13 March 2024 , 06:00
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Chicago Bears star Jaylon Johnson has bravely opened up about his struggle with sex addiction in a heartfelt press conference. This comes after he signed a massive new contract with the NFC North franchise.
Johnson had an amazing year in 2023, intercepting four passes and recording 10 breakups, which led to him being named second-team All-Pro. He also got picked for the Pro Bowl as the Bears improved their game to finish 7-10. Because of his fantastic performance, the Bears made sure Johnson didn't become a free agent by using the franchise tag on him. Just two days later, he agreed to a four-year extension worth £57million ($76m).
This deal will give Johnson an average salary of £14m ($19m), making the 24 year old the seventh highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. The contract also includes a guaranteed $54.4 million (£41 million). In a press conference celebrating his big payday, Johnson revealed that he sought therapy for sex addiction last season. He stressed that it's "OK not to be perfect."
"It's bigger than me," Johnson said. "For one, it's because I know I'm not the only one going through it. Two, it's OK to go through stuff. It's OK to not be perfect, and I feel like people put us literally on this pedestal to get up here and talk and [think], 'Oh well, guys are this, guys are that.'".
"Like man, we are human too. We go through things. Everybody goes through things. I feel like people feel like you've got to put a mask on, you've got to cover it up. Like nah, it's OK to go through things. It's OK to seek help. It's OK to be vulnerable."
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He also confessed: "I went to therapy last season for sexual addiction. That was the hardest thing for me to open up to my therapist about. That is something nobody knew about."
Jaylon Johnson tallied four interceptions for the Chicago Bears in 2023 (Getty Images)Johnson admitted battling his addiction was 'harder than anything', but he believe overcoming his personal troubles helped improve his game: "It didn't affect me, really, at all. If anything it boosted me up into being who I needed to be. Like I said, in that place of vulnerability, I had a breakthrough. I had a breakthrough with myself and I had a breakthrough on the football field. I wouldn't say it affected me. If anything it boosted me to be who I know I am."
Chosen by the Bears in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Johnson was last season's best cornerback according to Pro Football Focus. He only let the quarterback get a score of just 33.3 in over 500 snaps.
Now with Johnson secured and the first overall pick in next month's NFL Draft, Bears General Manager Ryan Poles has $56 million in cap space to add more players to his team.