Valuetainment - Episode 380： Heisman Winner Eddie George Sits Down with Patrick Bet-David

00:00:00.000 30 seconds, one time for the underdog, ignition sequence start, let me see you put em up, reach

00:00:09.240 the sky, turn the stars up above, cause it's one time for the underdog, one time for the

00:00:16.240 underdog.

00:00:17.320 I'm Patrick Medevi, your host of EITEM, and today I sit down with the Heisman Trophy winner

00:00:21.260 Eddie George, and we talk a lot about football, life, business, and a little bit of Bo Jackson.

00:00:26.980 Eddie, buddy, thanks for coming out, man, truly.

00:00:28.820 Thanks for having me.

00:00:29.380 Good to have you as a guest.

00:00:30.280 Absolutely, glad to be back in Dallas.

00:00:31.640 Yeah, I look at you, I'm like, I was a kid in high school watching you play at the Ohio

00:00:36.000 State University, seeing you run through people, man.

00:00:39.480 Appreciate it, man.

00:00:40.040 You're a big boy too, man.

00:00:41.220 Did you play football or basketball?

00:00:41.900 I went in the military.

00:00:43.300 I didn't play football.

00:00:44.120 Thank you for your service.

00:00:45.260 Yes, anytime.

00:00:46.240 I know you were also part of a military academy in high school.

00:00:50.060 How was that for you?

00:00:51.160 When I was in it, I hated it.

00:00:53.820 I didn't enjoy being there.

00:00:55.760 Literally, you hated it.

00:00:56.340 I literally hated being there.

00:00:58.340 I was forced there by my mother.

00:01:00.300 My mother saw me going down a path that was going to lead to destructive behavior and really

00:01:11.740 not have a prosperous future.

00:01:13.560 So, you know, my environment was not supporting the words coming out of my mouth or the dreams

00:01:23.600 that I had in my head and my heart.

00:01:25.000 I was a follower more so than a leader.

00:01:29.560 And basically, I was a knucklehead and I was going nowhere.

00:01:32.740 At what age was this?

00:01:33.760 I was at 15.

00:01:34.660 Oh, 15.

00:01:35.100 15 years old.

00:01:35.800 And long story short, she sends me to 14 military academy fighting, fight, screaming and kicking.

00:01:42.800 It was a seven-hour drive in her 1980 orange T-wing Mustang with the, you take the sunroof

00:01:49.520 out and I didn't see, but I have to use the bathroom the entire time.

00:01:54.400 You know, that's it.

00:01:55.280 I was pissed.

00:01:56.480 I get down there.

00:02:00.200 Lo and behold, I start to realize that, man, this might just be the place for me because

00:02:06.780 every college recruiter in the country comes through the school from Akron to Alabama to

00:02:13.200 Clemson to 1AA schools, Youngstown State.

00:02:17.960 Did you know that at that point?

00:02:19.100 I didn't know.

00:02:19.620 I really didn't know.

00:02:20.420 I kind of did my research.

00:02:21.920 I said, this could be the spot for me.

00:02:24.180 And it was.

00:02:26.080 Didn't have success early when I got down there.

00:02:28.260 But once I began to really yield to the discipline aspects of it and fall in line with what the

00:02:38.100 school could do for me and use the resources for my benefit, man, it just took off.

00:02:43.860 It really did.

00:02:44.520 You know, my work ethic picked up, my grades picked up, the discipline in terms of being

00:02:50.280 in the barracks, being a leader in the barracks.

00:02:53.620 Are you away from family at this time?

00:02:55.260 Oh, yeah.

00:02:55.500 You're not.

00:02:55.740 You're on your own.

00:02:56.740 I'm in the middle of Virginia, bro.

00:02:58.220 I'm like, Richmond and Charlottesville, you know, between those two cities, smack dab in

00:03:03.540 the middle is Fort Union.

00:03:05.280 There's no gates.

00:03:06.220 There's no security.

00:03:07.060 There's no dogs.

00:03:07.900 If you leave, there's 100 miles one way and 30 miles the next.

00:03:11.980 Wow.

00:03:12.260 I find you in the morning.

00:03:12.980 How often are you seeing family?

00:03:15.240 I'll see them on Christmas and spring, spring break.

00:03:19.820 That's it.

00:03:20.400 That was it.

00:03:21.180 And you elected to stay one more year, apparently.

00:03:24.780 Yeah, because I didn't have a place to go because of my performance in class during my

00:03:32.380 earliest high school years.

00:03:33.480 And let this be a lesson to those kids that we don't want to play football in college.

00:03:37.280 I mean, it starts in the ninth grade.

00:03:38.800 You know, colleges look at your GPAs at that point.

00:03:43.480 And I was, you know, getting Ds and Fs and proud of it and thinking it's funny and cute,

00:03:49.720 thinking, oh, I'm going to, my football talent is going to surpass all that.

00:03:53.520 It's going to get me into a college.

00:03:54.740 Nah.

00:03:54.940 I didn't have a great SAT score.

00:03:57.660 And I'm really embarrassed to say what it was.

00:04:00.240 And my GPA was low.

00:04:02.860 And I didn't have a college to go to.

00:04:04.660 I had a partial scholarship offer from Edinburgh and Pennsylvania my senior year.

00:04:11.140 And no disrespect to Edinburgh, I just felt like there was, I wanted to do more in college

00:04:15.820 football.

00:04:16.360 I wanted to accomplish and be the best among the great players in the nation and compete

00:04:22.840 on that level.

00:04:23.420 So I elected to go back for a postgraduate year.

00:04:26.060 And that was elect.

00:04:27.080 You elected to go back.

00:04:28.320 Yeah, I elected to go back.

00:04:29.080 You elected to go back.

00:04:29.460 That's pretty impressive.

00:04:30.440 So at what point did you know I have the goodies to play in the NFL?

00:04:35.820 What age was it for?

00:04:36.740 I know I talked to Kobe.

00:04:37.560 Kobe's like, at 13 years old, I knew I wanted to be one of the greatest to ever play basketball.

00:04:43.080 What age were you like, I think I can really play at the next level?

00:04:45.920 Was there any age that you experienced that?

00:04:49.360 I've always desired to play at the next level as a child growing up in Philadelphia.

00:04:54.280 I always wanted to play in the NFL.

00:04:56.080 But there was levels to it.

00:04:57.800 You know, I was so infatuated with the college game, the pageantry, the traditions, the history.

00:05:05.300 I grew up loving Penn State.

00:05:06.780 I was a big Joe Pa fan.

00:05:08.580 They were an independent school at the time.

00:05:10.420 So they played everybody.

00:05:12.260 Notre Dame, Miami, Michigan, you know, Pitt.

00:05:17.240 I mean, it was just I grew up on those rivalries and those matchups.

00:05:20.900 And I wanted nothing more than to go to state college and play running back up there.

00:05:25.380 I mean, that was my goal and my dream.

00:05:27.060 But I elected to go to Ohio State because they wanted me to play running back over linebacker.

00:05:35.840 At Penn State, Joe probably looked at me as a linebacker.

00:05:38.400 You've got to be kidding me.

00:05:39.020 Y'all, no question.

00:05:39.660 Seriously.

00:05:40.400 I'm on 6'3".

00:05:41.180 But did you play line?

00:05:42.560 Did you play line in high school?

00:05:43.940 What did you play in high school?

00:05:44.780 I played running back in high school.

00:05:46.520 I told my coach, I'm not playing linebacker because if I play linebacker and show just the slightest type of potential,

00:05:54.580 I'm never going to see the offensive side of the football.

00:05:57.040 So back then, I mean, listen, running backs back then were just as important or not more important than the quarterback.

00:06:05.060 And that was a revered position, an esteemed position.

00:06:08.000 You played running back on a team like Chicago, the Chicago Bears or the San Francisco 49ers or Eric Dickerson at the Rams, the Raiders.

00:06:19.120 I mean, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, ask those in the name, Earl Campbell, you know, with the Houston Oilers, Tony Dorsett.

00:06:26.160 The name goes on and on.

00:06:27.220 So I really wanted to tote the rock.

00:06:29.700 Was there a guy you were looking at coming up?

00:06:31.240 Was there somebody that inspired you?

00:06:32.680 Were you Peyton?

00:06:33.040 I was just in love with the game.

00:06:35.240 Walter Peyton was the standard growing up in the 80s, without a doubt.

00:06:40.700 I was very familiar with Hugh McElhinney, who played the Galloping Ghosts.

00:06:46.640 Did all my research on Jim Brown, the great Jim Brown, watched his tape, O.J. Simpson.

00:06:53.780 I was a big fan of running backs, period.

00:06:56.620 But the standard, the example, the man was sweetness, period.

00:07:02.300 Sweetness was the man.

00:07:03.100 Sweetness was the man.

00:07:03.800 At the top.

00:07:04.380 Yes, sir.

00:07:04.900 Wow.

00:07:05.540 Yes, sir, because he would inflict pain on you.

00:07:07.660 Yeah.

00:07:08.120 You know, his thing was hit them before they hit you.

00:07:13.460 You guys got similar quads, though.

00:07:15.520 Your legs, I mean, they're built as if you look at the, I mean, if you look at Peyton, it just doesn't make any sense.

00:07:20.300 He was a gazelle, man.

00:07:21.280 He would explode into you.

00:07:23.100 I mean, he was just a joy to watch.

00:07:26.140 Great athleticism, balance, speed.

00:07:29.640 But what separated him from most was his tenacity.

00:07:35.180 He ran with a relentless spirit.

00:07:37.320 As a running back, you have to run from the spirit.

00:07:40.620 It's not, you don't think your way through a game.

00:07:43.540 You don't just get by.

00:07:46.380 You know, you will yourself to turn out those yards.

00:07:50.220 You will yourself to break tackles.

00:07:51.820 You will yourself to pick up a critical fourth down or a touchdown when you have to happen.

00:07:56.200 People know you're going to get the ball, and that's what you do.

00:08:00.240 You know I'm getting it.

00:08:02.000 I know I'm getting it.

00:08:03.400 Now let's see who's going to win.

00:08:04.500 Eddie, what's the biggest difference?

00:08:06.220 You played high school.

00:08:07.200 You played college.

00:08:08.420 You played NFL.

00:08:09.640 What's the difference between the best in high school when you played the best in college and the best in NFL?

00:08:14.920 Biggest difference you noticed?

00:08:16.080 Work ethic.

00:08:17.460 Okay.

00:08:17.960 Your work ethic.

00:08:19.180 How you pay attention to your craft on every level.

00:08:22.100 I've seen guys at Fork Union that were freaks of nature, way off the chart, athletes better than me, fast, stronger, quicker.

00:08:35.300 So, again, you know, it's paying attention to what's important, and the game of football and my education was very important to me.

00:08:45.900 So I had to work hard than anybody else.

00:08:49.360 I refused to leave the gym without getting every last set in.

00:08:53.880 I would miss meals because I would have to finish up my workout at Fork Union.

00:08:58.160 I wouldn't eat some nights.

00:08:59.760 Just to get your workout in.

00:09:00.560 I had to get every single rep in.

00:09:04.160 Eddie, somebody looks at you, and they look at you for a second.

00:09:06.240 They say you're a human specimen.

00:09:07.920 I mean, you come in, you look at this body, you say the way he runs, the way he runs through people, you know, it's insanity.

00:09:13.760 How much of it in your level of getting to the NFL is God-given physique genetics, right?

00:09:22.960 How much of it is that?

00:09:23.880 How much of it is discipline?

00:09:24.980 How much of it is association?

00:09:26.500 How much of it is being a student?

00:09:27.860 How much of it is mental and emotional?

00:09:29.720 If you were to put them together, what would you say it really comes down to?

00:09:32.780 Well, you've got to have the physical attributes, number one.

00:09:37.040 I mean, you've got to have the God-given talent.

00:09:40.280 What separates Hall of Famers from guys that are good, again, is the work that you put in.

00:09:51.580 You've got to put in the work, and not just on the field, not just in terms of your body, in terms of your mind.

00:09:58.680 You've got to spend time in the classroom, you've got to spend time breaking down film,

00:10:03.320 you've got to understand, first of all, who you are, what the guys on your defense or offense are doing,

00:10:09.460 and then understanding what the other team is doing, and understanding the coordinator as well that you're playing against,

00:10:16.160 the defensive coordinator, and what his tendencies are.

00:10:19.280 Who's defensive coordinator? The opponent's defensive coordinator?

00:10:21.640 Yeah, the opponent's defensive coordinator.

00:10:23.220 So you're studying the opponent's defensive coordinator?

00:10:25.760 You know his personality, you know what he likes to do, you know what he likes to get aggressive when you go into the red zone.

00:10:32.460 You know, he can play a bend-but-don't-break mentality, and, you know, then all of a sudden you cross that 20-yard line,

00:10:39.800 all hell breaks loose because you're getting a blitz from every angle.

00:10:42.760 Or you might get a guy like, you know, Rex Ryan who's going to blitz no matter where you're on the field, or Greg Williams.

00:10:48.640 So it's understanding all of that, you know, and also taking care of your body and doing what others aren't willing to do.

00:10:58.680 You know, I took ballet lessons when I was in high school.

00:11:01.660 I remember I read an article about it, that you took ballet lessons.

00:11:04.060 Yeah, and it was all, you know, to make me a better all-around athlete.

00:11:08.920 Some of the greatest athletes in the world are on the dance floor and ballet.

00:11:13.500 By the way, Arnold took ballet. Arnold, the bodybuilder, Mr. Olympia.

00:11:16.800 Yeah, Herschel Walker took ballet.

00:11:19.780 Herschel Walker took ballet.

00:11:20.640 Willie Galt took ballet.

00:11:21.040 Yeah.

00:11:21.520 So some of the greatest athletes of our time have taken up ballet.

00:11:25.200 What did that do for you?

00:11:26.280 Is it flexibility?

00:11:27.680 Is it balance?

00:11:28.180 It was flexibility.

00:11:28.980 It was balance.

00:11:29.880 It was training muscles that typically don't have a chance to get strengthened through traditional strength training methods

00:11:38.120 when you're playing football or basketball.

00:11:40.200 To take this body, 245-pound body, and move it graciously across the floor doing demi-plies and spins

00:11:47.780 and having to land gracefully, forcing myself to do that time and time again.

00:11:54.320 When I go on the football field and I have to do a spin, it's going to be second nature.

00:11:59.520 So it was cross-training for me.

00:12:01.320 Interesting.

00:12:01.520 It's taking everything that I apply, immersing myself to really understanding the craft of being, what would you call it?

00:12:09.300 I don't know what I would call it.

00:12:10.400 I know ballerina for male.

00:12:12.240 I don't know what it would be for male.

00:12:13.780 For male ballerina.

00:12:15.140 Yes.

00:12:15.480 Who would say that?

00:12:16.280 But I really had to lose myself in that and become that.

00:12:21.200 So when I went back on the football field, I would be an enhanced person of myself, a different version of myself.

00:12:28.740 You think a part of that is what helped you last as long as you did?

00:12:32.360 Because, you know, when you look at the stats that you got, is it the one stat was what?

00:12:37.960 You're the only running back ever to have seven consecutive, is it seven or eight consecutive seasons or 300 rushing attempts per season?

00:12:47.740 You're the only running eight seasons to do that.

00:12:49.520 I mean, you think a lot of that was due to your training and your ability to miss and stay held?

00:12:54.660 It was that.

00:12:55.700 It was the blessing of God.

00:12:58.400 You know, I didn't sustain any major injuries.

00:13:00.840 I played hurt now.

00:13:02.140 I played with a lot of different injuries.

00:13:04.420 But I think it was because of my training and everything else.

00:13:10.300 Everybody says, well, you weren't out and this and that.

00:13:12.840 No, no.

00:13:13.820 I could have played, you know, four or five more years, I think.

00:13:17.020 You retired at 31.

00:13:18.100 I mean, you could.

00:13:18.920 At 31, yeah.

00:13:19.620 And my role would have been different.

00:13:25.860 Certainly, I would have been a backup somewhere.

00:13:27.760 But I didn't want that life for me at that particular time.

00:13:30.060 And, you know, if I was going to do that role, I would like to have done it in Nashville or with the Tennessee Titans.

00:13:36.360 Who was in your draft?

00:13:39.100 I know first pick was Keyshawn.

00:13:41.080 But who else was in your draft?

00:13:42.780 Because your draft is a stacked draft, right?

00:13:44.820 Oh, 96 was stacked.

00:13:46.220 You were 14th pick.

00:13:47.260 14th, Marvin Harrison, who's a Hall of Famer.

00:13:50.740 Terrell Owens, Hall of Famer.

00:13:52.980 Ray Lewis, Hall of Famer.

00:13:55.180 Jonathan Ogden, Hall of Famer.

00:13:58.000 Simeon Rice, who's up for the Hall.

00:14:00.780 Kevin Hardy.

00:14:02.040 Keyshawn was one.

00:14:03.920 Timbiaka Patuka.

00:14:06.060 Terry Glenn, Ricky Dudley were all in there.

00:14:09.300 That's a stacked list of names right there.

00:14:11.320 Who else am I missing?

00:14:12.880 I mean, that's just to name a few.

00:14:14.320 That's just, it was a loaded, loaded draft.

00:14:17.900 Zach Thomas.

00:14:19.140 Who was in there?

00:14:20.020 Zach Thomas.

00:14:20.800 Miami Zach Thomas.

00:14:21.580 Miami, yeah, yeah.

00:14:22.680 Absolutely.

00:14:23.280 How tall was Zach, by the way?

00:14:24.380 Was he 5'8", 5'9"?

00:14:26.260 He wasn't a tall guy, right, Zach Thomas?

00:14:27.980 No, he was about 5'9".

00:14:29.860 Zach was about 5'9", but would knock your head off.

00:14:32.660 So when he hit you, did it look like it?

00:14:35.140 No, you'll feel it.

00:14:36.020 Who was the hardest hitting guy?

00:14:37.100 You got hit by a lot of guys.

00:14:38.100 Who was the hardest?

00:14:39.180 Listen, everybody asks me that question.

00:14:41.580 No one sticks out over the other.

00:14:43.640 I mean, there's certain guys you got to look out for.

00:14:46.040 No question.

00:14:46.680 John Lynch, certainly Ray Lewis.

00:14:49.820 John Lynch, 47.

00:14:51.420 Yes.

00:14:51.820 Tampa, yeah.

00:14:52.700 Derek Thomas.

00:14:54.220 On that level, you're going to have a headhunter, or two, or three, on every single team.

00:15:00.800 Period.

00:15:01.140 Like, so it's not like, well, you know, this guy hits harder than the next.

00:15:04.640 Is there anything you can do to avoid?

00:15:06.580 Is there an arc to missing?

00:15:07.540 You can make somebody miss.

00:15:08.760 Yeah, the arc of...

00:15:09.320 Oh, yeah, you can over-pursue and make a miss, or you can set them up as if you're going

00:15:14.580 to, you know, make a move and run into them, or you can just meet them in the hole.

00:15:19.940 Which you did a lot of.

00:15:21.140 Yeah.

00:15:21.240 That was your specialty.

00:15:22.680 Yeah.

00:15:22.940 You could do that.

00:15:24.220 Yeah.

00:15:24.660 Was there a running back?

00:15:25.660 Who was the one running back?

00:15:26.780 I remember he was 6'5", 240, 250, Warren, something like that.

00:15:31.140 Was it a Chris Warren?

00:15:32.280 He played for Seattle?

00:15:33.400 Yeah, Chris Warren.

00:15:34.200 Chris Warren.

00:15:34.860 Yeah, Chris Warren.

00:15:35.620 He was a big guy, too, right?

00:15:36.700 He was about 6'2".

00:15:37.920 Yeah, Chris Warren was 6'2".

00:15:38.980 He didn't last a long time, though.

00:15:40.520 I don't know the numbers on him, but I think he's gotten some recognition for, I think,

00:15:46.180 four-time Pro Bowler?

00:15:47.260 I think at one point, he was a beast.

00:15:49.560 He was a bad boy now.

00:15:50.300 Yeah, Chris was...

00:15:50.920 No, no, I give him credit.

00:15:51.680 I remember him.

00:15:52.120 He hit it in Virginia, right?

00:15:53.360 He was Virginia, I believe.

00:15:54.380 Yeah, so he was a guy that came in.

00:15:56.300 I'm like, this guy's pretty exciting to watch, you know, at a time where you're like, you

00:16:00.120 know, there's not a lot of exciting things to watch with the team it was a part of.

00:16:03.360 Fastest guy you ever played with?

00:16:05.240 You hear Bo, you hear Deion.

00:16:06.900 Who's the fastest guy you ever saw where you're like, I cannot even believe how fast this guy is?

00:16:11.680 Joey Galloway, you know, these...

00:16:13.280 J.G. was, to me, I mean, hands down J.G.

00:16:15.980 And we had some fast guys on our team.

00:16:18.080 Sean Springs, Terry was fast.

00:16:19.820 Our corners were exceptionally fast.

00:16:21.940 Yeah, guys you never heard of that could run.

00:16:24.100 But Joey, in a 10-yard sprint, would beat everybody by five yards.

00:16:29.040 Everybody by five yards.

00:16:30.620 He would beat me by seven.

00:16:32.880 That good?

00:16:33.540 Oh, he ran a 4-1, what, 4-1-7, I think?

00:16:37.880 That's insanity.

00:16:39.100 Yeah.

00:16:39.520 That's insanity.

00:16:40.080 Yeah, Joey was nothing to play with.

00:16:41.840 And right now, almost 50 years old, he's running a 4-3.

00:16:46.000 50 years old running a 4-3?

00:16:47.420 I think he's going to be 48 this year, so yeah.

00:16:50.520 You believe the myth that Bo cracked 4-1 like you do believe the myth?

00:16:54.820 Listen, there's no myth.

00:16:58.300 You look at the man's highlights.

00:17:01.380 If someone told you, like, oh, this guy could break a bat over his head,

00:17:06.320 he can gun somebody from left field and hit him out, get him out at third,

00:17:10.540 run up a wall, catch a fly, five flies with one hand, a sharpshooter in terms of rifles.

00:17:19.820 And archery as well, apparently.

00:17:21.820 Archery. You'd be like, ah, that's bullshit.

00:17:24.120 No.

00:17:24.780 All of this?

00:17:25.600 Yeah.

00:17:26.420 Legit.

00:17:27.020 Have you ever had a chance?

00:17:28.240 Have you ever had a chance to chop it up with him?

00:17:30.440 Oh, my gosh.

00:17:31.100 I go to Bo Jackson's event every year.

00:17:32.940 Bo and I have really formed a great relationship over the past five years.

00:17:38.940 Five years?

00:17:40.180 Yes.

00:17:40.900 Interesting.

00:17:41.460 He's older than me, played before my time.

00:17:44.000 Of course, growing up, it was Bo Nose, played with, played Tecmo Bowl.

00:17:49.500 Yes.

00:17:49.860 Used Bo and destroyed, made a lot of money, destroyed the opponents.

00:17:54.180 And I've had a chance to go to his golf tournament over the last four or five years.

00:17:59.440 And he's come and done some stuff for me in Columbus, Ohio.

00:18:02.760 And we just really have developed a wonderful relationship.

00:18:06.600 Just hearing his stories and listening to his philosophy.

00:18:10.200 Just how he grew up, you know.

00:18:12.040 What's the most unique story you've ever heard about Bo?

00:18:15.020 Or personal experience or a story you've heard where it's like insane?

00:18:18.560 Um, yeah.

00:18:21.580 There was a play called, uh, in Oakland.

00:18:25.260 I don't know if it's the correct name for it.

00:18:27.920 Um, but it was called Bo Don't Need No Blocking.

00:18:32.280 It's a play called Bo Don't Need No Blocking.

00:18:34.900 Something along those lines.

00:18:36.740 But he don't need no blocking.

00:18:37.800 So, they will call a, they will overload the field right.

00:18:43.440 They will pitch the ball.

00:18:44.440 He'll take two steps to the right and counter back left and score.

00:18:50.280 And whoever was on the edge, corner, defensive back, whomever had to deal with that.

00:18:57.960 That's what he said.

00:18:58.960 Wow.

00:18:59.120 I don't need blocking.

00:19:01.240 He's sick.

00:19:02.040 Think about that.

00:19:02.680 I mean, that's insane.

00:19:03.260 And to jump off a baseball diamond, to jump on the field on Monday Night Football, and

00:19:10.560 to annihilate the Seattle Seahawks on national television, run that 90-yard touchdown, fresh

00:19:18.960 off the baseball diamond, to be in football shape, to do that?

00:19:23.140 Is that the game with Bosworth?

00:19:24.620 Yes.

00:19:25.060 Is that the game with Bosworth?

00:19:26.280 Yes, that's the game.

00:19:27.160 That's the end of Bosworth.

00:19:28.780 Man, it was the start of the downfall of that.

00:19:32.420 But I tell you what, BoJack, man, is, between him and Deion, probably, oh, that's a tough

00:19:39.140 one.

00:19:39.500 It's prime.

00:19:40.280 Prime's no joke.

00:19:41.040 You know, in the NBA, you do, you play the game of draft, and you pick a player, and I

00:19:45.620 pick a player, and you got first pick, I'll pick MJ.

00:19:48.000 I got second, I'll take LeBron, or Shaq, or whoever.

00:19:50.600 If you're putting a team together, you got a draft, who was your first draft pick, actually?

00:19:54.280 Who do you pick?

00:19:55.340 All time.

00:19:56.400 All time.

00:19:56.600 Pick somebody.

00:19:57.400 Who are you building around as number one?

00:19:59.100 Oh, all time.

00:20:02.920 Running back, or just player?

00:20:04.180 You got to pick.

00:20:05.860 You got to pick.

00:20:06.540 What do you pick?

00:20:07.840 Man, that's a tough one.

00:20:10.280 I got to go with a quarterback.

00:20:13.260 You got to go with quarterback.

00:20:14.520 So you're putting that as number one position today.

00:20:16.360 I got to go with a quarterback.

00:20:17.880 So now you got a handful of choices there.

00:20:20.080 Yeah, you do.

00:20:20.720 I'm leaning toward Peyton Manning, because he is so consistent, and I played against

00:20:29.180 Peyton in, there's a lot of guys to pick from.

00:20:33.440 There's Tom Brady.

00:20:34.460 You pick Peyton first over Brady.

00:20:37.440 Because I haven't seen Tom out of New England.

00:20:41.720 I've seen Peyton win a Super Bowl in Denver.

00:20:45.280 You see what I'm saying?

00:20:46.100 He won it with the defense, though, when he won.

00:20:48.220 He even joked about it himself with the SPs.

00:20:51.060 He won it with the defense in Indianapolis.

00:20:54.040 But Peyton is so lethal, man.

00:20:59.240 I mean, he's such a chess player on the field.

00:21:01.500 And he's so smart.

00:21:03.660 He can manipulate a defense.

00:21:05.600 And I would start with him.

00:21:08.200 I mean, it's a tough choice.

00:21:09.900 Tom Brady is the ultimate competitor.

00:21:12.180 I mean, the man has six rings, for crying out loud.

00:21:14.220 You know, but, I mean, this is just splitting hairs.

00:21:18.180 But, I mean, in terms of arm talent, we're getting.

00:21:22.300 You build around Manning.

00:21:23.060 I build around Manning.

00:21:23.760 You build around Manning.

00:21:24.480 Yeah.

00:21:24.780 And, by the way, the year you won Heisman, wasn't he sixth that year?

00:21:27.540 I think he was sixth, because it was his second year.

00:21:29.420 He was sixth that year when he won it.

00:21:30.840 Yeah.

00:21:31.520 And, you know, here's a guy that went from, like, he's a scientist when it comes.

00:21:36.240 When you look at him from the outside, you're thinking, he's got a personality.

00:21:39.500 He's a math guy, prepared, neck issue, comes back.

00:21:43.540 Interesting.

00:21:44.120 So, you would call him the greatest of all time?

00:21:46.160 I wouldn't say that.

00:21:47.100 You said what I would pick.

00:21:48.820 Okay, got it.

00:21:49.680 Fair enough.

00:21:50.140 The greatest of all time.

00:21:51.400 That's a different.

00:21:52.200 That's a different.

00:21:52.880 That's a completely different.

00:21:55.180 You go on sweetness.

00:21:56.180 You go on.

00:21:57.580 You can go Jim Brown.

00:21:59.620 Oh, you're going to go Jim Brown.

00:22:00.720 I mean, Jim, he could play in any era.

00:22:04.080 And just what he, I mean, he put up, the amount of yards he put up was 16, over 16,000 in, I think, eight or nine years.

00:22:15.820 And they only played, what, 12 games, I believe?

00:22:20.580 Do you think that's one of the reasons why he gets the kind of respect he does from the players

00:22:24.040 and partly what he did for the community and how he was as an athlete?

00:22:27.800 I think it's both.

00:22:28.420 Yeah.

00:22:28.640 I mean, he was a better lacrosse player than he was a football player.

00:22:31.960 So what does that tell you?

00:22:33.100 Wow.

00:22:33.600 Yeah, as an urban legend.

00:22:34.720 That's unbelievable.

00:22:36.200 He was a better lacrosse player.

00:22:38.020 Yes, a better lacrosse player than he was a football player.

00:22:40.520 That is insane.

00:22:41.320 So, Eddie, when are you getting the call?

00:22:43.360 When are they going to call you?

00:22:44.440 When are they going to call you from the hall?

00:22:45.740 When God moves that to happen, man.

00:22:47.780 How important is that for you, for that to become a reality?

00:22:51.400 I'd be lying to say if it wasn't important.

00:22:54.600 I'd be greatly honored, obviously.

00:23:02.560 You got a lot of guys rooting for you, by the way.

00:23:04.460 A lot of guys rooting for you.

00:23:05.660 Well, I appreciate it.

00:23:06.620 Yeah.

00:23:06.760 But, you know, I'm one to believe if I'm worthy of being in the Hall of Fame, I'll be in it.

00:23:13.680 And if not, I can still get my sleep at night.

00:23:16.840 You know, I put everything I had into the game.

00:23:21.020 I squeezed everything out of it that I could possibly imagine.

00:23:24.660 Again, the platform has opened up so many opportunities for me in business, me personally, spiritually.

00:23:35.460 I've had the opportunity to meet people from all crosses and walks in the entire world.

00:23:40.300 So, to be recognized as a Hall of Famer would be wonderful.

00:23:44.600 But, again, it's not up to me to have to go through their process.

00:23:49.900 And if I'm worthy, I'm worthy.

00:23:51.180 You're comfortable with that?

00:23:52.220 I'm comfortable.

00:23:52.700 That's great, because I know I was watching, I think it was Moss and Ray Lewis.

00:23:57.720 They were talking, and they were talking about how you belong.

00:24:00.400 And then they mentioned you and I think it's Fred Taylor they were talking about, the two names.

00:24:04.540 And when you look at statistically, your average per season yards is, what, the seventh highest?

00:24:12.500 And there's five NFL running backs in who are lower than you.

00:24:17.200 So, even if it's an argument and a case being made, the numbers back it up, you know, when you look at that.

00:24:21.520 Yeah, yeah.

00:24:22.680 I guess if you look at the numbers, you look at a lot of different factors.

00:24:27.660 What else do they look at, though?

00:24:28.960 I don't know what they look at.

00:24:30.380 How much of it is politics?

00:24:31.800 Is it like, you know, do you have to bow down to the NFL for them to say yes?

00:24:36.520 Hey, you know what, man, I don't know what it is.

00:24:40.800 I wish I knew what the criteria was or is.

00:24:46.300 I know that they're trying to get a lot of guys in.

00:24:50.620 You're up against a lot of different, not just my position, but you're up against guys from the past.

00:24:57.340 And you're up against guys that are coming out this year and are eligible.

00:25:02.260 And it's only like four or five slots, four players.

00:25:05.200 So, again, you know, if and when is my time, it'll be my time.

00:25:09.840 Well, we're looking forward to that time when it comes.

00:25:12.560 Because, again, a lot of people believe you belong in there.

00:25:15.640 But let me transition to another part.

00:25:17.200 You know, one of the things that you're looking at right now with the NFL going on with Jay-Z

00:25:21.900 and the whole conversation with Kaepernick and why are you going from the NBA

00:25:26.560 and now you're sitting there talking right next to Roger Godel and there's all this controversy.

00:25:31.720 What are you feeling about the whole thing taking place today?

00:25:34.460 Well, I look at it from both sides, from the player's side, from the community's side,

00:25:40.300 and certainly from Jay-Z's side.

00:25:42.000 Jay-Z is obviously one of the greatest, if not the greatest, MCs of all time.

00:25:50.240 He's transformed himself.

00:25:53.540 Well, he's probably always been a great businessman, but he's made some great business moves.

00:25:57.640 Given the situation in the NFL with Colin Kaepernick,

00:26:01.740 he brought light to a situation that really needed to be focused on.

00:26:07.160 And I think he did just that.

00:26:08.860 He served his purpose in doing that.

00:26:11.020 He being Kaepernick served his purpose.

00:26:13.640 In terms of bringing it to social justice issues and having a platform to speak from and so forth.

00:26:22.180 Now, the question becomes is how do we collectively move forward?

00:26:28.800 Where is the win-win for the NFL?

00:26:30.680 And where is the win-win for social justice and players allowing themselves to express themselves in that regard and have freedom of speech and so forth?

00:26:41.120 So I think they're at that point now where they want to move forward to say,

00:26:45.300 okay, we're beyond, you know, bringing a light to an issue that we already know what the issue is.

00:26:51.860 What are now the solutions to have guys make a difference, a real difference in our communities when it comes to social injustices and so forth?

00:27:01.340 And the NFL being in harmony with that.

00:27:05.800 So there is no dissension.

00:27:08.080 So somebody can't just hijack that platform and use it for political reasons, which it was used for to begin with.

00:27:14.900 So that's where we were down this road.

00:27:17.140 And I hate the fact that, you know, in our communities, you know, you got some guys that are coming at Jay and Jay has to defend himself.

00:27:25.580 You know, and that's not really where the war is.

00:27:28.420 We're all trying to move the needle forward in terms of bringing light to social injustice, not who's right, who's wrong.

00:27:34.800 You shouldn't be doing this with this group because they're the owners, us against them mentality.

00:27:39.820 Well, the owners, they give you your paycheck.

00:27:44.380 So why not try to figure out a way to move forward and be, I mean, unite and try to come up with solutions versus saying it's us versus them.

00:27:54.400 And I think that's, in essence, what he was trying to come across.

00:27:57.660 And he's, listen, man, he's an influencer and people listen to Jay.

00:28:02.820 So there are not many bigger influencers than him in the community.

00:28:06.220 So that's what I'm saying.

00:28:07.720 And if it takes for him to say, OK, do you want me to be involved in your halftime shows?

00:28:13.260 All right.

00:28:13.780 This is what I want to do for the community.

00:28:16.440 I want to move the needle forward.

00:28:18.600 And I think what got lost was, well, what about Colin Kaepernick and a job?

00:28:24.340 Now, you know, do I think that he's been blackballed to some degree or whiteballed, however you want to say it?

00:28:30.040 Yes.

00:28:31.120 You know, he did take a settlement.

00:28:34.560 If my memory serves me correctly, I think four different teams reached out to him at that particular time.

00:28:40.640 I think it may have come down to whether he's going to be a starter or a backup or whatever.

00:28:45.380 He may not have done this.

00:28:46.840 I don't know the particulars of that, so I can't really speak intelligently on that.

00:28:50.740 But the opportunities were there.

00:28:53.260 So the bottom line is, can he still play football, the game of football?

00:28:58.660 Can he be an integral part of a team to help them win and produce wins and touchdowns and all of that?

00:29:06.120 And that's the question that has to be asked in terms of somebody bringing him in.

00:29:09.660 Because bringing in a veteran, that's going to be money.

00:29:11.760 In this game, it's a young man's game in every sense of the word.

00:29:14.940 Younger means cheaper, labor.

00:29:17.620 Got it.

00:29:18.280 All right?

00:29:18.640 So that's dollars and cents.

00:29:20.300 So I don't think it's a black and white issue because Eric Reid still has a job, and he kneeled right next to Colin Kaepernick.

00:29:26.420 He's with the Carolina Panthers right now.

00:29:28.100 That's a good point.

00:29:28.720 So, you know, that's kind of how I see it.

00:29:31.140 Now, from your perspective, you served in our military.

00:29:36.240 How do you see the situation?

00:29:39.100 I think from the standpoint of what Colin was trying to do, NFL has always been a big pro-military organization.

00:29:50.840 They just have been.

00:29:51.640 It's almost like a sponsorship.

00:29:53.040 This is what we represent.

00:29:54.260 This is what we support.

00:29:55.880 NBA has been slightly different.

00:29:57.420 They all have a little bit of it, but it's been different.

00:29:59.400 So when you do that, and the biggest, you know, message you're giving is to veterans.

00:30:04.400 We stand for them.

00:30:05.120 The veteran community is a little bit upset by it.

00:30:07.580 They're offended by it, and their interpretation.

00:30:09.340 Now, Colin may come back and explain and say, hey, I don't think this is the case.

00:30:12.560 This is not what I was doing.

00:30:13.560 I was not trying to disrespect that, which is fine.

00:30:16.200 But then he goes to Miami tryouts, and he's wearing a castro.

00:30:19.740 Then it's a shot at the Cuban community, and you know you're in Miami.

00:30:22.820 So then you wear some stuff with pigs, and you know there is limits to it.

00:30:27.960 And so if you're poking at it, like let's just say I run a company, and people come to me and they say, hey, we don't think this company is an equal opportunity for women as it is for men.

00:30:37.940 Okay?

00:30:38.400 What's the first thing you're going to do?

00:30:39.540 Maybe you're going to take a look at it.

00:30:40.820 Let me see if we got the opportunity.

00:30:42.620 And then from there, you make adjustments.

00:30:44.620 But if it's constant and adjustments are being made, I don't know.

00:30:48.820 So I don't just think he's going only after the fact that he doesn't feel his community has it.

00:30:54.860 He took shots at the Cuban community.

00:30:58.540 He took shots at a lot of people.

00:30:59.700 And you go back to talking about Reed.

00:31:02.240 Reed still got a job today.

00:31:03.460 Yeah, he does.

00:31:04.040 What Stephen A. Smith said, I'm curious to know what you say about this.

00:31:06.400 Stephen A. Smith said there is this notion that the moment a Jay-Z has to make a decision like this with a Roger Godel, you're selling out to the white man to move up.

00:31:18.440 You know?

00:31:18.940 There's some of that taking place.

00:31:20.140 I'm Middle Eastern.

00:31:20.920 I'm from Iran.

00:31:21.520 I wasn't born here.

00:31:22.320 I was an immigrant when I was 10 years old.

00:31:24.820 We went to Germany.

00:31:25.440 I lived at a refugee camp, and I came here.

00:31:26.860 There's a little bit of that in the Middle Eastern community to say, hey, you sold out to the white man to move up in the business world.

00:31:34.980 Let's just say they say that to me.

00:31:36.580 So partly I'm looking at Jay, and I'm saying, listen, this is a guy that's his entire career, everything he's done, it's about giving back.

00:31:43.460 Why are you?

00:31:44.720 Your prophecy is being fulfilled.

00:31:46.320 Isn't that a part of us?

00:31:47.480 We spent so many years trying to get into the room where the decisions happen.

00:31:54.560 We finally get into the room.

00:31:56.020 Now he has a chance to get a seat at the table.

00:32:00.660 You know, there isn't a lot of diversity among the owners of the NFL.

00:32:05.580 Not a lot.

00:32:06.880 I don't think there aren't any African-American owners in the NFL.

00:32:11.780 So in some respects, you almost have to applaud him for even attempting, even if, I think it's rumors that are floated around the NFL around this,

00:32:20.300 about him being an owner and so forth.

00:32:23.580 I don't know.

00:32:24.260 But if that were the case, you want somebody that looks like you, that can represent you.

00:32:29.840 So when cases like this come up, there's a point of reference.

00:32:33.380 You have somebody that can represent that to some degree.

00:32:36.700 So to say that he's selling out, I don't know.

00:32:40.340 At some point, how do you move the needle along if you don't have the other person involved?

00:32:46.660 It's always going to be dissension.

00:32:48.880 I'm more about, okay, we've had an issue.

00:32:51.380 Let's solve the issue.

00:32:52.620 Now, how does everybody win?

00:32:55.200 How do we move forward so everybody feels like they're going to win?

00:32:59.700 You know, so that's where I'm the notion of.

00:33:01.500 Do you see something on how this needs to happen for everybody to feel like there's a compromise, there's a collaboration where it worked for everybody, everybody in the party?

00:33:11.040 Well, you're not going to satisfy everybody.

00:33:13.060 You're not going to.

00:33:13.740 You're not going to.

00:33:14.920 That's what I'm saying.

00:33:15.560 It's just not going to happen.

00:33:16.960 Yeah.

00:33:17.200 But I think in terms of understanding that the NFL is not going anywhere.

00:33:23.180 It's not.

00:33:23.920 They're not going to shut the NFL down.

00:33:26.160 It's the next man up.

00:33:27.280 And you saw the Cowboys.

00:33:28.380 The valuation just showed up.

00:33:30.000 Yeah.

00:33:30.160 5.5.

00:33:30.700 So it's not like it's going down.

00:33:32.240 In the world.

00:33:33.000 It's not going nowhere.

00:33:33.940 So what are you going to do?

00:33:36.380 Continue to fight that or say, okay, we want our voices to be heard.

00:33:40.920 We want our issues to be heard.

00:33:42.180 How do we do it that's in concert with everybody else?

00:33:46.560 Listen, we brought light to the issue in one respect.

00:33:51.260 Now, how do we move forward from that?

00:33:53.440 Or do we continue to still fight and continue to, you know, boycott the NFL, not watch games?

00:34:01.020 That didn't have that zero effect on the NFL.

00:34:04.960 You know, from some friends that said they don't watch the NFL because of this or that.

00:34:09.040 It's each his own.

00:34:10.220 But it had zero effect on their bottom line.

00:34:12.000 In fact, it increased.

00:34:13.960 Yeah, the bottom line is out.

00:34:14.540 And now with streaming and now with gambling and there's different revenue streams that are being created.

00:34:19.420 It's the number one American sport.

00:34:23.480 You know, so I don't know.

00:34:25.520 I mean, again, I feel like there's a wonderful, wonderful opportunity to really find a platform and create a platform where everybody wins.

00:34:38.680 And that's where I stand.

00:34:40.240 Yeah.

00:34:40.600 So you think Jay-Z being an owner of a football team, NFL team, would be a good thing?

00:34:45.740 I don't see why I wouldn't.

00:34:47.020 Okay.

00:34:47.580 I really don't.

00:34:48.560 Do you see that happening anytime soon?

00:34:50.340 I mean, I don't.

00:34:51.020 Listen, I know he's a billionaire.

00:34:52.300 But these guys that have these teams, these teams are their hobbies.

00:34:58.420 Their core business is energy.

00:35:01.900 Exactly.

00:35:02.300 It's private equity.

00:35:03.760 You don't know that about it.

00:35:04.940 Well, like a Magic.

00:35:05.720 You know, Magic doesn't own 50% of the Dodgers.

00:35:08.900 Right.

00:35:09.200 You know, he's kind of the, you go there, he's got some chips in there, but he's going out there with, you know, he's partnered up with them.

00:35:14.980 Got some points in it, yeah.

00:35:15.540 So I see Jay-Z being able to do something like that.

00:35:17.740 And it'd be interesting.

00:35:18.640 You know, he's already doing some stuff on the other side.

00:35:20.500 Yeah, he did.

00:35:20.960 He was with the Brooklyn Nets for a while.

00:35:23.280 Now, you know, he's really gotten befriended a craft.

00:35:28.060 I only can see it from a distance.

00:35:29.360 I don't know intimately in terms of doing things together.

00:35:34.620 So it's about coming together and pushing it forward.

00:35:38.620 It'll be interesting to see where this goes.

00:35:40.660 One of the things I like about Stephen A. is he will make the case for both sides, even if he disagrees with the sides.

00:35:49.020 Yeah, I agree.

00:35:50.260 I totally agree.

00:35:51.100 So I like that there's a voice like him out there to keep pushing everybody.

00:35:54.740 I think he's good for.

00:35:55.980 But we're all in the same boat.

00:35:57.180 We're all trying to get to the same, the finish line, but we're doing it different ways.

00:36:01.320 Exactly.

00:36:01.780 There is no right or wrong way.

00:36:03.060 Right.

00:36:03.520 Exactly.

00:36:04.020 So as long as people are seeing the progress taking place, it's good.

00:36:06.140 But, you know, one of the things I'm curious to ask you is, Kenny Smith, I don't know if you remember, Kenny Smith, NBA, one time the Miami Heat is playing against Indiana Pacers.

00:36:17.820 The Pacers are up a point and, you know, Coach Vogel takes out the center at the time, Hibbert.

00:36:29.220 If you remember Hibbert, tall, 7'2", 7'3", 7'4", guy.

00:36:32.900 He takes him out and everybody's saying, wait a minute, what are you doing here taking him out?

00:36:36.160 He's been playing a defense against LeBron.

00:36:39.120 He takes him out.

00:36:40.820 They pass the ball to LeBron, free throw.

00:36:42.460 So he turns around, goes, makes a layup with his left hand.

00:36:45.560 They win the game.

00:36:46.640 The game ends.

00:36:47.980 Okay.

00:36:48.540 Kenny Smith says the following.

00:36:49.900 I think you kind of know where I'm going with this.

00:36:52.180 Kenny Smith asks a question.

00:36:53.780 He asks this question.

00:36:54.580 He says, so everybody's like, well, you know, I hope they come back next year and I feel good about Indiana because of the direction they're going with Paul George and these guys are kind of coming together, et cetera, et cetera.

00:37:04.520 And Kenny said, I don't know if I agree.

00:37:06.620 I don't know if I agree.

00:37:07.440 He says, what do you mean?

00:37:08.200 He says, look, when Jordan retired, there was a two-year window to win a title and we pulled it off.

00:37:15.460 And Chuck didn't.

00:37:16.480 Obviously, those two years, Houston took it and he was part of the team and Chuck wasn't.

00:37:21.240 He says, I don't know if the NBA plays like that right now.

00:37:24.120 When you get your chance, you got to do it.

00:37:25.920 So let me go back.

00:37:26.600 You know where I'm going with this.

00:37:27.780 You're a Super Bowl.

00:37:28.860 Okay.

00:37:29.680 You guys make the comeback.

00:37:31.720 McNair is doing his part.

00:37:32.860 Good second half.

00:37:34.560 You're there.

00:37:35.520 I think you're on the 10-yard line, 9-yard line.

00:37:37.580 I don't know exactly where it was.

00:37:38.780 You're on the 10-yard line.

00:37:40.580 And you played a hell of a game.

00:37:42.580 I think you got 28 carries, if I'm correct, 95 yards.

00:37:46.600 You got two touchdowns.

00:37:48.600 You got 35 yards receiving zero fumbles.

00:37:52.780 You're having a good game.

00:37:53.880 Okay.

00:37:54.560 On the other side, Warner's throwing another 400-yard game in a Super Bowl.

00:37:58.080 He's the only guy that's throwing three 400-yard games in a Super Bowl.

00:38:00.500 It's an insane stat.

00:38:01.700 So then that play takes place.

00:38:03.280 They call it the longest yard, right?

00:38:05.240 Okay.

00:38:05.980 Similar thing happened with, what do you call it, with Marshawn Lynch, with Seattle,

00:38:11.220 was going up against New England, I believe.

00:38:13.680 But they were two-yard line.

00:38:14.960 You were on the 10-yard line.

00:38:16.460 Looking back, do you ever, everybody experiences loss.

00:38:20.040 Some of us is business.

00:38:21.120 Some of us is marriage.

00:38:22.100 Some of us is health.

00:38:22.940 Some of us is a mistake cost the life of somebody, a mistake somebody got into.

00:38:27.740 Everybody has something that they look at.

00:38:29.580 None of us are free of it.

00:38:30.540 It happens to be yours was a little bit more public than everybody else, and the ball wasn't

00:38:34.120 even in your hands, and Dyson still got nine yards on it.

00:38:37.380 Do you ever look at that and say, what if we ran a different play?

00:38:41.020 Do you ever process it that way for yourself?

00:38:43.220 No.

00:38:43.740 You don't?

00:38:44.300 At all.

00:38:44.800 No.

00:38:44.960 Got it.

00:38:45.860 Now, let me ask you, when you look at when Seattle went against New England, do you ever

00:38:50.420 look at it and say, that was two yards.

00:38:53.260 Why don't you give the ball to Marshawn Lynch?

00:38:55.620 And they had a timeout.

00:38:57.700 Yeah, and they couldn't stop him.

00:38:59.100 And it wasn't seven points.

00:39:00.300 You guys were seven points that you were behind.

00:39:03.240 I think yours was 23-2.

00:39:04.620 We would have tied the game, had an opportunity to tie the game with an extra point made.

00:39:13.840 I don't look at it, in terms of us, no.

00:39:16.640 I think we had the right call.

00:39:19.460 You had the right call.

00:39:20.740 We had the right call.

00:39:21.860 Kevin was supposed to take one more yard to sell it a little bit more.

00:39:27.440 But Mike Jones made one hell of a play and came underneath it and made the tackle.

00:39:32.400 And everybody still remembers Super Bowl XXXIV.

00:39:36.700 But in terms of Marshawn Lynch, I was a little perplexed by that call, given that, okay, on

00:39:46.640 the field, it says, yes, we should have thrown the football because they had the numbers in

00:39:53.560 the box.

00:39:54.460 They had single covers.

00:39:55.380 They had exactly what they were looking for.

00:39:57.940 And Malcolm Butler made a hell of a play.

00:40:00.240 But in terms of will, we go back to the position of the running back.

00:40:05.820 And you still got a timeout.

00:40:07.440 And you got beast mode back there.

00:40:10.160 I'm going to put my money on beast mode at the one-yard line with all the chips on the

00:40:14.600 line to get me my winning touchdown to solidify my second Super Bowl win.

00:40:22.600 That's what I'm going to put my money on.

00:40:23.940 But, you know, I believe his will to win will get me that win versus saying, okay, the numbers

00:40:31.180 suggest that we should go to the passing game based off of what we see out of this defensive

00:40:35.120 look.

00:40:35.940 So that's what I would have done.

00:40:37.640 But, you know, that's why I'm at home.

00:40:40.220 I'm coaching.

00:40:40.880 How do you, how does it for, like, game is over.

00:40:43.620 You go to the locker room.

00:40:44.740 Jeff, what is he telling you guys?

00:40:46.960 In that moment, what do you say to you guys?

00:40:48.120 Well, Ken, you can't say much.

00:40:49.420 Is it like a short conversation and you just kind of go, move on, and you let everybody go

00:40:53.700 home?

00:40:54.240 What is that conversation like?

00:40:55.740 It's really no conversation.

00:40:59.460 It's more of just being there to console one another and to embrace one another and to

00:41:09.180 say, man, I'm proud of you.

00:41:11.480 And to kind of decompress.

00:41:14.060 I mean, there's not much you can say.

00:41:15.520 We all knew what it was.

00:41:17.060 We all knew we fought hard.

00:41:18.760 We all knew we came in within one yard of holding up or possibly holding up a Lombardi

00:41:24.880 trophy.

00:41:27.040 But it wasn't anything that we could do anything about.

00:41:30.460 It's not like go win for the Gipper next year.

00:41:32.960 I think once the dust settled for me, I was ready to go back to work.

00:41:37.560 I was inspired.

00:41:39.060 You were inspired.

00:41:39.860 Oh, yeah.

00:41:40.440 And you had a hell of a season then.

00:41:41.660 You had 16 touchdowns.

00:41:42.600 You had 1,500 yards.

00:41:44.000 I think you got eight votes for MVP that year.

00:41:46.140 Well, that was the following year.

00:41:48.200 Oh, that was the following year.

00:41:48.620 2000.

00:41:49.340 So you came back after that.

00:41:50.860 Yeah, I came back after that.

00:41:51.500 Got it.

00:41:52.200 Yeah.

00:41:52.600 So it wasn't the best season you had the Super Bowl year.

00:41:54.900 No, no.

00:41:55.460 It was the following year.

00:41:56.640 So you came back determined to prove a point.

00:41:58.120 So I was determined to prove a point.

00:41:59.380 I love that.

00:41:59.640 We had the best record in the league.

00:42:00.800 13-3.

00:42:01.320 13-3.

00:42:02.160 And lost against Baltimore in the divisional round in Tennessee.

00:42:06.640 And that was a different story.

00:42:08.140 That was a different story.

00:42:09.220 Yeah, but...

00:42:09.640 But it's part of the game.

00:42:10.540 You know, and the reason why I ask this question is because in the business world, Eddie, if I tell

00:42:15.860 you a couple of the deals I've done where you're like, oh my gosh, how did this go?

00:42:20.280 How did I not see this?

00:42:21.400 What if we could have done this?

00:42:22.880 I think sometimes, you know, when it happens to some people, they think they're the only

00:42:28.280 person that goes through it.

00:42:29.640 Listen, man.

00:42:30.200 You're going to get your ass kicked on the football field.

00:42:33.800 You'll get your ass kicked in the field of business.

00:42:36.400 And I know what it is to get my ass kicked on the football field and in business.

00:42:41.660 We speak the same language.

00:42:42.860 Yeah.

00:42:43.320 You know?

00:42:43.640 I mean, when you went to Kellogg, how was that for you?

00:42:46.360 How was that experience?

00:42:46.960 Oh, man.

00:42:47.540 It was tough.

00:42:50.000 But I relished in the fact that I wanted to be comfortable in being uncomfortable.

00:42:56.620 Because that's the reason why I went was to learn about finance, to learn about different

00:43:02.040 business practices, to learn how I could take my business to the next level, you know, from

00:43:08.160 being a hundred thousand, a couple hundred thousand to a million, a million to billions,

00:43:13.140 you know, to realize that, hell, you know what, maybe this core business is not really

00:43:18.820 what I need to do.

00:43:19.840 Maybe to do a pivot and do something else, something that really supports my network, my

00:43:25.720 knowledge, the things I have access to, and will we build an enterprise?

00:43:30.580 And that was a very tough situation because it was some things I just didn't know.

00:43:38.080 I had to take accounting classes.

00:43:40.820 I had to take finance classes before I even went to Kellogg.

00:43:43.840 I had to go to Belmont University.

00:43:45.680 Before you went to Kellogg.

00:43:46.640 Before I went to Kellogg to prove that I could handle the load.

00:43:49.920 And here's coming from a guy where you were kind of, you were earlier embarrassed to tell

00:43:53.780 your SAT score.

00:43:54.620 Yes.

00:43:54.940 And you're going to Kellogg.

00:43:55.860 Going to Kellogg.

00:43:56.820 Exactly.

00:43:57.500 So it was purely an effort thing back in the days versus then you put the effort?

00:44:00.680 It was all effort, man.

00:44:01.780 Isn't that amazing?

00:44:02.760 Yeah.

00:44:03.040 I tell my son like that all the time.

00:44:05.020 Some school comes easy to most.

00:44:07.040 Yeah.

00:44:07.660 But I was a grinder.

00:44:09.460 And I didn't want to grind back then on the education side.

00:44:11.980 But I realized that for me to have more opportunities and really for me to grow and become the businessman

00:44:20.180 that I wanted to reach my full potential, this is what I needed to go through.

00:44:23.960 Some people are different.

00:44:24.920 Hov is, he didn't have to, his NBA was in the streets.

00:44:28.440 His NBA was in rap and the rap game and records and all of that.

00:44:34.440 And that's how he became the billionaire that he is.

00:44:38.420 My road is a little different.

00:44:39.960 I got to go to school.

00:44:41.300 There's some things I got to learn.

00:44:42.780 Was it constant case studies at Kellogg?

00:44:44.540 Oh, I loved it.

00:44:44.940 Case study after case study after case study.

00:44:46.720 Loved it.

00:44:47.200 Loved it.

00:44:47.420 I still love it.

00:44:48.280 Yeah, those are the best.

00:44:48.940 When you have a chance to get a case study, I'm a nerd like that.

00:44:52.980 You get the paper, you kind of go through it.

00:44:55.060 So you enjoy the case studies.

00:44:56.780 Yeah, you get the case study, then you take out the numbers.

00:44:59.740 If it's a finance case study, you extract the numbers.

00:45:02.100 You look at it.

00:45:02.680 It says, what could they have done differently here?

00:45:04.580 Were they losing money?

00:45:05.760 You look at the contracts.

00:45:06.980 You get the minutia of it.

00:45:09.420 And that's where the learning happens.

00:45:11.400 And then you have some guy that's from India who's in the banking industry or in banking or finance or engineer or whatever.

00:45:22.460 And they talk about that same issue that they had and how they solved it.

00:45:26.780 You know, or didn't solve it.

00:45:29.080 And it's like, wow, this is really good stuff.

00:45:32.120 And then the real part of the education is afterwards when you go out into the hallways and you eat together and you're talking, you build relationships and you create synergies.

00:45:41.920 You're talking about ideas and you're putting projects together.

00:45:44.920 So that to me was a priceless experience that I paid for out of my pocket.

00:45:51.380 And how old were you when you went to that?

00:45:53.040 I was 34, 34, 35.

00:45:58.600 This is post.

00:45:59.200 So you're going to acting school and you're going to Kellogg.

00:46:01.200 Oh, yeah.

00:46:01.560 I was doing the simultaneously.

00:46:02.520 Listen, man.

00:46:03.240 So you're nonstop.

00:46:04.540 This was both.

00:46:05.680 I was, listen, my schedule.

00:46:07.460 That's impressive, Eddie.

00:46:08.380 I mean, I thought Kellogg was post-post, like recent.

00:46:12.380 No, no.

00:46:12.940 I graduated in 2009.

00:46:15.060 Yeah, yeah.

00:46:15.660 So when you left the NFL and you're doing acting for you, you said 10 years, you did a couple years?

00:46:20.140 I was acting during the week.

00:46:21.620 Yeah.

00:46:23.020 Commentating on the weekends.

00:46:25.280 Flying from L.A.

00:46:27.060 Going from Nashville to L.A.

00:46:28.760 L.A. to Chicago.

00:46:30.100 Back to Nashville.

00:46:31.460 My wife was on the show Survivor, so she's gone.

00:46:35.020 My son is three years old at that particular time, my youngest.

00:46:39.480 So it's a lot.

00:46:41.020 My family is, I was all over the place, man, trying to figure it out and have a career and

00:46:47.640 commentating.

00:46:48.420 Maybe I spread myself too thin as well.

00:46:49.960 I'm not on TV anymore with that.

00:46:52.160 But, you know, it was a wonderful experience to do it because now I'm expanding by consolidating,

00:46:59.680 you know, in terms of.

00:47:00.280 Expanding by consolidating.

00:47:01.680 Yes.

00:47:02.280 Absolutely.

00:47:02.720 So, but why acting?

00:47:04.800 Like, was it, when you were a kid, you were looking at, you know, actors?

00:47:09.240 Well, I was commentating and I wanted to be, part of the reason I wanted to be a commentator,

00:47:14.300 a better commentator, and I felt like acting was a way for me to do that.

00:47:19.400 But acting is not therapy, it's therapeutic, it's cathartic.

00:47:25.740 So at that particular time when I left the game of football, there was a lot of emotions.

00:47:30.080 Tell me what you mean by that.

00:47:30.960 There were, it was a dark period for me in terms of who I was, what I was going to do

00:47:37.420 next, and how I was going to get there.

00:47:39.380 Really figuring out what the hell I was going to do next.

00:47:41.160 Eddie, is this a part of where kind of like a, you know, a buddy of mine gets out of the

00:47:45.720 military and he says, dude, I have no idea what the hell to do.

00:47:48.620 I'm going from military to civilian.

00:47:50.800 I'm lost.

00:47:51.760 He was going through depression.

00:47:53.040 He was going through anxiety.

00:47:54.180 He didn't know how to make the adjustment.

00:47:55.980 He's like, I have no idea what the hell to do.

00:47:57.720 And he was in his thirties as well.

00:47:59.300 Is it similar to go from that world?

00:48:01.900 It's exactly that.

00:48:03.680 To go from preparing to play in front of thousands and thousands of people, 60,000, 40,000, 100,000

00:48:10.720 fans every week and chanting your name or booing against you, to now silence in your house,

00:48:18.240 with your wife, your kids, seeing her every day.

00:48:22.900 She's used to you being gone.

00:48:25.140 That's a whole new dynamic on the relationship now.

00:48:28.560 So how do you, who are you and what's going to bring you peace?

00:48:33.300 So I want to go back to the things that bought me peace.

00:48:36.760 Clubs, you know, hanging out late, those things, playing cards, gambling, traveling.

00:48:44.900 That was all a part of who I was.

00:48:48.380 So long story short, I had to really seek out, I went to counseling for that to help

00:48:57.360 me say, okay, I need some help here.

00:48:59.940 What's going on?

00:49:01.100 How do I address this?

00:49:02.400 There's no book written on it.

00:49:04.120 There's no resources really about it.

00:49:06.060 Up at that particular time, 2005, now the NFL has people you can call on and counseling

00:49:12.740 sessions that you can go to, which is phenomenal.

00:49:14.860 And I recommend that for anybody coming out of professional sports to say, okay, this

00:49:21.500 is what I have.

00:49:22.340 This is what I've done.

00:49:23.300 What do I do with this next?

00:49:25.000 I have money.

00:49:26.160 I have some notoriety.

00:49:27.800 But where's my passion at now?

00:49:29.840 Where's my next playing field?

00:49:31.500 Is it in business?

00:49:32.400 Is it in the commentating?

00:49:33.360 Is it in my philanthropic efforts?

00:49:36.500 Where is it?

00:49:37.920 So I had to go through all that and I continue to go through that.

00:49:42.060 I continue to go to counseling.

00:49:43.800 I continue to seek therapy.

00:49:45.660 How long was that?

00:49:46.500 How long?

00:49:46.720 Oh, it's never ending.

00:49:47.860 It's not five sessions and I'm good.

00:49:49.620 You know, I check in every so often, you know, it's still, it's no point with that.

00:49:53.380 But back to your original question was why acting?

00:49:56.460 That's why acting.

00:49:57.340 Because I was able to take a lot of those feelings that I talked about and filter that through

00:50:04.040 the voice of a character, filter that out through my writing.

00:50:08.540 And the process of acting is telling the truth in imaginary circumstances.

00:50:15.340 It's stripping away all the bullshit, all the personalities of the football player, the celebrity, the athlete, the superstar, the dad,

00:50:28.460 and get to the core of who I am and be able to say, okay, here's a part.

00:50:36.000 Let me tell the truth through this part and bring healing and light in that regard.

00:50:40.560 So I'm taking what I had and using it for good so it doesn't destroy me.

00:50:46.160 Who were your teachers, by the way, when you were going through it?

00:50:48.280 It was Anna Maria Franzella, who, God bless her soul, is no longer with us.

00:50:53.180 She died about two years ago.

00:50:55.260 Jeff Obafami Carr, currently working with a guy named Robert Kiefer and Stella Reed in Nashville, Tennessee.

00:51:03.980 As my acting coaches, voice coaches, I'm doing all of it.

00:51:08.380 Because, you know, again, the whole idea and the exercises of acting is just telling stories.

00:51:18.260 It's telling your story and being a great communicator in that.

00:51:22.060 So it doesn't matter what form it is.

00:51:23.840 It can be a podcast.

00:51:25.180 I can be on the boards of a stage.

00:51:26.640 I can be in front of a camera.

00:51:28.180 I can, you know, be on a desk at ESPN commentating.

00:51:34.440 It supports all of that.

00:51:36.020 It's the training of it.

00:51:37.140 So you can get to the core of your truth and tell that in an honest way.

00:51:43.340 Not filter it or act it out or premeditate certain situations.

00:51:46.720 Be really honest in the moment.

00:51:48.740 And be in the moment.

00:51:49.940 Was there any advice that you got?

00:51:53.140 You know, your acting is reacting, all this stuff that you hear about.

00:51:56.020 You know, and, you know, try to say I love you in 50 different ways.

00:52:00.800 I love you, I love you, I love you.

00:52:02.660 You know, all these other.

00:52:03.520 Is there anything that stuck with you in acting?

00:52:06.920 Where it was like these three advice that I got was the best thing I heard from somebody.

00:52:10.780 Anything that stays with you.

00:52:12.320 Three words.

00:52:13.600 Tell the truth.

00:52:14.280 If you can find the truth in the material of the character and be honest with the truth of that within yourself, let's tell the truth.

00:52:23.780 Inflection, voice inflection, pitch, pace, the powerful pause, voice, all of that.

00:52:33.240 But that supports the truth.

00:52:36.780 If you're getting the technique, then you're a technician.

00:52:40.780 But if you're a truth teller and you work on the components of the voice, the pitch, all of that to help you tell the truth, then it'll be expressed that way.

00:52:50.540 But always get to the core of telling the truth and be honest and open about it.

00:52:54.460 Be vulnerable.

00:52:54.920 Like, the characters that scare me the most are the ones that have to be vulnerable.

00:53:01.520 I mean, really emotionally vulnerable.

00:53:05.060 I played some different characters that I had to go there and I had to be honest with it.

00:53:11.200 You know, like, well, on this line I'm going to cry here.

00:53:15.380 You know what I'm saying?

00:53:16.320 Nah, it don't work that way.

00:53:17.920 It don't work that way.

00:53:18.680 Nah.

00:53:19.340 I could be delivering a monologue.

00:53:22.840 And it was one night I just did Top Dog, Underdog this past year.

00:53:26.300 And it was this one scene where I'm talking about why they leave us.

00:53:34.120 These two brothers, both parents left them, and they were fending for themselves as teenagers.

00:53:38.440 And they have this dysfunctional relationship.

00:53:40.520 And they live in this apartment together.

00:53:42.040 And he comes in, my character comes in drunk, just lost his job.

00:53:47.280 And the brother set up this table, and he's having his girlfriend come over.

00:53:52.880 And he's really decked out the apartment and so forth.

00:53:55.760 He has the family album out.

00:53:57.480 And I'm going around the room looking at the different stuff.

00:54:01.140 There's the blind and the glasses.

00:54:02.820 I pick up the family album, scope it through.

00:54:04.620 And I'm talking about the good old days.

00:54:05.920 And I finally get to a point where, why'd they leave us?

00:54:10.920 And then, as I'm saying this monologue, talking about the food on the table and this and that,

00:54:18.340 I started having images of my own life and my father not being there in my life.

00:54:23.080 And I got so emotional in that, that it choked me up to the point where I forgot my lines.

00:54:29.200 And I forgot where I was.

00:54:31.360 Because that's the beauty of theater.

00:54:33.780 And to the audience, it resonated as, I guess, a real moment.

00:54:39.520 For me, it was like, oh, shit, I don't know my lines, but I'm really honest here.

00:54:44.960 Am I wide open?

00:54:46.680 You see what I'm saying?

00:54:47.360 Of course.

00:54:48.060 So that's, and it was a healing moment for me because that was suppressed probably in me,

00:54:52.860 and I really didn't realize it.

00:54:54.040 So that's why I love acting.

00:54:56.740 So do you think acting is somewhat therapeutic?

00:55:01.120 It's therapeutic, but it's not therapy.

00:55:03.780 There's a difference.

00:55:05.700 I think it allows you to rid yourself of potentially things that can be toxic to you in terms of your thinking,

00:55:16.040 emotions, experiences, traumatic experiences that are packed down and that can affect you at any point in time.

00:55:25.960 It can come up in your physical life.

00:55:27.460 It can come up in your emotional life.

00:55:28.720 It can affect your spiritual life.

00:55:31.040 It can really affect the way you think, the way you hope, your faith, and all of that.

00:55:35.920 So I seek to be clear on a lot of levels.

00:55:40.320 And, again, it's not about going to one or two lessons or five lessons in 12 steps.

00:55:46.460 It's a lifelong journey.

00:55:48.200 You know what I mean?

00:55:48.800 That's interesting.

00:55:49.440 Yeah.

00:55:49.840 Very cool.

00:55:50.260 So I'm a movie guy, and I love watching, you know, guys acting, how they get into their part.

00:55:55.880 Like, oh, my gosh, that was sick.

00:55:57.160 Yeah.

00:55:57.400 For you, is there anybody that's an aspiration?

00:55:59.480 You know, somebody you look up to and say, this guy's acting is incredible.

00:56:02.300 Oh, there's several.

00:56:03.620 Viola Davis.

00:56:05.120 Denzel is Denzel.

00:56:07.200 He's just a beast.

00:56:08.160 But Viola Davis brings just this powerful, this quiet character where she is acting without talking in her body language, in her face, what she does with her hands.

00:56:30.620 It's just so brilliant and moving and such a joy to watch, watch it unfold live.

00:56:41.120 Samuel L. Jackson, you know, I'm looking at a master class on him.

00:56:44.880 You know, when I'm not acting on stage, I'm studying.

00:56:47.380 What did you take away from it?

00:56:48.680 I mean, I didn't take the class, but what did you take away from it?

00:56:50.700 Well, the process.

00:56:52.800 You know, he talks about character.

00:56:54.940 He talks about backstory, the importance of doing your homework, you know, knowing who the character is, where he's coming from, what he wants, how he's going to get it, and what he's going to do when he gets it.

00:57:08.660 You know, he talks about the physicality of different characters.

00:57:14.100 So you have a broken leg or you have a deficiency.

00:57:18.600 How do you feel about that deficiency?

00:57:20.160 Or how else, if you're handicapped, how else are you strong?

00:57:24.440 Or are you stronger mentally?

00:57:26.160 You know, Richard III, to me, had an opportunity to do a reading of that.

00:57:31.720 That's a role that I want to play because he's twisted in his mind.

00:57:37.300 You know, he can't do anything physically, but in terms of being a mastermind.

00:57:42.800 But Richard is just a wonderful character I would love to explore because on the surface it appears that he's evil.

00:57:50.800 But underneath all that evil there is a purpose, there's a reason why he thinks, he thinks, and it's justified why he's doing what he's doing.

00:57:59.140 And there's a human being that you can fall in love with.

00:58:02.160 So that's the challenge that I see with Richard.

00:58:04.400 But all of that, he just talks about the importance of going to your backstory and writing out that backstory, even if one is not provided for you.

00:58:13.100 Yeah.

00:58:13.780 Yeah.

00:58:14.060 I mean, this guy right here, Heath Ledger, man.

00:58:16.080 I mean, he's…

00:58:16.720 One of the greats, man.

00:58:17.600 Oh, my gosh.

00:58:18.520 God bless his soul.

00:58:20.040 Do you remember what Jack Nicholson told him that he said, the advice he gave, never play Joker?

00:58:26.380 Because that part completely messes with your mind the deeper you get into it?

00:58:30.760 Did you ever hear about that story?

00:58:31.880 I heard about that.

00:58:32.280 Yeah.

00:58:32.440 It's no bullshit, man.

00:58:34.440 That's what I'm saying.

00:58:35.080 You play these dark roles, you know.

00:58:36.780 You got to really…

00:58:37.640 Listen, man.

00:58:38.620 You think it's all fun and games.

00:58:40.400 Oh, he's only acting.

00:58:41.460 He's just acting.

00:58:43.100 Nah.

00:58:43.620 I mean, the real dudes, like, Heath Ledger, and you take on that stuff.

00:58:48.920 Yeah.

00:58:49.780 And, you know, the power is in the tongue.

00:58:54.940 What you speak will come to life, whether it's good or bad.

00:58:57.800 That's the part about taking some of these roles.

00:58:59.620 Exactly. So you have to have a process, like, okay, if I'm doing this, I need to be protected

00:59:06.600 spiritually, emotionally, physically.

00:59:08.580 It needs to be a process.

00:59:09.560 Okay, once I come out of this role, what is going to be now my process to get up out

00:59:15.120 of this role in a healthy way?

00:59:17.660 Not through…

00:59:18.360 To come out of this role.

00:59:19.480 To come out of that consciousness, that thought process.

00:59:23.700 Isn't it, you know, acting where some stay, like Daniel Day-Lewis, he doesn't come out.

00:59:28.980 Jared Little, you know, he stays.

00:59:30.620 Yeah.

00:59:30.980 And they stay, and then some go in and come out.

00:59:33.300 So there was no, to me, there's no written book on it.

00:59:36.180 It's your process and what's healthy for you.

00:59:41.560 There are times when I've done plays where I'm dreaming about the words because I'm so

00:59:47.380 immersed in it.

00:59:48.180 And if it's dark, you know, it can affect you in that way.

00:59:52.700 So you've got to have something to come back to ground you, whether it's a crystal or incense

00:59:58.320 or your pictures of your family to say, oh, this is me.

01:00:00.980 I'm Eddie.

01:00:01.420 I'm not Richard III.

01:00:02.380 This is Eddie.

01:00:03.020 I'm not Richard, you know.

01:00:04.380 So it's…

01:00:05.580 Do they teach you that in acting school?

01:00:07.080 Do they teach you, like, some of the roles you've got to come back?

01:00:08.880 My acting coach would strongly suggest that, have something to keep you grounded.

01:00:15.400 So I'll tell you a funny story here.

01:00:17.280 Maybe it's not a funny story.

01:00:18.440 Aaron Spicer, I don't know if you know Aaron Spicer.

01:00:21.000 He's the acting coach to Will Smith, J-Lo, and a lot of these guys.

01:00:25.060 I'm living in L.A., 20-some years, right?

01:00:27.660 My wife gets me a gift to meet with Aaron Spicer.

01:00:31.160 So I got you a session.

01:00:32.260 You're going to go meet with Aaron Spicer.

01:00:33.500 I said, okay, that's a nice gift, right?

01:00:34.800 So I go, and she says, I'm going to go with you.

01:00:37.460 So I go, and I said, look, I've always been curious about acting.

01:00:39.660 I'm curious about what he's going to say.

01:00:41.360 And he asked me this question.

01:00:42.780 He says, you sure you want to possibly pursue acting?

01:00:45.240 I said, you know, I'm just curious.

01:00:46.100 I want to learn more about it.

01:00:47.160 I've always, you know, as a kid, I would do videos, and we would act and do all this stuff.

01:00:52.580 He said, how well do you do with downtime?

01:00:55.820 I said, what do you mean by that?

01:00:57.080 He says, how well does he do with downtime?

01:01:02.540 He says, not good.

01:01:03.740 He said, he's terrible with downtime.

01:01:05.120 He says, it may not be for you.

01:01:07.060 I said, tell me more.

01:01:07.880 He says, because in that world, there's a lot of downtime.

01:01:11.340 It's different if you're paying to fund the movies, but the downtime part of it to keep

01:01:16.100 your sanity together, you lose it.

01:01:18.740 So if you can't control downtime, you may not want to pursue this career as an actor.

01:01:25.040 How do you handle downtime for yourself now that you don't have, you know, when you're NFL,

01:01:29.900 you're eight, nine months out of the year, you're training, you're all this stuff.

01:01:32.340 How are you handling downtime?

01:01:33.620 Downtime for me is kind of full-time, because there's the entrepreneurial side of it.

01:01:39.780 You know, there's the entertainment, entrepreneurship, and education.

01:01:44.380 Those are the three buckets that I operate on, my three E's.

01:01:47.880 Entrepreneurship.

01:01:48.920 Education.

01:01:49.340 Education, entertainment.

01:01:50.300 Entertainment.

01:01:50.720 Got it.

01:01:51.100 So we cover the entertainment part.

01:01:52.300 So when I'm out on stage, I'm developing my business, which is my wealth management business,

01:01:58.780 where I've got my Series 7, 66.

01:02:01.840 Eddie, you got your Series 7?

01:02:02.940 Oh, yeah.

01:02:03.580 Seriously?

01:02:04.160 I've been in the business for three years.

01:02:05.780 Get out of here.

01:02:06.340 Yeah.

01:02:06.580 Who are you with?

01:02:07.440 The First Financial Equity Corp.

01:02:08.960 That's my broker-dealer.

01:02:10.500 I'm doing business as the Edward George Wealth Management Group.

01:02:13.580 Very familiar with them.

01:02:14.540 I start off with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

01:02:16.100 No, not Edward Jones.

01:02:17.480 Not Edward Jones.

01:02:18.140 Edward George.

01:02:19.020 That's my name.

01:02:19.600 Edward George.

01:02:20.280 Yeah.

01:02:20.440 Is it Edward Jones?

01:02:21.920 Yeah.

01:02:22.260 Edward George Wealth Management Group.

01:02:24.200 I like that.

01:02:25.040 Okay.

01:02:25.780 So you're 7, 66?

01:02:29.000 Health, life.

01:02:30.160 Yep.

01:02:30.960 Fully licensed and been doing it for going on three and a half years now.

01:02:35.480 Who do you target?

01:02:36.380 Is it a lot of NFL players or is it everybody?

01:02:38.640 No.

01:02:39.000 I'm wide open.

01:02:39.920 I'm doing corporations, high net worth individuals.

01:02:44.160 Eyelids.

01:02:44.600 Are you doing eyelids?

01:02:45.540 You know, individual living trust where you're setting up with the policies, the insurance

01:02:49.940 policies.

01:02:49.960 Yeah, we can do insurance policies and so forth.

01:02:52.140 But mainly just doing the equity side of it.

01:02:56.460 How'd you get into that?

01:02:57.300 What made you want to go into that?

01:02:58.820 Well, after my commentary.

01:03:02.840 By the way, does anybody know this?

01:03:04.580 Is this a pretty public info or no?

01:03:06.120 I have a website and everything.

01:03:08.100 But are you promoting it that you're doing wealth management or not?

01:03:10.580 Yeah, I have.

01:03:11.860 Yeah.

01:03:12.080 So, I mean, I've been doing it simultaneously with my acting.

01:03:15.420 When I'm out on stage, I was studying for my Series 7.

01:03:19.060 How are you prospecting for clients?

01:03:23.020 What's your approach?

01:03:23.900 Well, my-

01:03:24.240 Especially somebody with your level.

01:03:26.300 You know, your Eddie George, NFL, football.

01:03:28.820 My approach is through the education piece.

01:03:32.020 My approach, I've been teaching at Ohio State the business of professional sports over the

01:03:36.000 last five years.

01:03:37.100 And it's talking about my experiences using my network of people from agents, financial

01:03:43.360 advisors that make up their business.

01:03:45.480 And we talk about the makeup of the business.

01:03:47.100 So, kids will understand what life is like as an NFL player or NBA player.

01:03:53.020 That what you see on television is $100 million is really not $100 million.

01:03:58.820 And we break it down through case study method.

01:04:02.160 Okay?

01:04:02.520 Got it.

01:04:02.940 And you're doing this with collegiate athletes?

01:04:05.200 I'm doing it with students.

01:04:08.260 It's not just collegiate athletes.

01:04:09.480 I've done it.

01:04:09.920 I've done it with a school this past year, just the athletes.

01:04:15.380 But mainly, that's how I want to be able to educate to build my credibility within that

01:04:22.340 industry.

01:04:23.080 I already have some clients that I'm working with.

01:04:25.760 But I'm not just targeting athletes.

01:04:27.760 I'm targeting any individual that needs help in that area.

01:04:31.980 You know, I'm more about the relationship of how, what can I do for you?

01:04:37.960 How can I be of service to you?

01:04:39.500 Because I'm not going to get everybody.

01:04:41.020 Are you teaming up with somebody?

01:04:42.460 Oh, yeah.

01:04:42.960 It's not just me.

01:04:44.080 I'm not sitting at a desk trading all day.

01:04:47.240 I got it.

01:04:47.880 Let's be clear.

01:04:48.420 So, you bring it in.

01:04:49.460 Somebody writes it as split.

01:04:50.880 Maybe we control the money under management.

01:04:53.340 So, there's a team that you've got.

01:04:54.660 There's a team.

01:04:54.980 I have two other partners that I work with.

01:04:57.080 So, let me clarify that.

01:04:58.640 So, it's just not me, you know, saying, oh, let me be a financial advisor today.

01:05:03.060 No, it's very thoughtful and thought out.

01:05:05.540 I've teamed up with my personal financial advisor for well over 20 years, Mr. Greg Eastman, based on...

01:05:11.900 No better way of doing it.

01:05:12.920 If you know somebody 20 years, you trust them.

01:05:14.680 Exactly.

01:05:14.720 That's a good partner.

01:05:15.180 And that's a great partner for me.

01:05:16.880 So, it gives me the flexibility to do when I'm...

01:05:22.300 The right projects on stage or in film.

01:05:25.240 And I can carry my business everywhere with me and where I go.

01:05:29.020 My laptop, my car.

01:05:29.780 This is so impressive, Eddie.

01:05:31.140 I mean, hey, it's...

01:05:33.220 And, hey, we can create synergies.

01:05:35.140 We can do it.

01:05:35.880 Because...

01:05:36.240 How many other guys you know that are doing Series 7?

01:05:37.960 Like, how many NFL guys...

01:05:38.940 I know Antoine Walker and I sat down and he was doing a partnership with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter to go talk to the athletes to help him out.

01:05:47.700 Because, you know, the whole $110 million that he lost and he's talking about it openly.

01:05:51.280 So, he has a different approach.

01:05:52.480 But he's not 7 going out there.

01:05:54.460 My thing is, I just didn't want to be a face of anything.

01:05:59.200 You get a lot of these companies out here that will offer you, hey, hey, you don't have to do all...

01:06:03.720 Don't do all the work.

01:06:05.340 You don't have to do much.

01:06:06.220 You know, all we want you to do is just go say, this is a great opportunity.

01:06:13.360 Talk to this guy and we'll give you a check or $500 or $1,000, whatever that is, for a referral fee.

01:06:23.840 Why get that when I can get a piece of the pie?

01:06:27.240 Good for you.

01:06:27.920 And compound over time.

01:06:29.400 No doubt about it.

01:06:30.320 When all I have to do is sit my ass down and get a study for an exam.

01:06:36.200 A six and a half hour exam.

01:06:37.580 Six and a half hour exam.

01:06:38.920 Which is a beast.

01:06:40.380 It's a bear.

01:06:41.740 Took it twice.

01:06:43.440 You know what I mean?

01:06:44.460 Of course.

01:06:44.860 So, I passed the burning sands of that.

01:06:49.700 So now, I want to get rewarded for a lifetime versus being an endorser or something.

01:06:57.140 That's cool for some, but if I seek the real ownership and if I really want to do this, then I'm going to do it.

01:07:04.500 And I've done just that, both as an athlete, as an actor, and now as a wealth manager.

01:07:12.760 You're a renaissance man, Eddie.

01:07:14.620 I mean, listen, man.

01:07:15.460 You can label it that.

01:07:17.000 I just call it.

01:07:17.520 Your business card's got to say, Eddie George, renaissance man.

01:07:20.460 I mean, are you kidding me?

01:07:21.600 All the different things you're talking about.

01:07:23.020 Yeah.

01:07:23.560 That's a wide range.

01:07:24.620 And then, you know, Taj, SWV, you know, I was playing her music.

01:07:30.820 Where are you really?

01:07:31.420 What song?

01:07:31.940 What song?

01:07:32.240 She is weak, I get weak in the legs, but then there's one, it wasn't one of them in, what was that one movie?

01:07:37.960 She was in, was she in Boys in the Hood?

01:07:39.680 Anything.

01:07:40.260 No, Boys in the Hood was Above the Rim.

01:07:41.900 Above the Rim.

01:07:42.620 Yeah, Above the Rim, which was, when it came out, it was a good movie.

01:07:46.000 She was in Above the Rim as well, I think the music was in Above the Rim with, was it White?

01:07:50.960 No, Wu-Tang was the one song she did with Wu-Tang was in the song.

01:07:56.640 Anything, yeah.

01:07:56.900 Yeah, I think it's Anything, yeah.

01:07:58.460 So, what's next for you, man?

01:07:59.760 What are some projects you're working on right now?

01:08:01.440 Right now, I'm obviously working on the wealth manager side, still prospecting clients, building

01:08:10.900 relationships.

01:08:11.480 I have my jersey retirement, they retire my jersey, September the 15th, opening game, home opener against the Indianapolis Colts, myself and Steve McNair.

01:08:24.200 And that week, we have a bunch of events.

01:08:27.000 One event is going to be on the 12th with myself and a former enemy of mine, Mr. Ray Lewis, called Cocktails, Conversations and Cigars, where, you know, Ray and I have a very unique relationship.

01:08:42.840 We go way back to 1996, we both came out of college, our friendship started there, became frenemies while we played because we had such awesome but painful wars.

01:08:55.560 He's clearly, you know, he's clearly, you know, one of the top five players to ever play football, ever, because of...

01:09:05.020 Ever?

01:09:06.020 Ever.

01:09:07.020 You're not even saying position.

01:09:08.500 No, no, no, no, he transcends that, because he was a quarterback on the field.

01:09:14.800 And I've seen him do things on the field, you're like, oh my God, on film, you know.

01:09:20.880 This team, I segue a little bit, I gotta talk about it.

01:09:24.320 But his teams, his teams early in his career were so bad, they were a laughing joke.

01:09:31.020 But you will always see 52 around the football, regardless.

01:09:37.940 There was this one play where this running back ran like 60 yards downfield.

01:09:44.220 They're already losing like by three touchdowns Baltimore.

01:09:48.620 He runs his ass down on the sideline and catches him on an angle.

01:09:53.240 And this guy's got speed.

01:09:55.360 I can't remember the running back's name.

01:09:58.380 So, there's no quitting him, there was none of that.

01:10:01.580 So, you're dealing with the alpha male in that.

01:10:04.460 And we've developed a strong relationship.

01:10:06.400 So, we're going to talk about our war stories, playing football.

01:10:09.800 But we're going to talk about what we're doing now.

01:10:12.000 Ray has a lot of different interests.

01:10:14.740 He has a huge heart.

01:10:16.800 He's a giving man.

01:10:19.020 He has the entrepreneurial spirit.

01:10:21.300 And we're going to talk about some of the things that we're going to collaborate on.

01:10:25.260 Some things that we're doing individually.

01:10:27.880 And really try to enlighten, entertain, and educate the audience.

01:10:33.000 And hopefully, we can make this into something that you can see on television or do around the country for different speaking engagements.

01:10:41.300 Different corporations, you know, in terms of leadership.

01:10:44.060 There's some great things that we can bring to the table in terms of leadership for businessmen.

01:10:49.240 You guys are thinking about taking it that route.

01:10:51.360 Absolutely.

01:10:51.760 I fully see that taking place.

01:10:53.540 Of course.

01:10:53.980 Why not?

01:10:54.380 And this is just one that we're going to do in the celebratory environment of my jersey getting retired.

01:11:01.280 That's incredible, man.

01:11:02.360 I'm excited for you, man.

01:11:03.300 I'm excited when we get the news and ESPN or Stephen A or somebody announces it.

01:11:09.100 And I'm going to say, we talked about this, man, when, you know, we said you belong in the Hall of Fame.

01:11:14.400 I appreciate it.

01:11:15.020 Eddie, I got to tell you, man, it felt like five minutes.

01:11:17.400 I'm getting signals because I know you got to get to your flight as well.

01:11:19.880 I appreciate you flying out here to Dallas.

01:11:21.420 Hey, man, let's do it again, man.

01:11:22.560 Let's do a part two of this.

01:11:23.980 I'm definitely looking forward to it.

01:11:25.000 Thanks for coming out.

01:11:25.900 Absolutely.

01:11:26.280 Thanks for having me.

01:11:26.660 Appreciate you.

01:11:27.040 All right.

01:11:27.220 Thanks, everybody, for listening.

01:11:28.700 And by the way, if you haven't already subscribed to Valuetainment on iTunes, please do so.

01:11:33.320 Give us a five-star.

01:11:34.720 Write a review if you haven't already.

01:11:36.200 And if you have any questions for me that you may have, you can always find me on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.

01:11:42.100 Just search my name, PatrickVidDavid, and I actually do respond back when you snap me or send me a message on Instagram.

01:11:49.140 With that being said, have a great day today.

01:11:50.880 Take care, everybody.

01:11:51.600 Bye-bye.

01:11:57.220 Bye-bye.

Valuetainment - October 16, 2019

Episode 380： Heisman Winner Eddie George Sits Down with Patrick Bet-David

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