Former NFL Star Percy Harvin Says He Smoked Weed Before Every Game Of His Career and It Wasn’t A Big Deal

Percy Harvin was one of the more electrifying players in football during his college days, and the former Florida wide receiver did enjoy a decent career in the NFL as well for many years. But according to him, he did it all while stoned.

The 35-year-old former receiver spoke with Bleacher Report about his career and revealed that he hasn’t played a game sober in his entire career.

Percy Harvin Played Every NFL Game High On Weed

“There’s not a game I played in that I wasn’t high,” Harvin said.

But while plenty of different players go on to say they were, drunk, high, or under some sort of influence and mainly exaggerate the truth of their state during their playing days, Harvin emphasized the fact that he played every game high. He repeated the words “there’s not a game” to hammer home the claim that he did not play a single game sober in his career.

Get Well Soon: Seahawks Percy Harvin to Undergo Hip Surgery
Former NFL dual-threat back Percy Harvin admits to being high on marijuana during ever game he ever played. He’s also an advocate for the benefits of cannabis use by NFL players. (Photo by AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Harvin went on to say that he is admitting his smoking habits because he wants to change the stigma that any athlete who does drugs isn’t, or shouldn’t be labeled as a junkie, or that they have a problem. But rather he wants people to understand that they’re humans and may want to enjoy marijuana like everyone else that indulges.

“That’s what I want the world to kind of see today,” Harvin said. “It’s not a stigma and you know people doing it and getting in a whole bunch of trouble, it’s people that’s just living regular life that got deficiencies or just may want to enjoy themselves,”

Now Harvin doesn’t specify whether this included his college playing days or just his professional NFL career, but if he is emphasizing that he didn’t play a single game without being high it’s safe to assume in college he was high when playing with the Florida Gators during his 2006 to 2008 collegiate career.

Related: “Even Before Games I’d Smoke” | Former NFL Running Back Le’Veon Bell Admits To Smoking Weed Before Games, Shreds Former Jets Coach Gase 

In college Harvin had amassed 1,852 rushing yards, and 1,929 receiving yards in his three years with Florida, establishing himself as a dual threat. He also scored 19 rushing touchdowns and 13 receiving touchdowns as well as one of the most impactful and productive players on that Florida offense.

In the NFL, Harvin recorded 353 catches for 4,026 yards, and 27 total touchdowns with the Vikings, Bills, Seahawks, and Jets.

As mentioned before Harvin, isn’t the only football player to publicly admit his usage of drugs or substances during his active career in the NFL.

In 2020, former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch reveals he’d take a shot or two of Hennessy before football games as a pregame ritual.

Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor would routinely come to practice drunk and under the influence and said in an interview with 60 Minutes that he sometimes would participate in games after smoking crack, and even admitted that he retired early so he wouldn’t have to worry about being drug tested for smoking crack.

Former NFL running backs Ricky Williams and Le’Veon Bell also admitted that they used to smoke marijuana before they played in NFL games.

Read More on The Shadow League: ‘There’s Not A Game I Played In That I Wasn’t High’ | Percy Harvin Was Faded Out His Mind Every Single Game Of His Illustrious Career

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top