Former NFL star Chris Johnson announces ALS diagnosis

Former NFL running back Chris Johnson, one of the few players in league history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, has announced that he has ALS, the progressive neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Johnson shared the diagnosis in an interview with Michael Strahan on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that aired Monday. CBS News reported Johnson is 40 and said he received the diagnosis last year; The Guardian described him as 39 and reported he was diagnosed in 2025. He appeared with his wife, Brittany Johnson, and used a speech device controlled by his eye movements.

“If sharing my story helps even one person get diagnosed sooner, inspires more research, or gives another family hope, it’s worth it,” Johnson said.

Johnson said doctors believe he has sporadic ALS because he has no family history of the disease. “There’s no history of ALS in my family,” he said. “My doctors believe my case is what’s called sporadic ALS, which is actually how the vast majority of ALS cases happen. That’s one of the reasons this disease can be so shocking. It can happen to someone who never expected it.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, about 90% of ALS cases are considered sporadic, meaning they do not have an inherited or genetic link. ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and disrupts the connection between the brain and muscles. The ALS Association says people with the disease eventually lose the ability to walk, speak, eat and breathe. Doctors are developing treatments to ease symptoms or slow progression, but there is no known cure.

Johnson said his first symptoms were small changes in his right hand. “Little things,” he told Strahan, “like my grip didn’t feel right and I wasn’t as strong as I’ve always been.”

He said the diagnosis was difficult to absorb. “Honestly, I don’t know if you ever fully process it,” Johnson said. “At first, you’re in shock. Then you realize you have two choices. You can give up, or you can fight. I chose to fight.”

Brittany Johnson said her thoughts turned immediately to their four children. “All I could think about was our kids and how young they are,” she said. “The life that we previously had is now a thing of the past, but we’re still hopeful.”

Johnson described how quickly the disease changed his life. “Just over a year ago, I was picking up my 7-year-old daughter so she could make a wish for her birthday cake,” he said.

Across a 10-year NFL career with the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, Johnson rushed for 9,651 yards and 55 touchdowns. A first-round draft pick out of East Carolina, he made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons. In 2009, he rushed for 2,006 yards for Tennessee, becoming one of nine running backs to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a season, and was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year.

Titans owner Amy Strunk praised Johnson in a statement, citing his “leadership on the field, in addition to his impact in the locker room,” and saying his contributions to the Nashville community have “written him permanently into the story of this franchise.”

Johnson said he wants people to understand that ALS has not changed who he is. “I want people to know that I’m still me. ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn’t changed who I am,” he said. “People sometimes look at the physical disability and assume you’re not still the same person inside. I still think the same. I still dream. I still love my family. My body just doesn’t cooperate.”