Dallas Goedert.Photo:Jonathan Bachman/Getty
Jonathan Bachman/Getty
Dallas Goedertis coming off a high of the Philadelphia Eagles'40-22 blowout winover theKansas City Chiefsat the2025 Super Bowlin New Orleans on Feb. 9.
“It was a ton of fun,” he tells PEOPLE of the big game. “It’s still hard to believe. It feels like I’m dreaming, but I’m enjoying it, that’s for sure.”
But the Eagles tight end, 30, is even more thrilled that he made it through the win without worrying about any uncomfortable flare-ups of his plaque psoriasis.
Psoriasis is a chronic disease in which the immune system becomes overactive, causing skin cells to multiply too quickly, leading to scaly, inflamed patches of skin, according to theNational Institutes of Health.
TE Dallas Goedert #88 of the Philadelphia Eagles.Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty
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Goedert was diagnosed when he was about 10 years old. He grew up being embarrassed of the skin disease — especially as an athlete —and has been trying to find solutions for it ever since.
“I’d have friends, teachers asking me what it is. Being a kid with that, it was tough to tell people,” he recalls. “So I tried to hide it. I would wear long sleeves if it was on my arms and I tried to cover it up on and off the field.”
“Being in a locker room is tough when you have the flakes and people are asking you, ‘What’s on your skin? Is it contagious?’ Different things like that,” he adds. “It was embarrassing.”
Goedert explains that his psoriasis flare ups would irritate him and cause distractions on the field when he got too itchy. He tried a number of topical treatments over the years, but they didn’t work with his lifestyle as a football player, sweating often and being in hot and cold tubs.
Dallas Goedert of Philadelphia Eagles.Dallas Goedert/Amgen
Dallas Goedert/Amgen
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After more than 20 years struggling with plaque psoriasis, Goedert has now partnered with Amgen, finally landing on a treatment — a pill, Otezla — that works for his lifestyle over the past few months.
“It has been a complete game changer for me. Finding that has just made my life a little bit easier and I’m thankful for that,” he says, encouraging others going through similar situations not to lose hope in finding a solution with their doctors.
“I’ve tried to embrace it the older I got,” he adds of the skin disease. “Make sure I just tell people what it is anduse my platform to kind of be a voicefor plaque psoriasis.”
Now, rather than struggling with his flare ups, the NFL star is rightfully focused on celebrating his Super Bowl win.
“After the game, the Eagles hosted a great after party for family and friends and all sorts of people were able to come out.Shane Gilliswas back there partying with us, so that was really cool. We enjoyed it,” Goedert tells PEOPLE, sharing his excitement for the team’s victory parade in their home city on Feb. 14.
“It seems like it’s going to be a week-long celebration,” Goedert says.
source: people.com