He's not just advising from a distance. He's listening, mentoring, and walking beside players who are still trying to find their footing. Jenkins knows the struggle. He's lived it. The hardest part? Rebuilding daily structure. As a player, everything was scheduled: when to lift, when to watch film, even when to eat.
So, Jenkins understands when a player faces challenges in finding purpose after retirement. He's seen friends wrestle with identity loss, bad business deals, or mental health spirals. With The Trust, he's committed to connecting former players with community and connection opportunities, as well as health and wellness resources, along with personal and business development resources tailored to their unique transitions.
Jenkins is no stranger to systems or to impact. As a co-founder of the NFL Players Coalition and a longtime leader within the NFLPA, he has consistently used his platform to serve others. His efforts earned him the NFLPA's Alan Page Community Award, the organization's highest honor, which recognizes his work in uplifting communities across the nation.
Jenkins is approaching this responsibility in the current chapter of his life with the same intensity that made him a feared force on the field. The muscle memory of greatness didn't fade when he retired in 2022—it simply found a new arena.
Business became the new opponent. And Jenkins attacks it like game day: with a playbook, precision, and purpose.
"You went into every game prepared," Jenkins said, seated comfortably at a conference table. "But once I left the league, I found myself spending time on things assistants used to handle—organizing emails, creating a calendar, managing my time—just to function. That's when it hit me: for years, a system helped me stay at my best. Trying to recreate an environment that makes me feel like my best version of myself was difficult to do."
Jenkins said slowing down and becoming more diligent in his preparation helped him overcome some early mistakes. He also admitted to making a lot of bad decisions because he didn't take the same approach that he applied to football. One of his goals as a Trust board member is to help retired players live with purpose beyond football and ease their transition into life after the game.
"We trust what everybody else says, and then we make a lot of mistakes," Jenkins said. "I know I did, and so it required me to develop a process, which, at first, was a daunting thing … To build a process that helps me be a better networker and stay in touch with the folks that were important to what I'm trying to do. That just took time, and in remembering how I did that in football, and I'm trying to encourage guys to see that they have those same skills, now they need to translate it so that it applies to these other areas in mind."
A three-time Walter Payton Man of the Year finalist, Jenkins carved out a distinguished 13-year NFL career with the Saints and Eagles. Off the field, he built a dynamic business portfolio through Malcolm Inc., a strategic investment and management firm focused on venture capital, consumer brands, and media. He also authored "What Winners Won't Tell You," a candid and reflective memoir about mental toughness, setbacks, and personal growth.
Through it all, one truth has remained constant: elite athletes are among the best in the world at what they do, not just because of their talent, but also because of their preparation, discipline, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Jenkins believes those same traits are transferable.
Too often, athletes are boxed into the idea that their value ends with their playing careers. Jenkins pushes back.
"CEOs are studying us—trying to understand what makes us tick, how we lead under pressure, how we perform at the highest level," he said. "We already have the edge."
The next step, he says, is learning how to study them back—picking up habits from executives, applying them to an athlete's mindset, and translating that energy into entrepreneurship, leadership, and ownership. It's not an easy process. It's uncomfortable. But it's also necessary.
"It's discovery," Jenkins said. "And that discovery is scary because it's new. But that's also where transformation occurs. High performers always stretch themselves. We need to apply that same tenacity to our personal lives."
For Jenkins, a turning point came through reading Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse—a book that helped reframe the post-career transition.
"One of the keys to that book is understanding ownership," Jenkins said. "When you take ownership of the game you're in—life—and you play it your way, you're no longer a victim. You're not just a character in someone else's story. You're the author. That mindset is everything."
He pauses and smiles, thinking about how far he's come. Shining brightly with genuine enthusiasm, Jenkins brings a sense of joy to others while challenging them to test the limits of their vision. It's been personal because even Jenkins discovered during his journey that what he once thought was his ceiling was now his floor.
A younger Jenkins wouldn't have pictured this version of himself. However, evolution through passion, endurance, evolution, and ownership made it possible.
What Jenkins builds now won't hang in stadiums. There are no highlight reels, but for those navigating life after football, Jenkins' tireless work will help others find stability and power beyond the game. The biggest victory of all.
"I don't recognize this guy sometimes," Jenkins says, laughing. "What did I think was possible back then? I was selling myself short. The league wasn't my ceiling—it was my trampoline."
This article was written by Rob Knox for The Trust. Knox is an award-winning professional, a member of the Lincoln (Pa.) Athletics Hall of Fame, and adjunct instructor at Temple University. In addition to having work published in SLAM magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Post, and Diverse Issues In Higher Education, Knox enjoyed a distinguished career as an athletics communicator for Lincoln, Kutztown, Coppin State, Towson, and UNC Greensboro. He also worked at ESPN and for the Delaware County Daily Times. Recently, Knox was honored by CSC with the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award and the NCAA with its Champion of Diversity award. Named an HBCU Legend by SI.com, Knox is a graduate of Lincoln University and a past president of the College Sports Communicators, formerly CoSIDA.