Jordy Nelson made more than $56 million playing in the NFL. He spends his days on a farm in Kansas, driving a combine. The farm sits between Riley and Leonardville, two towns with a combined population of about 1,500, roughly 50 miles west of Topeka. Four thousand acres. A thousand head of cattle. His great-great-grandfather started it after immigrating from Sweden. It's been in the family four generations. Nelson was driving tractor loads of wheat into town at 12 years old, before he had a license. He went to Kansas State, caught a school record 122 passes as a senior, and Green Bay took him in the second round in 2008. Then he became one of the best receivers in football. A 1,519 yard season in 2014, a Packers record. Fourteen touchdowns to lead the NFL in 2016. Nine catches for 140 yards and a score in Super Bowl XLV. Aaron Rodgers threw to him more than anybody. He finished with 613 catches, 8,587 yards and 72 touchdowns over 10 seasons. Here's what he did every offseason while all that was happening. He went home and worked. Five or six weeks a year, driving a combine through the wheat harvest, sometimes 12 hours a day. Rounding up cattle. Doing the same jobs he'd done as a kid. "Working cattle is my favorite farm duty," he told ESPN back in 2015, at the peak of his career. "It's interactive, and you're on your feet all day." Then he said the thing that tells you everything. "I probably identify more as a farmer than a football player. Around here, I'm just the farm kid that they have always known." His brother Mike, 18 months older, runs the operation. In 2016, Nelson told Wisconsin Agriculturalist what he planned to do when football ended. "I want to be my brother's hired man." Not owner. Not investor. Hired man. A year later he explained it a little more to Successful Farming. "We plan on moving back home to Kansas and working with my brother on the farm. I told him he can lay me off whenever he wants and I'll go on vacation." He retired in 2019 and did exactly that. He lives in Kansas now with his wife Emily and their sons, working the same ground his family has worked for four generations. Bill Snyder, his coach at Kansas State, described him in a way that reads differently once you know where he ended up. "He is the epitome of consistency. He's not one way one day and another way the next day. He's the same Jordy Nelson, day in and day out. There's no pretense to him whatsoever." Nelson put it his own way. "It set the foundation of who I am. The hard work, the day-in, day-out grind. Understanding that you have to go to work every day." For more stories like this, follow us on any platform @thesportsontap

Logan Martin Joins Softball Coaching Staff as Assistant Coach #GoConqs @GoConqsSB goconqs.com/news/2026/8/7/lo…

🥎Softball | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB rewrote the record books with their historic 2026 season...what a year it was #BurnTheBoats Single Season Team Records 🥎46 wins 🥎648 hits 🥎569 runs scored 🥎515 RBI 🥎250 walks 🥎161 doubles 🥎98 stolen bases 🥎80 home runs 🥎32 triples 🥎.629 slugging percentage

What a season…glad to be along for the ride. This group accomplished so much & I enjoyed every moment being around them…I’m proud of this group #GoConqs #BurnTheBoats

🥎Softball | #GoConqs History made - @GoConqsSB put together a historic season to remember - School Record 4⃣6⃣wins (most wins in single season) #BurnTheBoats

Softball Record Breaking Season Closes Out at NJCAA DI World Series #GoConqs @GoConqsSB goconqs.com/news/2026/5/27/s…

🥎Softball | #GoConqs FINAL | 7-6 Gaston @GoConqsSB sees the sunset on their historic season as comeback falls just short vs Gaston...Conqs close out season 46-19 (most wins in single season) #BurnTheBoats

So proud of our girls. Losing is never a fun way to go out, but the way @GoConqsSB was represented this year (IMO) was unmatched. Players, coaches, athletics staff - Thank you for all of your hard work and excited to see where the program goes from here.

🥎Gameday | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB opens up the action at the NJCAA DI World Series as they take the field to set the tournament into motion 🗒️NJCAA DI World Series 🆚College of Southern Idaho 🕒11:00am 📍Oxford, AL 💻Watch: njcaa.org/network/live ($$) 📊Live Stats: njcaastats.prestosports.com/… #BurnTheBoats #WeCONQuer

🥎Softball | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB gets a little practice in at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, AL getting some work in to prepare for the NJCAA DI World Series #BurnTheBoats 📸Full Gallery: goconqs.com/galleries/softba…

🥎Softball | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB gets a little practice in at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, AL getting some work in to prepare for the NJCAA DI World Series #BurnTheBoats 📸Full Gallery: goconqs.com/galleries/softba…

🥎Softball | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB gets a little practice in at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, AL getting some work in to prepare for the NJCAA DI World Series #BurnTheBoats 📸Full Gallery: goconqs.com/galleries/softba…

🥎Softball | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB gets a little practice in at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, AL getting some work in to prepare for the NJCAA DI World Series #BurnTheBoats 📸Full Gallery: goconqs.com/galleries/softba…

🥎Softball | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB gets a little practice in at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, AL getting some work in to prepare for the NJCAA DI World Series #BurnTheBoats 📸Full Gallery: goconqs.com/galleries/softba…

🥎 Softball | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB getting practice in this morning with little taste of the rain 🌧️ in Oxford, AL as tournament starts tomorrow #BurnTheBoats

1st day of practice at the @NJCAASoftball national tournament for @goconqssb!! #BurnTheBoats

🥎Softball | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB takes another step towards start of NJCAA DI World Series with practice at the park Sunday morning & the pre-tournament banquet at Talladega Speedway #BurnTheBoats

🥎Softball | #GoConqs As we get closer to NJCAA DI World Series @GoConqsSB continues to prepare to keep their record breaking season rolling Below is all info you need to know #BurnTheBoats 🥎1st round matchup: #20 Dodge City vs #13 College of Southern Idaho (May 25th - 11:00am) 📅Date: May 25th - 30th 📍Location: Oxford, AL (Choccolocco Park) 🗒️Bracket: d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.ne… 🎟️Tickets: $15 (Adult) & Children 5 & under Free (all tickets available to purchase on-site only) $40 Tournament Pass (per person) $5 per vehicle parking at complex 📺Watch: NJCAA Network (njcaa.org/network/landing/in…) & ESPN+ (starting Day 3) - plus.espn.com

🥎Softball | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB continues their trek to Oxford, AL for the NJCAA DI World Series🚌🛣️#BurnTheBoats Here's a look at 2026 season thus for the Conqs 🥎46-17 record (most wins in single season in school history) 🥎Region 6/Plains District Champs (1st since 2002 - 3rd time in program) 🥎Broke team school single season records in - Hits, Runs, RBI, Walks, Doubles, Triples, Home Runs 🥎Rank in Top 10 in NJCAA in - Hits, Runs, Doubles, Triples, Home Runs, Walks, Extra Base Hits, RBI, Total Bases, Slugging %

🥎Softball | #GoConqs @GoConqsSB has enjoyed a record breaking season & are set to continue it in Oxford, AL to compete in at the NJCAA DI World Series #BurnTheBoats 🥎1st round: vs College of Southern Idaho 11:00am on Monday, May 25th (watch on NJCAA Network)