September 13, 2023 • 55 mins
On the latest NFL Players: Second Acts episode with Peanut Tillman and Roman Harper, 11-year NFL receiver Nate Burleson blazes the Second Acts podcast mic. Since leaving the game, Nate has charted a unique path as a broadcaster that led him to his current role as a co-host on the CBS Mornings program. Nate’s journey to that position was no accident, as he describes during an introspective conversation. Nate started honing his craft for his second act in TV during his rookie year with the Minnesota Vikings. That tenacity to improve and excel later took him to roles on “Extra TV”, “Good Morning Football”, and Nickelodeon. But, Nate is far from a one-trick pony. He also has a clothing line Baynes + Baker and a production company. Nate also shares the struggle when he decided to leave football, which he calls “H.E.R.” and which one of his former teammates was better: Randy Moss or Calvin Johnson. And we couldn’t let Nate leave without one of his fire freestyles. So, enjoy this conversation with one of the most interesting people to grace a football field or a TV screen.
0:25 – Nate’s pre-episode freestyle
5:15 – Nate on the Michael Strahan influence on players’ finding success post-NFL
7:37 – Nate on why he started his journey as a broadcaster while playing
12:25 – Nate on who’s better: Randy Moss vs Calvin Johnson
16:43 – Peanut on how he had success vs Randy Moss
18:17 – Nate on his football journey with “H.E.R.”
21:08 – Nate on finding his voice as a broadcaster
24:58 – Nate on overcoming depression after tearing his ACL in 2008
30:15 – Nate on bringing his swag to the “CBS Mornings” show
34:23 – Nate on advice he gives players who want to work in TV
37:48 – Nate on being ok saying no
42:53 – Nate on doing more storytelling at CBS, his other business ventures
45:16 – Nate on a bigger thrill: being parodied on SNL vs being recognized by Al Pacino
46:56 – Nate on being a sneakerhead
49:34 – Nate shares is personal Mount Rushmore
52:08 – Nate on the importance of the NFL brotherhood
*NOTE: Time codes are approximate.
NFL Players: Second Acts podcast is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeart Radio.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, what's up. This is Nate Big. I want to
give a quick shout out to Peanut enrollment at the
NFL Players and the Second Acts podcast. So here's what happened.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
We had a super dope episode and y'all should check
out all of the episodes. They have credible guests telling
incredible stories, doing big things. But at the end of
the episode, they were like, yo, we want you to freestyle,
and I was tired.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I wasn't on my game. I didn't feel right when
I left.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You know.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I actually went on and couldn't sleep. I'm like, man,
you can't really leave them with that. You got to
redeem itself.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
So here we are.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
It's a little something for y'all. And you can see
New York as the backdrop right, but I'm from Seattle.
I feel right at home when it rains. The two
six is synonymous with my name. I'll take the space
needle straight to the Vans. There's something in a way
that city make me feel. A word to Kurt Cobain,
(00:58):
rest in peace to a legend. I want to find
Nirvana on Earth before I get to Heaven. That's no desire,
no sense of self, feeling rich without money, see that's
a sense of wealth. Once had low cash down. My
digits is up. But if you can't trust me, you
can't trust us. We dead mice, Peanut and Roman.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
It's a mustard. This is something you ain't see the
fora But I'm not mc gusto. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
See this is hip hop back, bigger than black and
slaps like Chris Rocker.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
We don't make music. We make movies. Kids smoking every
single track, just like Poopy did for real, something like
the Second Acts. I'm Peanut telling me and this is
(01:52):
the NFL players Second Acts podcast, and with me as always,
this is my older uncle Roman Harper right here, what's
up with it? Up with him?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
All?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I'm good? I see that is the type of intro
I'm used to getting, right when he just says my
government name. I'm like, I don't know what to do next.
All right, anyways, I do know what to do next,
and that is ask all of our followers, our watchers,
to make sure continue to hit subscribe, hit like give
us a five star rating. I'm telling you, not asking
give us the five star rating. Anywhere you pick up
(02:21):
your podcast, whether it's Apple Podcast or iHeartRadio, please give
us a look or listen, Tell a friend to tell
a friend, to tell a friend. P Nutt, who's our
guest today. An oldie, but a goodie. This is someone
that we're trying to be like, you know, on the
on the national level, he's at there. Doctor two thousand
and three draft class stuff for this A third round
(02:41):
two thousand and three draft class. Played eleven years and
since leaving the game, he has become a media mogul.
He is one of the hope excuse me. He is
one of the co hosts from the CBS Morning show.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome in Nate Borlson. What's up, y'all?
What's up? I appreciate that. Thank y'all for having me in.
(03:02):
Before we get started, I was want to say, I've
always admired what you guys did on the field, but
what you guys have done and your second act has
been incredible and it's a beautiful thing to see, man.
So this is an honor. You know. When I got
word that y'all wanted to have me on, I was
pumped about it. And you even got the voice, don't
he like? I feel like when I didn't really recognize
your voice, but it's.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Like, well, you know, I really want to thank y'all
for tuning in.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
You remember, I'll been working on it, Donny Simpson, meaning
that was one of my inspirations. I see it. Okay,
it's coming. It's coming in the little things that really
get people excited. As Nate has progressed in his career
and his life, he's like, bro, I don't even care
about you getting all the love and some of the
(03:45):
catches and stuff. It's like, man, did you feel that story?
Did you feel the passion in my voice right exactly
what he's looking for, scratch. I appreciate it. I like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
no worries, man, but yeah, man, you've been you've been
killing on CBS Warning Show. I like it representing us, well,
thank you, you're doing your thing. I like you straight hand,
like you give athletes us a platform to say that. Yo, man,
(04:10):
we not just athletes. Like I don't just have to
I don't just have to talk about sports. I don't
just have to be a coach or an analyst. Like
I can come in, I can do radio, I can
do TV, I can do like legit news. I can
interview the president. I can interview politicians, hip hop's artists,
athletes like I can do it all, you know what
I'm saying, And I'm just I'm proud of I really
(04:31):
like what you've done. You started out a good morning
football and your progression and the work ethic that you
put in and like you, legit you, you like legit
media like you you doing the damn thing. And I
just say, man, I applause you. It's it's amazing to see. Yeah,
I sincerely received that, man. And like I said, you
guys have also, you know, kind of recreated the blueprint.
(04:53):
I feel like we all we all have this one
big blueprint, and we're all making our marks on it,
you know, individually. You know. Straight Hand of course, is
one of the people that they look at and they say,
all right, he going from a super Bowl champion, Hall
of Famer into media, into news and now hosting everything
from reality shows to game shows. Now there's this blueprint
(05:17):
out there. But what I love about this new landscape
in the new NFL player is that we're all grabbing
that same blueprint, making our marks, saying, here's an avenue
for you as a player. You can go into podcasts,
and you can go into law enforcement. You can go
into coaching if you want, but you can also going
in the fashion, media, music, finance. You can do whatever
(05:40):
you want, you know. I think the greatest live sports
has ever told us as athletes is all you need
to do is care about this. Yeah, And I don't
know where we picked it up from. Maybe it was
just indoctrinated as a young age at a young age,
but like we got to the NFL, and if you
would have talked to us our rookie year, our second
year about what we would do for the team, I
think about ninety nine percent of us say I run
(06:02):
through brick wall and mean it, like I die for
these colors, this logo on my helmet, this emblem and
these team colors. This is everything that matters to me.
And for the most part, that helped us do our
jobs at the level it did, but it also blinded
us to the next chapter and what we were also
(06:22):
going to have to face, which was figuring out who
we are after we take the helmet off. And I
think us and many others like us are just representations
that being an athlete was just a small part of
our lives. It wasn't necessarily who we were, and the
sooner guys can figure that out, which is why I
love this new generation of athletes. It's like, you'll be
(06:44):
better off once retirement comes. It actually makes a lot
of the coaches and people that work with these players
more uncomfortable because they're not used to it. They're used
to just guys doing what you tell them. And now
they're like, man, you know, they understand they have value.
They understand that they're not just football players, and you know,
they they have their own face, they have their and
they want to know what their you know, the media
(07:05):
responsibilities and who they want to be off of the
field is where their brand their brand, and so all
these things are happening and I just think it's really cool.
I heard you talking to this guy about on Cairo radio.
Seems like yeah, it seems like you guys really hit
it off, Like yeah, yeah, I can tell, I can tell.
Like you guys open up, shared a lot of stories
(07:27):
and just you talking about your whole journey of like man,
you know the confidence that came with as you got
more and more of this and doing more and more
of the TV that it allows you all of a sudden,
now you're relaxing and you're you're really getting into these
things more. At what point in time did that really
start to happen for you. I'm in this space right
now that I work with it on the day. That's
(07:49):
my normal job, and so I'm trying to do more
personality TV. I want to be able to be able
to make that switch and show like I have more
just football knowledge and to have way more rain yep,
like you guys are just holding me down from this right,
like I can talk way more about other things. I
actually enjoyed that way more, of course, you know what
I mean. I'm just football. I mean that's just a
(08:10):
small chapter. That's right, That's right, so many more to do.
How do you get to that? And at what point
in time did you all of a sudden start to
get way more comfortably Like, dude, I can totally expand
and do this. Yeah, that's such a good question. The
first time I was actually on TV was the year
I got drafted, which was two thousand and three. I
went to the NFL network, and you know, I got
(08:30):
a little bit of a buzz from it, and I
got to be honest, it was more self serving. I'm
a wide receiver, you know what. Divas. I like to
hear myself talk, and I like to look at myself
on TV. He's no surprise to you. I don't even
need to glasses, you know what I.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Mean.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
I'm almost forty two. I'm behind, but but you know
so I say that because every off season I would
do either local or national TV or radio. I would
go do the NFL network hits. They were never paying me.
I would do stuff back home. So it's almost like
I was sharpening the tools while I was playing. And
(09:05):
then I went to the broadcast boot camp and that's
when I realized that I wanted to do this as
a career. And it was funny because I had a
little bit of a when you was still playing. Yeah,
I was like year nine to ten, and they basically
gave me a pat on the back, say, hey man,
you're talented. You got you got some some foundational pieces
that could allow you to be good at this if
(09:26):
you choose to. But I remember struggling when we did
the exercise of calling a game like it just it
was so foreign to me to have somebody in there
to kind of like tee me up. It was like
the alley oup, and I just kept missing the dunk.
You know, it's like, all right, first and ten bend
Roethlisberger drops back and the past is completed and need
to wait for me to jump in. And I just
(09:46):
didn't know how to do that dance. So once I
left the broadcast boot camp, as much as I felt
good about certain areas of being on TV, I just
kept thinking about where I struggled. I guess that's the
athlete in you know. We focused on on the details
of something we're not doing well at and that made
me feel like a rookie again. And that's what I
(10:07):
think that element encouraged me the most. When I retire,
I'm gonna work on this craft. I gotta I gotta
be good at it. And at that time, I had
a partnership with a clothing line, Bangs and Baker. I
had an Italian restaurant in Seattle. I had a couple
other small things going on from a creative standpoint. So
(10:28):
I had all these things that I didn't know. I
didn't know what I wanted to do, so I had
to pick something. It was either go into TV or
try my hand of all these other things. And I thought,
if I go on to TV and I'm good at TV.
It's gonna make these other things easier. So let's get
into TV. And that's when I signed on to the
NFL Network and from there I was the busiest guy
(10:51):
like there was. There wasn't nothing that they couldn't call
me for. It was live TV, tape, TV pregame, halftime, postgame,
digital content, getting reps. So all it was was getting
as many reps as I could. And also, you know,
I wanted to prove that I was just as good
as some of these guys that were there. I didn't.
I didn't have the gold jacket or the ring, so
(11:13):
you know, I needed to work twice as hard. And
I felt like, remember when we first got in the
league and the OG's be like, hey, look slow down, man,
shut up. Yeah, yeah, that's the Booker got me with that.
What do you feel real bad? Like I'm practicing. I'm
just I'm doing I'm working. And that's how I felt
(11:36):
the ogs at the NFL Network, where it was kind
of like yo, rook, slow down, bro, like you're not
getting paid anymore, so why are you doing stuff that
that you're not getting paid to do? And I didn't
have an answer. All I knew is if I got
as much reps as I could at all of these
different aspects of TV, eventually I'll start to find my rhythm.
(11:57):
And and I'm still finding it, but you know, I
for like, at least I found my voice. Yeah, and
so so look, I want this is gonna be the
toughest question to ask, all right, And so Peanut got
me so excited. I wanted to hit you with this first. Right,
Who's the best receiver? Calvin? Better receiver? Calvin Johnson or
Randy Moss? You played with both, all right, Randy was
(12:19):
a different time in Minnesota when you remember Calvin you
had young, you were older, and you got Calvin. So
which one was the best receiver you ever played against?
You ever played with? I would have to go with
Randy Moss. You know a couple of reasons. One longevity
by his side, all right, even at an older age
when people thought he was washed. He went to New
(12:41):
England and he got killed. Busy killed twenty two touchdowns, todown
something wild. He was the most naturally gifted athlete I've
ever seen. I mean, he could play baseball. I think
he could have ran in the Olympics. He was a
really good Hooper beast, and he would show up and
(13:01):
not even really have to warm up in his prime,
Like Randy didn't even warm up. I'm talking about not
that practice a game. I remember, you know, warming up
next to him, and I'm like, like Jim Carrey and
Cable guy, I'm doing all kinds of stretch, you know
what I'm saying. And Randy's over there just moving his
feet up and down. And the coach was like, hey, Randy,
you gotta warm up. He's just sitting there like whatever,
(13:23):
and he's like, Randy, come on, let's go. We've got
a game in a little bit. And he just so
casually looked at her. He's like, hey, you ever seen
a cheetah stretch before a hunts? And it was like
one of them like abnormally profound questions that we didn't
have to answer for. And I'm like and we're all like, yeah,
you're right. The cheetah nuvers, it just goes, it gets
the food, and we all kind of looked looked at Randy,
(13:45):
looked at the coach. Coach turned around, walked away, and
Randy had another big day on the field. So Randy
was naturally gifted. I will say this though Calvin was
a freak, but he also worked his ass off. Calvin
was six four sixty five two thirty. Sometimes he gets
it to a round two forty and he still was
a four to three guy jumping a forty five inch
(14:07):
vertical crazy, but he would show up every day and
work like he was a free agent. Like Calvin, when
we could do conditioning, he wouldn't just like lead us
by step or two. He would beat us by as
much as his athleticism was supposed to beat us by.
And I always like, I admired that about him, and
I feel like if Calvin would have played as long
(14:28):
as Randy, this would be a different conversation. But you know,
you can't you can't knock Randy's numbers. And then on
top of that, just like his his intimidation factor. I
remember being in the slot and there was a there
was a dB in front of him, there was a
safety behind the dB, and then the safety from the
(14:53):
other side of the field was rolling over the top.
So he basically had to beat three levels of defense
in one play, and short Donta Colepepper dropped back with
max protection and let that thing rip touch down back
in the end zone like, and I just remember being
there were moments where I was just in ah.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Like.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I remember another time DV is given everybody fits and
Randy goes up there and I saw the whites of
the dv's eyes. His toes is all the way up
because he's ready to get out of there. And then Randy,
the dB backs up right, so he's acting like he's
gonna press him, and then he backs up to about
(15:31):
eight yards and as soon as he snaps the ball,
Randy's off the line SCREAMAG goes like this, Now, mind you,
he had a hitch, so he could have ran the
hitch right, but he's like this, DB's off at eight backpedaling,
which means probably like at fifteen. Yeah, and Randy in
his head is thinking, I'm still gonna run past you.
So he comes off the line of screamings and just
(15:53):
hot hand, hot hands, and then boom, touchdown. So Randy
was just a different type of beast man. And look,
that's what all my former teammate Darren Sharp is like,
Look like nobody would call Randy Moss one on one
in his prime, like you had to have another safety
or it was like you had no chance, and that
(16:13):
was a whole defense that was out there, you understand. Yeah,
I think for me though, I think I had successful Randon.
You played both.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
Yeah, I had.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Successful Randy because the coach used to always say, man,
you gotta guard the man, not his reputation. And I
really I really took that the heart, like, yo, he
is Randy Moss.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
He is that dude.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
But yeah, I can't be I can't be afraid of
you the man, like your reputation.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
You're this, but like I'm a dog too.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
And you also play it to your strengths, your length,
like you're length. Even if you knew you weren't trying
to get your hands on him, you knew if you
just did the street fighter like Dawson just like reached out,
you knew that would just like it would cause a
little bit of hesitation if you get Randy that has
didn't line scrimmage, not saying you got to has to
(17:00):
beat him, you got a chance to stay with him.
But yeah, you know, I've always admired those battles, man.
You know, It's just it's hard though when you look
at those two guys because they're just so different, Like
Calvin was physical. I will say this though you stack
up their highlights together, you're gonna see impressive catchers. You're
gonna see them go up over the top of guys
double coverage, even triple coverage. You're gonna see good route running.
(17:22):
But I think the separation will be that Calvin was
by far a better blocker. Like Calvin was a beast
in the run game. I remember me being in the
slot and having a bubble route and Calvi's on the outside.
I got it to the line scrimmage and in my head,
I'm like, I'm already thinking about my damn I'm gonna
do because Calvin's about to run this dude into the tunnel.
And I knew it, and I knew I was about
(17:42):
thirty yards away from the end zone. I wasn't even
worried about Calvin's man. He got up on that dB,
put them hands on them, drove them to the sideline.
I just ran right inside because I trusted Calvin that much.
He never gave up on the play. What was it
like when you because you use this acronym for her,
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, his everlasting Yeah. Football with football,
(18:05):
after being involved with it for eleven years, having to
walk away, you've had some tragedy things happen throughout your career. Yeah,
move from a couple of places you had an ACL injury.
Talk about so that journey when you finally said, all right,
it's time to move on. Yeah. I feel like we
all fall in love with this sport at different places
in our lives. You know. I started playing when I
(18:27):
was a kid in Pop Warner football, and then in
high school is like puppy love. And then it's like
we got engaged in college and then the league was like,
oh damn, I'm married to this job. Put a ring
on it, you know. And there were some good times.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
You know.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
The reason I described it like this tourd love affairs,
because you know, the good times are the contracts, the touchdowns,
the winds, you know what I mean, The traveling city
to city and playing villain on the road, you know,
all of that. Like it's like it's like it's like
good sex and the merits, you know what I'm saying.
The vacations are fire, and vacations are good. Vacation love
(19:01):
is great, right exactly exactly. That's that's what the good
times in the NFL were like. But then there's the
injuries there's the contract negotiations when they tell you you're
not what you usual. Yeah, the devaluing and which it
plays such a role on our mental health, but we
don't know it at the time, because all of a sudden,
you go from when we were young telling us what
the greatest thing since sliced bread too, when we're older
(19:22):
that you just ain't got it anymore and this is
why we're going to pay you crumbs. And and I
think like all of that. The bad times, it's like
sleeping in separate beds, or arguing with your boo or
you know, just just not being on the same page.
So when it was time to walk away from the game,
I mean I knew it was I knew it was here,
(19:43):
Like I remember seeing the light at the end of
the tunnel. It's brighter never. But I still didn't want
to have that conversation with her. It was like, it's
like football came to me and she was like, hey, Nate,
can we talk? And you know when you hear that
as a man, this is a real We got to talk.
Damn what did I do? And she basically said the
(20:05):
NFL basically said I found someone else. He's younger, he's faster,
he's more athletic, he's cheaper, and I'm happy with him,
and I'm happy, And it was that's when it sank
in where I had to look at the league and
just say it was fun while it lasted, and it
also had things that I could fall back on. So
(20:26):
there's also talking about the second act. When you have
something that you can look forward to, it makes it
easier to deal with, like a breakup like we all
deal with when we play our last game. It's tough though,
as a player when your career abruptly ends and you
don't have a next chapter to go to. Yeah, so
(20:46):
why was it important for you to start the media
like right away?
Speaker 4 (20:50):
I know for me, I did a little bit of media.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
I wish I would have did more like you did,
like in the off seasons and things like that. I went,
I worked for spot By, I went and I worked
for Fox Sports. I remember that, and I thought I
was terrible and I was trying to get these reps
and everything. I wish I envy you because you said
you were going and you were getting all these reps
and you were doing all these things. Yeah, and I
wasn't as prepared as I should have been. So why
(21:14):
do you think it was important for you to go
and get all these reps during the off season. I
just knew one if I was in the building, these
execs and producers would get to know me. And when
somebody knows you, you're much more than just a talent.
When they bring on athletes, it's just like your football
(21:35):
got talking football. But if they know me, it's you're
Nate Burlison, the football player talking football. And they want
to help me out and they want to make it work.
I mean, they're a little bit more honest with me.
I remember I had a bad show. I was working
for the NFL Network. In my head, I had a
bad show. Stumbled through a few lines, and I just
took the long way to answer some questions. I just
(21:56):
wasn't sharp. And afterwards, the producers came by as we
were walking to the locker room at the NFL Network,
and he was like, hey, good job, could job everybody, goodjob,
good job. He pat me on a back, good job,
and I was like, wait, wait, no, no, no, don't tell
me it's a good job. I didn't do a good job.
And he's like, no, you know, I'm just saying. I
was like, yeah, but don't do that, like I'm used
to coaching. You know, we come from the football field,
(22:18):
like just be just be honest. And it also like
you don't want me to get into a place where
I feel like mediocrity is acceptable, and so I can
like bs my way through it or not prepare and
just show up. And I think from there it shifted.
So now they started like they started coaching up Nate Burlison,
(22:39):
who's talking football versus always high five in the football
player because he's in studio. And I've seen that before
with athletes. It's like, you know, you see him at
one point in their media career and then five years
later there isn't much growth, you know what I'm saying.
And I feel like it's not necessarily an athlete. If
(23:00):
you're telling me he's doing a good job for five
years straight, he's never going to change our approach. It
so hard to get honest feedback in this side of
the business unless, like you're saying, you build those relationships, well,
now they're going to be open and honest with you,
and then you can actually have real growth. Because the
biggest thing is when in this space, for me, is that.
I'm always trying to ask, like, all right, how is that?
(23:21):
How is this? And I know I try to look
at myself and that's another part of it. But when
you don't honestly know because you don't even know what
they're looking. I have no idea of no idea, and
you don't know your voice no, like you have no idea.
I got to the NFL network, and you know, you
try to be like what you see on TV and
guys that are in the building. So you know, one
day I come in and I'm just like, all right
(23:42):
to be like like Dion and IRV, you know what
I mean, because they were in the building. So I'm
coming in. I'm all hype and I'm talking a little
bit of passing like HERV. Dude, I'm just in friends
like Dion and I'm like, yeah, but I'm not damn though,
Like so why am I trying to be? Then I'm like, okay,
I see Marshall fall you know he's more of intellectual type,
so let me just come in and you know, focus
on the puntification and make sure that they you know,
when I'm talking about these words that it's more elaborate
(24:05):
and articulate, and I was like, that's not me, is
not it? So what is my voice? And then surely
shortly after that, I started to realize who I am,
which is a kid from the West Coast who loves sports, music, movies,
pop culture, who loves art, who can write like, that's
(24:26):
who you, That's who you are, that's your voice. And
the more I displayed that, the more receptive the viewers
viewers were. You can see it though, too, and I
think it's I think it's authentic. So you are well
not You're not a self proclaimed, but your wife calls you.
And from what I've learned about you is that you
are creative. I am a creative. I'm married to a creative.
(24:48):
So you know, you know all kind of all over
the place, you kind of dil We got all these
grand ideas. You're like, nearly I get it right accurate,
(25:08):
and I want you to really dive into this. This
mantra you use about open your eyes and you you're
torn your a cl After one of your best seasons,
I think that was in a and you were down
in Birmingham, you went to doctor Andrews. You're doing some
drinking and you realize, like man like it's a slippery
(25:29):
slow that's a fact, and how fast it could easily
just go away when you start to get in your
own head and you're not using that energy and putting
it into other things, and you're talking about opening your eyes.
And I want to get this quote right. You talked
about how all the beautiful things around you, the support system,
the people that you had that were actually there helping you,
and how bright today really is. And so maybe you
(25:53):
could share with us how you still use that mantra
about opening your eyes and every day you so like,
maybe where are you at with it now? Yeah? For sure.
I remember going to Birmingham doctor Andrews, world renowned doctor
and he did both of my knee surgery. He's a beast.
He's a bast. I remember I was sitting in there
just depressed and he comes in. He had the little
country He's like, hey, son, you gonna be all right,
(26:14):
And I don't learn that moment. I was like, oh, yeah,
I am gonna be all right. But I wasn't though,
because it was my first major injury, and you know,
when you have that type of injury, first you start
thinking about if you're gonna be the same when you
come back, run as fast, jump as as well being explosive, right,
and then you know, the actual procedure happens. And I'm
(26:35):
in Alabama recovering. My family is still in Seattle. My
kids are in school, so the wife is holding down
the fort, and I remember listening to the game on
the radio because it's Alabama, they don't play Seahawks games,
and I just so desperately wanted them to say my name,
like I don't know why, just like I want to
miss you. Yeah, I wanted them to say, like, man,
they could really use Nate bros. And ore, you know
(26:55):
thoughts with them. I just want them to like just
focus on me. That that's that selfishness that I was
used to. And I think he might have said something
in the beginning, but it was quick and the Borrows
is out, next guy up. That was it. The entire game,
theydn't mentioned my name, And I don't know why that
made me so sad, because I think it's set in.
(27:17):
It's sank in that they're going to move on without you,
like this is just an injury, but one day they
are going to move on without you. That's the name
of the game. So you know. The first day I
come back after being cleared from like using my medication, like, hey,
let me get a vodka soda and drink my little
vodka soda. Next day, I'm like, yo, make it a double,
(27:38):
you know what I'm saying. A few days later, I'm like, hey,
just fill up the cup all the way, no ice, man,
just slide them a little hunted. And then like a
week later, I remember going to him like, hey, yo,
here go hunt Can you just send the bottle up
to my room? And he's like, yeah, sure, you got mixtures.
I'm like, Noah, need them. And I remember sipping vodka
on ice and drowning my emotions and alcohol. And I've
(28:03):
never had an issue drinking, but in that moment, I
feel like I was close to the edge. I was
either going to drink myself into a stoop or create
some habits that will following me for the rest of
my life. And I woke up fully dressed us. I'm
a pajama guy, you know, hoop and T shorts, a
T shirt and hoop shorts and T shirt. When I
go to sleep, and I had all of my clothes
(28:25):
on from the day before, in my shoes with my
braces on like on top of the sheets, and I
was sleeping still, and I remember waking up and I
kind of like came to as if I was like
sitting up in a casket. I felt like, yeah, like
the undertaking it was wild, Like my arms were like crossed,
so he was yeah, I felt like I felt. I
(28:47):
felt like I was in a casket. And then my
mind starts thinking like a creative like is this Am
I reading too much into this? Or do I need
to read more into what just happened? I blacked out,
woke up completely dressed like the day before, when my
arms crossed over my chest, like I'm sitting in the casket?
(29:08):
What are you gonna do now? And I remember pouring
the voc out, putting it in the trash, and I
was like, bro, let's rehab lock in. Let's let's get busy,
Like you got enough hurdles that you got to get over,
got enough obstacles you got to get around. Let's not
put alcohol in the mix, you know what I'm saying.
And that's when I got focused and I came back
from ACL in like six months. It was extremely fast.
(29:31):
So that was a turning point because I either had
to sit in this state of depression and feel sorry
for myself, or I can open my eyes and realize, like,
not only do I have a great support system, but
I got everything I need to get back healthier and
even stronger. And that's what I decided to do. Now
(30:04):
that you're in TV, and you were trying to say,
you know, do I want to be like Dione?
Speaker 4 (30:09):
You want to be like Marshall, Right, So now I
get how you can have that view.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Now you're in like TV TV, you doing the news
every day, five days a week, CBS Morning Show.
Speaker 4 (30:22):
You have a certain.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Look, your hair, your dress, your language, how you talk
like it's not the traditional and reporting to you live
on the CBS Morning News Show Charles Tooman and talk though,
and it's no secret, no doubt about that. Did you
(30:44):
did you get any flack or any pushback or backlash
about just you being you? Because you have your voice
right you said you found it, so this is this
is you. Was there any backlash like talk about that.
I remember talking to straight Hand shortly after taking the
job and he said, you know, go in there and
try to find your voice right away. Also realize, like
(31:07):
there's a lot of people that love that you're there,
but there's a lot of people that don't want you there, right,
and those people are also working for CBS, basically saying
that there's individuals that they don't want another football player.
They don't want kirkland Brand straight hand taking a seat
when there are experienced journalists that have been waiting for
(31:29):
that seat to open for years, some decades. So there
was a hyper awareness and a gonna be a good
VET move to come out there and tell you that, yeah, yeah,
no doubt, no doubt. It's like huge, yeah, and it
gives me some sensitivity to people i'll work with. I'm
coming in with my chest all out, you know, I
understand what it looks like. Now I have to earn
(31:50):
your respect by what I do and the work that
I put in. But I did have some struggles though,
initially finding my voice because when I came in like
all right, this is news, it is different, and everybody
kept telling me like, yo, this is news. You can't
dress like you typically dress, which I didn't really get
cuz like that's who you are.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
Yeah, but it's like.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
On Sundays I wear like pimp and can suits or something.
I'd wear regular suits, but you know, there were a
few people that were like, hey, you know, you can't
dress loud on this show, and I'm like, when did you?
Are you talking about stuff I wore twenty years ago
when I was on the road playing against the Green
Bay Packers, and my suit was what is it? Yeah? Yeah,
what is it?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Exactly exactly, And you got to be a little bit
more traditional because you know, I speak with you know,
like we all do with our hair and our look
and a cut and a swag and how we dress
and walk and talk. So initially I came in and
I was wearing a bunch of browns and blacks and
navy suits, like it was very blah, and even my
(32:51):
voice and delivery was different when I first joined, because
I thought that's what they wanted and that's what they needed,
and I was doing the same thing. Hey, how you
doing This is Nate Brolson and were here this morning.
It's good to see you guys. We have a traffic
accident on the freeway and it's like, that ain't shoes.
That's not me. So one day I took all the
suits I had in my office and I put them
(33:15):
in a bag, took them home. I replaced all those
suits with suits that I have in my closet at
home and brought them to work. And I walked in
with a brighter color suit. It was like a deep
red or something like that. I had my flat top
with like curl brriage was like a cranberry. And immediately
(33:37):
my voice was different. It was crazy like once I
got comfortable in my own skin, my delivery was different.
Even the way I set even my body language was different.
So it took a few months for me to find
my voice. And I feel like, you know, I'm at
a good place, and you know, shout out to Gil
(33:58):
because I remember walking in with that type of suit
and she kind of looked at him, was like, about time.
This is where I'm at with it. But yeah, it
takes time, man, I'm sure for sure. So now being
in that position, now, has any other players like reached
out who are in the in the media, say football,
(34:19):
and they're trying to get over into like the new
side of it. Have they reached out to you or
have you like mentor like, look here's what y'all should
be doing. Of course you're gonna get my number. We
got to tap in, listen, we have to be each
other's biggest fans period. And you know, I'm not just
here to get in this position and close the door
behind me. I want to kick this damn door down
so we can walk into the spaces that we want
(34:41):
to walk into. But yeah, guys have reached out and
I told them the same things that I learned early
on was one reps, but to force your way into
these other spaces. Because when I was doing Good Morning Football,
I was grinding away three hours of TV a day,
live TV, which is crazy. Yeah, and then you know, yeah, yeah,
(35:03):
no doubt about it. And then but if that's all
you know this, yeah yeah, yeah, but it was great
to have those rests on the run and on the
fly and live TV. It's like a heightened sense of
like being on point. But then I started to strategically
put myself in different spaces, and that's why I joined
Extra to do entertainment. Now it's not necessarily hardcore news,
but we do tackle hardcore topics, so they might be
(35:25):
more celebrity driven, but it's the same type of concept.
You know, we're talking about celebrity news, and sometimes the
crossover between politics and death and tragedy happens, so people
were able to see me in a completely different light.
They're like, oh, wait, like Nate, he can do entertainment.
Oh he's tackling, you know, politics, because we're doing a
(35:46):
story about Obama meeting the Super Bowl champions and he's
he's speaking about it so eloquently like that. I think
that right there got the attention of CBS and they
were able to see that. You know. I remember going
over to the digital side of the CBS building and
they wanted to do a hit talking about the opening
(36:09):
season schedule. And I remember something somebody told me a
long time ago. Microphones are always on, good and bad,
so watch what you say, but also take advantage when
they're on. And I was over there and we were
talking about the season and what games I'm looking forward
to and what game CBS had. But in between the takes,
I was just sparking conversation about stuff that I knew
they didn't know about me. I knew they didn't They
(36:31):
didn't know I owned a restaurant, or that my financial
advisor and I help athletes invest money, or that I
started a few clothing lines, or that I had interest
in poetry. So I was just like throwing this stuff
out there, starting conversation and by the time I left,
I remember one of the producers was like, hey, Nick.
You know I kind of looked back, like what's up.
(36:51):
He's like, hey, would you mind coming back at some
point and talking about all that other stuff not just football?
And I was like, yeah, yeah, of course, And I
just kind of gave my self with fist pump because
like that that was the point. It was strategically done. Sometimes,
you know, we assume that people know more about us
than they do, but in reality, all they care about
(37:11):
is that we play ball, and that's fine. You know,
we've been playing ball the whole lives. So we almost
have to force their hand and show them. So the
strategy came with little moments like that where I was
able to step outside that box. And that's the advice
I give to these guys, Like, I don't know, the
comfortable thing is talking about sports, but flex all your muscles,
(37:32):
Like we all have all these interests and nobody knows so,
and that's the best advice I can give to those guys.
So the wealth management, the clothing line, the restaurant of
poetry art, you have so much interest would you call
it earlier? You. You were crazy, no doubt, Like I
(37:56):
get it, so I can already see you and how
you are and everything, But like, how do you focus
on what to do? Because you got the TV. I'm
sure you got to prepare and work on that because
that's your full time nine priority. But yet you also
but yet also you got all these other interests. Yeah,
you know what I'm saying. And then you got kids
and you want to be a dad. You got to
(38:17):
be a husband, you know, Like, so that's that's a
lot of time to Okay, I got job, I got work,
but my creative side and this, and then I have
be a parent and sports and basketball games and like
what am I doing? Like how do you manage all that?
I'm doing a better job of managing it now. When
I first moved out to New York about seven eight
(38:37):
years ago, now, did a terrible job at managing it.
I couldn't. I said yes to everything because I was like, god, man,
it's my opportunity to show how versatil I am. I'm
saying yes to everything and I wasn't getting paid a
ton to do it. But I knew if I got
the reps and I got the exposure, eventually I get
to a point where I can say no to things.
But because I didn't know how to manage being a husband,
(38:59):
of father, a coach, juggling multiple jobs. Like I remember
one day waking up and like little patches were missing
in my beard. I'm like, damn, am I using the
wrong like soapmotion or something, And then before you knew it,
big patches were going. And then my entire beard was going,
but bald, naked, and you know, black man with no mustange,
(39:21):
no beard, I can't trust it. Attlemas got a little
Thomas got a little Thomas. He got a little bit,
a little bit, but Mommy's button egg it all the
way around. Though. So I remember going to a dermatologist
(39:41):
and it Yeah, it started as her just diagnosing me,
and then it turned into a therapy sessions. She's like,
all right, you have alopeia due to stress. Body's reacting
and this is its way of fighting. And now I'm like, okay.
That's where she's like, do you have history Alopeacha's like nope,
surrounding family, nope. And then she's like, well, what's different
in your life? I'm like, oh, man, start a new job.
(40:02):
You know I used to play used to play that
breath because waiting somebody, I think I kicked my feet
up on and I got a new job, a new job.
I'm waking up it for him. And she's just kind
of listening, and I'm like, I used to have another
job and I used to wake up, you know, seven
(40:24):
or eight. And she didn't understand football. She's like, I
don't know he follow football. I'm like, well, waking up
at four him is one thing. Moving to the East
Coast is another thing. But also this job, I just
really want to be good at it, man. And she's like, oh, well,
that's it. Like you you're stressed out because of your job.
You're you're worrying and you're not embracing you know how
much this means to you. I was like, no, no, no,
I'm not stressed. You know now my egos kicking at
(40:45):
the defensive Yeah, I'm not stressed. Well, what are you
talking about? And I'm like, no, my old job. I
used to have these these linebackers and safeties. They used
to try to like break me in half. Like that
was stressful. And I'm like smiling as I'm telling her
that part, and she's like like, look at the joy
when you talk about football. That didn't stress you out.
It might have been difficult, but you loved it this
new job. When you start talking about that, you weren't smiling.
(41:08):
And she was like, you have to figure out how
to balance your energy, and if you do a better
job doing that, your beard will come back. And sure
enough I did. I start to focus and just be
a little bit more strategic and not saying yes to everything,
you know, because when we leave the game, it's like
we feel like we have to say yes to everything
to prove to everybody that I'm so much more than
a football player. But then I figured out that that
(41:33):
was detrimental and I had to be a little bit
more selective. Man. I mean, you just gave us a
lot and I love that too. Right is learn how
to balance your energy. Everybody uses it in different terms
or found in your inner piece or whatever that may be.
But balancing your energy because you naturally have a lot
(41:53):
of things going on. Naturally, that's your type. But you
know I will use that when I get home as well,
you know, balance balance, Yeah, really, probably do a better
job of balancing my energy. I think my kids are
like Dad, You're always serious all the time, I was like,
but I'm not. But yeah, ever since hearing you say that, yeah,
I think that's gonna be a that's gonna that's gonna
(42:14):
be serious all the time. Yeah, because I'm always like
the authoritative like but I know me and I'm like,
I'm the jokes like, I'm always playing pranks and I'm
always telling jokes like, but but you're an authoritative figure
in the household.
Speaker 4 (42:27):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (42:28):
So when they when in the hand comes down, it's
it's usually usually do this, do that. Yeah, it is
always wait till your dad gets home. You know, I've
been hearing that, I'm.
Speaker 4 (42:37):
Gonna do that.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
I'm gonna try to, you know, be more be more
fun loving and yeah, a little more balanced, a little
more balanced. This is something I want to know from you.
And that is like, all right, after year and a half,
end of CBS in the morning, where is your comfort
level on that now? I'm really comforting you dress. Your
dress is going there really really helps you out probably huge. Yeah, Yeah, yeah, girl,
(42:58):
she's awesome. Man, I'm really comfortable now. And it's and
it's because of you know, how I see myself on air.
I feel like I'm being next as well. Because like
that's a good question, because that's always like what you
think about what's next. Yeah. I think my comfort also
came in the form of the team I'm working with.
So at CBS Mornings, I didn't realize that you had
(43:21):
your own team of people, your assistant producers. I didn't know.
Like I came from Good Morning Football, where yeah, we
had people that worked on the show, but they weren't
like our assistant. Yes signed to me. So I remember
getting there yea, and they was like, hey, so, who
you do you want your assistant to be. I'm like,
I get an assistant. Yeah. So the producers are going
(43:41):
to start putting in their names to work with you.
I'm like, they're gonna work with me alone. They're like, yeah,
to tell your stories. So when I go to sit
with Bill Russell or Frank O'Hare rest in peace to
both of them, or you know Obama or Michael J.
Fox or Parry Gordy, it's a team of people that
put together these stories. So I can tell any story
(44:03):
I want as long as I pitch it, and we
can build out the characters as we call it in TV,
and then we can execute it. And I just like,
for a long time. I didn't realize that I'm like,
damn like, morning news is a completely different animal when
it comes to storytelling, especially at CBS, it's the one
thing they hang their hat on. So that that's why
I'm extremely comfortable. And then as far as what's next,
(44:25):
I have a production company. You know, it's called Watch,
which is an acronym for we are the culture House.
We have a few projects that we want to launch.
You know, I want to start doing work behind the
camera as well as an executive producer of some projects.
Going to start with a docuseries focus on sports and athletes,
not just on the field, but also what they do
(44:47):
off of it. And then just continue to flex my
creative muscles, you know, continue to write. There's a few
shows that I pitched that were based loosely based around
my life. Got a couple of nibbles at it, but
nothing is landed. So I just want to want to
do more, continue to expand and growing and uh and
step outside this box. So speaking of shows, you know,
(45:08):
I'm a I'm a fan of watching, So what's a
what's a bigger thrill?
Speaker 4 (45:12):
So SNL did a.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
Parody you remember that, and you also got recognized by
al Pacino on the red card, so bigger thrill. You
did this voice over tool decent.
Speaker 4 (45:25):
Yeah, being recognized with al Pacino.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
SNL was fired. Don't get me wrong, I was crazy.
I was right for the Super Bowl. I think it
was Chris Red Yeah, and they had these these funky
little little he had the braids in he had the
the Tyler Perry braids that you have this movie. I
thought I thought that was Fire but al Pacino though,
Like I was working for Extra at the time, I
(45:49):
think it was The Irishman. Yeah, and uh, you know,
I just got four hours from movie, so I'm just
doing my thing, you know. I talked to narrow And
and a few other people that are starting in it,
and then I'm like, hey, hell, can I talk to you?
Comes over and I'm like, you know, just humbly, Hey,
how you doing. My name is, yeah, I know who
you are. Nice to meet you. And I'm like, wait,
you know who I am? Yeah? Yeah, you play receiver. Yeah, yeah,
(46:14):
you do the Football show. And I'm like yeah yeah,
and I'm immediately I'm sweating, like back of my knees
is sweating, and I'm like nervous. Yeah, I'm like, Yo,
this is crazy. I have to like collect myself. I
looked at that camera. Man, I'm like, just give me
a second, Like, Mistercino, you for real. He's like, yeah,
I'm a big football fan. And I'm like, Yo, this
is wild right now. And then I got back into
(46:36):
my mode as a professional and interviewed them and and
so yeah, that that's pretty cool man. The people that
you look at and you've seen all their movies recognize you.
That'll sweet. All right, this is something peanut. I would
love to know who's got the most that all of us.
You probably do. But how many pair of shoes you got?
I saw Robinson? Yeah, yeah, you brought out some. He
(46:59):
got some heat. You got to meat, I would say.
I was saying about, do you have a number count
in your head? Yeah? I think I got like four
hundred shoes. Four in the shoes, this tennis shoes or
dress tennis shoes, dress shoes. All my dress shoes upstairs
in my closet. My my tennis shoes and kicks are
downstairs in my sneaker room. So yeah, I love kicks.
I've always loved kicks. That's kind of like my thing, man,
you know, I'm golet don't change sizes for a long Yeah. Yeah,
(47:20):
that's a fact. Nike deal. He was able to you
know what I mean, That's what I did a lot
of that before I returned. I spent like thousands of
dollars on that night. Get count Like I loaded up
everything and everybody I loaded up on it and they
were young. I was like, you're getting the size six
wis seven y eight wie. See that's smart. I didn't
do that. I did all that from I should have
got all these sizes knowing they was gonna come back.
Speaker 4 (47:42):
Yeah, that's what I did, so I didn't have to buy.
Speaker 1 (47:43):
Shoes for miss It was like I just got it.
My boys. My my son's one six three, one six four.
There was a brief moment where my middle child near
my seventeen now, he was like seventh grade, big old foot,
he's the size twelve and he's like, Dad, can I
wear you shoes? School? Cool? My shoes? It's fine. Son.
So he picked like one of my like exclusively lebron kicks.
(48:06):
Man boy came back. Them things were so beat up.
I was like, what was you doing?
Speaker 2 (48:11):
Bro?
Speaker 1 (48:12):
He's it was. It was like a gladiator He's like, Bro,
we played a Super Bowl, we had a basketball game,
and then it was soccer, and then then we also
played kickball. I'm like, first of all, how long were
you guys outside? My shoes was beat up and I said,
they mind. Here's the thing, man, you know, I love you,
but unless you learn how to respect my shoes, you
will never put on another pair ever. And that was
(48:35):
the lesson of the day, was like, this is how
we take care of shoes moving forward.
Speaker 4 (48:41):
Yeah, I'm still like that with my son.
Speaker 1 (48:42):
They already know don't touch my stuff because they do
they're not my son.
Speaker 4 (48:48):
Just like anything that that we have, it's.
Speaker 1 (48:51):
Gonna happen soon, It's gonna happen soon. I'm trying to
have a favorite pair. Yeah. Yeah, the Concord Jordan. I'm yeah,
like the Blacks all the space Damer. Listen if you can,
(49:13):
if you can go on the course and hoop and
then where to a promp Come on, bro, like aay
you do anything from it's a fire. It's a fire, kid.
I guess the final question we have for today is
you know, you've had a successful life, an amazing career,
and you're continuing to just kill it. Who would be
(49:35):
on your personal mount rushmore, people that have had just
influencing you, people that have mentors you helped you along
the way, helped you along this journey, help you to
get you where you are right now. I would say
one of my mom and dad. They have been my
biggest supporters on and off the field, and they've always
(49:58):
they've always seen more in me than I've seen than myself.
So I have to shot them out and it's just
staying within the family circle for right now. My wife,
she former track star. She won indoor hurdles as a senior,
so she's a champion, graduated then graduated with her masters.
Beautiful woman really had the world in front of her
(50:19):
and put everything on hold to follow me chase this
dream of the NFL. So if she wasn't married to me,
she'd probably be some woman running some fortune five hundred company.
But you know, she put all of her dreams on
the shelf. So without her support, I don't think I'd
be here. But as far as like men that have
(50:41):
like men or women that have been there as a
support system, Straighthand has always been there because there's these
comparisons that happen and he has constantly told me you're
different than me. Be different, you know, you don't have
to try to be like me. And if you're different
and you're better in the areas that you bring to
the table that I can't bring to the table, this
(51:04):
this business is going to open up his doors to you.
And I always thought that was dope because it wasn't
like there's only room in this town for one of us,
you know, it was the opposite. It was I'm gonna
make room for you, which is why I want to
make room for everybody else. Gail. Gail has been such
an influence and she's just a dope woman because she's
(51:25):
constantly trying to build people up and allow them to grow.
Like so she'll have assistance and producers, but as soon
as she feels like they have kind of reached their
peak where they are, She's like, leave the nest and
I'll be the first one to stamp your approval anywhere.
I'll be the one that, yeah, gives the recommendations. You know,
(51:47):
instead of just like hogging all the talent, she puts
the talent on and then allows tim allows them to
leave and grow and then just like I think collectively,
you know, and I said it at the beginning, I'll
say it again, it's the brotherhood of the NFL. Like
you know when I said that, I've seen you guys
(52:09):
as athletes on the field, but that pales in comparison
to what you guys have done that I truly mean that,
and we don't say it enough. But I just love
watching y'all work. And that goes for the rest of
this fraternity. There's so many men doing great things across
all spaces. Of course in football, back into the game
(52:29):
on a low level like Pop Warner, all the way
up until the league. There's guys that are coaches or assistants,
are working for teams that are doing a fantastic job.
But from the men that have went into the medical field,
law enforcement, the finance world, art, the creatives, I just
(52:50):
think like there's no better motivation than knowing that the
guys that bled like me, gave everything, they got everything
they gave to the game like I did, are sailing
in other spaces and that that gives me all the
hope in the world to know that we can continue
to do whatever we want. Man, football is it's it's
(53:12):
a beautiful sport, and I don't want to be dismissive
of the careers we had because it is like being
a rockstar with pads on, for sure. But if we
can do that at a high level, man, we can
accomplish anything in this world, no doubt, you know.
Speaker 4 (53:26):
What, no doubt.
Speaker 1 (53:27):
Two things I really loved about that whole breakdown. Number
one was that, I mean creatives got their own space, yes,
and that the whole description right, yes, no doubt, no doubt,
no doubt, no doubt. Enforcement creators are right there, bro,
Actors and producers got like Matthew Cherry, who's who's an
Oscar winner, He's a director. You know, guys like that
that have have done such a good job. But I
(53:49):
will say this though, before I go, I got to
hook you all up with some suits, man, And I
mean that you're not free of charge. You know that
bangs and bakers, the brand this I got you down.
Let me let me let me off straight handsome suits,
straight hand suits. See, you ain't got to buy the first.
I'mnna hook you up first. I'm just trying to see
me and we do everything from traditional suits. We call
(54:09):
this like the jump Man suit. We have joggers. It
was built as a brand to allow guys to look
fresh while not overcharging them. You know what I'm saying,
because you guys, remember we first came in and then
people was with the Walkers, and but they was getting us.
The price was killing us. And on top of that
they had to they had the women in there like, oh,
(54:30):
fill you up, get you right. So so one quick thing,
because you're the real professional in this whole business, I
want you to wrap the show for us. Man, give
us a tell them let it be gone. Speaking to
the camera, let them know. Oh yeah, well listen, man,
we out of here. iHeart radio. You know this is uh,
this is the the main stage for guys like this
(54:53):
to give individuals like me the stage to show that
what we have done in the league, it is it
is a small part of who we are and what
we're doing now is is truly a representation of how
gifted athletes really are. I'm peanut A's Room. That's Nate.
(55:14):
NFL Player Segments podcast. Were We out
Speaker 3 (55:22):
H
Hey, what's up. This is Nate Big. I want to
give a quick shout out to Peanut enrollment at the
NFL Players and the Second Acts podcast. So here's what happened.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
We had a super dope episode and y'all should check
out all of the episodes. They have credible guests telling
incredible stories, doing big things. But at the end of
the episode, they were like, yo, we want you to freestyle,
and I was tired.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I wasn't on my game. I didn't feel right when
I left.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You know.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I actually went on and couldn't sleep. I'm like, man,
you can't really leave them with that. You got to
redeem itself.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
So here we are.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
It's a little something for y'all. And you can see
New York as the backdrop right, but I'm from Seattle.
I feel right at home when it rains. The two
six is synonymous with my name. I'll take the space
needle straight to the Vans. There's something in a way
that city make me feel. A word to Kurt Cobain,
(00:58):
rest in peace to a legend. I want to find
Nirvana on Earth before I get to Heaven. That's no desire,
no sense of self, feeling rich without money, see that's
a sense of wealth. Once had low cash down. My
digits is up. But if you can't trust me, you
can't trust us. We dead mice, Peanut and Roman.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
It's a mustard. This is something you ain't see the
fora But I'm not mc gusto. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
See this is hip hop back, bigger than black and
slaps like Chris Rocker.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
We don't make music. We make movies. Kids smoking every
single track, just like Poopy did for real, something like
the Second Acts. I'm Peanut telling me and this is
(01:52):
the NFL players Second Acts podcast, and with me as always,
this is my older uncle Roman Harper right here, what's
up with it? Up with him?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
All?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I'm good? I see that is the type of intro
I'm used to getting, right when he just says my
government name. I'm like, I don't know what to do next.
All right, anyways, I do know what to do next,
and that is ask all of our followers, our watchers,
to make sure continue to hit subscribe, hit like give
us a five star rating. I'm telling you, not asking
give us the five star rating. Anywhere you pick up
(02:21):
your podcast, whether it's Apple Podcast or iHeartRadio, please give
us a look or listen, Tell a friend to tell
a friend, to tell a friend. P Nutt, who's our
guest today. An oldie, but a goodie. This is someone
that we're trying to be like, you know, on the
on the national level, he's at there. Doctor two thousand
and three draft class stuff for this A third round
(02:41):
two thousand and three draft class. Played eleven years and
since leaving the game, he has become a media mogul.
He is one of the hope excuse me. He is
one of the co hosts from the CBS Morning show.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome in Nate Borlson. What's up, y'all?
What's up? I appreciate that. Thank y'all for having me in.
(03:02):
Before we get started, I was want to say, I've
always admired what you guys did on the field, but
what you guys have done and your second act has
been incredible and it's a beautiful thing to see, man.
So this is an honor. You know. When I got
word that y'all wanted to have me on, I was
pumped about it. And you even got the voice, don't
he like? I feel like when I didn't really recognize
your voice, but it's.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Like, well, you know, I really want to thank y'all
for tuning in.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
You remember, I'll been working on it, Donny Simpson, meaning
that was one of my inspirations. I see it. Okay,
it's coming. It's coming in the little things that really
get people excited. As Nate has progressed in his career
and his life, he's like, bro, I don't even care
about you getting all the love and some of the
(03:45):
catches and stuff. It's like, man, did you feel that story?
Did you feel the passion in my voice right exactly
what he's looking for, scratch. I appreciate it. I like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
no worries, man, but yeah, man, you've been you've been
killing on CBS Warning Show. I like it representing us, well,
thank you, you're doing your thing. I like you straight hand,
like you give athletes us a platform to say that. Yo, man,
(04:10):
we not just athletes. Like I don't just have to
I don't just have to talk about sports. I don't
just have to be a coach or an analyst. Like
I can come in, I can do radio, I can
do TV, I can do like legit news. I can
interview the president. I can interview politicians, hip hop's artists,
athletes like I can do it all, you know what
I'm saying, And I'm just I'm proud of I really
(04:31):
like what you've done. You started out a good morning
football and your progression and the work ethic that you
put in and like you, legit you, you like legit
media like you you doing the damn thing. And I
just say, man, I applause you. It's it's amazing to see. Yeah,
I sincerely received that, man. And like I said, you
guys have also, you know, kind of recreated the blueprint.
(04:53):
I feel like we all we all have this one
big blueprint, and we're all making our marks on it,
you know, individually. You know. Straight Hand of course, is
one of the people that they look at and they say,
all right, he going from a super Bowl champion, Hall
of Famer into media, into news and now hosting everything
from reality shows to game shows. Now there's this blueprint
(05:17):
out there. But what I love about this new landscape
in the new NFL player is that we're all grabbing
that same blueprint, making our marks, saying, here's an avenue
for you as a player. You can go into podcasts,
and you can go into law enforcement. You can go
into coaching if you want, but you can also going
in the fashion, media, music, finance. You can do whatever
(05:40):
you want, you know. I think the greatest live sports
has ever told us as athletes is all you need
to do is care about this. Yeah, And I don't
know where we picked it up from. Maybe it was
just indoctrinated as a young age at a young age,
but like we got to the NFL, and if you
would have talked to us our rookie year, our second
year about what we would do for the team, I
think about ninety nine percent of us say I run
(06:02):
through brick wall and mean it, like I die for
these colors, this logo on my helmet, this emblem and
these team colors. This is everything that matters to me.
And for the most part, that helped us do our
jobs at the level it did, but it also blinded
us to the next chapter and what we were also
(06:22):
going to have to face, which was figuring out who
we are after we take the helmet off. And I
think us and many others like us are just representations
that being an athlete was just a small part of
our lives. It wasn't necessarily who we were, and the
sooner guys can figure that out, which is why I
love this new generation of athletes. It's like, you'll be
(06:44):
better off once retirement comes. It actually makes a lot
of the coaches and people that work with these players
more uncomfortable because they're not used to it. They're used
to just guys doing what you tell them. And now
they're like, man, you know, they understand they have value.
They understand that they're not just football players, and you know,
they they have their own face, they have their and
they want to know what their you know, the media
(07:05):
responsibilities and who they want to be off of the
field is where their brand their brand, and so all
these things are happening and I just think it's really cool.
I heard you talking to this guy about on Cairo radio.
Seems like yeah, it seems like you guys really hit
it off, Like yeah, yeah, I can tell, I can tell.
Like you guys open up, shared a lot of stories
(07:27):
and just you talking about your whole journey of like man,
you know the confidence that came with as you got
more and more of this and doing more and more
of the TV that it allows you all of a sudden,
now you're relaxing and you're you're really getting into these
things more. At what point in time did that really
start to happen for you. I'm in this space right
now that I work with it on the day. That's
(07:49):
my normal job, and so I'm trying to do more
personality TV. I want to be able to be able
to make that switch and show like I have more
just football knowledge and to have way more rain yep,
like you guys are just holding me down from this right,
like I can talk way more about other things. I
actually enjoyed that way more, of course, you know what
I mean. I'm just football. I mean that's just a
(08:10):
small chapter. That's right, That's right, so many more to do.
How do you get to that? And at what point
in time did you all of a sudden start to
get way more comfortably Like, dude, I can totally expand
and do this. Yeah, that's such a good question. The
first time I was actually on TV was the year
I got drafted, which was two thousand and three. I
went to the NFL network, and you know, I got
(08:30):
a little bit of a buzz from it, and I
got to be honest, it was more self serving. I'm
a wide receiver, you know what. Divas. I like to
hear myself talk, and I like to look at myself
on TV. He's no surprise to you. I don't even
need to glasses, you know what I.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Mean.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
I'm almost forty two. I'm behind, but but you know
so I say that because every off season I would
do either local or national TV or radio. I would
go do the NFL network hits. They were never paying me.
I would do stuff back home. So it's almost like
I was sharpening the tools while I was playing. And
(09:05):
then I went to the broadcast boot camp and that's
when I realized that I wanted to do this as
a career. And it was funny because I had a
little bit of a when you was still playing. Yeah,
I was like year nine to ten, and they basically
gave me a pat on the back, say, hey man,
you're talented. You got you got some some foundational pieces
that could allow you to be good at this if
(09:26):
you choose to. But I remember struggling when we did
the exercise of calling a game like it just it
was so foreign to me to have somebody in there
to kind of like tee me up. It was like
the alley oup, and I just kept missing the dunk.
You know, it's like, all right, first and ten bend
Roethlisberger drops back and the past is completed and need
to wait for me to jump in. And I just
(09:46):
didn't know how to do that dance. So once I
left the broadcast boot camp, as much as I felt
good about certain areas of being on TV, I just
kept thinking about where I struggled. I guess that's the
athlete in you know. We focused on on the details
of something we're not doing well at and that made
me feel like a rookie again. And that's what I
(10:07):
think that element encouraged me the most. When I retire,
I'm gonna work on this craft. I gotta I gotta
be good at it. And at that time, I had
a partnership with a clothing line, Bangs and Baker. I
had an Italian restaurant in Seattle. I had a couple
other small things going on from a creative standpoint. So
(10:28):
I had all these things that I didn't know. I
didn't know what I wanted to do, so I had
to pick something. It was either go into TV or
try my hand of all these other things. And I thought,
if I go on to TV and I'm good at TV.
It's gonna make these other things easier. So let's get
into TV. And that's when I signed on to the
NFL Network and from there I was the busiest guy
(10:51):
like there was. There wasn't nothing that they couldn't call
me for. It was live TV, tape, TV pregame, halftime, postgame,
digital content, getting reps. So all it was was getting
as many reps as I could. And also, you know,
I wanted to prove that I was just as good
as some of these guys that were there. I didn't.
I didn't have the gold jacket or the ring, so
(11:13):
you know, I needed to work twice as hard. And
I felt like, remember when we first got in the
league and the OG's be like, hey, look slow down, man,
shut up. Yeah, yeah, that's the Booker got me with that.
What do you feel real bad? Like I'm practicing. I'm
just I'm doing I'm working. And that's how I felt
(11:36):
the ogs at the NFL Network, where it was kind
of like yo, rook, slow down, bro, like you're not
getting paid anymore, so why are you doing stuff that
that you're not getting paid to do? And I didn't
have an answer. All I knew is if I got
as much reps as I could at all of these
different aspects of TV, eventually I'll start to find my rhythm.
(11:57):
And and I'm still finding it, but you know, I
for like, at least I found my voice. Yeah, and
so so look, I want this is gonna be the
toughest question to ask, all right, And so Peanut got
me so excited. I wanted to hit you with this first. Right,
Who's the best receiver? Calvin? Better receiver? Calvin Johnson or
Randy Moss? You played with both, all right, Randy was
(12:19):
a different time in Minnesota when you remember Calvin you
had young, you were older, and you got Calvin. So
which one was the best receiver you ever played against?
You ever played with? I would have to go with
Randy Moss. You know a couple of reasons. One longevity
by his side, all right, even at an older age
when people thought he was washed. He went to New
(12:41):
England and he got killed. Busy killed twenty two touchdowns, todown
something wild. He was the most naturally gifted athlete I've
ever seen. I mean, he could play baseball. I think
he could have ran in the Olympics. He was a
really good Hooper beast, and he would show up and
(13:01):
not even really have to warm up in his prime,
Like Randy didn't even warm up. I'm talking about not
that practice a game. I remember, you know, warming up
next to him, and I'm like, like Jim Carrey and
Cable guy, I'm doing all kinds of stretch, you know
what I'm saying. And Randy's over there just moving his
feet up and down. And the coach was like, hey, Randy,
you gotta warm up. He's just sitting there like whatever,
(13:23):
and he's like, Randy, come on, let's go. We've got
a game in a little bit. And he just so
casually looked at her. He's like, hey, you ever seen
a cheetah stretch before a hunts? And it was like
one of them like abnormally profound questions that we didn't
have to answer for. And I'm like and we're all like, yeah,
you're right. The cheetah nuvers, it just goes, it gets
the food, and we all kind of looked looked at Randy,
(13:45):
looked at the coach. Coach turned around, walked away, and
Randy had another big day on the field. So Randy
was naturally gifted. I will say this though Calvin was
a freak, but he also worked his ass off. Calvin
was six four sixty five two thirty. Sometimes he gets
it to a round two forty and he still was
a four to three guy jumping a forty five inch
(14:07):
vertical crazy, but he would show up every day and
work like he was a free agent. Like Calvin, when
we could do conditioning, he wouldn't just like lead us
by step or two. He would beat us by as
much as his athleticism was supposed to beat us by.
And I always like, I admired that about him, and
I feel like if Calvin would have played as long
(14:28):
as Randy, this would be a different conversation. But you know,
you can't you can't knock Randy's numbers. And then on
top of that, just like his his intimidation factor. I
remember being in the slot and there was a there
was a dB in front of him, there was a
safety behind the dB, and then the safety from the
(14:53):
other side of the field was rolling over the top.
So he basically had to beat three levels of defense
in one play, and short Donta Colepepper dropped back with
max protection and let that thing rip touch down back
in the end zone like, and I just remember being
there were moments where I was just in ah.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Like.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I remember another time DV is given everybody fits and
Randy goes up there and I saw the whites of
the dv's eyes. His toes is all the way up
because he's ready to get out of there. And then Randy,
the dB backs up right, so he's acting like he's
gonna press him, and then he backs up to about
(15:31):
eight yards and as soon as he snaps the ball,
Randy's off the line SCREAMAG goes like this, Now, mind you,
he had a hitch, so he could have ran the
hitch right, but he's like this, DB's off at eight backpedaling,
which means probably like at fifteen. Yeah, and Randy in
his head is thinking, I'm still gonna run past you.
So he comes off the line of screamings and just
(15:53):
hot hand, hot hands, and then boom, touchdown. So Randy
was just a different type of beast man. And look,
that's what all my former teammate Darren Sharp is like,
Look like nobody would call Randy Moss one on one
in his prime, like you had to have another safety
or it was like you had no chance, and that
(16:13):
was a whole defense that was out there, you understand. Yeah,
I think for me though, I think I had successful Randon.
You played both.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
Yeah, I had.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Successful Randy because the coach used to always say, man,
you gotta guard the man, not his reputation. And I
really I really took that the heart, like, yo, he
is Randy Moss.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
He is that dude.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
But yeah, I can't be I can't be afraid of
you the man, like your reputation.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
You're this, but like I'm a dog too.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
And you also play it to your strengths, your length,
like you're length. Even if you knew you weren't trying
to get your hands on him, you knew if you
just did the street fighter like Dawson just like reached out,
you knew that would just like it would cause a
little bit of hesitation if you get Randy that has
didn't line scrimmage, not saying you got to has to
(17:00):
beat him, you got a chance to stay with him.
But yeah, you know, I've always admired those battles, man.
You know, It's just it's hard though when you look
at those two guys because they're just so different, Like
Calvin was physical. I will say this though you stack
up their highlights together, you're gonna see impressive catchers. You're
gonna see them go up over the top of guys
double coverage, even triple coverage. You're gonna see good route running.
(17:22):
But I think the separation will be that Calvin was
by far a better blocker. Like Calvin was a beast
in the run game. I remember me being in the
slot and having a bubble route and Calvi's on the outside.
I got it to the line scrimmage and in my head,
I'm like, I'm already thinking about my damn I'm gonna
do because Calvin's about to run this dude into the tunnel.
And I knew it, and I knew I was about
(17:42):
thirty yards away from the end zone. I wasn't even
worried about Calvin's man. He got up on that dB,
put them hands on them, drove them to the sideline.
I just ran right inside because I trusted Calvin that much.
He never gave up on the play. What was it
like when you because you use this acronym for her,
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, his everlasting Yeah. Football with football,
(18:05):
after being involved with it for eleven years, having to
walk away, you've had some tragedy things happen throughout your career. Yeah,
move from a couple of places you had an ACL injury.
Talk about so that journey when you finally said, all right,
it's time to move on. Yeah. I feel like we
all fall in love with this sport at different places
in our lives. You know. I started playing when I
(18:27):
was a kid in Pop Warner football, and then in
high school is like puppy love. And then it's like
we got engaged in college and then the league was like,
oh damn, I'm married to this job. Put a ring
on it, you know. And there were some good times.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
You know.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
The reason I described it like this tourd love affairs,
because you know, the good times are the contracts, the touchdowns,
the winds, you know what I mean, The traveling city
to city and playing villain on the road, you know,
all of that. Like it's like it's like it's like
good sex and the merits, you know what I'm saying.
The vacations are fire, and vacations are good. Vacation love
(19:01):
is great, right exactly exactly. That's that's what the good
times in the NFL were like. But then there's the
injuries there's the contract negotiations when they tell you you're
not what you usual. Yeah, the devaluing and which it
plays such a role on our mental health, but we
don't know it at the time, because all of a sudden,
you go from when we were young telling us what
the greatest thing since sliced bread too, when we're older
(19:22):
that you just ain't got it anymore and this is
why we're going to pay you crumbs. And and I
think like all of that. The bad times, it's like
sleeping in separate beds, or arguing with your boo or
you know, just just not being on the same page.
So when it was time to walk away from the game,
I mean I knew it was I knew it was here,
(19:43):
Like I remember seeing the light at the end of
the tunnel. It's brighter never. But I still didn't want
to have that conversation with her. It was like, it's
like football came to me and she was like, hey, Nate,
can we talk? And you know when you hear that
as a man, this is a real We got to talk.
Damn what did I do? And she basically said the
(20:05):
NFL basically said I found someone else. He's younger, he's faster,
he's more athletic, he's cheaper, and I'm happy with him,
and I'm happy, And it was that's when it sank
in where I had to look at the league and
just say it was fun while it lasted, and it
also had things that I could fall back on. So
(20:26):
there's also talking about the second act. When you have
something that you can look forward to, it makes it
easier to deal with, like a breakup like we all
deal with when we play our last game. It's tough though,
as a player when your career abruptly ends and you
don't have a next chapter to go to. Yeah, so
(20:46):
why was it important for you to start the media
like right away?
Speaker 4 (20:50):
I know for me, I did a little bit of media.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
I wish I would have did more like you did,
like in the off seasons and things like that. I went,
I worked for spot By, I went and I worked
for Fox Sports. I remember that, and I thought I
was terrible and I was trying to get these reps
and everything. I wish I envy you because you said
you were going and you were getting all these reps
and you were doing all these things. Yeah, and I
wasn't as prepared as I should have been. So why
(21:14):
do you think it was important for you to go
and get all these reps during the off season. I
just knew one if I was in the building, these
execs and producers would get to know me. And when
somebody knows you, you're much more than just a talent.
When they bring on athletes, it's just like your football
(21:35):
got talking football. But if they know me, it's you're
Nate Burlison, the football player talking football. And they want
to help me out and they want to make it work.
I mean, they're a little bit more honest with me.
I remember I had a bad show. I was working
for the NFL Network. In my head, I had a
bad show. Stumbled through a few lines, and I just
took the long way to answer some questions. I just
(21:56):
wasn't sharp. And afterwards, the producers came by as we
were walking to the locker room at the NFL Network,
and he was like, hey, good job, could job everybody, goodjob,
good job. He pat me on a back, good job,
and I was like, wait, wait, no, no, no, don't tell
me it's a good job. I didn't do a good job.
And he's like, no, you know, I'm just saying. I
was like, yeah, but don't do that, like I'm used
to coaching. You know, we come from the football field,
(22:18):
like just be just be honest. And it also like
you don't want me to get into a place where
I feel like mediocrity is acceptable, and so I can
like bs my way through it or not prepare and
just show up. And I think from there it shifted.
So now they started like they started coaching up Nate Burlison,
(22:39):
who's talking football versus always high five in the football
player because he's in studio. And I've seen that before
with athletes. It's like, you know, you see him at
one point in their media career and then five years
later there isn't much growth, you know what I'm saying.
And I feel like it's not necessarily an athlete. If
(23:00):
you're telling me he's doing a good job for five
years straight, he's never going to change our approach. It
so hard to get honest feedback in this side of
the business unless, like you're saying, you build those relationships, well,
now they're going to be open and honest with you,
and then you can actually have real growth. Because the
biggest thing is when in this space, for me, is that.
I'm always trying to ask, like, all right, how is that?
(23:21):
How is this? And I know I try to look
at myself and that's another part of it. But when
you don't honestly know because you don't even know what
they're looking. I have no idea of no idea, and
you don't know your voice no, like you have no idea.
I got to the NFL network, and you know, you
try to be like what you see on TV and
guys that are in the building. So you know, one
day I come in and I'm just like, all right
(23:42):
to be like like Dion and IRV, you know what
I mean, because they were in the building. So I'm
coming in. I'm all hype and I'm talking a little
bit of passing like HERV. Dude, I'm just in friends
like Dion and I'm like, yeah, but I'm not damn though,
Like so why am I trying to be? Then I'm like, okay,
I see Marshall fall you know he's more of intellectual type,
so let me just come in and you know, focus
on the puntification and make sure that they you know,
when I'm talking about these words that it's more elaborate
(24:05):
and articulate, and I was like, that's not me, is
not it? So what is my voice? And then surely
shortly after that, I started to realize who I am,
which is a kid from the West Coast who loves sports, music, movies,
pop culture, who loves art, who can write like, that's
(24:26):
who you, That's who you are, that's your voice. And
the more I displayed that, the more receptive the viewers
viewers were. You can see it though, too, and I
think it's I think it's authentic. So you are well
not You're not a self proclaimed, but your wife calls you.
And from what I've learned about you is that you
are creative. I am a creative. I'm married to a creative.
(24:48):
So you know, you know all kind of all over
the place, you kind of dil We got all these
grand ideas. You're like, nearly I get it right accurate,
(25:08):
and I want you to really dive into this. This
mantra you use about open your eyes and you you're
torn your a cl After one of your best seasons,
I think that was in a and you were down
in Birmingham, you went to doctor Andrews. You're doing some
drinking and you realize, like man like it's a slippery
(25:29):
slow that's a fact, and how fast it could easily
just go away when you start to get in your
own head and you're not using that energy and putting
it into other things, and you're talking about opening your eyes.
And I want to get this quote right. You talked
about how all the beautiful things around you, the support system,
the people that you had that were actually there helping you,
and how bright today really is. And so maybe you
(25:53):
could share with us how you still use that mantra
about opening your eyes and every day you so like,
maybe where are you at with it now? Yeah? For sure.
I remember going to Birmingham doctor Andrews, world renowned doctor
and he did both of my knee surgery. He's a beast.
He's a bast. I remember I was sitting in there
just depressed and he comes in. He had the little
country He's like, hey, son, you gonna be all right,
(26:14):
And I don't learn that moment. I was like, oh, yeah,
I am gonna be all right. But I wasn't though,
because it was my first major injury, and you know,
when you have that type of injury, first you start
thinking about if you're gonna be the same when you
come back, run as fast, jump as as well being explosive, right,
and then you know, the actual procedure happens. And I'm
(26:35):
in Alabama recovering. My family is still in Seattle. My
kids are in school, so the wife is holding down
the fort, and I remember listening to the game on
the radio because it's Alabama, they don't play Seahawks games,
and I just so desperately wanted them to say my name,
like I don't know why, just like I want to
miss you. Yeah, I wanted them to say, like, man,
they could really use Nate bros. And ore, you know
(26:55):
thoughts with them. I just want them to like just
focus on me. That that's that selfishness that I was
used to. And I think he might have said something
in the beginning, but it was quick and the Borrows
is out, next guy up. That was it. The entire game,
theydn't mentioned my name, And I don't know why that
made me so sad, because I think it's set in.
(27:17):
It's sank in that they're going to move on without you,
like this is just an injury, but one day they
are going to move on without you. That's the name
of the game. So you know. The first day I
come back after being cleared from like using my medication, like, hey,
let me get a vodka soda and drink my little
vodka soda. Next day, I'm like, yo, make it a double,
(27:38):
you know what I'm saying. A few days later, I'm like, hey,
just fill up the cup all the way, no ice, man,
just slide them a little hunted. And then like a
week later, I remember going to him like, hey, yo,
here go hunt Can you just send the bottle up
to my room? And he's like, yeah, sure, you got mixtures.
I'm like, Noah, need them. And I remember sipping vodka
on ice and drowning my emotions and alcohol. And I've
(28:03):
never had an issue drinking, but in that moment, I
feel like I was close to the edge. I was
either going to drink myself into a stoop or create
some habits that will following me for the rest of
my life. And I woke up fully dressed us. I'm
a pajama guy, you know, hoop and T shorts, a
T shirt and hoop shorts and T shirt. When I
go to sleep, and I had all of my clothes
(28:25):
on from the day before, in my shoes with my
braces on like on top of the sheets, and I
was sleeping still, and I remember waking up and I
kind of like came to as if I was like
sitting up in a casket. I felt like, yeah, like
the undertaking it was wild, Like my arms were like crossed,
so he was yeah, I felt like I felt. I
(28:47):
felt like I was in a casket. And then my
mind starts thinking like a creative like is this Am
I reading too much into this? Or do I need
to read more into what just happened? I blacked out,
woke up completely dressed like the day before, when my
arms crossed over my chest, like I'm sitting in the casket?
(29:08):
What are you gonna do now? And I remember pouring
the voc out, putting it in the trash, and I
was like, bro, let's rehab lock in. Let's let's get busy,
Like you got enough hurdles that you got to get over,
got enough obstacles you got to get around. Let's not
put alcohol in the mix, you know what I'm saying.
And that's when I got focused and I came back
from ACL in like six months. It was extremely fast.
(29:31):
So that was a turning point because I either had
to sit in this state of depression and feel sorry
for myself, or I can open my eyes and realize, like,
not only do I have a great support system, but
I got everything I need to get back healthier and
even stronger. And that's what I decided to do. Now
(30:04):
that you're in TV, and you were trying to say,
you know, do I want to be like Dione?
Speaker 4 (30:09):
You want to be like Marshall, Right, So now I
get how you can have that view.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Now you're in like TV TV, you doing the news
every day, five days a week, CBS Morning Show.
Speaker 4 (30:22):
You have a certain.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Look, your hair, your dress, your language, how you talk
like it's not the traditional and reporting to you live
on the CBS Morning News Show Charles Tooman and talk though,
and it's no secret, no doubt about that. Did you
(30:44):
did you get any flack or any pushback or backlash
about just you being you? Because you have your voice
right you said you found it, so this is this
is you. Was there any backlash like talk about that.
I remember talking to straight Hand shortly after taking the
job and he said, you know, go in there and
try to find your voice right away. Also realize, like
(31:07):
there's a lot of people that love that you're there,
but there's a lot of people that don't want you there, right,
and those people are also working for CBS, basically saying
that there's individuals that they don't want another football player.
They don't want kirkland Brand straight hand taking a seat
when there are experienced journalists that have been waiting for
(31:29):
that seat to open for years, some decades. So there
was a hyper awareness and a gonna be a good
VET move to come out there and tell you that, yeah, yeah,
no doubt, no doubt. It's like huge, yeah, and it
gives me some sensitivity to people i'll work with. I'm
coming in with my chest all out, you know, I
understand what it looks like. Now I have to earn
(31:50):
your respect by what I do and the work that
I put in. But I did have some struggles though,
initially finding my voice because when I came in like
all right, this is news, it is different, and everybody
kept telling me like, yo, this is news. You can't
dress like you typically dress, which I didn't really get
cuz like that's who you are.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
Yeah, but it's like.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
On Sundays I wear like pimp and can suits or something.
I'd wear regular suits, but you know, there were a
few people that were like, hey, you know, you can't
dress loud on this show, and I'm like, when did you?
Are you talking about stuff I wore twenty years ago
when I was on the road playing against the Green
Bay Packers, and my suit was what is it? Yeah? Yeah,
what is it?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Exactly exactly, And you got to be a little bit
more traditional because you know, I speak with you know,
like we all do with our hair and our look
and a cut and a swag and how we dress
and walk and talk. So initially I came in and
I was wearing a bunch of browns and blacks and
navy suits, like it was very blah, and even my
(32:51):
voice and delivery was different when I first joined, because
I thought that's what they wanted and that's what they needed,
and I was doing the same thing. Hey, how you
doing This is Nate Brolson and were here this morning.
It's good to see you guys. We have a traffic
accident on the freeway and it's like, that ain't shoes.
That's not me. So one day I took all the
suits I had in my office and I put them
(33:15):
in a bag, took them home. I replaced all those
suits with suits that I have in my closet at
home and brought them to work. And I walked in
with a brighter color suit. It was like a deep
red or something like that. I had my flat top
with like curl brriage was like a cranberry. And immediately
(33:37):
my voice was different. It was crazy like once I
got comfortable in my own skin, my delivery was different.
Even the way I set even my body language was different.
So it took a few months for me to find
my voice. And I feel like, you know, I'm at
a good place, and you know, shout out to Gil
(33:58):
because I remember walking in with that type of suit
and she kind of looked at him, was like, about time.
This is where I'm at with it. But yeah, it
takes time, man, I'm sure for sure. So now being
in that position, now, has any other players like reached
out who are in the in the media, say football,
(34:19):
and they're trying to get over into like the new
side of it. Have they reached out to you or
have you like mentor like, look here's what y'all should
be doing. Of course you're gonna get my number. We
got to tap in, listen, we have to be each
other's biggest fans period. And you know, I'm not just
here to get in this position and close the door
behind me. I want to kick this damn door down
so we can walk into the spaces that we want
(34:41):
to walk into. But yeah, guys have reached out and
I told them the same things that I learned early
on was one reps, but to force your way into
these other spaces. Because when I was doing Good Morning Football,
I was grinding away three hours of TV a day,
live TV, which is crazy. Yeah, and then you know, yeah, yeah,
(35:03):
no doubt about it. And then but if that's all
you know this, yeah yeah, yeah, but it was great
to have those rests on the run and on the
fly and live TV. It's like a heightened sense of
like being on point. But then I started to strategically
put myself in different spaces, and that's why I joined
Extra to do entertainment. Now it's not necessarily hardcore news,
but we do tackle hardcore topics, so they might be
(35:25):
more celebrity driven, but it's the same type of concept.
You know, we're talking about celebrity news, and sometimes the
crossover between politics and death and tragedy happens, so people
were able to see me in a completely different light.
They're like, oh, wait, like Nate, he can do entertainment.
Oh he's tackling, you know, politics, because we're doing a
(35:46):
story about Obama meeting the Super Bowl champions and he's
he's speaking about it so eloquently like that. I think
that right there got the attention of CBS and they
were able to see that. You know. I remember going
over to the digital side of the CBS building and
they wanted to do a hit talking about the opening
(36:09):
season schedule. And I remember something somebody told me a
long time ago. Microphones are always on, good and bad,
so watch what you say, but also take advantage when
they're on. And I was over there and we were
talking about the season and what games I'm looking forward
to and what game CBS had. But in between the takes,
I was just sparking conversation about stuff that I knew
they didn't know about me. I knew they didn't They
(36:31):
didn't know I owned a restaurant, or that my financial
advisor and I help athletes invest money, or that I
started a few clothing lines, or that I had interest
in poetry. So I was just like throwing this stuff
out there, starting conversation and by the time I left,
I remember one of the producers was like, hey, Nick.
You know I kind of looked back, like what's up.
(36:51):
He's like, hey, would you mind coming back at some
point and talking about all that other stuff not just football?
And I was like, yeah, yeah, of course, And I
just kind of gave my self with fist pump because
like that that was the point. It was strategically done. Sometimes,
you know, we assume that people know more about us
than they do, but in reality, all they care about
(37:11):
is that we play ball, and that's fine. You know,
we've been playing ball the whole lives. So we almost
have to force their hand and show them. So the
strategy came with little moments like that where I was
able to step outside that box. And that's the advice
I give to these guys, Like, I don't know, the
comfortable thing is talking about sports, but flex all your muscles,
(37:32):
Like we all have all these interests and nobody knows so,
and that's the best advice I can give to those guys.
So the wealth management, the clothing line, the restaurant of
poetry art, you have so much interest would you call
it earlier? You. You were crazy, no doubt, Like I
(37:56):
get it, so I can already see you and how
you are and everything, But like, how do you focus
on what to do? Because you got the TV. I'm
sure you got to prepare and work on that because
that's your full time nine priority. But yet you also
but yet also you got all these other interests. Yeah,
you know what I'm saying. And then you got kids
and you want to be a dad. You got to
(38:17):
be a husband, you know, Like, so that's that's a
lot of time to Okay, I got job, I got work,
but my creative side and this, and then I have
be a parent and sports and basketball games and like
what am I doing? Like how do you manage all that?
I'm doing a better job of managing it now. When
I first moved out to New York about seven eight
(38:37):
years ago, now, did a terrible job at managing it.
I couldn't. I said yes to everything because I was like, god, man,
it's my opportunity to show how versatil I am. I'm
saying yes to everything and I wasn't getting paid a
ton to do it. But I knew if I got
the reps and I got the exposure, eventually I get
to a point where I can say no to things.
But because I didn't know how to manage being a husband,
(38:59):
of father, a coach, juggling multiple jobs. Like I remember
one day waking up and like little patches were missing
in my beard. I'm like, damn, am I using the
wrong like soapmotion or something, And then before you knew it,
big patches were going. And then my entire beard was going,
but bald, naked, and you know, black man with no mustange,
(39:21):
no beard, I can't trust it. Attlemas got a little
Thomas got a little Thomas. He got a little bit,
a little bit, but Mommy's button egg it all the
way around. Though. So I remember going to a dermatologist
(39:41):
and it Yeah, it started as her just diagnosing me,
and then it turned into a therapy sessions. She's like,
all right, you have alopeia due to stress. Body's reacting
and this is its way of fighting. And now I'm like, okay.
That's where she's like, do you have history Alopeacha's like nope,
surrounding family, nope. And then she's like, well, what's different
in your life? I'm like, oh, man, start a new job.
(40:02):
You know I used to play used to play that
breath because waiting somebody, I think I kicked my feet
up on and I got a new job, a new job.
I'm waking up it for him. And she's just kind
of listening, and I'm like, I used to have another
job and I used to wake up, you know, seven
(40:24):
or eight. And she didn't understand football. She's like, I
don't know he follow football. I'm like, well, waking up
at four him is one thing. Moving to the East
Coast is another thing. But also this job, I just
really want to be good at it, man. And she's like, oh, well,
that's it. Like you you're stressed out because of your job.
You're you're worrying and you're not embracing you know how
much this means to you. I was like, no, no, no,
I'm not stressed. You know now my egos kicking at
(40:45):
the defensive Yeah, I'm not stressed. Well, what are you
talking about? And I'm like, no, my old job. I
used to have these these linebackers and safeties. They used
to try to like break me in half. Like that
was stressful. And I'm like smiling as I'm telling her
that part, and she's like like, look at the joy
when you talk about football. That didn't stress you out.
It might have been difficult, but you loved it this
new job. When you start talking about that, you weren't smiling.
(41:08):
And she was like, you have to figure out how
to balance your energy, and if you do a better
job doing that, your beard will come back. And sure
enough I did. I start to focus and just be
a little bit more strategic and not saying yes to everything,
you know, because when we leave the game, it's like
we feel like we have to say yes to everything
to prove to everybody that I'm so much more than
a football player. But then I figured out that that
(41:33):
was detrimental and I had to be a little bit
more selective. Man. I mean, you just gave us a
lot and I love that too. Right is learn how
to balance your energy. Everybody uses it in different terms
or found in your inner piece or whatever that may be.
But balancing your energy because you naturally have a lot
(41:53):
of things going on. Naturally, that's your type. But you
know I will use that when I get home as well,
you know, balance balance, Yeah, really, probably do a better
job of balancing my energy. I think my kids are
like Dad, You're always serious all the time, I was like,
but I'm not. But yeah, ever since hearing you say that, yeah,
I think that's gonna be a that's gonna that's gonna
(42:14):
be serious all the time. Yeah, because I'm always like
the authoritative like but I know me and I'm like,
I'm the jokes like, I'm always playing pranks and I'm
always telling jokes like, but but you're an authoritative figure
in the household.
Speaker 4 (42:27):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (42:28):
So when they when in the hand comes down, it's
it's usually usually do this, do that. Yeah, it is
always wait till your dad gets home. You know, I've
been hearing that, I'm.
Speaker 4 (42:37):
Gonna do that.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
I'm gonna try to, you know, be more be more
fun loving and yeah, a little more balanced, a little
more balanced. This is something I want to know from you.
And that is like, all right, after year and a half,
end of CBS in the morning, where is your comfort
level on that now? I'm really comforting you dress. Your
dress is going there really really helps you out probably huge. Yeah, Yeah, yeah, girl,
(42:58):
she's awesome. Man, I'm really comfortable now. And it's and
it's because of you know, how I see myself on air.
I feel like I'm being next as well. Because like
that's a good question, because that's always like what you
think about what's next. Yeah. I think my comfort also
came in the form of the team I'm working with.
So at CBS Mornings, I didn't realize that you had
(43:21):
your own team of people, your assistant producers. I didn't know.
Like I came from Good Morning Football, where yeah, we
had people that worked on the show, but they weren't
like our assistant. Yes signed to me. So I remember
getting there yea, and they was like, hey, so, who
you do you want your assistant to be. I'm like,
I get an assistant. Yeah. So the producers are going
(43:41):
to start putting in their names to work with you.
I'm like, they're gonna work with me alone. They're like, yeah,
to tell your stories. So when I go to sit
with Bill Russell or Frank O'Hare rest in peace to
both of them, or you know Obama or Michael J.
Fox or Parry Gordy, it's a team of people that
put together these stories. So I can tell any story
(44:03):
I want as long as I pitch it, and we
can build out the characters as we call it in TV,
and then we can execute it. And I just like,
for a long time. I didn't realize that I'm like,
damn like, morning news is a completely different animal when
it comes to storytelling, especially at CBS, it's the one
thing they hang their hat on. So that that's why
I'm extremely comfortable. And then as far as what's next,
(44:25):
I have a production company. You know, it's called Watch,
which is an acronym for we are the culture House.
We have a few projects that we want to launch.
You know, I want to start doing work behind the
camera as well as an executive producer of some projects.
Going to start with a docuseries focus on sports and athletes,
not just on the field, but also what they do
(44:47):
off of it. And then just continue to flex my
creative muscles, you know, continue to write. There's a few
shows that I pitched that were based loosely based around
my life. Got a couple of nibbles at it, but
nothing is landed. So I just want to want to
do more, continue to expand and growing and uh and
step outside this box. So speaking of shows, you know,
(45:08):
I'm a I'm a fan of watching, So what's a
what's a bigger thrill?
Speaker 4 (45:12):
So SNL did a.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
Parody you remember that, and you also got recognized by
al Pacino on the red card, so bigger thrill. You
did this voice over tool decent.
Speaker 4 (45:25):
Yeah, being recognized with al Pacino.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
SNL was fired. Don't get me wrong, I was crazy.
I was right for the Super Bowl. I think it
was Chris Red Yeah, and they had these these funky
little little he had the braids in he had the
the Tyler Perry braids that you have this movie. I
thought I thought that was Fire but al Pacino though,
Like I was working for Extra at the time, I
(45:49):
think it was The Irishman. Yeah, and uh, you know,
I just got four hours from movie, so I'm just
doing my thing, you know. I talked to narrow And
and a few other people that are starting in it,
and then I'm like, hey, hell, can I talk to you?
Comes over and I'm like, you know, just humbly, Hey,
how you doing. My name is, yeah, I know who
you are. Nice to meet you. And I'm like, wait,
you know who I am? Yeah? Yeah, you play receiver. Yeah, yeah,
(46:14):
you do the Football show. And I'm like yeah yeah,
and I'm immediately I'm sweating, like back of my knees
is sweating, and I'm like nervous. Yeah, I'm like, Yo,
this is crazy. I have to like collect myself. I
looked at that camera. Man, I'm like, just give me
a second, Like, Mistercino, you for real. He's like, yeah,
I'm a big football fan. And I'm like, Yo, this
is wild right now. And then I got back into
(46:36):
my mode as a professional and interviewed them and and
so yeah, that that's pretty cool man. The people that
you look at and you've seen all their movies recognize you.
That'll sweet. All right, this is something peanut. I would
love to know who's got the most that all of us.
You probably do. But how many pair of shoes you got?
I saw Robinson? Yeah, yeah, you brought out some. He
(46:59):
got some heat. You got to meat, I would say.
I was saying about, do you have a number count
in your head? Yeah? I think I got like four
hundred shoes. Four in the shoes, this tennis shoes or
dress tennis shoes, dress shoes. All my dress shoes upstairs
in my closet. My my tennis shoes and kicks are
downstairs in my sneaker room. So yeah, I love kicks.
I've always loved kicks. That's kind of like my thing, man,
you know, I'm golet don't change sizes for a long Yeah. Yeah,
(47:20):
that's a fact. Nike deal. He was able to you
know what I mean, That's what I did a lot
of that before I returned. I spent like thousands of
dollars on that night. Get count Like I loaded up
everything and everybody I loaded up on it and they
were young. I was like, you're getting the size six
wis seven y eight wie. See that's smart. I didn't
do that. I did all that from I should have
got all these sizes knowing they was gonna come back.
Speaker 4 (47:42):
Yeah, that's what I did, so I didn't have to buy.
Speaker 1 (47:43):
Shoes for miss It was like I just got it.
My boys. My my son's one six three, one six four.
There was a brief moment where my middle child near
my seventeen now, he was like seventh grade, big old foot,
he's the size twelve and he's like, Dad, can I
wear you shoes? School? Cool? My shoes? It's fine. Son.
So he picked like one of my like exclusively lebron kicks.
(48:06):
Man boy came back. Them things were so beat up.
I was like, what was you doing?
Speaker 2 (48:11):
Bro?
Speaker 1 (48:12):
He's it was. It was like a gladiator He's like, Bro,
we played a Super Bowl, we had a basketball game,
and then it was soccer, and then then we also
played kickball. I'm like, first of all, how long were
you guys outside? My shoes was beat up and I said,
they mind. Here's the thing, man, you know, I love you,
but unless you learn how to respect my shoes, you
will never put on another pair ever. And that was
(48:35):
the lesson of the day, was like, this is how
we take care of shoes moving forward.
Speaker 4 (48:41):
Yeah, I'm still like that with my son.
Speaker 1 (48:42):
They already know don't touch my stuff because they do
they're not my son.
Speaker 4 (48:48):
Just like anything that that we have, it's.
Speaker 1 (48:51):
Gonna happen soon, It's gonna happen soon. I'm trying to
have a favorite pair. Yeah. Yeah, the Concord Jordan. I'm yeah,
like the Blacks all the space Damer. Listen if you can,
(49:13):
if you can go on the course and hoop and
then where to a promp Come on, bro, like aay
you do anything from it's a fire. It's a fire, kid.
I guess the final question we have for today is
you know, you've had a successful life, an amazing career,
and you're continuing to just kill it. Who would be
(49:35):
on your personal mount rushmore, people that have had just
influencing you, people that have mentors you helped you along
the way, helped you along this journey, help you to
get you where you are right now. I would say
one of my mom and dad. They have been my
biggest supporters on and off the field, and they've always
(49:58):
they've always seen more in me than I've seen than myself.
So I have to shot them out and it's just
staying within the family circle for right now. My wife,
she former track star. She won indoor hurdles as a senior,
so she's a champion, graduated then graduated with her masters.
Beautiful woman really had the world in front of her
(50:19):
and put everything on hold to follow me chase this
dream of the NFL. So if she wasn't married to me,
she'd probably be some woman running some fortune five hundred company.
But you know, she put all of her dreams on
the shelf. So without her support, I don't think I'd
be here. But as far as like men that have
(50:41):
like men or women that have been there as a
support system, Straighthand has always been there because there's these
comparisons that happen and he has constantly told me you're
different than me. Be different, you know, you don't have
to try to be like me. And if you're different
and you're better in the areas that you bring to
the table that I can't bring to the table, this
(51:04):
this business is going to open up his doors to you.
And I always thought that was dope because it wasn't
like there's only room in this town for one of us,
you know, it was the opposite. It was I'm gonna
make room for you, which is why I want to
make room for everybody else. Gail. Gail has been such
an influence and she's just a dope woman because she's
(51:25):
constantly trying to build people up and allow them to grow.
Like so she'll have assistance and producers, but as soon
as she feels like they have kind of reached their
peak where they are, She's like, leave the nest and
I'll be the first one to stamp your approval anywhere.
I'll be the one that, yeah, gives the recommendations. You know,
(51:47):
instead of just like hogging all the talent, she puts
the talent on and then allows tim allows them to
leave and grow and then just like I think collectively,
you know, and I said it at the beginning, I'll
say it again, it's the brotherhood of the NFL. Like
you know when I said that, I've seen you guys
(52:09):
as athletes on the field, but that pales in comparison
to what you guys have done that I truly mean that,
and we don't say it enough. But I just love
watching y'all work. And that goes for the rest of
this fraternity. There's so many men doing great things across
all spaces. Of course in football, back into the game
(52:29):
on a low level like Pop Warner, all the way
up until the league. There's guys that are coaches or assistants,
are working for teams that are doing a fantastic job.
But from the men that have went into the medical field,
law enforcement, the finance world, art, the creatives, I just
(52:50):
think like there's no better motivation than knowing that the
guys that bled like me, gave everything, they got everything
they gave to the game like I did, are sailing
in other spaces and that that gives me all the
hope in the world to know that we can continue
to do whatever we want. Man, football is it's it's
(53:12):
a beautiful sport, and I don't want to be dismissive
of the careers we had because it is like being
a rockstar with pads on, for sure. But if we
can do that at a high level, man, we can
accomplish anything in this world, no doubt, you know.
Speaker 4 (53:26):
What, no doubt.
Speaker 1 (53:27):
Two things I really loved about that whole breakdown. Number
one was that, I mean creatives got their own space, yes,
and that the whole description right, yes, no doubt, no doubt,
no doubt, no doubt. Enforcement creators are right there, bro,
Actors and producers got like Matthew Cherry, who's who's an
Oscar winner, He's a director. You know, guys like that
that have have done such a good job. But I
(53:49):
will say this though, before I go, I got to
hook you all up with some suits, man, And I
mean that you're not free of charge. You know that
bangs and bakers, the brand this I got you down.
Let me let me let me off straight handsome suits,
straight hand suits. See, you ain't got to buy the first.
I'mnna hook you up first. I'm just trying to see
me and we do everything from traditional suits. We call
(54:09):
this like the jump Man suit. We have joggers. It
was built as a brand to allow guys to look
fresh while not overcharging them. You know what I'm saying,
because you guys, remember we first came in and then
people was with the Walkers, and but they was getting us.
The price was killing us. And on top of that
they had to they had the women in there like, oh,
(54:30):
fill you up, get you right. So so one quick thing,
because you're the real professional in this whole business, I
want you to wrap the show for us. Man, give
us a tell them let it be gone. Speaking to
the camera, let them know. Oh yeah, well listen, man,
we out of here. iHeart radio. You know this is uh,
this is the the main stage for guys like this
(54:53):
to give individuals like me the stage to show that
what we have done in the league, it is it
is a small part of who we are and what
we're doing now is is truly a representation of how
gifted athletes really are. I'm peanut A's Room. That's Nate.
(55:14):
NFL Player Segments podcast. Were We out
Speaker 3 (55:22):
H
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