Jimmy Graham is no stranger to adventure.
The tight end, who retired from the NFL in 2023, embraced risk-taking and fearlessness throughout his football career, but his latest challenge may be the boldest one yet.
Jimmy Graham is without a NFL team right nowGETTYGraham will row across the Arctic Ocean next month with a team of three other people.
He announced the mission last year and will be joined by former US Navy Seal Andrew Tropp and elite rowers Hannah and John Huppi on the 1000km (621.3 miles) journey.
The quartet will begin their journey in Tromos, Norway and will look to break multiple records on their daring trip.
“The impact of The Arctic Challenge goes far beyond the 4 athletes and the Arctic Ocean,” Graham wrote on his X account when announcing this challenge.
“With the mission to inspire young minds, the team aims to challenge the next generation to push beyond their limiting beliefs and chart their own course.”
The 38-year-old spent 13 seasons in the NFL across four years. He sat out the 2022 campaign before joining the New Orleans Saints in 2023, the franchise where it all began for him in 2010.
Graham caught 89 touchdowns from 2010 to 2023, placing him fourth all-time among tight ends.
He is also a five-time Pro Bowler and enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2013 when he led the league with 16 touchdown receptions, one of four seasons with 10 or more TDs.
Graham retired with 719 receptions for 8,545 yards and 89 touchdowns.
But instead of enjoying his retirement, he will instead spend his summer shivering in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.
Graham’s last NFL season came in 2023 with the SaintsGETTY Graham also played four years of college basketballGETTYThe rowing expedition will take around 10-21 days with sleep deprivation and injuries all expected to be incurred.
Graham and his peers will sleep no more than 90 minutes at a time, rowing a nine-meter boat for 24 hours a day in alternating two-hour shifts. They’ll consume 8,000 calories per day, too.
The group will be looking to break the current speed record across the ocean of 15 days, 5 hours and 32 minutes.
Graham added that life in the NFL has prepared him for the rigorous training for the Arctic challenge.
“I think it definitely helps me just staying calm, just having a clear vision and decision making at, you know, very, very dangerous moments when things have to be decided,” he said.
“And two, I think just the pallet for training … I’ve been working out since I was 15. The longest I’ve taken off from working out was probably two weeks, after I had wrist reconstructive surgery.
“There’s a lot of like misconceptions of what the NFL is. I speak to a lot of kids and mentor a lot of kids and try to describe to them what being a professional athlete is.
“Most people, they see all the glory, right? They see the touchdowns, the Pro Bowls, they see the commercials, they see the fanfare.
“But the real moments and the majority of the time, it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of sacrifice, and it’s a lot of suffering, especially after injuries.”
Graham is no stranger to thrill-seeking, with his $82 million earnings not enough to quench his thirst for adventure.
The Arctic Ocean will add to his incredible list of non-NFL achievements, which include earnings his private pilot’s license in 2011 and complex airplane, instrument airplane, tailwheel, multi-engine airplane, seaplane, commercial single engine, commercial multiengine, helicopter, instrument helicopter and commercial helicopter certifications.
But how did his bold plan to row across the Arctic Ocean come about?
A few beers and conversation with Tropp, Graham admitted.
“We’re sitting in a pub in Cambridge, getting a little banged up,” Graham said.
“He kind of just broke it all down and said, ‘Listen brother, you’re the only human being I could do this with in the world, the only one I could be on a boat alone with that long. It’s a life goal of mine, to row across the ocean.'”
It’s now just weeks before the group embark on their mission that has been over a year in the making, and good luck to them.
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