A benign cyst on former NFL linebacker Will Compton’s cerebellum is no cause for concern, or sympathy, as his podcast audience learned Tuesday.
Speaking with comedian Nate Bargatze on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, the 36-year-old Compton described the process of learning about the issue as an NFL free agent.
‘I was apparently born with a cyst in my cerebellum,’ he told Bargatze. ‘Learned this throughout free agency. They found it on [cervical spine] MRIs and they found this white mass.
‘We’ve just been monitoring over the years,’ he continued. ‘It’s grown to where, you see the photo, and it’s like: “I hope everything’s OK.” So I had to do a contrast MRI to put dye in it to see if anything’s developed in the last several years because I’ve gotten different MRIs.’
Compton wrapped up his anecdote, but not before offering Bargatze a chance to hear more off air.
‘It’s a full story, I can tell you outside,’ Compton said.
The benign cyst on former NFL linebacker Will Compton’s cerebellum is no cause for concern
Comedian Nate Bargatze declined to hear anything more about Will Compton’s cyst
Although the 47-year-old Bargatze is diehard fan of the Tennessee Titans, Compton and co-host Taylor Lewan’s former team, the popular comedian politely declined to hear any more.
‘Ahh, no, I think I’m good,’ he said, earning an outburst of laughter from Compton and Lewan.
Fortunately, Compton’s cyst is not currently an issue, according to his show’s social media team.
In running a clip of his exchange with Bargatze on X, the Bussin’ With The Boys crew made sure to note ‘he’s okay’ in an on-screen graphic.
Compton (center) and Lewan (right) played for the Titans, Bargatze’s favorite NFL team
However, Lewan initially thought the worst when Compton texted him some MRI images. As Lewan explained, the image included two ‘little circles,’ one of which was slightly bigger.
Although he was celebrating his daughter’s kindergarten graduation at the time, he quickly reached back out to Compton, who assured him that the MRIs did not show any issues.
‘I had to go and tell him like, “Hey, you all good?” Lewan said. ‘He’s like, “Yeah, everything seems like it’s fine.”
‘I’m like, “Well, we could have led with that,”‘ Lewan added. ‘Like, “All good. Here’s a fun photo for you to look at.”‘
Although Compton’s cyst isn’t currently considered a threat, it is something he should monitor for the rest of his life. A cyst that grows large enough to compress the cerebellum can disrupt the brain’s motor control and impact balance, according to several studies published by the National Institute of Health.
