Former NFL running back and ESPN analyst Merril Hoge is suing Monsanto, saying its herbicide Roundup caused his cancer.

Hoge, 54, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2003, underwent treatment and has been in remission.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Idaho, Hoge claims that he began using Roundup while working on a farm in Idaho in 1977. The suit claims that "Plaintiff's Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma was proximately and actually caused by exposure to Defendant's Roundup products. ... As a result of his injury, Plaintiff has incurred significant economic and noneconomic damages."

More than 18,000 plaintiffs are suing Monsanto, claiming that Roundup caused their cancer. Juries have recently awarded plaintiffs tens of millions of dollars in lawsuits against Monsanto. Alva and Alberta Pilliod were awarded $87 million, Dewayne Johnson $78 million and Edwin Hardeman more than $25 million.

Bayer, the parent company of Monsanto, issued a statement Wednesday.

"We have great sympathy for any individual with cancer, but the extensive body of science on glyphosate-based herbicides over four decades supports the conclusion that Roundup does not cause NHL," the company said.

Hoge was a 10th-round draft choice out of Idaho State and played in Pittsburgh from 1987 to '93. But while he was with the Chicago Bears in 1994, Hoge was forced out of football because of a series of concussions suffered during his career.

Hoge's complaint asks for a jury trial and "compensatory damages to Plaintiff for past and future damages, including, but not limited to, Plaintiff's pain and suffering and for severe and permanent personal injuries sustained by the Plaintiff including health care costs and economic loss."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.