NFL star Ben Utecht says he wore wedding ring before marriage to guard against temptation

To combat against temptation, former football player Ben Utecht wore his wedding ring in public even before he got married.

Utecht and his wife Karyn waited two years to get married after their engagement in 2004. At that time, he was playing for the Indianapolis Colts while Karyn was living in Minnesota. The situation proved challenging for the athlete so he came up with a way to ward off the temptations common among professional athletes.

"I wore a wedding band throughout that entire time and I wanted to do my best to make sure that my intentions were always front and center," Utecht told the Christian Post. "I think that was very important and that protected me," he added.

Utecht advised other Christian athletes who may face temptations in their career to study the Bible.

"Obviously, this analogy has been used quite a bit in sports but the Bible is really God's playbook for our lives. That's where you really begin to know Jesus better and that is when you are spending time in the Word," he said.

After his fifth documented concussion in 2009, Utecht stopped playing football professionally. Aside from the five concussions, he suffered several other damages to the brain. He wrote a book to explain to his wife and four daughters why he may not recognize them in the future.

In the book titled "Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away: A Love Letter to My Family," he revealed to the Christian Post that he has difficulties recalling some notable events in his life. He confessed that he cannot remember the night he and his teammates received their Super Bowl rings.

Utecht started pursuing a music career after quitting sports. He wrote a love letter to his wife and daughters which was turned into a song and a music video. The song "You Will Always Be My Girls" has received over 1.2 million views on Youtube.