By Mallory Mattingly
Seattle Seahawks tight end Brady Russell joined Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up Podcast” to discuss how his college years transformed his walk with Christ.
“It was kind of a very key turning point for me was my sophomore year,” Russell said. “I don’t know, I just went through some crap in my life, and I realized I kind of got to a point where I felt like I was half in, half out on the Lord.”
“I’d always kind of thought I was sold out but realized I was living more for the world. I was still going to church on Sundays, I was still in FCA and doing Bible studies and stuff, but I wasn’t fully committed to that lifestyle, I guess. Or not lifestyle, but I didn’t trust Jesus to lead my life. I trusted Him to save me, but I didn’t trust Him to lead my life yet,” he admitted.
“And then I hit that point — it was the divorce of my parents, and it was just kind of messy, and things didn’t — [it] made me realize I didn’t want to live the lie of portraying some kind of image that I wasn’t,” the tight end continued. “So, I was either going to sell out for Jesus or I was going to go the other way. And thankfully, by the grace of God, He brought me to Him, and my life just looked super different going forward.”
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Outside of football, Russell has focused on his wife, Annie. The two got engaged in February and by the end of March, they married.
“The disciple living by grace rather than law has undergone a decisive conversion — a turning from mistrust to trust. The foremost characteristic of living by grace is trust in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ,'” Russell wrote in a post celebrating their engagement.
“So thankful for our trust in Jesus that brought us together at the perfect time in the perfect season under the perfect circumstances,” he added. “It’s not that either of our pasts are without blemish, but they are clearly marked with fruit that only come from lives submitted to Christ. Not by my own doing, but only by the grace of God was I blessed with such a life-giving woman.”
Russell often uses his platform to share the Good News. He writes Galatians 1:10 in his Instagram bio. The verse reads, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Russell is currently in his off-season training, preparing for the 2025 NFL season. With his new wife, Annie, and his faith in God, he hopes that this season will be his best one yet.
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