Jason Worilds has a story unlike anyone else, after giving up his successful career as an NFL linebacker earning $15million – to take up life as a Jehovah’s Witness.
Worilds, now 35, announced his decision to step away from professional football in 2015, when he was just 27 and had spent five seasons as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2010 to 2014.
‘I appreciate all of the interest from the organizations that have reached out to us the past few days, with that being said, after much thought and consideration I have chosen to step away from football as I have opted to pursue other interests,’ said the ex-NFL star, eight years ago, on Twitter and through his agent, Jason Bernstein.
‘I am especially grateful of the opportunity to play before some of the greatest fans in football today. Despite any concern and speculation that may ensue, I appreciate those that are respectful of my decision.’
Worilds’ unexpected retirement at such as a young age surprised many at the time due to the start of the free agency period starting the day prior. The linebacker was set to be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and was expected to receive a $7-$8M salary with at least $15M guaranteed.
Drafted in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Worilds stands at six-feet-two-inches and was a star player at Virginia Tech.
He was immediately thrown into the Steelers’ starting core in his rookie season with Pittsburgh, signing a $1.7million deal with the franchise when he first came into the league.
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And over the course of his five NFL seasons, Worilds went on to record impressive stats, boosting 25.5 sacks, one interception and 204 total tackles.
In 2014, a year before retiring, he signed a one-year transition tender with the Steelers, taking home $9.7M in the process, according to Spotrac.
Reflecting on his teammate’s surprise career change in 2015, ex-Steelers guard Ramon Foster said he was stunned that Worilds chose to go down the path of faith.
‘He was a guy you could tell he thought outside the box,’ said Foster, eight years ago.
‘He was a guy who didn’t care about the money and it shows now.’
Worilds has gone under the radar since leading a new life outside of professional football, having not tweeted anything since announcing his retirement on Twitter on March 11, 2015.
To this day, his Twitter bio reads: ‘An odd roll of a five-sided die.’
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