Aaron Rodgers, like many athletes, likely has feared suffering a long-term injury that could prevent him from playing the sport he loves.
The four-time NFL MVP has enjoyed an extremely impressive NFL career to this point. However, his biggest fear wasn’t a career-altering injury. Instead, as a teenager, Rodgers worried whether he would ever get a chance to live out his professional football dream.
In an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, the All-Pro quarterback revealed that he feared dying amid Y2K hysteria in the late 1990s.
“If the world ends and I’m 16, I’m, not going to be able to accomplish anything I want to accomplish,” Rodgers said.
However, Rodgers shared that using hallucinogenic substances, such as ayahuasca and psilocybin, helped him eliminate his fear of death and the “idea of needing to accomplish things” before he dies.
Kliegman: What Do Athletes Get From Ayahuasca, Mushrooms and Ecstasy?
“[The experimentation] has kinda taken away some of that fear,” Rodgers said. “I think when you’ve seen the other side, it makes the idea of death more of a passage and less of an ending.”
When Rodgers used the term “seen the other side,” McAfee asked Rodgers to clarify whether he believed he had seen the afterlife.
“Well, you definitely see the other side, yeah,” Rodgers said. “I’m not talking about life and death. I’m talking about the veil between the seen world and the unseen world.”
Rodgers has experienced highs and lows during his NFL career. Currently, the Packers (5-8) sit third in in the NFC North behind the Lions (6-7) and the Vikings (10-3). This season, Rodgers has thrown for 2,864 yards with 22 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.
With four games left this season, the 39-year-old will seek a win against the Rams next week on Monday Night Football to keep the Packers’ playoff hopes alive.
