Marshall Faulk spent 12 NFL seasons taking brutal hits, but the warning sign of his latest health battle came somewhere nobody expected: a golf course. The Hall of Famer initially dismissed the stiffness in his hand as nothing serious. But when the symptoms started appearing even away from the course, he could no longer ignore them. A routine physical eventually led to a diagnosis that would change the 53-year-old’s life.

Marshall Faulk has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he revealed during an appearance on The Caring Neurologist podcast with Dr. Sandeep Thakkar. The former NFL MVP said he has been dealing with the condition for roughly a year and a half. His approach to the news, though, wasn’t what some might expect.

In fact, Faulk called himself “one of the lucky ones,” believing that recognizing the condition early has given him a better chance of managing it. He also credited conversations with other former NFL players, whose symptoms could easily have been mistaken for lingering football-related problems, for helping him understand the importance of getting checked.

Marshall Faulk initially thought the rigidity in his hand was just part of playing golf. He explained how the symptoms first caught his attention.

“The rigidity in my hand, just sometimes after I play a lot or I practice a lot,” he said. “I just thought it was, you know, normal nerves when putting and stuff like that.”

Then it happened away from the course. During one of his two physicals each year, he asked his doctor whether the problem was normal. The doctor’s advice led to further testing and, eventually, the diagnosis.

Parkinson’s is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement. Marshall Faulk has experienced hand stiffness and small tremors, but he said the symptoms have not worsened. He also described himself as being in a good place physically and mentally.

And Faulk believes the timing of his diagnosis has made a difference.

“The earlier you catch it, the better chance you have at living a better quality of life with medication compared to if you catch it later; the things that you start to have, the things that you go through, it makes life a little bit more difficult,” he explained.

His attitude toward the diagnosis is strikingly familiar to anyone who watched him play football. Marshall Faulk spent 12 seasons in the NFL taking hits, recovering from injuries, and finding ways to keep going. He’s approaching this challenge with a similar mindset.

“I didn’t look at it like if I got a diagnosis, it was something bad, that life was going to end,” he said. “It’s something you live with. It’s not to the point where it’s a detriment to your livelihood. Now, if you don’t take care of it, there’s an opportunity for that to be. You have to take care of it.”

Since beginning treatment, Faulk said he’s become more active and is sleeping more. He monitors his walking, balance, and movement while exercising, keeping an eye on symptoms rather than allowing them to dictate his outlook.

“Since I’ve started on the medication, I don’t really have a lot of issues,” Faulk said. His advice to others was equally straightforward: “Just start on the medication. Don’t wait for it to get worse.”

“The little tremors that I get, you know, they are what they are,” he said.

His diagnosis has also pushed him to raise awareness about neurological conditions, particularly among former NFL players. That message comes amid another troubling health revelation in football, with former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson disclosing an ALS diagnosis. Although the two conditions are different, Faulk wants people to recognize unusual symptoms rather than dismiss them.

There’s one detail, however, that makes Marshall Faulk’s revelation especially personal.

Marshall Faulk has yet to talk to his family

Marshall Faulk hasn’t really sat down with his family and friends to discuss the diagnosis. Asked about those conversations on the podcast, he explained that he hasn’t felt the need to have them yet because his daily life hasn’t changed significantly.

“I haven’t really had the conversation with them about it,” he said. “If it comes to a time when my lifestyle changes, then I will. Then that conversation could be had. I’m functioning. I’m good. You know, I just think I caught it early. I’m in a good place.”

The Hall of Famer has plenty of football history behind him. He rushed for 12,279 yards and 100 touchdowns during 12 NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams and made seven Pro Bowls. These days, he’s building a different chapter at Southern, an HBCU school where he took over as head coach in December 2025 after working under Deion Sanders at Colorado.

Beyond managing his own health, Faulk hopes his experience will encourage younger generations to take warning signs seriously. “What you want to do with that information is pass it on to the next generation to make sure that they have it better, that they know more,” he said.

Marshall Faulk’s message isn’t that Parkinson’s is harmless or that the road ahead will be easy. It’s that he caught it early, is receiving treatment, and isn’t ready to let the diagnosis define his life.