Larry Johnson describes memory loss and calls for more support for retired NFL players

Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson has described continuing memory loss, confusion and sensitivity to light and noise in a new interview with the Guardian. The 46-year-old also outlined an ambition to help other retired NFL players discuss mental health problems and connect with professionals familiar with their experiences.

Watch the highlights:

Johnson told the newspaper that he struggles to remember substantial parts of his playing career. He said difficulties after retirement extended into everyday routines, including disagreements over school pickup times that he later recognised he had misremembered. He also described trouble navigating familiar journeys and frustration when he struggles to express himself clearly.

The former running back fears that repeated head impacts during football may have contributed to his condition. The Guardian reported that he has long suspected chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, but did not report a confirmed diagnosis. The disease can currently be definitively diagnosed only after death. His account therefore describes symptoms and concerns, rather than establishing that CTE is responsible for them.

Johnson's time in Kansas City included a season with 416 rushing attempts, an NFL record, according to the Guardian. Looking back, he said he would have welcomed an even greater workload at the time. He began playing tackle football at nine, and his interview addresses both the physical demands he embraced as a player and the difficulties he has experienced since leaving the sport.

Family support and financial security have helped him manage daily life, the newspaper reported. Johnson said conversations with his wife help him work through his feelings, while his daughter can now drive him. The Guardian also reported that the NFL granted him lifetime disability benefits around the period when he publicly discussed his difficulties in 2017, allowing him to concentrate on his health without the same financial pressures.

Johnson now wants to develop an app linking former professionals who are struggling with mental health to people equipped to support them, including clinicians who have worked in the NFL. He also expressed interest in bringing retired players together to share experiences and discuss coping with those challenges. Those ideas remain ambitions described in the interview, not an announced service launch.