Photo via Wikimedia Commons (author and license on file page).
Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk has revealed that he has Parkinson’s disease. The 53-year-old former running back shared the news on the YouTube show Caring Neurologist with Dr. Sandeep Thakkar, saying he has been living with the condition for about 18 months.
“I’m in a good place”
Faulk said he first noticed a problem with his hand while golfing and brought it up with his doctor during a routine physical. He still deals with some stiffness and small tremors in his hand and pays close attention to his walking, balance and workouts, but said treatment has made him more active, improved his sleep and left his daily life largely unchanged. He compared managing the disease to rehabbing football injuries and said he feels fortunate it was caught early. He hopes his story encourages anyone with symptoms to see a doctor.
Faulk is in his first season as head coach at Southern University, a job he took in December 2025 after coaching running backs under Deion Sanders at Colorado.
A Hall of Fame career
- Drafted No. 2 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 1994, earning two Pro Bowl selections in Indianapolis
- Traded to the St. Louis Rams in 1999, where he helped “The Greatest Show on Turf” win Super Bowl XXXIV and became just the second player with 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season
- NFL MVP in 2000, when he led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns
- Retired after the 2005 season with 12,279 rushing yards and 6,875 receiving yards
- Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011
Faulk joins fellow NFL greats such as Brett Favre in speaking publicly about living with Parkinson’s.