Reports: Former NFLer Charles Tillman now an FBI agent

CHICAGO -- Former Bears cornerback Charles Tillman has become an FBI agent, according to multiple reports.

Sources told ESPN in September that Tillman had enrolled at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia, to pursue a full-time career at the agency.

The FBI does not comment on personnel matters.

Tillman's interest in joining the FBI after football dates back to his playing career, during which he -- according to another source -- occasionally observed and worked alongside law enforcement officials during offseason months.

Tillman, who turned 37 on Friday, earned a criminal justice degree from Louisiana-Lafayette. His father, Donald Tillman Jr., was a sergeant in the Army.

One of the greatest defensive backs in Bears history, Tillman played 12 seasons with Chicago, earning two Pro Bowl nods, and was named the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2013. He also won the NFL's Salute to Service award in 2012.

Nicknamed "Peanut," Tillman played his final season with the Carolina Panthers in 2015 but signed a one-day contract to retire as a Bear in July 2016.

Tillman spent his first year out of football working as an NFL analyst for Fox Sports.