ATLANTA, Ga. — Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has had an entertaining offseason after winning his second Super Bowl.
After the Super Bowl, Butker spent a week at a monastery for silence, prayer and reflection.
This weekend, he gave the commencement speech at his alma mater Georgia Tech’s graduation.
In his speech, Butker mixed a little humor in with some life lessons.
“I am someone not much older than all of you, yet I’ve been asked to speak, not because I am a great orator or because I have a number of impressive accolades. Well, I guess I do have two Super Bowl rings,” Butker said to a laugh from the crowd. “I just happen to be blessed by God to be really good at kicking a funny-shaped ball between two yellow posts.”
“No matter how much money you attain, none of it will matter if you are alone and devoid of purpose.”
Butker explained how the world is full of ‘miserable, smart, hard-working people’ but they are unfulfilled because they lack purpose.
The 27-year-old noted studies that showed that young people felt more depressed, lonely and anxious as a result of the pandemic. He provided his own solution to this issue.
“I’m not sure the root of this, but at least I can offer one controversial antidote that I believe will have a lasting impact for generations to come: get married and start a family.”
The Georgia Tech alum has been a key factor in the Chiefs’ two recent Super Bowl wins. He hit the game winning field goal in Super Bowl LVII when the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in February.
But he said the praise he gets from those accolades are only temporary happiness.
“None of these accomplishments mean anything compared to the happiness I have found in my marriage and in starting a family. My confidence as a husband and father, and yes, even as a football player is rooted in my marriage with my wife.”
“As we leave our mark on future generations by the children we bring into the world, how much greater of a legacy can anyone leave than that?”
The Decatur, Georgia native has two children with his wife.
He rounded up part of his speech by expressing how sad it is that people have been encouraged to live for themselves and ‘have loyalty for nothing.’
“This loneliness is rooted in the lies being sold about self-dependence and prioritizing our career over important relationships.”
The devout Catholic is no stranger to having a ‘controversial antidote’ for society.
He has appeared in advertisements for nonprofit orgnization Catholic Vote, encouraging Kansans to vote for the Value Them Both Amendment that would have made restircted abortions in Kansas.
