Never Give Up with Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Rodgers

In 1972, Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers was recognized as the best college football player in the country and winner of the coveted Heisman Trophy. As a member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, his teams won two college football national championships. Johnny went on to play six years of professional football before an injury stopped the man that defenders couldn’t. Undeterred, he left behind pro sports and used his relentlessness to become a successful entrepreneur and supporter of young people in his community.

In this interview, Johnny discusses the importance of resilience for him as an athlete. He shares how he overcame an injury that ended his career after six seasons of professional football and how resilience, grit, and a never-give-up attitude have helped him succeed in life decades after his professional athletics career ended. Johnny even talks about how his mindset helped him overcome a weeks-long COVID-19 hospitalization that many people around him thought would take his life.

Johnny Rodgers played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. He played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Montreal Alouettes and in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Diego Chargers. As a member of the Alouettes, he was the CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 1973, a three-time CFL All-Star, and helped his team win the Grey Cup league championship in 1974. As a high school athlete, Johnny excelled in track & field winning a national title in the long jump, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball, he was an all-star basketball player, and he was nearly untouchable on the football field. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. When his football career ended, Johnny started the largest magazine in San Diego history and has gone on to pursue numerous other entrepreneurial endeavors and community projects including co-founding The Jet Award which creates opportunities for youth through character, educational, and social development.