Some athletes use their downtime for training sessions or beach vacations.
Aaron Rodgers, the star quarterback, adopted a different strategy and came out of a dark, cramped underground room this week after spending four days there.
Mr. Rodgers had a 300 square foot (28 square meter) room, which is a little smaller than the typical American hotel room, according to the owner of Sky Cave Retreats, who spoke to ESPN, a US sports network.
There is a queen bed, a bathroom, and a floor mat for meditation.
Owner Scott Berman told the network that despite the absence of sunlight, the room has a queen bed, a bathroom, and a meditation mat in addition to a set of programmable lights. Visitors are free to come and go and roam the nearby woods in southern Oregon.
The dark rooms at Mr. Berman's retreat are fully booked for the upcoming 18 months, he claims, and he checks on guests once per day.
For $1,400 (£1,160), a week, these retreats are advertised online.
The 39-year-old Rodgers, who has played 18 seasons for the Packers and has won one Super Bowl, has sparked rumors that he will either retire or be traded to another team.
Although he hasn't said for sure that he wants to keep playing, he gave a podcast interview explaining why before entering the retreat.
He said on The Pat McAfee Show, "I think we could all use a dose of occasionally unplugging from society and turning off our phones.".
I feel like I'll be a lot closer to that ultimate, ultimate decision after doing a little self-reflection in some solitude, he said. "I have several friends who have done it, and they reported having life-changing experiences. ".
The quarterback is known for holding unusual, occasionally contentious views on health and wellness.
Following the NFL season in 2020, he traveled to Peru to take ayahuasca.
He was the most well-known American football player to reject the Covid-19 vaccine, at one point claiming that he had already been "immunised" against the illness. Later, he claimed that despite ingesting a weakened version of the virus, he had developed an allergy to a component of some Covid vaccines.
He attributed the controversy surrounding his vaccination status to a "woke mob" and "cancel culture" in one interview.
In a 2017 interview, he stated his support for human rights, civil liberties, and addressing climate change. He has also defended NFL players who knelt in protest of racial injustice.
On the field, Rodgers won the league's Most Valuable Player award in 2020 and 2021, but his 2022 campaign was largely forgettable as the Packers missed the NFL playoffs.
