Hall of Fame Quarterback Shares Life Story and the Importance of Keeping Faith and Family Paramount When Facing Adversity

RootsTech is the world’s largest annual family history and genealogy conference, hosted by FamilySearch. Their most recent gathering took place earlier this month in Salt Lake City, featuring over 200 sessions, keynote speakers, and information on connecting families, preserving stories, and exploring genealogy technology. They invited Utah native and legendary NFL quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Fame icon Steve Young to speak on the final day of the event at the Salt Palace Convention Center on Saturday, March 7.

Young excelled at Brigham Young University, then played for the Los Angeles Express in the USFL before joining the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later the San Francisco 49ers. He became the 49ers' starting quarterback in 1991, known for his passing and mobility. For one of the most important positions on the field commanding an offense on the sport’s biggest stage, Young remembered his crippling anxiety in his early playing days, often hoping the stadium would explode so he wouldn’t have to play, and habitually throwing up before a game.

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“I’d hear my teammates whisper, ‘Has he thrown up yet? He plays great when he throws up,” Young said.

Former NFL and Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young speaks with emcee Kirby Heybourne during RootsTech in the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 7, 2026. | Jeffrey D. Allred for the Deseret News

His early struggles forced him to lean on the wisdom his grandfather imparted: “Go through it, don’t go around it.”

“I’ve taken that to my heart, that no matter what I come in front of, it feels like it’s super hard, but I’m not going to go around it. Let’s go through it,” said Young.

He connected this idea with the work of genealogists and family historians at RootsTech, who seek shared experiences across generations. Whether it’s your blood family or being part of an organization, that kinship provides a “North Star” that influences behavior, he said.

“That’s emotional and spiritual athleticism, which I honor more than physical athleticism,” Young said. “We are all in this together. Can we find the bounty in each relationship that we have by putting the North Star as love?”

The mantra proved effective, with Young retiring as a seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion, holding the highest career passer rating in NFL history at the time. Post-retirement, he’s enjoyed an illustrious career as an ESPN analyst, author, and private equity executive, remaining part of a family with shared values and goals, whether it be on the production set or in the boardroom.

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