'God has blessed us.' Former NFL player uses farm to help people in need

Wide opens fields and a deep-down faith lured a star athlete to leave the bright lights and a big salary. Jason Brown once tackled big men; now he runs interference against a half-ton cow.

"God has blessed us with the most beautiful farm in North Carolina," Brown described.

He once played center for the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Tar Heel and then had a $37 million contract as a center with the St. Louis Rams.

After the Rams cut Brown, the Panthers, the Ravens, the 49rs all wanted to sign long-term deals with him.

"They wanted to make me a multimillionaire, all over again," said Brown. "Jesus told me, 'I have something in store for you that's far greater than your NFL career. I said, 'really Jesus?'"

In 2012, after seven years in the NFL, Brown and his wife Tay settled down on a 1,000 acre farm in Franklin County, not far from Brown's hometown of Henderson.

Brown is 37 years old now and the father of eight children.

"A farm is the best place to raise a family," he described.

All the produce grown on the farm is given away to people in need. So far, the family has donated more than half-a-million pounds.

"Money does not make problems go away," said Brown. "It has always been a heart issue."

"There are so many things people can do to still live a life of purpose," he added.

Brown said that this path was the one that God call for him.

"One thing is consistent ... what he calls everyone to do is be faithful and be obedient," he said.

For this Memorial Day weekend, he's organizing a hot-air balloon event on his farm to remember his older brother, Army Specialist Lunsford Brown, who was killed in Iraq in 2003

He said he wants he wants it to honor all of those killed serving their country.