Terry Crews recalls money struggles after NFL retirement

Two decades before he started hosting “America’s Got Talent” in 2019, former NFL star Terry Crews endured financial challenges.

“After retiring from the NFL, I struggled to get to the next level where I wanted to be,” Crews, 55, revealed Saturday, according to Variety. “I tried and failed many times to secure a job in entertainment, but there was no luck.”

“And then my wife’s wedding ring took its fourth trip to the pawn shop,” continued the “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actor. “When that happened, she told me maybe it’s time you widen the search and do anything that could genuinely put food on the table.”

Crews made the startling revelation while emceeing the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Los Angeles, claiming he was forced to eventually sign up for a temp agency that placed him in a factory, where he was “unceremoniously handed a broom and told to sweep the entire factory.”

“Now, my pride left me feeling devastated,” continued Crews. “But something else happened that allowed me to reshape my mindset bit by bit.”

“At the end of the day, I was able to put gas in the car and food on our table,” he explained. “I went to sleep exhausted, but I would wake up ready to take charge of my life.”

The Post reached out to Crews for comment.

The former defensive end/linebacker journeyman retired from the NFL in 1997 and eventually built an impressive Hollywood resume by recurring on “Everybody Hates Chris,” appearing in 2008’s “Get Smart” and starring in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

This is not the first time “The Family Crews” star has gotten candid about his life.

In 2017, as #MeToo got underway, Crews tweeted that, “My wife n I were at a Hollywood function last year n a high level Hollywood executive came over 2 me and groped my privates.”

And in 2021, the “White Chicks” star shared that he managed to save his marriage to Rebecca King-Crews, 57, after tuning out “jealous” friends who were urging him to divorce her following a rough patch.

The couple wed in 1989.

“There are certain people in my life who are always jealous of our relationship who may have not realized it,” Crews told Page Six. “They would say, ‘Oh now you’re free… you can roll out,’ and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute — but you ain’t got nobody.’ And you start to realize, ‘Wait a minute — it’s better at home.’”

“All that other stuff is a trick,” he said of people who project a perfect life on their social media accounts. “There’s nothing there, and it’s all fake.”

Crews stated that he knew he and his wife would last because she knew him before he became famous.

“One thing that blows me away is that Rebecca knew me when I was broke, McDonald’s style,” joked Crews.

“Nobody else knows the real me. I would think, ‘Who can replace her? No one can ever replace the things we’ve been through.’ And what I’m thankful for is our relationship never reached the point of no return because that’s the real deal.”