In recent years, we’ve seen the lives of NFL players become less and less of a secret with the popularity of podcasts, documentaries, and other revealing forms of content.
The immense pressure and scrutiny that these elite athletes face on a week-to-week basis is a trend that we see across all teams and even across most positions in the sport. But the criticism doesn’t just come from coaches or fans at the games — it also follows the players home.
Detroit Lions running back, and former Iowa State Cyclone, David Montgomery has been one of the most consistent ball carriers in the league this season, recording a rushing touchdown in each of his first four games.
The 73rd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Montgomery spent the first three seasons of his NFL career with the Chicago Bears. In his rookie campaign, Montgomery totaled 889 rushing yards and six touchdowns. While that might seem a more-than-reasonable start to his professional career, Montgomery was dealing with much bigger issues on the homefront.
It was during that season in his life that Montgomery dealt with intense stress and even suicidal thoughts, which was, in part, caused by fantasy football players.
“When I was a rookie, I had a real, real stressful time in the league,” Montgomery said on Sports Illustrated’s “Fantasy Dirt” podcast.
“I was at a point where I would have this suicidal thought and it just a depressing and a scary year for me. And unfortunately, fantasy, the people in fantasy were kind of helping — they were helping me kind of be aided to feeling that way. I was at a point where I was scared to live.”
Thankfully, a phone call with a loved one helped Montgomery find peace in his lowest time.
“I went through all of that stuff and one person who saved my life was my nephew. I was in a situation to where I was this close to doing something that I knew I shouldn’t have done, that would have changed the trajectory of my life or changed the trajectory of everybody else around me in my life,” Montgomery said. “And my nephew called me, right when I was in the midst of doing so. And he didn’t say anything about football. He didn’t say anything about how fast I was. He just said, ‘Uncle Dave, I miss you. How are you doing?’ And my nephew, and it meant so much to me, because my nephew, he has leukemia.
“And I was in a very dark place, very very dark place. And from that point on, hearing my nephew’s voice, I made a vow to myself and a promise to myself that I would never, ever allow anybody else to have that much control over my mind, my body to make me feel like I wasn’t worth anything or valued in a light to where I had a purpose on this Earth.”
Montgomery, now 27, is coming off a 2023 season with 1,015 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns and was a key component in helping Detroit get to the NFC Championship.
Well past that low point in his life now, Montgomery also opened up about how therapy has helped him work through the emotional issues that almost got the best of him.
“Yeah, it was scary, but I got a really good therapist,” Montgomery said of battling the suicidal thoughts. “I’ve been working with a therapist for five years now, and being able to regulate and express my emotions and being able to allow myself to know that I am enough, you know, and I’ve been through a lot of things. I’ve been through a lot of places where people don’t even know who I am. But I get to create that perception for myself, to how I view myself and how my son views me. And, you know, I’m having the best time of my life. And I’m enjoying life for exactly what it is.”
If you or someone that you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can be connected with someone who can help at 988 Lifeline by visiting the link, or by calling or texting the number “988.”
