Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles has explained his past comments about his wish to become a pastor after he retires from playing football.
Foles stated back in January that he had signed up for classes at the seminary because he wanted to be a high school pastor. He explained at the time that he wanted to help students by sharing his own experiences to inspire them.
In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, Foles suggested that the media may have hyped up his remarks and clarified what kind of pastor he wanted to be after his football career.
"The media sort of ran with that. People were like, 'Oh, you want to be a pastor! God bless you!'" he recounted.
"When I was in Kansas City and having a tough time in my career, I decided to go to seminary to continue my spiritual growth. And the youth pastor thing — we have a great local church at home, and I always thought it would be cool to volunteer at the church. I could teach some sermons in the high school, but it's more just to be one-on-one and help those kids at that point in their life," he went on to say.
The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback said that he always advises young people against becoming an athlete to gain wealth and fame.
He noted that chasing after money and material wealth would leave them "very empty at the end of it."
"The newest car's not going to be good enough. For me it's my relationship with Christ and my family, that's what it's all about," he told The Huffington Post.
Foles had thought of retiring from football after being released by the Rams. He said that prayer helped him decide to keep playing and he was later drafted to the Philadelphia Eagles to become the back up for starting quarterback Carson Wentz.
The quarterback was reportedly one of the Bible study leaders during his first stint at the team and has become one of the sources of advice for younger members.
During the last three games of the regular season, Foles filled in for Wentz following an injury to the starting quarterback's left ACL. In those games, he completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 537 yards and acquired a 79.5 passer rating. He also made two interceptions, scored five touchdowns and led the team to a 2-0 record.
Foles led the team to victory during the Super Bowl and brought home the MVP award after going 28-of-43 for 373 yards, acquiring a 106.1 passer rating and scoring three touchdowns.
