Collin Johnson is walking away from football at age 28 — and heading somewhere you definitely don't hear about every day after an NFL career.
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That would be none other than MIT.
The former Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants and Chicago Bears receiver announced that he is retiring from the NFL and enrolling at MIT Sloan School of Management this fall to pursue his MBA.
Johnson sounds every bit as motivated about business as he once did football.
In a post on X, Johnson said he plans to continue building "Beyond Sports" while launching a new venture-building initiative called "Founders Academy" in partnership with MITdesignX. The program is aimed at helping current and former athletes create and grow businesses of their own.
"For a long time, athletes have been seen as endorsers of other people's companies," Johnson wrote. "I believe we can be the founders, operators, investors and owners behind them too."
That mindset apparently has been developing for a while.
Last year, Johnson completed the executive education program at Harvard Business School focused on business, entertainment, media and sports.
I’m grateful to share that I’ll be enrolling at MIT Sloan this fall to pursue my MBA.
At the same time, I’ve made the decision to retire from the NFL.
Football has shaped my life in more ways than I can put into words. It taught me faith, discipline, resilience, leadership, and… pic.twitter.com/BfpKp2QYqY
— Collin Johnson (@Call_In_Johnson) May 21, 2026
Football-wise, Johnson carved out a respectable four-year NFL career after being selected by Jacksonville in the fifth round of the 2020 draft out of University of Texas.
His best season came as a rookie, when he caught 18 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns with the Jaguars. He later spent time with the Giants and Bears before stepping away from the game.
"Football has shaped my life in more ways than I can put into words," Johnson wrote. "It taught me faith, discipline, resilience, leadership and how to compete at the highest level."
Now, instead of chasing defensive backs, Johnson is heading into the startup world, and apparently, doing it with the same intensity.
