Origin Story
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Man, what's happening, man? You got Marshawn beast mode Lynch. Doug Hendrickson. And Gavin Newsom, and you're listening to Politicking. You're on the beat. You're on the beat.

I love that you're lounging like that. Were you just trying to show off your biceps, man? What is this? Are you still working out all the time? What happened? Honestly. Not all the time. How often are you working out? Enough not to be hella fat. Yeah. By the way, Marshawn did say he looked younger than me. Who does, me? That's what Marshawn said. I think he's right. It's true. I'm like, I think I'm how many weeks younger than you?

I'm like barely even yet. But in this year's, like ex-football players, a lot of ex-athletes, they look like, I mean, they all just let it go, right? Yeah. I mean, after putting it, I could see how. But, man, look, I got complications. Like, man, if I start getting too heavy, my motherfucking back starts killing me. So you got that. Yeah. Yeah, and it's one of those situations where, you know, we took for granted when we was younger, like if you don't use it, you lose it type situation. Yeah.

And man, you know, I still like to get out and run with the kids and all that shit. So, I mean, if I take too long off and then I just try to get back, oh,

Hamstrings. Back. You know what I mean? Shoulders. All these nagging ass injuries. Were you guys... I'm curious because when you guys first met, I mean, you were out there. You were running back at Cal. You weren't scouting. Were you scouting this guy or did someone say, hey, you got to check this Marshawn Lynch guy out? No, I heard about Marshawn and...

you know, did my homework on him. And then, you know. Heard about me how, bro? Well, again, well, back then, everyone kept talking about Adrian. It was Adrian Peterson and Marshawn. It's two best backs. Yeah.

So I went to one Cal game, saw the guy. Well, Cal's in your backyard. Peterson wasn't in your backyard, right? Peterson wasn't. But nationally, you get to know who the guys are. So anyways, I see him or Sean, and I knew that this guy was going to be the guy. And he was going to be a guy. You know what? I call it a little BS. When you saw him, you did that? Or are you just on the basis of stats? No, no. I saw him play. And again, you know me. This guy's breaking every damn record at Cal. And I'm not a football guy, as you know. I'm a basketball, baseball player. Which is the irony. Right.

How the hell you become a football agent if you're not a football guy? Great story. Great story. Never, never, never. Good question. No, never played football. Actually, my first client was a running back.

Johnny Johnson, 1991 Rookie of the Year. Got into football. 91. That's how long I've been doing this. But you were an agent working. You had a bunch of different clients, or at least in the agency. It was basketball. I mean, Steph Curry, I recall, was part of the larger agency. I mean, who was – how the hell did this all happen? No, so I've been an agent for, God, since 94. But anyways, when I saw Marshawn, I knew he was special on the field.

But then when I met him and talked to him for the first time, I knew he had the it factor.

And so I knew he had the it factor. Now, ironically, going back to 2006 when I met you, did I think we'd be hosting a podcast together? Not a chance. Probably not. Okay. Because like I've said for many times, Marshawn has taken years off my life in a good way and a bad way at times. No, but you say that like, yeah, I mean, we've always had the conversation like we should do the remake of Jerry Maguire.

Yes. Because you are the show me the money guy. It wasn't so much show me the money, but our dynamic was like a relationship. Like, shit, we ain't pulling no punches. And that's kind of like, you know what I mean, to...

speak to our relationship and shit. I think that's why it's been so strong because you know what, shit, this was 18 years later? - 18 years. - 18 years later, we still rock with each other. Majority of the guys, they switch agents forever.

Fuck, like they switched their drawers type of shit. So, you know what I mean? The fact that, you know, we have a relationship where we pulling on, you know what I mean? Like, it is what it is. Did that take a long time? I mean, you say, when you saw him, you talked about the it factor. All the stats aside, I mean, this guy's a phenom in high school. He's a phenom, obviously, at Cal. You're interested. You're an agent. You're out there. Everybody's hustling. I imagine you get this guy's attention. You immediately identify that it factor. But what was, I mean...

What else? I mean, how did you manage then the relationship? How did you first engage Marshawn to make the point that you're a little different than all these other damn agents that are a dime a dozen? Well, it's interesting because, you know, back then I got a hold of him through either his uncle or cousin Patrick or KP. Right.

and got a hold of Marshawn. And for folks that don't know, your uncle played in the NFL, right? Yeah. So that was the point of contact. No, he didn't meet him until... He was down the road. But look, I knew Marshawn was different. And in a weird way, I knew that. So I knew I had to call him, but I knew I wanted to meet him in person. So the first time we met him, I said, hey, why don't you come meet me at the Snoop show?

And we go to the Snoop show in San Francisco. And I'm thinking just he and I. And you just happened to randomly have tickets? So Snoop knew Jamal Anderson, the Dirty Bird in Atlanta, was one of my first clients back in 94, 95. Snoop and Jamal were family. So I've known him a long time. So I knew the show was coming to town. So I had Marshawn come. Instead of him coming solo, he came with probably 20, 30 people. And you were a big Snoop guy back then? Or you're like, I got nothing to do tonight. What was it?

No, no, I fuck with Snoo for sure. But I think it was more so like Doug trying to flex his muscle. Because, you know, at that time, it was more so like they used to have runners, which is like individuals that work underneath the agent. Right. Because the agent couldn't come and talk to you, but, you know, an associate could come and holler at you. But I don't think Doug really played by those rules. So, you know what I mean? Yeah.

When it came down to, like, at this point, you know, I done been hearing from, you know, a few agents. And, you know, all of them was kind of, you know, talking the same, you know, shit. Meaning, here's what I can do for you. Or at that point in time, it wasn't so much more what they could do for me, but more so like, oh, yeah, I'm interested in you and I want to represent you, you know, through the process. Right. And I'm like...

Okay, but, you know, Doug, his angle was a little different. It wasn't so much more about, like, you know, I want to represent you. Now, I don't believe, I mean, that he wasn't having those conversations with my cousin or, you know, KP. But with me, it was just like, it seemed like some genuine shit. Like, hey, look, you know, Snoop and Town, we going to the show. Like, you know what I mean? Yeah.

You should come type shit. All right. I'm going to come and pull up on you and see what's up. Then, like he said, I bring in 20 people. Yeah, I came, you know, shit. This was an opportunity. Shit. We've been listening to Snoop shit for forever. And you had never met him before.

I love it. But honestly, as an agent, had to be the first, the best intro ever. So he comes to the show. So you're showing how hooked up you are. Yeah, well, he shows up and all of a sudden, he gets a little late. So he goes in the show, does his thing and all that. And then afterwards, I said, do you want to go holler at Snoop? And so we go see Snoop and we light up some of California's finest. Some of that Swedish cheese. And we get with Snoop. But anyway, Snoop says, hey, listen, man, this white guy here, you can trust him. He's family.

And I mean, he literally used that language. He did. Yeah.

And for Marshawn, he still, you know, he might not have. He said, this white boy. You were a junior at Cal. This white boy, Sally. This white boy, Sally. You were a junior at Cal at the time, right? Yeah. So anyway, so that was a good start for Marshawn. And then I got to know him more, and I realized that, hey, look, I've been around for 30 years. There's a lot of clients going to play, do well, and have great things. But I knew for Marshawn, he was different, and something was there. And he wasn't beast mode back then. He wasn't beast mode. She is.

He was Beastman. We didn't have a trademark. I get it. All right. So anyway, so then he goes in and does his thing and whatnot and the rest is history. But that was the first intro, which is pretty cool. When you're recruiting folks, most important relationship, mom?

No, I think it depends. I think it's whoever's involved. I want to go to the player and the person to kind of find who's important to them. Could be mom, could be uncle, could be girlfriend, could be sister, whoever it may be. For Marshawn, he wanted me to come at him. Obviously another family, but Marshawn's community was Oakland.

It wasn't just mom. It wasn't cousin. It was Oakland. He wanted to know, what can you do for my crew in Oakland? And he wanted to build a youth center in Oakland. He wanted to give back to the community. He wanted to empower the community. He wanted to change people's lives. And you were really having those conversations as a junior in college? Yeah. Talking about community centers and giving back at that level. Yeah, shit. Like I said, this year 18, us functioning together and Dan,

You think about it like this, our 18th year of, you know, doing our givebacks, which, you know, over the years have evolved into bigger shit. Like now we do have the community center. So, I mean, you know, off rip, like I had a football camp to give back to my city before I even was a shit NFL player. So, you know, it's always been something, you know, that I strive to do.

And then it just so happened that I had a family that was, you know, in the same position that I was with an opportunity to go to the league. So, you know, collectively, you know what I mean? That was the type of hype that we was on. But don't forget this, Gavin. Literally, before he gets drafted, he's beast mode, okay? And this is before the internet. There was no social media back then. So back in 2007...

No bullshit. Me and Marshawn trademarked beast mode. In 2007? We spent probably, what, Marshawn, five grand? Trademark beast mode. And was one of the first athletes ever to trademark something. So we trademarked beast mode. Okay, which begs the question, where the hell did beast mode come from? Realistically, like, it was some shit where, you know, it was one of my coaches from my little league team used to call me man-child.

And then as it started going on, like, boy, that boy a beast, that boy a beast. And then I heard, that's when Boosie started coming out. And that motherfucker was going hard with some shit. And he had a song, Beast Mode. And I'm like, ooh, that shit was catchy. That shit was on. And I was feeling that motherfucker.

And then that man child was, oh, he a beast. And then, yeah. And then that shit just transformed to I'm beast mode. But hell yeah, shout out to Boosie because when that shit came out and that shit started going crazy, like, yep, I adopted that shit. And you, I mean, it literally is like a mask you put on your face growing up. Man, you felt that? Like, this is me? It ain't no mask. That's just what it is. That's just, it just, that was like embodied who you thought you were. That shit is in me, not on me. Not on me.

me that shit is in me so yeah I mean when when that shit started going like as far as you know the relationship and everything that was uh that was happening you know coming to life it was like I didn't I didn't know you know that these type of things was even possible and it was almost to the fact where it was like I get put in a position it was like well I

They always tell me, "No, you can't do that. No, you can't do this." Or, "That's not possible. Is that a third?" So then I'm just like, "Well, shit, fuck it." Hey, Doug, I want to start a nonprofit. It's like, "All right, hook me up with the people to do it." Then motherfuckers did it like, "Ooh, shit." We accomplished some shit like, "Damn, we did it." And that's like, "Okay, now where we go from here?"

You're probably careful with your personal information, but what about the other places that have it? Like the doctor's office that mixed up your files. They have your social security number. The power company that mistakenly cut your service has your payment info and last three addresses. And the hotel that lost your reservation has your passport info.

Thank you.

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Before I became an agent, back in the days, it was transactional. An agent came in, this was before Jeremy Aguirre, before Arliss. You mean when you say transactional, meaning it was just you get your cut, you move on to the next one? Yeah, agents back in the mid-90s did a contract, and then they sent a Christmas card, maybe some present on birthday, and that was it. And then when you're done, playing is over with. So I wanted to come in differently, and I had accountability, knowing the fact that I wanted to be with Marshawn not for 12 years of his career,

for 30, 40 years. Because- And you, no BS, you honestly had that mindset that this was about a relationship that's long-term? 100%, because here's the deal. How many jobs in the world can you sit there and say you can change someone's life?

maybe a teacher, maybe a doctor, maybe a politician, but where you can change someone's life. So I say, you know, if I'm in this thing, I want to not only help Marshawn through his career, but also make sure that I'm there for him when he's done because these players have problems when they're done. It's not when they're playing. It's great. The lights are on, checks are coming in, but what happens when they're done playing for the next 20, 30 years? Any sport, you look at shows like ESPN Broke, you look at all the different shows out there,

What's going to happen then? So I said, listen, if I want to get into saying, I want to be there for the real reasons. Look after Marshawn until he's 40, 50, six years old. And I mean, necessarily that the job I have is people live to work, people work to live. Most people in the world, as you know, they work at a job and they hate what they do, but you got to get a paycheck to pay the rent, mortgage, car payment, whatever it may be.

I literally have a job. I live to work. Meaning I love what I do. Don't even really know how much money I make, but I get to see clients like Marshawn. Well, that's his wife at another time. Cause she does. I get to see, I get to see the fruits of it, man. I see what Marshawn's built in terms of what he's done for Oakland, the community he stayed, he hasn't left. He's been there, been around. And so these are the kinds of things I love doing and players I want to be around with that see the impact. Well, and, and,

And I've seen that directly because I'm a byproduct of that relationship with Marshawn, and that's how we all came into the picture. But a little bit, let me step back. I mean, Marshawn was your biggest first client? Yeah, I mean, I had some big ones before, but he was obviously big. I had some other clients. He's looking at you right now. He's like, I was the biggest, right? No, no, no, no. He had some, he like, you know what I mean? And then my biggest thing was like, I forgot who it was. He had a client that I hollered at.

It was Kevin Barlow. Kevin Barlow, 90 years old. Kevin Barlow, yeah. Kevin Barlow, yeah. So I hollered at him, and he the one who really put into my mind, like,

you know what, you got to check some shit on another level, otherwise, you feel me, you could get kind of tossed to the side. And I don't know like, you know, what the dynamics of their relationship was, but he was just like, hey, you know what I mean, just make sure you stay on top of your agent because like he said, it was transactional. So, you know what I mean, I told him,

I told Doug straight up, like, hey, it ain't going to be no, you feel me, you come, you get this check, and then you want to holler at me, like, motherfucker, you better pick up that phone and holler at your boy. Or when I pick up the phone and I ain't calling to just talk to you about, you know what I mean, what's going on with...

a contract or nothing, I'm going to call, "Hey, what's up? How the kids doing?" You know what I mean? Like, "Hey, we got this event going on. You better come pop out and show us up." So I think it was both of us being proactive and building a relationship that we didn't know, well, Alpha Show didn't know that you could have between agent and player.

But, I mean, you know, it was a lot of things that, you know, I think could have handled that because, you know, at the time, there wasn't a... I'm pretty sure there's a lot more, but there wasn't a lot of black agents. Yeah. So...

you know, the few that was in it, they, they, they angle was more like, you know, don't go and sign with the white boy. And, you know what I mean? Not just Doug in general, but, you know, that was just a thing. So, you know, for me to step out and actually give them an opportunity and, you know what I mean? To start to build the trust in our relationship and,

That shit was big. And it was a leap of faith that actually turned out to be... I still say this day, though, Gavin. Marshawn came at me one time and said, listen, don't come at me crooked. Wait a second. I said, what do you mean come at you crooked? He said, don't bullshit me. Shoot me straight. Look me in the eye and it will either be good or bad. Things can be good, but things will go bad. Tell me the truth.

And I'll never forget that. He said, don't come at me crooked. And I know you've never forgotten that because you bring that up all the time, independent of where that came from. Don't look at me crooked. And you're always giving people that same advice. But was there a moment, Marshawn, in the relationship where you're like,

You knew you didn't have to worry about this guy anymore. Was there an incident? Was there an issue? Was it something he went the extra mile? You're like, damn, this guy is the real deal. I'm all in. Yeah, from conversations that I had with some teammates and older players about the relationships with their agents, it was a situation that came up. And one of my cousins ended up going to jail.

And so I called fresh, like, hey, blood, my cousin just went down, bro. Like, I need some help type shit. And he like, okay, hold on. I'll call you right back, bro. And he called me back like, well, what's his name? You know what I mean? Where he went to jail at? You know what I mean? And we're going to figure some shit out. And then, you feel me, from there was like, oh, shit. He didn't judge me based off of, you know, me calling him, telling him that my cousin had went to jail, like,

he didn't backpedal on me you feel me though he he showed up and then you feel me to me which was the extra step like i mean because of where i was at i mean he went you know i mean to the bell bondsman and yeah i mean put down his own you know i mean his own chicken type and i'm like oh

Like, yeah, this white boy got my back on some other shit. But the biggest thing, it wasn't even him going down to the bell bars, man, or handling the situation. It was that when it happened, he didn't judge me. And that shit was big. And that's when it had clicked for me. Like, oh, yeah, you know what? He might be locked in. Now, it could have been because at that point in time, I might have been his biggest name client.

But the fact that he went to work and made that shit happen, like, all right, fresh. You remember that? Well, no, I remember that. Yeah, I remember that. But it's funny, kind of as a prelude to where you came in this whole relationship. Never forget this. Marshawn had an issue in Buffalo.

And it was a hit and run thing. It was bullshit. You know, the whole thing. This is what, just a couple of years? This is like his second year in the league. So he's in Buffalo, gets in this hit and run deal. Minor thing. It was going to be, it was no issue, right? So the team sets him up with an attorney.

So this attorney thinks he's the next F. Lee Bailey and Johnny Cochran. And he wants to not get the case over with. He wants to like make this thing CNN and public and go take this thing. Instead of getting like a misdemeanor ticket, he wants to take this thing to court and all that.

So Marshawn, you know, being from Oakland, he's like, hey man, don't talk to anybody. Don't talk to your agent. Don't talk to anybody. Lawyers. Lawyers. So for three, four days in a row, I don't hear from Marshawn. Okay. And I'm like, this is weird, man. Like I literally, he's not calling me back. And so, so just no bullshit. At four in the morning, I wake up.

My wife, Shiloh, we all know, says, where are you going? She's like, I'm going to Buffalo. I'm going to Buffalo. And she's like, what do you mean you're going to Buffalo? And I said, I go, I don't know what's going on, but Marshawn's not getting back to me. This thing doesn't get handled. Because I got tipped off from Goodell that if we don't get this case over, something might go down. Meaning he'll get suspended, massive fire suspension. So now this attorney's not calling me back because I'm not his client. Marshawn's my client, but this attorney represents me.

So she's like, where are you going? I said, I'm going to Buffalo. She's like, have you planned to go? And I said, no. So I literally go to the airport. As I'm going to the airport, I book a flight. This is like December. I connect through Chicago, get to Buffalo, okay? I get a cab and I go to Marshawn's house, okay? I'll never forget. He opens a door in like a robe or his shorts on, a t-shirt on, eating Fruity Pebbles. Okay. Or Lucky Charms. Remember this? Yeah.

And he looks at me, he says, talk about the diet later. He looks at me and he's like, what the fuck are you doing here? And I said, I came here. And he says, were you, I didn't know you were in town. I said, I didn't know I was coming either. He says, what are you here for? I said, listen, here's the deal. I need 10 minutes. I said, we need to fire this attorney. We need to get this pled to a misdemeanor. We need to get it done. If not,

this thing's going the wrong direction. You're getting suspended. - This is after talking to Goodell. - Well, this is when I get tipped off before, but I'm like, so here we got it. He's like, so what do you think? I said, we got to fire the attorney. We got to plead this thing out and we got to be done with it. And he says, okay. He says, where are you going? I said, I'm getting back in the fucking cab and going back to the airport and going home. So literally- - Here in Chicago, back home, taking the cab. - True story. I'm at Marchand's 15. I don't even think I come in the house. 15 minutes, I get back.

As I land, I get a voice from Marshawn says, got it. Let's get it done. So we fired the attorney, got the thing pled down to misdemeanor. Okay. Got it over with. And hence where you came in the relationship.

And then I called you and I say, Gavin, I don't know Goodell that well at the time, but Marshawn is up for a possible suspension. And he's a great kid. He's a great kid. You got to have his back. Don't believe any of the BS you're reading. I'm telling you, oh, this is the real deal. You've met him a few times.

"This guy's a great kid. He's not this guy." - And what did you do? You called Goodell. - I called him just then. I said, "I'm not asking you for anything. I'm just telling you, this is a great kid. I don't care what you've read." I basically repeated, not everything you said, but what I had experienced the first few times I met with him. And then you vouched for him. I said, "I vouch for you on behalf of Marshawn." And I remember Goodell, I'll never forget that call. First of all, he appreciated the call. It wasn't influential in that respect.

And I wasn't in a position to be quote unquote influential, but it was, it was a character validation that was way out of the norm. And he's hearing from some guy like me going, how does, what's the relationship there? And I remember you can tell with Roger, I don't want to speak for Roger, but it triggered something of curiosity. How does this guy know Roger?

Right. And I was honored to be able to do that. Well, the crazy thing too, Gavin, is that little, I would say little things in life can go in directions where it changes lives. And that was one where if- Well, you're a kid, man. That goes in one or two directions, right? I mean, man. Yeah.

And if we didn't get rid of the attorney, and that guy was a fricking prick, by the way. If we didn't get rid of this guy, I'm not going to name his name. I'm not going to name his name. I just wanted the attorney. I didn't say a word, okay? It's these two. I'm not going to name his name. But we had to get him out of it. And if we didn't, who knows what direction it went. But it all turned out, and look where we're at today.

And there were some other hiccups in row two along that line, and we got him out of Buffalo eventually. But that was big on your part, Gavin, so I appreciate that. And that showed more Sean a lot. That's the beginning of the relationship. So that, I mean, maybe for you too, but the biggest thing was, I mean, when we, I don't know what camp this was. It might have been three, might have been our third one. For your camps in Oakland, the youth camp. Yeah, and, you know, we asked you to come out

And, you know, I mean, I remember his shit like yesterday, man. Pull up and I just remember Josh like, you know what is crazy? Because at the time, Marcus was... Marcus Peters. He was a participant in the camp. He was Marcus? Yeah, he was a participant in the camp. And I mean, now he, you know, vice president for the foundation, but...

I know we all sitting on the thing like, man, who the fuck is this coming up? Like the president type shit. And then Batman jump out, you feel me? And I'm like, oh shit, this motherfucker really answered the call. Like, all right, cool. So then when you come out and then you just came and we walking around the track just politicking and shit. And I just remember when I go back on the field, I hear some of the...

the coaches was like, bro, motherfucker, that's Gavin Newt. Like, how you get him to come out? I'm like, bro, I have no idea. But the impact that it made on them for them to be able to see you out there and the way that they responded,

Yeah, I mean, like, your political status is what it is. But I'm like, you know what? Fuck all that. Like, Gavin really just popped out to the hood. You feel me, though? And really came and just was functioning like on some solid shit. Like, not, you know what I mean? Worried about all the, I guess, backlash or whatever the fuck would have happened for, you know, somebody of your stature to come out to, you know,

You know what I mean? Come to the hood and really just, you know what I mean, kick it. That shit was like, damn, like, I'm fucked with bruh. So then, you know...

When it come down to it, like, you know, we got some events going on in the city, Marshawn, we need y'all to come out. And then, I mean, for us, because of what we were doing in the community, you know, to be at those events, you know what I mean? It kind of opened our eyes to a lot of shit that we didn't know, you know what I mean, was happening that was possible for us to do. And then, I mean, you know, we was taking the shit of what we seen, how y'all was,

rocking and managing shit, and we would take it back to Oakland and implement it in our foundation. And it's like, you know what I mean? At the end of the day, now you look up and, you know what I mean? We're in year 18. It's like, damn. And meanwhile, I'm taking back all those experiences. And I'll never forget. I mean, I remember the families that were there with all the kids and the pride and the energy. And you're, I mean...

And here you are, this next level rocks. I mean, every one of these kids want to be Marshawn Lynch one day. And just that deep pride, that sense of community.

in a completely different relationship with the community. It's not intellectual. And you start to feel that at a deeper level, a human level. And it definitely grounded me in the work I was doing at the time. I had just become mayor of San Francisco, so I'm across the bay. And I know No BS started spending more time in Bayview Hunters Point in the projects, at West Point, Middle Point. I did something called March Gladness instead of March Madness.

which is a basketball tournament three on three with folks up there in the projects, all of that just in relationship to developing a deeper relationship with you and Doug and the community and a connection that was not again about politics.

And I think one of the cool things about this podcast is it's not about politics. And I know we've framed it as politicking. And, Marshawn, it's interesting. I imagine people are curious how we even came up with the name. But you talk about it in the context of what you do every single day. Right. Right.

You're probably careful with your personal information, but what about the other places that have it? Like the doctor's office that mixed up your files. They have your social security number. The power company that mistakenly cut your service has your payment info and last three addresses. And the hotel that lost your reservation has your passport info.

Thank you.

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Just even like you were just saying, so in a sense to where, you know, like you are a politician. And then, you know what I mean, just even like, you know, back then, you know, some of the people who, you know, I can say like the older folk was like, damn, you know, you, motherfucker, you just had the mayor of San Francisco over here and the mayor of Oakland ain't even came. And I'm like, like, damn, like, so as I'm looking at it, you know, like,

To me, it's like, well, shit, you know, if this motherfucker is the one who, you know, rented San Francisco and shit, and he would take the time out, considering you was doing shit over in San Francisco, but, you know, you would take the time to come over to Oakland, you know what I mean, to politic with us, like,

Like, damn, you know, I'm not looking at it as a political move for you because I'm pretty sure it's actually like, well, why are you out there in Oakland over there doing something? You know, they'll find somebody going to find a way to say, what you doing over in their city and not in ours type shit. But the fact that, you know, I mean, I don't I don't think maybe you did. But for me, it was like you coming to Oakland, like you don't get no political gain from over there.

You just coming over here to function with your, you know what I mean, function with your dude. Like, what's up with the gab you did? Hey, Batman, bro, you really just popped out of the Batmobile and came to the hood. Like, man, what's up? Like, hey, man, this my mama. Hey, this my cousin. Hey, look, man. Oh, man, look, bro, this unk right here, and that's auntie right there. You know, we call uncle auntie.

individuals who, you know, maybe on drugs or something. And while you was there, like, you feel me? Did nobody feel like, you know, you was looking down at them or feeling uncomfortable? Now, you probably had about a million secret services around there making sure everything was all good. But, you know what I mean? The fact that you was comfortable over there, like, you know what I mean? I look at that type of shit. You feel what I'm saying now? You know, how people, you know, judge you based off of, you know,

you know, your, your, your stuff they see on TV, dad, and your political, that like, you feel me? Like status, I was looking at you as, I mean, as a, as a, as a, as a person, like, man, let me see what, what dog really talk about. And then shit, you know, from there, then you invite a motherfucker to your house and hell of shit. And I'm like,

Damn, like, oh, dog real though, you feel me? - Well, that's the thing, Marshawn. - He solid. - We all say that, Marshawn. You grew up in, I think when I signed you, you said, "Hey, man, if I make fucking 30, life's good." Kiss the sky. - That's 30 dollars. - And as you know, my dad died young, 44. And on his deathbed, he told me, "Hey, man, keep good people in your life. Life isn't that hard, but treat people right, put people good in your corner, and have those relationships."

And at the end of the day, you know, it's about finding the right people. Right. And I found the right people. You know, Gavin's been my partner and brother for 25 years. You have been as well. And at the end of the day, it's about knowing who you're with, know what they're all about and whatnot. You know what I'm saying? But you're right. People give him shit like...

you know, this and that, but you know the real people and what they're all about. And that's the cool thing. - It's interesting. It just, listen, it's all about judgment, isn't it? Just judging other people for their circumstances. You talk about Doug not judging you. - Yeah. - About family member was bail spawned. Anyone looking down at you, wasn't looking past you. And I mean, it is, I mean, it's again, back relationship, but judgment, it's like original sin, man. To assume you know more than you do about someone else.

And I think that's kind of the journey we've been on is a little humility and grace and appreciation and respect for one another without the judgment, without all that stigma, without all the BS.

So in every respect, this is very likely, not unlikely, that we're doing this podcast. But for others, they may judge this as a strange circumstance. But we need a little bit more of this, a little more grace, a little humility in the world where people are so quick to dismiss people or, as you say, talk past people or down to people. Yeah.

And now listen, and I think the whole purpose of this damn podcast is to get out of that because right now it's just, everyone feels it's a zero-sum game. It's scarcity. I've got to get mine and take off as opposed to a framework of abundance, right?

where we're finding ways to live together and advance together across differences. So anyway, I love this, but the origin story is interesting, but man, what's more interesting of the damn, this journey we've been on together over the course of the last few years and some crazy,

Crazy. Crazy stories. And I got to be honest with you, Marshawn, me and Gavin have been blessed, not only us, but our whole crew and our wives and family because these Seattle days were like fucking Camelot. You made me a Seahawks fan. Hell, I'm from San Francisco. How is that possible? Don't say that too loud. I said it very loudly. You know where we at right now, man. Let me bring you back. Let me bring you back. Never forget this. I'm going to bring you back to 2014. Oh.

We were young. Gavin and I are in New York, and you guys play in the Broncos. And it's Super Bowl I, the whole deal, and you guys come off in a great season, kind of storybook ride, get in the playoffs. I think all three games in a row to get there. And we're having a great week and having fun doing our thing. Great time. In New York. And whatnot. I think we went to the Howard Stern party one night. Did a bunch of things. Yeah. But I'll never forget. It's 30 degrees. You guys win.

And they didn't win. It was a rout. It was over in the first few minutes. Let me ask you a question. Let's establish some facts. So we get down to the locker room, right? So we wait there for Marshawn outside the locker room. What does he tell me when he walks out of the locker room? First of all, how the hell we even got down to the locker room? It's a whole other conversation. And that's, you want to talk. How long? So was that? Who the hell are we to get down to the locker room? But before the game, when we was coming in,

I was trying to figure out how, because I've seen y'all. We met up and hollered before we actually went into the stadium to go into the locker room. We got some passes to get down there. So I'm like, how the hell y'all even back here? They don't let nobody back here by the buses and shit. No, Doug doesn't make it up. He's never had a pass in his life. He's never had a ticket in his life. He is the only human. Modern day Houdini. That's fresh. Houdini done nothing on you, man. True story. That's a fact. You can talk your way to any damn place on planet Earth. Any place on planet Earth.

That place was impenetrable. It's a Super Bowl. And it was kind of a post-9-11. It's in New York. Yep. Post-9-11 Super Bowl. They had locked the place down. And you're like, we got to go down to see Marshawn. I'm like, Doug, that ain't happening. Not a chance in hell. So now, we get down there. What's the first thing fucking Marshawn says to me? I will never forget. He doesn't look at any of us. He beelines to you. Headphones on, the whole thing. You had your backpack on. And you were like,

This is the Jerry Maguire moment. Show me the money. So I'm like, what the hell? And he, I thought it was a joke. And Marshawn, I want a joke. He was like physically getting in your face and you're kind of smiling. Like, and you're looking at me like, this is not like I had to back away. I'm like, oh man, like Marshawn, you were coming hot. You just won the Superbowl, man. Man, that's my dog, man. You just won the Superbowl. You know,

How about take a moment? So that was, you know, that was all the, you know what I mean? Yeah, you came right out to Doug yelling and screaming. We got to renegotiate the contract. He had three years left, but he's like, show me. And you said, show me the motherfucking money. No one's ever said that. He shows me. And I'm like, I'm like, Marshawn, you just won. Literally, you just won the Super Bowl, bro. Relax. We did. I did enjoy it. I think I got left. So,

I got left for New York. But then what happened, he did get left. I got left for New York. Yeah, he stayed in New York. I actually got him a flight the next day. He couldn't fly back with the team. You know what I got? You walked away and you gave me your Super Bowl hat, which I still have. You still got it? If you need it back, bro, I got it. Nah. That was amazing. But let's go. So now here's the crazy part. So we go from that Super Bowl in New York. We have a great offseason. You do your thing. You have a great time. No deal. And as we get into your next season, remember, the Seahawks team is like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Yeah.

I mean, it's electric, right? Next level. I mean, we're at these games, the city, the energy and the vibe of Seattle is crazy. That's a different place. Anyone who's never been there live. So they go on an eight-game winning streak, okay? Yeah. And this town is going nuts. I mean, it is fucking crazy. And I got to be honest with you, Gavin. When I look at a state, some of the best times of my life was

was those seven, eight games a year. I mean, it was unbelievable, right? And so... I say that as a Niner fan. Yes. Damn. Damn. So, yeah, they go on an eight-game winning streak. Marshawn has the Beastquake, okay? No, that wasn't... No, the Beastquake 2 against the Cardinals. He has Beastquake 2 and all that. And so now they go in the playoffs, okay? And they go in the playoffs. Back to back. They win the first game. It's a lock. And now we got the Packers.

Okay? Yeah. And the Packers game is, to this day, the best game I've ever witnessed in my entire life. That game. Unbelievable game. You shaking your head? Yeah. Why are you shaking your head? What about that game? Was that up there for you? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Most definitely. It was so much shit going on and happening in that thing. And then what make it even better is on the other side of that is my college quarterback, A-Rod. So, yeah.

Yeah, I mean, it just made it even more better. And the ending to that was a trip. But see, something interesting about that was I think I had a –

I had got in trouble for doing the hoe my dick from the Western. Yeah. So they was telling me, like, Marsha, if you jump in the end zone and grab your dick again, we going to find you. And I'm like, man, what the fuck? And then the next week after that, you see them selling pictures, the pose with me.

I said, oh, ain't this about a bitch. So now remember. Tell me don't do it and they ain't going to sell us shit. I don't want to go down that rabbit hole, but what the hell? I mean, on behalf of your mom, what the hell are you doing that? What is that? What is that? Where'd that even come from? Look, man, it's just a little thing. Like sometimes you just got to drop your nuts. You feel me? Exactly.

Hold those things and drop them. Sometimes you just got to drop your nuts. Like literally, I mean, what, you just, you dive back where, I mean, were you practicing this at home? Where the hell did that come from? I don't know. I have no fucking idea where it came from. Was it practice you're doing this? No, hell no. No wonder you have a bad back now. You know what? I, I,

landing on that motherfucker that. - Yes. - Whoo. - Yeah, so Gavin, here's the craziest. So we win the game. - I remember calling Doug saying, "What the hell is he doing?" - So we win the game. - What the hell is he doing? - And I go to Marshawn's house. - Oh my God. - Marshawn's got a little party going on. - Jesus. - And it seemed, this was like, seemed like it was yesterday. - What do you mean? Right after the game? - Right after the game, we go to his house. He's got people over the whole deal. - By the way, did you run up to Rogers and give him shit?

After the game? No, I got out of the air. You weren't rubbing anything in the air? So I'm with Marshawn, and he's like, hey, man, we got to talk. And this is now a year later after the Denver game, Super Bowl. Yeah. He's like, we got to talk. He said, hey, man, I need my money.

here we go again and I'm like no that's after the after the green bag is after the green bag no man that's when I had you talk to uh so that's when I had you talk to my cousin so you made no progress off season you made no progress on the contract no no progress so we he says we he said we got to talk about my contract so I'm like damn no now I'm starting to side with I told you you got to go and talk to Marcus I did and you too and

And I'll never forget this. So I had him go, I had him, I had him highlight Marcus. So I'm starting to side with you on this. It took him a damn year. So I leave, I leave, I leave his house and I go to the, and people always say, Doug, you know these teams pretty well. And you know these teams well when you go through battles. And you know them on negotiations and battles and fights. So I leave more, Sean, at one third of the morning I leave your house, I go to John's house. Now John's the GM of the Seahawks. John. John Schneider, who we all know and love. So,

So John Schneider's a GM. He's having a party. He's having a good time. He's had a few drinks in him. He's a Wisconsin Midwest. They're going back to the Super Bowl. Back to back. Back to the Super Bowl. So I go to John's house and we're sitting there having a great time. And about three in the morning, he puts his arm around me and say, Doug,

how good is this, man? How fucking good is this moment? I said, well, it's really good, John. But I do got to talk. He's like, what's up? Everything okay? I said, well, yeah, but we got to work on more Sean's deal. He's like, wait a minute, you're...

You're here at night at 3 in the morning. And you asking for a new fucking contract tonight? I said, yeah, I am, John. I go, he deserves it. He's back there. We got to talk about this. He's like, you want me to go to Paul Allen before the Super Bowl and ask for a new contract? I said, yeah, I do, John. I do. Marshawn is shaking his head right now. Yes. And this turned into a bro fest. Like, this is great to fuck you.

And I'm like, fuck you. And now we're yelling at each other. You guys were buddies. We're good friends, great friends. At three in the morning. And the crazy part about it was we both had way too much to drink. Okay. My phone dies. I can't get an Uber. John can't drive.

So John says, fuck you, but sleep on my couch. Throws me like a blanket. So here I am sleeping on John Schneider's couch after I yelled at him about a new contract from Marshawn. And John's the best time of his life. This is about to go back. And I sleep on the freaking couch. Redefining the walk of shame the next morning, buddy. To the next day. Get the fuck out of here. But I will, I don't know.

I don't know what happened, but if he didn't or he did go and talk to Paul Allen about it, that conversation, it sparked a relationship with me and Paul Allen. 100%. I got a lot of respect for that dude. He showed up and showed out for me.

Like, I got a lot of love and respect for Paul Allen. Rest in peace, big dog. But that motherfucker. He personally had your back. Yeah. Like, like. You know, he came to Marshawn's events and actually had Hennessy with Marshawn. Not Hennessy. That motherfucker had Patrennessy with him. Patrennessy. So I'm going to have one for you, big dog. And remember and say, I'm going to throw back a shot of Patren for you. And it's crazy because everybody was like, oh, you know, Paul is, you know, he's weird. He's awkward. This, that, and the third. Yeah.

And I'm like, well, shit, all right. All right, put him at, you know what I mean? I'm going to sit next to him at the dinner. And when I sat down with him and we was chopping it up and I'm like, what the fuck they talking about? He weird as shit. He sound hella cool to me. And then, you know, it's me, Joe Montana, and a couple of my teammates. And I'm like, hey, you know what? Have a shot with me.

you don't drink like that so he all right i'll do it like what we drinking like oh don't worry about it it's gonna be good so i got around to patronity for everybody so you feel me we cheers through the back like

What was that? I'm like, Patronacy. Like, what the fuck is Patronacy? Patron and Hennessy Mix. He's like, oh my God, what the fuck you just had me drinking? He played his guitar and hella shit. But I mean, you know, it turned out to be a good ass night. And then, you know, everybody that worked in the organization was like, hey, you know what, man? Like, I've never seen him in this type of, you know what I mean, environment and, you know, move the way that he did. And then, I mean, you know, from there, shit just...

you know, elevated as far as, you know, our relationship. Motherfuckers started helping me, like, you know, I was looking for some real estate out in Seattle to, you know, do my store. And then if I had some investments and shit, like, I would send it over to him and, you know, he would give me, like, a yay or nay on it type shit. You know what I mean? We just started...

you know uh communicating on a level like you know say that you know owners don't really communicate with their uh yeah with their players he was all it was incredible yeah but you know i mean he really took the the time and the effort to like you feel me though actually holla at me and then it got to a point where you know after we had lost the uh the super bowl like

I mean, he called me and was like, I need you to be in Seattle. And I'm like, when? He's like, tomorrow. And I'm like, shit, everything cool? He's like, yeah, I just want to talk to you. He's like, shit, all right, well, cool. You know, I'll be up there. He's like, yeah, I'm over in the Philippines, California.

In the fucking ocean looking for a Japanese fighter ship. That suck. Yeah. Right? I'm like, what the fuck? Like, you in the Philippines and you talking about you want me to meet? All right, you got some shit going on, but, you know what I mean? If anybody can make it work, shit, I guess it's you. I don't know how the fuck he got from the Philippines back to Seattle in the time for the meeting, but when I showed up, shit, he was right there. I called Doug like, hey, bro, what's up?

This motherfucker told me he wanted me to meet him in Seattle at, like, 2 o'clock or something. Like, you know what's going on, duh? Like, shit, I don't know. But when we got there, we had a very interesting conversation. But then it just made me think, like, oh, you really fuck with me on a different level. Like, this shit is, like, you know, this how my pay grade, like, this ain't my type of time, but...

You know what I mean? If so, I mean, I could try and figure some shit out, but like, yeah, I want you to. And I'm like, all right, well, shit, we're going to rock like that. But I don't know if it sparked from...

You know, the conversation that you and Snyder had. You're passing out on the gym couch. Again, Marshawn, I think truthfully, probably goes down as one of the favorite players Paul's had in terms of basketball or football. And so he meant a lot to him. And him showing up like that was big. I mean, we're running out of time, but we're going to have plenty of time to talk about that Super Bowl. Yeah, we— Talk about—

We got a lot to share. By the way, that whole week might be about four episodes. Yeah. Because there's stuff people don't know about that one. No one knows what happened right after the game. Well.

What happened literally, well, I thought the game was still going on. I don't even know if it was right after. Yeah, we'll get into that. Amar Sean got home that night. Yeah, we'll get into all that. And then we'll explain exactly why Paul was trying to track you down. Let's just say, man, like you were saying, you know, you got to have good people around. Let's just say I had some good people around and they made some shit happen. Yeah.

Yes, you did. They made some shit happen. We're going to talk about exactly what happened. And more of that to come. More of that to come on Politicking. On Politicking. Let's go. Look at Doug with your little outro. Let's go with Politicking. That was good. I like that. Let's go.

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