Shawn Springs | Tackling New Challenges: Journey from the NFL to Innovating Safety

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Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the Epicenter of Transformation. This is Mick Unplugged.

We'll help you identify your because

so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful. You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary.

So let's unleash your potential. Now, here's Mick.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to an inspiring episode of Mick Unplugged, and I have one of my GOATs as a guest today.

From dominating the NFL field to pioneering advances in safety technology, he has continually shown resilience, innovation, and leadership.

His journey from a top-performing athlete to a visionary entrepreneur is nothing short of remarkable.

Currently leading WINPAC, a company transforming safety in sports and beyond, please join me in welcoming the Ohio State University's finest, the one and only, Sean Springs.

Sean, how are you doing today, brother? How you doing, my brother? Hey, when you say the Ohio State like that, Nick, I already know you got it down, man.

You might have some Buckeyes on here already, brother. I am a Tara Hill through and through.

You guys might get us in football, but in basketball, you know everything runs through us so i'll i'll leave you with that one that's right and the crazy thing is i am a tar hill fan when it comes to basketball man there you go man so i want to get into it man you've been a person who's inspired me you know i'm literally just a couple of years younger so watching you winning defensive player of the year in ohio state which most people don't understand how hard that is for a cornerback to win defensive player of the year or conference player of the year like that's freaking awesome but then not only what you did in the league and we'll get a little bit there but the businessman that you've become and i've read so much about you again inspiring me to be a business leader as well and the conversations that you had with with paul allen i think really transformed who you are so i'd love to hear about that transition from yeah nfl superstar to entrepreneur dynamo right it has been a journey man and i sometimes find myself just pinching myself trying to figure out like you know this god has blessed me to be in a position where we can go through the history of me playing, but basically great parents.

My mom and dad had me out of high school. My dad ended up going to the NFL.
My mom went into the military. So a lot of that shaped who I became.

And what we're going to talk about today from the challenges of competing at high school and going to Ohio State thinking you're the big dog and realize that you're fourth on the depth chart.

I think Coach told you you're going to start to working your way, setting setting a goal, make sure that you elevate the standard, take it to the next level, to being drafted third overall into the NFL, meeting Paul Allen, playing 13 years in the NFL and starting a company.

And I never thought that, you know, just recently in March, I would go into the Smithsonian of American History for Innovator as one of the innovators in the new bilingual sports technology exhibition.

called change the game changer so we can go through all that man and uh sometimes i get shy about it man because it's like how why i think we're going to tease out today it probably stemmed from my parents and journey and work ethic and all that literally that's where i was about to go when you talk about why and all make unplug right we go deeper than why because i think everyone's why is superficial and i don't mean that in a negative way at all right but to me it's your because that why behind the why that really transforms you as an individual, as a leader, and as a person.

And for you, right? Like you had, I'm going to the crazy cool dynamic. And for you, it probably wasn't cool growing up this way, right?

But you had a father who was an amazing athlete, an amazing leader in sports, and then your mom in the military, right?

So what was life like for Sean that most four, five, six-year-olds didn't go through? Because you were getting it all, bro. Yeah, you're right about it.

So most people don't know my dad and mom grew up in that. I'm going to tell you an interesting fact, man.
My dad and mom grew up. knowing each other from Williamsburg, Virginia.

Right there, most people know about Williamsburg because of Thanksgiving and Christopher Columbus and, you know, all the stuff that happened down there. But they grew up in that small town, man.

They knew each other, had me out of high school.

And man, it was just, my dad went on to play at junior college in Coffeeville, Kansas, and then was recruited to Ohio State and played for the legendary Woody Hayes.

And then was able to go to the Dallas Cowboys and play for Tom Landry. His best friend was Tony Dorcet.
You know, he knew Roger Stahlbach and all those guys, if you're familiar with the old cowboys.

And then my mom's journey was totally different. You know, she grew up where her life was a little more challenging.
My grandmother was an alcoholic.

She went into the military and left me with my Grandma Springs, my father's mom. And she went into the military and then came back and got me around first to second grade, right?

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I was kind of raised in the South, man with my whole family and everything growing up swimming in the james river man i tell people all the time you want to make an athlete let them swim in that james river man aladonison mike zig bruce smith alonzo mourner all them boys from down there uh right

and you know and it was just dope that's what made me man and then mom came back from germany being stationed in germany with that military discipline mature now from seeing the world a little bit and she raised me in pg county until i went to live with my dad so my experience is wow.

My dad was I would be in a locker room with the guys and spending my Thanksgivings down there. And then I'd be in PG County over in Maryland during the school year.

And so I got to see the best of both worlds, right? So I think for me, what really shaped me is my experience, you know, from I've seen million dollar homes to like hanging out in the hood.

So you develop a different type of mindset both ways, right? And I went to great schools and stuff like that.

So that's kind of the foundation that was set very my grandpa and and all my family, you know, they kind of raised me, and that's what I did. That's awesome.

And then, superstar athlete in high school.

I'm sure every college in the universe wanted Sean Springs, and Ohio State had a bigger purse, you know, they had a bigger wallet, you know, they had the black card.

So, this is pre-NIL, so I'm not getting Sean in trouble, right? Yeah, please don't, please don't, please don't. No, so why Ohio State?

I know a lot of it had to do potentially with your dad being there as well, but but why Ohio State? And then also you hit on it, You're the big dog until day one starts.

And then all of a sudden it's like, okay, go down to the bottom and then work your way up.

Mick Man, like most people that know that my dad, you're right, my dad went to Ohio State and played for legendary coach Woody Hayes. But I was a small kid.

I wasn't a big kid, like eighth, ninth, and 10th grade, and maybe even 11th grade. I didn't really start getting the big offers until like halfway through my seasoning year.

And it just kind of exploded. I ran track and everything.

But unlike my dad, who was the number one player in the country, you know, coming out of high school in a small town Williamsburg, Lawrence Taylor, Mel Gray, went to the high school.

So actually, and that's another thing. Most people don't know, man, they've been around it all my life.
Miss Taylor, Lawrence Taylor's mom, was my nanny at First Baptist.

The cool thing is in my grandma springs, when I was staying with her while my dad was in school and going into NFL, my mom was stationed going back to the Williamsburg days.

She was cleaning the halls of William Murray. I would play with my cars.
And it was a basketball coach at William Murray named George Blantis. George ended up becoming my Nike rep 20 years later.

So that's a cool thing. But I got recruited my senior year, but I pretty much once I kind of blossomed, everybody came out of the woodworks, man.

And most people don't know that I committed to the University of Michigan early. Coach Gary Moeller.
Gary Moeller. I don't know if I ever told this story.
This is the first podcast I ever told.

The reason I was loving Michigan, they had five five at the time.

I came in on my visit and had Jalen Rose, Jalen and Chris, and juwan and all those guys a steve king i mean on the michigan football team my boy ty law wheatley was there and all those guys and make but man

two reasons why i didn't go one was ty called me and was like i don't know man if it's for you because they're not letting kids leave early i'm gonna throw my boy ty law under the bus i'm gonna let space

tell that part you know he's made up with michigan since then we went to a chinese restaurant the night before national signing day i think it was february 8th and it was cold mick And my dad said, Who are you going to go sign with, man?

And I said, Dad, Coach Mola coming in town tomorrow for signing day. He said, All right, cool.
My stepmom, beautiful light-skinned lady, she started getting red around her neck and stuff.

You know, she went to Ohio State, so her blood is boiling. So I get back to the house, and we got, I remember we had, I never forget, we had like a red Jeep Tracky.

My dad goes, Hey man, wait right here. I said, Okay, cool, cool, cool, cool.
My little sisters get out. My mom gets out.
My stepmom gets out.

He basically goes, If you go to Michigan, don't come in my damn house no more.

I was getting serious, right? I was getting serious. So I ended up going to Ohio State.
I was pretty recruited by Ohio State.

And when I got there, man, I was like one of the guys thinking I was the man. Hell, my roommate was the player of the year, Stan Jackson, New Jersey.
Then we had all type of guys who was just studs.

And I found myself. fourth on a depth chart, deep on the bench, you know, my freshman year, man, laughing and thinking about it.

But I believed in myself because of the way I was raised and the way my dad worked me and the way he kind of installed the values in me about work, ethic, discipline, and, you know, just taught me football.

For me, man, it was like an eye-opening experience and one of the best things that ever happened.

I can tell you more about like how I went from fourth on the depth chart to the highest drafted corner in the history of the NFL, if we want to go into that. But I just worked, man.

And that's the key, right? I tell people this, and my mentor, Les Brown, he's called it the Mick Factor. I didn't call it this.
This is what he said.

But I know that this embodies Sean Springs as well, too. Mental resiliency, because your first day of practice, right? All the freshmen are there together.
So everybody's a superstar.

But then with the upperclassmen come in, you get treated like you're supposed to get treated at that point.

Right. But here's what's critically important to understand, the mental resiliency that it takes to know that I'm going to persevere.
And I think that that embodies you.

And then the next part for me is impact, which we're going to talk about when we go to NFL.

But your character speaks loudly of who you are and then the mentality to keep going and to me that's sean sprinks man you've been reading up on me brother you have been my guy since 96 man 96 my freshman year at unc and you were my guy well i really appreciate that man because that really truly is who i am first of all i believe that we all put on earth to provide a service to others so i think if you come in there with a with a humble heart and a good spirit i think good things happen to you and man you're right i mean i just set that goal of like if I outwork, you know, and I think it's probably still true to this day.

Like, I remember a dude, Malcolm Jenkins, a recruit they had. Most people know Malcolm because he played.
He came up to me one time and was like, is it true you never lost a workout at Ohio State?

I was like, I don't think I did. I mean, there were people faster than me, like Joey and Terry and those guys, but barely, about a little bit.
Maybe. Sometimes it wasn't.

But, you know, I was competitive, but I just worked, man. And so often, especially in this new NIL day and age, people don't believe in like earning it.
So for me, it was about, I got to earn it.

And that's what life is about, like, you know, and I'm not saying every situation you need to stick there, but there are some situations that you got to see through and you can see the light.

And if you continue to persevere and you let that, you know, they say.

iron shop on iron once you you know you get in there you see eddie george way he worked you see the way orlando pace come in a year after me way he worked ricky dudley joy galloway Terry Glenn, Chris Sanders, Marlon Kerner, Tim Walton, who's there as secondary.

Like when you see these guys, Chico Nelson, when you see these guys, Dan Wilkinson, first rounders, all-Americans, ballers, and you like, man, I got to be a part of that.

And that's what life is about. And I think that's what carried me into, you know, the NFL the same way.

Although I was a pretty high draft pick, when I first started, I wanted to be the best in the room, the best in the team, the best in the Big Ten, the best in the country, get drafted to the NFL.

And you did it. So third overall pick

as a defensive back. Yep.
Never done before. Only done one time since.
Or twice since now, right? Twice. Yes, you're right.
You're right. Twice since.
What was that moment like for you?

Man, I cried, man. And I cried.
And this is the funny thing, man. I cried because I thought I was going to be the first or second pick.

I completely disappeared, right? There was not two people better than Sean Springs that year. Well, Orlando, I could accept, man.
And rest in peace, my boy, Darrell Russell from USC.

But I remember Oakland calling me on that call, Al Davis. And those guys called and said, would you take a deal without no signing bonus? And it's more of a guaranteed first year.

That was, it was a weird deal. And I think, I think the quality, they wanted Orlando.
And then he ended up going to the Rams. And it became down to me and Darren Russell.
And they called me first.

And I was just like, I want to, but David Ware at the time didn't let me do it.

So I ended up going to Seattle, which was the best best decision of my life to go play for Seattle and the new ownership there that they were, they didn't even have at the time.

And that changed my life going to play for Mr. Allen in the Pacific Northwest.
Amazing. I want to get to Mr.
Allen. Two questions from now.
Right.

First question for you as it relates to the NFL, though.

What's one moment that stands out for Sean Springs? When you think about your NFL career, what's that one moment that stands out to you? That's a tough one. I had several moments.

I guess the first moment had to be my i was holding out that year i get into camp on tuesday or wednesday take a physical on thursday no i take i get in the camp on tuesday take a physical practice wednesday we traveled thursday and walked through and i lined up coach erickson said you don't know the plays your first assignment is when you go in a game everybody else gonna play around you you match up with jerry rice you got him

you got him

you know that cat right there you know what i was like i had i heard i heard of him a little bit. Jerry Rice.
It was like the third preseason game. So he was going to play at this point.

I think he was probably about year nine or 10. You know, he was going to play at that point.
And I remember that moment. My mom was at the game.
So that was a big moment for me, man.

Lining up on Jerry Rice. God, another big moment for me, man.
And I don't know if it's like, man, like, I don't even like thinking about this sometimes. The first game we played without Sean Taylor.

You lined up with 10, right? We lined up with 10 men.

Wow, bro. And man, it make that to this day, man.
It makes me tear up. That was a big gesture.
I don't even, that by Greg Williams.

I don't even think Coach Gibbs knew that we were going to do that in the spirit of his energy in the stadium, man, and with me. And at that time, my dad was in a coma and stuff.

So I remember me and Sean sat beside each other every day. And he was talking to me.

He was like, man, I don't know how you fly to Dallas, see your dad in the hospital in a coma, and then come back on Fridays and playing the game.

And I remember Sean just supporting me and just developing our relationship with him, man.

and uh that moment was big for me crazy brother crazy it's wild man because I've talked to several people that have been impacted by Sean Taylor right like just

not who the I don't want to say the media because I don't think he was getting portrayed negatively specifically by the media but there was just some negative moments that maybe the media went in on and that wasn't a full representation of the man and the person that Sean was and like to know how many lives he touched man like that's that's yeah chime is changing the way people bank, fee-free and smarter banking built just for you.

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he you know for a young dude you know like you said sean wasn't perfect man but who is who changed right

yeah right no one's perfect right like with the way he changed and the impact he had in a short period of time is simply amazing absolutely so you spent your last couple of years with my team the patriots right my my uncle stanley's team as i like to call them.

And you retire and you had a moment, a conversation with Paul Allen. And I remember this, you saying this.
Paul said it wasn't about being a billionaire. It was about making an impact.

And you said that that conversation changed your perspective. How so?

Well, because in the world we live in today, it's about, you know, how we make money and it becomes, but like, what are we doing to make a difference and make a change, right?

You know, when I asked Mr. Allen, I was like, man, did you know you're going to be a billionaire? He goes, Sean, it wasn't about becoming a billionaire.
It was about making a difference in the world.

So at that point, Mick, I knew it wasn't about like

chasing money. I knew it was about like finding something you love, a direction you wanted to go in and working hard at it.
And money will come if you do the right things. That's amazing.

And then you became CEO of Impact, right? And that's what you're doing, right? You're making an impact.

and a couple of things man like you say i researched you but i mean it when i say you've been like my guy forever and you don't know how you've inspired me seeing the things that you've done some of the coolest things you've ever done right like how many patents do you have now

oh i think like five or six patents and two companies you know

so crazy and then the smithsonian

i'm in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Hall of Fame.
I think right above me is a lady who created a messenger RNA.

Then I'm in the Smithsonian, which is the latest exhibit in the American Smithsonian of American history. That exhibit is called Change Your Game.

And it's really around bilingual interactive exhibition where you can learn about all different types of cool technologies. There's four featured innovators, myself for impact protection.

the lady who founded the sports bra, the man who founded Gatorade, and the other guy who did a prospect prosthetic for sports and stuff.

But there's 60, I believe, 60 other technologies that you can experience and from instant replay to the deflate gate ball is in there. I know you don't want to hear about that one, but they got that.

I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what you're talking about.

And just talking about safety far as like, or technology, innovators who've really done things in sports that affect regular live that you just don't even know about, like my helmet and baseball catchers your kids are wearing, or, you know, skis and the sports bar and what it did for women.

Like, I mean, that's one of one of the most amazing stories that I don't think people really understand that she took two jockstraps really and sold them together and created basically a sports bra.

Wow. I didn't know that.
Yeah. What's crazy to me is you grew up right there, right? Did you ever envision the day, did eight-year-old Sean ever just say, we'll be there one day?

No, man, I don't think that guy who was excited to go on the field trips because he lived in the Washington, D.C. area, and they felt like he was getting out of school.

So everybody did to go to the Smithsonian and mess around on a bus.

But for me, I never would have imagined that. I think I've always had a humble curiosity to make things better.
I wanted in high school, I wanted to be an architect.

So I, cause I like things being developed, done investments in land and stuff like that. But man, like the Smithsonian.
It's so funny.

I go down to the, that took my, I think one of my sons, we went down there and we looked at it and we were walking around and people were just like looking, is that you? That's you, right?

Like I'm in the, I'm in the Smithsonian for like seven to 10 years. That's unbelievable.
It's wild, man. So, let the listeners know: like, what is WinPack about? What is it that you're doing?

Yeah, WIMPAC, we're based out of North Virginia. We build a helmet padding solution for products.
We don't make the helmet, we make the padding solution safer. It was based out of Northern Virginia.

We basically started off with the idea to make the game safer for the next generation athletes. The sad thing about football is football is a dangerous sport if not played correctly.

The great thing about football is if played correctly with the right rules and the right equipment and advancement equipment, it's the one of the world's best sports, if not the best sport in the world.

Right. Right.
So I wanted to work with companies and sports and the military. We've done a lot of work for the military because of this, the seriousness of impact protection and the patent system.

So think about if listeners out there are thinking about our product, you go on a ditch, you see a catcher's helmet from Evil Shield. The pad on the inside is my engineers.

We designed it and that's my technology inside that. Or the military working with the Department of Defense.

You know, when you think about our soldiers and my mom was a soldier, so I understand the seriousness of it. But I think I don't know most people understand that they protect their lives.

That ain't a game. They need protection to save their lives.
And we work on serious things like that because, you know, these guys are out on the battlefield. Unfortunately, where bullets are flying.

So we got to be able to make sure that our soldiers who protect our freedom come back. So we are impact protection.
We got engineers. We design things.

We work with companies and get to be in cool sports like cricket. Very popular in Asia, brother.
Very, very popular. Yeah.
You're right, man.

So, Sean, you've been so gracious with your time, and I feel like we need to do episode two at some point to follow up on here because there's so many places I want to go, but I want to be very conscious of your time and the gratitude that you're given by being on the show.

One thing that

I'd love for you to end with, there are a lot of athletes, and I don't care the sport that struggle to transition, right? Like there are a lot of athletes that struggle with that transition.

What's some advice that you would give a fellow athlete to, you know, that resiliency that you have, that impact that's a part of your character? What's some advice you'd give?

I think the biggest of the advice to any athlete I would give them is don't define yourself as an athlete.

Going there with the idea that NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL, whatever sports you play, male, female, it's a stepping stone in life. We know that our bodies can't hold up forever.

So you got to understand that that's just a moment in time and it's a stepping stone to take you to the next level.

So I think if you go in there with the mindset of I could be 28 years old, now I got to go into the real world. and start to develop yourself professionally and stuff like that.

With that mindset, I think you might have a chance to transition nicely. That's it.
Sean, brother, I appreciate you spending some time with us.

I definitely want to do more because there's so much more we could talk about. Thank you for being an inspiration and a role model to me.
So personally, I thank you. You're welcome, brother.

You got it. And for all the listeners out there, remember, you're because is your superpower.
Go unleash it. Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged.

We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a revolution in your life.

Don't forget to rate and review the podcast, and be sure to check us out on YouTube at Mick Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, and stay unplugged.