NFL legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist Jared Allen is trading life on his Tennessee ranch to return to his California roots, bucking the ongoing migration wave of residents leaving the Golden State.

Allen, 44, acknowledged that relocating back to the West Coast is an unusual decision amid widespread complaints over affordability and taxes.

But for the former pass rusher coming back is about giving his children the same formative experience he had while growing up in Northern California.

“I’m one of the rare people moving back to the state of California,” Allen said. “I grew up here. I grew up in the Bay Area, and I have such fond memories of California, and I want my kids to be able to experience the California that I experienced growing up.”

Allen spent his childhood on a cutting horse ranch in Morgan Hill, beginning his football journey in Gilroy Pop Warner before starting at Live Oak High School.

Following an off-the-field disciplinary incident where he was expelled for selling stolen yearbooks, Allen transferred to Los Gatos High School for his senior campaign. While there he cemented his trajectory toward college and NFL stardom, capturing first-team All-League, Defensive Player of the Year and All-Central Coast Section accolades.

Recalling his youth, Allen described an active, vibrant outdoorsman lifestyle that shaped his career.

“We used to get up and be skiing up in Tahoe in the morning, be back in Santa Cruz fishing in the evening,” Allen said.

He added that he wants to raise his family around “go-getters,” “doers” and “innovators” who believe “anything is possible.”

However, the nostalgia that brought Allen back home came packaged with a blunt warning about California’s escalating costs and direction.

“When I got my driver’s license, a tank of gas wasn’t much more than a dollar. I can remember an affordable California. I grew up on a ranching cut-horse ranch, so it wasn’t like we were affluent and had endless means. But we were able to have almost every experience you could want as a child.”

He continued of California: “You have the ocean, you have the mountains, you have agriculture, you have such a vibrant food scene.”

Halfway through his announcement, Allen threw his political backing behind Republican candidate for governor Steve Hilton, urging voters to break Sacramento’s long-running status quo.

“After talking with Steve and hearing his common-sense approach, just things like a $3 tank of gas, let’s make our car registration the same as what everybody else is paying around the country,” Allen said. “No matter what political party you’re affiliated with, you have those everyday expenses … just to live.”

Allen took direct aim at policy proposals pushed by Hilton’s rival, Democratic nominee and former US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, singling out proposals for a vehicle-miles-traveled tax.

“What is Becerra talking about? I heard him talk about a potential mileage tax. How are you going to punish people for enjoying the state? How are you going to punish people for trying to get to work? How are you going to punish people for movement?” Allen said.

Hilton shared the video endorsement on social media, posting: “🚨 NFL legend Jared Allen is moving BACK to California, voting Hilton. On Becerra’s mileage tax: ‘How are you going to punish people for trying to get to work?’ Thank you, Jared! I’ll be fighting to the very end to restore the thriving, affordable California you grew up in. 👊”

Allen warned that voters cannot keep rubber-stamping the same policies while hoping the state’s severe cost-of-living crisis magically resolves itself.

“I was kind of reminded about the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result,” Allen said, noting that California has operated under single-party rule since former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“I’m just excited for the potential to have a common-sense approach to everyday life here in the great state of California. So God bless you and vote for Steve,” he concluded.

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