After spending eight seasons in Green Bay, the Packers decided it was time to deliver a huge paycheck to their DT Kenny Clark. But getting to this point hasn’t been an easy task, you see. Growing up was a harrowing journey for the Packers nose tackle. However, it was his parents who kept him grounded throughout his childhood.

The DTs parents, Nicole and Kenny Clark Sr. have a heart of gold and did their absolute best to pass those values to their son. Like all great parents, Kenny’s guardians made sure that he was on the right path, always. So, who are Kenny Clark Jr.’s parents?

A look at Kenny Clark Jr’s family tree

Kenny surely has seen some ups and downs in his life. Unfortunately for the Packers DT, his father got sentenced to 55-year in prison. The father-son duo bonded over football. When that bond was taken away from him, his mother stepped in to offer every iota of her support to help her son out. Although she didn’t know much about football, she also didn’t want Kenny to feel left out.

Reality hit Kenny hard when he knew his father wasn’t coming back from prison anytime soon. He knew that he’d have to take charge at home. Watching your mother work for 17 hours a day is not exactly a kids dream. But credit to his mother, she always kept her 4 children in line. She never let them hang around the wrong type of crowd because Kenny was already in a problem.

Kenny knew he had motion when he started playing seriously at Carter High School. However, there was one problem; his grades. His mother didn’t like the fact that her son was struggling with academics and decided to give him a pep talk.

“You love football? Well, guess what? You can’t play it if you have bad grades,” Nicole said. “Then you end up working at Wal-Mart for the rest of your life or stand on the street corner and sell some d**gs. Is that what you want to do? I gave it to them raw. I’m not a sugar-coating parent. I don’t do that – and he got it together.”

But most of all, Kenny’s mother didn’t want him to end up on a rap sheet somewhere. She didn’t want him to become a “statistic” and an example of all the bad things that exist out there.

“Where we’re from, the statistics aren’t good and I didn’t want my children to be a statistic,” Nicole said. “My kids were not going to be gang-bangers. They’re not going to be d**g dealers. That was my mindset. I have to keep them focused.” But he didn’t end up as a “statistic.” Rather, he found himself a college to play football for.

The Clark family’s life has been a roller coaster ride

UCLA was one of Nicole’s favorites, mainly because they treated Kenny like a person. He wasn’t just some dude on the roster anymore. Secondly, it was close to home. His mother drove to places like Arizona, Utah, and around Southern California to watch her son play. It wasn’t long when Kenny’s siblings, cousins and his girlfriend started tagging along with his mother.

College flew by quickly for the Packers DT. Soon, it was time that he declared for the draft. The family had been struggling for two decades and this was the penultimate reward. The Packers got him in the 27th overall pick and things weren’t the same after that. Safe to say that his mother was super excited. Kenny recalled the exciting moment about his mother.

“I never saw her run so fast. I mean, she sprinted toward the table,” Kenny said. “She just kept saying, ‘Who is that? Who is that?’ I’m trying to talk to Ted. I’m like, ‘Hold on, hold on.’ Everybody starts telling her, ‘It’s Green Bay, it’s Green Bay.’ She was the first one that started screaming. I couldn’t even hear Ted.”

His mother doesn’t like extremely cold weathers. To make matters worse, she broke her leg and tore her meniscus after slipping on the ice. That surely made it hard for her to travel. However, she still came to watch her son play ball. What a W mom!

“I did not fly all that way to not go to my baby’s game,” Nicole said. “That was the first time I ever sat in the family lounge. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t walk down the bleachers … but I got to see my baby. So that’s all that matters.”

Fast forward 8 seasons, Kenny Clark Jr. and his family have beaten the bad times. It just so happens that the Packers DT has secured a 3-year $64 million extension with the Wisconsin team. 2 decades of struggle finally worked out for the Clark family!