You probably know Jake Plummer for his football career that took him from Arizona State to the Arizona Cardinals and the Denver Broncos until he retired in 2006. However, Plummer’s post-playing career as a mushroom farmer seems to have changed the script for the rest of his life. Now, the 47-year-old says that thanks in part to mushrooms and clean living, he expects to live well past 100 years.
The Athletic’s Christopher Kamrani spent some time on Plummer’s mushroom farm in Fort Lupton, Colorado, and spoke with the former NFL star about how he’s feeling following a grueling football career and how he feels about his future.
I went to work on Jake Plummer’s mushroom farm one day last month. I learned Jake Plummer wants to live forever and wants to save the world. For @TheAthletic. https://t.co/s2QdoT3TRv
— Chris Kamrani (@chriskamrani) August 17, 2022
One of the biggest takeaways is that Plummer is convinced that because of his lifestyle, diet, and current health, he hasn’t even hit the halfway point in his life.
“I’m going to live a long time. I know it. They’ve told me that. I’m ready for that. I’m not saying this to just sell a f—— product. I’m saying this because I believe it wholeheartedly. Like, why wouldn’t you want to live?” Plummer says. “Some people will say, ‘Man, I don’t want to live that long. I’ll be all beat up.’ I’m not going to be all beat up. When I’m 100, I’m going to be walking around and jumping on trampolines and living my life. Why ever stop?”
Plummer even takes it a step further by saying that he thinks he can get into the 110-119 range.
“I’m 47, and my plan is to live a long time. I think I can get to the 100-teens. I used to put an end to it, but why are you putting a number on it?” he adds. “Maybe a third of my life is over. Do I want to be remembered as just a football player for the rest of my life? Hell no, man.”
For the record, the oldest verified human ever was Jeanne Calment, a French woman who lived to be 122. The oldest man to ever live was Jiromon Kimura, a Japanese man who lived to 116.
Plummer also shared his thoughts on CTE, which affects many football players and can lead to degenerative brain conditions like memory loss, mood changes, and confusion. While he says that he knows CTE is real, he seems to feel that with certain things, such as mushrooms, those effects can be healed.
“I’m not saying CTE doesn’t exist. I’m not saying CTE is nonexistent. But it’s like, why are you going to give some 42-year-old kid a diagnosis of, ‘Oh, yeah, you have all the precursors of CTE.’ What kind of diagnosis is that?” Plummer says. “What’s he going to do with that? Is he going to take the medicine they have and do all this brain laser sh– or is he going to change his life and decide, ‘F— that, I’m not going to have CTE. I’m going to take medicine that works.’”