Near the end of the interview, Adam “Pacman” Jones is honest.
“I’m still going to go out,” he said. “I gotta go out to the clubs and stuff like that. That’s what I do.”
The conversation with the former Titans, Cowboys and Bengals defensive back was one month ago. The purpose of the interview was to catch up with the retired NFL player, to discuss how he is doing. A “Where Are They Now?” type.
Jones, 41, lives in Cincinnati, hosts a popular podcast, and follows his children, some of whom have displayed his immense athletic talent that made him a top recruit out of high school, a first round NFL draft pick, and led to a 12-year NFL career.
Pac was one of those guys who you feared the next headline about him may involve something tragic. Pac sounds like he’s figured it out, and he’s OK, but there always seems to be a headline. But it’s not tragic. It’s just Pac.
Unfortunately, on June 7, “Pacman” was arrested in Covington, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. He was charged with alcohol intoxication in a public place, disorderly conduct, and assaulting a police/probation officer. He was released less than 12 hours after his arrest.
This incident came during an ugly coincidental 72-hour period involving a trio of former Cowboys players. Also on June 7, former Cowboys cornerback Kelvin Joseph, 25, was jailed on a DWI charge when he turned himself in to authorities after he drove his BMW into a motorcyclist on U.S. 75 near Richardson; the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.
On June 5, former Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy, 36, was jailed after he was arrested on a charge of “causing bodily injury to a family member.”
This was the fourth time since 2021 that “Pacman” has been arrested. It is the third year in a row he’s been booked on a charge of public intoxication.
‘Pacman’ Jones broke a pattern
Considering his background and upbringing, this could be so much worse. Maybe more like Hardy. Or Joseph.
“If I didn’t have football, I don’t want to talk about it. It changed my life,” Jones said in a phone interview. “After watching my dad get killed right in front of me ... that’s why I am so aggressive. I’m going to protect myself all the time. I am going to fight first.”
His father was killed during a robbery in front of their apartment.
“After I saw that happen, that’s why mentally I was so (messed up). I was 7 years old when that happened. Think about that. You never get over it. I talk to somebody now.”
He still sounds a little bit like the “Pacman” Jones who Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones traded for in 2008, the year after “Pacman” served a yearlong suspension for violating league policies.
“Pacman” also sounds like a guy who has been through it.
After one injury-riddled and mostly disappointing season with the Cowboys under then head coach Wade Phillips, which included an incident a Dallas hotel that led to another suspension, “Pacman” was cut in February of 2009. The prevailing thought was “Pacman’s” NFL career was over, and the next time we heard about him would not be good.
All of the signs said he would be just another NFL sad stat. Great talent. Blew it.
He returned in 2010 to play eight seasons with the Bengals, was an All-Pro in 2014, and a Pro Bowler in 2015. His career ended with one final year, in Denver, in 2018. He retired at 35.
During the latter stages of his career, he would talk to young players about his life, and specifically how to avoid the mistakes he made.
“My relationship with Jerry is unbreakable. He was good to me,” “Pacman” said. “If I hadn’t screwed myself up early in my career, I would been the highest paid cornerback in the league. But coming to Cincinnati was the best thing that happened to me. (Bengals owner Mike) Brown was so good to me.
“When I hurt my neck he refused to let me play again until I got it fixed. This is where I want to be. I like the cold. I love Cincinnati.”
‘Pacman’ Jones at 41
Both Jones and sports media personality Pat McAfee are alums of West Virginia; their football careers at Morgantown are separated by one year.
McAfee has made himself into a national name, and with his direction he helped Jones launch a podcast. “Politely Raw: Pacman Jones Show.” He has guests, and his show has a place in the limitless world of podcasts, where former players take to the mic’ to discuss anything they want, normally sports.
He has three kids. His oldest, daughter Zaniyah Jones, runs track at Mississippi State. “Pacman” said he has adopted the sons of his former college teammate, receiver Chris Henry, who died in 2009 after falling from the bed of his fiancee’s pickup truck during an altercation.
Chris Henry Jr. is a five-star rated wide receiver who has committed to play at Ohio State starting in 2026. His brother Demarcus has been offered a scholarship to play basketball for the Buckeyes.
That “Pacman” Jones recovered from himself to put together this career, and this life, defies a pattern established by so many others.
“Everybody makes mistakes. Some people are doing horrible stuff compared to what I’ve done,” he said. “We’re talking about some fights and cussing people out. That’s really it.”
It’s all still a little raw. A little jagged.
But it is completely “Pacman” Jones.