those players live with some level of chronic pain and reduced cognitive function related to football.
While the risk and stress of playing football at the highest level are real, so are the rewards. Jackson and other players, past, present and future, see the sacrifices as worth it. For many, it’s a lifetime passion, and they simply can’t see themselves doing something else. Other rewards of competing at the highest level include:
- Elite earnings (Jackson landed a three-year, $57 million contract extension, for example)
- Championship status (in his rookie year, Jackson wore a Super Bowl ring)
- External recognition (Jackson has earned the Ed Block Courage Award and is recognized as a top-ranking player by Pro Football Focus)
- The ability to impact others positively (Jackson is involved with the Boys and Girls Club)
The reality of playing professional football is that it’s far from “just a game.” When you make the game your career, the stakes can be incredibly high. Alaric Jackson knows football isn’t a forever job, which is why he’s invested in AI and a leadership degree. But while he can still take the field, the benefits of being a high-level professional athlete help him overcome the challenges.
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