The 2017 NFL season got started with a bit of a stunner on Thursday night when the Chiefs took down the defending champion Patriots in convincing fashion in Foxborough. While the Patriots’ championship hangover game — and potentially Kansas City’s announcement to the league that they’re a contender — got things started, the season gets going in earnest on Sunday when the first full Sunday of NFL games begins.
For CBS, that also means the return of The NFL Today, with two new cast members joining James Brown, Boomer Esiason, and Bill Cowher. Phil Simms leaves the commentary booth for the studio with Tony Romo filling his old spot next to Jim Nantz. The other addition is former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson, who joins the team in addition to his role on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.
On the surface, Burleson’s addition to the cast comes as a surprise. Traditionally, the show has featured legends and former Hall of Famers, like Dan Marino and Tony Gonzalez, where Burleson was simply a quality receiver in the league. However, since joining NFL Network, Burleson has become a rising star in the industry, as evidenced by him landing one of the most coveted jobs in football broadcasting.
Earlier this week, Burleson spoke with UPROXX Sports about the upcoming season and who he thinks are threats to the Patriots (spoiler: the Chiefs are not mentioned), his take on what teams miss out on when evaluating quarterbacks, his old quarterback Matt Stafford’s new record-breaking contract, and how he took a calculated approach to entering the broadcast scene and how he’s climbed the ladder so quickly.
What are some of the storylines you’re really looking to seeing play out over the course of the next few months.
I don’t even know if I’ve got enough time to go into it. I’ll say this, right out the gate, you gotta look at the super bowl champs. I remember when the off season started I thought to myself, there’s no way these guys are motivated like they’ve been before. Because they not only won the championship but they got even better in the off season. And they, for some reason, I felt like they didn’t have that motivation. That deep down intrinsical motivation that we’ve seen them have before.
Whether it was Gronk going down before the season . All the questioning for years past and the asterisks people want to put by the championships, I thought to myself, they don’t have it this year. And then, third preseason game comes along. And boom, their storyline hits. It’s Julian Edelman. He goes out with an ACL unfortunately. And, I thought, there it is, that’s the mantra, “Win it for Julian.” And I’m pretty sure they won’t say it. And I don’t have any inside scoop. But I was trying to put myself in the shoes of the leaders in that locker room and what would I say. And that’s the first thing I would say. I’d be like, “Listen, we gotta win this for Julian. We gotta bring this championship home for one of our more consistent pieces.” So there it is, there’s the motivation. So you want to keep your eye on the Patriots. Because they’re always a fun team to watch.
Go all the way to the other coast. I feel like Seattle is primed to re-introduce themselves. Seattle over the last handful of years, they’ve been like a Jay-Z album. You might forget about it for a second, but then when he actually releases the product, you’re like, “Oh, man, Jay-Z you’re still one of the best in the game.” It’s just like he did with 4:44. And then Seattle all of a sudden playoff times come around and we’re like, “Wait a minute. Seattle is still one of the best in the game.” And that’s kind of how we look at the Seahawks.
And you take it down the West Coast to California, Oakland has to be one of the more exciting storylines in all of football. Derek Carr gets this huge contract. At the time was the highest paid, and he’s coming back from the injury. And initially you think, “All right, great. He’s back.” But you almost have to put yourself in the same mind frame you were before he got hurt. When I think there were certain people thinking, you know what, this could be that young squad that they know just enough to compete with the Patriots, but they don’t know enough to really freak themselves out a little bit.
And I say it all the time, you don’t know what you don’t know. And I feel like they were there last year. Where they were just playing. Jack Del Rio’s calling these really extreme game plans. Late 4th quarters and overtimes and they’re coming out on top. And I’m thinking these guys, they’re fearless. But, here we are a year later, everybody’s matured, everybody needs to just take a breath. Look themselves in the mirror. And they went from being the new kid in school, to now being invited to the cool kids table, with the addition of Marshawn, which gives you validity any time you’re walking around the lunchroom. He could sit anywhere he wants. That storyline excites me a lot man, just looking at Oakland.
And there’s a ton of … I could probably break down every team. But those are the ones that jump out at me. And those are the ones that are going to keep my attention throughout the start of the season.
Right. Who are the teams that you think when we get down to the end are the ones that can compete with the Pats both in the AFC and then if you’re looking at the NFC, what do you think are the teams there that you think match up best with them for a Superbowl?
You know, NFC, I mentioned Seattle. I believe that the Panthers are going to come back. They had a dip last year. Superbowl hangover isn’t just of the winning team. It’s for the team that takes the Le as well and it seemed like they were holding that Le all season. And they couldn’t get over that loss. And on top of that Cam was banged up. Didn’t have much help. Offensive line struggled a lot. But with the weapons they got, I don’t know if people are really extremely familiar with Christian McCaffrey, but this young dude has been captivating since he got in the league. And I’ve been paying attention to him in college. I’m familiar with his father being a wide receiver. And then I’m hearing about this young white kid, just causing chaos at Stanford. And doing things that make you think about Reggie Bush. And I’m like, “What? Let me pay attention to this guy.” And I’m like, “Whoa, wait a minute. This guy has got quick feet. He’s agile. He’s fast. He can explode away from DBs. And he can extend plays when he gets the ball in his hands. Oh and not only can he run in between the tackles, he can catch out the back field as well.” And then the whole Heisman run I really started to focus in on his skill set. And then he got drafted by the Panthers and that excited me so much.
Because, it’s a great thing for Cam Newton to not have to feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. And carry an offense. You’ve got Jonathan Stewart who’s back healthy, he’s the bruiser. He’s three yards and a cloud of dust. He’s going to get you them tough yards. Bring in McCaffrey to switch it up, the yen and the yang. And then they drafted Curtis Samuel who’s a wide receiver/running back. Kelvin Benjamin lost that weight that we were all talking about during the off season. I think as far as competing with the Pats, I feel like we gotta keep our eye on them. Obviously have to see how the start of the season goes, but I really do like the Panthers.
What else, I talked about Oakland. And I heard something somebody said on Twitter, this is right after the season ended. And I think right around the time where they were courting Marshawn, they said, “The Patriots dynasty started with the Raiders. And the Patriots dynasty will end with the Raiders.” And I thought it was a powerful statement for just a casual fan to say on Twitter. And I just had forgotten. And I thought, “Oh, how about that? What if that did happen?” The soap opera storylines that we love so much. That’s as good as it gets. You couldn’t script it any better. That’s definitely A matchup that I’m waiting for within the AFC.
But as far as contending, there’s only so many teams with QBs you can lean on in the postseason. Eli, Aaron Rodgers going to be in there. Quarterbacks that I love that are Hall of Famers, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, but who knows if the surrounding pieces are going to help those guys get into the post-season.
We’ve heard a lot about the Steelers too, they’re kind of the trendy pick. Do you think they have enough around guys … Do you think they have enough on the defensive side? We’ve always kind of known them as a defensive team. But now, they’re more Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Do you think that defense has enough to kind of keep up if they keep rotating pieces in?
I do, I believe that their defense is strong enough. They’re anchored by James Harrison. He’s going to take some reps off his legs. I heard them talking this off-season that they’re going to give some of that young talent a front of him a chance to shine. So, he’ll come in sparingly but still make an impact like he always does. He’ll forever fight father time. Shazier is a beast. That guy, big fast strong. Comes downhill, put that thump on you but also will make a play on the ball and take it to the house.
A big addition, and this is recently, Joe Haden. I feel like, it’s huge, Joe Haden for a short period of time was considered a shutdown corner. Now, will he still be that? I’m not sure. Will he make an impact? Oh hell yeah. This young man is a guy that you can put out on an island and tell the safety, “All right, keep an eye on me, but I’m going to hold it down.” He’s a type of talent, if you had a fast safety that can go East to West and make up some of the gambles you might take at the quarterback position, it could work out extremely beneficial for this defense.
I remember when the Browns released him and that day on the show I said, “Joe Haden can go anywhere right now and be a number one corner.” And I honestly felt that way. And I feel like it’s a great fit for him to go from a team that’s really just trying to get their footing from a competitive standpoint, to a team that is trying to get their foot in the post season every year, in the Steelers.
So to answer your question the long way, yeah, that big trio on the offensive side of the ball, AB, Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon, they are the anchor of that team but that defense is no joke. And maybe we do see that defense from Steelers past that we see this year. And if you look at the elements and the pieces they have I’d say look at the technology they have, and the players. They’ve got the power, they’ve got the athletic ability and grit at the linebacker position. And they got the play makers and the back end. That umbrella with those DBs. The question is can you piece all of that together with just a dash of intimidation. You don’t have to go out there and be bullies and play nasty and play dirty, but just a dash of intimidation, that goes a long way.
And when I say a dash of intimidation, I feel like as good as the Seahawks have been over the last handful of years, they have a dash of intimidation that every team recognizes. Whether you want to admit it or not, they’ve walked on the field most of the time and felt like they were the boys on the block. And in order to be a good defense in the NFL, you have to have that air about you.
With regards to the quarterback position in the league, obviously you talk about there are only so many guys that you can lean on in the playoffs and really trust. We see so many guys come out of college with so much promise. I mean I think the most recent would be Jared Goff, came in, he struggled. Young quarterbacks struggle, but as a former receiver, what are the traits that maybe you think get overlooked when people are looking for that next quarterback and why do you think so many guys come into the league and struggle to find that footing? And why there seems to be such a gap between that top level and really even the middle tier teams trying to get it together?
Yeah, I feel like there’s something to be said about how a guy carries himself on the field when things don’t go well. You look at some of these quarterbacks and, right out the gate you just want to look at the school they go to, and how well their team played. And it’s just like all right, we got him. He’s good, he’s great, he went to a big school, he knows how to handle the big stage, and his team played well. Now sometimes that could be a recipe for success. Other times, it’s not.
I’d rather have a quarterback that went to a big school or a small school but displayed more composure in the pocket. Didn’t waver when approached by the media about a hard loss. Didn’t sell out his teammates. Had a very humble approach to things. Of course with all the intangibles. The strong arm, the legs, the strength, the speed the size, all that stuff helps. Two guys come to mind in last year’s draft, most recently, I love Deshaun Watson. Now I know he went to the big school, but he showed up on the big stage. And he’s always composed. And we’ve seen that in the preseason. The dude looks smooth.
Another guy, Kizer. I remember Kizer coming in to Good Morning Football and he sat down there and we talked with Kizer, Watson, we talked with Trubisky, we talked with Pat Mahomes, we talked with all the top quarterbacks coming into the draft. And Kizser walked away from the table and I just kind of whispered to Kyle, Peter and Kay, I say, “That’s my guy. That’s the one.” And they’re like, “What do you mean?” I was like, “I don’t know, something about how he carried himself.” I’d seen the film and they didn’t fare so well as a team. So a lot of people say, “Oh, they had some big losses and they put it on the quarterback’s shoulders. But I thought to myself, “It’s the way he carried himself.” He was extremely confident. And he knew exactly what his strengths and weaknesses were. And what he needed to do to minimize his weaknesses and build on his strengths. Very self aware.
And if you’re extremely talented, gifted, tall, fast, strong, have a big arm, and you know that you got more room to grow and your first job, first duty on the job is to attack those things, that to me are the intangibles. Certain quarterbacks come in and we’ve seen it, you’ve seen it, where they act as if they know everything and they might have some late success in college and even some immediate success in the league. Then all of a sudden, there’s a regression. And not to call out a guy, but I remember RG3. Right out the gate. He had this air about him, and rightfully so. The man was phenomenal in college. He came in, from people I knew that watched him, they told me “There’s never been an athlete to come in and capture everybody’s heart’s like RG3 did.”
But then there’s a point where, from a player’s perspective, a guy that was on the outside looking in playing against him, I thought, “Okay, what is the next step? Where do you go from here?” And then on top of that there were certain things he said in the media. Now stepping up on that big stage after a big loss and not embracing it and not just saying, “It’s me, point to me.” That right there is a very understated quality that some of these greater quarterbacks have and I think as a receiver, one of my favorite qualities.
And I think it comes back to the whole composure thing. How do you handle the wins and losses on the field? Body language, how do you communicate with your teammates? And then how do you handle it once you’re done. Eli, I’ve never played with. Drew Brees, I’ve never played with. But, Philip Rivers, I’ve never played with. Some of these guys that I mentioned, Tom Brady I never played with. These guys have the qualities that we all know and love them for. But, the one thing I notice as a wide receiver, every single time they stepped up on that podium, big win, big loss, whether it was their fault, receivers fault, running back’s fault, coach’s fault, never sold anybody out. And it’s a small thing. But when the waters get rough, you want to ride for that guy. And when the waters get rough you know that that guy’s going to lose his composure because he doesn’t care who gets the glory or who gets the blame.
Eli would sit up there after his receivers dropping balls because they weren’t focused on the playoffs. They were giving the team a hard time about the guys kicking it on the boat in Miami. Eli was like, “Man, we all gotta do better. I gotta do my part, I gotta do a better job.” Knowing damn well he could have been like, “We should have been more focused. I need a bigger game out of these guys.” That would have been okay. People would have been like, “Eli, you’re right.”
To answer your question it’s that quality that I think some of these coaches out the gate, out the draft, they don’t just look for them. And they don’t care for them. Until that starts to rear it’s ugly head. And then all of a sudden it’s like, “Oh boy. This guy can’t handle what the league brings to him.
Yeah, and now that we’re seeing these massive contracts, a guy you played with Matt Stafford, he secured the bag to say the least.
Yeah, secured the bag, you’re right about that.
First of all, have you given him a call and asked for a short term loan or anything?
I did ask for five bucks. Know what I’m saying?
He got five on it?
He definitely got five on it. So I’m going to make sure I get that when I see him.
Okay. That’s good. And second, do you think his progression from when you played with him early on to where he is now, do you think he’s making those strides to where he’s going to be that franchise guy, deserving of that kind of a deal?
Yeah, I believe so. I think Matt has reached that point in his career where he’s not leaning on other guys for different things that might bring success to the squad. I remember Matt being a young QB and he would say to me, “Hey, how do you get up there and talk to the team before the games?” He’s like, “I can do it.” He said, “It just doesn’t come naturally to me. I’d rather put this helmet on. When I put this helmet on, that’s my safe space. Football is everything.”
And I love hearing that, I’m getting goosebumps now. But I was like, “Yeah, it’s just me. I’m the charismatic kind that likes to talk. I don’t mind the stage and everybody looking at me and trying to motivate these grown men with millions.” He’s like, “Oh, yeah I feel you.” And I could tell that wasn’t his comfort zone. As a young guy. And a lot of guys don’t come in right away, 21, 22 years old learning how to talk to all these guys that are sitting there in the pregame getting ready for the fight of their life. But once I stepped aside, he stepped in and took that role. Once Calvin retired he stepped in even further. Once Suh left, he stepped in even further.
So it’s understanding who you’re with and the pieces that surround you and saying, okay, what do I need to bring to the table. And each year brings something different. And not just different, each year brings something more. And he’s done that. He’s brought something more. Even when Calvin left everybody was like, “Oh, Calvin is his biggest safety blanket.” And, who cares if he was? Calvin Johnson was the best reviver in the world. I would throw it to him in triple coverage ten times out of ten. But once Calvin retired, people started to think, “Okay, this is the real Matt Stafford. Will the real Matt Stafford please stand up?” And he did. He started to deliver the ball. They brought in Marvin Jones, Golden Tate, and all of a sudden you got these guys still having 1,000 yard seasons and Matt dropping back, throwing it around, and taking care of the rock. Having greater passer ratings than in years past, and they’re like, “Oh, damn, Stafford is pretty good.” Yeah he’s pretty good. And what he’s proved to be more than pretty good. He’s proved to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league.
But with that contract comes great responsibility. Super money is like super power. So you gotta bring a ring there. You gotta get in the playoffs, win in the playoffs and bring something home to Michigan. Because they’re waiting now. Money being thrown around like that. You gotta remember this is a team when I was there, and a city when I was there that literally went bankrupt. So, the people don’t mind spending money if you bring back the hardware. So if he can bring back the hardware and then take that leap from being top 10-ish, to top 5. And if he can do that, that’s all money well spent.
This year you’re taking over a new role on The NFL Today, how exciting was it for you to get that call and now join a tradition in a sense?
It’s a privilege. Yeah, I got that call to go to an audition and I remember being nervous. But I knew James Brown because I had been at the broadcast boot camp. I’ve worked with Phil before. I’d seen Boom before and played against coach. So it was one of those things that caused me to really figure out what I wanted to do in this business of being a TV personality. Because I’m a co-host now for Good Morning Football, but working on the big stage with these guys on Sunday, that’s different. It’s a different type of demographic you’re reaching out to. It’s a different type of population that you’re reaching out to. So I was like, “You know what? I’ve been busting my butt since I left the league.” I’ve been out three years and some change. I’ve been in LA, New York, grinding. I’m working on something every day. I walked off the field and hit the reset button. Like, “Look I’m a rookie again. What do I gotta learn?”
I tried to sharpen every tool. I learned how to do sit down interviews, work on my body language, my eye contact. Doing live TV, doing bumps and reads and studio stuff. So when I got there I was like, man I’m pulling out all the stops. And I’m going to show these guys that not only do I know the sport, and I love the sport, but I have a really fresh take on it. A real creative look on it.
I was born in ’81, so I love hip hop, R&B, music in general. I lean on pop culture and movie references to sometimes drive my point across. And I know my moments. There’s times where people want that traditional talk. They need you to button up, put the tie on, and I need to tell you exactly what you need to pay attention to in this game. Here’s what’s going on, here’s the things you’ve got to look at and here’s something you might not know. Boom, I’ll give you that.
But if there’s a younger generation which is the majority of the people watching, these millennials that aren’t sitting in front of a TV at home drinking some coffee, they’re on the train headed to school with a tablet in their hand, or they’re at work with their phone in their hand on their lunch break. Those are the ones that I’ve got to talk to as well.
So if I’m talking about the clash between superstar personalities and I reference Meek Mill and Drake, they’ll be like, “Oh, yeah, that makes sense. That’s why those superstars are beefing on that team.” Then that’s the different type of approach to how I see things. So it’s not just forcing it and trying to be relatable, it’s just who I am.
And I never changed that. Like when I first got in, I remember being at the network a few years and I was telling them, “I want to do this, and I want to do that, this is how I’m going to talk. And I’m about to write some poetry because I love writing poetry. And I’m going to do a rap video.” And they’re like, “Nate, chill bro, you just got here. It’s not that type of party.”
And then a couple years later I’m doing just that. I’m writing poetry, I’m spitting bars. I did an NFL rap recap. And they heard it and then we ended up shooting a video and went viral. So I’m bringing that to the table. It’s an honor because not only did they hire me, they hired me for exactly who I am. And even after I got hired the producers came up to me and was like, “Hey, listen, don’t change anything. Don’t come in and try to be somebody that you think is supposed to be here. We hired you for you. All that talk, the way you approach things, the way you see things, how you break it down in your own special way, bring that. Because that’s going to help the show.”
@NFL @gmfb #NFLToday @cbssports @CBSSportsGang #SpokenWord 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/w3eq3Yfa35
— Nathaniel E Burleson (@nateburleson) July 26, 2017
We have a superstar cast. I don’t have a gold jacket, or MVPs or Pro Bowls to lean on, I don’t have a Superbowl ring sitting in a jewelry box in my closet. But one thing I do have is a different look, different feel and a different approach to how I can deliver this game to people at home. And if I can do that, then that’s my contribution to the squad.
Yeah, I think that’s kind of the interesting thing. These are kind of the guys we’ve known for a long time on the broadcast side. They are the older generation of NFL fan. You kind of get to come in and bridge that gap. Are you looking forward to the first time you have to explain to Coach Cowher one of your hip hop references on the air?
I’m definitely looking forward to that. I think that’s going to be more difficult than explaining a post corner to somebody that’s never seen football. When I drop a reference and he’s like, “What?” And I’ve got to spend the next 15 seconds live on the TV like, “No, no, no. What I’m trying to say is Jay-Z dropped the 4:44. And he took a step to educate us on a different level. Jay-Z continues to progress the game like he’s always done.” No, no, I feel like that’s what’s going to happen, but whatever.
It’s going to be good. You mentioned kind of your process of the transition from player to broadcaster. What was that broadcast bootcamp experience like? You mentioned some of the things you’ve learned. What are some of those things you’ve learned both within being yourself but kind of being able to present that to the audience in the way that they are comfortable receiving that you’ve really learned over the past few years.
Yeah, I went to that broadcast bootcamp and they offer a ton of things in the broadcast bootcamp. They offer a chance to learn the craft of being on TV and doing in studio stuff, writing your own script. They also give us a chance to do live color commentating on a game. And that was the one thing that I struggled on. I thought I was cool because … I’m clever, I’m quick. So, sitting in front of a group of reporters after a game I can give you sound bites for days.
So I walked confident, I didn’t do radio shows. I didn’t have my TV shows in my regional markets with the teams I as on. I’m about to kill this broadcast bootcamp. And then it was completely different from what I thought it was. 12 hour days of grinding, learning. And I kind of was knocking all these things off. Like, “Okay, I’m good at that, I can do radio. Okay, I can be descriptive. I can write a script. Okay, I can deliver a message on TV. And then I did the live color commentary and it was a struggle. I mean it was a struggle. I’m sitting there getting ally-ooped by a professional. And they gave us the team the night before. And I’m struggling on names. I walked away like, “Okay, that’s my weak point.”
Then we do a recap at the end of the broadcast bootcamp where they show you the highlights and low lights of what you’ve done over the past few days in front of everybody. And I realized, oh, my weak point isn’t just color commentating, my weak point is a whole bunch of things.” And that’s when I walked away motivated like I’ve never been because I might of got patted on the back like, “Yeah man, you’ve got a future in this.” In my head I was thinking, “I don’t know shit.” There’s so many subtleties to the art of being on TV that I was never taught. And here’s a moment where I gotta learn these things and figure out how to improve on these things.
So, once I did that, I felt like a couple more years left in the league I would make my way down to LA and do NFL Network. And if they weren’t flying me, I’d fly myself and they’ll put me up in a hotel. Then I’ll go to ESPN. Then I’ll do NBC Sports. And then I make my way to CBS. And I was trying to make my rounds and get as much information about what I can do to improve as I could.
So when I walked away from the game in 2014, I went to Cleveland. I broke my arm and tore my hamstring in the same summer. And my agents like, “Come on. Your last season in Detroit, you played half a year, put up 40 catches. You’re good. You can do this for at least a few more years. Your vet minimum is 1 million dollars. Let’s go get this money, let’s keep getting this money.” And I thought, yeah, that’s true, but this is a small window of time. There’s no superstars that are retiring.
And I just kept thinking that in my head, if I come out with Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning, he can walk into any booth and get any chair he wants. If I come out with Champ Bailey, Charles Woodson, these guys are the ones that can write their ticket. If I come out with Reggie Wayne, these guys are going to write their ticket. So I’ll be sitting back basically playing substitute. Or just knocking on the door. Calling these networks saying, “Hey, can I get a chance, can I get a chance.”
It was the weirdest thing. Nate Burleson might have been the biggest name that retired that year. And I just rode that wave. And once I got in, I thought to myself, “Hey, you gotta show up and show out every day. And you gotta show every single weakness that you thought you had, you better minimize that and work on that.”
And I caught a couple favors that first year, after the sit down interview with Calvin Johnson which turned out great. I did a sit down interview with Josh Gordon when he was going through his first suspension and he never talked to anybody and his words were so transparent and deeply emotional. People were like, “Ya’ll that’s one of the best of the year.” Then I went in studio. Then they were like Nate, “We need you to do live games.” And I’m like, “All right, I’ll do live games.” “Hey Nate we need you to do pre-game, post-game, Thursday night.” And I was just jumping around, flying from place to place and the network was running me rampant, but it was all a plan. For one, for me to sharpen my skills on the fly. But also show them that I’m one of the most versatile talents out there. And that’s kind of what brought me here to this moment is all these little things and accumulation of working on all these small details. And what’s crazy about that is, I’m very self aware of who I am. Three years removed on two different networks. Two big shows. None bigger than The NFL Today crew. I still feel like a baby and I still feel like I’ve got a lot to learn and a lot to offer.
So without sounding over confident, I’m just getting started. And I’m really trying to continue to change the game and continue to bridge this new generation, this new train of thought, new way of looking at things, with the old. So these millennials they’ve got someone they can point to and be like, “Yo, that’s my guy. I rock with him.” I go to my kid’s practice or my kid’s school and there’s like a nine year old like, “I watched you ever morning.” I’m like, “Why ain’t you in school little dude? You shouldn’t be watching me every morning.”
I remember at the Super Bowl a couple years ago in Santa Clara I walk up to Jameis Winston and we were talking, and he paused for a second and was like, “You’re our voice.” And I’m like, “Oh, snap.” My eyes raised and I took a step back and thought, “That’s deep.” I didn’t even know Jameis was watching the Network like that. But I should have, because when I was playing I watched every second of it because I wanted to hear my name.
Those things, they really motivate me. And they make me want to keep improving, keep grinding, keep showing up and showing out for the new generation.
