Derrick Morgan

The Boys YO with your boy Calm Nasty, got my co host, your dad, Nashville's Dad Taylor luwan uh just number one friendly reminder episodes you're about to hear record in the past. The Boys no episodes. This is not a current this is not an up to date deal.

You know.

That's for people thinking Taylor's potting while suspended.

That's not true.

That's thinking I'm potting while playing football, not even playing football.

Had no idea. Why even said that.

The Boys on the Saints for a short period of time, the boy ball, it was all good. Injured the old ankle a little bit. I'll be straight here soon, healthy, very very soon. It's been great though. A lot of teams calling Pee wee League team down the road. They need some help coaching this weekend. A lot of traffic, a lot of traffic with the US teams.

Yeah, it's a stupid joke.

Big announcement. We have a tailgate this weekend. It's the Tits versus Colts game on Sunday. It'll start at eight twenty seven am. The reason for eight twenty seven to seven Eddie George. It'll last to eleven oh nine am. The nine Steve McNair. This will be on Sunday, September fifteenth at three zero one Woodland Street. Guys, were we are fucking psyched to uh be throwing a tailgate for you guys. The boys will not be there, you know, not smart on our part, so we will not be there.

Home game, so all eight home games.

We're hoping to get this thing roll and have a great turnout, start creating something special for you know, everybody in Nashville, whoever visits, everybody's welcome. If they're wearing a different jersey, who gives a shit, they're supporting a different team, who gives a shit.

The main thing is.

If you support the boys and you support busting with the Boys, everybody is welcome. It doesn't matter what colors you're wearing. We will be there having a great time. I would actually love to see videos and support of you know, Colts and Titans fans together talking about the boys.

So you know, everybody's welcome. Everybody just have.

A great time, have fun, be responsible and all this is getting put together by hang ten Hank Tennessee, who does our merchandise. You can go see all their merch and our merchan at hang ten dot com. That is hangtn dot com. Also Regal Realty. They're footing, They're footing everything, they're sponsoring all of it. They're putting a lot of it together. Hunter Briley at Regal and Ryan at hang ten.

Okay, So onto our episode.

Derek Morgan, guys, Dan Morgan is He was a phenomenal interview. He was a first round pick to the Tennessee Titans that played his whole career with the Tennessee Titans, played at a really high level for many years. Derek was somebody who I took a huge liking to with my one year on the Titans. He was somebody I always leaned on for advice, recovery, working out. The guy is was a true pro the entire year I was on the Titans. And you know, he was one of the

The dude is very active. He's a he's he's.

Represented by Vayner Media, Vayner Sports. So if you've seen or heard Gary vaynerchuck stuff out there, Gary Vee on social media, that is who represents Derreck Morgan. So he's very active and a lot of stuff he does, and we pick his brain a lot, laugh a lot. It's a real good time. But uh, you know I won't. I'm not gonna ramble much longer. Man, This this d Morgan episode is a banger. You guys are gonna enjoy it. Hey, follow the boys. You know where to find us on

Camp is coming up. Huh yeah Wednesday, Yeah, Taylor, sorry, Thursday, next week the twenty fifth. Dude, don't pretend like you are. You were living that life. You were living that life, like right away, it was it's crazy, man, I feel good. I mean, I'm I'm in shape, but you know how it is this camp, so it's like there's nothing really to truly feel good about. Like when you just you're just living.

It's like.

Just to know you're going to break it down, break it down because you in July you always feel yourself and like, yo, I'm kind of the man right now I'm feeling myself. And then December you're looking at yourself like you're not even you are you You're not even a human being, like you're a you've you're body fats all the deal right right, your body for real. But you know, like October November, like you start sneaking that

Yeah, and you you do as much conditioning as you want. And then after those few days in camp, you're just like, there's no training for like football conditioning. Dude, No, your feed them dogs are barking like you're you know, sitting in the locker room.

Did you say something like, hey, boys, how are we going to get out of here? How are we gonna? Are we gonna make it out of here?

Hey? Would you play three games back to back?

Yeah? You know, we asked the funniest questions. Crazy, Hey, we could just play three.

Games right now, three days in a row, and it cuts out the last month of the season.

Oh, I for sure would you do it? I for sure did that. Sometimes when you get to that point where you're like, you got three four games left, let's just do them. Let's just do them. We get him done?

Yeah, triple header, triple header?

It's your ship broken? Are we rolling you? Mine's like a little jack. Hey, you're on top of that ship, dude. You know, how's the retired life?

Bro?

That's them. Don't even blame you. Look at us, bro.

It's a white way to spell Derek.

Oh my god, we and we're busting with the boys and.

Been have you on because we had the landy on and it's like, hey, you had one black guy and now we got two black eyes on. We're divers as fuck. Now, dude, we need to get killing them.

We need to get our first lady on it would your wife come on?

Talk about you got to watch out for this bus, don't we look at the stickers. You see these purple spots right here, those are all Confederate flags and stuff like that.

When I said when I posted the picture and they said somebody when I was like, somebody said you need to cover up some stickers. Dave Morgan was the one who was like, hey, you might want to check a couple of them stickers.

I was like, yeah, yeah, we need to get that. We literally been thinking to ourselves like yeah, we got to take this stuff down, like take it down. But they we get so, like we finished the podcast, We're like, let's get the hell out of here. Dude, where is this?

Where did this bus come from?

Uh? So the bus came from here. Due hasn't moved. The production company we worked with before, yeah, they brought up the idea of everything and so this was like this originally before we got to this spot, was that a like a vacant broken down, like what was that soda company? Do Son drop like in mississipp And the dude that owned this bus his name is Huan and

Dude, I kind of felt the vibe, but I walked on it was kind of uneasy, really.

Coach Arthur Smith was like to He's like, I didn't know if I should really like step on here. I was a little sketched out, like walking up to the bus, like, hey, are they really inside of that thing?

There was when we when we got this bus done and we did all this stuff in here, we kept this is the only thing original, but that the floors are done.

We painted everything and then moved.

Dude, has it doesn't work? Yeah, it doesn't work. We're gonna get a mobile eventually. I think we're just gonna start turning that negative into a positive in the dollar signed community of our pod cast. I feel, dude, how's the retired life? Man?

I feel like I've been on the retired life for like six months. It's good, bro. I mean it's really it's stress free. It's stress free.

It's stress free. Stress listen to he sounds so at peace, I am, man.

I mean we, I mean, we talked throughout the whole year, but I think this was a decision that was coming for a long time.

You know, we said I was going to play as long as it made sense.

And nine years and you know, everybody's like, you gotta get to ten, you gotta get the ten.

I'm like, why, Like, I'm straight, you know.

What I mean.

I've played out both my deals now, I've done good for myself and I don't have to play, never be in a position where I had to play.

And yeah, I just feel like.

The stuff off the field is becoming way more purposeful for me, and that's more stimulating to my mind.

You know.

So I think that it's been a decision longer than making and I'm definitely at peace with it.

I'm just thinking that's just our whole year together, like in the locker room and stuff like that, like you and Rack.

I love Rack Man shut out Brian Rack. Every time I want to buy you guys, Yeah, fellas, every time I want to buy you guys. You guys are laughing or complaining about stuff. Yeah, I walked by that. I look at you guys. I can't even go over there. I'm not the mindset to even be over there. Sometimes we need to tell you that you got to go to young in this spot. Yeah, don't come over here. You don't want them.

No, But right, we were each other's therapists throughout the last year. But it was it was good to have somebody like that, who was that you know, advanced in their career, understood it.

So, I mean you helped me too, Bro. I appreciate you.

Yeah, appreciate our conversations outside of football, real estate, all those things.

Yeah, you're like a real estate mongol. Now, dude, man, I have a mogle mongol. Whatever. Let's dude, it's sucking. It's my bus and do whatever I can say whatever I want. Bus. I bought the bus. If we get divorced, this bus is mine. Yeah, I got will car the other day and he turned his car on. And it's like a real estate podcast. Every time I talk to him, he's like, yeah, I got a phone call in fifteen minutes about this, that and the other bigger.

Mike Will's you know, Will we have more money than all of us. Someone was a get Rich Education anything Real. What's his name, Keith, Keith Winehold, Keith Whitehole, something like that. He's tough to listen to because he's got kind of like a real cornish, cornish voice.

If he ever listens to this, I apologize. So he's hard to listen to.

But the dude is like he has so much knowledge and he has people and that kind of talks about all like you know, cash flow ratios, real estates, financially free versus debt free. It's that kind of mindset and it's a lot of like good stuff and they're quick, like thirty to forty forty five to fifty minute podcasts that I try to like tap into and just stay on top of you guys, because anytime i'll hear something, I'll try to Like I was telling the tailor's joking on me.

I was like yeah.

You know, if I find something, I hear something, you know, I'll just hit up my property managers.

And it just makes youre like are we doing this?

And was like and they're probably reading it thinking yes, because they're property managers.

I've done that. That's that's literally that jobs. Like someone's like, hey, to I just want to make sure you're past setting, Like, yeah, I'm going off. It's a tackle, dude, I gotta I gotta pass that every once in a while. Have you ever thought the step like this, Like, yeah, I have, I wanted.

Those were the conversations that that Rabel used to have with you when I seen y'all going through one on ones.

Really when I was like coming back, like if you had like a little nigger somewhere, yeah, make sure you sit inside out. It's like yeah, it's like, you know.

I look over there, like this guy there's nothing that he can't do.

Yeah, I know.

Like Rabel would be like he'd have that little pat on his chest and all right, I'm gonna set and you punch me. And he'd do it two, three times, and then he'd see somebody watching and I'd do the same thing on the third time or the fourth time, and he'd swim me and beat me and he like run pas. I said, man, still got it, still got it, Lawan. I'm just sitting there like yeah, look yeah, yeah, like you got like Ashley and Titans Amy or Field and he like peaks it over. It's a lucky give me

Dude, that's brutalized it.

So you don't miss it or there ever are there are the days you wake up and you're like, dude, I could I could play another game?

Bro? Do you want me to be honest with you? No?

Yeah, this is this is a fool like do you do whatever you want?

Bro?

I don't miss it at all, Nothing like this right this like conversations.

Like yeah, I mean yeah, like that's the thing that you that you miss.

But it hasn't really hit in because I've been so busy that I haven't really had time to sit down and process.

Man.

I miss the guys, like you know, I miss having those laughs and stuff and just that that camaraderie. But waking up, you know, putting making sure like because you know how I was with my body, bro, like stop process. And so for me it was like, I wake up, Okay, I feel this little tweak at my knee. I gotta go do some correct exercise. Just gotta go get treatment

You know, I mean a long time, like a year. Okay. So if the last year around this time, you're like this is it started to pop back in your head like this kind It.

Was like, yeah, this is my last year at my deal, and you know, if it makes sense, if the right opportunities on the table.

I told my.

Agent Aj Vanderchuck, I said, look, man, if it's not a good team, a good market, or a good role, don't even entertain it.

And so you know we've had we had talks with teams.

You know, over the off season, and it was like, you know, do I want to uproot my family for a one year deal and move across the country.

Probably not, you know what I mean.

So when you can tap into everything you're probably doing off the field.

Exactly, I've been sprinkling a lot of seeds throughout my career, and so I think now it's kind of time to activate those seeds and really take advantage of it and leverage, leverage my network.

Right, feel free to plug plug away. Many know, what are.

Some of these seeds? You know, I'm always asking what the hell you're up to because I have fomo.

I always have following guys. You're talking business? Hey, boys, are we doing this?

Like?

What's the deal?

Here?

Send me the information? You see the boys fix your name? I did.

It's a white way that dere So yeah, we got a whole list here. I mean, we're trying to hit some of stuff.

Then that's one of the stuff I know about start at I wanted to start at CBD and THC.

Damn.

That was that's like because because I texted you it was recently too. I was like, yo, if if if we take CBD or what did I say. It's like, hey, it's CBD legal for us to take because there's all like this tipping point of like knowing CBD has a little bit of that whatever percentage in it to where if you test positive for THAC, it's you're clarified for

So people are like, yo, are you doing t Are you doing.

CBD now when you haven't been tested the one time of year yet, like have you taken CBD? And everybody's like, you don't really want to test or you don't want to push it. So I definitely, I know both of us would like to know about the CBDTC.

So I wouldn't I wouldn't test it. You know, there's different forms of CBD. There's the full spectrum where you have a little bit of the THAC. So if you have less than point zero three percent of TAC, you know that's full spectrum.

That's full spectrum CBD oil.

Now what they have is there's a called a CBD extract, so they extract the THAC from it, and you're getting straight CBD. You could take that right before a drug test and be fine. Now, what I don't know is the full spectrum that has the THAC. I don't know if that's safe for a drug test. I always tell guys, hey, look, wait till you get your tests. Then you can start taking it, you know. And then there's also the ointments and stuff, and nobody's really done a whole bunch of research on it.

It's not to.

Say it's still vague in a sense, but I think that the NFL just needs to take it off the list. Like why are we still, you know, getting getting punished for taking, you know, cannabis or whatever using cannabis when we're like the only lead that gets punished for it, you know what I mean.

It's just, yeah, it's backwards to me.

I've talked to a bunch of people about that kind of situation, and it seems like the NFL made it banned right right away, and like the NBA didn't really do that. I don't think hockey does that or baseball does that either. So because they went and did it, now hard because it's federally illegal to go back and say, hey, just kidding, we won't we're not going to test for that because you know what an X Y and me when there's a YEP and there wouldn't be a Bust

I think it's all about public opinion.

Yeah, the NFL will never be ahead of public opinion. They will not take any risks because it's all about the shield.

Right.

So now that you see the public opinion towards cannabis shifting towards more being accepting of it. Yeah, in society, they're kind of like, ah, yeah, we could talk to the NFL PA.

But this is the one thing you got to understand.

The NFL is always positioning itself when you in terms of CB the CBA and labor talks because they want to make that an issue and a negotiating point for the next you know, lockout or c CBA.

Coming up.

And so they're going to be like, hey, look, play eighteen games and we'll let you you know, smoke cannabis, you know what I mean.

That's how they'll leverage it.

We always exactly, we always look at it as there's economic and there's non economic issues when you talk about a CBA agreement, So you can't lump in you know, something like a medical benefit or cannabis in regards to playing eighteen games. They just, you know what I mean, it doesn't equal out. So I think that they're kind of waiting on that to use that as a negotiate negotiation tactic, which is kind of crazy, but that's just what you're dealing with.

This is business, right. It is kind of like try to get anything. If they can get eighteen games and then say hey, all right, we used some smoke weed or whatever, use cannabis, right, what a shitty deal for the players. It kind of is like I saw this said something that, like I saw jo of you guys. Yeah, hey, we're gonna take that, right boys, Yeah, he relax. Now,

Take out a preseason game, keep it at sixteen games at a bye week.

I don't know, But what do you think about? See? I'm almost like, when I get into a groove of the season, I'm like, yo, let's just do this when I can. Sometimes when I come back from a bye week, I'm a little more sore. My body is like a little more relaxed. Yeah, you know, and I feel like reamp myself. I have, but almost I don't. I am not standing on this. I'm being Devil's advocate, right. I don't want to feel like, Yo, no bye week, let's

I'm turning twenty eight. My father turned twenty eight years six. Yeah, okay, so were you there?

Yeah?

You were here where we had a bye week after Week three? Yes, and then we had thirteen Street.

Yeah. That was a tough That was a tough year. That was miserable.

Oh my gosh, Like imagine playing three games going to a bye week.

That's always the worst. Like this, late those late by weeks the best we had. I think the year after that, we had like a week ten by week or like the latest week you could have, and everyone was like, oh, this is love. Yeah, I've always been archy, dude.

The Skins had Week four last year and I was all text boys like, hey man, that that beginning bye week or early in the year, that blows.

Yeah, Tian's got a good one this year. It's like the it's in November, okay, so that's all that's I think the first week in November, it's like a week solid. How you feel about the season, bro, I feel good about it, man. I think the good thing about Arthur being the OC is it gives everybody a chance to be in the same offense. Two years in a row,

A lot of talent.

Yeah, yeah, I think it's all about culture, you know what It really is. It's like I seen guys I came in my first year at Jeff Fisher, so it was Vince Young, Chris Johnson, you know, like older like Chris Hope, Courtland Finn again, we had a really old team.

That team.

Yeah, guys just kind of did whatever they wanted whatever, playing in Miami, lose the game, stay in Miami, don't even get on the tough Yeah, that's.

You know what I mean.

So like when I got out, I was like, man, what is going on? This is kind of loose to loose.

Yeah, so I wasn't used to that, and then you know, he was going Then Munchet came, and then Wizard Hunt.

Who was next?

Malarkey Malarkey?

And then now it was like man, it's just I've seen so many different cultures try to be implemented, and I've been kind of studying that. It's like okay, what like I try to take notes on like each you know, leader or coach that came in. It's like, okay, run your own business. Yeah, like what can I take away from this? Like this works here just didn't really quite

It sounds like you read off five there, Yeah, makeays.

So I think I think the common thread that I think worked the best, at least from.

My perspective, was ownership.

Having the team feel like there's a sense of ownership, that you have a say somewhat.

In what's going on.

As to say, hey, look, this is more of a collaborative approach, right, like understanding that there is a hierarchy, there is authority, understanding those things. But to me to say, hey, look, i'm the head coach, I'm going to ask your input. You're the one on the field sacrificing your body and doing all the work. Yes, I have a certain vantage point, but let's collaborate.

Let me get your insight. I might not agree with it, but I'm gonna at least ask you, right.

So, I think when you kind of start to facilitate that type of ownership and that collaboration from a team get you get even more buying. You know, I think I think Malarkey did a good job at that. You know, I think that you know, we had the leadership councils and you know, all those different things, and I know you probably had your opinions on.

My Larkey, but it's like, you know.

We we had like a core group of guys, whether it be Vets, Starters, you know, the leaders of the team, and they kind of we kind of governing the locker room essentially, you know what I mean, if we've seen something going going on, we were able to hold people accountable. And you know, I think that we still had you guys still had it, you know, on the team. But I think having people feel like, you know, they're part of something that they have a piece of ownership in it.

What I mean, is that something you implement with the stuff you have going on.

I think you gotta like it's a difference between paying somebody to do a job and like, let's just say me and you start a business and you should Yeah, it's gonna happen.

It's gonna happen.

So it's like, let's just say we go in, you know, on a joint venture, and you know, I could pay you as a consultant or an employee, or I could say, hey, look, take some equity and we'll just kind of build this thing out. You're gonna put way more time and energy into it, knowing that you have some skin in the game, knowing that you're that you have ownership, and that you a piece of it. Then as I say, hey, look, I'm just going to pay you for nine to five.

You know what I'm saying.

You can clock and you clock out, but if you own part of that business, you might work nine to five and then go home and work seven to ten, you know what I mean.

So it's all about.

Having that sense and trying to facilitate that and stimulate that in people to say, hey, look, buy into what we're doing, you know what I mean. So I think that that's something I've always kind of looked at it from coaches, and I can apply that in the business world as well.

Yeah that's good man.

Yeah how about what? Yeah another trend? What business have you implemented that kind of like thought, like, I don't know what all all of your stuff that you do. I see you're getting a lot more traffic and action through Vainner, Vanner Media, Vyner Sports that you're with. Yeah, I don't know how much they've taught you, how much

But are you Are you involved in any CBD or TSG companies?

No, I'm on like a board called Athletes for Care that we kind of advocate for athletes' rights to use cannabis products. But I'm not specifically affiliated with any cd D or cannabis. A lot of people came out the woodwork kind of when I started advocating for it.

And you know this is probably because it's like trendy.

It's very trendy four years ago.

You came out with them. Might cause my clean things. You have the marijuana leagues on there, and all of a sudden, you had a random drug test.

Thought I had many drug tests over the last couple of years.

What did you get random judges for like substance abuse or for p D because they can't they can't substance abus Once a year.

It's only once a year, but I had, like I probably had seven to eight p D tests last year.

Really, I mean, you were right there. He's like Derek got it again.

So I don't know.

But but no, I mean when you say about like you mentioned Vayner, Like.

Hang on a second, you're on that panel, what are the benefits of cannabis, Like what do you advocate for? Like why the TG and cannabis route over the pain meds and the medicines that we have now in our league?

Bro?

Like you guys remember like all the reports of the ct and like guys killing themselves, Like when Junior Saya committed suicide, that kind of shook me up. I was like, damn, this guy had everything. He played twenty years row a famer. So I'm like, what would it take for him to kill himself? Like he had it all? And so when I started to really look into it, and I'm looking at CTE and like.

Like is that going to be me in ten fifteen years?

And so I started looking into other alternatives because there weren't no options. It was just like, yeah, you play this game and you hope and pray to God that you're going to be straight in you know, fifteen twenty years that you could live.

A normal life. But I was like, nah, I got to be more proactive.

And then eug Monroe, he was playing for the Ravens at the time, he was at the actual first you know advocate for NFL in the NFL for cannabis, and I seen him on CNN talking about it, and I reached out to him like, yo, bro, like what's up, Like I need to learn about this, and he just started sharing research with me. Like in Israel they're doing they do a lot of research on cannabis. Because it's a little bit more open, you can you can.

Research it more easily.

And so I started reading stuff, looking at the neural protecting qualities of it.

You know, when you when you.

Go play football, like you're doing this all day, and so you get those subconcussive hits that create inflammation in your brain. And so what CBD oil is basically patented as is a neural protectant. So if you take CBD oil, let's just say you take some in theory before you go and play a game, it would essentially limit the amount of inflammation that comes into your brain from you know different you know, head trauma, So that was the big reason for me. I know a lot of guys

It's just not as toxic to your system. So it's all about having options, bro.

Yeah, CBD is definitely like something that could absolutely help. I have a buddy who has a company in Arizona called True Infusion, and they do like everything organic, like the right way to make CBD and stuff like that, So they run all that and he all the times like, man, I wish I could give you some of the stuff

Years down the road, like probably in the near future, ten fifteen years whatever, we're going to look back at this time and kind of like laugh at the way we're the NFL and we all tried to go after hey, replacing this with this and be like, yeah, what were we thinking taking all this stuff back then? We kind of know it now, yeah, you know intuitably we know that now, but we're definitely going to look back. One man, I can't believe it took this long for this stuff to kind of pass.

Or it's the same thing as like we look at we look at like thirty years ago or one hundred years ago, and doctors like there's a there's a bell Mead plantation down the road and they have like it's a really cool place to go check out. I went

So it's like and you look.

At it, you're like, what idiots? Yeah, but in one hundred years they look at us going, yo, what idiots. Well, it's so like technology is moving so fast, which allows us modern medicine to also move equally as fast. So the doctors that go to school in the eighties and doctors their identity is one hundred percent what they know, you know. So so if you go if you have a doctor that went to school, graduated in eighty two and didn't do anything else, his shit's so outdated and

I mean, we deal with that a little bit in the training that I was just about to say that the teams you're on the training rooms, you're kind of dated to what they know, and guys like yourself, like, I've learned a lot from you over just being with you for a year, and yeah, and you just kind of you kind of realize the education you try and get outside of the facility and the stuff you read into or listen whether it's a podcast or any of that information out there and you start to learn and

Yeah, they it's funny. I think a few years ago my nickname around the facility was doctor Morgan, and I definitely see that it wasn't in a positive way like it was the it was because you know, we talk about being in the training room, the outdated you know, methodologies and the approach to treating injuries. And you know, if you're a rookie, fringe free agent type of.

Guy, you don't necessarily have time to waste.

You know, I sing your knee, you need something that might has to expedite that train that that that healing.

And so you know, I do a lot of.

Things that are unorthodox, that are necessarily outside of the the realm of expertise of these trainers. So, like you said, they don't necessarily understand it. But I was telling guys like, look, every time you get injured, get a second opinion. Absolutely has down, get a second opinion. You can't rely on somebody because it's a conflict of ventures. The way the training room is set up in the NFL, it's just a conflict of interest.

Bro.

Like I've seen guys, you know, get screwed over because of politics and just different you know, things that weren't necessarily related to the injury.

It was just like political stuff. It wasn't it was bad advice.

You know, I'm not naming names, but I just think that the more innovative you can be when it comes to your health, and the more flexible you can be, because we all know, like the rate of information is like doubling at like an exponential rate because there's so much information out there. Yes, so like everything's constantly changing, and so if you're still relying on stuff from like nineteen eighty two or even two three years ago, you're outdated.

Right, you're not continuing that knowledge. You an education, bro.

But the play Devil's Advocate, like those guys, it's not that they want to. It's not that anybody tries to necessarily mess you over. It's just that everyone kind of works under the what they the owners like their job is to get the product on the field as fast as possible from what they know, and it's not and when the head coach or the owner anybody comes in your office and they're checking on a player, like hey, where's so and so at, Like where are we at

It's a position for them to be in.

It's not fair, right, And we talk about that at the PA is like, can you have you know, a built in second opinion or and somebody who's not affiliated with the team in essentially come in and administer rehab and second opinions and advice because I get it, bro, Like, I get there in a mess up position. You know what I'm saying, at the end of the day, who really suffers though? It's the player, right, you know, we're at the you know, we're at the you know, discretion

And so you know, it is what it is. I know We can't get too deep.

On that on here, but I definitely think that the more guys can educate themselves and look at to like, you know, you're a vet bro, like, so you're setting an example for somebody coming into the to the league.

Now.

So it's like if I come in and I'm a rookie, I'm looking at te la Wan Okay, I see he has a routine. You know, he has an approch to how he maintains his health, and yes, he's a professional about it. So I think the more that we can model that and you can model that, the better and just kind of being that sound board for guys and that voice of reason, because when you're coming in as a rookie and you're not like a high draft pick.

Bro, You're just you're kind of on your own, you're going I've never I've never had an issue with like Todd Tursl. He's the head trainer of the Titans. He's always been so good to me, so good to me in so many ways. And when we talk about education, like the difficult thing about education, especially with modern medicine, is that there's so much information out there, but it's not just about this is the way. It's this is the way, and there's another one saying no, that's the way,

You know what I enjoyed with Todd is and you you probably you probably I would assume you probably had the same relationship with them. But like when Todd he would know that I read or like do a lot of stuff to where I'm legitimately asking questions or if I take something or bring it in and he's like, yeah, if you.

Think that's better, go ahead and do that.

Like guys like working with you, I think that's where you get that's where you get progress. And you said it earlier, like guys coming into the league in the league, young cats like always educating yourself because again, like you are your own business no matter what. And if you get messed over and you kind of go down that path, like it's just as much on you as it is you wanting to point a finger at like, oh, you know,

Go about it the right way. I see a little, I see a little.

Your teeth look good, man.

Do you even have to brush your teeth anymore? They just stay well all the time. No, I do, because my boy just choose gum now to I don't have to he puts in a cup at night. Well, man, I actually have to floorge Washington dentures.

Bro.

I have to floss now too. I used to not have to floss just because you didn't flost before. It's what you're saying. Well, you know if that's true.

But you know, people when they look at me, they didn't know if they should kick a field goal or just you know, few me a toothbrush.

Hey, cop, what do you got going on under the hood. What's up with the meat cleavers? Bro?

Kind of miss him though?

What's that you said? You kind of miss him?

You go back on my I G page and you know, find some old photos smile at.

Him, laugh like, look, I didn't know. I didn't know there was an issue before. But now that I see this, I'm like, yeah, there was definite an issue before.

Yeah, it's clearly something on.

My personality is I guess right, guys didn't even know it. Look at that, My.

Personality was so solid that you guys didn't really know how bad my teeth were.

Yeah, Hey, that's true. That's true.

Kind of like straight hand, you know, Like, I mean, he has the gap, but it's like his personality.

He fixed his gap. He fixed it, and then he decided he's like this ain't me and he actually went back and reap and fixed it.

He recapped, he recat I told when I was going, when they were about to do everything, I was like, hey, guys, if I don't like this, can we shave.

Everything back to what it used to be? And like he was like, yeah, no problem that. He's like can't that's a lie? What?

No?

Well, when they put him in that you kind of bite, and he shaved stuff perfectly anyway.

But I'm saying, like, you set me a picture of your teeth when they.

Filed the things down.

What I'm saying here, my two year old's teeth with the same size as your teeth when they filed them down. So I'm saying she had these little I'm saying like, if you like, hey, I want to go back to be like, yeah, it's just too late now, Like your teeth are perfect.

It's a lifetime decision.

Yeah, it's a lifetime save these right here.

If I wasn't, if I didn't like it, he'd be able to shave these to look like my old ones.

So yeah, they just you know, they did just give you some mean be like chewing this for half an hour, dude, get your teeth back.

Yeah you're good, You're good to go.

He didn't know what else we got, man. Oh yeah, Vaynter Sports. You talk about Vayner Sports.

I'm a fan. I take him in doses. Love Gary Vee. But obviously he's all over the place. Yeah, talk a little bit about vander Sports and going up there Vanner Media. I want to get my ass up there and be in that office.

Sometime. I remember this off season we were supposed to go together. You kind of win on your own. It's cool.

I don't I don't quite remember that.

Yeah, because you have CTE, but we don't want to jump over that.

Look, bro.

Like when I came in, I had c aa are you a c I want to see shoot on him?

Do it? Let's I took listen litten do it.

When I came in, like not even before I came in, I was doing all my agent interviews and they're like, hey, Derek, what's your favorite show.

I'm like The Office, The Office, we can get you on that show. I'm like, what great.

They're showing me the presentation there guys there, I'm looking at Lebron James and Peyton Manning and Drew.

Bey, just like yeah, I could do that.

And then when I got drafted, I was like, hey, remember about that.

Remember The Office? You said you can get me on.

The show right off?

You know, Steve kr You're like, oh, yeah, we'll look into it. Never heard anything from m Damn. And it was like they had set my expectations so high of what an agency was supposed to deliver, and they just I mean, bro, I got nothing, and it was almost like, yeah.

You're in a bad market, You're in Nashville. But I'm like, look, bro, like I was the first round pick. Can I at least get a car deal, like something, something local?

And you know, it was more.

So like a trickle down, like they had the headliners, like the guys that just mentioned the Peyton Manning's at the time. Lebron was with them, like everybody you could think of they have, and so it's like it's almost like when something comes to them, those.

Guys get it first, and you get you get what's left.

And get that trickle down.

Hey, we ain't got nothing for you, man, Yeah we got a great value add you could possibly do for ro Mark.

Like and and and and So I was with them for like forty two minute Mark.

I was with them for.

About maybe five years, right, So the first year, you know, I was talking to him and then they just like went ghosts. I didn't hear from I didn't talk to my agent, who's ragent. You mean, put put names out if.

You want to, you can, you said whatever, And then if you're driving home and you're like check it out, I don't want to put on.

But at the end of the day I came into the league. We talked and about it was like a three year hiatus where I didn't hear anything from my agent three years, like three years. And then coming around on my contract year, Hey, Derrick, how's it going.

So you're not even hearing check You're not even getting check ins or anything.

I thought you were talking about marketing, adverthing.

No, I'm talking about Hello, what's up, bro? Like nada.

So it comes around to my contract year and I started getting those texts, what's up, d how you doing man?

Just checking in? And I'm like, oh, it's contract time. I get it.

And so I fired them before my contract and I went out and got somebody else and for a reduced straight you know, because I didn't I didn't agree with the three percent they weren't delivering to get that. So I get negotiating on my terms with another agency, same thing, over promised, under delivered. And my whole thing was They're like, look there, we got this McDonald's deal for you got the subway deal coach PEPSI, And I was like, look.

Bro, the next Jared.

At the end of the day, I was.

Let's let's not be the next I didn't think that joke all the way through.

Were listen, all right?

So moving forward anyway, I told them, I said, look, I can't endorse something that I wouldn't give my kids. So I wouldn't give my kids McDonald's, so I can't. I can't endorse this.

So it was my values.

I was kind of like pulling that and they were just kind of like, we got nothing for you. So I fired them, damn son. And so two years ago, what was that second agency?

Vanguard?

Vanguard? Yeah, Vanguard Vanguard like the index funds.

Yeah, it wasn't them though, that was just.

A different one, so like it but different.

Yeah, yeah, I didn't know if it was like an umbrella like Vanguard is like we're going to branch off me an agency now too.

I mean they could if they wanted to.

But so anyway, I got connected to Vander Sports from one of my friends in college and they was like, hey, have you heard of Gary Vaynerchuk And I was like who?

And so I started googling.

Them and you know, taking them in doses and yeah, she just borked into the bike.

That's all right, can't smell it from here. All right, Well, now you're getting us sick.

I don't, look, it's just the alismologies.

So anyway, I got in touch with Vandersports, and I mean bro like their business, rollerdecks and their network insane. They weren't approaching the sports agent you know, industry from same perspective as everybody else, right, they were approaching representing athletes from more of a business mindset. And it's like, hey, look, we have this whole rolodex of companies that we work with.

Let's leverage that.

Not everybody's going to be a Gatorade ad or a Pepsi ad, you know, those huge ads.

But we do have.

Something like an accounting service who likes the service, entrepreneurs that want to be affiliated with an NFL guy. Oh and by the way, they'll pay you fifty racks.

So it's like, okay, well that makes sense to me.

I like what they're doing, where do I sign exactly?

So I think what they did and I think what they're doing is they're evolving and they're kind of challenging the status quo of what an agent looks like instead of you know, getting collecting a check and kind of seeing your next contract.

You know.

I went to Vanger and They had no incentive from my contract because I was still with my old agent, so they were just basically getting paid on what they brought to the table. And you know, through the last two years, I've been able to kind of reach out to them, but hey, do you have a connection with this guy? And AJ be like hey one second, and literally within you know, twenty four hours, he would have

And they were able to do that.

And on the marketing side, I mean they just looked into their role indecks of companies and to say, hey, look we have this company here, they want to work with you, They're willing to pay or get you an equity deal and whatnot. And so that's the other thing that we started to look at is how can we get equity out of companies instead of just getting compensation. So like the Beyond Meat deal that me and my wife are part of, like we were brand ambassadors, but

But it's almost like having the long term in mind where you don't have to take the quick cash, right.

And it's like I could have took fifty thousand dollars from Beyond Meat, but I took thirty thousand dollars worth of equal And I mean.

You see what Beyond Me is doing right now.

Yeah, So it's like having that mindset and that that approach to kind of say.

Look, let's not let's think more long term on things.

And vain Or Sports has really done a great job of helping me approach the business, you know, side of things from that from that vantage.

Point, and athletes are becoming more aware of theirselves as a business more than just.

A football player.

Like guys that in our circles all the time are getting into different endeavors for different things all the time, like you yourself, Taylor Is. I try to but it's pretty dope, man, talk about talk about your wife and the whole, the whole beyond not even beyond me, but the whole vegan stuff. I'm a big carnivore. Talk about that. Man, you talk about how big, how much of a stud your wife has has been in this whole process.

Have you have you have you guys ever tasted my wife's food?

Yeah, I've tasted something like when guys sometimes you guys tell me about her.

She made Thekwan's food.

Yeah, yeah, said okay, Google, so you kind of see how she cooks, right, So the types of food that she cooks doesn't make you want to feel like you're compromising. Right when I think vegan, I was like, man, I gotta eat none but vegetables. Like we literally tried to go vegan in twenty fifteen and my wife went to Whole Foods and she bought a whole bunch of vegetables and we just came home and dumped it on the counter and were like, what the hell do.

We do with this?

Right?

And we lasted like seven days and we failed, and we you know this. Back around twenty seventeen, I was looking for different ways to enhance my recovery because I kept hearing that it cut down inflammation. And I was consulting with this nutrition that she kept sending me research and research, and I kept looking it up and I'm like, shoot, I'm gonna try this off season. It's like March at this time, let's try it. So I slowly started to cut out red meat, I cut out poultry, eggs, and

Break down whatever you eat.

So when you eat more of a plant based diet, it's easier on your system to process that and digest it, so you can use those that energy for other systems in your body.

And so for me, that was another thing I looked at.

I have hereditary high blood pressure, and so I was twenty one years old with high blood pressure as a Division one athlete, Like that didn't make sense to me.

And so when I got my blood panels back, that was back the perfect you know, the levels were amazing, So.

That dropped my sea reactive protein, which is your inflammation drop, and then just my overall energy.

Bro, Like, I felt great. Like the first year I went through.

It was twenty seventeen and we're in training camp and you know, like day nine ten training camp, you start to get grind, feel everything. And I was still waking up like I'm straight, like I'm a little sore, but I'm good, you know what I mean. This is like year seven at the time, and I was feeling really good. I was scared because the whole, the whole myth is what the protein, right, the protein protein protein?

How can you you know, how's that gonna affect you?

And so when I came back to training camp, I still felt strong, I still felt good, and my weight was still pretty sustainable. I was like two sixty two, but my body fat a drop, you know, my body just kind of leaned out.

So I'm a big believer in it.

Bro.

I tell people, look, if you can do maybe like one meal a day that's that doesn't have meat, then you're you're on the right track. We don't look at it from like a judgemental standpoint, because we get judged, bro, Like vegans would judge us for wearing leather shoes.

And I'm like, dude, like I'm not on that now, you know what I mean.

So yeah, it'll get kind of crazy. That shit will get kind of out of hand.

Dude.

Like if you're like, first off, what other people do is none of your business, right number one, So fuck off you. I just hate it when people are like I'm doing this, so everybody should do this. It's like, listen, like, I'm not a vegan. Do I think there's a place for this world. Absolutely? If someone's a vegan and I'm not, does it piss me off? Absolutely?

Not right?

You know, but I think, like, you know, I think people are trying to find these crazy like health like go in and I'm gonna be vegan now, but they don't understand that what that means. You can be vegan and be unhealthy. You know what I'm saying. You can. You can be vegan being healthy. And it's like sometimes case starting don't put don't eat process me like grass fed, take care, take care of your body, Yeah, take your body in the right way is like, don't things things

It's a process.

Yeah, you're part of a documentary coming out, aren't you.

Yeah?

I saw you, I saw you boost. That's what's it called called Game Changers? Is it going to change the game?

I think you will.

Really.

Yeah.

I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger is in it, so I kind of piqued my attention.

Damn.

It's just about plant based athletes, right, you know, it's everybody from weightlifters to people who run track, football players, Lewis Hamilton, the race car driver. Yeah, I think was Venus Williamson or Serena Williams. I think she may be a part of it.

But yeah, when's that dropping September? Yeah, it's pretty dope, you know. James Cameron, Yeah, Titanic Okay.

Yeah, exactly a producer on it, and so yeah, it seems to be a game here.

Just let me get on this. Yeah, I'm the plant based right now. Yeah, change back everything I just said. I'm not going to do that thing. James CAMRA's doing it. Yeah, I lovely. Let's do this thing.

Fact for people curious about this being vegan or vegan diet and kind of the way you go about nutrition, the nutrients that you don't necessarily get in a vegan diet, I want to know how you get this stuff in your body, whether it be vitamin B. You've heard all that kind of stuff, Vitamin B, vitamin B twelve, vitamin the iodine, iron, calcium, and zinc.

Like, how do you do you supplement that? Yeah? You supplement that stuff.

And I think that if you take a you know, a big enough sample from the general population, I think we're all deficient in those Yeah, because if you look at it out of mean B twelve we used to get that from the soil, right, but now the soil has been so overly farmed and it's so nutrient depleted that we don't even get B twelve from the soil.

No more so, I think that we would all.

Be deficient in B twelve if we did, you know, blood panels and on a regular diet. So I think that you know, understanding what could be the deficiencies with the vegan diet and supplementing. I mean there might be days where you know, I don't have all my macros in a in a meal, correct, And I'll just drink a protein shake bro like forty grands of protein P protein, and.

I'll get my amino acid profile.

And so it's just I think people kind of get overworked up about the protein thing.

It's like, dude, like, all I got to do is drink a shake. I'm cool.

I got my full acid profile and my full protein needs for the day.

And I'm straight, yeah, you know, but supplementation.

What's uh what your guys is you're in your wife's business called company called.

Shoot my wife is she got her own business.

She's like, hey, you know, I know we did that that uh that appearance together, but I need my half.

Yeah, she start plugging that.

So her I mean it's chef Charity Morgan. That's you know, that's her brands, her personality, and then you know she's her businesses is a plant life chef and so she does I call her a transitional chef.

So if you're on the fence, and you're thinking about going plant based and you want to try things.

She's that person that can make you a mac and cheese or like a shrimp pole boy.

Familiar with like exactly, so you don't have to go and eat a quinoa bowl, like what's that?

Like I used to call it canoa, like like people don't even know a print stuff. So I think that, you know, that's what she's really amazing at. And she does a great job. It's a reason fifteen twenty guys are on our meal plan. Yeah, it's just that you don't have to compromise and the taste and it's hardy, you know, it's hardy meal. So I think she's doing a good job of kind of creating a brand for herself. She's in talks with some some networks to do a show.

Yeah, yeah, you got a sugar momba now.

Yeah, but no, she's she's doing really good on that.

And you know, we just we're trying to collaborate and enhance.

Each other's efforts whenever we at at the time. But you know, she's doing her thing. I'm doing my thing, and then we come.

Together on Yeah, what's her what's the website chef.

Charity Morgan dot com And you can find her on Twitter and Instagram chef Charity Morgan.

So we need it right there.

Yeah, your philanthropy work, Yeah, talk about talk about the things that you're involved in.

For sure.

The philanthropy has been an evolution over the years and really bro like it's like the phonemo. It's kind of a form of a phono of like not wanting to look up ten years from now, but like, damn, I should have did this while I had the platform, Like I should have I should have made this relationship or I should have did this because the one thing I started to adopt is is there's a fear of kind

As him just playing football for a day?

Yeah, like what And not to say that those are bad things, like those are still good things, like he'll probably remember that the rest of his life, but in terms of being more sustainable and really giving people tangible resources.

And so I've always looked at that.

And as I started to look at my money and what my money was doing, it wasn't always.

Matched up with the philanthropy.

It's like I'm doing the football camps, the back to school drives, the Turkey giveaways, but my money's invested in over here in the stock market, and I don't know what that's doing, right. So I started to look into things. I watched this documentary called The Thirteenth Have you guys seen that on Netflix. It's on Netflix out It's called thirteenth.

Is this what you called me about that one time when you were calling about exactly prisons?

Yeah, what that What that thirteenth Amendment did was saying that, you know, if if you committed a crime, no matter how petty it was, I could lock you up. So right after slavery was abolished, all these black people were getting locked up for petty offenses loitering, you know, smoking, like just just different little petty offenses, and I would lock you up and I would get free labor.

So it was essentially slavery at the end of the day.

It was just that I criminalized you, and I made you a criminal, and I was able to extract free labor out of you.

And so what you see now with the private prison industry is it's the same thing.

You know, we have the we have the world's largest we have the world's largest prison population, and the ratio and how that adds up stacks up to the rest of the world's population.

It's completely out of balance.

And so when you look at the statistics around the people that are in prison and for petty offenses and all those things, it's a reason.

Why that happens.

When we talk about private prisons, they're incentivized to keep people locked up. So if you come to me and I'm a judge and I have some type of affiliation with a private prison group like a geo group or cour Civic that may be on I might might be on their payroll.

So if you come to me and you're a kid and you kind of you.

Know, as a judge, as the judge, I'll.

Be more incentivized to lock you up because I know that those cour Civic and those geo groups, they have a certain quota to make. So if they're not, if they're not imprisoning people at a certain rate, they're losing money.

So they're incentivized to lock people up for petty things.

And so what I didn't know when I found out was that these companies are public companies that are traded on the stock market.

And if you're part of a.

Fund, the ETF and whatnot, you could unknowingly be invested in these companies and so what I started the wake up was like, dang, like, let me call my financial advisor. Hey, am I am I in these companies? Now you're not okay? But what is my money doing? And so I started to kind of reallocate my private capital that was invested into more impactful investments, so affordable housing developments, technology, training for underserved communities, access to capital for minority entrepreneurs, all

This, you mentioned it but as much details.

So it's like, if you're an opportunity zone.

Business and I invest in you, I can basically get a tax free investment on any type of liquidation. So if I have a capital gain and I reallocate that capital to the opportunities on right, to the opportunity's own business or development or whatnot, and if I hold that investment for over ten years, it becomes tax free.

Correct.

So what you're seeing is a lot of these private institutions, family offices, they have a lot of capital gains. I mean some people estimated it being a six point one trillion dollar market. So these when this money flows into these communities, if it's not done the right way, then what you're going to see is more gentrification, more displacement,

Here.

I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you solve your problems. I don't care what you say, this is what we're going to do. And so that's where it's like for me. I feel like when you go into these communities, it has to be an inclusive approach. Because I can't come into your home and your community and tell you what you need without having a conversation.

With you first.

And so what you're seeing is people reallocating their money to these communities, but solely based on the financial return.

So what we're doing with our fund.

Is essentially having a double bottom line, so you have a financial return, but you also have some type of social.

Or environmental return as well.

So we look at it as a very intentional investment approach to revitalizing communities. And you know, we're looking at Nashville, Atlanta, Austin where my partner is, Coachville where I'm from. There's opportunity zones in all these cities, and you know, we have relationships within all.

These markets, and you're just trying to be more intimate with those areas other than letting the very top yes, just kind of side here's where all, here's what this money is going to go to.

So then it doesn't kind of.

Separate exactly, because if you look around Nashville, it's like how many cranes are in the sky bro.

Like fifty Americas crane or megascrans are here? Are you serious? Some percentage like that.

That's high so like, but if you go drive around North Nashville, like it's pushing out to North Nashville.

But what you see are people like these sleazy developers.

If I had if you're if you're a resident in a home and I want to buy your home and you won't sell it, they'll go tell Metro and report codes on you and say, look, they're not in compliance, their their roof is messed up, or they're you're not following this, so you can get evicted and I come and snatch your home up so I can tear it down and build a tall and skinny and have somebody move in. Yeah, yeah, yeah, a lot exactly. So that's

That's awesome. You're a stud man, it's incredible.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, what's four three nothing? Maddie wanted to talk a little ball back there. Well, it was a recommend I apologize.

Four to three is four defensive linemen and three linebacks. Over that transitioning from.

A four three d N two three four outside back here just me in my head. I was like, I already, we already know, like there's gonna be a lot of topics that you'll be able to kind of.

Go with with. Okay, are we at a time?

Yeah, I mean we've been wrapping if you want to hit one.

It was like the transition from a four three hit the go ahead, hit that quick, bro.

I thought I was about to get either traded or released. I called my agent at the time, and I was like, Hey, they just hired Kim wizend Hunt.

He's a three four guy. Like, what's up? Am I getting released?

Like?

No, they definitely see you as being a part of their plans moving forward.

I'm like, yo, this is the political answer. Yeah.

Like, but I'm like, yo, this is my contract here. You just changed my position. And so I was like, okay, I had to either take it on an.

Approach of naw, I'm not doing that or I had to approach it with.

Open mind, and that's what I did. And so I think it's all about mindset, right, you know, it's all about your approach and your mentality on certain situations. So if you focus on the bad, that's all you're going to see is bad. But if you focus on the you know, the positive outlook, and you'll start to see the opportunities in it. And that's exactly how I approached it.

You're still in the in the trenches.

But yeah, I might drop out for coverage every other couple of plays and that kind of staves your body. So I took it on the approach of that. And then when you have Dick with Bow coming in and running that three.

Four, that's unreal.

I love that three before I could play that, you know, for ten years. And so you know, it's all about the scheme fit. And I think that the scheme, the three four scheme fit me and guys like Brian and Rackbow skill set very well.

Like we weren't dropping in the coverage every play. We weren't at the.

Nose taking on double teams and doing things that were outside of our skill set, and so I think it's all about the scheme and it definitely helped us.

Yeah, yeah, I appreciate it. Boys. That was so understead Man. Thanks for coming on.