Johnson, 43, opened up about his battle with depression after failing to make it into the NFL and being cut from the Canadian Football League, reported People magazine.
"I found that with depression one of the most important things you could realise is that you're not alone. You're not the first to go through it. I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and (say), 'Hey, it's going to be okay.'," said Johnson.
"He said, 'You are throwing it all away. It is the worst mistake you will ever make,'.I said, 'Maybe I'll be no good, but I feel like, in my heart, I have to do this.'," he said in his Oprah's Master Class special.