When The League Ends | PHONE HOME

This week we sit down with Don, a former NFL safety who played 6 years in the league alongside Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and some of the game's best.
Don opens up about hitting rock bottom, flunking out of Arkansas State the same day he found out he was having a baby, then clawing his way back through junior college where he ran a 4.3 forty and got signed on the spot. He shares the reality of being a journeyman in the NFL, battling through multiple surgeries, and the mental health struggles that came after hanging up his cleats.
Now thriving as the owner of Wyldman Stables in Alabama, Don talks about raising horses and cows on 85+ acres, the importance of therapy for athletes, and why NIL is changing the game for college players. Plus: hilarious stories from junior college, what it's really like playing special teams in the NFL, and why he threw a girl's shoes off a casino balcony.
Raw. Real. Unfiltered.

Quotes:
"The same day I found out I flunked out of college, I had made a baby. So I was out of school a whole year with a baby on the way. Couldn't get a job... So I was like, man, what am I going to do with life?"
"I done cried in training camp probably that second week. I was like, God, I don't know what I'm gonna do on this team to make it."
"Now everywhere I go, man, people asking about coaches, players, how I like playing for them. I was like, man, I don't want to talk about that no more. But shoot, now I like it since I done got the horses."
"You just don't have to learn how to say no" (on getting NIL money at 18)

#PhoneHomePodcast #NFLStories #MentalHealth #WyldManStables #AthleteTransition #RealTalk