What's up, y'all? It's Curious Mike, here with another episode. I got the legend in the building, Johnny Manziel, and Steini. Oh, come on, bro. He's here as well. That's freaky. We're going to get into it, man. So we all kicked it last night. I finally knocked something off the bucket list.

It's probably on everybody's bucket list, and that's to party with Johnny Manziel, have a good time with you. And we kicked it. Then we decided to do this podcast, man. So let's start off a little bit about where you're at now. What are you into now? I feel like it's been a decade since you've been in the league.

So what's your life like now? I don't know. I really think for a long time, vibing it out, whenever you get to a point where the thing that you've done your whole life and trained for and been a part of goes away, there is a huge hole and void that's in your heart and your soul and your mind to where you're scrambling and figuring out things to do.

The one thing about me is, as you can ask anybody, is I'm very about the boys. I'm very about the time with my friends, about the time with my family. And luckily, I've been blessed enough to have so many amazing people around me that have really taken me in, treated me as family, welcomed me to their family.

And, you know, I was in L.A. for a long time, you know, lost in the sauce of like what this life is and the temptation and like the access of what it is. And, you know, I stumbled upon Scottsdale and ran into people I had met throughout the years.

And golf really became like something that for me helped my mental so much. It helped give me a competitive edge that I was missing from football and, you know, throughout a COVID year, I bet I played 250 rounds in a year and every day. I'm on the course at 11 or noon.

I'm with four of my best dogs and, you know, we're playing money games. We're having fun. We're talking shit like and it became like just a huge passion for me. So where I'm at now is, you know, I got a lot. I got bored throughout the years of like just doing what I want and playing golf and going to dinners and being around and in the scene to where like, you know, I have a team around me now and people around me now that are helping me structure and organize my life in a way where I can work and still play, you know, and I have some great partners that I'm working with.

The mathematics has been amazing for me, you know, my autograph signings that I do and going around the country and dealing with trading cards and people is a whole nother group of family to me. So I'm really at the point now where, you know, I'm trying to work a little bit more, but still keep a balance of being myself and having fun and still every day searching for something that lights me up the way that things in my past life did.

Yeah, 100%. I feel like that's a balance for every former athlete, you know. I'm close to Brandon Roy. I don't know if you remember Brandon Roy from back in the day, Trailblazers. Like, he was my high school coach and he was telling me about that transition struggle. But I'm glad you kind of found a little rhythm, kind of found some enjoyment of some of these things.

That's dope. How did y'all two meet? Man, I was in Scottsdale. I had just moved there a little bit. Him and Bob Minnery were out in Scottsdale. It was around the COVID years and I hopped on a podcast with Bob and Stiney was there working with him at that point in time or doing whatever the hell you do with Bob Minnery in your life.

And, you know, I was there for a couple of weeks, a month and really just hit it off. I mean, we were going to the casino. We were, you know, running around Scottsdale having a good time. So, Minnery and Stiney have been friends for probably six years now at this point.

And, you know, it's been funny to see where he's gone with this, what he's turned it into, because there's always been the potential there of being funny and personable and, you know, a little stupid at times, but, you know, nonetheless, like, he's turned it into something that's funny and fun and entertaining for the most part.

So, you know, as I look back at a friend of him for knowing him for a long time, it's amazing to see the progress and, like, he's getting the hang of it slowly but surely. He's still a young buck in the grand schemes. When we first met, I was, like, an assistant, like, you know what I'm saying?

But he's also, he's treated me the exact same when I was, like, not shit as he does now. So, he, Donny's a real one. Yeah. So, we just been boys for a minute. I could tell that as soon as I ran into him. Can I ask you guys something about the NIL money?

Does that not exist in basketball? It does in college. How come you don't see the air? It's going by certain schools now, right? So, you have to look at the schools around the country and you look at your Kentuckys or your Kansas. Like, they're going to allocate more money to their basketball program that they get throughout the structure of what it is because that's their main story.

their main sport, right? They're not spending as much money on football at Kansas as they are trying to go to the tournament and win a championship again. So, like, you see it. I would have gotten in so much trouble. I would have gotten arrested multiple times more than I already did.

It's hard to blow five, six million in College Station. You would have had a dealer on the field. I mean, he would have fucking lived in the spare bedroom for sure. Do you feel like NIL, because you're still around, you've seen some college, do you feel like that pretty much turns college players into, like, pros?

Like, it separates you from your teammates because one guy will have a couple M's be able to drive a nice car or whatever. That's what I'm saying. Like, so, it kind of makes the college concept of, you know, your boys, you're all in the grind together. It kind of changes that.

Don't you feel like? You have to look at it in a way that I think that what it does for the best, right, is that, yes, there are your guys who are outliers, who bring more views, more eyes, more money to a program. I think of it in a way where, you know, I would get an $1,800 stipend check every single month.

You add that up through the year, it's like $18,000, $20,000, right? You're all getting the same money. Now, I think about the guy who's getting the automatic deal that does it, his second string on the football team, and he gets an automatic deal through the collective where he makes $50,000 a year.

That's different from everybody else. Yes, the four, five, six million guys are in a league of their own, but also it comes with who you are, how you play, what you bring to the university, and what your position is. I think about it in the way of, you know, think about the guy who's a, you know, first string receiver, maybe on the fence of being a fourth or fifth round draft pick or something, and he walks out of college with, you know, $750 million in his bank account, right?

That guy might not go make it in the league. He may get cut in training camp, and let's say he has to go into the real world. How much nicer is it to walk into the real world with $750,000 in your bank account and then going into a job out of college that may pay you $60,000, $70,000, $80,000, $100,000 if you're lucky.

You have a $750,000 savings to look back on. That's the game changer of what it is, right? The guys who are making the $6 million in basketball or whatever, they're probably going to go to the league, they're probably going to have, you know, your career lifespan is maybe three or four years.

So, like, you're getting more money guaranteed. But the guy who has half a million in his bank and is never going to go play football again and has to go work a sales job or go find somebody at the university to hook him up, that's a hell of a savings, bro.

Yeah. Let me ask you guys this, because I, for both of you, do you think that if you were getting, like, that kind of money, you obviously were injured a lot, but if you were, at Mizzou, if you were getting that kind of money, you think you would have, like, wanted to win and been taking football as serious?

Like, don't you ever think about that? I mean, it would be tough, right? Because you see guys in college football now who are making in one year as much as I made throughout my entire four-year contract that I got in the NFL. So, it, like, is such a different game changer.

And, like, let's say you play at UT and you're in a city like Austin. You can go downtown and get a $20,000 a month apartment. Yeah. You can't do that in College Station. You can't do that at Mizzou. But, like, you, if you make two, three million dollars and you play for UT and you're driving to Eurus and you're fucking around in the city, you can dust a million dollars in a year quick.

Yeah, but it's also, like, you're, I was 17 when I was in college. I didn't even know what to do with money. I wouldn't have been into watches, cars, all that stuff. I probably, with my family, the way we were raised, I probably would have just ended up saving a lot of it personally.

But it is unfortunate that that wasn't around when we were, you would have gotten a smooth bag. I look at it now and I'm, like, you know, I see how everything is going and, like, especially after doing the documentary and, like, really telling a piece of what it was, I'll always be able to sit back and say, yo, I had somewhat of a sliver of a piece of changing the game to getting the point to where it is now and, like, helping guys in the future be able to get their bag and do what they need to do because, you know, I was hypocritical against it.

I was very outspoken against it in a way of where, like, yo, this is fucking wrong. I'm walking into a bookstore seeing this. This is ta-ching, ta-ching, ta-ching, money flying off the shelves and I'm going to the other side of the stadium, under the stadium, and sneaking three packs of Gatorades and taking six food trays from the food hall running back to the car, trying to throw them in the car to have Gatorades for the month.

You see it with, like, certain guys who are bad with their money because they're sending $1,200 back home and they're trying to live off $600 and you walk into somebody's apartments and the lights have been on for two months. So that's the point now where it's different to where, like, you know, you're at least bare minimum going to be able to Postmates, Uber Eats, go out to dinner, keep your lights on and, like, really make it.

I was the number one prospect in the country and I think I had $800 a month to spend and it was all going to food because the team gives you, like, a certain amount, most of it goes towards your apartment. I think I had, like, $800 extra and that, for the whole month, that was what I could use for food.

So I was eating, like, Chipotle and, like, pizza every day. Terrible nutrition and, like, you're the best players in college. I'm glad that they transitioned to paying players. It just, it does take away, I think, a little bit of the dynamic of, like... It takes the purity out of it a lot of the sport, too, right?

You're a pro at that point. Like, if you're getting paid millions of dollars at 17, like, let guys just go from high school to the league at that point, I think. Yeah. How crazy? Yeah, you're right. I remember going to see Drake for the first time and it was spring break and I went for, like, the very beginning of spring break and I had already paid for my trip to Cabo with my boys.

It was, like, a full 10-day, like, vacation and I remember landing, like, in Toronto and, like, looking at my bank account, I bet I had $26 in my motherfucking bank account. Like, thank God he sent me a car to pick me up at the airport, like, and I didn't care.

I'm like, oh, if anybody asks me, I'm just going to thug it out and, like, figure out what it is. But, like, I was waiting on that next month to pass by to get that stipend check to just be able to, like, breathe again. Exactly. Yeah, I think it shows how real Drake is because, like, he fucked with you when you were the biggest superstar and he's kept that same energy.

That's pretty lit, right? I mean, it's just, it's so amazing and just such a beautiful thing of a friendship and, like, obviously, right, like, you know, 2016 is I'm running around the hills and I walk to the OVO store in Fairfax and go walk in. I go, one of everything, one of every single thing that's in here.

And I'm out every night driving to Nice Guy and Delilah and I'm in OVO gear with a chain and I'm acting like a dumbass. You know, I definitely was a point in time where, like, I got put on ice a little bit because, like, yo, you're diminishing the brand.

Like, we love you. We know who you are, but, like, you're going through some shit. I mean, like, yeah, I had talks not necessarily with Drake, but, like, with people in the crew that, like, you know, with everything that's going on and you crashing out with this stuff, like, you know, I felt like I got put on ice for a little bit.

And it took me years, like, really of, like, going to the shows and taking my sister and my mom and, like, bringing better people around me. Well, before he brought you back? Before he, like, really welcomed me in. He never dissed me to the side or, like, but really there was a time where it was, like, almost like a timeout, right?

Like, get your shit together. Like, get back to the person that, like, really who you are. And, you know, you're always welcome here. We'll always love you because we deep down know what your heart is, but we also know that you're dealing with fucking something that's crazy, right? You're dealing with a full crash out of the league.

You know, I'm supposed to be a guy that's going to play 10 years, you know, and I play two. And then, you know, I start to have this love-hate relationship with football. And, you know, it was a time where shit was just upside down. And I call it lost in the sauce.

It's really what it was. Like, this life out here running around these hills and, like, doing the things that you can do out here was so enticing that, like, I needed a break from Cleveland. And everything that had happened. And it was just tough. Do you, um, so you just got off, you just got done with tour with Drake.

You had the chain out yesterday. What did y'all, what was tour like with him? Yeah, man. So, you know, we talk here and there. I'm the kind of person to where I know in a such smaller scale what it's like to have that many people coming at you and that much to deal with.

Not a smaller scale, brother. It's your peak. I feel like you've experienced everything. I've experienced a piece of it, right? Like, he's so globally, like, mainstream. Like, we were in the hotel in Zurich and there's 5,000 people sitting outside the hotel and barriers and stuff. And it's so nonstop.

And he does such a good job of handling it. But, like, I don't reach out to him very, very much. Like, I'll hit him up a little bit here and there, like, express gratitude or something funny or a video or something, and we'll chop it up. But, like, I let him reach out to me on good terms.

Like, I'll be on tour for, you know, we go to London for 14 days. Like, I bet I see him, like, 6, 7. Like, I'm walking into the hotel lobby at 5 in the morning or something to go smoke a cigarette. And he's walking in, and I'm walking down the stairs, and we look at each other.

I'm like, oh, yes. This is, like, the most random hours. So, like, our relationship right now and what it's been, like, you know, I'm in Miami for a good friend's birthday. You know, get a FaceTime. He's FaceTiming with this girl, and then he pops on the phone. And it's, like, fate, something that's, like, meant to be.

You don't want to see that. And I'm like, whoa, amazing. He's like, I'll see you in Toronto in two days. I'm like, bet your fucking ass you will. Well, you're obviously, he clearly swooped your chick, too. That's fine, bro. Take whatever you want. If I ever FaceTime my girl and she was with Drake, I'd be not leaving my room for her.

Take whatever you want. I'm at a point now where, like, you get to the point where, like, the girl. Well, wait, bro, you rush. You keep your women's shit more private, but you rushed into a marriage, didn't you? Yeah, I did. Do you ever talk about that? I'm bad if you don't.

No, no, I've spoken about it in the past. Like, you know, three months, four months of dating Paris for a Drake show, proposed, did the whole thing. I think I have so much, like, you know, love and appreciation for how she was with me, how much she helped me get to a place and see who I really am as a person and get me off that crazy train.

And in reality, you know, I wasn't just grown up and adult enough to handle what comes with that. And I fucked it up and, you know, took years and years to be able to get to a place where, you know, we don't speak very often anymore, but it's nothing but love.

I wish her the best. I want her to be happy in life. And, like, it wasn't ever going to work out. How long was the marriage? Maybe like a year and a half. That's crazy. But for me, like, where I'm at now? You not ready to get married? I was married.

What? Just that marriage just ended recently. To the game or what? That marriage just ended recently, dog. Yeah, bro, I'm at the point now. How do you give him some advice? He's going through it, bro. Fuck, bro, I'm at the point now where, like, when I fall into love and I get into these relationships, like, the heartbreak of ending and who I turn into when it ends is, like, world-ending for me and world-shattering, especially when I find somebody who is my best friend, who I do care about so much.

That's the hardest part right there. And when it ends, for me, I crumble. Like, I turn into a mute. I hold myself up in my room for weeks and months at a time. And I almost, like, lose in my brain, like, how to even be myself or be a real person.

So, like, right now, it's a very shaky thing for me and something that I want to steer clear from to the point where, like, man, even when I'm on tour and you go to a party and there's 200 girls there and 30 or 40 of the boys, like, I'm not interested, really, in the chase.

Like, well, I've talked to some people here and there and, like, have a fun night every now and then, but, like, I'm not in that dog era, dog mentality anymore. Like, I want to be around my friends. How did you get over that? Me and him got over it.

You got over it? I think more than anything, bro. You are the biggest capper ever. It takes time, right? It takes time. And, like, you know, I really didn't get over it until I got around Drake and the boys and the crew, which, for me, I have to go to a place where I know I'm the safest, I know I'm the happiest.

How the fuck did that get you out of being a dog? I mean, not necessarily. Like, I just, when you get into a relationship and you see what a vibe is with somebody and what the end goal of the game is. Being with Drake and them, how does that make you want to be a dog?

I mean, because I just don't care to do it, bro. When you catch a vibe with somebody and you're in a relationship with somebody and you see and have a future trip or a future vision of what you want your life to be and see a piece of yourself in the future, like, I think we all want kids eventually.

I think we all want family eventually. You're not running. You see these guys running around in the streets until they're 45, 50 years old. That's not a life that looks enticing to me. That part is scary. So, you obviously deal with heartbreaks tough, like, you said you hole up in the room.

How long does it take for you to, like, feel like a full, like, person again? Bro, this last one was the toughest one I've ever dealt with, you know, still even having shutters and instances at times where I'm still dealing with it. And, you know, I think for me, like I said, I had to go to, I had to go sit at this high for five days and, like, sit in the places that I know to my core make me the happiest.

I had to go to Toronto and go to Drake's and to hang out and sit in the studio and listen to music and go to one of their parties where they're playing nothing but old Drake slappers and things that I would do when I was in my dorm room in college.

I have to call my sister every day. I have to call my mom and my dad and tap into my family and, like, really slowly find a way to try and get it, you know, out of my head. And I think there's certain points in time where I have to go really hard drinking and fucking around to get my mind off it.

And slowly but surely as I'm around good people and I'm around the right people, my perspective starts to shift and I realize really deep down that as much as that did mean to me, there are other things in my world and in my life that have meant as much or more to me that, like, the music, right, with Drake.

Like, I would not go to sleep when an album would drop. I would sit in my dorm room and memorize every word and write it down on a piece of paper until I knew every song of the whole album. Do you feel like... Wait, how are you doing? Are you doing okay with your heartbreak?

Yeah, man. You okay? I'm doing okay. How do you handle it? We just heard he goes to Drake's house, goes to the studio. I go to the gym, dog. I go lift some weights. Yes, sir. Go get some shots up. Hang out with my dog. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Do you... Is the relationships ending because you are breaking up with this girl or she's catching you do some wild stuff and she's... Because I feel like if you break up with a girl, that means you're pretty much over it. But if she breaks up with you or catches you doing some wild stuff and she breaks up with you, that's when it can be, like, tough.

Oh, that's different. If she breaks up with you, that's got to hurt you. Are you in these relationships? No, no, I'm really not having been very much of the past of, like, an ender of the relationship very much. Like, when I go after somebody and I get in a relationship with somebody, like, I'm in it for the long haul and it's what I want.

I know it's what I want. But, like, you know, I think for me in my life throughout times, like, especially last year, like, you know, as I'm getting back into the public eye and I'm doing the podcast and I'm doing more interviews and the Netflix stuff and everything I've done, you know, it brings a lot of daily interaction with certain people that are usually all positive.

But for sometimes for me, like, I look back on everything with an immense amount of, like, shame and, like, damn, I'm sitting there on Sundays watching Lamar and, like, all these guys that I've played with and against and stuff. And I'm seeing what could have been if I would have been in a different place.

So I think for me, like, last year, like, I think I just ride through a wave of depression at times. And when that wave comes, I'm not myself. Like, I'm not the fun, flowing, energy-filled, talk shit, have fun kind of guy. And it puts me in a little bit of a hole.

And for me, that comes with sitting on the couch, staying at home more, don't really want to leave or go out or go to dinner. And, like, you know, this relaxed relationship, I was the happiest I could have ever been just being with her and vibing at the house or just doing things solo one-on-one.

I mean, because I feel like I was just, I wasn't myself, right? I wasn't taking care of the relationship the way that I should. I wasn't taking care of myself the way that I should. Don't you feel like a good woman when you're in those places of, like, not being yourself?

They should be able to see that and try to help you work through that. And that's a lot of it, too, right? I think it got to a point where she was like, yo, I'm giving you everything I have. I'm giving you unconditional love. I'm giving you everything that I possibly can.

Chances and chances to try and, like, yo, snap out of this. Be yourself. Be the person I fell in love with. And for me, it was just, like, really stuck. And, like, you know, my mind and energy and effort was, like, all focused on it. I'm aware that it's going on, but, like, I couldn't get myself out of it.

And, you know, tough, man. Tough. You know, this is a person I definitely saw and envisioned spending a lot in the rest of my life with. And, you know, I look back at it now and it's taken me a lot of time and perspective shift to just be like, you know what?

At the end of the day, you could call me five years down the road and be like, yo, I miss you. I love you. Let's try and make this work again. And I would drop everything in my life or everything that I was doing to be able to do that.

Tell her you're in a better place. You might as well. I mean, bro, I want her to be happy, right? And whatever she's doing in her life and whatever she's doing, I wish the best for her. If it's happy with somebody else or happy being on her own or whatever it is, like, I'll always be there in any way that I can be and doing whatever I can be.

But, you know, I don't want to sit and squeeze my way into a situation or try and make things messy because, you know, if it's meant to be, it'll come back, right? If it's not, it's the most love for me ever. And I don't think I handled things the right way whenever things ended.

I think I really pressed and tried to make it work and, like, you know, just kind of lost my marbles a little bit to the point of where I would have done anything to make it work. And maybe it wasn't meant to be at that time. So, you know, for now, I have other things to focus on and other things to try and do to keep my mind off it and to just try and just keep going.

We're all going through it, man. I'm going through it with you. And Stiney, he hasn't really experienced this. Wait, I was going to say, who do you think has been with the baddest chick between us three? I was actually... Probably you. I was going to... I was going to say...

I was going to ask y'all that because it definitely is me at the top. Yeah, 100%. I'm playing. I'm probably... I'm going to say at the bottom. It's between y'all. I was going to say, like, you guys have known each other for a while. Yeah, you too. I'm probably third, right?

I feel like it goes... You just haven't been in the game long enough to, like, really do it. Yes, yes, you've plucked a couple, but... I've gotten a couple good ones, but, like, it's usually, like, I'm not walking out with the hottest girl at the club. Like, last night when I was looking at the table, you, your brother, you, I was like, yo, there's no chance I'm pulling.

You're crazy. Oh, I swear to God, bro. This is true. Well, you do well. You do well, man. For being... For being... You know, that's why he... How he met me, bro, and why he started fucking with me. And for people out there, if you ever want to... The best currency in the world is females.

Say women, not females. Women. Because they get mad when you say females. It's women. So, if you want to meet cool people and you go to a hot place with four hot girls, and they'll invite you over. But I was with two, like, bad chicks at the nice guy.

And, uh, like, the baddest chicks I've ever been with, bro. And then he... I couldn't believe my eyes, bro. I thought you were the gay best friend at first. I'm so serious, bro. That's disrespectful as fuck. No, but it's not... I'm not trying to be disrespectful. It's not too far out of pocket, though.

That's just what I saw. But I would have preferred you to say this guy's definitely just, like, they're definitely just friends with him. I don't, like, know why I have to be the gay best friend, but I feel you. But, uh... I'm just telling you what I thought at first, bro.

That created a whole friendship. I'm talking about he had some cold ones with him. How hard was my defense on? Because he kept trying to come over to the table and swoop him. That's not true, bro. I was not on that. But when you went to the bathroom, she pulled up on me, though.

Really? I can't trust fucking anybody. I was blocking the table, like, keeping him as far away as I could. That shit was hilarious. You brought up a point, Johnny. You said that sometimes you get in these places of, like, shame and depression when you're looking back on that time of your life.

What do you regret, like, most about that time in your life? Like, is there something specific? Like, what do you wish, going back, you could do different? There's a saying that's like, dude, there's nothing worse in life than, like, a failed potential and, like, squandered ability, right? And having such a gift, right?

Like, watching myself grow from my freshman, from, you know, a senior in high school to redshirting to, like, really starting to work on my game and, like, the relationship I built with Mike Evans where he could, like, stick his hand up anywhere in any situation. And I could hit this little bit of his finger, like, every single time.

Like, just dialed in, watching myself get better. Like, going to a training, you know, in the spring before my sophomore year and, like, putting a blindfold on, taking five-step drops and having two receivers on each side and they would clap. And I would have a blindfold on and step and hit him right in the face.

So just, like, watching my ability to, like, be a quarterback and be able to go, you know, just wasted potential is such a tough thing. But also, it comes with, you know, everybody says it. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. And, like, when I got to the league, I didn't work hard enough.

I didn't get into the grind, into the mode of the season. Like, I was in the backup role and I was, like, okay with it. We were seven and four at one point. We were kind of rolling. And, you know, I'm smoking two ounces a week. I'm going through eight ounces a month.

It's an insane amount of weed. I'm getting home. I'm going through a case of wine every couple weeks, watching basketball, fucking around. Like, it's not what the best do to take care of their body and get ready. So, you know, it comes from, like, damn, I didn't even make it through a four-year contract, two terrible years in Cleveland.

At times, I showed potential of what I could have been. And then I just stopped giving a fuck about the game and I lost love for it. So it comes with. Why do you think that happened? You know, man, I think just, like, it was so fun walking into SEC.

SEC stadiums. It was so, with the energy. And I remember walking into an NFL field for the first time and being, like, this isn't that. College football is a little different, huh? It's just lit. The energy is crazy. It's just lit. Like, walking into Auburn. You've seen the Penn State Cliffs?

Yeah, it is. Penn State goes crazy. Georgia, Bama. But it was, like, it was such a hype and adrenaline run. And, like, I didn't ever really get that in the NFL. And I was in a situation that, you know, a half of the people in the organization probably wanted to beat me.

To be there. And half of them did it. Like, half of them didn't see who I was or the potential. And, you know, when you don't put in the time in and do the right things, like, you know, you just kind of fall out of it. And like I said earlier, like, as talented as I was as a football player, I was also talented in bringing the vibes and the party.

So, like, that for me was, like, I've said it before, you know, I got as much of a rush as walking into fucking Hyde on a Saturday with the boys as I did, you know, walking into a stadium. So, to that point, because I was going to ask you.

So, do you feel like the drinking and the partying, do you feel like, because for a lot of people, they run to those things to fill a void. Like, something that they're missing in their life, they try to cope by drinking, smoking, partying, whatever. For you, it sounds like you genuinely just that, you just loved it.

You just had fun doing it. It wasn't like you were trying to run from, or were you trying to, like, run from something? You know, I think obviously trying to run from, like, everything that had happened through the football stuff, through dealing with some legal stuff, like, dealing with a lot of it.

You know, I was definitely trying to suppress it and almost pretend like it didn't happen. And, like, obviously when you get out to L.A. for the first time and you have a table and you look to your left and you see Leo and the boys and you're like, holy fuck, is this real?

And then you're like, oh, and after parties and the people who are walking through your door and what you're doing, it's almost like, holy shit, like, is this real life type of stuff? And it became fun. It became addicting to throw the parties and be the guy and take care of everybody and not give a shit about it.

And for me, you know, there was a lot of me being good at it, me enjoying it, and then also trying to, like, fuck, man, I really fucked that up. And am I going to get another opportunity to be able to do it again? Since you've been through so much, like, you've been the epitome of, like, celebrity and, like, fame, you've experienced what very few people experience in their life, a lot of people chase that.

Like, they want what y'all have. They want the notoriety. They want fame. Now that you've had that, do you think that that's what people should be chasing? No, of course not. Clout's a hell of a drug. Clout is one of the biggest, most addictive drugs you can have once you get a piece of it and a taste of it, right?

But, like, you have to be grounded in solid morals and solid foundation and values that drive you, that lead you. The days you don't want to get up and go to the gym and go get shots up, but you do it anyway because you know what your goal is, right?

The things that you were taught from your family, the way you see your parents move, the way you see your family move that, you know, generates you being able to have a family and be good people. Like, that is easily out the window when you're hanging around a bunch of yes men and around people that love being around you because of who you are.

So a lot of that's able to go out the window. Now, I didn't treat people bad all the time, but I had my moments where I was a dick and it was fucking tough. And, like, it's just something that will chew you up and spit you out because you have the access, you have the fame, you have the notoriety.

And when you have the money, too, nobody really says no to you. Yeah, you know what I was going to say off that, though? And you could probably agree. It's, like, it's fucking dark. It's really dark. And it can be fucking lonely. Like, we're boys because we don't want anything from each other.

We just like to have a good time. You know what I'm saying? Yep. It's so refreshing to have people like that, too. And it's rare, though. It's rare. When you find people that have their own stuff going on and they don't need anything from you, like, it's so refreshing, man.

I think that's the worst part of the industry. You know what I'm talking about? Just people fucking, like, not being real with you, fake. There's fucking lingers everywhere, man. Fucking lingers. And people that are around you with intentions that you don't necessarily see all the time, especially when you're drinking and you're getting lit.

It's, you can feel when people come up that have bad energy and you can kind of know to stay away from it a little bit. But there's also people who are really good at disguising it and able to get what they want without you ever really noticing, too. 100%.

And it takes you a long time to learn the game of what it is to where somebody walks up to you and you know right away. It's a dap up, yo, nice to meet you, and you keep it moving. Yo, can I ask you something? Yeah. Does that hurt when you got traded?

Like, does it hurt at all? Or do you just look at it just business? When I got traded? Yeah. It doesn't hurt. Like, I respect the organization so much, and I appreciate what they did for me. I feel like I was ready to move on, and I feel like they probably felt the same way, and it's all love to me.

I felt, I'm not going to say I didn't feel any hurt, but not a lot. Going back to what you were saying, because I listened to your podcast with Shannon Sharp. You talked about your upbringing, you talked about your family dynamic, two solid parents, you talked about, you grew up in a Christian household, you went to church on Sundays.

When you were going through all these days, when you went through all these dark times, especially after your career or whatever, did you feel any pull to want to run back to that, like back to God to help you out? Or did you feel like you wanted to kind of run away from that?

Like, what was your thoughts on that? Because you obviously had an upbringing where that was introduced to you. I'm just curious. Yeah, no, I had a mom that was really solid and stable in that life, and for me, I'd grown up going to a lot of Christian church camps in the summer, sports camps.

It was a huge part of my life, and I think as you lose your way along the lines, you get a sense of your ego about you where you're young and you have so much going for you that you abandoned a lot of your values and what got you to that point.

I remember having a huge, you know, rocky relationship to where I'm in Cleveland my first year, and my mom popped up at my door in my apartment, and I remember opening the door and being like, fuck, I didn't even want to let my own mom into the house. I was like, damn, like, I'm ashamed of what I'm doing, like, fuck, what are you doing here?

Worried about you, so like, you know, I abandoned a lot of the things that I grew up in, and something that took me like a long time, you know, eventually, you know, when it was all said and done, and I went through so much, you know, the point that was the most humbling for me was, you know, I blew so much bread and got myself in such a sticky situation to where, you know, I showed up at my dad's doorstep one day with, like, everything loaded in my car, and, like, me and my pops.

My pops is a hard ass, bro, like, hard discipline, got after me my whole life, and, like, showing up at his doorstep one day and being like, yeah, I fucked up. You know, I need a place to stay for a little bit and crash out, and he, like, just fucking wrapped his arms around me.

He's like, whatever you need, brother, we'll figure it out together, and, like, I moved in with my dad for three or four months. We played golf every day, did everything for me, rebuilt our relationship, and it's given me to the point of where we are now, where we're back to being, like, best friends, and I can call them at any time, any hour, whatever, and it solidified, you know, everything back in my family.

Wait, I gotta ask you, when you two were coming up, did your parents, like, know, like, in, like, high school, like, yo, my kid's going to the league? Because there's always those parents that pray for their kid to get there, like, my dad prayed for me, and I wasn't obviously going to make it, but, like...

No, my pops knew I was going to the league. Like, how old do you think by? He knew I was going to the league at three. For real. My mom's 6'4", dog. My mom's 6'4", he's 6'4", they knew I was going to be tall, and I, starting that early, like, they knew what it was.

He told me my whole life, you can be one of the best players in the world. Damn. I mean, I was really good at baseball, like, growing up, like, I always thought I would be a baseball player. My dad really steered me in a lot of directions to where, like, I wanted to play every sport, and he's like, listen, we're going to focus on football, we're going to focus on baseball, and you're going to get to a point where you have the ability to pick.

So, like, going and getting my first offer to know that my parents didn't have to pay for my school or anything like that was such a huge thing, such a blessing, a weight off their shoulders. But, like, we didn't think about the NFL. We didn't think about the MLB.

We didn't think about, like, any of that stuff. Like, let's just get to college. Go get an education. You're from Texas. You're going to Texas A&M, an amazing alumni network. Like, you know, put yourself in a good position to be successful in life, and then things went the way they did, and the NFL was, like, I mean, I'm sitting in New York in the green room, like, holy fuck, is this real?

So, like, I was never, like, I always knew I had the talent, the ability. It was better than most people that I was playing against, but the show? Like, really? I'm a little fucking white dude, bro. I'm not fucking. But where you guys just pops, like, on your ass the whole time, like, after work, getting work in.

Yeah, I was going hard as a young, as a young dude. I was homeschooled. I got to, I did school two hours a day, rest. Rest was hooping? Yeah, I was hooping, man. Yeah, your dad was definitely in the stands with his blast, his arms crossed. God damn it, Johnny.

I'm lucky for my family being able to send me to, like, quarterback coaches and work on my game, and, like, you know, even from the time I was in high school, though, like, I was fucking around, bro. I was with, you know, being a freshman that gets moved up to varsity on baseball and football, like, you're hanging around seniors and stuff who already know the game, and you're hanging around people who can drive and buy beer with fake IDs and drink, and Kerrville is a town where there's, there's something in the fucking water, man.

That place produces some motherfucking savages, bro. You've got to be a different type of athlete to get drafted to sports. Did your dad know you were going to be a pimp? I had low expectations my whole life. Trust me, my expectations were not very high, my boy. What does your dad think of it now?

Like, what does your dad think of your life now? He's still, no, he's still hard on me, bro. Really? It's never, never, there was one moment where he told me he was proud of me when I, when I interviewed the president. That was amazing. But that's what it took, you know what I mean?

So it's always been like, it's not good enough, but it's pushed me to want to be successful, I guess. Really? Yeah. How was that, how was that experience? It has to be surreal when, you know, old Bob Mennery hooks up and. Bro, meeting the president, like, it's just crazy because, and it pisses people off, right?

Because I'm not the qualified guy to interview the president, that people don't think me or Kyle are the qualified people. So it's so cool when you can be two kids that wear hoodies and joggers every day, and you go and you shake the president's hand. You know what I'm saying?

Do you, you get a lot of hate? I mean, I feel like, bro, like, ever since I met you, you, you've just been so solid, you've been so real. Yeah, you're funny. I play character a lot. And people don't know the real you, obviously. But I like, I like being the villain.

Really? Yeah. Who was dope for the interview, Elon or, uh, Trump? Elon we did for three hours, and Elon. And they deleted it, right? No, they deleted it for Trump. They deleted Trump. Bro, Elon is, like, one of the, I'm just going to say, he is, like, the most interesting, weirdest, he's just different.

He's, like, a robot, bro. Yeah, didn't he name his kid, like, a robot name? Yeah, like, X something, you know what it is? Something like that. He's a cool dude, but, like, he's just on a different level of, like, intelligence. You have to be a little insane to be that smart.

Yeah, 100%. We're not like those guys, man. But he sat with us for three hours, like, which was pretty fucking cool. And now him and Trump fell out, right? Yeah, they had fallen out. You got to reunite him, man. Dude, I don't think. You can save our country. If I can pull that off.

You're cool with Elon, you're cool with Trump. You need to have, like, a session, a mediation, and get it on your, that would be the biggest podcast. Let them debate and argue on a podcast. You saw that they're fighting the UFC. We got to go to this. We have to go to the fight.

You know they're fighting at the White House? What do you mean they're fighting? Dana White's doing a UFC fight outside the White House. Oh, that's, can we pull up? Yeah, on the 4th of July. Because you know those people, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I don't know if they're going to be me.

Dana White. We'll work it out. I got to do something huge for fucking Dana for that. But, yeah. Hopefully I even get invited. Because it's going to be an invite-only thing. But it's crazy. They're doing a UFC fight at the White House, bro. Johnny, man, have you found, have you found, do you feel like you're at the point in your life?

Because I feel like once you've experienced so much dope stuff, like, even post-career, a lot of people, it's hard for them to find that peace. It's hard for them to find that, like, fulfillment in their life because they've just, they've had the life where they were in the limelight, they were in the spotlight, they've had all these crazy experiences, and then it's hard for them to transition.

Do you feel like your day-to-day life now, being able to be a little bit more low-key, move around a little bit better, do you feel like you've found that peace, or do you, what are you really looking for? I feel like there's certain times where, like, I have the peace and, like, I enjoy being a little bit more of a normal person.

Like, I gravitate to Scottsdale because it's a city that, you know, they don't fuck with people too much, like, whether you play basketball or you play, like, people let you live. Yeah, people will come up to you or take a picture here and there, say what up, but for the most part, you know, I get treated like a normal individual, and I love that, right?

Like, it's never going to be normal in the normal sense of other people, but, you know, people treat me in a way where I'm not Johnny Football, I'm just Johnny, and that's why I gravitated to there. And when I go back to Texas, I'll pull up to get gas at a gas station, and I'll be like, holy shit, you'll hear that.

You see people looking at you, you see the double take. It's just different because, you know, I've been such a well-known name there and somebody that has so much weight there. So Scottsdale has been a great place for me to be able to be a little more low-key, get out on the golf course, have my own little vibe and do my own thing.

So, you know, as I move forward, you know, I still think I'm searching for more peace. I think I'm getting to the point where I am over the party and, like, going out and doing that. And, like, yeah, it'll happen every now and then, but, you know, I have such an appreciation for everything I've done.

I've crossed a lot off the bucket list and, like, I want to go get 40 acres and some, you know, four-wheelers and dirt bikes. Start a family with a good girl, man. Yeah, man, eventually in due time when everything plays out the way that it's supposed to. But, like, even for me, like, I need to be 25, 30 minutes away from a fucking city.

I need to be 15 minutes from a dive bar that has a pool table and plays a jukebox. I don't need to be in the fucking bird streets and the hills, like, fucking close to the action. Not because I can't handle it, but because it's just, like, temptation in itself and the phone rings, bro.

And somebody's in town or doing this or doing that. And, like, reality, I don't think I've stepped foot in a club in Scottsdale or been out in Scottsdale in probably a year and a half, two years. And that's crazy for me because when I got out there, I was probably five nights a week.

So, like, I think I'm just changing in the sense of what I want with my life, what I want to do, and what interests me a little more. And that is peace and, like, being on your own and being out and just away. Do you mind if I ask him one thing?

Yeah, go ahead. You watch football or not, really? Yeah, a little bit. Bro, what the fuck are they doing to Shadur Sanders? Yeah, bro. Like, that's my boy and, like. I've been asked a lot about this lately, right? Like, I think. What do you think is actually going on?

I think throughout the draft, I think it's very easy for him to be as confident as he is, knowing his ability to walk into certain interviews and certain people. And not hit it off immediately with GMs or coaches or whatever it may be. And I think they definitely took a slight to that, and it caused them to slide.

Now, he gets in a situation where they need a quarterback. They're looking for one. He has full, open competition to be able to go get a one or two job and do everything you need to be. When you're in the NFL, you're only one play away. You know, my second season, I'm the backup.

Josh McCown goes and takes off running for a touchdown and gets helicopter helmet knocked off, and he's out of the game. So, like, you're one play away from, you know, from being in the game. So, I think with Shador, he's doing all the right things, the way he speaks in the media, the way he carries himself.

He seems confident. He looks confident. He's playing well. He'll continue to get better. And I think in due time, everybody will see what he is, who he is, and what he's meant to be. Yeah. Yo, did you, have you ever been fined? Uh, have I been fined? Maybe. I don't know.

I don't think you have. I don't think I've been fined. Have you ever catch a fine? Uh, they fined you a lot in the NFL for socks and color violations and, like, certain little, like, stupid things. You know, I was in a preseason game against Washington, and, you know, I was running away on the sideline, threw a ball out of bounds, and was running back to the huddle, and the whole fucking sideline was chirping me, talking shit, and I'm, it's Monday night preseason football game, and I fucking threw a bird at the sideline behind me, and you literally get fucking screenshot on camera at me just fucking throwing a fucking bird at the sideline.

That probably cost me fucking 15 grand, but, you know, other than that, not too much. I heard you got some beef going on, dawg. You and this ghillie dude, dawg. Tell us about that. You know, I saw some things online that, you know, didn't sit well with me, and it boiled my blood a little bit, and I think, you know, I used to be a really instant reactive tweeter, especially during, you know, my times in college.

I remember being on spring break in Cabo and getting home from the bars and, like, firing off on every single person that said anything to me, and I've really, like, shied away from responding to people or reading mentions or, like, anything like that. And the thing that happened with Ghillie, I think it was something that just pissed me off that, you know, you know, and I talked to Chubbs and talked to guys in the OVO crew about this.

They're like, listen, we've been dealing with more beef than you could ever fucking imagine. Like, you know, sit on it for a day. If you still feel the same way, fire it off. And, you know, Ghillie with them has had their back and a lot of stuff that was going on with Kendrick and everything.

So, you know, they ended up hopping on a phone call with him and being like, yo, we're just really kind of, like, caught off guard with this. He said he obviously fucks with the pod. But then, like, you know, I look back at it and have a little bit of regret because, you know, I've got a way from being a person where somebody will, like, bump into me in a club or out, and I'll fucking snap on you and fucking square up immediately.

I've got a way from that part of me, and to sit there and just sit on the app and, like, say, like, yo, slap the fuck out of you kind of pissed me off in a way. That's what he said to you? I said it to him. And I was like, when I see you, I'll slap the shit out of you.

Who's this Ghillie dude? He's a podcast. Yeah, a million dollars worth of game and stuff, but, you know, being around the crew and talking with Drake and the boys, like, they were able to, like, smooth that over a little bit. You know, I think we'll have an opportunity to either hop on their pod or he'll come on mine and talk it out and really just have a man-to-man talk about it.

But motherfuck, man. What set you up? I'm sorry, I don't know. Him and Cam were going back and forth, right? It was his birthday party, and he's sitting there, and he has a Super Bowl trophy, and he's like, Cam, you'll never fucking have one of these. This is something you'll never have.

And that motherfucker didn't play. He didn't play in the game, bro. Like, yeah, he's a glorified, like, fan of the team and, like, has great access to the team and is great for the city of Philly, and they love him, but he didn't go out and fucking make a catch on fucking third down.

Like, I understand a lot of fans and people get so caught up in what the NFL life is that, you know, you feel like you're really a part of it. So, you know, it got to the point where the boys and the crew, where I feel like it's squashed, we'll eventually have a talk one day.

And, you know, I have a great relationship with Barstool. I love those guys. So, you know, kind of mad at myself for how things played out, but, you know, it is what it is. Cooler heads for Vero and greener pastures will come. Does that shit piss you off, like, when you see media people or, like, even people on ESPN that, like, have really hot takes to say negative stuff about you but never played?

I think about that, because didn't Stephen A say to, like, something about Bronny and LeBron confronted him? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right now, I want to go on those 52, who was, was that podcast with Jeff Teague and them? I love that podcast. They had a lot to say about some of the clips that were viral from our podcast.

It does rub me the wrong way when people completely, like, take things, misconstrue, and they know what they're doing. Like, y'all got enough money, bro. Y'all don't need to go get views by clipping up something that I say and just put it out of context and try to make me look like, bro, play the whole clip.

That type of stuff makes me a little mad, but I'm not. I don't get that mad, bro. I really don't be tripping. The one thing I said when I started the pod was kind of like, you know, I'm not in here to clickbait anybody. I'm not in here to fucking look up and see I'm the number one podcast in the world or this or that or clipping people or, like, certain things.

Like, I want to do it to have fun and sit down and have a conversation like we did. And if cool stuff comes out of it, amazing, right? I'm still able to call this a job. I'm still able to sit down, make friends, hear amazing stories that have interested me in sports.

But I'm not here to do all that. I'm not here to fucking get somebody in trouble or fuck somebody up or, you know, be that way. And I think, you know, a lot of people take clips and snippets and pieces that get misconstrued and taken out of context and you don't play the whole clip and, you know, it turns into something.

And at the end of the day, that's just kind of the world we live in, right? You scroll through TikTok, you only get 10, 15, 20 seconds of seeing something. You're not seeing a two and a half minute clip type of shit. And they cut that up. So, you know, everybody's attention span and what it is, you cut it, you clip it, you send it and fucking.

Yeah, if you are going to be in the content game and put stuff out on the Internet, just because of how people are and how they thrive off of negativity, you got to have some thick skin. Like, you have some thick skin to kind of go with you. I don't give a fuck, man.

Yeah, you got to. These are people I would never hang out with, so it's like, why do I care? Man, Johnny, tell us, before we hop off here, tell us one story you've never told on a podcast about those college days and just those days that people are so curious about your life.

You got to tell him, you know, when he, this is true, he pulled up to the UT, the rival of A&M. Didn't you pull up to the UT frat house? That's a good one. That is the best, that is the funniest thing of all time. That's a really good one.

You can tell him. So, a lot of my boys, you know, and me growing up, I was a huge Texas fan. I wanted to go to UT. A lot of my best friends from high school went to UT. So, as I redshirted my first year and they have their spring parties going on, they're a bunch of Kappa Sig.

SIGs and SAEs and different fraternities. So, I went down for a weekend for their big parties and had the best time ever. But I'm a redshirt. Nobody really knows who I am. Like, I played against a guy named Malcolm Brown in high school. It was unbelievable running back. Like, guys who I had known and competed against went to Texas.

So, you know, we were still good dogs. Played unbelievable battles against each other in high school. And, like, went. Had the best time ever. Rocked it. Slept on the floor of the fucking SAE house. And it was sick. I start that year. Go play. Win the Heisman. The next spring comes around.

I'm like, we're fucking doing Fiji Island again. Duh. Yeah. We're, like, going to the mall before the game. My boy buys a fucking Aaron Hernandez jersey. I buy a Tim Tebow jersey because I thought it would be fucking hilarious to go party and drink a thousand beers in a Jets Tim Tebow jersey.

And I walk into this party and, uh, fuck, man. They have a bunch of floaty, like, pools and, like, hay bales around it. And it's, like, a foam party and stuff. And, you know, I'm sitting on one of the hay bales. I'm talking with my boys who play at UT.

And this fucking guy walks by me. And, uh, he fucking bumps me. And I, like, fucking fall and, like, put one foot into the pool. And I kind of walk by and I, like, let it slide. I'm like, fuck it, whatever. My shoe's fucking soaked. I'm getting a little pissed.

And then the fucking guy comes back, bro, and hits me with a fucking shoulder check again. This time both feet in the water. And I sit there for a minute and the guy, like, walks around all the hay bales. And he's going to the other side. And I just walk through every one of these pools.

Just fucking walk right across, bro. And he's walking like this. And I just fucking crow hop and boom! Fucking knock him out, bro. His arms go fucking stiff. And he falls into the fucking floaty pool. And I'm like, and I just walk straight out the door. Damn. So then I think it was, like, the next year I go back to the same party.

And this guy's, of course, in the same fucking fret, dude. And I walk in. I'm there for maybe, like, 30 minutes. And you start to hear a little whispers. They're starting to fucking gang up and shit. And they're like, yo, you need to get the fuck out of here.

I'm like, what? You need to get the fuck out of here. And they're all standing up on the balcony. And they're loaded up with fucking beers. And they just start making it fucking rain at me. Throwing it. I, like, have two of my boys. They, like, put my arm around them.

We walk out. Like, walk out into the street. And then 20 dudes come out. And I'm with four of my boys from fucking Kerrville. And it was one of those moments where they kind of, like, surround you. And we're all back-to-back against each other. And we're like, we fucking, let's get it fucking popping.

Let's go. This is what it's all about. And we, like, fucking, we're squaring up, like, waiting for somebody to do something. And finally, like, nothing really happened. And we just walk down the street and go back to our own frat house. And, like, that was the end of the story.

But I wake up the next day on TMZ. You know, fucking beers raining down. Walking out of the fucking frat house. Like, just all kinds of fucking shit started. Like, man, Zell partying in a fucking Tebow jersey. And then my boy has his fucking sunglasses hanging down on his nose.

He's in an Aaron Hernandez jersey. And he's just so fucked up. And everybody called him sunglass shithead for, like, the rest of his life. And it went fucking viral forever. And it's, like, one of those stories where, like, one of the- That's the biggest clip is you- There's too much fucking money.

Where were you at that moment? That was the Heat-Spurs final in San Antonio. And I was in Austin for the weekend. And we- It was, like, a Sunday night. I went to the strip club in San Antonio with my boys. Probably took out 20 racks and fucking did that stupid-ass fucking video.

And the next day, I had a film meeting with Kyle Shanahan at 8 a.m. in Cleveland. So I had to get a PJ, leave at, like, 5, 4.35 in the morning, sleep on the plane, wake up, go straight to the meeting, watch the film, do it, and be like, fuck, man.

I really got to watch LeBron and fucking Timmy D and the boys. Those series and those, like, finals were so epic and so fucking awesome. Those were the best series. You know, just, you know, I was at that point where, like, I would get caught doing everything, bro. I'm starting on a Monday night game versus the Ravens and it's our bye week.

And they're like, don't go out. I'm like, I got you. I got you. One text, PJ, Austin, sitting in the corner, minding my business, really fucking hiding. The goddamn DJ, bro, he played fucking March Madness. I stand up out of my seat and do a fucking backflip and run five bottles of Ace and I'm in the DJ booth.

Next thing you fucking know, taking videos, fucking Ace in my face. You're a fucking legend, bro. Fucking, the guy takes a fucking video of it. So I get back in Cleveland. It's like our turkey drive. I go do the charity stuff and I'm driving on my way home and I get a call and they're like, yo, you were in Austin this weekend party?

And I'm like, what? Me? No, that's so old. That's an old video. What are you talking about? And within fucking an hour, they fucking whittled the whole thing down. They're like, all right, cool. We're benching you. We're putting the third and the fourth string guy in. And it was just like at that point in time in Cleveland, I'm like, fuck, man.

And, you know, I hate to say it because, you know, as you're a part of a team, you know, no matter what's going on in your personal life, you know, you're not doing the right stuff. You know, we play the Ravens and our backup is playing really well. We take it to overtime.

We're driving down the field. We're going to kick like a 40-yard field goal to win the game and like sneak out this win. They go to kick the fucking ball. They fucking rush off the edge, fucking block the kick, scoop it up, and walk off score on the touchdown.

And I remember just sitting on the sideline like, this is just so fucking Cleveland of this to go down this way. And this happened. And then this guy, the rest of the year, it was a fucking disaster. And I remember at the end of the season, they were like, you know, we want you to stay here.

We're going to have a new coach, stay in Cleveland in the offseason, come in the building every day. And I remember looking Jimmy Haslam dead in the face and being like, I'm going to Texas. I'm going back home. I don't fucking like it here. It's zero fucking degrees every day.

I'm not fucking staying here. And I left. And that was really the last time I ever stepped foot in Cleveland and how the whole thing kind of ended. And I remember waking up on Super Bowl weekend and I was staying with Chandler Parsons in Dallas. And he came busting in my room and he goes, turn fucking the TV on.

I'm like, what? Turns the TV on. It's all over. Browns cut me, this and that. And I remember not feeling an ounce of being upset. I'm like, let's go across the street to the bar and fucking celebrate. Like, that's what it was like. So I was just like, you know, so much had gone on and so much adversity and so much.

And I look back at it now like, damn, you're supposed to handle that stuff and you're supposed to handle it better. But I wasn't equipped to do it. And I was in a situation that I hated, that I didn't really give much of a choice to. So, you know, I made that decision to be happy walking away from it.

A decision that would later in life, you know, come back to haunt me and bite me a little bit. Because I fought and crawled and tried to get my way back in and it didn't work. And I never played the same kind of football and I never did the right stuff.

But, you know, at the end of the day, you know, I can look back and say I lived a dream of my life. I can say I did everything that I could have ever wanted to do. I made memories. I made friends. I made a life for myself that luckily, by the grace of God, I still have a legacy to be able to have.

I still have enough stuff to be able to do. I don't have to go make $20 million a year to be fucking happy. I can have way less and still have, you know, true to myself, true to my family, solid to my friends, solid to my people. And I can look and say that, you know, I'm not always proud of everything that's happened.

But I'm happy with my life and what I'm building and what comes next. Man, that's, I'm glad you got to that place, man. My last question for you is, if you, if your life was a book, what would the title of the book be? And what would this chapter in your life be?

Yeah, man, if, if, if my, my, uh, man, if my life was a movie or a title or something, I think it would just be called the fucking bender of a lifetime. I really, I think that's what it would be. Like some in a good, some in a bad, an unbelievable roller coaster.

I learned a lot more through the downs than I ever did the ups. Um, but I appreciate the people who have rocked with me, who have stuck with me, who have helped me, who have been genuine and loyal and seen my heart and my, my, my true, you know, personality of who I really am.

So I'm thankful for the people I have in my life. I'm thankful for my friends, new friends, new vibes, good energy. And, uh, you know, you keep rocking in life and you keep going and you make the most of it. Hell yeah. Dope, man. I appreciate you hopping on.

I love it. You got anything else for our boy? Nah, bro. I love both of you guys. For real. That was fire. Appreciate you. I love it, baby. You know it. All right, y'all. Curious Mike out.