Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson delivered a big personal revelation after signing a massive four-year, $76 million deal with the Chicago Bears.
During his Monday presser, Johnson got personal and told the media that he sought help for a “sex addiction.”
“It’s bigger than me,” Johnson told the media, according to the New York Post.
Jaylon Johnson #33 of the Chicago Bears looks on against the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field on November 06, 2022, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
“One, I’m not the only one going through it. Two, it’s OK to go through stuff. It’s OK to not be perfect,” the 24-year-old player said. “I feel like people put us literally on this pedestal to get up here and talk, ‘Oh, well guys are this, guys are that.’ Man, we’re human too. We go through things. Everybody goes through things. But I feel like people feel like you got to put a mask on, you got to cover it up. No, it’s OK to go through things. It’s OK to seek help. It’s OK to be vulnerable.”
Johnson added that he is improving by the grace of God.
Jaylon Johnson #33 of the Chicago Bears celebrates his interception against the Minnesota Vikings in the first half at U.S. Bank Stadium on November 27, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Bears defeated the Vikings 12-10. (David Berding/Getty Images)
“Through my journey with God, it’s like his light shines when you’re in the dark,” Johnson explained. “But when you’re trying to be on the pedestal and you’re trying to take all the glory and you’re trying to be something you’re not, that’s when you take away who God really is. You got to go low to really let God’s work shine. That’s when his miracles are done. That’s when his work is done.”
The player added that therapy was “harder than anything.”
“Everybody talks about playing football games. That’s easy. Just going to see my therapist on off days, I’m like, damn, that’s where I’m uncomfortable. But just throughout the week, just preparing myself mentally, people talking about contracts, I wasn’t worried about that,” he said. “I was worried about trying to get myself right. For me, it’s bigger than the contracts. Me being who I need to be as a man, who I need to be as a father, as a partner, as a future husband, I mean, that’s more important. That’s something that will last way longer than this podium, way longer than this platform.”
Johnson has been with the Bears since 2020. He earned All-Pro Second-Team and Pro Bowl spots in 2023 and had four interceptions and ten pass deflections.
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