Former NFL wideout Andrew Hawkins joined senior writer Jabari Young at the Nasdaq MarketSite to discuss sports technology and gaming startup StatusPro. The virtual reality software company raised $20 million in February and has star-studded investors, including entertainer Drake, NBA superstar LeBron James, and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Hawkins, the president of StatusPro, explains its plan to deploy the capital and provides his perspective on entrepreneurs entering the video gaming sector and how they can attract investors.
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Hawkins, the president of StatusPro, explains its plan to deploy the capital and provides his perspective on entrepreneurs entering the video gaming sector and how they can attract investors.
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More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Trust God dream big work hard and persevere. That's the personal mantra of Andrew Hawkins
00:06Taking you inside the world of sports tech and virtual reality the president of status pro right here at the Nasdaq market site
00:16Hello everyone, I'm Jabari young senior writer here at Forbes and I'm at the Nasdaq market site
00:20I'm joined by president of status pro right say right for
00:26Okay, great
00:28Andrew Hawkins, man. Thank you for joining me my brother at the Nasdaq market site. I'm good, man. I'm good
00:33This is a beautiful studio. We're in Times Square. You can't beat this man. Is this your first time at the Nasdaq?
00:38This is my first time at the Nasdaq. I love to hear that man. I'm glad I gave you the opportunity
00:42So I appreciate you say Oh Forrest be okay for the Nasdaq
00:47So listen, I always start off with the theme of the month and right now we're sitting in April's financial literacy month
00:53What's the biggest thing that you've learned in financial literacy?
00:56Especially, you know, yeah from where you come from or getting that later. What's the biggest thing you learned today? I think
01:01Making sure you spend the proper amount of time to educate yourself
01:04Yeah
01:05I think what I would always tell young guys and obviously I'm a former NFL player in like as I was going through my
01:10Career and I was trying to like figure out what the future looked like for myself
01:13Post-playing career is that it took so long for me to make it to the NFL
01:18There are so many people that are involved in that process
01:20It starts at a young age your community your family obviously a lot of luck
01:24but you spend so much time preparing yourself for this opportunity of a lifetime that the 1% of the 1% get and
01:30Then you're thrust with all this money that you might not have expected
01:34You might not be prepared for you should spend the ample amount of time
01:38Educating yourself on what this means because it took you a very very long time
01:42To a lot afford yourself the opportunity to make it you would be doing yourself a disservice
01:46To not put that same kind of effort and tenacity into doing everything you can to keep it. Absolutely
01:52Listen you set it off the top man played for the Cleveland Browns Cincinnati Bengals and now an NFL analyst on ESPN man that
01:59Transition from NFL all on the field to the television side man. What's that been like for you? It's been very rewarding
02:06I mean, I think even everything we just talked about from a financial literacy standpoint
02:10It was the same way that I put it in my post playing career
02:12You know
02:12I had the benefit of
02:14Early on not being a guy that had a lot of perspectives for a professional didn't get a lot of scouts didn't get a lot
02:20Opportunities and so by the time my NFL career did come around
02:24I was like laser focused on
02:27Making sure I was taking advantage of the opportunity both on and off the field and just prepare myself for what the transition was like
02:33And I think you know to sit on this side of it being here with Forbes at the Nasdaq at Times Square with Jabari
02:38It's it's a it's a blessing because you know through status pro and with my co-founder Troy and the amazing
02:45Employees and team we have there like I've been able to put myself in positions that being an athlete
02:51Couldn't even put me in and I remember Troy. I know we got to get to you, man
02:54I think we're gonna have them at the fours be okay, son
02:56I hope y'all can have the status. Oh, yeah, no right down in Atlanta in June man, but listen we spoke Hawk man
03:02What was that?
03:022020 you know and you put this on you said when we got this company and I was hype about it and I say well
03:08I got to get inside and y'all weren't ready to show it at that point
03:11Still in training, you know with some NFL teams the Mar Jackson was going through with the training session, man
03:16Yeah, it's good to see that
03:18You know
03:18It's now brought to fruition because this game right in status pro this allows you first-person mood first-person mode to play as a quarterback
03:25You had the eyes of the quarterback. I was in that game hard when we was down in your demo
03:30phenomenal phenomenal
03:32Game that so 20 million serious a that you guys raised in February 2024, right? Let's go inside a little bit
03:38What are you guys doing with that money and how you want to expand status, bro?
03:42Yeah
03:42we want to continue to make the product deeper NFL pro era to your point like this started as a
03:46Nugget of a vision for Troy and I and the whole idea was like, well, hey, how do we bring our own perspective to this industry?
03:53How do we democratize what we experience as athletes Troy was a division one quarterback?
03:58Obviously I played in the NFL and so we've to your point. We talked four years ago
04:03We had this vision and it was a very hard process of getting people to see it and it was like hey
04:08We're gonna have to show improve this
04:09so as we've gone and done and released a product and it's it's had
04:14Great reception from the people that love sports games and have always wondered what it feels like
04:19To be the actual athlete on the field in between the lines now with this 20 million
04:24Round that we raised led by Google Ventures
04:26It allows us to deepen that product and also start to have the conversation of like, okay
04:31What is what do other sports look like because that was always our mission?
04:34We started with football because that was our background. That's where we're subject matter experts
04:37But it was always wanting to democratize any sport where there's an athlete
04:42We want to put the fans who love that sport behind their eyes of their heroes
04:46and so with this investment it allows us to do that and continue just to scale and
04:49Continue to just build fandom and and user base one by one on an on a brand new platform
04:55Yeah, absolutely unless you mentioned Google Ventures other investors your NFL brothers, right Bobby Wagner
05:00My Eric cam Jordan Minnesota Vikings owner Ziggy Wolfe and his wise ventures KB partners, right?
05:06Keith Bank up those guys Chicago phenomenal job that they're doing y'all estimate and that press release that the VR gaming market, right?
05:14virtual reality gaming market because status pro and NFL pro era the game you need the
05:18Oculus or some other virtual reality glasses to play this just to be sure
05:22But you guys estimate that that market will be worth fifty three point four billion by 2028 in the press release when you hear that
05:30Number, how do you guys figure? Hey, we're gonna get some of this market share. Yeah, I mean, it's an opportunity for us
05:35I mean we were in this very early Troy and I we like came together in around 2018
05:39We officially founded this version of the company in 2020
05:42But we had connected in
05:442016 and we have been in VR and we've seen the vision for this in
05:472015 and I remember when we first had our conversation
05:50We talked about what where we thought VR and AR would be in 10 years now
05:54You can imagine back then especially in this period where people like we're very very skeptical of what that looked like for us
06:02But we are both laser focus and when you talk about what that market is now
06:05You're seeing the biggest companies in tech from the metas to the apples to the Googles and beyond
06:11Invest into the platform and typically when you have that kind of investment in unison
06:16It's a it's a little indicator of where the future is going
06:18Yeah, according to Pittsburgh after this 20 million raised post valuation 80 million dollars for status pro
06:24So, you know, it's up from 57 million. So I mean you guys are getting up there
06:28We'll get the official numbers
06:30Give-and-take
06:33What are you learning about scaling a business because again man, I played this this game I have the oculus I'm in there
06:39I play the boxing games sometimes man, and I just find it very hard to put it on consistently
06:45Yeah, put it on my 10 year old. She loves it
06:47I've seen it's weird and cars and in their house and they love it and I know the future is with them, right?
06:52But at the same time how do you get people to put these things on now because you guys want people to play this game
06:56You reported that about
06:5844.1 minutes that people spent playing that game NFL pro-era about a million users that you guys said that you guys
07:05Attracted but what is it like scaling the business? Yeah, so there's a couple of things in that right for number one
07:11What do you think about the product for us?
07:12It's like how do we continue to make people have to come back?
07:15Yeah to the product and stay in the product and feel like they have the depth of new things
07:20Inside our product and that's how we're developing
07:22I think what we've learned when you when you ask about scaling the business
07:25there's a couple of things number one it is
07:28Having the creativity to say hey
07:30We cannot copy and paste from any other industry any other platform console
07:36It's not like this mobile is not like this
07:38and having the people in the mind with the
07:40Curiosity as you're building the business to also think in that vein like we're building the plane in the air
07:46There is no one-to-one blueprint that shows hey, this is what you do here
07:50So I think for us as we scaled and as we've gone through trial and error of tried different things and new things
07:56That's been the the resounding lesson for us
07:59Is that we have to go up our conviction and now as it stands we've been in this for years
08:04We can't look to other companies or other platforms for the answers like we are the de facto experts
08:09And so that's number one number two is just as you build processes
08:13Around a company right because the more and more people that come into the company
08:17The more there has to be a shared accountability and so as we've gone through this and we I
08:22Give all the praise to our team
08:26Because of those reasons it's like hey
08:27We are we are operating without a playbook and as we've done that we've still done some very incredible things
08:35We have so many accolades that any company would be proud of but the fact that they continue to
08:41Push innovation is I think what inspires Troy and I to just stay down this road so as we're scaling
08:46We're doing our damnedest to make sure that that spirit of innovation and doing something new
08:51Doesn't wane and we don't lose it as we get more and more investment and more and more people
08:55Start to see the opportunity in XR. Yeah, you talk about you know scaling you always come across things that you learn both positive and negative
09:02Negative what's been the biggest positive surprise biggest positive surprise?
09:07Yeah, and it's you've learned being president of status for I would say the the biggest positive surprise
09:13would probably
09:15be
09:16That we understood that people have always wanted to be their heroes
09:20We understood that you know when you watch the game because it started with us as kids like that's how we became football players
09:25We've watched this game and we said man
09:27Wouldn't it be cool if we had that opportunity and so we knew fans would want that but I think the biggest surprise is that
09:35What has shown us as far as the NFL like process and experience is concerned
09:39There are so many things off the field that people also want to experience and so as we're developing our game
09:46Those are the kind of things that are top of mind for us
09:49And it also allows us to start to answer some of that question of well
09:52What is the depth look like how do you get someone to continue to come back?
09:55How are you building experiences that people have never had even beyond throwing a touchdown or running for a first down?
10:01And so the biggest surprise there has been the feedback and the data that we've seen
10:06Around people having such an appetite for even things that on console you might it might be passive
10:12It might not be a big deal
10:13But in our game there once-in-a-lifetime moments that people thought never thought they would see from a perspective
10:18Yeah, and you got positive was the biggest negative surprise something
10:21Maybe that's that is pro and a pro that you guys still have to work on. I think um I
10:27Think figuring out what our cadence looks like just as we as we unveil new things within the product
10:34I
10:35Would also say something I kind of alluded to is that you know you're you're in video games
10:40And I think the misconception is okay
10:43Well video games is a mature market and there are a ton of opportunities and ways to continue to build
10:50User bases and experiences, but like I said, I think we attacked some of it in a way where we're like hey
10:56Well, this is what's been done in the market
10:58So let's do that
10:59And I think what Troy and I have experienced and our whole entire company is that that's just not the case, right?
11:05so I think we've learned from that and to be able to learn and still have success is
11:10operating from a
11:12Position of benefit, but it's still a lesson nonetheless that we understand that
11:17What's going to be best for us is something that we're not going to be able to go look for a comp for yeah
11:23And I think that's been a learning period for us and now it's created the excitement
11:27Around this round and what's what's to come in the future and you're at that serious a stage or leaving the venture entering growth
11:33So I'm assuming not profitable just yet. Not yet. Not yet. Well, I mean we're getting you know, we've had a very very successful
11:40What year and a half since since launch?
11:44And you know, I mean in anything you're kind of tied to what the what the market what the market is
11:49And I think we've we've beat the norms in the market in any climate
11:53Which I think is an encouraging thing for not only investors for ourselves as we're saying like, okay
11:58Yeah, we we actually have something special here. Yeah
12:01Well when you look inside that company, right? I want to get flashback into a little bit of your background, right?
12:05Mm-hmm, you have to I saw an oculus and that's the device I use but Apple Vision Pro
12:10I'm assuming you have to start to make apply a game for that particular platform. Have y'all started that yet?
12:15I mean for us that we were always device agnostic. We've had incredible partners
12:18We've been able to partner with Sony PlayStation. We've been able to partner with meta who's been incredible
12:23You know, but now we have Google who's an investor and obviously, you know Apple is is is now a player in the heads but head
12:29Head gear space and so for us it's like well, we always want to make sure we are meeting the users
12:35Where they are, right?
12:37So we're not locking into any specific place in a way where it's it's gonna it's gonna block opportunity
12:43Yeah, and Apple, you know, we all have Apple products. We understand what they bring to the table
12:47I think as the market matures that even
12:51Competitive headsets will also say the more players that are in the space it
12:57It lifts all all tides. Yeah, and obviously listen, everybody can't afford a three four thousand dollar pro yet
13:02But the oculus obvious is way cheaper. You can't
13:07Know
13:09Back and see history talk a little about your your background a little bit. You grew up in Johnston Johnston, PA
13:14It's about three hours away from Philly, man. I grew up in North Philadelphia
13:18What was that like growing up down, you know, it's a very small community
13:22Blue collar community in the middle of Steeler country
13:25So it's like the how everybody's week is going depends on what the Pittsburgh Steelers do the previous Sunday, but it was amazing
13:32I mean for me
13:32it's kind of instilled in me the work ethic that I have and I think as I've been exposed to new things and in my
13:38Journey and in my career that the thing that sets me apart in other spaces is that blue-collar mentality?
13:43So, you know football was King and I think it's set the pace for just what I've done
13:47Is that guys anything I do in business, whatever I do in media obviously as an athlete it still centers on
13:54Sports and that's where that's where I was developed at in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
13:57Did you always want to be an NFL player because your brother obviously was he had a 10-year career played in there and you know
14:02Obviously here you are looking up to him. Did you did that alone spark you and say hey, I want to be like big bro
14:07Absolutely. Absolutely. If he would have decided to be a truck driver, I would have been a truck driver
14:11I think like, you know, but again beyond the fact that football is such a
14:16Influence where I'm from I had somebody up at my house that I was like
14:19Oh, I see what's possible and his thing for me and any relative we have even behind me
14:24Is that you can do this I can show you that's possible
14:27But also what are you going to do to push it forward?
14:30And so I think a lot of the things that I've been able to accomplish off the field
14:33Post career and even while I was playing is because I had somebody in my household essentially giving me answers to the test
14:40I got to see what worked. I got to see what didn't work
14:42I got to see the best way to take advantage of things
14:44I got to see what happened when you didn't and so, you know
14:47I think anything that we're doing as a company and me and myself
14:51Specifically, it's like you want to help somebody else get a little further in their blueprint than you were when you started your journey
14:57Yeah, one of the reasons man
14:58I remember when we was talking back in
15:002020 when we talked about the platform that that really kind of struck me about your story as you come up
15:05You you weren't a first rounder, right?
15:07Yeah, you didn't go the old traditional way of getting recruited that you go to Toledo have a standout career
15:12Up and downs go through a tryout with the Browns
15:15Yeah, and then you end up on Michael Irvin's reality show right for fourth and long, right?
15:20I remember that like it like it was yesterday
15:22And and you know, you're at the you're with us the scouts with the Lions. I believe at that point
15:26Where are you meant mentally with you know, hey, listen the NFL may not have worked out
15:31Yeah scouting didn't work out right Michael Irvin show didn't work out
15:34Where are you at mentally during that space when you're trying to still fulfill this? Yeah get into the league
15:39I would say I felt like a lunatic. Well, um
15:42Because it's it's tough when you're setting out on a journey and you're the only person that sees the the finished product
15:49And I was just I'm not the biggest guy. I'm five foot seven. Yeah, I didn't have a lot of big college stats
15:54There were no team scouting me. I tried out for Arena League
15:57I tried out for the CFL and I couldn't get a contract
16:00But I had this belief of like if I get put on a certain stage
16:03With these people that you are saying is are the best
16:06I I know I can still shine and so, you know
16:09You have to continue on with that process and so as everything I was doing from scouting to being on this show with Michael Irvin
16:16for me, we're just kind of
16:18Checkpoints on the journey to ultimately where I would go and as I did get my NFL career going
16:25Those moments are what's helping me now in the status pro journey because
16:32Entrepreneurship is the exact same way you have to sit there in in venture capital calls and let them tell you why your company's gonna fail
16:39You have to hear them say that hey, it all looks great
16:43But it's too good to be true
16:44And those are some of the same things I heard on my football journey and Troy
16:47Who was had a quest to be a division one quarterback his journey was similar
16:51That's actually how we how we bonded in the first place
16:53and so I think all these moments are
16:56Accumulation me and Troy always say this is an accumulation of our life's work
16:59And that's how you get to this point. And so going through that process understanding how you feel a certain way
17:06But the the the thrill of victory on the other side that you can point and say, okay
17:11I wasn't the crazy one all you were
17:14it's the kind of thing that keeps us going in the tough moments of
17:17Entrepreneurship in the market when it does what it does and you know people not seeing the vision for VR and sports
17:22Specifically like that thought process is where we kind of stay the course because we say hey
17:28We've been here before and our whole company takes on that much
17:30Yeah
17:30Well, you'd say take me back to 2016 right because you know after that point, you know
17:34You have the successful career
17:35This is Eddie Bengals of Cleveland Browns and then you're starting to pivot because you get a master's degree at Columbia, right?
17:40I love the good folks at Columbia University. Yep in business and and absolutely and and you guys pivot though, right?
17:46you meet Troy in 2016 and
17:48You pivot because in 2018 the company was called bike cube labs
17:52Yeah, and in NFL PA one team collectives was backing it but in 2019 2020, right that time we met
17:58Yeah, you guys pivoted and then it can't became status pro. What were y'all learning? And what was the reason behind that?
18:03I think there was a couple of things. I think when we when we thought about what the venture scale opportunity was
18:09We knew again that fans
18:12Had never had this last
18:14Level of access
18:15They can hear the players they can talk to them directly right like and you go through the history of sports from television
18:21to radio, these are more access points for fans who love the sport and
18:26You're able to listen on the radio. You're able to watch on television
18:29you're able to do all these things that are giving you more and more access and for us as we had our training product and
18:35The NFL players would put the training product on they would have fun in it
18:40And I'm thinking and Troy is thinking as well. He's like
18:44Look if we if this is a training product
18:46These guys are at work
18:47And if they are having fun with something that they see more than anybody on planet Earth on a daily basis
18:53Imagine what the fans who love this who have never seen it. Yeah are gonna feel and so as we kind of you know
18:58Distilled that and thought through that strategy. It was well, how do we use this base?
19:03you know in ways to meet everybody where they are from training to
19:09Analysis to
19:11Gamified ways for people to feel like
19:13They're the quarterback of their favorite team and so that's where the quote-unquote pivot and I wouldn't even call it a pivot
19:18I would just call it an evolution of the product and what we built with the same thing in mind of like hey
19:23we're going to
19:25Revolutionize sports in the way that everybody interacts with it
19:30Yeah, and I think as we continue to go and we have this new investment
19:33That same mission is what we're kind of pushing on every single day with the product
19:36How long did it take Lamar Jackson to convince him right was it one conversation to you had to call back that he called take
19:42Y'all call right away like I mean that that process was Lamar Jackson
19:47And I've said this on air when he was going through his contract. They're they're
19:52hard to negotiate with
19:55Hard to win a negotiation with because they're so smart. Yeah, and they understand the power of
20:01No, they understand like what they want and they're okay with moving on so in that process Troy and I I mean we
20:07We did everything we could to put ourselves in position and and kudos to
20:12Felicia his manager and Lamar because they were one of the few and first people
20:17To see the vision of where we are now when we had that conversation in 2020
20:21We had talked to them a year prior to that and you can imagine
20:25how hard it was to get people to see to the point that we're gonna get in 2024 and
20:30Lamar and Felicia got it right away, and I think that for us
20:35Meant a lot and it's built our relationship, and I think as we've continued to hit these milestones
20:39It's only deepened our our partnership, but it was it was not easy just because they're they're astute when it comes to business
20:46Yeah, yeah, most definitely listen you have to be right. Yeah, everybody wants a good deal. Nobody wants to get robbed
20:51Yeah, um, but you know as we wrap up a little bit, man
20:54You know if you had to maybe give one sentence about to that entrepreneur about you know going from seed to Series A
21:02Because money's tight out here
21:06What advice would you tell them about getting that capital getting those looks from investors because you said it
21:11They're telling you why your product isn't good. Yeah, you got to convince them. Otherwise. What do you tell that investor one sentence?
21:15I would say
21:18Be steadfast in your convictions
21:20I mean there's gonna be a lot of conversations you have to have it might take 300 conversations to get a yes
21:26You know and it's very much like the NFL draft process all you need is one team
21:29Yeah
21:29All you need is one partner
21:31To see the vision you never know how that's going to come and I think our relationship with Google Ventures someone we met
21:36Years ago, and I think honestly when we were raising
21:39They weren't at the top of the mind of people we thought would come in right away, but they they're Google for a reason
21:45Understand what the future holds and I think yeah for that entrepreneur like your can your convictions is what's going to set the pace
21:52Yeah
21:53Don't change because of what the outside world and people who don't put nearly as much time
21:58Energy and passion into your product into the market that you're trying to conquer
22:03You are the expert there hold on to it tight
22:06Yeah
22:06Is it hard to get in the game space man cuz I remember you had a quote and it was one of the most interesting
22:10Quotes I read in this city sports is a beautiful marriage that is guaranteed to end and divorce
22:15I'm like, oh, that's real talk, right?
22:17Cuz sometimes you get around players and it's like they're so full of they don't know that man
22:22This is gonna be over soon. And guess what?
22:24I'm the Grim Reaper because your business won't fall down here
22:27But is it hard to get in that space because I would imagine you come to the NFL world
22:31Even though you're a player those cats in Silicon Valley to go. They don't care
22:35They want to know what your business model is what the operating model is and can the two exist
22:39No, that that's that's a great point. I think yes to answer your question in one word. Yes, it is hard
22:46But I think for us
22:48the beautiful part about being an athlete was that I could say all I want to say Jabari you could say what you want to
22:54say and
22:55eventually, we have to line up and
22:58The proof is gonna be in the pudding
22:59You're gonna have to guard me or I'm gonna have to guard you
23:01You're gonna have to stop me or I'm gonna have to stop you and at the end of it
23:05There's no more conversation after that because we have real data and information that shows what the real is
23:11and I think the hard part about going into video games or any business is that a lot of this is
23:18subjective a lot of this is
23:20Opinion that is not rooted in any true true expertise of what's to come because none of us know and I think for us
23:26it is hard, but the fact that we have that background has helped us because
23:31Every time we've been in those scenarios where you know, people might not see it. We always say hey, let's take a deep breath
23:38Let's go do it. And I think at every stage we've just done it and over time
23:42we've had more and more believers come to the table because now they have the game film to go back to and say well
23:49We told status pro that they wouldn't do it before and four years later here
23:52They are yeah, you know come in again coming off of a serious a raise 20 million in February get to some rapid reaction, man
23:59In the sports tech world. I know you got to stay close because this is your your interest industry now, right?
24:04You're sector anything you watch and it's interesting that people need to know like hey, this is coming. Watch out. Yeah, I would say the
24:12Injection of AI into sports in a lot of ways is obviously going to change the game
24:17And I just think in the ways if I if I get specific to XR and in the category we're in I think we are
24:24Looking at this from an entertainment perspective
24:26I think there are so many ways that this is going to change the sports tech industry
24:31And for us being one of the first people in it
24:34We just hope that we make sure we have a little footnote of like hey
24:37Yeah
24:37These these are the guys that first went in in a big way and are the reason why you have all these these
24:42Antillary experiences that change the game of sports. Yeah, absolutely NFL draft coming up man. Scare me a little bit, right?
24:48Mmm, what's something that's gonna happen that people probably not expecting something gonna have scary. Come on scary, man
24:54I
24:56Don't know man. I feel like everyone knows there's a bunch of quarterbacks that are gonna be taken
25:00Yeah, there's gonna be a bunch of wide receivers is an incredible class for wide receivers
25:04Not a good class for running backs. Obviously, there's a free agent Marcus
25:07There's never a good class for running backs
25:09I think that's the that's the sad part about how the game changes because when you could show you can get value so late in
25:15The draft when all the stars typically don't come in the first round. Yeah, it's kind of a negative reinforcement for that for that position
25:22Scare you I don't know if I can scare you as much as I would say look out for
25:27teams
25:28Giving up a lot you get to the front of the draft for a quarterback
25:32Yeah, because a lot of them need them and there's not a lot not a lot of starters in there
25:36100% right man, cuz again, I know what status but I'm gonna get what status proba right now
25:41I'm still stuck on Madden Hall and I'm telling what I'm playing a game. I'm like, oh these quarterbacks are bad
25:46Yeah, it's only my homes and it's only a Lamar and it's like everybody else is like
25:52The 32 highest paid positions in the sport are quarterback
25:55Yeah, it's wild because at any given time in in all of the world, there's only like nine good ones. Absolutely, man
26:01I mean we're staying on the field right fast most underrated free agency move and one that you think is gonna be very very big
26:07Impact on the season. Okay, most underrated free agency move. I
26:12Am gonna say Russell Wilson to the Steelers. Hmm. I think that that is a match made in heaven
26:16I think for what the Pittsburgh Steelers need and what Russ still has left in the tank
26:22There's an opportunity as we always say a status pro is a 1 plus 1 equal 3 scenario. So don't be surprised if
26:28The Steelers are shocking a lot of people and specifically Russell Wilson is playing some of the best ball
26:34We've seen him play in a couple years. Yeah, absolutely man getting off the field and some more serious matters u.s
26:38Presidential race coming up no picking sides. What do you want to see slash here from the candidates?
26:43You're a president man. You're an entrepreneur former player. You have stake in this economy Hawk
26:48What do you want to see here from the candidates?
26:49I I mean without going too deep into the my political bag. I would say I
26:55Feel like people
26:57want
26:58The candidates yeses to be yeses in their nose to be nose
27:01I think there's obviously a lot of waffling and that is politics and that is every time that there is a presidential
27:06election but now you have the
27:08The the ability to kind of look back over the ten years of each of these presidents and I think as you're making your decision
27:14I would employ anybody watching to go look back at what was said prior to and
27:19and
27:20truly look at
27:22What actually happened and let that guide your decision?
27:25I think if we did more of that and less of just hey
27:27I'm gonna jump and do this because people tell me to I think we would do a better job of picking the leaders of our
27:33Free world. Yeah, Drake versus everybody else who you got? No, I'm playing
27:39Team Drizzy all day Drake got a whole bunch of colors Drake versus the world
27:43A lot of people that he going up against man. Yeah, listen, I'll end it on this man
27:48We're not gonna end it on Drake ended on good the great man
27:50I got two for you because you played two positions right at one point. Um, what's the difference between a good wide receiver and a great one?
27:57Mmm, a good wide receiver
28:02Works his butt off
28:04But he does it till he gets it, right and a great wide receiver does it until he can't get it wrong?
28:09Yeah, and what's the difference between a good Barbara's good cornerbacks?
28:13You mean a good cornerback and a great one what you can't say everybody can be D on it
28:17Everybody can be Dion. I think a lot. Honestly, it is what you got in the DNA lottery. Mmm, to be honest
28:23I think the cornerback position is the hardest position to play in football because you have to guard
28:27The other most athletic person on the field going backwards and in my experience. Yes, every piece of your genetic makeup
28:35Matters but a lot of times the differentiator are things that there's not a single coach
28:40You could spend all day learning and you ain't gonna get it
28:43If if your mom and dad didn't have it in their DNA pipeline to pass it down to you
28:46That's why you see the great ones. They talk a lot, right?
28:53Thank you so much for the time my brother again congrats on the 20 million raise man going gonna operationalize the business
28:59I hope to see you for the serious B. Yeah, right and then get some great Drake gonna be an investor, right?
29:04Isn't that's why that's why hey, man, that's why you did it. That's why you did it. I know my brother
29:10Appreciate all the time Hawk. I appreciate it man status pro here at the Nasdaq market site. Thank you for watching