Retired Super Bowl champion Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif completes his medical education in Montreal

Three years after retiring from the NFL, Montreal’s very own Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has announced he has completed his medical education.The former NFL guard and Super Bowl champion announced on social media July 3 that he had completed his written and oral exams and his medical residency.“Back in 2010, when I started medicine at McGill while playing football, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Sixteen years later, I’ve had the chance to live experiences and meet extraordinary people who pushed me and made me grow as a human being,” he wrote. In 2014, Dr. Duvernay-Tardif began his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs after being drafted in the sixth round, while he was in the middle of medical school at McGill University. But rather than putting his medical education on hold, he spent the next four years balancing football and medical education. Dr. Robert Primavesi, who was associate dean of undergraduate medical education at the time, worked with him to create a flexible and atypical schedule, enabling him to dedicate the falls and winters to football while spending the springs and summers in med school. Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose mother also graduated from McGill’s School of Medicine, also gave him flexibility around the team’s training schedules. “My curriculum was atypical in a lot of ways, but I’m proud of it. And I’m convinced that my journey will allow me to bring into my practice some of the lessons I learned along the way,” Dr. Duvernay-Tardif said, while thanking his two mentors.While most medical students take four years to graduate, it took Dr. Duvernay-Tardif seven. Dr. Duvernay-Tardif graduated from McGill University’s School of Medicine in 2018, becoming the first active NFL degree with a medical degree. He even petitioned the NFL to allow him to add the letters “MD” next to his name on his jersey, but his request was denied.In February 2020, Dr. Duvernay-Tardif achieved his life-long dream of winning the Super Bowl with the Chiefs. But the following season, Dr. Duvernay-Tardif chose not to play and instead worked as an orderly on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in a long-term care facility near Montreal. In 2021, the Chiefs traded Dr. Duvernay-Tardif to the New York Jets, where he played for two more seasons. He announced his retirement from professional football in 2023 before starting his family medicine residency at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.“On to the next chapter!” he concluded.

Retired Super Bowl champion Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif completes his medical education in Montreal

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