When I interviewed Baltimore Ravens lineman John Urschel, I was surprised by one of his answers.

I asked him why he plays football when he could protect his brain in pursuit of his math career. He’s currently working on his Ph.D. in math at MIT.

A few highlights from his response.

I got my pension last year, which is huge. Trust me, I celebrated on the inside.

This is the league allowed me to buy my mother a house.

I expected an answer about how he loved the physical contact. Instead, he alluded to the financial rewards of the job.

Urschel retired from football before the start of the 2017 season. He’ll work on his math career now.

In my interview, I try to show how Urschel isn’t your ordinary MIT graduate student. He could have submitted one of his undergraduate papers as a Ph.D. thesis. He continues to both publish and work on interesting new topics.

To listen to my interview with John Usrchel, click on the right pointing triangle.

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