Raiders Bruce Irvin said that finally getting his college degree was like winning the Super Bowl during his time with the Seattle Seahawks, calling it a “great moment.”
“The odds were stacked up against me to get my bachelor’s degree. It was a surreal moment,” the 30-year-old linebacker told the Associated Press Wednesday.
Trevor Siemian #13 of the Denver Broncos is chased out of the pocket by Bruce Irvin #51 of the Oakland Raiders at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 1, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
“I kind of put it up there with the Super Bowl, neck and neck. Super Bowl probably would have been better if we’d won two in a row,” he added. “It was a great moment, not only for me but for my son and my family. I’m glad I got to experience it.”
Irvin, who was a former high school drop out who spent time in jail when he was growing up in Atlanta, explained that getting his bachelor’s degree was not just for him but his 5-year-old son.
“When kids come up to him, they can say that his dad was a good football player, and he can stop them and say, ‘He was a good football player, but he also got his associate’s degree — got his bachelor’s degree. He wasn’t only a football player. He put education up there right along with his job,'” Irvin shared. “It was bigger than me. It was for my son and his kids and generations after me.”
Irvin was one of a handful of players in the NFL this offseason able to get his college degree through a program as part of the collective bargaining agreement that gives tuition reimbursement to those players who want to further their education.