NFL running back Nathan Carter believes that while football is his sport, only one person can remain on the throne of His heart: God. Though the Kansas City Chiefs player was recently terminated on October 21st, 2026, just a day after the team signed rookie linebacker Aiden Fisher, Carter doesn’t seem shaken.
On Instagram, Carter posed the question, “If I asked you about your most valuable physical treasure, what would it be? A house? Car? Expensive jewelry? Family portrait? Championship ring or trophy?” His response: “These things aren’t inherently bad; some may even have a wonderful backstory. But in the end, these things will rot; deteriorate and be forgotten, lost, placed in the storage bin in the basement and collect dust, or replaced with something newer.”
He continued, “They will not refresh your life; they will drain it. They will not make you wiser; they will make you dumber; they will not enlighten your heart; they will blind it. These things will make you realize how spiritually bankrupt you are. And how we need something else to fulfill and sustain us.”
Carter, a former University of Connecticut Husky and Michigan State Spartan, initially joined the NFL as a free agent with the Atlanta Falcons. At just 24 years old, he hasn’t yet publicly commented on being released from the practice squad, but he does continue to share where one’s true identity and value can and should be found:
“The true reward isn’t material wealth but the transformation into the person God intended you to be. What earthly treasure could ever compare to that?”
Many worship football, sports, and those who play the game, but Carter points to a treasure the world can never compare to: God’s eternal Word.
“Psalms 19 shows us that God’s word revives our life; it enlightens, sustains, and satisfies us. And lastly, it endures forever! Meaning that it is unchanging, relevant, and pure.”
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Chris Carter / Stringer
