Digital Social Hour - The $20M Mistake NFL Teams Make: RB Alex Mattison Reveals All | Alex Mattison DSH #1014

Episode Date: December 25, 2024

NFL running back Alex Mattison reveals the harsh $20M reality facing running backs in today's NFL. From contract negotiations to career-ending decisions, get an exclusive look into why running backs are facing unprecedented challenges in the modern game. 🏈 In this eye-opening conversation, Mattison shares shocking insights about the NFL's business side, including how the average running back career has dropped to just 2.5 years. Learn why teams are making costly mistakes by undervaluing their running backs, and hear firsthand stories about sudden team changes and career-altering moments. From acupuncture secrets to game-day strategies, Mattison opens up about his journey from Minnesota to Las Vegas, revealing the physical and mental preparation required to succeed in the NFL. Get the inside scoop on how players analyze opponent tendencies, protect themselves from career-threatening tackles, and balance family life with professional demands. Whether you're a football fan, aspiring athlete, or business enthusiast, this conversation pulls back the curtain on the NFL's evolving landscape and the real impact it has on players' lives. Mattison's candid insights and strategic mindset offer a rare glimpse into professional football's most pressing challenges. Watch now to understand why the devaluation of running backs might be the NFL's costliest mistake, and hear Mattison's powerful perspective on the future of the position. 🏈💪 #nfl #minnesotavikings #fantasyfootball #nflhighlights #alexmattisoninterview CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 00:28 - Season Performance 02:11 - Play Adjustments During Season 04:01 - Impact of Trash Talk 05:52 - Insights on Football 07:45 - Importance of Running Backs 08:44 - NFL Business Dynamics 09:25 - Unexpected Trades 09:58 - Being Cut from a Team 11:38 - Average NFL Career Length 18:05 - Game Adaptation Strategies 19:30 - Role of Safeties in Football 26:33 - Dalvin Cook's Body Care Routine 28:35 - Dalvin vs. Adrian Peterson Experience 37:20 - Future Plans 37:20 - Online Presence 38:00 - Upcoming Foundation Event 38:18 - Donate to Sunrise Children's Hospital 38:21 - Closing Remarks APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail] GUEST: Alex Mattison https://www.instagram.com/alex_mattison22 LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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For a franchise, whatever the best move is for a coach, owner, a GM. They look at those things and they make a decision. It's like that, you could be having a loving conversation one day and then the next week they're shipping you away. So it's like that. Yeah, it's crazy. No heads up?

No, I mean, it's wild. All right guys, running back for the Raiders, Alex Madison, thanks for coming on, man. Yeah, appreciate it. Thank you for having me. First Raiders I've had on the show. Yeah, yeah. I like that.

Gotta represent. Yeah, I appreciate it. How's the season going so far? It's going, it's going. It's one of those seasons that's just, you know, a lot of adversity, but a lot of football left. So we're looking forward to the next opportunity. Just got to keep chipping away. Keep grinding. Absolutely. Has it been a big change from the Vikings?

Um, yeah. I mean, the biggest change, of course, is the weather. It's like night and day. Super hot out here. I love it. I'm from California, San Bernardino, California. So being back on the West Coast feels amazing, feels good. But yeah, it's just a little different, just different way that things are. All the different teams around the league have different ways that they do things,

different way that they have their lifts versus their scheduling where it's like here we practice earlier in the day than Minnesota was later in the day. So just little things like that that are different. You had to memorize all the plays too. Yeah, that too. Luckily the system that we're in now is a system that is like a combination of the systems

that I've been a part of in Minnesota. So pretty familiar with like the different schemes and everything like that. So that's a good part. Oh, nice. Yeah. There were some similar plays and stuff. Yeah. Yeah.

The only difference is like some of the verbiage, but I mean, there's some that's the same and you listen to it and you're like, I wonder if that's the same as what it was and it is. And then there's sometimes where there's like a word and you think of what it was in Minnesota, right? And no, that word is a different play here. So you just kind of got to learn how to disconnect them. Have you ever played against a team where they found out your plays

and they kind of knew what you were about to do? I've never known for a fact, but I've lined up and they're like, OK, yeah, he's doing this. And I'm just like, how would they like, how do they know that? But, you know, it comes down to like being a football player, comes down to prepping all week. They've probably seen when they line up in this formation and it's third and eight, they're either doing this or they're doing that. So like you get down to it and that's what they do.

A lot of like coin flips when it comes down to formations and things like that. That awareness, right? Yeah. So do you have to change the plays throughout the season? Like the words, what you call them, stuff? Sometimes, yeah. Yeah.

You get to a point where you either add in new stuff or you start to switch up your verbiage a little bit. I've seen that a lot with like snap counts. Like if you're lining up and you're like, we're going on this count, they know what that snap count is. So they start to jump the count. They start to like get a feel for it.

So you have to switch it up all the time. Cause I see the guys that get the most sacks. It almost seems like they know what's coming. Yeah, yeah. And I mean, it's funny because sometimes you'll have guys that line up and they like, I don't know how guys do it because like I'm in a mode where I'm like, thinking to myself about all the different things that I have to do, where I'm going, what my alignment is, what my aiming

point, what the defense is doing. But there's guys that'll be on the side of the ball, they're lined up and they're just like talking mess and just like, yeah, it's funny because like I'll be there and if I do a point, oh, you're not, that's a fake point. And I'm like, damn, like how you even? You're locked in. Yeah, yeah. There's people trying to talk to you, right?

Yeah. Talk smack or whatever, get in your head. Yeah, yeah. You ever let that happen? I don't, it doesn't affect me. Yeah. It doesn't affect me. There was a time I remember Jamal Adams. He got mad

at me because I had, I think, an explosive screen and he tried to make the tackle and I kind of broke his tackle, but ended up out of bounds. So when I got up, he was like talking mess and I honestly couldn't understand what he was saying. So I like looked at him and asked, I said, what? And he like tried to like, you know, continue to talk mess. And I was just like, and just kept going. And I could tell he was like frustrated that I didn't talk back to him.

But it's funny to me, cause like, it doesn't faze me. Yeah. Well, some people use it to play better. They get, they like to get riled up or like Michael Jordan type stuff. Yeah, definitely. There's, there's some guys, I mean definitely there's there's some guys I mean there there was some guys to Nathan playing against him when he was in Chicago he's one of those guys like all game long yeah he's just yapping out there just yapping doesn't have any that has nothing to do with you maybe but he's just yapping all game long well I hope a bit and I bet MGM authorized

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Actually play about it when people start talking. Yeah, you see, and sometimes it does like, you know, it's like, okay, you want to talk? All right, let's do this. I get that feeling sometimes. Guys will do like extra stuff after the play where they kind of like land on you and give you a little like nudge and call you

Certain words whatever and it's like alright bet. Yeah, so that's kind of what I do I just tap into mode. Yeah, alright bet. I must hurt man when you're at the bottom of a pile of eight dudes on you Oh, man, it's worse when there's like a defensive lineman those guys are 300 plus pounds and they will purposely like dead weight on top of you because it like really just, it drains you when you get tackled

and they might not even like hit you hard or anything but if they like fill you under them, they'll just like chop their weight for as long as they can. See this is the stuff people watch and don't even realize. Yeah, no, it's horrible. It happened to me like twice last game.

Oh, man. They're just like squeezed. They got a good grip on you, and they just kind of like lean up and just like let their dead weight fall until someone comes and like pushes them off. Yeah, because they got to be helped up, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Man. Yeah, because then next play, you're probably gassed. Yeah. Yeah. But it's one of those things you got to tap in. There's a difference between being in shape and being in football shape. And that's what the difference is. Like you got to be able to take hits, hit people and keep going.

Next play, next play, next play. Absolutely. And you can't just, you know, run, you know, people can run laps all they want to and be in shape, be conditioned and all that. But there's like that extra different type of football conditioning when it comes down to like taking hits and getting a guy, four people laying on top of you. And then you got to get up and get on the ball

and run again. Right. This is why injuries are so common. Yeah, yeah. That fatigue sets in and your body just does what it does. Especially your position. Yeah. I feel like almost every starting running back

is dealing with something. Yeah. It's day in and day out. It's like, how does my hip feel? How does my ankle feel? How does my, it's just always something that she's like week to week. Just got to get better, get better, get better. It's got to be one of the most vulnerable positions

if I had to guess. Yeah. Yeah, I feel like other than like the linemen, like we get touched every play, really. Like for the majority of the part where like 97% of the game we're getting touched, whether that's picking up a blitz, catching the ball at the backfield or running the football,

we're having to deal with some contact. Yeah, damn, you must have a fearless mindset then. That's crazy to think about 97% of the time you're getting touched up. Yeah. Yeah, and that's why, for me, I always try and fight for a little bit. I tell people the value of the running back position

is a lot higher than it is. As it is, it's a lot higher than it actually is. On paper right now, it's been devalued so much. But I mean, you see guys like Saquon and, you know, even, you know, a great do over in Detroit, Dave Montgomery and Gibbs, like, like bringing that value back to the running back position, because there's more than just running the football is running the ball, catching the ball, picking up blitzes, all of those things that we do on a, you know, every down basis. That's like we're really like workhorses. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I grew up in Jersey. So as a Giants fan, losing Saquon was tough. Yeah. Oh, that one hurt. He's a beast.

Yeah, no, I thought he was gonna end up being like a lifetime. Just go ahead and retire as a giant. But that's rare these days. Yeah, it is. But I mean, it worked out for him. He's doing a great job right now. I'm happy for him. But yeah, the business side of the sports industry is tough, it's worthless, right?

Like they'll just trade you if they want to make money or whatever. Yeah, that's one thing I learned too, just like it's a business. It really is. Like at the end of the day, whatever is the best move for a franchise, whatever the best move is for a coach, owner, a GM,

they look at those things and they make a decision. It's like that, you know, you could be, you know, having a loving conversation one day and then the next week, they're shipping you away. Damn, it's like that? Yeah, it's crazy. No heads up? No, I mean, it's, it's wild. Wow. The way that the way that my career, my career in Minnesota ended was pretty abrupt. You had no heads up? None at all. Wow. And you were there for four years, right? Five. Five years. Yeah. So you were like one of the vets on that team.

Yeah. Yeah. And I had another year of my deal, and it just kind of, you know, they decided that they were going to go in a different direction. Did they tell you a reason ever? Not in, not to the depths of like really understanding what the reason was.

Yeah. Kind of left me and my agent up in smokes when it comes down to like figuring out what the reason was. Yeah. Kind of left me and my agent up in smokes when it comes down to like figuring out what the pinpoint. Tis the season to treat your family to the great taste of Popeyes. The festive family box is here to make your holidays brighter with all your Popeyes favorites. For just $25, you'll get four pieces

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that they just say, you know, they feel like they wanna go in a different direction. And it was like the least expected call that I got. Damn. Yeah. So that really hurt you at the time? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

It was one of those ones. I mean, I went into the off season, like I remember talking to my wife, like I'm grinding for more in Minnesota. Like I want to grind so that this next season coming up, we earn more years here so I can play as long as I can in Minnesota. Like I want to grind so that this next season coming up, we earn more years here so like I can play as long as I can in Minnesota. Right.

And we had just built a house and everything and had another year left and got a great workout in that morning and later that day, you know, got a call from a coach and we were chopping it up and then bam, dropped the bomb on me. So the coach is the one that tells you? Yeah, yeah.

I mean, it depends. I know a lot of different situations sometimes like the agent contact you and get ahold of you before. But for the most part, they do their due diligence and they do their respect and they talk to you man to man and just, you know, let you know what the situation is. Damn, that's nuts. Yeah.

You thought your whole career was going to be there. Yeah, or at least the majority of it. Right. Because that was your final contract year, you said, right? Yeah, so I would have ended up. So this would have been the last year on that deal. Then six years in, hopefully get some more time there. And then like, hey, maybe at eight years,

we figure out if we're gonna continue to be able to stay here or go somewhere else, whatever the case may be. But yeah, I was thinking it was gonna be a beautiful little picture of Minnesota for a little bit longer at least. Yeah. Damn, cause the average career is pretty short, right? Yeah, yeah, it's crazy.

Like three or four years? So it was. Well, I would probably say that it maybe is around there collectively, but looking at it from a running back standpoint, it's down to two and a half. Whoa. Yeah. Two and a half.

And I remember when I was a kid, it was like four. The average was like four years for a running back. So you're like, OK, I'm going to go play four plus if I can do it. And now they say the average for a running back is two and a half. That's scary. Yeah. It's wild. That's scary.

Cause you're training your whole life for two and a half years. Basically. Yeah. Yeah. That's why I was like, you know, my son, he will not play. He's going to be a receiver DB quarterback, something else if he wants to play football. But yeah, running back position is like, man, right now it's rough.

What do you think caused it to go from four to two and a half? Do you think the competition just got too much? I think it has something to do with the competition. It has something to do with the way that the league has changed too, where you see like these super mega contracts with quarterbacks and receivers, right? So it's kind of like you have to have a star receiver, have to have a franchise quarterback,

and then you kind of plug the pieces in around that. Then the tight ends are starting to, their value's going up because bigger body, nightmare for matchups. So you look at these three positions collectively and you start to figure out, okay, what can we do with this? Well, you either get like a secondary receiver that's like a secondary star receiver. So now you have two star receivers, a star

tied in and a franchise quarterback and then you plug a piece in that running back or you maybe invest in a top tier running back, but for the most part, it's a little bit more of a running back by committee now where back in the day, you know, you had the workhorse back where it was like, you look at drone bettas, you look at, you know, even a little further, you got Steven Jackson and Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson and Jamal Charles. Like you look at those types of backs and that type of game and there's guys that can do it, right? There's teams that can do it,

but when you look at it from a standpoint of where the game's gone, you got the likes of Justin Jefferson and all these receivers that are top tier and people that are following up behind that you look you're you're getting two or three very notable receivers per team now and The way that their you know demand is and The quarterback position with the franchise QB and how much you're gonna pay it

You have to like see the upside in that investment So for me, I think it's just that the way the game has changed, it's kind of devalued the running back position a little bit just because the emphasis in these other position areas. And the running back by committee mentality, like you said, the competition has gotten a lot, I would say more leveled outward.

There's like a lot of top tier guys, and there's a lot of guys that say more leveled outward. There's like a lot of top tier guys and there's a lot of guys that have to share the room. So, you know, you go and you get two backs that are phenomenal. It's a win-win. One back is tired, the next back goes in and he's also doing great. So when you can kind of do that in a running back room,

they can kind of spare because it's like, we got to go spend money somewhere else. You got DNs that are getting paid now really big, safety's corners that are also getting those big contracts. So yeah, just overall, I think it's just the value of other positions kind of jumping up so quickly. You kind of have to suffer somewhere else. I love how objective you are

because you could be taking this personally, but you're like, this is really like insightful information. Yeah, yeah, no, definitely. I mean, for me, it's hard to take things personal in such a business network. Like once you get to the point where I'm at, where you understand like how much of a business it is, it's hard to take things personal.

I mean, there's some things that rub you the wrong way, but you know, yeah, look at it from the grand scheme of things. Right now, it's not our time. A few years ago, running backs were, you know, had their stamp in the league and it's like, okay, pay, pay, pay. You know, we need to invest in this guy, we need this guy, we need that guy healthy. You know, it was one of those things where it was a time where all the backs were, man, you want to have that back. And now it's like, whoa, you know, do we want this back or do we want Stephon Diggs? You know, so. Wait, the game's changed that much in a few years?

Yeah. Yeah. I remember my second year was in the backfield with Dalvin Cook. And he resigned an extension with with the Vikings five year deal. And you know, that, that was the time, you know, it was him, Nick Chubb, Derek Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, all those guys were signing, I think Zeke, all those guys were signing extensions around the same time, big extensions. And that was like where the running back position, I think hit that peak. Yeah. Where big contracts, big long-term extensions.

And then after that, you start to see some of the guys don't make it to the end of the deal, because of the guys. Well, not even that, just the way that it plays out. I mean, Dalvin Cook, elite player still to this day. Just unfortunate the way that the situation played out is he was slotted to make a certain amount of money. They didn't want to pay him that much money because they either they couldn't because of the cap or they needed to spend money elsewhere. So, you know, we're going to have to we're going to have to part ways all his guaranteed money was up. It was a lot of different things where you look at the business aspect of it,

but he's coming off of four years in a row of thousand in our season, four Pro Bulls in a row. I mean, since I've been there, I've seen nothing but elite out of him. Yeah, that's what I've heard of. You shake hands and say, hey, we're gonna have to cut our losses because... Damn, so he didn't get the money? No, I mean, well he had all his guaranteed money. Oh, OK. I think there might have been a little bit of guaranteed money left that they probably took a hit on.

But for the most part, all of his guaranteed money was up on the front end. So they just cut him out of the last two years. And it's one of those things that's real business-like. Real business-like. Yeah, it's cutthroat, huh? Yeah. Yeah. And the game changes so quick. And the real business like, real business like. Yeah, it's cut throw, huh? Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, and the game changes so quick and the NBA, it's all shooting now. Yeah. Like even the bigs have to shoot. Man, I think, who was I looking at that was pulling up? And I was like, why, Kat? Yeah, he's pulling up like eight shots a game. I was like, yo, is this like, I thought he was,

and I was like, I thought he was a big. And I was like, wait, no, he is a big. He's just pulling up from three point line. It's crazy. Yeah. I mean, you've got to adapt. You probably had to change your game, right? Yeah. Over the years.

Yeah. And that's the name of the game, especially in professional sports is like the times change. Every now and then, you'll see a big shift in the game. You'll see just like, oh, whoa, hold on. This is new. This is something that I haven't really seen much of, but now everyone's doing it. Everyone's doing it. So now you have to get good at that. When it came down to, for me, I would say like there was a time where the way that tackling was, you know, back when I was in college around 2017,

so yeah, 2017, 2018, like the big thing was like the Gator Roll tackle, where they're grabbing guys, rapping and rolling. Then it kind of shifted. And now you see guys just like trying to lunge and throw their bodies without really wrapping up. So now you have a different type of mentality where it's like, well, now I can break tackles

a different type of way. For me, giving away, I guess, a little bit of a secret, but like the way some of the backers play it, some of the safeties play it, I know that they're gonna come down and when they dip their arms, they go back. So a lot of times what I do is I'll initiate contact and spin out of tackles.

Oh, wow. Because they can't get their arms to wrap before that contact breaks. So there's little things like that that I paid attention to, that I look at, and it helps your game. That's super smart. So you're pretty, like, you're analyzing

the way people are tackling you. Yeah, yeah, definitely. I didn't know you were researching that type of stuff. Yeah, it's one of. So you're pretty like you're analyzing the way people are tackling. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I didn't know you were like researching that type of stuff. Yeah, it's one of those things you look, you know, you watch enough tape, you look at some guys, you know, who likes to tackle low. So, you know, like, OK, this game is a hurdle opportunity game. You know, some of the guys that, you know, they come downhill. So what you can do with that is, you know, my momentum,

I'm going to use it against them where they think they won. But, you know, if I kind of like press the brake and hit a spin move or press the brake and use a stiff arm, like they're out of control. So yeah, it's a bunch of that that I look at. I look at different tendencies, different things. And then even from a broad perspective, like what's going on.

Like I noticed, you know, before the hip drop rule came in, I was like a big advocate for like, yo, like how is it legal to tackle someone like that? The hip drop, what's that? It's when you grab someone kind of like up top and you drop your hip to the ground. And that's how a defender would tackle a runner that's trying to run past them. They grab and drop their hips drop all their weight yeah and

that is putting a runner at a position to suffer a lower leg injury and I was a victim of that in college tore all the ligaments in my left ankle damn and championship game linebacker grabbed me and just dropped all his weight and got me good and tore all the ligaments in my ankle. And so once I saw that happening, and there was a couple guys last year that were out for the season after it. And so they're looking at, you know,

okay, we gotta make a rule change because now guys are really just starting to tackle like that. And you've got a big 300 plus pound D lineman that just grabs you and drops all his weight. I mean, good luck. You're most likely going to get injured. So for me, I learned how to protect myself against stuff like that.

My pad level with just kind of like living to see another day. Mm. That is crazy. Yeah. Yeah. People don't even know this is going on in your head. Yeah. Yeah, it's great. I mean, like, if I see a big D lineman free, it's like,

I got to live to see. I'm going to try and do what I can. But if he grabs a hold of me, just let my body weight go and relax and just like, we'll live to see another down. Yeah. Well, there's a lot on the line with you. Like, if you get a major injury, like, that could end your career. Yeah. So that's scary, right? Yeah. It's a lot on the line with you. Like if you get a major injury, like that could end your career. Yeah.

So that's scary, right? Yeah. A lot of pressure. Yeah, especially at this point too. Like, you know, I'm six years in. I got to do what I can to stay healthy, make sure I'm out there on the field, make sure I get my chance, the best chance to keep going.

Just had a baby last month, right? Yeah. Congrats. Yeah, I appreciate that. Got the first one. Yeah, it's my second. Oh, second? Nice.

Yeah. That's huge. Yeah, it's my second. Oh, second? Nice. Yeah. That's huge. Yeah, it's beautiful. He's, yeah, he's given us a run for our money. Everyone asks me, they're like, are you getting good sleep? And I'm like, yeah, for the most part, but you know, babies are babies, you know,

but it's amazing. He's healthy and my daughter, she's two. So we just got a nice perfect mixture right now. Love it, man. I can't wait to have kids. Getting married next year. Oh yeah, congrats. Yeah, we're seven years in, so.

Nice. It's almost time for kids. Yeah, that's beautiful. Yeah. That's beautiful. Were you high school sweethearts? College. College, okay. Yeah, we met in college. I didn't know her in high school.

It was a different town in Jersey. Yeah, okay. Hometown though? I grew up, yeah, pretty much. Yeah? In Jersey. That's dope. Yeah, me and my wife, we high school.

Oh nice. Went to high school together. Yeah. That's irreplaceable, man. Yeah. I've learned that with my relationship because I see all my single friends struggling right now, but this girl's been with me from rock bottom.

Man. Same with you. Yeah my rock yeah we just hit 10 years a couple weeks ago. Congrats. Yeah appreciate that. That's rare these days man. Yeah it is that's why you know I'm glad that she's here with me by my side through all the journey she's seen I mean she was here before his first offer rolled in so yeah so. Beautiful. It is. What do you think, how do you think you've been able to make that work out, being a professional athlete and balancing that? I mean, it really comes down to priorities,

comes down to how are you going to balance this life with trying to be the best husband, father, best friend, provider. It's hard. Yeah. It's hard. Cause you travel a lot. Yeah. Yeah. It's hard because the schedule, the way the schedule is,

the way that you have to, like I do, I mean, a lot of people are different. I do a lot of taking care of my body. So like, I know that part's also hard because like in season, even after practice, right? Like I might be home and then I got a recovery session where I gotta go get acupuncture, I gotta go do this. And so that part I know is hard like on a spouse

because it's like season, it's just like going, going, going, going and we just really get off day to be with our family. And even on my off day, I'm doing like boxing in the morning. Wow. Then I'm doing like anything like great opportunity like this to come sit down with you and talk. Then later in the evening, I'm going

to do another like acupuncture soft tissue massage session. So it's also just one of those things where like I just love and appreciate and respect her patients and especially dealing with the toddler and a newborn right now is definitely hard. I told her, I was like, yeah, we got to stop with the seasoned babies because it's definitely one of those times of the year

where it's just like full-fledged. Chaos, right? Yeah, you're probably working 80 hours a week. Yeah. I got to try out some acupuncture. You're making me want to try it. It's full-fledged. Chaos, right? Yeah. You're probably working 80 hours a week. Yeah. You know? Yeah. I got to try out some acupuncture. You're making me want to try it.

It's good. It's good. I was scared of it, but. Have you ever done needles? No. It's, it'll change your life. Really? Yeah.

It's that effective. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you got to have the right person. Shout out to Hillary out in Minnesota. She's a phenomenal. Oh, you go all the way there for it? No. I, so when I was there, you know, I was there for five years. I was able to just, you know, she's phenomenal. Oh, you go all the way there for it? No, so when I was there, I was there for five years, I was able to just have that relationship,

got acupuncture twice a week, maybe more if I was really banged up from the game. But I've been able to, now we have such great relationship where she can make trips and in between the Viking schedule and our schedule, she makes it work where, you know, she's not working. She can come out and I can get my body right. That's cool, man.

Yeah. So you got a spiritual side to you. Yeah. Yeah. I got to make sure I'm right. Yeah. Because acupuncture is like on the more spiritual side of things, right?

Yeah. And she does a good mixture of sports acu. So it's a blend of not just the ancient technique of acupuncture where they kind of just hit trigger points, but really a little bit deeper with the muscle tissue and breaking down your fascia, using the tenss stem unit and fire cupping and using a little bit of that you know soft tissue manual therapy as well so a big mix of just like getting in there and making sure that everything's working and flowing great Wow love it man you're gonna be playing into your 30s I think yeah I'm look I'm

trying to make it as long as I can I I'm trying to. I feel good now. Having a great season. Three touchdowns already, right? Yeah. What's the most you've had in a NFL season? That is a great question. I'm surprised you don't know it. I think five.

OK. So you might beat that this year, man. Yeah. Yeah. I think I have, yeah, you said three and one receiving. So if I can just continue to just wherever, whether it's in the air, whether it's on the ground, just continue to stack those, put points on the board.

That's one of the great feelings is helping your team to a victory, helping your team score. So yeah, I look forward to that every time I touch the ball. Four already, wow. Yeah, you're definitely going to beat it. Yeah, I'm trying to. You might even hit 10. Yeah, hopefully. definitely going to beat it. Yeah, I'm trying to. You might even hit 10. Yeah, hopefully.

Double digits. Double digits. I need that. That doesn't happen often for running backs, right? No. No, it's definitely one of those things that, like, you look at, like, 1,000 yard season and double digit touchdowns, like, that's a living.

That's Adrian Peterson status. Yeah. That dude was a machine. Yeah. I had him in fantasy. Oh my god. I was chilling. I knew I would win

No, he's he's oh man. He's awesome. He he was one of my Inspirations. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I feel that it was pretty crazy cuz I got to play against him No, my rookie year when he went to he was in Washington. I remember that and We played them and I had a good game and it was funny. It was just like crazy. I remember it was like a scene in a movie. I'm walking and then like the circle kind of opens up and he's standing there and he's like, hey man, running out there like beast mode 2.0. And I was just like, yo, this is Adrian Peters right now. And like he just shows so much love and respect. And yeah, man, it was, it was crazy. I have a great picture and I love it

I got it framed and did you do a jersey swap? No, I still need to get his jersey. Actually he Went up connecting because he ended up in Detroit. Mm-hmm. I don't I think it was the next year and We connected and he's like, yeah, man, I'm going to get you a Jersey. So I got to call him. I got to hit him up. He said, he said he'll give me a Jersey and I, I saw him actually last year and he's like, I ain't forgot about you. So I think it's still on his mind a little bit.

Make sure I get one of those. He was still nice on Washington. Yeah. That's the crazy part. Cause he was late thirties that year in age for a running back. That's pretty old. Yeah, no, he, he's definitely one of a kind. And I think, I don't know what it comes down to,

and it comes down to like, if, like I said, it's a business. You never know when a back looks good, and it's like, whoa, why isn't he still playing? I mean, there's a business to things like, there's probably a minimum that you have to pay a guy like that to come be a part of your team and play. And if we can go get a 21-year-old. Paying the fifth of the price.

Fourth round, yeah. Then they start to juggle those decisions. Yeah. Because when you get drafted, that's not guaranteed money, right? No. No, you still have to make the team and everything. But you are on a deal.

So when you get drafted, you're on a four year deal. Oh, four years right off the rip. Yeah. Wow. That's a pretty long contract for a rookie. Yeah. Yeah, which is like for us, I look at it from a standpoint of being in it for a while now.

And I think that it should be shorter. I think that's where we're going with trying to make that agreement with the NFL and the NFLPA. It's trying to get those years shorter because, like I said, running back average now is two and a half years. So I'm signing a four-year contract. The average for me to stay in this league is two and a half. It's not really making sense. And then there's guys that outplay their contracts.

There's guys that will come in and the first two years are ballin', pro bowlers. But you're locked into a deal for another two years. Damn. So it should be one or two years, right? Yeah, it should be. I mean, at least, I would say two to three. I get the business standpoint from owners,

from teams and organizations. It can't be that quick to get to a second contract. But I do think like, you know, you make it three versus four as giving guys a better chance of, you know, doing what they've always wanted to do. Set their family up for life and play ball at a high level and also be compensated for it.

Cause you also probably see really talented people, but just the wrong team for them. Yeah, definitely. That happens a lot. Yeah, which sucks because they know they're good enough, but just the wrong system or the wrong team or the wrong coach. Yeah, and then you see them go somewhere else and they flourish.

And they might have been with another team for like three years and end up in another situation. They're doing amazing. So it's one of those things, like I said, it's just, oh, it's a lot of moving parts. It's a lot of moving parts. Has that ever happened to you, whether it was like high school, college or pro

or the coach you didn't agree with? Luckily, no. Wow. I've been blessed. I have never been a part of a situation where it didn't fit me or I disagreed heavily. I mean there's probably times in a game of course where I'm like yo like we should have done something else. I feel like everybody experienced that but Mark Sean Lynch experienced that. Yeah but I've never been in a situation where it was like,

I need to get out of here. That's good. Yeah. That's good. Yeah, luckily. Yeah, cause you can't really control that in the NFL, right? Yeah. I feel like the NBA, if you're a star player,

you have some control maybe. Probably. Of where you get traded to, but. Yeah, and I've seen, you know, from my perspective, how crazy it is that like, the way that some guys can like, hey, we want to team up and go to this team and they'll make it happen.

Really? Yeah, I think the whole like, Katie, Kyrie and Harden. Oh yeah. I feel, well, I don't know, from my perspective, it felt like they like planned to all go there. Yeah, to the nuts you're saying? Blake Griffin was there at the time too, right? Yeah, the nuts, yeah.

Like crazy. Stacked. But it didn't work out. Didn't work out. Too much star power or something, I don't know. It didn't work out, but yeah, it's crazy to see. I think those guys really, I mean, it's a smaller population.

Yeah. And when you're just that guy, of course, you can just kinda make some shots. Yeah. Does that happen in the NFL where a team just has so many stars in Thailand and they don't win? Um I think so Trying to think of some teams for sure but I mean

It definitely happens where they have the right guys. They have all the pieces, but they just don't pan out. No chemistry yet, right? I think it's a lot to do with the chemistry. You have to have good play calling as well. So if a coach is not a defensive coach or an offensive coach, whatever the case may be, you can be a great team. You can even like dominate,

but I always see those teams that don't have everything so much together, just have stars. They don't make it past first round playoffs. Really? So you need everything. You need coaching, You need good GM. Yeah, chemistry, the small things. You need some of those detailed pieces in between

to get further because you can have a great season. You can have a lot of star power, a lot of guys that are pro bowlers and all that. But it comes down, I tell you, playoff football is a different type of football. It comes down to the small things then. Absolutely, and the Chiefs have crushed that, right? Yeah, and they do it without, really,

without a lot of star power. Yeah, just Travis and Mahomes, because they got rid of Tariq, right? Yeah, they have rid of Tyreek, right? Yeah. I mean, they have some good guys, but they don't ever have stacked receiving room, stacked DBs. There's not really ever a situation where they're super stacked.

There's a couple key star pieces, and I think they just do the details really well. Right. That's a good point. They're like the Spurs of the NFL. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Wow.

Yeah. That's good to know. Yeah, but it's one of those things, you know, you see it from afar. You got to respect it. You got to understand what you have to do to beat a team like that. Yeah.

So yeah, it's one of those things. If you love the game, you respect stuff like that when you see it. Yeah. So yeah, it's one of those things that if you love the game, you respect stuff like that when you see it. Absolutely. Have you played against them in the playoffs? Not in the playoffs. Regular season, though, yeah. And Eric and Derrick.

You could tell they were a well-oiled machine. Yeah, it's just like, why? Sometimes you're just like, why? Why did they just, how did that happen? Why did that happen? They blew you out? No No, no, I've never it's never been a blowout but tight games or

Maybe you're up a couple scores. Mm-hmm. And then all of a sudden it's like yeah what like they're winning I could have swore we're up and Yeah, it's it it'll probably come down to the wire. I think they've been in Nell Biders like all season this year too. A lot of their games are close though. Yeah, and look at them. They find a way to come out on top with the little things.

So like, you gotta try and like beat a team like that from the gate, like out the jump. You gotta just tear them down, tear their, I mean, it starts up top. You tear their mentality down and then execute, minimize all the different penalties and all those things, turnovers, you can have those. So yeah, I'm excited to play them. Yeah, can't wait to see that game, man.

Well, dude, what's next for you and where can people keep up with you? Yeah, for me, I mean, we're doing a lot of good stuff. We're doing a lot of good stuff in the community with my foundation, I Am Gifted Foundation. So, you know, besides football, you know, I have a big passion for using that platform and using everything that I'm blessed to have to help others, serve others and give back and spread love and positivity in the world.

And, you know, we give back, and spread love and positivity in the world. And we just, through everything that we do, we try and just continue to bring home that message. Love that. And bring about mental health awareness, make sure that everyone knows that they have a gift within. They just have to find it, embrace it, and use it to shed light in the world.

Love that, man. Let me know the next event for the foundation. I'll be there. Yeah, most definitely. Yeah, we'll be actually the next event. We will be at the Sunrise Children's Hospital doing a little scavenger hunt with the kids and trying to put some smiles on their faces.

Yeah, I'll definitely be there. And we'll link it below if anyone wants to donate. Thanks for coming on, man. Yeah, most definitely. I appreciate it. Thanks for watching, guys. Check out the links in the description. See you next time.

watching guys check out the links in the description. See you next time. See you next time. See you next time. See you next time. See you next time. See you next time. See you next time. See you next time.

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