After battling a number of injuries throughout his career, former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis decided an early retirement was in his best interests and hung up his cleats last year at the age of 30.
That doesn’t mean he is done working.
Unlike many former pro athletes who invest their career earnings and spend a lot of time relaxing when their playing days end, Willis has a full-time job. He works at a tech startup called Open Source Storage in Silicon Valley.
Willis, who made an estimated $42 million during his career with the 49ers, met Open Source Storage founder Eren Niazi when the two were living in the same neighborhood months before Willis retired. Niazi saw Willis struggling to carry some bags to his door (he had just undergone surgery), so he gave him a hand. Since he doesn’t follow football, Niazi told Mashable’s Sam Laird he “simply had no idea who Willis was.”
More from Mashable:
As the two neighbors got to know one another more, Willis found himself impressed by Niazi’s rags-to-riches story and tech-industry success. Niazi, in turn, was impressed by the traits that made Willis an NFL star, as well as the player’s curiosity for life beyond football.
About two months after he announced his retirement from the NFL, Willis signed on full-time with Open Source Storage as a board member and executive vice president for partnerships.
Open Source Storage now has 60 employees, and Willis is involved with interviewing most prospective hires. Believe it or not, he considers his current job to be more team-oriented than his previous one.
“It just felt like, a lot of times in my other occupation, it was all about you as an individual,” Willis said of playing in the NFL. “Here, I’m part of a team in a little bit of a different way.”
Willis said he still respects football but “my mind is past it.” He clearly is nowhere near the point where he is willing to just kick his feet up and relax.
“I don’t want to rest on what I’ve done and let that keep me from doing what I want to do,” Willis said. “I’d rather be reading something or diving into something and trying to figure it out.”
The entire Mashable feature is worth reading, as it gives an inside glimpse into a life you’d never expect from a former NFL Pro Bowler. Kudos to Willis for carving out a new niche.
