It was supposed to be a life-changing day in Jacoby Brissett's life.
On Sept. 3, 2019, the quarterback signed a two-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts worth $30 million. It was more money the then-26-year-old could even comprehend.
After he put pen to paper and exited the room, the smile quickly faded.
"I remember seeing my now-therapist as I was walking down the hall and I just started crying. I said, 'I need to talk to you,'" Brissett said. "I just felt empty. It didn't fulfill me. That moment right there put a lot of things in perspective that I was going through in my personal life and on the field."
It was a lot to handle for Brissett. The contract he had signed came in the wake of Andrew Luck's shocking retirement. Dealing with the eyes of an entire fan base shifting towards you while also navigating through family situations wasn't easy.
There are few positions in the world that receive more of a spotlight than a quarterback. Dating back to his days in high school as a highly-touted recruit to the University of Florida, followed by a successful college career at N.C. State, pressure was something with which Brissett was familiar.
"I definitely understood it came with the role," Brissett said, "but just because you understand it doesn't mean you know how to deal with it."
Within the NFL brotherhood, Brissett thought he was alone. A violent and physical sport with so many macho personalities, some players might choose to keep that persona and not share their raw emotions.
As the end of November put a bow on Men's National Mental Health Awareness Month, Brissett felt it was important to emphasize something he wish he knew from the beginning.
He was never alone.
"I remember seeing some guys and I'm like, 'Damn, they just do it so easy with handling their life, their personal life, their work life,'" Brissett said. "Once I started my journey and I became more outspoken and talking with some of the guys, they said they have been doing (therapy). You just don't know who is."
THE SEASON AFTER Brissett signed that contract, the Colts brought in veteran Philip Rivers.
Upon hearing the news, Brissett told his therapist that he wanted to quit. While already battling all of the aforementioned emotions, he felt like he was being tested with the addition of a new quarterback.
"I felt like I was lied to and at a time when I'm trying to change and I'm trying to be kinder to myself and to people," Brissett said. "She put life into perspective, and she told me to just learn from it."
Brissett's competitive nature kicked in, and he chose not to give up.
If he did give in, he wouldn't be the current starting quarterback of the Cardinals.
"It ended up being a blessing because I learned so much from Philip," Brissett said. "I can't imagine my career today without Philip in it."
Jonathan Gannon was a defensive backs coach in Indianapolis when Brissett and Rivers shared the QB room together. Although the majority of his time was spent on the defense, Gannon gained respect for how Brissett handled himself.
Like the veteran, Gannon said he also learned important lessons from Rivers that he and Brissett discuss daily. In fact, in Gannon's office in the Arizona Cardinals Dignity Health Training Center, he has a hat, gifted to him by Rivers, with the Latin saying 'Nunc Coepi." It translates to "Now I begin."
It's a phrase that Rivers frequently said, and one that Gannon and Brissett lean on throughout the 2025 season.
"After a day of practice or after a game or in a game, 'Now I begin,'" Gannon said. "You start over. Throw an interception, now I begin. It talks about the mental discipline to stay in the present. You're thinking about right now."
There were other moments during Brissett's previous stops where he was tested. A quarterback carousel for someone that had been relegated to a journeyman backup role wasn't easy. But after each door closed, a new one opened.
He had stints in Miami, Cleveland, Washington, and in New England before signing a contract with the Cardinals.
When the Browns called in 2022, after Brissett was again considering retirement, his therapist told him, "Good things happen to good people."
"That situation reaffirmed that I know how to stay in it," Brissett said. "The perseverance of mental health and staying mentally strong throughout tough situations. It's just like seasons, games, it's life. It all becomes the same thing."
AS PART OF Brissett's growth, his therapist suggested meditation.
It took nearly five months before Brissett could sense the benefits.
"One day I was in there and I fell asleep, and I felt at peace when I woke up. I didn't have any thoughts," Brissett said. "I'm like, 'OK, I'm on the right track now or something is sticking.'"
He said that as the years have gone by, the meditation has turned into visualization. During walkthroughs, when it could be easy to become overwhelmed preparing for an opponent -- like the first-place Rams this weekend -- the visualization feels like an out-of-body experience. Ultimately, it altered the way he viewed the game.
"I don't talk on game days or on the sideline, I just listen and I'm very in the moment," he said. "I'm able to think about what is going on and because of (meditation and visualization), I found myself with a more clear mental capacity for the game and I think it's helped me play better."
Because of the microscope quarterbacks are under, it's easy to point out the good and the bad. "Heavy is the crown," Gannon said when asked about the pressure Brissett experiences as QB1.
Since taking over in Week 6, Brissett leads the NFL with 204 completions, 2,188 passing yards, and 106 passing first downs.
"He doesn't take the responsibility lightly and I go back to that he prepares the right way," Gannon said. "He's ready for it. It takes a lot of mental discipline to make sure that you stay present, stay focused, and put in the work that's needed to be ready to perform."
Within Gannon's coaching philosophy, there are five different buckets. One is a health bucket, although that's more for the physical body. The psych bucket, which Gannon praised Dr. Sophia Murphy for handling, is centered around mental health.
Gannon wasn't aware of the lengths Brissett had gone through with his mental health journey, yet there was a sense of pride in his quarterback when hearing about it.
"Everybody goes through different challenges, and everyone's path is a little bit different, but my main thing is your brain has got to be right all of the time for your body to work. Jacoby pours into that," Gannon said. "He can tough love his teammates and they respond to him because they know that he cares about them.
"He's a phenomenal person. He's a phenomenal teammate, and he's a really good quarterback."
TO HIS CORE, Brissett is a competitor. Ever since he started playing football, he would be hard on himself. Off the field, he'd be his own opponent.
"I'm very hard on myself and you want to please everyone, and I remember (the therapist) saying 'Make yourself happy so that you can make other people happy because you can't do it the other way around,'" Brissett said. "Once I started doing that, it became so much easier because I have more to give and more energy if this person deserves it."
That realization has allowed Brissett to be a better teammate and leader within the Cardinals locker room. Players like Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Paris Johnson Jr., and others have expressed their appreciation for Brissett during what has been a trying season.
It's a reassuring feeling for Brissett when he realizes the support he has from many, both in and out of the locker room.
That September morning in 2019 was life-changing beyond the financial element.
It was also the day he began to rediscover who Jacoby Brissett is.
"Out of my career, I think what I'm most proud of is having the courage to seek help and to be mentally strong to withstand this career and withstand the ups and downs of the NFL season, personal life, business, professional life," Brissett said. "If it ended today, man, I'll be proud of myself."
