The $20M Mistake NFL Teams Make: RB Alex Mattison Reveals All | Alex Mattison DSH #1014

Or a franchise, whatever the best move is for

a coach, owner, a GM.

They look at those things and they make a decision.

It's like that.

You know, you could be, you know, having a loving conversation one day and then the next week they're shipping you away.

Damn.

It's like that.

Yeah, it's crazy.

No heads up?

No.

I mean,

it's wild.

All right, guys.

Running back for the Raiders, Alex Madison.

Thanks for coming on, man.

Yeah, appreciate it.

Thanks for having me.

First Raiders I've had on the show.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I like that.

Got to represent.

Yeah.

Appreciate it.

How's the uh season going so far?

It's going, it's uh, it's going.

It's it's one of those seasons that's just, you know, a lot of adversity, but a lot of football left.

So we're looking forward to the next opportunity.

Just got to keep chipping away, keep grinding.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Has it been a big change from the Vikings?

Um, yeah.

I mean, the biggest change, of course, is the weather.

It's like night and day.

Super hot.

I love it.

I'm from California, San Merdino, California.

So being back on the West Coast feels amazing, feels good.

But yeah, it's just a little different, just different way that things are.

You know, all the different teams around the league have different ways that they do things, different ways that they have, you know, their lifts versus, you know, their scheduling where it's like here we practice earlier in the day than Minnesota was later in the day.

So just little things like that that are different.

You had to memorize all the plays, too.

Yeah, that too.

Yeah.

Luckily, the system that we're in now is a system that is like a combination of the systems that I've been a part of in Minnesota.

So, pretty familiar with like the different schemes and everything like that.

So, that's a good part.

Oh, nice.

So, there were some similar plays and stuff.

Yeah, yeah.

The only difference is like some of the verbiage, but I mean, there's some that's the same, and you listen to it and you're like, I wonder if that's the same as what it was.

Right.

And it is.

And then there's some times where there's like a word and you think of what it was in minnesota right and no that word is a different play here so yeah you just kind of got to learn how to disconnect them have you ever played against a team where they found out your plays and they kind of knew you were what you were about to do

i've never

i've never known for a fact but i've i've lined up and they're like okay yeah he's doing this

and i'm just like uh

how would they like how do they know that but you know it comes down to like being a football player comes down to prepping all week right they've probably seen when they line up in this formation and it's third and eight they're either doing this or they're doing that so like you get down to it and that's what they do a lot of like coin flips when it comes down to formations and things like that that awareness right yeah so do you have to change the plays throughout the season like the words what you call them stuff uh sometimes yeah yeah you get to a point where you either add in new stuff or you start to switch up your verbiage a little bit um i've seen that a lot with like snap counts yeah like if you're lining up and you're like we're going on this count

they know what that snap count is so they start to jump the count they start to like get a feel for it so you have to switch it up all the time yeah because i see the guys that get the most sacks it almost seems like they know it's coming yeah yeah and i mean

It's funny because sometimes you'll have guys that line up and they like, I don't know how guys do it because like, I'm in a mode where I'm like thinking to myself about all the different things that I have to do, where I'm going, what my alignment is, what my aiming point, what the defense is doing.

But there's guys that will be on the side of the ball.

They're line up and they're just like talking mess and just like, yeah, it's funny because like I'll be there and if I do a point, oh, you're, you're not, that's a fake point.

And I'm like, damn, like, how you even.

You're locked in.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There's people trying to talk to you, right?

Yeah.

Talk smack or whatever, get in your head.

Yeah.

You ever let that happen?

i don't it doesn't affect me yeah it doesn't affect me there was a time i remember um

jamal adams he got mad at me because

i had uh i think an explosive screen and

he tried to make the tackle and i kind of broke his tackle but ended up out of bounds so when i got up he was like talking mess and i honestly couldn't understand what he was saying so i like looked at him and asked i said what and he like tried to like you know continue to talk mess and i was just like, and just kept going.

And I could tell he was like frustrated that I didn't talk back to him.

But it's funny to me because it doesn't phase me.

Yeah.

Well, some people use it to play better.

They get, they like to get riled up.

Yeah.

Like Michael Jordan type stuff.

Yeah, definitely.

There's, there's some guys.

I mean,

there were some guys,

Travathan, playing against him when he was in Chicago.

He's one of those guys all game long.

Yeah, he's just yapping out there.

Just yapping.

Doesn't have any,

it has nothing to do with you, maybe, but he's just yapping all game long.

Well, I hoop a bit, and I actually play better when people start talking.

Yeah, yeah, see, and sometimes it does, like, you know, it's like, okay, you want to, you want to talk?

All right, listen.

I get that feeling sometimes.

Guys will do like extra stuff after the play where they kind of like land on you and give you a little like nudge

and call you certain words, whatever.

And it's like, all right, bet.

Yeah.

So that's kind of what I do.

I just tap into mode.

Just like, all right, bet.

That must hurt, man, when you're at the bottom of a pile with eight dudes on you.

Oh, man.

It's worse when there's like a defensive lineman.

Those guys are 300 plus pounds.

And they will purposely like dead weight on top of you because it like really just, it drains you when you get tackled.

And they might not even like hit you hard or anything.

But if they like feel you under them, they'll just like drop their weight for as long as they can.

See, this is the stuff.

People watching don't even realize.

Yeah.

No, it's it's horrible.

Yeah.

It happened to me like twice last game.

Oh man.

They're just like squeezed they got a good grip on you and they just kind of like lean up and just like let their dead weight fall until someone comes and like pushes them off yeah because they got to be helped up right yeah yeah man yeah because then next play you're probably gassed yeah

yeah but it's it's one of those things you gotta tap in like there's a difference between like being in shape and being in football shape and that's what the difference is like you got to be able to take hits hit people and keep going next play next play next play absolutely and you can't just you know run you know people can run laps all they want to and be in shape, be conditioned and all that, but there's like that extra different type of football conditioning when it comes down to like taking hits and getting a guy, four people laying on top of you.

And then you got to get up and get on the ball and run again.

Right.

Yeah.

And this is why injuries are so common.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That fatigue sets in and your body just does what it does.

Especially your position.

Yeah.

I feel like almost every starting running back is dealing with something.

Yeah.

It's day in, day out.

It's like,

how does my hip feel?

How does my ankle feel?

How does my,

it's just always something that she's like, week to week, just got to get better, get better, get better.

It's got to be one of the most vulnerable positions, if I had to guess.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I feel like other than

other than like the into the lineman, like we get touched every play, really.

Like for the majority of the part, we're like 97% of the game, we're getting touched, whether that's picking up a blitz, catching the ball ball at the backfield, or running the football.

We're having to deal with some contact.

Yeah.

Damn, you must have a fearless mindset.

And that's crazy to think about 97% of the time you're getting touched up.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And that's why, like, for me, I like always try and like fight for it a little bit.

I tell people, you know, the value of the running back position is a lot higher than it's

as it as it is.

It's a lot higher than it actually is.

Like on paper right now, it's been devalued so much.

But I mean, you see guys like Saquon and you know even uh you know a great duo over in detroit with david montgomery and and gibbs like

like bringing that value back to the running back position because there's more than just running the football is running the ball catching the ball picking up blitzes all of those things that we do on a you know every down basis that's right like we're

really like workhorses yeah absolutely yeah i grew up in jersey so as a giants fan losing saquan was was tough yeah oh that one for he's a he's a a beast.

Yeah, no,

I thought he was going to end up being like a lifetime.

Just go ahead and retire as a giant.

That's rare these days.

Yeah, it is.

But I mean, I mean, it worked out for him.

He's doing a great job right now.

Yeah, I'm happy for him.

But yeah, the business side of the sports industry is tough.

It's ruthless, right?

Like, they'll just trade you if they want to make money or whatever.

Yeah,

that's one thing I learned too.

Just like, it's a business.

It really is.

Like, at the end of the day, whatever's the best move for a franchise, whatever the best move is for

a coach, owner, a GM.

Yeah.

They look at those things and they make a decision.

It's like that.

You know, you could be,

you know, having a loving conversation one day and then the next week they're shipping you away.

Damn, it's like that.

Yeah, it's crazy.

No heads up.

No, I mean,

it's wild.

Wow.

It's wild.

The way that my career,

my career in Minnesota ended was pretty abrupt.

You had no heads up?

None at all.

Wow.

And you were there for four years, right?

Five.

Five years.

So you were like one of the vets on that team.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I had another year in my deal and it just kind of,

you know, they decided that they were going to go in a different direction.

Did they tell you a reason ever?

Um,

not

not in, not to the depths of like really understanding what the reason was.

Yeah.

Um kind of left me and my agent up in smokes when it comes down to like figuring out what the pinpoint reason was but uh just one of those things that they just say you know they they feel like they want to go in a different direction and it was like the least expected call that i got damn yeah so that was that really hurt you at the time oh yeah yeah it was it was one of those ones i mean i went into the offseason like i remember talking to my wife like i'm grinding for

more in Minnesota.

Like I want to grind so that this next season coming up, we earn more years here.

So like I can play as long as I can in Minnesota.

Right.

And

we had just built a house and everything and

had another year left and got a great workout in that morning.

And later that day, you know, got a call from a coach and we're chopping it up and then bam, dropped a bomb on me.

So the coach is the one that tells you?

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, it depends.

I know a lot of different situations.

Sometimes like the agent contact you and get a hold of you before.

Yeah.

But for the most part they do their due diligence and they they do their respect and they talk to you man to man and just you know let you know what the situation is damn that's nuts yeah yeah you thought your whole career was going to be there yeah i or at least the majority of it right because that was your final contract year you said right yeah so i would have ended up so this would have been the last year on that deal then six years in hopefully get some more time there and then like hey maybe at eight years we figure out if we're going to continue to be able to to stay here or go somewhere else, whatever the case may be.

But yeah, I was thinking it was going to, it was going to be a beautiful little picture of Minnesota for a little bit longer at least.

Yeah.

Damn.

Because the average career is pretty short, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's crazy.

Three or four years.

So it was.

Well, I would probably say that it maybe is around there collectively.

But like looking at it from like a running back standpoint, it's down to two and a half.

Whoa.

Yeah.

Two and a half.

And I remember when I was a kid, it was like four.

The average was like four years for a running back.

So you're like, okay, I want to go play four plus if I can do it.

And now

they say the average for a running back is two and a half.

That's scary.

Yeah, it's wild.

That's scary because you're training your whole life for two and a half years, basically.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's why I was like, you know, my son, he will not play one.

He's going to be a

receiver, DB, quarterback, something else if he wants to play football.

But yeah, running back position is like, man, right now it's rough.

What do you think caused it to go from four to two and a half?

Do you think the competition just got too much?

I think it has something to do with the competition.

It has something to do with the way that the league has changed too,

where you see like these super mega contracts with quarterbacks and receivers, right?

So it's kind of like you have to have a star receiver, have to have a franchise quarterback.

And then you kind of plug the pieces in around that.

Then the tight ends are starting to, you know, their value is going up because bigger body, a nightmare for matchups.

So you look at these three positions collectively and you start to figure out, okay, what can we do with this?

Well, you either get like a secondary receiver that's like a secondary star receiver.

So now you have two star receivers, a star tight end and a franchise quarterback.

And then you plug a piece in that running back, or you maybe invest in a top-tier running back.

But for the most part, it's a little bit more of a running back by committee now where back in the day you know you had the workhorse back where it was like

you look at Jerome Bettis you look at you know even a little further you got Stephen Jackson and Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson and Jamal Charles like you look at those type of backs and that type of game and it's there's some there's guys that can do it right there's there's teams that can do it.

But when you look at it from a standpoint of where the game's gone, you got the likes of Justin Jefferson and all these receivers that are top tier and people that are following up behind that.

You're getting two or three very notable receivers per team now.

And

the way that their

demand is

and the quarterback position with the franchise QB and how much you're going to pay it, you have to see the upside in that investment.

So for me, I think it's just that the way the game has changed, it's kind of devalued the running back position a little bit just because the emphasis in these other position areas.

Right.

And, you know, the running back by committee mentality, like you said, the competition has gotten a lot,

I would say, more leveled out where there's like a lot of top tier guys and there's a lot of guys that have to share the room.

So, you know, you go and you get two backs that are phenomenal.

It's a win-win.

One back is tired, the next back goes in and he's also doing great.

So

when you can kind of do that in a running back room, they can kind of spare because it's like, we got to go spend money somewhere else.

You got DNs that are getting paid now really big.

Safeties corners that are, you know, also getting those big contracts.

So yeah, just overall, I think it's just the value of other positions kind of jumping up so quickly.

You kind of have to suffer somewhere else.

I love how objective you are because you could be taking this personally, you know, but you're like, this is really like insightful information.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, definitely.

I mean, for me,

it's hard to take things personal in such a business

network.

Like you, once you get to the point where I'm at where you understand like how much of a business it is, it's hard to take things personal.

I mean, there's some things that rub you the wrong way, but yeah, I look at it from the grand scheme of things.

Right now, it's not our time.

A few years ago, running backs were, you know, had their stamp in the league and it's like, okay, pay, pay, pay.

You know, we need to invest in this guy.

We need this guy.

We need that guy healthy you know it was one of those things where it was a time where all the backs were

man you want to have that back and now it's like whoa

you know

do we want this back or do we want step on dick you know so wait the game's changed that much in a few years

yeah yeah wow i remember my

second year um was in the backfield with Dalvin Cook and he re-signed an extension with the Vikings five-year deal.

And, you know,

that was the time.

You know, it was him, Nick Tubb, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara.

All those guys were signing.

I think Zeke,

all those guys were signing extensions around the same time, big extensions.

And that was like where the running back position, I think, hit that peak.

Yeah.

Where big contracts, big long-term extensions.

And then after that, you start to see some of the guys don't make it to the end of the deal.

Some of the guys.

Well, not even that, just the way that it plays out.

I mean, Dalvin Cook, elite player still to this day.

Just unfortunate the way that the situation played out is he was slotted to make a certain amount of money.

They didn't want to pay him that much money because either they couldn't because of the cap or they needed to spend money elsewhere.

So, you know, we're going to have to.

We're going to have to part ways.

All his guaranteed money was up.

It was a lot of different things where you look at the business aspect of it.

But he's coming off of four years in a row thousand our season four pro bowls in a row i mean since i've been there i've seen nothing but elite out of him yeah that's what i've heard of

you shake hands and say hey we you know we're gonna have to cut our losses because so he didn't get the money no i mean well he he had all his guaranteed money

i think there might have been a little bit of guaranteed money left that they probably took a hit on but for the most part all of his guaranteed money was up on the front end so you know they just cut him out of the last two years

and you know it's it's one of those things wow real real business like real business like yeah it's cutthroat huh yeah yeah yeah and the game changes so quick and in the nba it's all shooting now yeah like even the bigs have to shoot man i think uh

who was i looking at that was pulling up and i was like why uh cat yeah he's pulling up like eight shots a game i was like yo is this like i thought he was and i was like i thought he was a big and i was like wait no he is a big he's just pulling up from three point line it's crazy yeah I mean, you got to adapt.

You've probably had to change your game, right?

Oh, yours.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And that's the name of the game, especially in like professional sports is like

the times change.

Every now and then, like, you'll see like a big shift in the game.

You'll see just like, oh, whoa, hold on.

This is new.

This is something that I, you know, haven't really seen much of, but now everyone's doing it.

Everyone's doing it.

So now you have to get good at that.

When it came down to, for me, I would say like there was a time where

the way the tackling was, really, you know, back when I was in college around 2017.

So yeah, 2017, 2018, like the big thing was like the Gator roll tackle where they're grabbing guys, wrapping and rolling.

Then it kind of shifted.

And now you see guys just like trying to lunge and throw their bodies without really wrapping up.

So now you have a different type of mentality where it's like, well, now I can break tackles a different type of way.

For me,

giving away, I guess, a little bit of a secret, but like the way some of the backers play it, some of the safeties play it, I know that they're going to come down.

And, you know, when they dip their arms, they go back.

So a lot of times what I do is I'll initiate contact and spin out of tackles.

Oh, wow.

Because they can't get their arms to wrap.

before that contact breaks.

So there's little things like that that I paid attention to that I look at and and, you know, it helps your game.

That's super smart.

So you're pretty, like, you're analyzing the way people are tackling you.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Wow.

Definitely.

I didn't know you were like researching that type of stuff.

Yeah.

It's one of those things you look, you know, you watch enough tape, you look at some guys, you know, who likes to tackle low.

So, you know, like, okay, this game is a hurdle opportunity game.

You know, some of the guys that, you know, they come downhill.

So what you can do with that is, you know, my momentum, I'm going to use it against them where they think they won.

But, you know, if I kind of like press the brake brake and hit a spin move or press the brake and use a stiff arm, like they're out of control.

So yeah, it's a bunch of that that I look at.

I look at different tendencies, different things.

And then even from a broad perspective of like what's going on,

I noticed, you know, before the hip drop rule came in, I was like a big advocate for like, yo, like, how is it?

legal to tackle someone like that.

The hip drop, what's up?

It's, it's when you grab someone kind of like up top and you drop your hip to the ground.

And

that's how a defender would tackle a runner that's trying to run past them.

They grab them and drop their hip to the ground, drop all their weight.

And that is putting a runner at a position to suffer a lower leg injury.

And I was a

victim of that in college.

Tore all the ligaments in my left ankle in championship game.

Linebacker grabbed me and just dropped all his weight and got me good and tore all the ligaments my ankle.

And so once I saw that happening, and there was a couple guys last year that were out for the season after it.

And so they're looking at, you know, okay, we got to make a rule change because now guys are really just starting to tackle like that.

And if you got a big 300 plus pound D-lineman that just grabs you and drops all his weight,

I mean, good luck.

You're most likely going to get injured.

So for me, I learned how to protect myself against stuff like that, my pad level with just kind of like living to see another day

that is crazy yeah yeah people don't even know this is going on in your head yeah yeah it's great i mean like if i see a big d lineman free it's like i'm gonna try to do what i can but if he grabs a hold of me yeah just let my body weight go and and relax and just like we'll live to see another down yeah well there's a lot on the line with with you like if you get a major injury like that could end your career yeah so that's scary right yeah it's a lot of pressure yeah Especially at this point, too.

Like, you know, I'm six years in.

I got to do what I can to stay healthy.

Make sure I'm out there on the field.

Make sure I get my chance.

The best chance to keep going.

Just had a baby last month, right?

Yeah.

Congrats.

Yeah, I appreciate it.

You got the first one.

Yeah, it's my second.

Oh, second?

Nice.

Yeah.

That's huge.

Yeah,

it's beautiful.

He's

he's giving us a run for our money.

Everyone asked me, they're like, how, are you getting good sleep?

And I'm like,

yeah, for the most part.

For the most part.

But, you know, babies are babies, babies, you know.

But it's amazing.

He's healthy.

And my daughter, she's two.

So we just got a nice, perfect mixture right now.

Love it, man.

I can't wait to have kids.

Yeah.

Getting married next year.

Oh, yeah.

Congrats.

Yeah.

Okay.

So we're seven years in.

Nice.

It's almost time for kids.

Yeah.

That's beautiful.

Yeah.

That's beautiful.

Were you

high school sweethearts?

College.

College.

Yeah, we met in college.

I didn't know her in high school.

It was a different town in Jersey.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Hometown, though?

I grew up, yeah, pretty much.

Yeah.

In Jersey.

That's dope.

Yeah, me and my wife, we high school,

high school together.

Yeah.

That's irreplaceable, man.

Yeah.

I've learned that with my relationship because I see all my single friends struggling right now, but this girl's been with me from rock bottom.

Man.

Same with you.

Yeah.

My rock.

Yeah.

We just hit 10 years

a couple weeks ago.

Congrats.

Yeah.

Appreciate that.

That's rare these days, man.

Yeah, it is.

That's why, you know, I'm glad that she's here with me by my side through all the the journeys she's seen.

I mean, she was here before the first offer rolled in.

Wow.

Yeah.

So beautiful.

It is.

How do you think you've been able to make that work out being a professional athlete and balancing that?

I mean, it really comes down to

priorities.

It comes down to

how are you going to balance this life with trying to be the best, husband, father.

best friend provider um

it's it's hard yeah it's hard um because you travel a lot.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's hard because the schedule, the way the schedule is, the way that you have to, like, I, I do, I mean, a lot of people are different.

I do a lot of taking care of my body.

So like, I know that part's also hard because like in season, even after practice, right?

Like I might be home and then I got a recovery session where I got to go get acupuncture.

I got to go do this.

And so that part I know is hard like on a spouse because

it's like season season is just like going, going, going, going.

And we just really get an off day to be with our family.

And even on my off day, I'm doing like boxing in the morning.

Wow.

Then I'm doing like anything like great opportunity like this to come sit down with you and talk.

Then

later in the evening, I'm going to do another like.

acupuncture soft tissue massage session.

So it's also just one of those things where like I just love and appreciate and respect her patience and especially dealing with the toddler and a newborn right now is definitely hard.

Yeah, I told her, I was like, yeah, we got to stop with the season babies because

it's definitely one of those, one of those times of the year where it's just like full-fledged.

Chaos, right?

Yeah, you're probably working 80 hours a week.

Yeah.

You know, yeah.

I got to try out some acupuncture.

You're making me want to try it.

It's good.

Yeah.

It's good.

I was scared of it, but have you ever done needles?

No.

It's...

It'll change your life.

Really?

Yeah.

It's that effective.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, you got to have the the right person.

Shout out to Hillary out in Minnesota.

She is phenomenal.

Oh, you go all the way there for it?

No.

So when I was there, you know, I was there for five years.

I was able to just, you know, have that relationship, got acupuncture twice a week.

Maybe more if I was like really banged up from the game.

But I've been able to, now we have, you know, such a great relationship where she can make trips.

In between

the Viking schedule and our schedule, she makes it work where, you know, she's not working.

She can come out and I can get my body right.

That's cool, man.

Yeah.

So you got a spiritual side, do you?

Yeah, yeah.

I got to make sure I'm right.

Yeah, because acupuncture is like on the more spiritual side of things, right?

Yeah.

And

she does a good mixture of like sports acue.

So

it's a blend of not just like the ancient technique of acupuncture where they kind of just like hit trigger points,

but really a little bit deeper with the muscle tissue and

breaking down your fascia, using like the TENS stem unit and fire cupping and using a little bit of that,

you know, soft tissue manual therapy as well.

So a big mix of just like.

Getting in there and making sure that everything's working and flowing great.

Wow.

Love it, man.

You're going to be playing into your 30s, I think.

Yeah.

Look, I'm trying to make it as long as I can.

I'm trying to.

I feel good now, you know.

Having a great season.

Three touchdowns already, right?

Yeah.

What's the most you've had in an NFL season?

That is a great question.

I'm surprised you don't know.

I think five.

Okay.

So you might beat that this year, man.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Let's go.

I think I have, yeah, you said three and one receiving.

So if I can just continue to just, wherever, whether it's in the air, whether it's on the ground, just continue to stack those, put points on the board.

That's one of the great feelings is, you know, helping your team to a victory, helping your team score.

So, yeah, I look forward to that every time I touch the ball.

Four already.

Wow.

Yeah, you're definitely going to beat it.

Yeah, I'm trying to.

It's crazy.

You might even hit 10.

Yeah, hopefully.

Double digits.

Yeah.

Double digits.

I need that.

That doesn't happen often for running backs, right?

No.

No, it's definitely one of those things that you look at a thousand-yard season and double-digit touchdowns.

Like, that's

Adrian Peterson status.

Yeah.

You're living.

That dude was a machine.

Yeah.

How fantasy?

Oh, my God.

I was chilling.

I knew I would win.

No, he's, he's, oh, man, he's awesome.

He, he was one of my inspirations.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

I feel that.

It was pretty crazy because I got to play against him.

No way.

My rookie year when he went to, he was in Washington.

I remember that.

And

we played them and I had a good game and it was funny.

It was just like crazy.

I remember.

It was like a scene in a movie.

I'm walking and then like the circle kind of opens up and he's standing there and he's like, hey, man,

running out there like Beast Mode 2.0.

And I was just like, yo, this is Adrian Peterson right now.

And like, he just shows so much love and respect.

And yeah, man, it was, it was crazy.

I have a great picture.

And

I got it framed.

Did you do a jersey swap?

No, I still need to get his jersey actually.

We ended up connecting because he ended up in Detroit.

I think it was the next year.

And we connected and he's like, yeah, man, I'm going to get you a jersey.

So I got to call him.

I got to hit him up.

said, he said he'll get me a jersey.

And I saw him actually last year and he's like, I ain't forgot about you.

So

I think it's still on his mind a little bit.

Make sure I get one of those.

He was still nice on Washington.

Yeah.

That's the crazy part because he was late 30s that year.

Yeah.

In age for a running back that's pretty old.

Yeah.

No,

he's definitely one of a kind.

And I think

I don't know what it comes down to when it comes down to like if

It's Like I said, it's a business.

You never know when a back looks good and it's like, well, why isn't he still playing?

I mean, there's a business to things.

Like, there's probably a minimum that you have to pay a guy like that to come be a part of your team and play.

And, you know, if we can go get a 21-year-old

fourth round, yeah, then, you know, they start to kind of juggle those decisions.

Yeah.

Because when you get drafted, that's not guaranteed money, right?

No.

No, you still have to make the team and everything, but you are on

a deal.

So like when you get drafted, you're on a four-year deal.

Oh, four years right off the rip.

Yeah.

Wow.

That's a pretty

long contract for a rookie.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Which is like for us, you know, I look at it from a standpoint of being in it for a while now.

And I think that it should be shorter.

I think like that's where we're going with trying to make that agreement with the NFL and the NFL PA is trying to get those years shorter.

Because I mean, like I said, a running back average now is two and a half years.

So I'm signing a four-year contract.

The average for me to stay in this league is two and a half.

Like, it's not really making sense.

And then there's guys that outplay, you know, their contracts.

There's guys that'll come in, and the first two years are balling, pro bowlers, right?

But you're locked into a deal for another two years.

Damn.

You know, yeah, so it should be one or two years.

Yeah, it should be.

I mean, at least I would say two to three.

I get the business standpoint from owners, from teams and organizations.

Like

it can't be that

quick to get to a second contract, but I do think you make it three versus four.

It's giving guys a better chance of

doing what they've always wanted to do.

Set their family up for life and

play ball at a high level and also be compensated for it.

Because you also probably see really talented people, but just the wrong team for them.

Yeah, definitely.

That happens a lot.

Yeah, which sucks because they know they're good enough, but just the wrong system or the wrong team or the wrong coach.

Yeah, and then you see them go somewhere else and they flourish.

Right.

And, you know, they might have been with another team for like three years and end up in another situation.

They're doing amazing.

So it's one of those things, like I said, it's just oh, it's a lot of moving parts.

It's a lot of moving parts.

Has that ever happened to you, whether it was like high school, college, or pro, where the coach you didn't agree with?

Luckily, no.

Wow.

I've been blessed.

I have never been a part of a situation where

it didn't fit me or

I disagreed heavily.

I mean, there's probably times in a game, of course, where I'm like, yo, like we should have done something else.

I feel like everybody experienced that, but Marshawn Lynch experienced that.

Yeah, exactly.

But I've never been in a situation where it was like, I need to get out of here.

That's good.

Yeah.

That's good.

Yeah, luckily.

Yeah, because you can't really control that in the NFL, right?

Yeah.

I feel like the NBA, if you're a star player, you have some control, maybe.

Of where you get traded to, but.

yeah, and I've seen, you know, from

my perspective, how crazy it is that, like,

the way that some guys can, like, hey, we want to team up and go to this team and they'll make it happen.

Really?

Yeah, I think the whole like Katie, Kyrie, and Hardin.

Oh, yeah.

I feel, well, I don't know.

From my perspective, it felt like they like planned to all go there.

Yeah.

So the Nuts, you're saying Blake Blake Griffin was there at the time, too, right?

The Nuts, yeah.

Like crazy.

Stocked.

But it didn't work out, it didn't work out too much star power or something.

I don't know, like it didn't work out, but yeah, it's like it's crazy to see.

I think those guys really, I mean, it's a smaller population, yeah.

And you know, when you're just that guy, of course, you can just kind of make some shots.

Yeah, does that happen in the NFL where a team just has so many stars in Thailand and they don't win?

Um,

I think so.

Trying to think of some teams for for sure.

But I mean,

it definitely happens where they have the right guys.

They have all the pieces.

But they just

don't pan out.

No chemistry yet, right?

I think it's a lot to do with the chemistry.

You have to have good play calling as well.

So, you know, if a coach is not...

a defensive coach or an offensive coach, whatever the case may be,

you can be a great team.

You can even like dominate but i always see those teams that don't have everything so much together just have stars

they don't make it past first round playoffs really

so you need everything you need coaching you need yeah good gm yeah chemistry the small the small things yeah you need you need some of those detailed pieces in between to get further because You can have a great season.

You can have, you know, a lot of star power, a lot of guys that are pro bowlers and all that.

But it comes down, I tell you, playoff football is a different type of football.

It comes down to the small things then.

Absolutely.

And the Chiefs have crushed that, right?

Yeah.

And

they do it without, really, without a lot of star power.

Yeah, just Travis and Mahomes,

because, yeah, they got rid of Tyreek, right?

Yeah.

I mean,

they have some good guys, but they don't ever have like stacked receiving room, stacked

DBs.

There's not really ever a situation where they're like super stacked.

There's like a couple key star pieces and I think they just do the details really well.

Right.

That's a good point.

They're like the spurs of the NFL.

Yeah.

You know?

Yeah, exactly.

Wow.

Yeah.

That's good to know.

Yeah, but it's, I mean, it's, it's one of those things, you know, you

see it from afar.

You got to respect it and you got to understand like what you have to do to beat a team like that.

Yeah.

So, yeah, it's one of those things.

If you love the game,

you respect stuff like that when you see it.

Absolutely.

Have you played against them in the playoffs?

Not in the playoffs.

Regular season, though, yeah.

And

you could tell they were a well-oiled machine.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's just like, why?

Sometimes you're just like, why?

Why did they just.

How did that happen?

Why did that happen?

They blew you out.

No,

no, no.

I've never, it's never been a blowout, but tight games or maybe you're up a couple scores and then all of a sudden it's like, yo, what?

Like, they're winning?

I could have sworn we were up.

And yeah,

it'll probably come down to the wire.

I think they've been in nail biters like all season this year, too.

A lot of their games are close, though.

Yeah.

And look at them.

They find a way to come out on top with the little things.

So like

you got to try and like beat a team like that from the gate, like at the jump.

You got to just tear them down, tear their mental.

I mean, it starts up top.

You tear their mentality down and then execute, minimize all the different penalties and all those things, turnovers, you can have those.

So, yeah, I'm excited to play them.

Yeah, I can't wait to see that game, man.

Yeah.

Well, dude, what's next for you?

And where can people keep up with you?

Yeah, for me, I mean, we're doing a lot of good stuff.

We're doing a lot of good stuff in the community with my foundation, I am Gifted Foundation.

So, you know, besides football, you know, I have a big passion for using that platform and using everything that I'm blessed to have to help others, serve others and give back and spread love and positivity in the world.

And, you know, we just, through everything that we do, we try and just continue to.

bring home that message and and bring about mental health awareness make sure that everyone knows that they have a gift within they just have to find it embrace it and use it to shed light in the world.

I love that, man.

Let me know the next event for the foundation.

I'll be there.

Yeah, most definitely.

Yeah, we'll be actually the next event.

We will be at the Sunrise Children's Hospital

doing a little scavenger hunt

with the kids and trying to put some smiles on their faces.

Yeah, I'll definitely be there.

And we'll link it below if anyone wants to donate.

Thanks for coming on, man.

Yeah, most definitely.

I appreciate it.

Thanks for watching, guys.

Check out the links in the description.

See you next time.