Dewberry, who rarely grants interviews, explained his reason for making his diagnosis public: "It's not just the right thing to do, it's the only thing to do," he told WSB. "Hopefully along the way, you've helped more than you hurt."

At age 45, Dewberry has made a successful transition from college football star in the mid-1980s to successful commercial investor, with properties throughout the Southeast valued in the billions of dollars. Most recently, he rebranded the 191-room Wyndham Midtown Atlanta as Hotel Midtown in September and turned its operations over to Los Angeles-based Luxe Worldwide Hotels.

Dewberry disclosed to WSB that his Gleason score—the number used to determine the level of prostate-specific antigen in blood—measured in the 300 range when his doctor gave him the prognosis in June. That number has since come down to 14, he said, which still indicates cancer yet shows favorable response to chemotherapy, radiation and hormone treatments.

"The doctor said, 'We've never seen one this bad get this good this quickly.' My response was God is good and you fools aren't bad, either," Dewberry said.