Watch: Andre Johnson gets emotional sharing mom's sacrifices
EMOTIONAL: Andre Johnson breaks down thanking his Mom & Uncle for sacrifices they made. Today he RETIRES a @HoustonTexans @abc13houston pic.twitter.com/2w11vJ7YgU
— Joe Gleason (@joeagleason) April 19, 2017
No one achieves a 14-year NFL career on their own.
At his official retirement ceremony with the Houston Texans on Wednesday, Andre Johnson couldn't hold back his tears as he discussed the sacrifices his mother made to help him along his NFL journey.
Everything I did on that field was because of you. A lot of people don't know, but I played the game of football very angry. And the reason I played that way was just because of where I grew up. I just never wanted to go back to living that lifestyle again. So seeing the sacrifices you made - I remember you'd fallen asleep coming to pick me up from night school - it was just tough times that we experienced as a family that I never wanted to experience again. So I'm very thankful to you for that.
Related: Johnson wasn't thinking about HOF during retirement ceremony
Johnson also made sure to thank his uncle, who is also named Andre, for being the father figure in his life and a trusted confidant.
The 35-year-old played 12 of his 14 seasons with the Texans, earning seven Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pro honors.