Ahman Green spent a decade punishing NFC North defenses, and now he's taking on a fight nobody chooses. The Packers' career rushing leader went public this week with the news that he has early onset Parkinson's disease, a diagnosis he's actually been sitting on since January 2025 and had only shared with family and close friends until now.
Ahman Green, the Green Bay Packers’ career rushing leader, revealed he has Parkinson’s disease. https://t.co/vefD3rVFu8
Green broke the news himself on the 'Go Long with Tyler Dunne' podcast, describing early symptoms like his feet twitching in his sleep and short-term memory struggles that eventually pushed him to get checked out. At 49, he says doctors otherwise found him in good shape, and he's been leaning on diet changes and treatment to manage things since the diagnosis.
For a guy who built his legacy on toughness in the trenches, the decision to go public wasn't small. Green said flat out that this needs to be a conversation former players keep having in the open, not something guys quietly deal with behind closed doors.
The numbers on Green's Packers resume are still unmatched. He's the franchise's all-time leading rusher with 8,322 yards, owns the single-season record with 1,883 yards in 2003, and still holds the single-game mark at 218 yards against Denver that same year. He actually broke Jim Taylor's long-standing career record during his second stint in Green Bay back in 2009.
It's also a gut punch for Packers fans specifically, since this is the second Green Bay icon to reveal a Parkinson's diagnosis in less than two years after Brett Favre disclosed his own battle. Two of the most important offensive players in franchise history now dealing with the same disease is the kind of thing that puts football's long-term physical toll back in the spotlight, whether the league wants that conversation or not.
Green's message wasn't doom and gloom, though. He's framing this as advocacy — pushing for awareness, earlier diagnosis, and honesty from former players who might be dealing with similar symptoms and staying silent. Expect his name to keep coming up in that conversation as he continues speaking out.