Chris Johnson once left NFL defenders struggling to catch him. Today, the former Tennessee Titans superstar uses a wheelchair and an eye-controlled device to communicate—but says the disease changing his body has not changed who he is.
The retired running back, now 41, is opening up about life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS, and the toll it has taken on his wife and four children.
In a new interview with PEOPLE, Johnson described a diagnosis that has reshaped life for everyone in his household. His wife, Brittany, has become his primary caregiver.
“I’m still a husband and a dad,” he said. “ALS doesn’t just affect the person diagnosed—it affects the whole family.”
Johnson was diagnosed in May 2025, when he was 39. He publicly revealed his illness during a June 29 interview with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America. Readers can watch that interview through ABC News.
He said the first warning sign was weakness in his right hand. His grip felt different, but neither he nor Brittany initially imagined that ALS was responsible.
The progression since then has been devastating. Johnson told GMA that ordinary moments, including lifting his young daughter, had become impossible. His speech device uses recordings made after his diagnosis to produce a voice that sounds like his own.
A recent Sports Illustrated profile also described his need for breathing assistance and extensive support at home. Brittany spoke about the loss of everyday family routines, from exercising together to having Johnson on the sidelines at their children’s games.
But Johnson has repeatedly stressed that physical limitations should not cause people to overlook the person living with them.
In a September 10 essay titled “A Letter to My Kids”, he described how his children initially helped others understand his speech. Eventually, he wrote, even they could no longer make out his words.
He and Brittany consulted therapists about explaining the illness to their younger children. They wanted them to understand that the disease was making their father’s muscles weaker, that they had not caused it and that it was not contagious.
“You guys are my biggest reason I keep fighting,” Johnson wrote.
The contrast with his playing career is profound.
Known as “CJ2K,” Johnson rushed for 2,006 yards in 2009 and earned NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors. He also set the league’s single-season record with 2,509 yards from scrimmage, combining his rushing and receiving production.
He finished his NFL career with 9,651 rushing yards and 55 rushing touchdowns, according to the league’s official statistics.
The Titans had planned to induct him into their Ring of Honor during the September 13 season opener against the New York Jets. The organization postponed the formal ceremony after announcing that Johnson and his family could no longer travel to Nashville.
The team cited “unforeseen circumstances” and said it would instead recognize his achievements with a halftime video tribute. Its statement did not identify a specific medical reason for the change.
Johnson has also addressed the difficult question of whether football contributed to his illness.
He told PEOPLE that doctors have not identified football as the cause of his ALS or pinpointed one specific explanation. He supports further research into possible connections between repeated trauma and neurological disease.
His twin sons continue to play football, with his support, though he wants them to understand the risks and protect their health.
ALS damages the nerve cells that control voluntary movement, progressively affecting functions such as walking, speaking, swallowing and breathing. There is no cure, although treatments and supportive care can help manage the disease.
Johnson’s account of remaining mentally himself should not be read as a description of every patient’s experience. The ALS Association explains that some people develop changes in thinking or behavior, while others retain their cognitive abilities.
There is a measure of hope in his treatment. His neurologist, Dr. Merit Cudkowicz, told PEOPLE she believes his treatments have slowed progression, while emphasizing that the course of ALS varies substantially between patients.
For Johnson, the moments he wants most are personal: seeing his children grow up, sharing everyday life with Brittany and remaining present for the family he loves. In his letter, he described time together at home as the moments he now treasures most.