Wilson’s ambitious long-term goal is the reason why he hired personal trainer Decker Davis to keep him in game-ready shape for the foreseeable future. Davis has been training Wilson (and his wife, pop star Ciara) since 2017, and Davis goes everywhere with the sports superstar, even on family vacations.
As a pro athlete, Wilson is expected to be healthier than the average person, but playing till he’s nearly 50 years old would necessitate round-the-clock attention—as well as a lot of cooperation with Father Time—Davis is always there to give Wilson what he needs: “I go wherever Russ goes. I go to all the away games,” Davis said on a recent Reps podcast. “I go with him, we do some some type of work while we’re wherever we’re at.”
Davis works closely with the Seahawks’ doctors and trainers to make sure nobody’s stepping on anyone else’s toes, and the experience has been positive for everyone involved, so far: “I know the Seahawks trainers and strength coaches pretty well. So we’ve got a good connection.”
Football’s physical tolls on the bodies of some of the sports world’s toughest athletes are well documented. And as exciting and game-changing a quarterback sack can be for fans, for the athlete, it’s hard to see anyone being able to sustain those hits for 10 seasons, let alone two decades.
Wilson, who was third in the NFL in 2019 with 31 touchdown passes, wants to set a longevity record with his goal of a quarter century on the field. It’ll require take a lot of physical discipline and preparation (and a little luck) to hit that milestone, but the 31-year-old athlete has a chance at that ultimate glory, and he’s got a whole team of physical therapists, massage therapists and chefs lending a hand.
“We all work hand in hand,” Decker says. If he’s banged up, we kind of go through the whole healing process in order to get him back to 100%.”
While it’s impossible to know what the future holds, so far, it’s hard to argue with Davis’ impressive results: “He hasn’t missed a game. So it’s working.”
