Walter Payton: Drug Abuse Accusations Will Not Sour Sweetness' NFL Legacy

As accusations that NFL-great Walter Payton turned to a bevy of prescription drugs to ease the pain inflicted to his body from a 12-year NFL career in a biography written by Payton's former agent Jeff Pearlman, his legacy won't be tarnished, but more light will be shed to the rigors a long-term NFL career can cause.

As ProFootballTalk reported, Payton took Tylenol and Vicodin among other painkillers and even had a tank of nitrous oxide at his house, which he took after he retired from the NFL to help with the daily pain he felt.

Sure, one could say that any kind of drug abuse is poor judgement on the abuser's side, but Payton was obviously doing what he had to do to try and live a normal life—if the allegations are true.

Instead of damaging Payton's career, this will give more insight to the kind of punishment NFL players take throughout a career. It will show that even though players live the high life and make a substantial amount of money in their careers, the pain that many of the players have to deal with for the rest of their lives may not be worth it to some.

With Payton's former teammates and coaches already defending him and even threatening legal action against Pearlman for insinuating Payton had a drug abuse problem—even though he has since came out and said he never meant to make people believe Payton abused drugs—Payton's legacy has high-profile protectors, and his name will still be remembered for his great football play and not a dependency to painkillers.

Payton compiled 16,726 rushing yards on 3,838 attempts and 110 rushing touchdowns during his 12-year NFL career, which landed him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.