Earlier this month, the 2026 James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational golf tournament returned for its second year at The Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton.
Conceived as a fan-friendly experience, the weeklong event paired PGA Tour Champions pros with more than two dozen former NFL stars, raised nearly $1 million for local charities, and gave attendees unique and unfettered access to both the golf pros and the former gridiron legends.
No doubt, the NFL legend who had the shortest commute to the event was Hall of Fame wide receiver — and longtime Boca Raton resident — Cris Carter.
Now 60 but still within a few pounds of his playing weight, Carter — who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, and Miami Dolphins — prioritizes his health, fitness, and diet in ways we’d all do well to emulate — no matter our age or athletic ability.
During the tournament we caught up with Carter to find out how he does it.
A Q & A with former NFL pro and Boca resident Cris Carter
How do you stay fit and what adjustments have you had to make post-career?
The number one thing is you just have to be a realist.
Whatever sport or activity you played or have been doing — for me, it was 16 years in the NFL — there’s wear and tear. You’re crashing into people for a living. There’s going to be a price to pay.
When I retired, I weighed 216 pounds. I’ve always tried to stay within 8 to 10 pounds of my playing weight. I’ve fluctuated, sure — but you have to hold yourself accountable.
And the biggest thing isn’t lifting weights or doing cardio. It’s things like what are you eating and drinking, are you staying hydrated, how much sleep are you getting?
As you get older, your body responds differently. I eat more fish and chicken and less red meat. That helps your joints and recovery. And you have to stay active.
When I turned 55, I got into Crossfit and that’s been a godsend. It forces you to move in ways you wouldn’t normally move — getting down on the ground, getting back up, challenging your balance and your brain. I do it at a very safe gym. Before Crossfit, I’d just do standard lifting, biking, basketball — but mixing it up really helps because it challenges your brain and body.
Your body is complex and sophisticated — so you have to challenge it in multiple ways.
Describe your diet these days.
I stay pretty consistent because my wife is a healthier eater than I am. She cooks a lot at home and that really helps.
If you can prepare meals at home, it will be easier for you. We eat fish several times a week and less red meat than we did when we were younger.
When I played football, I ate a ton of red meat just to maintain size and strength. But after I retired, I had to get out of that habit.
What kind of post-career injuries and/or chronic pain are you dealing with?
I’ve got a couple of herniated discs — but considering I played 16 seasons in the NFL, I feel incredibly fortunate.
I’m still able to play basketball on the weekends, something I’ve been doing with a great group of guys since I moved to Boca Raton.
When I talk to other former players, I don’t complain because I’m incredibly fortunate. I was healthy during my career, and since I retired in 2002, I’ve worked hard to stay in shape.
Athletes from my era were among the first to benefit from modern techniques to lengthen their careers.
But athletes today are on another level. You see guys like LeBron James spending more than a million dollars a year on their body.
But you know what? If I were playing today, I’d do the same thing.
What are your thoughts about the awareness of brain trauma, CTE, and how it may affect former players?
The talk doesn’t bother me. It’s real.
I know guys — Hall of Famers, great players who played at the highest level — who aren’t normal 40- or 50-year-olds. Head trauma is real and serious. That’s why the NFL settled the lawsuit filed by former players about the issue, and that’s why the game has prioritized the safety of players. It’s a safer game now than when I played.
What do you miss about being an active NFL player?
Actually, I don’t miss it because I don’t live in that world anymore.
I played 16 seasons but it’s a young man’s game, so I don’t think about it.
I look at it this way: There are 3,000 people who played in the NFL. Only 1,400 of us played for more than four years. And only 392 are in the Hall of Fame, so how could I ask for more?
Nothing will ever match that part of my life, but I don’t compare my current life to it — because if I did, then everything would feel like a letdown. And that’s not a healthy place to be.
How do you satisfy your competitive urges now?
I think that as you get older, you have to temper it.
You can’t be that person anymore. You can’t walk around with that level of intensity forever. It doesn’t help you transition.
Football is what I did — but it’s not who I am.
If you walked into my home, you wouldn’t know I played in the NFL. In my office, I’ve got a couple of small pieces of memorabilia — but that’s it.
You have to balance your identity by enjoying — and even being proud of — what you do, or did, for a living while at the same time not being defined by it.
What health and lifestyle advice do you have for folks in their 20s, 30s, and 40s?
Try new things.
My wife just started playing golf in her late 50s. She’s been playing for about a year — and now she’s entering tournaments!
And now that’s something we can do together, so I love it — it’s amazing.
So that’s my advice:
Steve Dorfman is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. He writes about all aspects of health, fitness and wellness. If you have news tips, please send them to sdorfman@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter is no ordinary Boca Raton ‘retiree’
Reporting by Steve Dorfman, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
