- Retired NFL quarterback Alex Smith is paying it forward
- Through his new partnership with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the ESPN analyst is helping others deal with their pain
- Smith, who suffered a devastating leg injury during a 2018 NFL game and then a life-threatening infection, eventually recovered and returned to the league two years later
Retired NFL quarterback Alex Smith is ready to talk about a big “taboo” — pain management.
The former Washington Redskins star played in the league for 16 seasons, but it was during one unfortunate play in 2018 that temporarily sidelined his career, and left him in debilitating pain.
“It’s something that is very personal to me, pain, unfortunately,” Smith, 40, exclusively tells PEOPLE in conjunction with his partnership with Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Pain Game Plan campaign. “And the funny thing is, it’s personal to everybody and it’s so universal. That’s the crazy thing. I mean, maybe one of the most universal things that we all deal with. It’s not a matter of if, but when it happens.”
For Smith, that moment was during a Washington home game against the Houston Texans in November, more than six years ago.
The signal-caller suffered a spiral and compound fracture to his tibia and fibula in his right leg after JJ Watt and Kareem Jackson convened in a sack.
Following the gruesome injury and surgery to repair his leg, Smith developed necrotizing fasciitis that resulted in sepsis.
Doctors said at the time that they were working to save his life — and then his leg.
Some 17 surgeries later, the athlete fully recovered — and made a historic comeback to the Redskins roster in 2020 — but he has lasting memories from the period in which he was hospitalized for over nine months.
“Looking back on my experience, I had time to kind of process it a little bit,” he says. “These weren’t conversations that you had, given the past of pain management in this country and a lot of the issues and side effects that we all know, and some of the dangers that come with some of those treatments. These are hard conversations, right?”
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
He adds, “It’s like it’s so taboo in this country. I mean, I remember getting discharged from the hospital with bags of medications and rescue medications and my wife and I are scared to death, and you don’t know how to handle it.”
Through his new partnership with Vertex, Smith is now working to address those issues — and help others in their own recoveries. According to the pharmaceutical company, the campaign encourages people to proactively discuss their acute pain management plan with their doctor and support system.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
These days, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft is also looking back on his days in the league, both as an analyst on ESPN and as a mentor.
“I get a lot of people in the business world reaching out to me,” Smith says. “And I think so many people can identify with [my experience] and draw things from it. But I think they’re applicable everywhere. I really do enjoy opening up. It is not some Disney story of just triumph and resilience, it was really hard.”
He adds, “Pain was such a big issue for me for a long time and how it affected me. I was really down for a long time. And when you’re dealing with acute pain, it’s hard to get to anything else. It’s so front of mind. How do you start a recovery process? How do you be dad, be a present husband when you’re dealing with these things, it affects everything. And again, I’m so grateful for so many people that helped me on my journey and that are still helping me.”
Credit: dotdashmeredith.com
