Why an NFL Star Left the Turf Where He Made Millions for an Entirely Different Kind of Field

Who in their right mind would walk away from a career that paid $37 million over the course of five years? A career that they were good at and in which received accolades?

Jason Brown that's who.

Image source: YouTube

Brown was a center for the St. Louis Rams and when he decided to leave the NFL, his agent said he was making "the biggest mistake of your life," the 31-year-old recalled to Steve Hartman for his CBS News "On the Road" segment.

"And I looked right back at him and I said, 'No, I am not. No, I am not," Brown said.

Brown quit pro-football to become a farmer, despite not having any experience on this type of field.

Image source: YouTube

Hartman asked how Brown even figured that out.

"Get on the Internet, watch YouTube videos" he said as a matter-of-fact.

"When you see them pop up out of the ground, man, it's the most beautiful thing that you could ever see," Brown said of his endeavors, which recently included harvesting sweet potatoes on his 1,000-acre farm — First Fruits Farm — in North Carolina.

Image source: YouTube

Brown acknowledged to Hartman that he might not be considered a success now in "man standards," but in God's eyes, he thinks it's a different story. Brown is donating the first of his crops to food pantries. His sweet potatoes, for example, added up to 100,000 pounds for those in need, Hartman reported.

"When I think about a life of greatness, I think about a life of service," Brown said. "Which leads us here, yes."

"Love is the most wonderful currency that you can give anyone," Brown added later.

Watch Brown talk about his career change in Hartman's "On the Road" segment: