Club Shay Shay - Edgerrin James

Episode Date: April 4, 2022

Shannon welcomes in NFL Hall-of-Famer, 1999 Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the Colts all-time leading rusher in attempted yards and touchdowns, "Mr. Do-It-All": Edgerrin James.Listen & subscribe to more FOX Sports podcasts: http://sprtspod.fox/applepodcasts#DoSomethinB4TwoSomethin & Follow Club Shay Shay:                                                                 https://www.instagram.com/clubshayshayhttps://twitter.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.facebook.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.youtube.com/c/clubshayshay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Renee Stubbs, and I'm obsessed with sports, especially tennis. Tune into my podcast each week to hear me and my friends in the community

break down the latest matches, including the US Open. Plus hear from some of the biggest names in the sport about what the future holds. It's about belief. And once you break through that, then you know you can win a Grand Slam. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcast every Monday on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Everybody I ever talk to say you cheap. It ain't cheap, I'm smart, but they usually be the ones that say you cheap. It ain't cheap. I'm smart, but they usually be the ones that say you're cheap. They ain't got no money. All my life, been grindin' all my life Sacrifice, hustle paid the price Want a slice, got to roll a dice

That's why, all my life, I've been grindin' all my life Hello, welcome to another edition of Club Che Che. I am your host, Shannon Sharp, also the proprietor of Club Che Che. And the guy that's stopping by for drinks and conversation today is an NFL Hall of Famer. He's a four-time Pro Bowl offensive rookie of the year in 1999. Led the league in rushing two consecutive years,

1999 and 2000. 2000 all decade. Indianapolis Colts Hall of Famer. And he's the Colts all-time leading rusher in attempts, yards, and touchdowns.

Mr. Do-It-All, The Edge, Edrin James. Hey, what's up, man? I'm good. You know I'm good always. You always good? Always good. I've never not seen you with a smile on your face. Hey, what's up, man? I'm good. You know I'm good always. You always good? Always good.

I've never not seen you with a smile on your face. Damn, you that happy all the time? Life must be really good. I mean, when you overcome what we can overcome, man, it's got to be good. It's got to be good. Yeah. Thanks for stopping by today. Let's go back because I thought you had a very, your Hall of Fame speech.

Congratulations on making that. Yeah, I appreciate it. I think you, what, 354? 336. 336. Yeah. 336. There have been over 25,000 men that's played, coached, managed in the NFL. 7 billion people in the world.

Only 354 men can say they got a gold jacket. How does that make Adrian James feel? Oh, man, it make all the work that you put in make it even worth it. I mean, that's what really stands out. When you see all the work you put in, you see all the people that's actually trying to play this game. Right. And you realize you're one of the few that made it and got that gold jacket.

So it really caps it off and say, man, it was all worth it. Right. When you started playing, did you always know you wanted to play football even as a kid growing up in Florida? Yeah, football is the thing to do down south. So we're going to play football even as a kid growing up in Florida? Yeah, football is like the thing to do down south. So we're gonna play football. Like I really wanted to be a basketball player, but I only had a strong right. I ain't had no left. But football was too easy for me. Like football was real easy. It was, it's always been easy. So I knew that was like, that was the thing to do. That was the ticket out of it. Yeah, that was the ticket. That was the best shot at changing things.

When did you realize that, I'm really good at this? No, I'm really good, and I can change my family's, ooh, I can change my family's life forever. When I got to the University of Miami, you know when you're in high school, you're playing against the people in your area. Right. So you really don't have no measuring stick. Then when you get to college and you start seeing all these guys, like a lot of these guys, they have like all these five stars that are rated. And then you go out there and practice and you just like dominate them.

And you just say, man, this thing right here seems like it's pretty easy. Then you start having guys from your team going to the NFL. And I'm like, I just was out there with him. Yeah, so now I'm like, yeah, I know I'm going to be on the next level. I think after my freshman year, that's when I knew. And I just locked in. And I had a clock.

I said, I'm going to be out of here my junior year. You get to the NFL. You get selected, what, fifth? Fourth. Fourth pick in the draft. They do something. They move Marshall to select Edrin James. Did you understand, like, Marshall could do it all.

He could catch. He could run. He could block. They move a guy that was rookie of the year, had great numbers, and it's like, we think this guy right here can be just as good, if not better. For me, I really didn't understand what was going on. Man, I was just coming in front of you trying to get to the NFL.

Right. You know, and so for me, it had nothing to do with, I didn't think about no marshal, I didn't think about nobody. I think about, man, look, this is my opportunity to make it to the NFL, and once I get to the NFL, I'm going to make my mark. So I really didn't look into all. That you were replacing somebody. Yeah, I didn't even look into that.

Yeah, I focused on me, and that's kind of how I did my whole career. You know, I always focused on myself and never got into comparing to nobody or trying to compete with nobody because it was always me versus me every time. Right. You get there, okay,

so obviously you're a rookie. You go through the camp. Now, y'all need to make the money right. Definitely. Obviously the money wasn't right because Edrin James held out for the better part a long, long time. Yeah. I mean, the money was right.

The money was right compared to where we came from. It was really right. Where I'm coming from, the money was right, but you got to do things in the proper order. When you get drafted to fourth pick, you need to be compensated right where you're supposed to be compensated at. They could have, deep down inside, the money was right on the first offer with me. I know where I'm coming from. I'm like, man, all I need is some money

one time. I get some money one time, I'm going to double, triple that later. I ain't worried about that. But it was like, you know, for the game,

for the betterment of the game, running back position, you got to stand up sometime and say, And the guys coming from behind you? Yeah, like you can't just accept whatever. So I said,

man, I'm going to, even though there's money, right, but I'm going to do what we got to do to make sure that the numbers are right. And so we went through the whole process.

I held out, and it turned out to be well worth it. You come into the league. You got dreads. You got gold teeth. Did anybody try to convince you, man, you need to cut the dreads. You need to do away with the gold. Yeah. Did they try to convince you to, like, you in the NFL now, you got to, like,, you need to cut the dread. You need to do away with the gold. Did they try to convince you to like, you in the NFL now,

you got to like have this like polished image? No, I think first time getting there, you know, it was like, you're surprising everybody because you're the pick, the fourth pick. And then I think after I became real good, real fast, that's when it started coming like, man, you may want to remove your dreads. You may want to remove your gold teeth because there's so many opportunities out there for you. And that's because when you become real good, then they were like, man, you got commercials. You have all these endorsement opportunities. And so that's when it really got a push. The first

year, it was like, I'm going to Indianapolis, conservative city. And everybody was just wasn't, you know, everybody was just kind of waiting to see. But then we hit it fast. We hit the ground running. Right. We changed that franchise instantly. In the division, 13 and three. Yeah, and then you're actually a dominant player out there. Right.

And so that's when the push came. Because it's like, man, we can really market you. We can really use you. Because, you know, I'm sitting next to the man. I'm sitting next to P. Yeah. And, you know, so they're like, man, you can really do some good things off the field. Right.

And so that's when that push came for that. But for me, it was more, man, I'm edge. You know, that's part of what made me who I am. So it was never a consideration for myself. You know, it was just from the marketing standpoint and the business opportunities. myself. You know, it was just from the marketing standpoint and the business opportunities, you know, I could have made millions of dollars off the field easily and became more popular, but that wasn't my thing. You sacrificed edgering.

Yeah, you know, it's like it wouldn't have been pure and it really wouldn't, I don't know what I would have been on the football field. I would have done something different. So the gold teeth and the dread was a part of you, were your sales, that's where your strength lies. That's the strength, man. You know, the darker. Hey, hey. You know, this mane I got on my head, man, I carry that. You know, it's that strength. But you get to, it's really about being yourself.

You know, like, you can go farther being yourself than trying to be somebody else. Why was that so important to you? Why was it so important for Edger and James to maintain the dreads, to maintain the gold teeth? Yeah, you're from South Florida. And you know, when we came up, the gold teeth were the thing. Everybody tried to get the gold teeth or maintain the gold teeth. Yeah, you're from South Florida. And you know, when we came up, the gold teeth were the thing. Everybody tried to get the gold teeth

or have a gold tooth. But you had the whole grill. You had the grill. It was important because, man, you got all these shorties that look up to you. You got everybody that see you and now you kind of give them hope to say, man, look, I don't have

to go be this or be that to make it. Right. You know, and that's why it was very important for me just to be myself. And plus, I don't know no other way. So it was really important because the world is opening up. You know, it's like, man, I'm here to play football. You know, if you all polished and you got yourself together, but you can't ball, they're going to get rid of you anyway. Right.

polished and you got yourself together, but you can't ball, they're going to get rid of you anyway. But I know if I can get out there and play ball and play at a high level, I ain't worried about them getting rid of me. But you think about it now, Edge, you were the first. You were one of the few. Not everybody got dribs. Everybody got twisted. Everybody got coming out of their helmet.

But when you did it, Edge, there wasn't a whole lot of people doing that. Yeah, telling things to Edge. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They can be comfortable right now. You definitely made them comfortable. So. Yeah, yeah, you made it. They can be comfortable right now. Yeah. You definitely made them comfortable. So you said like,

you got an opportunity, I'm next to Peyton Manning, obviously Peyton is buttoned up. You look at Marvin Harrison, he's really quiet, buttoned up. Reggie was there, yourself.

Did you look around like, well, dang, look where I'm at and all this money. I mean, I can make almost as much money off the field as on the field.

All I got to do is just, you know, a little tape up, you know, a little shave up, you know, pull the grills off it. But then it won't be fun. Like, I got fun money, you know. I get to be myself, you know. It's like, who want to live in this little box and you can't do nothing. Like, the way I live my life, man, I get to be me. I don't have to walk around and try to put on this disguise and try to put on. And that ain't fun.

You know, it's like, okay, if you get some money and you're able to enjoy it. You're living a lie. Yeah. Because this is Edgman. Edgman with the dreads. Edgman with the dreadlocks and the gold teeth. The kid from South Florida that probably chased. You from Miami, right?

No, I'm from Iowa, western Miami. But Pahokee is where they are. Oh, Pahokee. I know about Pahokee. Yeah, Bell Glade. We got a lot of guys that's about to stay for Bell Glade. Yeah. But we grew up on Iowa, western Miami.

Pahokee. Ricky Jack from Pahokee, ain't he? Yeah. And Quan Bowden and all that. Yeah, yeah, okay. That's their area. But they did their thing. They brought some players up out of there, too.

Right. When you're a little kid, you're playing with your cousins, you're playing with your homeboys, y'all playing football, what was it like for you growing up then? Obviously, you didn't have a whole lot, but you had the love of your family. You had people around you that loved you. What was it like for you as a child growing up there? Obviously, you didn't have a whole lot, but you had the love of your family. You had people around you that loved you. What was it like for you as a child growing up? Nah, it was normal.

Like, it was normal. You don't realize things aren't normal until you step outside of your space, you know? Because everybody living just like me. Yeah, it wasn't no big deal. You know, you don't even realize it's like, it's so much more to offer. The world got so much more to offer

until you remove yourself from that space. But then the beauty of it is I got a great appreciation for things. And that's why every day I'm having a good day. I'm always in a good space because I know where I'm coming from. A lot of people, they don't really understand what it's like to make it out of certain situations. And I think all our lives kind of run parallel, especially like the athlete. You look at the world, the dominant, they always got a story. Yes.

They always got something to make them dig deep. Yeah, you had to overcome something. Yeah, everybody. I mean, every champion got to overcome something or it ain't even fun. Right. That's when it's worth it. You mentioned, I'm reading your bio said you harvested watermelons in Georgia. Yeah, we tried to go do that.

What part of Georgia were you headed to? It was like Ashburn, Cordill. Okay. All South Georgia. That's middle Georgia. Yeah, but we had to go. For us, it was a thing. It was like a chance to get away from South Florida.

Right. So we get a chance to go out. Loading watermelons ain't easy. Loading watermelons is not easy. I did that. No. That ain't no easy job. I know, but at the end, it make you tough to get that grown man. Yeah, it make you tough.

It ain't nothing making me. I ain't want to be tough. I want to be like all the other kids. Nah, I just want some money. Going to Tisley, going to Six Flags. Nah, I want some money. I was like, man, I figured out how to get me some money. Like, that was a way to get some money on my own.

You know, especially when you're 13, 14, you know, you got to find ways to make money. I want to do chores to get some money. I want to take out the trash. I want to wash the dishes and cut some grass. I ain't want to be doing grown man work. I ain't going to lie. I appreciate the grown man work because I ain't doing no more grown man work the rest of my life.

You know what I tell kids that when I talk to kids now? Do a lot of things while you're growing up because it'll show you what you don't want to do for the rest of your life. Exactly. Doing that, cropping tobacco, clipping onions, loading watermelon, baling hay. Man, I don't want to do this for no 40 years. Y'all crazy? It's hot sun. It's raining. I don't even like lifting my own

bags now, man. I ain't doing nothing hard. And that's why I'm saying I got all that out the way early. Everything is dependent on the weather. It rain. You can't go to work. You don't get no payday. Can't get no money. I said, I don't want no part of this. Yeah.

I'm reading that you said you didn't really lift weights until you got to college? Yeah. I mean, I wasn't part of no weight program. Our stuff wasn't structured like that. I would say everything is off the muscle right here. You get to college, you got a weight room, you got a program, you got all that stuff right there. You can't help but to get better. I couldn't help but to get better.

And now you're getting three good meals a day. It ain't no eat the peanut butter. No, we always ate good. You ate good. Mom had that thing right. We always ate good. We always ate good. I should have came down and lived with y'all there.

No, we're going to, hey, the family going to make sure we eat good. That's one thing you're going to do. You're going to eat good. You wanted to transfer to high school, and family going to make sure we eat good. That's one thing you're going to do. You're going to eat good. You wanted to transfer high school and your mom said no. Yeah, nah. See, nah, like, it's like we don't need to go somewhere else to kind of get that advantage, you know what I'm saying? Like, the game of football is if you good, you good.

Right, yes. And a lot of people don't realize the team needs you more than you realize it. Right. You know, and if you're really good, you can help this team. They're coming to get you. So that's one thing that my mom made sure, like, we're going to stay right here. We're going to rock out right here. Right.

And if they come for you, they come for you. And that's what the University of Miami did. Your mom was a cafeteria worker, made $17,000 a year. did. Your mom was a cafeteria worker, made $17,000 a year. How did you see what she's going through to try to provide for you and your family?

What kind of fire did that light inside of you? It's like, man, look at what my mom's going through. My mom shouldn't have to work this hard. I got to get up out of here. I mean, when you see an opportunity, you're like, okay, yeah. You want to be the one that saved the day. You want to be the one that saved the day. You know, like, you want to be the one that said, okay.

Like, a lot of times everybody be talking about what they'll do for their mom and what they'll do. But they running out here going to jail. They're getting in trouble. It's like, nah, you're going to represent for your mom. You got to make sure you stand out of trouble. You make sure you retire her. You make sure you take care of her. You make sure that when she walk in the room and her son's name is brought, she light up. You know what I'm saying? Like,

yeah, this, this my child. You don't want to be where, where your mom always going. Worried about you. No, they got to go to the prison to see you. Like every time you like, every time you go to the prison, you got to go see, you see a bunch of moms in there. It's like everybody talking about what they'll do for their mom. Like'm like, no, I'm really about that. You know, I'm really about taking care of my mom. I really dedicated myself to doing that. And I made sure that I said, man, look,

I'm going to go do everything I can do, make sure this lady don't have to work, don't have to do nothing the rest of her life. And I've been upholding my end of the bargain, you know, but it all came from the beginning. Right. When you sit up there and you make that commitment and you say, man, I'm not about to be out here getting in trouble.

You have my mom's word. Yeah, that's really embarrassing. A lot of times we're seeing everybody like, man, I'll die for my mom. You're embarrassing. You're killing her. You're killing her right now with your actions. And so for me, it was always important to say, okay, look, if I got an opportunity to do something,

let me make the most out of it. And that's why with football, you know, that was my opportunity. Going into your senior year, you was like, okay, this is my opportunity to shine. Did you always want to go to the University of Miami or was it about getting a scholarship and getting one step closer to doing what you had said, retiring my mom, taking care of my mom, making sure my mom,

hey, mom, you ain't got to do nothing else. You got a son, they're going to take care of this thing. We straightened out. The University of Miami always top dog, number one school, like especially South Florida. You know, the University of Miami was always the number one choice. You know, the only thing that made me even look into other situations,

because University of Miami was coming up with sanctions. They had these sanctions. They were about to go on probation. Right. So we had to look into all those factors, you know, to see, okay, are they going to do something with the program? Is it going to be restricted? You know, once we got the information, that's a no-brainer.

Like, I think that's the best school in the world, you know, because it provides everything. It provides, it's the total package. I'm not built for no college town. I want to be where the action is. I got to be where it's at. So Alabama

and LSU, that one going to cut it for you, huh? Nah. They just drink beer and wrestle and play video games. I'm like, man, I ain't got time for all that, man. We at the U, man. We really doing our thing. Well, if you go to the U, obviously,

Trick Daddy and Uncle Lou. Automatically. I mean, there ain't no way around it. Automatically. But I'm saying that's the thing. We got our own everything. We got our the thing. We got our own everything. We got our own rappers. We got our own everything.

But it's a small school. But it's the thing, the hunger and the things that you get from coming from that place, it's like, man, it's something you can't really describe. That's why you see it. And it's any team you've been on with somebody in front of you, you go in that locker room, you're going to know they're a little bit different.

Yeah, man. They're always different. Man, I played with Poldis. Man, Poldis. I don't know why Poldis won't do it. Man, I wouldn't see. You should have been around Poldis a lot longer. Then Poldis would have done it right. Because Poldis wouldn't do it right for nothing. You got to get it together, man.

That's my boy, man. You can get it right. I tell Poe, I say, Poe, you don't realize how special you are. Man, I know I'm going to do... No, you're not going to do right.

Bro, I just saw you leave the hotel last night. Poe the gay. Now you're going to tell me you're going to do right. Weird. But that's my boy. I love that dude.

I love that dude. Yeah, man. Good dude, man. Like, that's my boy, man. He's going to be all right. What was it like hanging out with Trick and Luke? You, I mean... Like, we all, like, like, Trick, we all around the same age.

Right. So, we kind of grew together. Right. And, like, we grew together. You know, Uncle Luke, he's a little bit older. He's always been the mentor. Yeah, Luke, Luke, like the uncle. Yeah.

But the thing about it is that, like, when you balling and you kind of enjoying each other's success, the game over, I'm jumping in the car with Trick Daddy, we're going to do what we do. And then you got Uncle Luke. Uncle Luke, he's always that guiding force for you. It ain't like they're going to have you out here going for bad or doing them bad, but you're going to have fun, but at the same time, we understand, like, look, man, I can do so much in the community and so much with the kids.

Right. And you understand, like, okay, it's important to go out here, ball out, but stick your face back in the community. Right. Still be active, still be around to show these young kids, like, look, man, you can actually do it too.

Right. And so he has a great balance with that. And that's one thing that we've always kind of did. We always had good balance. You know, we're going to have fun. Right. We're definitely going to have fun. But it's going to be the right way.

When you finally go, you get drafted by the Colts fourth overall, you hold out, but you finally get that, get the payday. It wasn't no direct deposit back then. They sent you that check. You get that check and you look at that check and you're like, oh.

What was the first thing that went through your mind when you saw that check? For me, you know, like you let, first of all, you go,

and I only looked at the check for like three, four seconds because like, man, I was like, I had to secure the bag. You know what I'm saying? Like it was secure, so it wasn't, it's like, man, okay was like, I had to secure the bag, you know what

I'm saying? Like it was secure. So it wasn't, it's like, man, okay, yeah, I got this part right here. So I just glanced, glanced at it and I handed, but I wanted to go to practice, you know, it was like, I wanted to get out there and show you like, man, like. Why you gave me this money? Yeah, like, no, like I'm for real, I'm for real. I'm really that deal. Like, it's like, because you, you know, you're going going through things where you're getting questioned. They're like, why they got this guy? And we don't really know this guy.

And so a lot of people questioning the draft. And so for me, it was just like, man, I can't wait to get out here and just show them what I'm capable of doing. So when I get the check, I hand it to our people. And I said, man, I'm ready to go. I just get right to practice. OK, you had it to him. You had it to him.

You said, OK, let's go to practice. Let me look at that check one more time. Let me look at it one more time. Let's see. Man, look at all these guys. They all on these zeros. That's mine. I ain't got to worry about that, man.

I'm going to get the other stuff now, you know? That's already mine. You tried to get another bag. Now you say, I already got this bag. Yeah, that one's secure. Right. That's secure. Man, I don't look at nothing old, man.

That's there, you know? But now I'm trying to get out here so I can go out there and represent and show you, like, man, y'all going to see that the edge is the real deal. And it didn't take long for that to happen. What was the first thing that you bought? Man, I don't even know, man. I still, my first year- Did you splurge?

Did you splurge on anything? You ain't get no Roll-In. You ain't get no, you ain't get no Dome. Nah. You ain't get no, you ain't get no Benz? You ain't get no rolling. You ain't get no don't. You ain't get no bins. You ain't buy nothing? I don't know. I really, man, I take care of my family.

I make sure my mom and everything. But my first year, I still lived in my college apartment with a roommate. Because I ain't, man, I wasn't even tripping. My thing was just to get some money. You know, that's the main thing. Everybody I ever talk to say you cheap. It ain't cheap. I'm smart, but they usually be the ones that say you cheap.

They ain't got no money. Hey. It's like I ain't never asked nobody for nothing. My kids ain't never asked nobody for nothing. All our stuff nice. I got all the nice things that everybody else got. I just do mine a different way. I got the Rolls Royce.

I got the Bentley. I got the boat. I got a bunch of properties. But I just do it different. You know, it's like they think it's cool to go out and spend $30,000 at a club. Come on, man. For real? Yeah.

But I'm cheap because I won't go spend $30,000. I'm cheap, too. Yeah, like, nah. I make a hell, though, for them. I got a couple of coins. I can't make it rain like they do. Nah, I'm not going to tell them to stop doing it because what I did, I entered the club business.

So come on with that $30,000. Come on with that same $30,000. Keep that same intensity. Show me you ain't cheap. That I want to see. Show me you ain't cheap. That I want to see. Show me you ain't cheap. I don't want to hear that, hey, can you cut the price? No.

I'm the cheap one, remember? Man, I'm looking at you like, hold on. Your first signing bonus, you bought two rundown buildings in a drug area in Amoky? Immokalee. Immokalee. And turned them into summer gatherings for local kids. Then you had a fun house, big screen, video games, pool table, cards, kitchen.

Why'd you do that? I mean, it's appropriate. You know, those things you're supposed to do. You know, it's like that's your way of really giving back and helping and showing. You know, you can help a lot of people by making one move. One move can change the structure of so many other kids life like right now from Immokalee Immokalee we got four guys that's in the NFL right now and those same four guys used to come to that same building right that we opened

up and that we had around and it was actually pretty cool to actually see that you know there was a part of it and then you're showing them what they could do you're showing them like look man when it's your turn make sure you follow come back yeah yeah it's it's always to see when you could actually see somebody from your area do something positive go to the nfl or go to the nba or even i mean be a lawyer or doctor special athlete because you know young kids, a lot of us, we aspire to be athletes. Hey, that's how we see our ticket out. And to see Edger and James, hold on. He from here?

Well, he got out. I can get out. Because that's how I looked at my brother. My brother went to college. Well, I played with him. I beat him sometimes one-on-one. I can go to college. He went to the NFL.

Hold up. He went. He ate the same food I ate. He got rained on in the same house I did. I can go to the. He went to the NFL. All of them. He went. He ate the same food I ate. He got rained on in the same house I did. I can go to the NFL too. Exactly. But that's what it's about.

Like, you're showing them that it's possible. And that's part of my whole MO, man. Like, look, I'm going to come across as normal. And I'm going to do all the same things y'all do. So I'm showing you that it's possible. Right. Now, you got to dig into it a little bit more to say, okay, what separated me from them?

Right. And that's when that discipline and that hard work and that really knowing what it's going to take or doing what it's going to take to get there. You mentioned about the fun house that you established in your hometown, and you said there were four little kids that later became NFL players. You know who they are? Yeah, you got Deidre Sinat.

You got Mackenzie Alexander. You got De'Ernest Johnson that played for the Cleveland Browns. And then you got the pro bowler, J.C., that played for New England Patriots. You know, all four of those kids, they used to be around. They all had a mock leader. That's what it's about, you know, to have kids that's in the community that actually see you do what you do.

And they follow in those footsteps. So they refer to you as Uncom. You and you. I got a million names. I got a million names for them. They actually make you feel old. Like, they really, them the They actually make you feel old. Them the ones that make you feel old.

And then you go back, you go through some of the pictures, and you see the kids out there doing what they were doing. And it's like, dang, I've really been around a long time. Right. And to see JC go to the Pro Bowl, you're like, man, I watched this kid from birth. Right. You know, but it's a good feeling to know that you got people coming from your area that you inspire.

Your rookie season, 1,553 yards, rookie of the year. Next year, you followed it up with over 1,700 yards, another All-Pro. You get off to the start that you got off, you're like, what are you thinking? Damn, this easy. Man, it might be easier than the U. It was. It was, man.

It's like, I think me personally, I can't down the sport, but I think for me, a lot of time, I was like, man, the NFL is overrated. You know, I felt like it was overrated because you're 21, 22 years old, and then I got this dude in the locker room that's 30, 31, 32.

Right. I know he can't keep up with me. You know what I'm saying? And it's like, so the balance, I mean, the age difference, it made me like, man, this game is like a joke. You know what I'm saying? Like, now I'm playing with these older guys that can't do this.

They got to be in the cold tub. You know, like, for us, we just suit up, goal play, and then do whatever we do. And then you start saying, man, it's not really that hard. You know, especially if you know what you're doing and you're on top of your stuff. Like, it's not hard because there's no secrets in the NFL. It's like, when you line up, I know exactly what you're doing and you're on top of your stuff, it's not hard. Because there's no secrets in the NFL. When you line up, I know exactly what you're going to do. They got all the film, all the information. But you got to study now.

Yeah, but that's what I'm saying. That's what made me say, we study. You study, you put in the work, and I'm like, man, this game really easy. You think about it, in college, you don't study. In high school, you don't study. You figure it out by second, third quarter. Right. And the pros, you know, from the first play to the last,

but you know exactly what's going to happen. Right. And whoever do it the best, that's who's going to win. Right. How are you guys, I mean, look, you with Marvin, Reggie, Peyton, man, you guys turned it around just like that. Peyton man you guys turned it around

just like that it was because everybody came with the same approach mentality nobody was like

a pre-Madonna everybody put in that work you know so if you see all your big dogs putting in that work everybody around

you gotta follow suit right it's like Ma gonna go out do his thing you know P gonna do his thing and then okay

I'm coming in. I'm coming from the University of Miami where we came from NFL-style coaching. You know, Coach Davis, he came from the Dallas Cowboys. Our whole thing was structured. So when I get to Indianapolis, the structure of the practice was exactly the same. So it wasn't no difference with that. And then you start just focusing on, okay, yeah, you just focus on your job and you focus on what you got to do. You're like, man, all I got to do is just work.

And everybody put in work. And by us putting in work, the GM had them put together the right pieces. And we had a nice balance. What was it like playing with Peyton? Because we see the Omaha and people talking about, man, he's a smart. What's it like playing with Peyton? You're playing with somebody that's committed to the game, like totally committed to the game, not on outside distraction. And you can tell that the game means a lot to him. And then when you start digging into it a little bit more, you can say, man,

this man really loved his game. And you see all the work that he put in. He continued to put in the work, and that's the thing that you get a greater appreciation for. And you start seeing, like, man, this man really, like, this man really loved football, you know? And then you start seeing, okay, the things they're doing to get better and get better and always looking at the little detail, even if it comes to a fake, you know.

Some people, they just do a fake like this. He's going to do it, stick his head, You know, some people, they just do a fake like this. He gonna do it, stick his head, do all, the whole, Yeah, that wide stretch, that wide stretch

that y'all ran, that he going way out there. I mean, and you doubling over like you really got the ball. The details of it. And, but I'm saying every day,

every day you see it, you know, cause, I mean, you play a long time, they get boring out there. You know, at practice get boring, but when you see a person doing it every day, man day you see it. You know, cause, I mean, you play a long time. They get boring out there, you know, you be at practice get boring. But when you see a person doing it every day, man,

you got a great appreciation for, you know, they really love the game. Right. And, and he did exactly what, what he's supposed to do. Right. What was it like reuniting with Reggie? Because Kane, Kane, you guys, that's what I can honestly say this

you guys if you from the U yeah whether you graduated from U in 1983 or you graduated from U

in 2013 we together we together man man I ain't never seen nobody ride like y'all do y'all ride

man that thing y'all down yeah we down with each other so with Reggie you know like I kinda got I kinda got a little

insight that we were gonna be drafting Reggie I thought it was gonna be Reggie, I kind of got an insight that we were going to be drafting Reggie. I thought it was going to be Reggie or Santana. You know I had to give him the heads up. So you gave this to ask who you don't know?

Don't tell me nothing about one of my boys and tell me to keep a secret. I'm going to let you know. Like, hey, he's going to know, but he knows not to act like he don't know.

Right. But when he got the phone call, you know, it was like, man, dang, we back together again. Right. You know, but he know to act like he don't know. Right. But when he got the phone call, you know, it was like, man, dang, we back together again. Right. You know, we back, and I know what I'm going to get from Reggie. And with Reggie, Reggie was a dog from the first time we met. And I actually talk about that in my book, you know, because Reggie, the first time me and Reggie, our first encounter,

you know, kind of hit it off at the U. Right. And from then on, I'm like, yeah, he one of us right there, man. That boy right there, he got it. And to know he coming to the Colts, because I already know we got P, we got eights, and now once we get the other side secure,

you don't have no worries now because I know what they're going to get right of Reggie Wayne. Right. And then now I got a workout partner because when you get to the pros you realize they don't really work out like you used to work out. They ain't working

out like the NFL. You ain't working out like college. You ain't working out like that. And so you're like in this space where you're like, man, I'm the only one out here really working out like this. But it's the way everybody do things differently. Differently, right. When Reggie come, we got our same summer workouts, in-season workouts, everything the same.

So it was actually pretty cool. Marvin, he's the guy look everybody knows payton uh they know you we're talking to you and you're giving us an insight marvin hadn't done a whole lot of interviews marvin was really really quiet uh you see him on the bench he would just be sitting there like staring off what was he like what was marvin really like in the locker room nah marvin the real deal, like, man, Marvin is about his business. You know, when you talk about somebody that's about his business,

I'm here to take care of my business, that's Marvin, you know? All the extra stuff is, like, it's really irrelevant. It don't really matter to Marvin, you know? So he just came out, do his business. I tell him, work hard. You ain't going to never see him mispractice. You ain't going to never see him

not do the things he's supposed to do and great teammate and like me and ma we talk every day still talk now you know and when you when you got somebody like that man they strictly about their business and they're going to do what they take man that's that's what you want with you on your squad you have to leave the Colts. Were you disappointed that you were forced to, after you had spent so many great years there, and you seemed to be like, man, we really close. I know we can do this thing.

And you end up going to Arizona. Yeah, I mean, for me, when you go into the NFL, you know it's a business. So I don't take none personal I never took none personal and I just ride out as long as I can ride out and there's like it's the city Okay, if I want to stay the coach I mean I need to take this or I can go to Arizona and get this you know And we know what I'm here for y'all know what I'm here for I mean you try to get the third bag. Yeah

You got the second bag, so you're like, man, we're going to get the third one. I was never shy about why I'm here, what I'm here to do. I'm going to do my job, but I'm here, I want to make sure that I secure my future. I'm ready to do what I set out to do. Because that's what the game was for me. If I win a Super Bowl, I win a championship, I win all that stuff, that'd be great, you know. But for me, what the game, my calling to this game was the greatest, man.

You know what? You can take this lady and secure her future, make sure you're somebody's blessing sometime. I'm like, man, maybe I'm my mama's blessing or whatever. So I understood why I was there. So when it came to having to go to another team, it wasn't that big a deal for me. You know, for me, it was like, okay, let me find the best situation because I understand. Like, it's just the nature of the business. Right.

And nobody's going to be locked in with one team for the rest of their career and get it the way they want it for the most part. So for me, like, when the time is up, it's time to go. And for me, you're not going to hear me be bitter. You're not going to see me complain. I'm just looking for the next action. And I'm glad because I went to Arizona and made some friends, got a chance to get into a new space. And then we actually made it to the Super Bowl.

So I knew I made the right decision because I went to a team. I took the risk to go to a team, I took the risk, you know, to go to a team that wasn't even popular, that wasn't doing much, and we still ended up turning that franchise around. So I got a chance to do it twice. Were you disappointed when the Colts went to the Super Bowl and they won?

Nah, I was actually, like, when they got Joseph Adai, I made sure I reached out to Joseph Adai, let him know all the information he didn't know about the stretch play, about all the offense, you know, and I was down there hanging with them. You know, I just didn't have to go to practice. And I got a ring to coach. Yeah, that was it. So it was like, I got, hey, I didn't have to do no work.

When Mr. Irsay called you and says, Edwin, you know, for the great player, the great person that you had been, I know that, you know, you weren't here, but I want you to have a Super Bowl ring. How did that make you feel? Because I don't know, I don't know, I don't know that that doesn't happen often, Ed.

I mean, I mean, it lets you know that, man, they appreciate what you've done. And I call him the big man. The big man always did things the right way. You know, he always lets you know that, man, they appreciate what you've done. And I call them the big men. The big men always did things the right way, you know. He always, you know, he understands the business, but he understands the person, too. And, like, they know we built that thing, that we built it up. But the business is going to do what it does, you know. And for me, I wasn't tripping.

So, he said, okay, yeah, man, they're going to give me a Super Bowl ring. And that's like a, it's like you appreciate that, you know. You he said, okay, yeah, man. Um they're gonna give me a Super Bowl ring and that's that's like a it's like you appreciate that you know you appreciate that you know and for some guys you got guys played forever and they never got a chance to even be part of a playoff win or whatever. I'm part of an organization that I'm tied to forever and everything worked out just like it's supposed to you. You mentioned you did get to the Super Bowl with the Cardinals.

Latfish, Gerald, Kurt Warner, yourself, three-headed monster. And you got the lead late in the ballgame. What's going through your mind as the Steelers have the ball late and they're going down the field? What are you thinking? Because it's out of your hands now. You done gone down the field. You done got the lead.

You done done your part. You did your part. We got the lead. It's two minutes left. What's going through Edrin James' mind? We just need a stop. One stop. We just need one stop. And that's what it comes down to. But, you know, most NFL games are won at the last two minutes.

And Pittsburgh, they did their thing. They found a way to win. But we just needed one stop. So you're just one stop away from actually winning the game. But you play enough games, man, you understand how it goes. You win something like that, you lose something like that. Exactly. Been on the winning end of a lot of games,

and so happened it was on the big stage, and it didn't happen. But, man, we did some great things that year. Looking at your stats, you know, you topped 1,500 yards four times. You're one of four players to ever do that. Barrett Sanders, Eric Dixon, Walter Payton, and yourself. Over 12,000 rush yards, 80 touchdowns in 11-year career. Over 15,000 scrimmage yards. Eclipsed 1,000 yards seven times.

Of the numbers that you have, personal, your personal accolades, what's that you're most proud of? I like the 1,500, the one going there, because you're with that group, and it's just hard to do. You don't realize,

but it's actually really hard to do it that many times, but the fact that I did it after the injury, because if I don't get hurt, I'm going to leave the league, probably. I don't know how many times. Hold on, wait a minute. Your first two years, you lead the league in rushing,

you tear your ACL, your third year, right? Yeah, I was off to my best start my third year, and that's when I had the ACL injury. Right. But it's part of the game. So you don't really trip on that. That's what really... How did that injury change you? It changed my game.

It changed my game. It made me get a greater appreciation for the game because before, I didn't really trip on football. I'd just go out and play. Right. It was too easy. It was way too easy. If you work out, you train, you study, you go play. You're going easy. It was way too easy. If you work out,

you train, you study, you go play. You're going to have success. And that's the way I always looked at it. But then when you get hurt, now you can't do the things that you normally do. And so now you got to get a little more grimy. You got to get into your studies. I need to know a little bit more about what the defense is about to do. I need a little bit more of an edge. Because once you get hurt, you need to know more right so it turned into a a better student and to run to run to run for 1500 after that twice you know that right there was that was a big deal you know i think that was something that because it's hard it's hard to do edgar and james the general manager you get to pick one back who you taking in today's game in today's game

it depends on what type of offense I'm running it depends cause man you got some you got some good backs man but I like Dalvin Cook man you like Dalvin

I like Dalvin yeah you taking Dalvin Cook over Jonathan Taylor no because I watch I like JT his style more fits yours you taking Dalvin Cook over Jonathan Taylor no because I watch I like JT now his style

more fits yours no no you have to remember I watch Dalvin Cook and Pop Warner you know so it's

and that's what I'm saying so for me I'm looking at a person from there JT he run the ball I love to watch JT he's my favorite back

to watch this year. I watched him and watched what he did with the Colts. But when I say, okay, for me, I look at it from a youth's perspective. I used to go out and watch this kid playing on a Pop 1 or a high school level.

I like the way Cook, we were in the car. Cook, out of nowhere, he's going to explode. You know, like when you watch that explosion. Do you believe if Derrick Henry doesn out of nowhere, he's going to explode. You know, like, when you watch that explosion. Do you believe if Derrick Henry doesn't get hurt, he's going over 2,000 again? Because he has almost 1,000 at week eight.

Yeah, 17 games, he's going to go do more than 2,000. That boy a beast, man. That boy was killing it, man. So, yeah. I think you're going to see a lot of guys going over 2,000.

I was hoping JT got got 2,000 this year. Right. He got a little late start, but he will. Yeah. What state has the best athletes? Florida? Texas?

California? Or Georgia? You said the first one first. Oh, I got to throw Louisiana. I got to throw the boot up there. Nah, it's Florida. It's Florida, man. It's Florida,

because we get around, and then we hard there. Nah, it's Florida. It's Florida, man. It's Florida because we get around and then we hard nose. Florida just hard nose. Florida rough, rugged. So the best football state is Florida. So we go Texas, you done. Cali, you done. Georgia, y'all got no chance. It stops. It stops in Florida.

It's just Florida, man. How about this? Mount Rushmore of dread athletes. Of dread athletes. Yep. I don't know, man. Edge, edge, edge. Okay, Edge, you up there.

I don't really know. Ricky Williams. You and Ricky were in the same draft. Ricky balled out, man. Fitzgerald. See, Fitzgerald got him pretty boy dreads. Yeah. You got different dreads, man. What kind of dreads you got? But, nah, I don't really know. Because everybody got him pretty boy dreads. You got different dreads man. What kind of

dreads you got? Like but no, I don't really. Because everybody got everybody. Everybody rocking dreads. Everybody. You the godfather of the dreads in the NFL? Man, I need to get some kind of compensation man. Hold on, you trying to get another bag? It's a good opportunity out there. I just saw Justin Jefferson at the Pro Bowl with a grill. Yeah.

I mean, his grill cost a grill. I think he had some diamonds and things. He must have went to, you know, Johnny Dane. I know, man. I got to see how we can get on the other side of that. They want these grills. I need to be on that side, too. Hold on. So you find out people want grills, you want on the other side of that. They want these grills. I need to be on that side too. Hold on. So you find out people want grills, you want to find out how to go over

and start making grills? I knew you were supposed to. Ain't this how it go? I thought that's how it go. I'm surprised you ain't try to be like Elon Musk. Everybody want an electric car. Come out and start making an electric car. Man, there's opportunity, man. We got it. We got it looking to that What is it what is it what are the typical day like now for Edrin James Mmm, it depends on what's going on like everything based around my kids. Okay, like my kids they got six Yeah, three boys three boys three boys three girls And so right now it's best range in age from from 24 to 14. To 14. Yeah. I had a 10-year run.

You got a lot coming in 10 years. 10-year run, man. But no, it depends on what's going on. If it's something I need to go to the college, I'll show up to the college. If it's a basketball game, I'll show up to that. And so I'll make sure I do everything I got to do for them first. And then outside of that, I'm going to do me. I could do me one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock, five a.m., six a.m. and like I'm good. But I got a pretty good lifestyle, man. It's like kind

of do what you want to do. Right. That's why I always say create a life you want to live. And that's what I did. I created this whole thing to where, you know, I'm here early in the morning. I don't like to get up early in the morning because I like to be alert at night. So I can just kind of move the way I want to move. And I like to move and let my body wake me up. I don't like to just jump up because I have to go do something. How did you do well in football? Because you know football, you got to get up early.

Yeah, I know. We had to be to work at 9. We had to be to. Yeah, I know. We had to be to work at 9. We had to be to work at 9. Yeah. We had to be to work at 9. And in college, it's earlier than that because, you know, you got the early morning workout, those lifting sessions, those running sessions in the off season.

That was when I was on somebody else's clock. That's what I was saying. I was always preparing. To be on your clock. Yeah. So I was just making sure that I said I'm going to prepare for when it becomes my turn to be the boss.O. Yo closet. Yeah, so I was just making sure that I said, I'm going to prepare for when it becomes my turn to be the boss and how I'm going to do my lifestyle. And that's where my lifestyle is now.

It's just the way I want it. I don't have to be up early in the morning unless it's something I commit to. I wouldn't change nothing that I got going on because it's all, it's laid out pretty cool. What do you want your kids to be most proud of when they talk about their dad? That he's committed to them. You know, that's the thing. It's like, you know, you got a lot of fathers. It's easy to sit out there and make them.

But to make them great, to get behind them, you know, that seems like it's a challenge when it shouldn't be a challenge, but it seems like it's a challenge. And if you deal with a lot of these youth programs and a lot of these underprivileged situations, the thing that's always missing is the father, you know, most of the time. And so for me, you know, my kids not going to be able to say their daddy wasn't there, you know, that their daddy didn't make a way, didn't sit up there and put them in the best position possible. Like for me, any opportunity or any situation with anything they're getting involved in, you know, I'm going to go above and beyond to make sure I position them the best I

can possibly position them. And I'm going to always be there. You know, that'm going to go above and beyond to make sure I position them the best I can possibly position them. And I'm going to always be there. You know, that's the main thing. That's a very tough balance because I've told people that in order to be great, and there's a level of greatness, how great you want to be, you've got to sacrifice a lot. Definitely. Now, you're going to miss some recitals or maybe a football game or this or that because Edrin James wanted to be the best. Yeah. You want to secure the bag, but in order to secure the bag, james wanted to be the best yeah you want to secure

the bag but in order to secure the bag you got to be the best yeah you definitely and that's and that's that's one balance that a lot of people don't really understand how hard it is yes but you got you got this if if there's a gap or there's an opportunity i'm gonna make it happen right so it's like if i have to be somewhere and it's important, they know, okay, yeah, I'm going to miss this situation right here. But if there is a true opportunity to be there, I'm going to be there. I'm going to make sure that I'm there. I'll make sure I'm on point.

I don't care if you have to jump on a private plane or if you have to jump on this plane, that plane. You get there and then you get where you got to get to. But it has to truly be something where it's like, yeah, I had a chance to be there. But I don't want to be where you can blow something off all the time. You know, in our world, we can always make an excuse. We can always say, okay, oh, yeah, I had to go take care of some business. Right.

But it comes from within, you know, from within where you're saying, okay, yeah, I'm personally, I'm going to make sure I'm there if I can really be there. So if I'm not there, I couldn't be there. You and I were talking off camera. Your oldest is 24. And you say one of the things that you're proud of is that your kids got an opportunity to see what you did for a living. And someone didn't have to tell them, well, your daddy was this, your dad was that. How did that make you feel getting an opportunity to see your kids?

Because my kids got an opportunity to see me play. My son was coming to the locker room. My kids got an opportunity to go to the Super Bowl. How did that make you feel knowing that, you know what, this is why I'm doing it, guys. This is really why I'm doing it. I got mom back home, but I got eyes in the stands that's watching me.

My eyes. It started at the University of Miami. When you're 18 and you're like, okay, it started at the University of Miami. When you're 18 and you're like, okay, I'm about to have a child, you're like, okay, now things really turn up. And so it gives you another level or another reason to push or to even go harder. And then to watch, for them to actually see, like my oldest got a chance to kind of witness the whole journey.

Yeah, she got to see it all. She got a chance to see the whole thing. So they understand exactly where you're coming from and they can see, okay, yeah, yeah, my daddy really did this. The youngest one, they really don't know. They really didn't understand it until probably later, until probably went to the hall and all that. Right, right. But the oldest got a chance to really see it,

and they understand that, like, man, dang, my daddy really did all this. Right. And then when they start looking back at how you get there you know that's that's one thing that really stands out to them like now my kids are reading the book they're reading the book and they're like ain't that i ain't know you did all this or did all because that was before their time right and and so now they got an even greater appreciation for their dad how do you get your kids? Because the way you came up, you came up in an era that was infested with drugs. There was not a whole lot of money. And you was like, okay, this is my

opportunity. This is what I can do to get out. They come up in a very different situation than you. And that was the hardest thing to try to teach my kids discipline. But knowing the sacrifices that I made was to make sure they didn't have to live the life that I had to live. So how do you balance that, Edge? Well, first of all, you don't keep nothing away from them. Right. You put it in front of them. You show them, okay, this is what I had to do, but this is what you get a chance to do. And so they get a chance to see it.

They get the comparison. That's what really kind of opens their eyes. You just point those things out. Like, I don't hire nothing from my kids. I'm not going to hire nothing to say, okay, they made like everything was peaches and cream. You know, you're going to sit back and say, okay, like these are the situations

or these are the things you have to go through or these are the things that it took. And now you're here, don't settle for where you're at. But this is just one level. There's other levels that you can go to. So I pushed them to even go to even higher levels. And my daughter, she chose to be a lawyer. Okay.

I'm like, man, you want to get in positions of power. You want to go to a space that people don't normally go. My kids, I got four in HBCUs. Mm-hmm. You know, they understand the importance of being there for your culture, being somebody that people can look at and say, man, dang, they did it the right way. They didn't just take the easy route. You know, they made sure that they're aware

of what they're doing. You, you, you, we didn't get to this earlier, but you, there's a tragic incident that happened. You see your uncle, saw your uncle commit suicide. You had uncles and aunt dealing with the crack cocaine epidemic, which was very prevalent in the black community, especially in the south where it was all over inner cities, but in the

south also. When you're watching that, when you're around that, what's going through your mind as a child? Well, you're just a child. It's the norm, so you really don't know. It goes back to the beginning. You're like, you really don't know those things. All you just know is you just want to do better right you just want to always do better and you just start learning

now what is better you know sometimes some people just getting you know back in the day if you just went to college you was doing great you know now the level has went up you know so you just always want to just continue to do better and that's what i always do that so you just always want to just continue to do better. And that's what I always do. That's why you always want to improve on things and just try to always do more and position more people. What is your proudest accomplishment? My kids, you know, to have, like right now I'm four for four. I got four kids in college right now. Okay. So it's like, that's, that's for me, it's always going to be around my kids because I understand like how important it is. Right. But you're ready to do it

the way that I'm doing it and I don't have a college degree. My kids got a college degree. They're like, they're going to be running your business. They're going to be running your business. Yeah, man,

like you're contradicting yourself. You're sitting there saying it's important to have a degree but you don't have a degree. I'm like, hold on, this is totally different over here. Yeah. So you, You sitting up there saying it's important to have a degree, but you don't have a degree. I'm like, hold on. This is totally different over here.

Yeah. So, obviously, you want to go six for six. But I lost my train of thought right here. Do your kids follow you on social media? Yeah, they're going to follow me. My kids don't follow me. Mine ain't going to follow you. My kids, you know what? Do your kids, my kids,

my daughters get upset at the mention of my name because they think you're going to give them something because of who their dad is, not because of what they earn. So they're very reluctant to say when someone says, do you know Shannon Sharp?

Instead of saying, yeah, that's my dad, they say, yeah, we know him. No, my kids want all that. My kids want all that action, man. My son's going to say, yeah, that's my dad. The girls, especially my oldest, my oldest go like, yeah, we know him. Yeah, I know him. Why do you ask? Nah, mine want you to know, like, hey, this what's up.

But they got a cool, mine got a cool daddy, you know, like I'm, I'm into what they into. Like, you know, so that's what make it cool. That's what make it cool. Like you get a chance to grow with them. Like, I don't advise nobody to run out and have kids at an early age. But if you do, the benefits, man, it's great because you get a chance to really kick it and

grow with them. That's one thing. We're on the same level just chopping it up. I'm sitting on the bed and my daughter come in and they start talking. Why we got to have this conversation? You got to have this conversation?

Or we go out, they're like uh they bring the drink menu i like to get you drink i'm like i'm like hold on wait a minute they're like daddy i'm 30 i'm like oh okay because you know they are kids i still look at them as kids i don't look at them as adults. Man, over the past couple years I had to change my thought. I go, nah, we go to the club, my daughter grabs some Hennessy. I did what?

I just bust out laughing. I'm like, you drink Hennessy? I can't even drink no Hennessy. And then the other one, she gonna take the, hey,

you give her some, I don't, no, they gonna pop the champagne. They gonna do it like, And then the other one, she's going to take this. Hey, you give her some. Bell tequila. I don't know. They're going to pop the champagne. They're going to do it like, you're going to think my kids rappers. They living like that. They balling it up, huh? Man, they living like that.

It's like the things I want to do, they're like, okay, daddy, you don't want to have fun with this money? I'm going to do it. They're going to have fun with this money I'm gonna do it they're gonna have fun with it and so I enjoy you know so I'll make sure they get everything set up right they can go out and have them a good time because like I'm I'm more chill conservative you know I'm I'm in I'm in this space where I'm like man I'm always thinking about the next move what I gotta do right with them they like man you don't want to think about they're thinking about today. No, they're going to spin it.

You thinking about tomorrow, they thinking about today. They thinking about right now. Right now. You talked about it a little bit, your book. What's the name of it? From Gold Chief to Gold Jacket. You know, it's kind of my timeline or my storyline going from you know from youth all the way getting to the

Hall of Fame and I think it's something that a lot of people see themselves in this book they'll see so

many situations that they can relate to knowing that it's not an easy path but it's a possible path

and I try to include anything that I think was relatable or things that I think people could actually use and I think it's a pretty dope read I think every athlete should read it and I think was relatable or things that I think people could actually use.

And I think it's a pretty dope read. I think every athlete should read it. Right. And I think anybody that, I think parents too, they can actually see themselves in a situation

like that. But from Gold Teeth to Gold Jacket, you can find it on my website, www.edrinjane.com or Amazon or anywhere

books are being sold. Right. You heard it here. Edrin James from gold teeth to gold jacket. Bruh, I appreciate you stopping by.

Really appreciate it, man. Congratulations on everything. All the best. All right, man. Thanks for having me on. All right. hustle pay the price wanna slice got the roll of dice that's why all my life I've been grinding all my life

all my life been grinding all my life sacrifice hustle pay the price wanna slice got the roll of dice that's why

all my life I've been grinding all my life wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal.

Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.