Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Graduates from Medical School

The Kansas City Chiefs’ right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has become the first active NFL player to hold a medical degree.

The 27-year-old graduated from McGill University in Montreal on Tuesday morning.

Related: NFL Owners Approve New Rules for Kickoffs and Ejections

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. The Chiefs drafted him with full knowledge that the player was in his third year of medical school.

Since then, the Quebec native has been returning to Canada during the offseason months to continue his studies. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif balanced his football and his medical degree with the full support of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Want $250 to bet on NFL futures?

Duvernay-Tardif never wavered from his ambition to be a doctor, even when he signed a new contract in 2017. After becoming a starter in 2015 and excelling, he was rewarded with a five year deal worth $40 million.

The player is aware that elite sport is a temporary career, and he has secured his future as a doctor.

“I think it’s important to build a career that you’re going to be able to do a long time,” he said. “Football is not really that.

“It’s the first time that I’m actually really, really proud of myself. Football is an awesome opportunity in the sense that not everyone can play football and live off of that, but being a doctor is more than that. You get to treat people, you get to change them and you get to have an opinion that people respect, and it’s an honour to be a part of that community.”

Duvernay-Tardif credits his parents and Chiefs coach Andy Reid for supporting his dual ambitions.

“When everybody was telling me you’re going to have to make a choice between football and medicine, they told me you should go pursue your two passions at the same time and be the first to do it. It was really meaningful and helped shape the man I am today.”