NCAD West | Recovery Offers a New Playing Field for NFL Veteran

After playing 10 seasons for the Denver Broncos in the NFL, Vance Johnson has found his new playing field serving as a recovery ambassador and conducting interventions around the world.

Johnson shared a deeply personal story of fame, tragedy and, finally, hope, in a moving address to NCAD West attendees on Friday in Denver.

“The spirit inside of us is a dressing room for eternity,” Johnson said. “What are you going to do while you are here? I love you guys because you are saving so many lives.”

Johnson’s own life is among those that has been saved. He chronicled a turbulent childhood that was ravaged by domestic violence and substance use in his home. Johnson said his only happiness as a child came from watching sports on TV and hoping that one day, he could be a famous athlete, too.

That dream came true, although his fame came with a price. Johnson won a gold medal in the Pan-Am Games and an NCAA championship in the long jump as a college freshman before being drafted into the NFL. After making a mistake that cost his team a victory, Johnson said he feared that he would be cut by Denver. His teammates took him out for a drink to help ease his nerves. The Broncos ended up keeping Johnson, but he quickly found himself diving deeper into substance use, from marijuana to painkillers and recreational drugs.

Johnson shared uncomfortable stories of multiple broken marriages, problematic gambling and times his fame allowed him to avoid serious legal troubles or consequences for his misdeeds.

“The only way I could cope in life was by using,” Johnson said, adding that he contemplated suicide.

Johnson’s oldest son died in a motorcycle accident in 2007, and Johnson himself later slid into a 28-day coma from rampant substance use. Doctors told his family that his body was beginning to shut down after 24 days, but he awakened 4 days later. Johnson would go on to relapse, but he found a doctor that cast aside his pleas for more medications and instead focused on addressing his trauma. It was a difficult, but ultimately pivotal process. Johnson said he has now been in recovery for 8 years.

Today, Johnson is a recovery ambassador for Oglethorpe Inc., and his Vance Johnson Recovery Center in Las Vegas—the same town, Johnson noted, where many of his biggest transgressions occurred—operates Heroes Mile, a treatment program for active duty military and veterans. He has also reconnected with 6 of his 7 children.

As he continues forward, Johnson said he has traded his days of scoring touchdowns for a new goal: “Be the hope that breaks the stigma.”