Tight end Jimmy Graham’s NFL playing career may be over but there still are many challenges ahead for the 14-year veteran. He would not have it any other way.
For example, Graham’s 2025 plans include joining a four-person team embarking on the Artic Challenge. It is a rowing expedition which is expected to take 14-21 days. The team will attempt to break the current speed record of 15 days, 5 hours, and 32 minutes for the trip that spans approximately 621 miles. They plan to row non-stop from Norway to Svalbard, an archipelago halfway between Norway and the North Pole.
“We’re chasing world records and we’re chasing them with a purpose,” the 37-year-old Graham recently told ESPN. “There is a lot on the line. When you’re doing something like this, you’ve just got to embrace it and just fight through it.”
Graham was the Saints third-round pick in the 2010 Draft. His career later took him to Seattle, Green Bay and Chicago before he returned for New Orleans for a final farewell season in 2023. He was a five-time Pro Bowler and led the league in receiving touchdowns in 2013.
Assignments for next year’s trek already have been decided. Graham will be the navigator of the boat since he earned an air pilot’s license in 2012 and has experience in handling weather patterns. Three members of the team will row in two-hour shifts while the fourth person will eat dehydrated meals and attempt to sleep for 90 minutes in one of the two cabins.
The sailors plan to raise funds for two charities: Covenant House for homeless youth in New Orleans and Laureus Sport for Good USA, which provides sports opportunities for disadvantaged youth.
“I think I can be a sounding board for the next generation on what is possible,” Graham says. “You can be a gutter kid like me that nobody wanted but, when you get the opportunity like I did when I was 18, it can change your life. It’s not going to be easy. You have to go get everything you get…but when you do, it’s so much more satisfying.”
We at NFL Alumni wish our brother Jimmy Graham much success with all his future ventures, especially his long rowing pilgrimage next summer. Bon voyage!
