Three-time Pro Bowl cornerback opens up about financial planning, health maintenance, and building lasting relationships beyond football
After 13 seasons of shutting down NFL receivers, Everson Walls discovered that life after football required an entirely different playbook. The former Cowboys cornerback, who led the league in interceptions three times, has spent the past two decades mastering the art of retirement, transforming himself from elite athlete to health advocate, financial planner and mentor.
He shared his journey with rolling out publisher and CEO Munson Steed, offering invaluable lessons for anyone transitioning from high-stakes careers to meaningful second acts.
What is the biggest mistake retired NFL players make with their health?
I was a little unique in that regard. The culture that I was in wasn’t just the African American culture, but the retired football community culture. You have guys that work out all the time, every day, to try and be as best as we can be as players. As soon as they retire, you hear guys say, man, I’m not working out another day in my life.
I remember hearing that so much from some of my teammates, and I thought to myself, “How is that gonna work?” You don’t save up those workouts, they don’t accumulate in the future. You have to continue to work out. You can’t draw on workouts you had back in 1985 and say, okay, this can help me be healthy, and here it is, 2025. I think we need to be aware that it is a lifelong decision.
Talk about how you have built relationships with doctors after your retirement.
I have had nothing but African American doctors since I’ve retired. And those doctors have done well by me. What I’ve found out is, African Americans, we’re just so unique in regards to how we’re built and things that we have to go through. I want to talk to them about the uniqueness of being African American physically, and how that affects anything that I do in regards to my health.
Certain things about blood pressure and the medication that you have to take there. I talk to my doctors about how that affects me as an African American patient. My doctor is very aware of that, and we keep in touch with each other in regards to that all the time, and we have a special relationship from African American man to African American man.
What is some of the financial wisdom that has sustained you decades after football?
At this point, my stuff is always set up. That work was done way before today, and that’s what these players have to understand. Understanding what your retirement’s gonna be by the time you get there. Being able to get some hefty negotiations as a player, that’s something that’s always gonna help you out a little bit.
I was very good at negotiations, but also just being able to understand that what your family members need to understand, that the budget is there for them as well. You have to just make sure you be very conservative in how you take care of your cash.
If you would, explain the legacy work that drives you now.
My contribution to the health of the NFL players and former NFL players was something I’m proud of, because as I got older, I understood just how bad things can get when it comes to diabetes, when it comes to your health. My other contribution is, as a union rep back in 1987, we had to strike. Because we were not getting any type of after-occupational care.
We had no health care, we had no assessments or anything for the players themselves that had retired. So now we have, every five years, we can be assessed as former players by the best doctors in the world that come down to Tulane Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. Because of the sacrifice that players like myself made back in 1987 to make sure that the NFL owners took care of these former players better than what they were doing at the time.
What would you say is essential advice for current players preparing for retirement?
When we’re talking about getting lost, we can talk financially, we can talk health-wise as well. I always talk to young people about being financially healthy. About being physically, as physically healthy as possible, before you retire. You want to make business and life decisions before you retire.
Those decisions, they need to be in place in regards to how you should practice, how you take care of yourself as a current player, and also that retired player. So many players now with NIL in colleges, with players making a lot of money in the pros these days, you have to be extremely aware of losing that money, because you don’t really understand how easy it is to lose it, until you have lost it.
What is the lifestyle philosophy that keeps you thriving?
This is a lifestyle. Health is not an individual thing. Health is a family thing. It’s a lifestyle for yourself, it’s a lifestyle for your family that they need to adopt as well. I used to fuss with my kids all the time about working out. And they were kids at the time. Now, they’re grown, and they [understand] that, and they have adapted to that. And so I’m happy that they were able to understand just how important it is to work out, to keep the blood flowing. We need circulation at all times in your body. Anytime that you’re stagnant, that is not good for you.
Conclusion
The wisdom Walls has gained through his post-football journey reflects a man who understood early that athletic success was just the beginning. His approach to retirement planning, health maintenance, and community service offers a blueprint for anyone looking to build a meaningful life beyond their primary career.