Jerome Bettis talks Pittsburgh’s football legacy ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft in exclusive Q&A (Personalities of Pittsburgh)

Pittsburgh Business Times- In this exclusive interview, Jerome Bettis discusses his foundation’s work with local youth, his well-plugging company, his own Draft day memories and why Pittsburgh is the ready to host the 2026 NFL Draft.

Jerome Bettis, otherwise known as “The Bus,” is a Pittsburgh icon. The former NFL star running back was drafted into the league in 1993 by the Los Angeles Rams, and would go on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1996 through 2005. His NFL career had a storybook ending of sorts, as at the end of his last season, he helped lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl championship in his hometown of Detroit. At the time of his retirement, he ranked fifth in all-time rushing yards. Bettis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015, and over the years since his playing career, he’s kept plenty busy. He started his own foundation, the Jerome Bettis Bus Stops Here Foundation, that works to provide opportunities to underprivileged youth. He is also the owner and CEO of M&A Resources, a well-plugging and oil and gas exploration services company. He’s also served as an analyst for several sports networks, and is the host of The Jerome Bettis Show, which airs on WPXI.

Tell me a little bit about what your Draft day experience was like when you were first drafted into the NFL. What made it so special?

It was special because I had my family with me. We all flew to New York and at the hotel, I just remember having my suit ready and they were ready to go to Radio City Music Hall and hear my name be called. It was just a lot of anticipation. We were so excited, but we did it as a family, so that’s what made it even that much more fun.

What was your reaction when you first heard that the NFL Draft this year was going to be held in Pittsburgh?

I knew that it was going to be crazy because Pittsburgh is a huge football town, and every year, you see the Draft growing and growing and growing. And after it was in Detroit, my hometown, I said to myself, when it gets to Pittsburgh, it’s going to be bananas. So there was a lot of excitement.

Are you coming to town for anything related to the Draft?

We’re doing a pre-Draft event supporting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania. (Inside the Draft: Community on the Clock, on April 22 at the PPG Wintergarden downtown.)

Why do you think Pittsburgh is a great place for the NFL Draft to be held?

It’s a football city, and it’s going to benefit from an incredible opportunity. The problem with Pittsburgh is that it is a cold weather city, so it probably would never host a Super Bowl. Well, I won’t say never, but this is the next best thing, being able to host the Draft, having the football world descend upon the city to see and hear true Pittsburgh fans and really get a chance to see their love affair with their team and their community.

Tell me a little bit more about your foundation and what you do with it.

We work with underprivileged, at-risk kids. And our big program is our Cyber Bus program, and what we do is we have two busses that are outfitted with basically computer labs, and they actually go to different areas in and around Pittsburgh. The original cyber bus is (in collaboration) with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, five days a week, and it moves to different areas. And then we have a new cyber bus, an electric bus, and it’s in the rural parts of the outside areas of Pittsburgh. So we’re trying to service more areas and more kids that don’t have, necessarily, the access to learn about computer literacy, and there’s a digital divide there. So we’re trying to close that gap, so that we’re able to inspire young people.

You went back to school to get your business degree at Notre Dame a few years ago. What inspired you to continue your education?

It was really my children. I’ve got two kids, and they’re both at the University of Notre Dame, my daughter’s a junior and my son’s a freshman, but before that, I had always told them that education is the biggest equalizer in this world and that it was so important. But I wasn’t backing that up myself, having left school early going to the NFL, and so I knew that it was really important for me, personally, for a number of reasons. One, I promised my mother and father that I would go back and graduate. And it was a promise that I wanted to keep. But also, I understood that my children were watching. It was a great experience, one that I’m so happy that I did because the joy that I got out of graduating and receiving my diploma, it was an amazing feeling.

You also have your own business venture, serving as CEO and owner of your company, M&A Resources.

Our core business is well plugging. We bid for work for the state. So we’re working right now with West Virginia and Ohio, plugging abandoned wells. And we’re also working with private companies, plugging wells that they have and that they want shut down. We also do a lot of things pertaining to wells and servicing the wells, and so all of those things are kind of in this wheelhouse of services that we provide to companies predominantly, but also to municipalities.

How do you juggle your foundation work, leading your company, your work as an analyst, and of course your most important role, being a dad?

It’s one day at a time. You have great people that you work with from a business perspective, so that you don’t have to do all the heavy lifting on your own. Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you. That allows me to be able to do more than one thing and wear more than one hat. By no means do I ever think that I can do it alone.

When you’re in Pittsburgh and you have someone with you who’s never been here before, where do you take them to show off the city?

It’s the grand entrance. When you come through that tunnel, it’s a huge wow factor. And from there, it’s just about showing the city and then explaining the city more than showing it because Pittsburgh is a lot of pockets where people live and experience life, and going to a few restaurants. You take them to the Strip District, you take them downtown. The most important part is that they get an idea of the people of Pittsburgh.

What is your biggest motivator in all of the work that you do?

It’s really to make an impact. And that goes business-wise, but it also goes from a foundational standpoint. Make an impact and change lives.

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