Russell Wilson understands that to maintain his status as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, he has to keep himself in top-tier shape. And though that comes at a cost, he surely doesn’t mind.
In a Tuesday appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with his wife, Ciara, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback explained his motives behind investing a lot to maintain his shape and form as a football player.
During their discussion, Kimmel asked Wilson if he truly spends $1 million a year on his body. Wilson replied saying that is true, explaining that his plan is to play in the NFL until he’s 45, Vanity Fair reported.
“Yeah, it’s a process. It’s a lifestyle. I think when you are trying to play as long as I’m trying to play. I’m trying to play until I’m 45,” he said. If everything goes according to plan, the 33-year-old would have spent about $12 million on his body by the time he hangs up his cleats.
“Yeah, for me, the mentality, the focus level, everything you have to do has to be surrounded around that,” he added. “It’s been an amazing journey for me so far.”
Ciara also expressed support for her husband when Kimmel jokingly asked if she had any issues with the amount of cash he was spending to maintain his physique. “No, I’m in it with him,” the singer said.
Wilson also revealed he’s currently on a 10-day challenge where he’s taken off dairy, gluten, and red meat from his diet. But he jokingly said his wife has been “rubbing it in eating Philly cheesesteaks in my face.”
Despite that, the couple said they usually push each other when it comes to staying fit and healthy.
Wilson initially touched on how he remains healthy and maintains his shape as a professional athlete during an interview on Bill Simmons’ podcast in 2020, PEOPLE reported. “I have a whole performance team,” Wilson told Simmons at the time, adding that he has a full-time trainer who’s always on the road with him.
He also said he has a full-time physical therapist, two chefs, a full-time massage therapist as well as a “mobile person” whose job is to ensure he’s “moving the right way and everything else.” The 33-year-old stressed that he has no off-days when it comes to staying in shape.
“I’m between 363 and 365, amount of work that we do every day, something around the body working,” he said in reference to his training timetable.
“It’s not just the recovery part of it — that’s huge, right, and getting that — but you know for me, the biggest thing, you know you mentioned the body, and all that stuff. The biggest thing for me is the mental game. You know, the mental game is so important,” he added.
