The Hype Magazine talks to Terrell Owens

Courtesy of Terrell Owens

August 5^th, 2018 T.O. will make the catch of a lifetime when he is inducted into the pro football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Terrell Owens spoke candidly with The Hype Magazine about his road to being able to accept this acknowledgment of his life’s work, which is filled with disappointments including financial setbacks, and other life lessons that he learned along the way.

“In my case, it was not a situation where I lost money making careless investments. I was negligent by not holding my financial team accountable for what I hired them to do.”

What do you feel are the best avenues to reach young athletes, so they can learn from your experiences as a professional athlete, especially in things such as how to handle their earnings?

With the current popularity of social media platforms, it seems a lot of us athletes are using our platforms in the hope of positively affecting as many people as possible. I will often respond to questions asked by individuals who reach out to me through my various social media platforms. I answer their questions as much as I can, and I give them advice. There are many ways for me to reach people who have questions about life as an athlete. Social media has been such an organic way for me to have discussions with people, without having to put together a more formal, more impersonal organized event.

I have had parents of young athletes reach out to me for advice, asking me to help them with a blueprint for their children to reach the next level. I enjoy being a part of these discussions as I would like to be more involved helping families. Currently, I am discussing with my booking team the possibility of setting up tours to speak with students. Especially with my experiences, both good or bad, I feel that others can learn from my story and how I became, “T.O.” Also, I am involved in a reality tv based show that educates children who want to play football or aspire to chase whatever their dream may be.

How would you suggest to an athlete or any young person who comes into a lot of money at one time find a reputable financial advising firm?

Nerd Wallet is a company out of San Francisco whose mission is to help young athletes find the best financial advisors, credit card companies, cars, etc., and provides an avenue to get their questions answered, as it pertains to their individual financial situation. Nerd Wallet was established to help. I partnered with them because of my own experiences of being taken advantage of by prior financial advisers. Eric Dickerson also partnered with Nerd Wallet for similar reasons. It would likely be very beneficial, for those willing to be in the driver’s seats of their financial lives, to listen to our advice on these matters, especially when you have the two of us, who have gone through these harsh experiences first hand and learned so much in the process.

Just because someone like me is seen as, “successful,” does not mean there are not negative minded individuals out there to try to slam me in the same breath. I have read comments that stated, ‘Why would you take advice from someone who has lost so much money?” To me, I see it is, “why wouldn’t you take advice from this person?” In my case, it was not a situation where I lost money making careless investments. I was negligent by not holding my financial team accountable for what I hired them to do.

Why do you think many young athletes do not ask for financial advice?

I do not think it is an issue of pride. I feel it is just something that many people do not ask about. Some individuals might not even know what to ask. If you are not raised in an environment where no one taught you how to manage your finances, you’re going to have a hard time learning how to do this. Not a lot of parents have ample experience with this, and if you think about it, most of the young athletes who make it to the pros come from urban communities, potentially single-parent households where financial planning wasn’t always a top priority. I was not as fortunate as people who had both their parents around to lean on for support or guidance with essential life lessons such as financial planning. I didn’t have anyone around who taught me what it takes to manage substantial finances. It just comes down to these people with new wealth being comfortable with asking and not being afraid of someone thinking they have dumb questions. To me, there are no stupid questions. You must put yourself in the mind frame to be okay with realizing that you do not know everything and that you must do your due diligence and hire the right people.

Have you ever thought about using your experiences with finances and starting a consulting business to help people as a financial planner?

I do not think that is an area of expertise for me, which is why I partnered with Nerd Wallet. I feel that I have done my due diligence with that company and I have finally surrounded myself with people who genuinely care about my well-being, financially and otherwise. I’ve learned that I must weed out all the individuals who do not have my best interests in mind. One must be meticulous when hiring a person or a company, and one must make the time to stay on top of their finances.

What does it mean to be selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

It is such an honor. Having this happen later in my career has helped me to understand the magnitude of the hall of fame and what it means to be inducted. Being able to go through the process for the last couple of years, I experienced some injustices with the voting process. I now understand what the Hall of Fame encompasses, embodies, and represents. I was very excited for the first couple of years, considering where I finished my career.

Again, with the injustices of when I thought I should have been inducted based on the criteria and bylaws, those dampen the excitement as far as how I thought it was going to be once I became inducted. I will enjoy that day for my family because they were my motivation when I played.

My grandmother, who passed in 2012, instilled in me the value of hard work. This allowed me to weather the storms I went through that came with playing professional football for 15 years. I am very proud of where I came from. For this reason, I will continue to give back to the community.

I will be documenting my road to the hall of fame, and everyone will be able to see not only a representation of myself, but of all the Hall of Famers who were inducted before me, and the generation of athletes who will come next. I want to use my platform to be able to enable them to generate business and own their content. I want to create my narrative to show why I do certain things and that is what I want to do with my road to the Hall of Fame. I want to own the narrative, before and after my induction. I want to take a stand, not just for football, but for all athletes to be owners, not only employees.

Do you think with all the safety concerns involving concussions in the NFL, that the AFFL can become a rival and alternative money draw for networks?

I am hoping that it is. Safety has always been a concern, not only in football but any sport. Football is one of the most physical sports played today. Changes are being implemented, year after year, to make the game as safe as possible. Without diminishing the excitement of what fans want to see, the player on the field will have to adjust. Some will agree with the changes; some will not. Participants like Richard Sherman are using their platform to voice their opinions to create change. I am not saying that it is right or wrong, but we as players make up the game of football. Players as a collective should take initiatives that help each other as situations arise.

We should use platforms to bring attention to things we want to achieve, guaranteed contracts, for instance. Not a lot of athletes will say it publicly, but they are aware that baseball and basketball players are making hundreds of millions of dollars in comparison to football players, where only maybe one or two positions are making that type of money. Really, just one of these positions makes that kind of money, the quarterback position. My question is, why does it just have to be the quarterback? Those players are not the only players that make up the game of football, and if there are players that want to put themselves into the situation where they are making quarterback money, they need to use their platforms as a collective and understand that they have power, just like these owners have power. The game cannot go on without the many other athletes on the field.

There is so much revenue being generated by the National Football League; the stadium, concessions, memorabilia, the television networks, and sponsorships. Many players do not understand that if this game is not being played, the advertising revenue that is generated by the league must be paid back. Players have the leverage and do not need to wait two years for the collective bargaining agreement to expire to negotiate changes. They could act tomorrow if they wanted to for this upcoming season. Why wait two years? Just because the contract is scheduled to expire in two years does not mean they have to uphold it for two years. The collective bargaining agreement is just like a player’s contract.

A player can have a 5-year contract but is released in the third year of it. They should take that same approach to the collective bargaining agreement. The players are in the position of power collectively, and the other athletes like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, and Drew Brees need to speak up. As Tom Brady stands up and says, “we are a team, we are blood, sweat, and tears together.” I say to Tom, “use that same philosophy to help the players in the league, at every level, make an amount of money that isn’t so drastically less than what players in your position make.” Not everyone is as fortunate to make millions of dollars on and off the field like Tom Brady and others in his position. As such, people like Tom need to help create change.

I know your family is important to you, can you talk about how that connection helped you to succeed and follow your dreams?

I grew up with my grandmother, who was a church-going woman and one of her favorite scriptures that I adopted was “Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It is already a struggle being a black man in America and me going to a small school, being aware I was not as good as my peers, and the hard work that my grandmother did by working two and three jobs to put food on the table. I understood that, and it motivated me to work hard to better myself knowing that I was not a superstar athlete coming out of college. My desire and determination along with my family enabled me to achieve recognition on the football field. This also allowed me to accomplish things well beyond my expectations on a collegiate level. I played some sports in high school, but I never thought I would play beyond the collegiate level, but with desire, discipline, and dedication, I’ve learned that anyone can do anything in life. That sentiment applies to any dream, outside of the game of football or within.

Are there any business endeavors that you are passionate about pursuing in the future and why?

I am partnered with a technology company called ‘Band Bands.’ They place chips in wristbands. You can download the app with whatever information is on an athlete, or a company which is loaded inside the chip. You then tap it just like Apple Pay. It will reveal any information that you need to know about the person or the company. I am also involved with a backpack company called ‘XooxBag.com,’ the first of its’ kind on the market with detachable blue tooth speakers. Technology is a huge proponent of our society, and it is something that I want to pursue and be involved with.

Taking care of myself physically is very important. As such, I am also aligning myself with companies that represent health and wellness, which, especially now includes a nutrition supplement brand.

What do you like to do to relax that allows you to focus on being your authentic self?

I am pretty much a homebody, something I feel the public does not know about me. Outside of competing in sports, I am reserved. When I want to relax, I enjoy bowling, watching movies, and hanging out with real, authentic friends. My grandmother said, “everyone is not your friend, and I can count all my friends on the one hand.” I did not understand that until I became an adult. Having friends who are there for you through thick and thin to support you are hard to come by. I have also learned that real friends will let you know when you are doing something wrong or right. I realize that now as “I can count my real friends on the one hand.”

Is there any additional information that you want to share with readers?

People can keep up with me on Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The day of the HOF induction there will be a potential partnership with Facebook and me so, make sure to tune in!

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Tags: #TheHypeMagazine, Celebrity, Eric Dickerson, finances, Hall of Fame, Nerd Wallet, NFL Football Hall of Fame, sports, Terrell Owens, The Hype Magazine

About the Author

Landon Buford Washington State Graduate Past Interviews include Grammy Award Winner Kenny G, David Banner, WNBA President Lisa Borders, What's Trending's CEO Shira Lazar, Ice Cube, NBC's Chicago PD LaRoyce Hawkins, Family Matters Darius McCrary, En Vogues Maxine Jones, Team USA Track & Field Member Norris Frederick, James Kyson, WNBA Great Lauren Jackson, and more.