The fear of death is one that many people share, including Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers until just a few years ago. The idea of dying comes with a lot of questions about what could be on the other side, but the four-time NFL MVP said he has "seen the other side" by using psychedelics.
During an episode of "The Pat McAfee Show" this week, Rodgers' former Packers teammate A.J. Hawk asked him if he was scared of dying. An unusual question during a sports interview, but Rodgers had an answer.
"I had a major fear of death... there was a lot of weird sentiment around Y2K, remember that? The world was going to end," Rodgers said. "For me personally, since I was a young teenager, I was like, man if the world ends and I'm 16, I'm not going to be able to accomplish anything I want to accomplish."
Rodgers said he struggled with mortality and that he was afraid of never getting to experience big moments in life such as playing in the NFL or getting married. He went on to explain that he got over his fear of death by using the psychoactive drink Ayahuasca and the psychedelic drug Psilocybin.
"It relieved a lot of the stress around the idea of needing to accomplish things before I actually die, kind of taking away some of that fear," Rodgers said. "I think when you've seen the other side, it makes the idea as more of a passage and less of an ending. More of just kind of the next chapter of life."
This was not the first time Rodgers has been open about his use of psychedelics. Earlier this year, he said he had a psychedelic trip in Peru in 2020. It was a life-changing experience for Rodgers, and he said he didn't believe it was a coincidence that he went on to win back-to-back MVP awards in 2020 and 2021.