Randy Moss and Deion Sanders, both football legends, have faced cancer in their lives. Moss was diagnosed with Stage 2 bile duct cancer in 2024 and took a year off from ESPN to focus on treatment. When he learned Sanders was also battling cancer, he stepped in to support his friend.
Randy Moss Shares Life Lesson from Wife Lydia
Moss opened up to ABC News’ Robin Roberts about how his wife, Lydia, shaped the advice he recently shared with a friend and fellow football legend, Sanders.
“One thing my wife always told me was, ‘Go out there and let your family love you. They miss you,’” Moss recalled. “That’s exactly the message I passed on to Coach Prime. A couple of days later, he texted me back, thanking me for it.”
As Sports Illustrated reported, Moss even made the trip to Boulder, Colorado, to visit Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes over the past weekend.
@RandyMoss I Love this dude 2 Life! Good real brother. #CoachPrime pic.twitter.com/HGpazYDkVE
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) September 1, 2025
“I’m here for my brother,” Moss said. “I know what he stands for because I stand for the same things: faith, family, and football. Those are my three F’s… you could even throw ‘fish’ in there if you want to,” he added with a laugh, nodding to Buffaloes defensive line coach Warren Sapp.
Reflecting on his own cancer battle, Moss described entering a “fight mode” that drew on his faith, family, and lifelong love of football. “I had to add one more F—‘fight’—because that’s exactly what I needed to do,” he said.
Throughout his treatment, Lydia served as his primary caregiver, forcing Moss, who was used to doing everything himself, to accept help. “It was difficult,” Lydia admitted to ABC. “He wanted to handle it all on his own, but in the end, he realized we needed him just as much as he needed us.”
Moss then applied the lessons he had learned from his own struggle to support Sanders personally, demonstrating the depth of their friendship and the bond forged through shared adversity.
Who Is Randy Moss’ Wife, Lydia, And his Kids?
Randy Moss tied the knot with Lydia Moss in 2015. Unlike her high-profile husband, Lydia maintains a quiet presence, rarely appearing in the public eye; however, their shared focus on family is unmistakable. Together, they have a daughter, Lordes-Randi.
Outside of his marriage to Lydia, Randy is a father to seven other children. He shares five children—three daughters, Sydney, Senali, and Sylee, and two sons, Thaddeus and Montigo—with his former partner, Elizabeth “Libby” Offutt. Additionally, he has two daughters, Lyric and Lexi, from other relationships.
Family has always been a driving force for Moss, influencing major life decisions, including his retirement from professional football. During his 2018 Hall of Fame induction, he emphasized that spending more time with his children was a key reason for his decision to step away from the sport.
