Washington Redskins defensive lineman Jonathan Allen currently has his plate pretty full with the 2019 football season on the horizon, but that won’t stop him from looking towards his future aspirations as well.
Video games. Esports. Online competition. That’s where the Alabama standout sees himself some years down the road.
In a profile by the Washington Posts’ Kareem Copeland, Allen delved into his love for video games and how he sees them providing a career for him in the future.
“Honestly what I like about video games is they’re competitive. If it wasn’t competitive, meh, probably wouldn’t like it. I don’t know what my income is going to be after football for video games. Honestly, I don’t care. I plan to make enough money playing football so where it doesn’t matter. But I’m so passionate in video games that no matter what I do, I’m going to give everything I’ve got. I feel like when I give 100 percent something, I will be successful in it. I genuinely believe that. I just want to do something I love.”
Allen’s passion for gaming started with football games like Madden NFL and NFL Blitz, but he has expanded to first-person shooters throughout his gaming career. Now, equipped with the type of money that is known to a successful defensive lineman in the NFL, Allen has an equity stake in Next Generation Esports, where he sees himself having a post-football career.
Whether it’s 5- or 15-years down the road, Allen sees himself as being “the Michael Strahan of video games,” which is to say a mogul. There’s no reason that this dream can’t eventually become reality for the Washington star, but if team personnel or fans have any say in the matter, they might choose to have him stick around for a while first.
