Watch: Clay Matthews Talks Retirement, Favorite Plays and More
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 10 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Clay Matthews sacked quarterbacks, played in Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl and started a family.
Now that he’s retired, Matthews has a different focus.
“Man, just raising three kids,” he said in a Zoom call as part of a Tide detergent promotion. “I’ve got a 3-, a 5- and a 7-year-old. The level of stress in the household getting the kids off to school, the bedtime routine, it’s more stressful than any game I ever played in my career.”
Matthews was the Packers’ first-round draft pick in 2009. Officially, he is the franchise’s career leader with 83.5 sacks. He closed his career with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, when he added another eight sacks to push his career total to 91.5.
He said he had opportunities to continue his career in 2020 – perhaps with the Packers – but decided to stay with his young family. Sitting down one Sunday to watch a game with a beer and some smoked meat, it was clear to him he made the right decision.
What’s filled the competitive itch?
“Good question,” he said. “I don’t know. It’s staying engaged and busy. You hear about needing to find something to do when you’re done play but, I’ve got to be honest, raising these kids and seeing them off to soccer and karate and dance and whatnot, man, that fills your day. Ultimately, you kind of live vicariously through your kids, even if they’re 5 years old playing soccer. You still coach them up and try to help them out along the way.”
Here is a series of Matthews videos from our 16-minute Zoom call.
