0:00

People want to see what type of person you

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are. You know, people don't want to, you know, do

0:05

business with a ****hole. So, you know, people

0:07

want to do business with good people that they know they're

0:09

comfortable with and they can trust. If you're good

0:11

at what you do, man, you can be really

0:13

successful in this business.

0:18

Hey, now it's cracking. Better late than never. Welcome

0:21

to the Jim Rome Podcast, episode 289, where

0:24

my guest this week is a decade plus

0:26

vet of the NFL, a fierce

0:29

down lineman who will be very familiar

0:31

to both Rams and Lions fans, because

0:34

my guest this week is longtime

0:36

Rams and Lions defensive tackle Michael Brockers.

0:40

Michael was a first round pick back in 2012 after

0:43

playing his college ball down in the bayou at LSU. Then

0:45

he racked up 11 seasons between

0:48

the Rams and the Lions. He earned a reputation along

0:50

the way as a class act and

0:52

a leader in the locker room. And

0:54

given that he's currently a free agent and

0:57

not retired yet officially, that

0:59

gives us a great opportunity to pick

1:01

his brain about the NFL season

1:03

right there in the middle and talk about life

1:06

off the field. So let's get right to it. It

1:08

is episode 289

1:10

of the Jim Rome Podcast with longtime

1:13

defensive tackle Michael Brockers, and

1:15

it's coming at you

1:15

right now.

1:22

Michael, my dude, Jim Rome, what's going on? How are you?

1:25

Man, nothing, man. I'm beyond. You want the

1:27

true answer or you want a political

1:30

answer? Keep that shit real,

1:32

man. Give it to me right. Give it to me true. And I

1:34

just finished shooting 119

1:37

on a golf course or something like that. So

1:40

I didn't keep score. I just know it was a lot of shots.

1:42

So that's funny. What

1:44

track right now? Where are you playing? What track?

1:48

Oh, man, I'm out in Houston right now. It's

1:50

Houston National or something like that. It was it

1:52

was cool. Dude,

1:54

anytime you get out there, if you're at look, as long as you

1:57

play fast and you play with the right crew

1:59

and you're And you keep it under a buck 20, it's

2:01

not that bad, right? Right.

2:03

No, it's not that bad. You know, I'm not a professional. I

2:05

don't care about the score. What

2:07

is it about golf, man? Like, even as somebody like

2:10

an elite athlete like you, guys love

2:12

golf because it's the great equalizer, right? It's

2:14

like that one thing you can't master. It doesn't matter.

2:17

What keeps bringing you back to that shit? Right.

2:20

I mean, it's just something, being outside

2:22

in a nature too, I think you can't

2:24

take away from that, you know,

2:26

being on that field and, you know, you're outside

2:28

first, surfing, things like that. So

2:30

I like that as well. I think that's great. I like

2:32

that. I like that. So do bring

2:35

me up today. Let's get going. How are you living? Like,

2:37

what's keeping you busy these days beyond your new podcast, which we're going to get into

2:39

in a few minutes. Are you still living that entrepreneurial

2:42

life?

2:43

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And I'm, you know, I'm

2:45

enjoying it. You know, a lot of

2:47

what you do in a game and, you know, having leadership

2:50

and building a team and things like that translate

2:53

into, you know, the corporate structure.

2:55

You just have to, you know,

2:57

watch what you say, things like that, how you say

2:59

it. But for me, I'm enjoying it right now,

3:01

man. You know, I have my restaurant right now, Quad

3:04

Houston, you know, getting

3:06

ready to open and I got, you know,

3:08

my scar lounge. So I'm doing a lot of things. All

3:10

right. So like you got a lot of stuff going on, but Michael, you're

3:13

still a young man. You're 32. So I'm curious, like,

3:15

is the game out of your blood? As an example,

3:17

you're a free agent, technically, like

3:20

Jason Pierapaul signed with the Saints practice

3:22

squad this week at age 34. After

3:24

you played four games for the Ravens last year, you

3:27

played six games with the Lions last year.

3:29

Like, for the right opportunity, would you play again?

3:33

Yeah, I would play again. It's just, you know,

3:35

for me, it's the mental, it's the mental getting

3:37

in the right position where you feel settled, you feel safe,

3:41

going through a transition where you're going through

3:43

football and then you're not playing, it's a little rough.

3:46

So for me, it's just getting to a mental

3:48

space where, you know, I'm solidified,

3:51

I'm settled. So my family is going to be good.

3:53

We got them, you know, got them set up in school because

3:55

a lot of people don't think about the family

3:58

structure. You know, you got kids, kids in school.

3:59

You know, you can't really go back and forth.

4:02

So the family dynamic is

4:04

very important to me. So making

4:06

sure I have my family set

4:08

first before I mentally go into football,

4:10

because that's when you go into NFL, it's

4:13

just the NFL. You don't focus on the outside

4:15

world. So it's like going

4:17

into, you know, another world

4:19

where you can't focus on the outside world. Yeah,

4:22

you can't go. You can't get half pregnant. You can't go

4:24

halfway, man. That's like you're all in or you're all out.

4:27

Now, that point that you made, Michael, about the transition,

4:29

I talk to guys

4:29

about this all the time and have for years, you

4:32

said that it was challenging. What was challenging

4:34

about that transition? Was it an identity

4:36

thing? Was it a structure thing? What was

4:38

the toughest thing about making that transition from

4:41

playing to not playing? I

4:43

mean, I think it's both, you know, the identity

4:45

of, okay, you know, you

4:48

want people to respect you as a

4:50

human being, not just a football player, even though

4:52

that opened doors for you. But,

4:55

you know, for you, it's like, okay, I'm a regular

4:57

human being. You know, what do I do now? Like,

5:00

what's for me? What is my purpose? You

5:02

know, my purpose for the last 15, you

5:04

know, 20-hour years was hit somebody,

5:07

you know. Now I can't hit anybody, you know,

5:09

in the corporate world. You get sued. So you

5:11

got to think about a lot of things.

5:13

You know, you got to think about your, you know,

5:16

your purpose and things like that. So that's what's difficult

5:18

about the identity. But then on the other hand,

5:21

you're at home more, you know, you're daddy

5:23

24-7. You're not, you can't get

5:25

away from the kids and go to practice and things

5:27

like that. So for me, it's,

5:29

you know, the family structure and identity,

5:32

it's a little bit of both. You know, Michael, you said something

5:34

that the first guy that ever said that to me, and

5:36

this was years and years and years ago when he still played,

5:38

and then right after he played was Howie Long. He

5:40

said, look, man, if we ever had an issue between the

5:42

lines, we handled

5:43

it. We could handle it physically and we

5:45

could handle it. To your point, like in the corporate

5:48

world, man, if you have an issue with somebody, you

5:50

got to kind of talk that thing out, man. You can't just

5:52

line somebody up and punch them in the mouth. Like

5:54

is that a real thing? Is there a switch

5:57

in a way? And is that a hard thing to

5:59

do?

6:00

It is because you have to

6:03

understand that you're not dealing with the same

6:05

personalities. In football, you can

6:07

get on your brother and be, you know,

6:09

you can be strict with him, be tough

6:11

on him, that tough love. And, hey, you know, we'll

6:14

figure it out. But in a corporate structure,

6:16

you have to, you know, you have to go about it in a

6:18

different way. You can't just be tough

6:21

on people because everybody is, you know, that

6:23

doesn't have that personality to understand that.

6:26

So it's different ways you've got to maneuver

6:28

to get you a point across and things of that nature. So

6:30

it's definitely a switch that you've got to turn off

6:33

from being, you know,

6:35

communicating in a football structure, athletic

6:37

structure, professional, and, you know,

6:39

being in this corporate world. It's a different culture

6:42

altogether. It is a different world altogether. So,

6:44

Michael, what about, like, when you play with Detroit, like Dan Campbell,

6:47

you talk culture, right? This dude comes in, he changes

6:49

the culture of the franchise, did some of this energy

6:51

with this intensity. What was he like to play

6:53

for and what was your relationship with him like?

6:56

It was awesome, man. I think, you

6:58

know, a lot of coaches and now you see it, they're

7:01

being more personal. You can

7:03

go into the coach's office and talk to him and,

7:05

you know, shoot the shit stuff like that because,

7:07

you know, these are guys that understand the game, understand

7:10

the little nuances of the game that

7:12

we are grown, man. We're human beings.

7:15

We're not just robots that you can just put in a system

7:17

and make, you know, make go do something, you know. So,

7:19

it's like you have to understand this

7:21

at a personal level and understand us that,

7:24

you know, some of us don't want to wear suits

7:26

to the game.

7:26

Some of us want to wear player pants, you

7:28

know. So, you got to be able to mitigate

7:31

a lot of different characteristics and, you know,

7:33

the new ace coaches that's coming in

7:35

the league are being able to do that. Yeah, right.

7:37

They understand the human element. They understand how to relate.

7:40

They understand how to communicate. And then, on top of that, you've

7:42

got all that in Campbell and then you got a dude, man,

7:44

who's just so physical, who played the game. So,

7:46

you know, he's going to get your attention. What about, like,

7:48

Sean McVey? Now, McVey, I would imagine,

7:51

is very similar in that sense, right? Like, he

7:53

changed the culture. This dude is a master

7:55

communicator, but you would know better than me. You played for him. What

7:58

was he like to be around? How would

8:00

you describe his energy?

8:02

I enjoyed him because he

8:05

came at it from a perspective of, you

8:08

know, I know I haven't played this game, but

8:10

you guys are other professionals and I

8:13

want you guys to go out there and succeed. So I'm going to do

8:15

whatever I can to put you

8:17

in the best positions to be successful. And

8:19

I think we all appreciated that. Plus,

8:22

on the other side, you know, he let us be us. You

8:24

know, he wasn't really controlling about, you know,

8:26

music and dress code and this

8:29

and that. He was like, man, if you show up to work, give

8:31

me 100%. I don't care

8:32

what you wear. I don't care who you, you know,

8:34

really are outside of this, man. Just come in,

8:37

give me 100% effort and 100% focus, man, and

8:40

let's go win games and hey, man, we'll

8:43

get it done. I think that's interesting, right? Like

8:45

he's not pretending to be somebody he's not. He's not

8:47

saying, hey, man, I played the game at the high level. He's just

8:49

trying to put you in a position to be successful. You

8:51

know, I was talking Michael D'Akeje right this week

8:53

and we were reminiscing about the Legion of Boom

8:56

and what made that crew so iconic and legendary.

8:58

I'm curious, what was that vibe like on that

9:00

Rams defense that went to the Super

9:02

Bowl when you were balling alongside the likes of Aaron

9:05

Donald and Dama Kinsu and some of the other big-name

9:07

players?

9:09

I just think we just enjoyed each other's

9:11

space, man. We were connected.

9:14

Like the DDS used to always

9:16

go out on Mondays just to connect at the

9:18

games. The D-line used to go out to eat all

9:20

the time. So you seem like

9:22

it was a lot of camaraderie outside of

9:25

the building. So it just was like we like

9:27

each other. We love to hang around each other. So

9:30

we spent more time with each other than we did

9:32

our family. So it was just that continuity

9:35

between each player and

9:38

we understand each other's vibes. So it just

9:40

was a great experience. It was fun going out there

9:42

winning games with each other.

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one meal kit. Like

11:09

dude, how does that shit though show up on the field? Like

11:11

if you don't like the guy next to you, are

11:14

you going to give any less? I

11:16

mean like how does that translate on

11:18

the field?

11:20

Man, I'm going to be real with you, man. When you

11:22

got guys that you feel like and

11:25

we're players and you know as a player, this guy

11:27

hasn't given me a hundred percent or he isn't giving

11:29

a hundred percent. Why should I give a hundred

11:31

percent? He doesn't care enough for me to give

11:33

a hundred percent and run to the ball or whatever, what have

11:36

you. Why should I? And that

11:38

becomes, especially then when you start losing because

11:40

of it, then that's what becomes the

11:43

dynamic of the team is like, okay, I'm

11:45

out here for myself. The plays come to me, they

11:47

come to me. If they don't, they don't, that's not my job.

11:49

So, and that becomes a cancer and ruins

11:51

the team. Dude, that is real. That

11:54

is real and I respect that. Like

11:55

when that would go down, how would you handle that? Like

11:57

do you just kind of flow with that or

11:59

is a would you pull a guy's side even

12:01

if he wasn't a young player and say hey man we got a fucking

12:04

problem here All right, we got to fix this or

12:06

would you just kind of keep doing your thing?

12:08

No, I'm be honest with you That's exactly what I did

12:11

at Detroit, you know in the middle season last year

12:13

where it was like, you know We got to figure

12:15

out who we want to be man, you know They

12:18

they fired the DB coach at that time

12:20

with which I was cool with I felt he was

12:22

a great coach But you know at the end of the day, I was like man,

12:24

he's showing

12:25

up every day for you guys You aren't showing

12:27

up for him. So like what are we gonna do? And I just

12:29

think that just change the mentality of the team

12:32

because I challenged You know, I challenged

12:34

each and every guy if I was gonna do it and

12:36

I was gonna put a hundred 110% in

12:39

even though I wasn't playing or getting the rotation.

12:42

I'm in there practicing you guys I

12:44

demand the same things from you guys and you start to see

12:46

the dynamic change of the team and you know You

12:48

start to see guys. Okay, this guy's giving

12:51

me a hundred percent So I can I can run to the ball

12:53

for this guy or D line I can run to a screen

12:55

for the you know The DB's or the linebackers

12:58

when they cut it off and I can you know make the tackle

13:00

So it when you have teams like that to understand

13:02

that and have that Togetherness

13:05

and that bond man you see

13:07

it with Detroit now, man. They love playing the

13:09

game. They do they do net So you've been

13:11

around the game a long long time Have you ever been around a

13:13

dude who could impact a game on either

13:15

side of the ball more than Aaron

13:17

Donald?

13:19

I Mean to be honest with you know, I'm biased

13:21

man I'm biased to saying

13:24

that he's the greatest D tackle that I've

13:26

you know ever seen or watch But that's

13:28

my opinion, you know But I'm biased because

13:30

I've seen that scene what he put in behind

13:32

it behind the scenes Nobody sees the effort

13:34

in the work. He does now they do because it's filmed

13:37

all the time But you know that is him, you

13:39

know 24 7 he is insane

13:41

about greatness and you know Domination

13:44

and you know when you talk to him you still you start

13:46

to feel like man This man is crazy,

13:48

but he's crazy for greatness and and the

13:51

most the most You know all the greats that

13:53

you see are usually the same way. They're insane

13:55

for greatness Nobody can tell them that they

13:57

they aren't gonna achieve it. So and that's what type

13:59

of

13:59

player here. Dude, I love that line. They're

14:02

insane for greatness. Like when you think about

14:04

like the Mamba, you think about MJ,

14:06

you think about Aaron Donald. Like what is that?

14:09

Like that insanity for greatness? Are they wired

14:11

for that shit? Is that the way they came

14:13

up? Like I'm so fascinated by that. Why

14:16

are those guys insane for greatness

14:18

more than anybody else?

14:20

I don't know. I think it's just a switch that

14:22

clicks in their head that is like,

14:25

I'm going to achieve this goal no matter what.

14:27

Nobody's going to tell me differently. And

14:30

it's just a self-motivating fire that nobody

14:33

can put out. Nobody can change

14:35

their mind. You know, because you think about,

14:37

you know, Mamba, you know, when it was

14:39

game time, he wasn't allowing the guys

14:41

to go out and things like that. Like you did

14:43

go out. You better show up on game

14:45

day. So it's just challenging the guys

14:48

around you. And then when you start to really

14:50

dive deep, because, you know, I really want to

14:52

get in the mind of what makes Aaron Donald

14:54

the way he is. It's just that

14:56

self-fortitude to say like, I'm going

14:58

to dominate everybody. I'm going to be

15:01

the greatest at this position.

15:03

But it takes a lot of sacrifice. And a lot of guys

15:05

aren't willing to sacrifice, to

15:07

take those sacrifices to get to that level. So

15:09

that dude, he was in it to snatch

15:12

souls. Like that's a different dude. If

15:15

you were to pick his brain, would he let you know? Would he let you

15:17

in? Would he share that with you when you tried to get up inside

15:19

his head and crawl around a little bit?

15:22

A little bit. You know, just try to pick

15:24

on like, you know, what are you seeing? This and that. But

15:27

in his mind, it's different, you know? To

15:29

me, we're two different guys. So, you know,

15:31

I see, you know, him in his notepad. I'm like,

15:33

man, he got all these particular

15:35

notes on each guy. And I'm like, I wouldn't

15:37

even focus on anything like that. So, you

15:40

know, it's tough.

15:42

Great. That's why a lot of great coaches or

15:44

great players, it's hard for them to be coaches

15:46

because the way they think about the

15:48

game, the way they win about the game is a lot

15:51

differently than other guys can see it. And

15:53

that's what it is. And, you know, I understand. I understand

15:56

it to a point, but just the little

15:58

things that he sees when he sees a

15:59

guard about the pool or he sees

16:02

guys, you know, leaning for a double

16:04

team and he's gonna swim it. Like those

16:06

are things I never thought about doing so I would

16:08

never think about it in a game. You know what

16:10

I'm saying? Yeah, no, exactly. He's got a genius, man, that

16:12

maybe he can or can't explain,

16:15

but he just has it. You know, it's safe to say,

16:17

Michael, like you've been, any locker room

16:19

that you've been a part of, I'm guessing, you were not

16:21

the only guy from LSU, you're

16:23

on the modern management, an absolute pipeline to the NFL.

16:26

How much pride do you have in that fact? And what

16:28

is it about that program that attracts so many dynamic

16:30

electric dudes?

16:33

I just think it's a tradition. That's what brought

16:35

me there, you know, when we draw

16:37

me to tell us you was, you know, the fact

16:39

that they're always at the top of the SEC, the

16:42

the fan base and the fact that guys

16:44

were going first round every year you seen from LSU.

16:46

So it was like, okay, going

16:48

here I can definitely have a chance

16:51

to get into the NFL and a lot of guys see that

16:53

opportunity while also

16:55

having the greatest college experience

16:57

and, you know, a football that you think you can have.

17:00

So a lot of guys, you know, take

17:02

that into consideration and pick

17:05

LSU because of that fact and it turns

17:07

out to, you know, being at benefits.

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18:18

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18:21

the code ROME once again. That's

18:23

heatholders.com. Heat

18:25

holders, making life

18:28

warmer. We

18:30

were talking about coaches dude, like then

18:32

you got the mad hatter Les Miles.

18:35

Like he looked like a mastermind because

18:37

well he had players right? He had dominant

18:40

dominant players and then he would do funky

18:42

shit like he'd eat grass but

18:44

he had players right? So I mean what was

18:46

that guy like to play for? Is there a good story

18:49

about that guy that you can share?

18:51

Man you know Coach Miles

18:54

was a head coach

18:57

to say the least but you

18:59

know he was coaching everybody.

19:02

You know he wasn't particularly, he'll come to your

19:04

you know your group here and there to you know

19:06

to shoot the shit with you but for the most part

19:08

he was making sure the organization of the

19:10

team was together. So from

19:13

my perspective man he was just a you know he

19:15

was the one organizing everything and pointing the

19:17

fingers and making people move you know. So I

19:20

didn't really have a real one-on-one with

19:23

Les that I could remember. I get that. That

19:25

makes sense in and of itself.

19:26

Listen let me ask you about one guy. Tyron Matthew

19:29

is one of my favorite dudes ever. Like for those who don't

19:31

know, who don't know or too

19:33

young to remember or just don't get it. Can

19:35

you describe what a legend the Honey

19:37

Badger was in his home state of Louisiana? Because this dude,

19:40

you tell me I'm wrong, this guy was a stone-cold

19:42

motherfucker wasn't he? Like what a player dude.

19:45

Right. What a player. A sniper

19:47

bro, a sniper dog. Just like anytime

19:50

you just knew he was gonna do something exciting

19:52

with the ball. Like that year we went to the National

19:54

Championship. Man anytime the ball

19:56

went in the air or you know you seen his guy

19:58

catch it,

19:59

you just didn't know.

19:59

I didn't think like the guy was going to break the tackle

20:02

and get out of there. Like you knew like Ken

20:04

was going to go rip the ball out of there, cause

20:06

a fumble, it just seemed like every game he was

20:09

punching the ball out and getting his hands on the ball

20:11

and you know, returning punts or returning a

20:13

pick or something like that. So, and I was at

20:15

an early age and then it just kept developing

20:18

as he, you know, was under

20:20

the, you know, wing of Patrick Peterson,

20:22

you know, Arizona and learned how

20:25

to be a professional and you know, he already

20:27

was passionate about the game. But you know,

20:29

once you teach him how to be professional

20:32

and watch film and this and that, I don't know

20:34

to a T, but I just know what kind of guy Pat

20:36

P is. I just know he was going to be great.

20:39

I love Pat P man. I love that he's still

20:41

an impact guy and still playing the game at

20:43

a pretty high level even at this stage. Like when you look back,

20:45

dude, who are some of your favorite teammates? I mean, that's probably like,

20:48

it seems like a pretty lame question to ask, but I'm really curious.

20:50

Like the guys that you most enjoy, the guys

20:52

you most respect, the guys that, man,

20:54

when those boys were flying, that's who you want to be in there with.

20:58

Man, to be honest with you, I'm cool with

21:00

everybody on the,

21:02

you know, in my career, man. I try to make

21:05

sure, you know, I don't burn any bridges, but you know, like

21:07

really all the guys in the trenches with

21:09

me, you know, all my D-line brothers that I've, you

21:12

know, served with over the last, you know, my

21:14

career, you know, that's who I kind of respect

21:16

because I know what it took. I knew what the grind

21:18

was, you know, especially the more dominant

21:21

D-line that I was on and that was the most

21:23

closest D-line I was on, you know, the ones that, you

21:25

know, you went out to eat and you went,

21:27

you know, you guys took your family out to,

21:30

you know, Halloween trick-or-treating things like that.

21:32

That was some of the closest D-lines I was a part of and

21:34

we were most dominant because of it. All

21:37

right. So Michael, you had your football life on the

21:39

field and then you've got your corporate life, your

21:41

entrepreneurial life, and then

21:42

you've got your content life. Now you're pushing content

21:45

and now you're the host of your own podcast, the

21:47

broadcast. I'm curious, how do you like shopping

21:49

it up on the regular and being on

21:51

the other side of the microphone now?

21:54

I enjoy it on my spectrum

21:56

where, you know, I'm not controlled by any other

21:58

media. I can talk about. I want to talk

22:01

about. So if we go into stories

22:03

or we go into entrepreneurship and

22:06

after football life, I can talk about it.

22:09

I'm not stuck talking about stats and fantasy points

22:11

and all this. So I love the spectrum

22:14

where I can talk about what I want to

22:16

on my show. And it's just an authentic

22:18

vibe. So that's what I love about it. A-Clones,

22:21

what do we want when we're craving protein

22:24

and we need more energy? I'll tell you what we

22:26

don't want.

22:27

Bars, sugary snacks, energy

22:29

drinks. Nah, we want beef. Pure and

22:32

simple. So where's the beef? It's in a package

22:34

of Old Trapper beef jerky. Old

22:37

Trapper is not your father's jerky.

22:39

Shrivel, dry, tasteless. No.

22:42

Old Trapper beef jerky is made from lean strips of steak

22:44

and quality spices that are smoked over a real wood

22:46

fire. So it's tender and tasty. It's never

22:49

tough. So why is it so good? Because

22:52

Old Trapper is a 50-year-old

22:54

family business known for their relentless

22:57

commitment to quality. In other words, they

22:59

take smoked beef extremely

23:01

seriously and you can taste it in every single

23:03

bite. Old Trapper is packed with protein

23:05

and comes in four amazing flavors that

23:08

satisfy all your cravings. Quality

23:10

smoked meat at its finest that goes

23:12

with you wherever you go to the game, to the gym, to the

23:14

beach, anywhere at all. So look for Old

23:17

Trapper in the Clear View bag. You can

23:19

see the quality that you're buying. Look for it in major

23:21

retail stores near you. If you don't see it, ask

23:23

for it by name because no other jerky

23:25

compares Old Trapper with your beef.

23:29

I was going to say, how do you approach it? Like,

23:31

who are you talking to? You got into this before

23:33

I could even get into it. Who are you talking to

23:35

and what types of things are you talking about?

23:38

Man, I'm talking to a lot of guys,

23:41

you know, a lot of former athletes, a lot

23:43

of entrepreneurs around the city of Houston

23:45

right now. A lot of guys doing, you

23:47

know, things we haven't heard about, you know. You

23:50

know, a guy comes in my relationship who's doing a

23:53

lot out here in the city of Houston. And

23:55

just, you know, kind of letting those guys take

23:57

me under their wing and see what this transition

23:59

is all about.

23:59

because, you know, us as football players, we

24:02

feel like once we're in a game, that's

24:04

all we know. That's all we, you know, want to

24:06

do. But then when we get out in that realization

24:08

of, you know, you can't play football forever, you know,

24:11

what is your next job? What

24:13

is your next purpose? You know, what do you want

24:15

to do with the rest of your life? So,

24:18

you know, having guys that

24:19

are going through the transition or have gone through

24:21

it to kind of, you know, hold your hand while

24:23

you go through it and, you know, tell you about little

24:25

things about, you know, all the insurances

24:28

and things about the NFL, man. It's a blessing.

24:31

They don't talk about that, do they? They don't train you for that, do

24:33

they? They, like, when they're done

24:35

with you, they're done with you. Is there a kind of, is

24:37

it set up so you know what you're getting

24:39

into once it ends? Or are you just all of a sudden out there?

24:43

You get out there, but it's tough for you.

24:45

You just got to figure out how to get to it. I don't want

24:47

to say they don't set you up, but you just got

24:50

to put yourself out there and figure

24:52

out the information or be humble enough to ask

24:55

questions and, you know, and don't

24:57

feel bad about not knowing, you know. Ask

24:59

questions, that's how you do it, and, you know, people

25:01

will help out. Before you go, dude,

25:03

this is really interesting. I hate to say this and I

25:05

hate to age myself, but, like, I'm proud

25:08

of this and I also don't want to publicize this, but,

25:10

dude, I've done this, like, as

25:12

long as you've

25:13

been alive almost. Like, that's how long

25:15

I've done this. So I want to ask, right? I just want

25:17

to ask you something. Like, and shoot me straight

25:19

and be real with me. You and I are having this conversation

25:22

right here on this platform, but

25:24

do you think that athletes, now that athletes

25:26

have their own platform and they've got

25:28

major followings and they can speak directly

25:31

to their fan bases, do they maybe

25:33

no longer need to speak to me or

25:36

others like me in the media?

25:39

I wouldn't say that because, you know, your

25:41

perspective is differently from my perspective.

25:43

You know, I have a lot of story, you know, inside

25:46

the locker room under the helmet type of,

25:48

you know, type of stories

25:50

and, you know, ordeals, but when you, you know, you

25:53

pull yourself back from it and you see

25:55

it from a different perspective because, you know, either

25:57

you never played or you just looking at it from

25:59

the outside. outside looking in,

26:01

it's things that we don't even think about,

26:03

you know, questions that we've never thought

26:05

about. So I think, you know, those questions

26:08

deserve to be asked. So for

26:10

me, it's like, we, we need everybody in the meeting. We need

26:12

the stories inside the locker room and people

26:14

asking the tough questions. So

26:17

for me, I think we need it all. Yeah. I

26:19

can't say how much I appreciate that response. I think you nailed

26:21

it. I think that's just it. Like I, I would never

26:23

sit here and say that I can compete with you. I didn't

26:25

play the game. I don't have those anecdotes. I don't

26:27

have those kinds of relationships. I mean, I've got relationships

26:29

because I've done it a long time, but to your point, I think

26:32

that's great that you just said that, that there's enough for

26:34

all of us and that there is other perspectives

26:36

and somebody's got to ask the tough questions. I do appreciate

26:38

that. So before, when you got in,

26:40

I'm really curious, like you pay that price, you get

26:42

in the league, you finally get that paper. What's the

26:45

first big thing that you bought?

26:48

For me, man, I tell my

26:50

story, man, I want to make sure I set my family

26:52

up, man. I want to make sure I got mom

26:54

a house, got them settled, got them

26:57

out of the, you know, the neighborhood they were living

26:59

in. And so I could focus on the game,

27:01

you know, that was my whole purpose on leaving

27:03

really the league is in leaving early was,

27:05

you know, seeing my family, seeing that I could possibly

27:08

make a difference in their lives and taking

27:10

that opportunity and not saying no. So I

27:13

got out of the league, made some money. And the first

27:15

thing I did was, you know, set my mom

27:17

up so I could, you know, breathe

27:18

and focus on the game and focus

27:20

on what else I wanted to do. But my first

27:22

priority was making sure I took care

27:25

of mom first. Dude, that must've felt absolutely

27:27

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card. Limitations apply. Let me

27:59

ask you this really quickly. Like when you you're the one

28:01

right you were the one and everybody knows

28:03

you're the one and you're the one that can affect

28:06

Generational wealth you can do that for your family.

28:09

Did that feel like a burden? Did that feel like

28:11

a privilege like what did that feel like? That's a lot

28:13

man for a young person

28:14

Man heavy as the head

28:16

man. If you're the head that wears a crown

28:19

man When you when you're a king when you're a boss man,

28:21

you got to be able to deal with these situations, man

28:23

The boss life is nothing but putting out

28:25

fires and as I'm realizing and you

28:27

got to be able to put them out in the Right

28:30

way where there is no blowback, you know saying

28:32

so You know That's

28:34

what you got to do You got to focus on a lot of things

28:36

and for me a lot of things that you learned in a game

28:39

You know you got to deal with different, you know Characteristic

28:41

deal with different coaches and if

28:44

you're G, you know like me you don't you don't let

28:46

one little Bump in the road stop

28:49

you you push through and you adapt

28:51

dude. I love that so much What's

28:53

it like to live the boss life and be that G

28:55

just elaborate on that for a minute before you go What is

28:57

that all about? What is that life all about the boss life?

29:01

Man, it's freedom and you know, a lot of people

29:03

want to get into Entrepreneurship because they think

29:05

it's a man of money the money. It's really

29:07

not about the money man It's about the freedom,

29:10

you know being able to take my kids to school

29:12

being able to pick them up being able to you know

29:14

Catch the games and do other things, you know

29:16

without stressing them about having to

29:19

you know Show up for somebody, you know

29:21

sports cars or show up to somebody's job

29:23

man being the boss. It's a tough position It's

29:26

a lot of responsibility It's a lot of stress,

29:28

but if you can manage it and

29:31

know how to mitigate situations without Blowing

29:34

up or you know, really, you know

29:36

tearing up the house or whatever man.

29:39

It's a cool life You got to be you got to

29:41

be comfortable with being

29:43

you know, complacent man complacent

29:45

but continually driving, you know

29:48

Michael one thing one last stop

29:50

before you go because you mentioned the restaurant I want to share

29:52

something with you and I want to get your opinion on this so Back

29:55

in the day when I was up in Los Angeles

29:57

still we moved down to Orange County, but when I was in Los Angeles

30:00

I invested in a single restaurant

30:02

called the Geisha House. And dude,

30:04

it was cool because it was a spot. It was a hot spot.

30:06

And you could say, hey man, I'm an investor. And you could

30:08

always get in, but it was throwing off income. So

30:11

I'm getting the checks, I'm like, this is easy. So

30:13

then I wrote a, these guys tried to grow

30:15

the thing really quickly, and

30:18

I read a big check, and we spread it out like

30:20

over seven restaurants. Dude, that shit went right

30:22

to hell, man. Nothing was like the first one. It

30:24

is a hard, hard, hard business. I

30:26

mean, it's glamorous, you think, but it's hard.

30:29

How's your restaurant doing? What's that like for you?

30:32

Man, it's hard, definitely. It's hard.

30:35

You know, the margins are really low with restaurants,

30:37

but if you're passionate about what you're

30:39

doing, you know, me, I'm passionate about

30:41

the impact that my restaurant will have,

30:43

you know, in the community, for myself

30:45

and my family, but the impact that we can

30:48

have on the community is my biggest,

30:50

you know, passion right now. So that's

30:52

why I'm all in on it. I feel

30:54

like it's gonna work. I feel like we

30:56

can network with a lot of people within

30:58

my restaurant, and we'll set the tone for

31:01

the city of Houston

31:02

now. I mean, is it just a platform, or are you

31:04

a foodie at heart?

31:07

It's the platform. It's the

31:09

networking capabilities you can give. You

31:11

know, it's not about, you know, what you know

31:14

is about who you know. So when you can connect

31:16

with somebody, you know, somebody that can,

31:19

you know, push you forward, I think that's more,

31:22

you know, exponential

31:24

than anything else, you know. You can learn

31:26

with them and learn how to do a lot of these

31:28

things.

31:29

So last thought, and I promise I'm done.

31:31

It's so important, man. The networking aspect, you point

31:33

out, like we're so caught up in

31:36

social media, being in our phones, being in our

31:38

devices. I mean, you gotta physically get out there

31:40

and get in somebody's face, right? I don't mean in their face, but I mean,

31:42

there has to be like physical connection

31:44

and networking. How important is that?

31:48

It's important, because people want to see what type

31:50

of person you are, you know, people don't want to, you

31:52

know, do business with assholes. So, you know, people

31:55

want to do business with good people that they know they're

31:57

comfortable with and they can trust. So if you're

31:59

a go-getter,

31:59

you do your job, you're on top of your shit, which

32:03

a lot of football players, if you're good at what you do,

32:05

tend to be. Man,

32:07

you can be really successful in this

32:09

business, but it's all about how you

32:11

go about it, man. Are you

32:14

on time, are you showing up, are you setting an example?

32:16

You know, guys gotta focus

32:19

on that. I wanna give you credit for something. I think you

32:21

know this already, because I think you just know, I think you

32:23

get it, but you're more profound in

32:25

some of the things that you say than I think you even know. You're

32:27

right, people don't wanna do business with assholes.

32:29

That should be on a piece of wood somewhere on a

32:32

wall. People don't wanna do business

32:34

with assholes. I agree, dude. Right?

32:38

Yeah, I mean, it's a big, yeah, no, it's a big deal,

32:40

man. You wanna be a guy that people can trust,

32:42

that can come to, you know,

32:45

in a good place. When somebody's thinking

32:47

about a deal, and they're thinking

32:49

about who they wanna make money with, you wanna be the guy

32:51

they think about. So that's what

32:53

guys gotta realize what's important. It's like

32:55

you said on the team, man, it's chemistry. You wanna know that other

32:58

guy's in, just like you're in. If

33:00

you're gonna run in that spot. Michael, dude, I appreciate you very

33:02

much. It was well worth the wait. Always good to

33:04

get caught up, man. I appreciate the energy. I appreciate

33:07

your time very much, especially on

33:09

a Friday, dude. Thank you very much for that. That was great. Yes,

33:12

sir, bro. I appreciate you having me. Thank you, boss.

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Visit UScellular.com for

33:50

details. Love that guy. How

33:53

awesome is that, dude? He's been showing up

33:55

like that to the Daily Show for years,

33:57

and for years, I've been wanting to give him a chance. stretch

34:00

out for the side hustle and he showed up

34:02

exactly as I knew that he would. That

34:05

dude is a pros pro

34:07

and with a totally unique personality and

34:10

perspective and I appreciate him making that time

34:12

for the extended chat. That's a big ask always. That's

34:14

what we got to stretch out. So I appreciate him for doing

34:17

it. What a perfect conversation

34:19

for the side hustle. This is what I'm trying to tell

34:21

you. Long form, premium,

34:24

unfiltered and just plain different. AKA

34:27

the whole reason that this side hustle

34:29

exists in the first place. And why I'm

34:31

still pumping out new apps every single

34:33

week like episode 290 which will be out

34:36

in time for Thanksgiving next week. So if

34:38

you want to heads up as soon as it drops,

34:41

go find the subscribe button, smash

34:43

the subscribe button, do me that solid

34:46

and I will catch you right back here next

34:48

week for episode See

34:50

you

34:51

then.