Malik Jackson More Than a Super Bowl Champion

Ben BeeriWhat's up, everyone? Welcome to the Authentic Journey. I'm here today. I'm excited to welcome our special guest, Malik Jackson, Super Bowl fifty champion Oh. And founder and CEO of the Care League. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Malik, I'm really excited to have you on, and I'm really excited for you to walk our listeners through your Yes. Authentic journey. I appreciate it. Thanks for the platform. Absolutely. And who is it that you felt that you were before you ever when discovered football and you realized that there was a possibility for you to play in the NFL?

Malik JacksonWho did I think I was? It's funny enough. Just being a kid growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Van Nuys to be exact, you just feel like you're a little tadpole. You don't really think much of yourself. But playing football, my dad really showed me and he told me like I was 12, like, Hey, you want to go to college, gotta get a scholarship. So since that time, was like, Okay, cool. I've to really put myself in a position. And then you get notoriety as you get older, say high school, some newspapers, people talking about you, scholarships, Arizona State, Fresno State, University of Southern California.

To me, I like to be humble because at any time anything can happen. And I don't want to be like an asshole or something and say, Oh, that's what he gets. And so just really think of myself as a small little group small little groupie fish in a big pond.

Ben BeeriAnd when did you think it was possible to play in the NFL?

Malik JacksonIt's funny enough. I think being in That's a good question, right? Because in the NFL, would tell people you have to have naive confidence to be able to say, Look, I'm going against this three seventy pound guy and I'm what, two ninety. I'm going to kick his butt. But then as you guys asked me that question, I think it really started back then when I was watching Ray Lewis with my dad, my brother, my mom, and sister on a Monday night. I'm saying, I'm a do that. So, really thinking about your question, think it really started when I was young. That naive confidence was like, I'm going be an NFL guy. And that just is what it is. So, started

Ben Beeriearly. What what do you feel like you were able to channel within you to give yourself the edge to get you there?

Malik JacksonI think it was I think I channeled just it's a good question. I'll say it like this. Say high school. I understood what I wanted to be. I wanted to be the fastest defensive lineman in the state because I knew that would set me apart. And so, I said, Cool. I'm going go run track. And so, really, having that instilled to where understanding what I want to be, who I want to be, and also finding people that can help me be that really put me in a position to be where I'm at today. I really have to give a shout out to my two parents.

My father's passed and gone, I know he's watching over me. My mom's helping me with my daughter. So she's at the house now, probably picking her up from school. Really just my mom telling me, Hey, Malik and Marquise, my brother's name. If you guys are playing football, you don't have to work. Just focus on school, focus on the game, put yourselves in the best position. And so, I think really being able to have them sacrifice realizing now my mom was working overtime. My dad was hardly home working overtime. And so, being able to understand what they sacrificed for me to be able to just be a kid and have fun, keep me out of trouble, it was immense.

Ben BeeriThat's amazing. That's amazing. So, when you make it to the NFL and you're getting drafted, you show up at training camp for the first time.

Malik JacksonTake me through what's going on in your head. So, I got drafted. I went to my grandma's house up in Victorville right after fifteen. First day went by, I'm like, holy smokes. Kinda knew that wasn't gonna happen. Second day goes by, seeing names go off, I'm like, I'm better than him. I'm better than him. I'm better than him. Right? And you're like, Third day, you're like, Oh, this is all I got. And then the third day, fifth round, second pick of the fifth round, number 137, John Elway calls and talked to John Fox.

And it was a very surreal situation driving back. I'm like, I just can't believe. Everybody's talking to me. I'm just in my head like, I can't believe this is happening. Then I remember we fly into Denver Airport. And if you've ever been in Denver, there's like a long access road to go from the airport to the city. Back then, there were no houses. So, it took about a thirty, thirty five, forty minute drive and you're just looking out the window like, Yo, where am I fam? And then you pop to this little building and you see all the guys there and you realize, look, there's nothing higher than this.

Is it. Either I'm going to make it or I'm out of here. And I'll say a short story. I remember one of the first few days of OTA camps, the coach gives us a playbook. It's like this big. And I look at it and I go home and I'm like, fam, I don't think this is for me. I think I might be done. And I go to bed at six I'm like, I just need to go to bed and just really rethink everything. And I woke up like, nah, forget that. I'm going do this. And then you realize the playbook is this big but they kind of cut it down and they kind of throw it out at you to see how you respond. And so, you know, I'm writing the plays on my wrist. So, he's out there, hey, something, something, something. I'm like, okay, cool. I forgot that. Cool. And I did have good vets in Robert Ayers and Kevin Vickerson. Those two guys really took me under their wing because it's one of those things you get in the NFL and you have, say you're there before me and I'm in your spot. Guys are like, oh, I'm going tell him the wrong place so I keep my spot. And I didn't have that. So, a lot of things were in my favor. That's awesome. At what point did you feel like, hey, like,

Ben BeeriI'm here. Like,

Malik Jacksonthis is, like, what's ahead of me. Like, just time to put my head down and go. So I think I felt I felt like that. When you say I'm here, like, I've made it to where put myself in a position? Yeah, like the dream is real. Oh, shoot. The first time I had that was at a NFL camp. I'm looking at first camp I had Elvis Dumerville, Champ Bailey, Von Miller. Think I Peyton was there. Peyton was there. Yeah, he was there. Peyton Manning. I'm like, holy smokes, man. Then you see the big O lineman, Louis Vasquez of the world, Manny Rodriguez, not Rodriguez, excuse me, Ramirez. And I'm just like, the King Dunlaps, Ryan Clady. I'm like, holy smokes, I thought I was tall. You see these Monstars. And so I think seeing that, being in the jersey, looking down, was like, wow. Because I think one thing I've gotten better at and I wish I would've done when I was younger is living the moment. And I think as athletes and sometimes business people, just move, move, move. And so now I take a lot of pride taking a step back. Like driving down here today, I was like, man, it's a beautiful day. You know what mean? I had some things happening this morning. I was like, fuck, what am I mad about? You know what I mean? So,

yeah, I definitely learned that over the years. But I think to answer your question, that's when I realized I made it. Super Bowl forty eight. You guys make it. You guys get there. Yeah.

Ben BeeriYou guys don't quite come up with it. Not quite. Yep. What are you going through?

Malik JacksonOh, boy. So, there's a picture of me sitting on the bench just looking at the blue and green confetti fall, watching everybody have a good time. And I told myself that I was like, this is never going to happen to me again. Luckily I got the chance to start, but to that point, missed. Von Miller was down. Derrick Wolf was down. We had a whole host of other guys down. So playing that game, being able to start getting the experience was nice. But when you're that close and people tell you like when we had DeMarcus Ware come to the team after that, he's been in the league what, ten, twelve years at the time. And he was like, he's never been to one. But I'm like, you're DeMarcus Ware. That's crazy. I see you on Sundays. But then as you're watching it, don't really realize their season in the playoffs. You're just like, oh, this is great. People are still playing. Because I didn't really have a favorite team. But you realize how hard it is. And so, I think that's when I realized, Hey, this is never going to happen again. And we got to make sure we do everything we can to get back to this game. Luckily we did and we conquered it. But Super Bowl forty eight sucked. That was a really bad day. And, it was cold. It was

Ben Beerinot a good day. Yeah. So, you get a chance to redeem yourself. Super Bowl fifty. First quarter, Von Miller, Strip Sacks, Cam Newton. Yep. What happens next?

Malik JacksonBoy, me and So, it's Von Miller and Derrick Wolf on the left side, Malik Jackson and I'm talking to third person. Me and DeMarcus Ware on the right side. I believe me and DeMarcus Ware had a No, he had a free rush two way go. I had to balance up the rush because the center was sliding to me. Went to took two. He took the inside, I wrapped around him and there was just a ball there. I'm like, Holy smokes. And so, I just run and I push DeMarcus away and I jump on the ball and I'm like, you know, and at the time I didn't have a sack dance, never scored a touchdown, I'm like, ah, what do you do? And I was like, fuck it, I'm a just chuck this thing and I just threw it in the stands. Really wish I can get that back, but you know, somebody left, paid a lot of money to get those tickets and left with a great souvenir.

So. If anyone's got that ball and is hearing this episode Please. Hit us up. Please. We'd love to get Malik his ball back. Please. Let's go go through his business. We'll get the know? We'll get state memorabilia. We'll help Malik get his Exactly. Ball And the funny part about that is, like, so when I threw it, my mom said I threw it to like five people away from her. And I didn't even know where she was. I just threw it. She was like, she asked him, can she get it? He was like, no way. So I like, get it. That's awesome. That's awesome. And obviously, you had the emotion of that play.

Ben BeeriYou guys go on. You win the game. You're a Super Bowl champion. What

Malik Jacksondoes that mean to you? So, that was a tough year. A lot went on that year. I'll preface it and answer your question. But, my daughter just got born, so I was a father. Had a mouth to feed, right? That was a lot of pressure. That was the fourth year of my contract being a fifth round pick. I only had four years with no re up, or not re up. But they couldn't pick up an option of mine. I was just done. I had to figure some things out. And so, after that game, I was happy we won, but I was like, Shit, I don't have a job. I don't know what's gonna happen. You know what I'm saying? And, of course, in hindsight, I played really well that season, put myself in a great position. But at the moment, you're just like, what am I gonna do? If I don't get what I want or get what I deserve or get something that I can feel like is comparable, it sucks.

Luckily, we won that game. I go home. My daughter's taking care of them in Santa Monica, living in the high rise at the time, looking at the beach. And then find out I signed six year $90,000,000 with Jacksonville. And I went on there to sign some other contracts. And so, it was a true blessing. But it was very nerve racking. You know, I've never had a mental breakdown before, but a situation happened one time and I was at home and I was just like, I'm so close to ruining everything I worked for by this one situation that I had to remove myself and some other people.

And so that's when I was like, You know what, Leek? Let's get yourself together. Keep the thing the thing. Keep the people around you that's going keep you happy. But also don't fuck it up. You know what I'm saying? And by saying don't fuck it up, what does that mean for you? Don't work hard for everything and in one moment, thirty second push, now everything is jeopardized. Because back then we had the Ray Rice thing, not to bring his name up in a negative light, but we had the Ray Rice thing. So, domestic violence, you couldn't even yell at a woman back then and you were So, was the type of thing. So, just understanding not that that's what I was going do, but understanding there was no tolerance for anything outside of football that didn't make the shield in a good light.

And that would make me lose the opportunity to take care of my daughter and put her in a private school where we don't have to worry about things. Give her a nice house, her own room, two dogs, right? And be able to provide for everybody that I have in my ecosystem. So, that's what that meant. Did you feel like, as an NFL player, being in the league with the structure of it, do you feel like there were times where you didn't get to express yourself the way you wanted to express yourself? So, that's a good question. I think yes and no. I think when you're a rookie and you're not being successful on the field, you don't have to say anything. You need to be quiet. Nobody cares how you feel.

Then just the harsh realities. Once you start making plays, you could become a lot more boisterous. You become a lot more outspoken. And that was me. As soon as I started making plays, starting and new, got injured going into my third year of camp, I believe it was. Third or fourth year we were in camp and I got injured. And I was like, Freak man, what's going on? Fuck, I might lose my job. And then came back and they were like, Alright, gotta get the way Malik's back. I was like, Oh, I'm pretty good. You know what I'm saying? I also got in a fight with a guy.

Coach didn't say anything to me, he was fired. I was like, Now you're making a problem here. Now I'm a problem child. Now I'm a say whatever I want and do what I want. But I was still very benevolent, still cool, but just don't piss me off. It just comes with success. I think that's, as an athlete, even in the business world, podcast world, whatever we're doing, unless you're doing real numbers and you're successful and it's a metric that everybody abides by, then then you're you need to stay over there and be quiet. So, you know, it's just the way it goes. There we go. And then so you go. You sign that deal with Jacksonville.

Ben Beeri$90,000,000. Yep. That's life changing money. Very much so, yes. What's going through your mind?

Malik JacksonI was like, man, I can To be honest with you, I signed it and like, you know So, imagine, we're walking down to Jacksonville Hall, right? I had an argument with my agent at the moment because we had a disagreement on terms of his agent fees. I tried to do it earlier, it didn't really work out. So, we were there. And it was my fault because I had two envelopes to pay my mom, give him one. It was a lesser option. He was sick. So, had to curse him out a little bit, right? Because it was a lot for me.

We worked it out through legal ways. But anyway, so I had that situation. And then I'm in the room about to sign with the team. And on the ESPN, it's like Malik Jackson signs for this. Or you see my picture and my stats. And I've never seen where I'm just the focus of that. And it was really overwhelming. But then I sign it, everybody's happy. And it's funny, I think everybody was happier than I was because I understood what it meant, I also understood what I had to produce to get all 90. I only did three years in Jacksonville, forty five.

That was because of business, not because of me. Another conversation. Yeah, it was a lot. And then I think I tell people when I first went to Jacksonville the first year, I told everybody, I told my family and friends, I think I was happier when I had less because now everybody depends on me. Now everybody's asking me. Now everybody expects me to do something for them. When you're broke and you don't have anything, everybody's like, Oh, I'm Linkin's got here. We ain't gonna call him. We'll leave him alone. Right? And I was like, I like that. You know what I mean? So it was a lot. And I don't think a lot of people take into account what, as a young 25, 26 year old, getting that much money and then having everybody in the world see what you got. You have a huge target leader back. That's why wish the NFL would stop doing that. I understand they've to boost up the want for people to play. It's a dangerous sport. So what's the trade off for playing this dangerous sport? A lot of money. But then once you realize that's 5% of the league, all the other 95 is making minimum, not minimum, but it kind of counters out to three other, two other tiers. One's a good chunk, dot the 5%. But then you have like 45%,

that's 50%, and the other is 50%, right? And so, or I would even give you that more. But to answer your question, it was a lot. It was a lot. Had a lot of help, had a lot of people talking to me and helping me get through it. And luckily I didn't have a lot of leeches around me, so it made it lot easier. So you always kept a tight circle. Always kept a tight circle, to this day. And, can count my friends on my fingers. Yeah. Where

Ben Beeridid you feel your identity was at that time?

Malik JacksonOh, man. I was really beaming from any given Sunday, fam. I was out here living the life, man. You couldn't tell me anything. My identity was football. Like, I am a football player. It's funny enough, we would go to the club and feel like, oh my God, you're huge, what do you do? And I'm like, I'm a lawyer. I'm a fitness instructor or something. Because back then you didn't want the target on your back. Thinking about it now, was like, man, really wish I would said no, I'm a football player. Lean into that.

Own it. Because now I can't say that. You know what I mean? And so now I wish I would have said it. But the identity, man, I was a Billy badass football player, starter in the NFL. $90,000,000 guy, you couldn't tell me anything. Did you feel that you were worthy of it? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. No, there was Yeah, I thought more. But, you know, that's it. I definitely embraced it. I And think that's the one thing that's about sports. You get what you I say this hesitantly, but you get what you deserve. And if you put yourself in a position to where, for me, for example, Von Miller got franchise tag, took him off the board. Derrick Wolf took a deal, took him off the board. Other guys around the league were taken care of or weren't coming out that year for the free agency. So, I was the number one three tech coming out and I just won the Super Bowl and I had a hell of a year. I got snubbed on Pro Bowl but we're gonna have another lot of conversation. You know what mean? So, I definitely thought I earned it and put myself in a position. But, it takes a lot of things have to go right for you to sit there and maximize the opportunity. And I can definitely realize that and realize a lot of things went right for me. That's awesome. Yeah. And what was fatherhood like for you during that time?

Ben BeeriIt

Malik Jacksonwas tough. Because I was playing in Jacksonville, then Philadelphia, then Cleveland. My daughter lives in LA, right? And so, not being to be as a present father as I wanted to be, sacrificing time, moments was really tough, especially when you're by yourself all the time. Thank God I was in the early 2000s where we had Face Time. I can only imagine sitting there in a candlelight and writing a letter, getting there in six months. It's like, fuck. I think that was nice to have, but I say luckily she was still young, newborn.

So, her first three to four years of her life, I was there, she would come to see me, and I would come back in the off season and spend time with her. It was tough early. But I think as a man or a person who takes care of the family, a man or a woman, you know you've got to sacrifice and really worry about the things that's going to put you and your family in a big position. And hopefully it works out for you. I'll say this, you just got to sacrifice. That's what life is about, sacrificing. That's what I'm trying to teach my daughter. And I hope people see it for me. And that's what I told these young kids. You sacrifice now, you get what you want later.

You leave the clubs alone. You leave the girls alone. You stay in focus. You study. You put yourself in position and things will go right for you, most times. Nice question. What

Ben Beerido you feel changed in you becoming a father?

Malik JacksonSo, I saw my daughter come out, the fucking hole's like this big around, I'm like, holy shit. But when I saw her come out and seeing her there, was funny. A switch flipped to me. I was like, I have to provide. There's no more games now. There's no more just sitting here having fun, not caring about life. I have somebody that depends on me that can't feed herself. And it's funny, I had her right before the Pittsburgh game. Of course, the team was like, We gotta induce her so you can play. And I was like, Yeah, because I wanted to play too, but I also wanted to be there. So I'm glad we were able to do that.

And she's healthy. My daughter and my child's mother was healthy after that. So it worked out. But, yeah. Do you have kids? I do not. Yeah. It's a beautiful thing. You can wait. Robert De Niro waited till eighty, so I would wait. I know. We're solid.

Ben BeeriGood. It'll happen one day, though. You know, I look at things from a perspective of, like, I've always wanted to be a father. And it's cool for me to talk to somebody like yourself who's like balancing like a busy life, business, professional sports, and fatherhood because business and professional sports must be very important. But

Malik Jacksonit can't be as important as fatherhood. Exactly. No, it really can't. But it's one of those things you get caught up because you have realizations where maybe you put other things over fatherhood, right? Thinking that was the better situation and maybe in hindsight it wasn't. But I think as a person you have to be able to grow, go through things and be able to reevaluate the situation or look back and say, know what, maybe that wasn't the right thing. I won't do that again. And it's just having character and being able to I think football really taught me when you go out there, you play the game. You have the week I started, you play the game, and then you watch the film on Monday. Good, bad, indifferent. Their game, I'm like, I'm not watching this shit, man. Coach, you just go. You know what I mean? But it doesn't matter. You have to sit there with a group of guys. Coach is coaching you, talking to you. You have to answer his questions. It creates accountability. And so, I think that's one thing football really did for me is create accountability. And I really appreciate them for that. Awesome. Awesome. So, you go through another couple of years of playing in Jacksonville.

Ben BeeriFast forward a little bit. You suffered an injury, Yes. 20

Malik JacksonWhat did that do to you? Oh, that broke me. That Liz Frank injury, I remember it was yesterday. I did it. So, just got to Philadelphia. Left Jacksonville. Was mad at them. And I was like, I've got this opportunity. I think it was third quarter. I go up to get lined up, get a little wide. I'm like, I'm going do an inside move. So, one step, switch my feet, take one step, go inside. Then I do a long arm to his inside shoulder so I can open up the A gap. And I remember is just hearing like a pop. I'm like, oh shit, what the fuck? And just go down and I'm like, man, what the heck was that? And so my foot's feeling weird, And I'm like, damn. And it's funny, I go to the sideline and like, Hey, what's going on? Trainer's like, What's going on? I'm like, Hey man, it feels like I said, You know when you have a butter finger and you snap it in half to see how fresh it is? Like, that's what my foot felt like. He's like, Interesting. And so then we go back, they do x rays and everything. He's like, Malik, you know that you described

a Liz Frank perfectly? Like you pretty much tore ligament in your foot. And so essentially leaving the game, foot swollen, understanding my season's over, first game of the season on a new team, trying to really reinvent myself after being fired for the second time. It was tough because I'm walking around in a city I don't know. People I just got to know but know really ecosystem. And I will say it was funny because that Monday I'm walking down the hall and I won't say the guy's name but a coach is walking towards me, a decoordinator or a coach is walking towards me.

And I'm like, Fuck, I'm just down. I'm feeling like shit. I'm like, He's gonna say, Thank you for your service. He's gonna say, Hey, Malik, I'm sorry that happened to you. And I'm crutching by, crutching by. He just walks right past me. And so I was like, interesting. And you just go and sit in the dark and just realize you're by yourself, man. You realize that business is a cold business. I never understood why older guys would be yelling at coaches or GMs until I had that experience. And I was like, you know what? It's a business, Malik.

All that shit they talk about being family and friends, it only leads up to if you're winning and if you're still there. And so, definitely was a hard situation and going through that process. It was a hard year.

Ben BeeriWhat did that end up doing to you after the injury? How did you feel about everything? You as a person,

Malik Jacksonwhere you are in life? I think it showed me that I need to do a little bit more work on myself to be able to put myself in a position to love myself a little bit more, be happy about it. And also, say love myself, but also give myself more experiences to be well versed in a lot more spaces. And so not just be a football guy that plays football. Be somebody that can do a wealth of things. And so that's what that really taught me. So I started reading a lot more, putting myself in a position, talking to people, educating myself. Everybody's like, I remember talking to a guy and said, Oh, what'd you do? I said, I had a list, Frank. They're like, Oh, Nobody comes back from that. I'm like, Well, thank you. I appreciate that. You know what I'm saying? That really gives me motivation.

And so when I was able to come back, I remember my first game, we played the Washington Commanders. There was this guard, this kid, maybe two, three years in the league. And I remember just staring at him. This is an empty stadium. I'm just staring at him just like crying. Because I'm like, One, I get another opportunity to come out here and I have to prove myself. And I had a hell of a game. It's funny enough, rest in peace, not Watson, Deshaun, the young quarterback that died that went to Ohio State.

I forget his last name, but him. I had a lot of hits on him that day. And it's funny. I have a picture in my office about me hitting him and realizing how short life is. And I think that's what really kind of takes you like puts things in perspective as well, I'm still here. And you look at a of guys that aren't. And he was a young kid. And so yeah.

Ben BeeriSo when did you get to a place where you're like, hey, I'm back. Mhmm. Do you feel like you're there to stay? Do you feel like you just wanted to prove to yourself that you get back and that you'd kind of hang it up?

Malik JacksonI mean, I felt like I was back. I remember that first camp before I came back, before the game against the guy. I was going against Isaac Suamalu in camp. That was one of the last game day games we were having. And so, I had three sacks on him that day. And I was like, this guy's a fucking beast. And so, for me to get three sacks on him, that means I'm back. And I was like, yes. That's the confidence I needed. And so that's when I knew. I was like, okay cool, Mick. You're healthy. Now still, got cold, my foot would hurt. Or you're still kinda falling, not wanting people to step on you and stuff like that. Had to get over the timidness.

That took me a few more weeks, but probably a year. But, you know, I think just mentally I was like, okay, that's it. You're back. I'm back. Yeah. Hell yeah. Yeah. From coming back, getting back, you've now established yourself that, hey,

Ben Beeriyou can go through that. You can go through the injury. You can make it back through something that people said you couldn't do. Mhmm. Really solid game of your life. Yep. At what point did you realize you're like, you know what? I think this is it for football. It's time to step into the next. Good question. So,

Malik Jacksonwas in Cleveland. I was really tired of sacrificing time with my daughter. And it's funny, I'm sitting there pulling into the building, it's COVID too. So nobody's there. I'm just like, or they came back actually. But still during COVID, she had to take all these tests and shit. And I was like, fuck man, what am I doing, bro? And I realized, you I know what, is my tenth year. I can barely bend my knee more than this. My game was just deteriorating. I told myself, for lack of better comparisons, I'd rather retire now and be known as a Billy badass than keep prolonging my career like say some other guys have done and not be known to the people as who I was.

And so, I was like I'm just gonna be done. I have a daughter at home. I've done everything I can. My play is going down. My body hurts. I'm happy. I really laid on my back the last six, eight weeks. Laid on my back in the stadiums. I would never go out to warm up before the game. Went out to warm up. Sitting on the bench after the games or even during the games, offense driving, I'm just looking around like, fuck man, this is crazy. I love soccer, I'm looking around like, fuck, wonder what soccer guys feel like, as I'm in the NFL stadium. You know what I mean? So it was an awesome opportunity, but I knew then that it was time for me to hang it up. And I need to go be a dad and focus on the next chapter.

Ben BeeriWalking off the NFL field for the final time, sounds like you knew. Yeah.

Malik JacksonWhat was that like? It sucked because my game in Pittsburgh. But that was the second game before the season ended. And so I got COVID before the last game, and so I wasn't there playing the last game. And it's funny, my apartment looked at the stadium. And so I'm over there and I'm like folding clothes on Sunday morning. You know, that's what you do Sunday. So I'm folding clothes and I get, I'm like, I can still play. I can still play. And then you fold a shirt. You're like, damn. I'm tired. I'm a go lay down. You know? So you realize, like, COVID's real. You know what I mean? But it was it stuck because, you know, like everybody, it didn't end the way I wanted it to. You know what I'm saying? And so that's the reality of the game, and that's what you have to accept. I wasn't able to finish a career the way I wanted it to. I missed the game.

It was what I still had the experience. It was a blessing and a huge reward for me. And I did a lot of things that people normally wouldn't do, so it was awesome. Waking up in the morning,

Ben Beeriknowing there's no more football. Mhmm. You no longer have that obligation. Mhmm. Where are you at? What are you thinking? What is next for you? I imagine there's a lot going on. Yeah. No.

Malik JacksonI'm like, man, where the girls at? Let's party. You know? Like, fuck, I'm done now. I got money. You know? People say I'm handsome. I'm like, fuck yeah, let's go. That was probably short lived. And then it goes to like, who am I? What am I about? What do I like? What can I tell myself to do? I don't know anything about myself. I just know I play football. I'm always like, Boob Miles, football. Malik, what do you like to do? Football. What do you think about today's weather? Football. You know what I mean? It was like all football.

It was a tough experience. Lot of good days, a lot of bad days. Just trying to figure shit out. You realize that you put all your eggs in one basket and then you leave the game and you realize that you're not very versed in many things in life. Now granted, you have skills, right? But I wasn't educated at college to go to be a C suite executive. Nowadays, can do pageant shows. Runways, write fashion, start fashion lines, do podcasts. Mean, the Kelce brothers are killing it. I was like, They're doing a podcast on a Wednesday night? They have to study. What are they doing? But the game has changed, right? Because back when I was playing, if you weren't doing just football, you're not focused. Now, I'm glad they're letting Alicia a little longer to let guys be more than just a football player. But to answer your question, it was tough, man. Like I said, invested a lot in my daughter. Used her a lot to be able to give me worth and just put a smile on my face. And so for that, I really appreciate it because she got me through a

lot of dark times.

Ben BeeriWas tough. That's awesome. You're so much more than a football player. Appreciate it. And you've got so much going on. And I know our listeners are gonna be really excited to hear the rest of what's going on. Yes. And your transition from your pro career to entrepreneurship, building a company, being a CEO, helping so many people on a day to day basis, which is really the Malik that I've come to know and really what you're about. Thank you. We're excited to share.

Malik JacksonThis is gonna be it for part one of our episode. Yes. We'll be back. Part two. You for coming on. Thank you for having Where can people connect with you? Yeah. So, first of all, thank you for the platform. Thank you for the opportunity. It's been a pleasure talking to you, man. And thank you for the questions you asked because, you know, it really allowed me to kind of get deep and drum up some feelings that I kind of forgot about or buried. I appreciate that. But, you can find me at themaliqjackson.com, excuse me, at themaliqjackson on Instagram.

The business, The Care League, you can find us at thecareleague.com or at, I'm tripping. You can find us thecareleague.com or thecareleague on Instagram. Yeah, please contact me. We'd love to talk to you guys more. Thank you for the platform. Like I said, this is awesome. And I'm looking forward for part two. Malik Jackson, ladies and gentlemen.

Ben BeeriHell of a story, and we haven't even gotten to the good part yet. So I'm really excited for part two as well. If anything resonated for you guys on today's episode, please like, subscribe, share our content with your friends. Like and subscribe this show. Absolutely. And we'll see you here. I'm your host, Ben Beeri, and we'll see you here on the next episode of The Authentic Journey.