This week, Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Super Bowl champion and CBS Sports NFL analyst Jason McCourty about his role as Pro Athlete Community (PAC) Board of Advisors Co-Chair and thoughts on Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco entering 2025 on the last year of his rookie contract.

“I’m in my 13th year, and I’m sitting next to Jevon Holland, who just finished his rookie year, and both of us are here at this business combine, and we’re both taking things from it, but at the respective points in our careers, for me, I’ve been planning for this,” said McCourty reflecting on his inspiration for contributing to the Pro Athlete Community. “It’s about to become a reality of figuring out what’s next for a rookie like Jevon or Jaelan Phillips. You’re starting to plant seeds of figuring out. I am interested in real estate now, and I’m building a network and resources as I dive into it to have those types of people. So I went through this experience in 2021, which was awesome.”

Entering his fourth season in Kansas City, Pacheco, a former seventh-round draft pick, will look for a bounce-back year to silence doubters. He hasn’t been offered a contract extension through training camp, and fellow Rutgers graduate McCourty had thoughts on the situation.

“I’ve heard so many coaches say this in the NFL. You get to a point where, like, there’s nothing that surprises you. And I think the position he plays, at running back, the way he plays the game, is so violent,” said McCourty. “It’s one of those things where it’s just like going into your last year, you would love to have that type of security, but for him, he’s already an angry runner. To quote my guy, Kyle Brandt, NFL Network, he should even be angrier this year, given that he doesn’t have that contract, and it sucks. You want that security and go into the season, but it’s just what it is.”

Pacheco is coming off a significant injury, appearing in only seven games in 2024, and was limited to 83 carries for 310 yards and a touchdown.

“When you’re on a team with a guy like Patrick Mahomes, some of the positions on the outside, you say, Alright, we can fill a void and get guys. We can bring Kareem Hunt back, and he can succeed. We can figure out a way to draft Isiah Pacheco in the seventh round and plug him in there, and he can become a superstar,” said McCourty. “So it’s one of those things where no player wants to leave the team that drafted them. But it’s one of the processes that you have to go through. You can be angry as heck this year in July and August, when you don’t have a contract, and the season can end, and next thing, you’re marching off with a four-year deal, and you’re happy as can be to remain in Kansas City. So it’s just part of the process. You’ve got to continue going out there and grind, and hopefully everything works out how it’s supposed to.”

Pro Athlete Community (PAC), the first-of-its-kind network built exclusively for pro athletes to navigate life beyond sports, has officially opened its membership to all current and former professional athletes from verified leagues.

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