Matt Ulrich only played for the Indianapolis Colts for two seasons, but they were good ones, having won the Super Bowl XLI with his teammates. Following his big win, Ulrich retired. “I mean, I’d love to tell you that I could have played for another decade. But the fact of the matter is, and I’ve probably said this to you before, that the NFL stands for ‘Not For Long,’ he told Montana Sports. “I tell the athletes I work with, have something past football. That’s why I went to Northwestern University, it’s why I advise all of my athletes to think critically about what they want to do beyond athletics,” he continued.
Following his retirement, Ulrich worked as a chief growth officer and partner at a business-building service, Profitable Ideas Exchange. When he wasn’t working, he served as an advisor for the Harvard Football Players Health Study and coached budding athletes around his hometown of Bozeman, Montana, per his bio. After news of the athlete’s death broke, the CEO of PIE, Tom McMakin, donated $20,000 to a fundraiser set up for the late football player’s family, TMZ Sports reported. So far, $30,000 has been raised. McMakin only had kind words to say for Ulrich and stated, “He helped build our company and he was the heart and soul to the business. It’s the least we could do.”