Aaron Donald Gets the Jitters Back and the Future of Matthew Stafford

This week we begin with Aaron taking us inside the NFC Championship game and the experience from a retired player’s perspective. Standing for the anthem, feeling the jitters return, and describing that split-second “I could still do this” rush that never really leaves. He reacts to the Rams coming up just short, what it feels like to be that close to the Super Bowl, and why those final red-zone moments decide everything in January. AD also gives Seattle credit for what they did well, from matchup creation to poise under pressure, and he explains what he saw in quarterback Sam Darnold that earned his respect.

From there, the conversation turns to the biggest question in Los Angeles: what’s next for Matthew Stafford? After an MVP-caliber season and a heartbreaking playoff loss, is Stafford coming back for one more run? AD shares the real factors that go into retirement. Todd adds the front-office reality: there’s no dramatic “paperwork deadline” with the league, but teams need honest communication so they can plan for every scenario. Zach presses on timelines, roster-building, and how a franchise prepares for the future at the most important position in sports.

Then the episode pivots into a fascinating breakdown of NFL contract incentives, sparked by the bonus structure in Sam Darnold’s deal. Should incentives become more common moving forward—and should they extend beyond quarterbacks? Zach raises the idea of position-specific triggers (even for kickers), while Todd explains how incentives really function in negotiations. His bottom line: the priority is always “real money” and guarantees first, with incentives as the extra layer—not the foundation. Plus: a candid look at Senior Bowl week, the nonstop NFL calendar, pre-Super Bowl week chaos, and a quick debate on Pro Bowl vs. All-Pro that reveals how reputation, voting, and legacy actually get shaped.

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Transcript

Zach Klein (00:00)
Hey, what's up, everybody? Zach Klein here on the Inner Circle podcast. Thank you so much for hanging out with us this week. Coming up, we dive into the contract of Sam Darnold, the Seahawks quarterback getting paid millions of dollars extra for reaching certain incentives in his deal. Should this be the norm moving forward? And what about non-quarterback positions? If you're a kicker, for example, should you get a clause in your contract if you get 20 consecutive PAT? Should that trigger a bonus?

Todd weighs into that. Plus, Aaron Donald was in Seattle for the Seahawks game against the Rams in the NFC Championship. He talked to Tom Brady before the game. He talked to some of the guys after. We'll get Aaron's thoughts on the Rams coming up so close to reaching the ultimate in the sport. That is, of course, the Super Bowl. And speaking of the Rams, what is the future for Matthew Stafford? Will he come back to the LA Rams? Should he come back to the LA Rams?

and what goes into the paperwork with the National Football League, the timeframe in letting them know that you're retired or indeed you're coming back to play one more year. That and more on this week's edition of the Intercicl podcast. Hope you enjoy.

AD (01:07)
It was good, man. And get back in Seattle and that stadium, it was a Pac Stadium. I got to be on the sidelines, you know, with the anthem. You know, I started to get them emotions in again, right? It was, I felt like I was, I felt immortal again, right? Like I was playing. I couldn't stop moving. You start getting them jitters jumping around. Like if they would have said, Aaron, you can play in this fourth quarter to help close this game out. You allowed the dressing play. I probably wouldn't have went out there and played a little bit. I ain't gonna lie. Cause I was juiced up, but it was good, man. I think it was a...

Zach Klein (01:34)
So there you have everybody talking

about Sean McVeigh's, know, questionable clock management. His biggest mistake was not asking you to play in the fourth quarter. I think that's what it comes down to.

AD (01:43)
I was in that damn up top like going itching like damn man, I'm on godly man. We just need a little bit more on defense, but I think they played good. think that offense, Matthew Stafford, them guys, they did a great job against a great Seattle defense. You know, they got down there in the red zone opportunity to score, take the lead late in the fourth quarter and Seattle, they bowed up and did what they're supposed to do. And then everybody was, I don't think, I don't believe in the Sam Darnold guy, but he got the job done.

Right? He went out there, played good. They managed to gain good. They did a good job of doing play action. Stabbing shouldn't run early, being able to do play action and get them moving a little bit. They got to him a few times, but not enough. I think they didn't affect them enough. They could have, but I think Seattle had a great game plan and got it done. Them guys played well and they was a better team that day, man. I'm disappointed. Definitely wanted to see my guy, Matthew Stafford, get him another one. Obviously Sean, get him another one and get over the hump for Adams.

getting NFC championship, get the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl, fell short again. So I felt bad for those guys, man. You know, my emotion was mad at for like, you know, 15, 20 minutes, then I get over it. You know, it's a lot different than, you know, when I was playing. would have, I probably would have still been mad, but I was proud of the way they play, how they battle, you know, and congrats to Seattle, man. They earned it,

Zach Klein (02:56)
You talked to anybody post game or once the game ends, kind of go you go a different way.

AD (02:58)
tattoo.

Nah, I ain't wanna bother nobody after that, because I wouldn't be wanting to be bothered after the game, after a loss like that. So I went straight to in the car, going to my flight to get ready to go home. So long flight, you know, so yeah, man, was in, was out, you know, got to see some ball life, you know, got to relive some excitement for me being back on the sidelines, you know, caught myself praying, you know, when Seattle came out, I'm like.

I wanted to go out to hit somebody. I started about to drool, man. know, hands, palms were sweaty. I started to have the butterflies in my stomach, man. So it felt good though. It was a good experience for me, Had opportunity to do that and relive that a little bit. Cause I ain't get the experience that since what, 20, 23, 24 season. We played Detroit in Detroit and I played all game. So that was my first time being able to, you know, be on the sideline with the guys and get them emotions back. So it felt good. It felt real good.

TF (03:51)
Did you get that guy who heckles everybody? Did you see him above it?

AD (03:54)
I seen him, so I was walking and

he seen me, said, respect, you're great. And I gave him a fist pump, So I did see him, I did see him and he showed some love. He said he showed some love, so it was good, man. Did y'all

the game though?

Did you watch the game? What y'all thought about it?

Zach Klein (04:07)
yeah, I watched the game.

Donald continues to impress me. think the entire nation's finally seen what he's been able to do all year long. mean, they were at number one seed for a reason. Nobody kind of puts respect on their name. They just win and win. And ⁓ Jigba, man, mean, this guy...

AD (04:24)
Oh my,

that was crazy. But they did a great job with moving him around and getting him masked up when they lose him. I'm like, why is this guy by himself? Or why he got one-on-one coverage? But they would just move him in the backfield, motion on one side into a slot. They had a great gang plan to get this guy some matchups and they took advantage of it, Kudos to him.

Like, I was mad at him that day, but golly, that kid's pretty good, man. He's a really good football player. He was one of the main pieces to that team, you know, getting it done that day. So, yeah, man, that was... He won. He managed the game. He did make mistakes. You know, I think they sacked him about three times. I know it was a bad snap where he fumbled, but he got back on the ball thing. He didn't look rattled. He played with confidence. He made good throws. He managed the game well, so...

Zach Klein (04:56)
What did Darnold do to earn your respect?

AD (05:12)
⁓ You know, that's what you need, you know, to be able to get to that point, you need your quarterback to play like that and you need your defense to be playing lights out like they did. So, you know, it's going to be a good game with that Patriots and that Seattle game. I think in the Super Bowl, I don't know who I would, if I was a better man, I don't know who I'd put my money on, you know. I think the Patriots from, you know, start to where they at today, been playing consistent football.

they're around the football team, but again, Seattle's around the football team. And I think if you go Patriots defense and Seattle defense, I know Patriots got a really good defense, but I think that Seattle defense is just different. I think they just different. They got the front seven, they got that back end, they got them corners that can cover really well. So it's gonna be a tough game. It's gonna be a game to watch for sure.

Zach Klein (05:53)
AD, the quarterback on their side, you mentioned him a little bit ago, Stafford. I think he became the first quarterback ever in the playoffs to throw for over 350 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and lose. What's he going through right now?

AD (06:06)
The thing,

I know it's tough, cause he played lights out, man. And I always say it like this, man. As long as you got that guy on the field, you got an opportunity to get it done. know, all you gotta do is give him an opportunity. I think it came down with 26 seconds. know he threw the ball, the puka, got another one, he just couldn't get out. It would have given him one more shot. You never know what can happen, man. But he's a special, special talent. be year 17, I had a year he had, MVP caliber season, all pro season.

get his team to the NFC championship, man. I just texted him yesterday and I just told him, man, hell of a game, hell of a season. And I'm proud of him because, you know, the battle and, you know, the head of season they had and with that young team, you know, it was fun to watch now as a Rams fan on the sidelines. It was fun to watch them guys work, watch him work. And, you know, if you ask me, come honors, he'll probably, you know, be holding the MVP trophy.

this year, so ⁓ he earned it. He put the body at work and I know it ain't the thing he wanted, know, obviously trying to get another Super Bowl, but you got to take all your little wins too, right? So I'm proud of them guys. I'm proud of him and how he played, man. But golly, man, I know a lot of people always saying, is Matthew Stafford a Hall of Fame quarterback? I think he kind of, you know, he answered that question with, you know, close your mouth and just watch, put the film on, you know, and let his gang speak. And he did that, so.

Zach Klein (07:26)
So you wanna break some news for us? Did it hit you back on the text thread and pull an MJ with just two words saying, I'm back?

AD (07:26)
He did.

I know he didn;t but I think if you ask me, the way he played this year, MVP type season, I think he got one more left. I ain't telling me nothing, but if I had to assume, I think he'd come back for another season. But that's his decision to make, right? We're going to see. Only time will tell. Only time will tell.

Zach Klein (07:48)
He was asking

you for advice on what to do. What would you tell him? And what do you need to know? Is it the body that goes first? Is it the mind? What told you you needed to go?

AD (07:51)
Okay, give them...

Well, it was the passion. I didn't want to play football no more. I didn't have the urge to want to play football no more. I didn't have the urge to want to train all year round. Right. And I think if you lose that, like you can still go out there and trying to play, but it's a disservice to what football was able to do for you and put you in a certain position, which you was able to accomplish from the game. It's just got there and half ass. Right. So I was never, I wasn't raised to, you know, do anything half ass. Right. My dad,

I'm in the gym and if I'm half-assed, say, if you ain't gonna do it right, don't do it at all, right? So I put everything into football, right? I know he do. And if he still got that fire to wanna play, wanna go out there, you know, come back, right? But if that fire's down and you're like, I don't know, man. I don't think I wanna come back and do camp and go through 17 games again and OTAs and all this and that, then don't do it. But if the fire's still there to wanna do that, you got the urge to wanna go out there and compete still at a high level, hey.

And come back, man. I love to watch you keep playing. But that was my decision, right? There was a lot of other things that took place in my decision as well. overall, I think it came down to me just, you and I was tired of getting double and triple team every single play. Every time you say hut, I feel like I got two or three guys blocking me, Football no longer became fun to me. So you lose that and you lose the urge to want to, you

train and go through that long season, all the ups and downs that come with it. It was time to walk away from me. And if that's decision to make, man, we're gonna see though. So.

Zach Klein (09:27)
that the hardest part? It ⁓ seems like the games in that August through January, whatever, AD, that'd be like the fun part. That's the easy part, right? But it's kind of February through August, that's the grind. That's where the good become great. And if you're not willing to put in the time during those months, that's when you kind of know, like, all right, I got to bail.

AD (09:44)
Yeah, because you got to think the off season, you got OTAs, you got camp, and you got the regular season. But you got to think all that prepare you for the ultimate goal is to be in the Super Bowl, right? So all the ups and downs that go in, all the, I don't like how I play. I mean, studying FEM, I got to be better here. I got to be better there. Like you approve, you study yourself, you study your opponent and you get yourself to a certain point. So.

come down to the opportunity to be at the biggest stage, you take advantage of it and you prepared and you ready for it, right? So if you even got the urge to want to put the work in, don't do it at all, right? So, and I always say, man, football been too good to me. I accomplished way too many great things that I dreamed of and surpassed anything I dreamed of from football. So I couldn't disrespect the football gods just going out there for a check, right? You gotta have a fire, man. You gotta have a fire to want to do it and want to put the work in.

Zach Klein (10:32)
For sure, for sure.

AD (10:37)
because that's what made me the player who I was. So if I do that, then what am I doing it for? I ain't gonna be the same guy. I won't be the same guy production wise probably. So, you know, a lot of people say, why, man? You still young, you still look good. You still in shape. But you know, my chapter, my chapter there is closed. I'm going to the next chapter now.

TF (10:56)
the level you play at. Your self-expectation is to be the best of the best. So to be just good was still not, that would have been a failure to you. You had to do it at that highest of highest of levels and it takes everything in your power to be that good. So if it's not there, you can't do it.

AD (11:00)
Yes.

I do nothing to be average. That's what people understand. The emotions that come with football, right? It's like the highs, the lows, the good games, the bad games, the studying. Then you don't understand, people don't understand what's going on behind the scenes as you get older, taking care of your body. There's so much I had to do to even get to them games to be able to. I'm a guy that's always working, right? So there's so much to go

I had these conversations with Todd, you know, leading up to that last year when we decided to get the contract stuff situated. And let's do a two year commitment. I'm fully committed to this organization to try to get me another Super Bowl, bring another Super Bowl to the Rams. And these two years, obviously, we wanted to put the third year in there just in case it was opportunity for me to come back. If I chose to come back, had to make sense, right? And we got to that number that I wanted.

Obviously, Todd, my great agent, did a great job with that third year if I chose to come back. But I was full, man. I was complete from the game. As much as I would have loved to come back and play and get that money, I just didn't want to, man. I didn't have it in me to go out there and do that again. Like I said, I never did it for money. Just doing a version, working my ass off.

A lot of things came from from accomplishments and financial support for me and my family that I would have never thought as a kid that it would have came full circle like it did. like my dad say, man, hard work. A lot of hard work came into it and God leave was it one hell of a ride for me. So 10 years, 10 flawless 10 years, consistent football every single year of working my behind off to accomplish what I was able to accomplish.

get to a certain point to be discussed, not with just great defensive tackles, but great defensive players overall, right? And it's like, I would have never dreamed that. You know,

Zach Klein (12:58)
Go man, come on AD, don't be humble man, you're the G.

TF (13:00)
I love that line, AD, I do nothing, nothing to be average, you know, and I follow that same mantra, you know, in what I do as well. And know Zach feels the same way with what he does. So yeah, I'm with you on that.

AD (13:03)
Nothing.

Hard work, hard work always pays off. There you go, there you go.

Zach Klein (13:11)
it was easy, everybody would do it right. That's for sure.

Todd, how does it work now? How long does Matthew Stafford have to decide his future fate? And does he need to turn anything official into the league and say, I'm done? How does that work when one decides to may or may not retire?

TF (13:28)
No, there's nothing he has to do to turn in ⁓ official notice or anything like that. mean, really, it's just a matter of more communication to your team. So they're prepared to figure out what to do if in fact, you're not going to be there. You know, do they want to trade for someone? Do they need to do something in the draft differently than they might already do? I mean, he's obviously an older quarterback, so I'm sure draft and free agency are already in their mind as well, you know, no matter what. But I think just from a roster standpoint, I think it'd be the sooner the better for the club to know just

AD (13:36)
Mm-hmm.

TF (13:56)
they can prepare and make sure that they have the best roster moving

AD (13:59)
Zach, you with the Rams and what type of questions are you asking Sean and our organization about Matthew Stafford and them type of conversations?

Zach Klein (14:06)
Did

you see AD? Someone did ask Sean and Stafford after the game and you know, Sean McVeigh said, yeah, of course I'd want him back. What kind of question is that? Yeah, you listen, it's all about tone. It's I mean, you can't win this league without a quarterback, so it's time and

AD (14:15)
Well, that's obvious. That's obvious. I just want to know from your point of view, yeah.

100%.

Zach Klein (14:24)
Yeah, that's the question, right? What is the plan at quarterback? When do you need a timeline from Matthew Stafford? How long will you be evaluating? I know you have a first round pick from the Atlanta Falcons. Is that something you considered taking in this year's draft? The quarterback, when you start preparing for the future, I know you have Stetson Bennett on the roster.

AD (14:31)
Yeah.

Zach Klein (14:39)
did okay when he was in garbage time. He's always been your number third quarterback. What's the future there? So it starts with that. That's what I would want to know. I don't care about anything else on the roster, AD. I want to know what's going on with the quarterback. And to Todd's point, the sooner he can start communicating that with the team, because you only have certain number of spots at the combine where you can do interviews, right? Or you can waste one of those, not waste, but you can take advantage of one of those spots to talk to a Ty Simpson. Maybe take advantage.

AD (14:54)
Yeah, better.

Mm-hmm.

Zach Klein (15:05)
and pick him later in the first round. it starts with that position. It always will be with that position. But going back to Todd's point, AD, you got to find out what's going on with the quarterback and have honest communication with him.

TF (15:13)
If I'm the

If I'm the team, I'm also there's a fine line though, in terms of the communication and wanting to know ASAP because no good decisions ever come out of emotion. and you know, after an exhausting long season and a disappointing loss, you know, your answer today might be different than your answer tomorrow. So give it, give it a little time, give it a chance to breathe, know what's a topic that has to be addressed, plant the seed, revisit it down the road. In the meantime, you know, the Rams will plan for all scenarios. I'm sure never going to be caught.

AD (15:26)
Like I said, we gotta let,

Correct. Correct.

TF (15:44)
you know, with the pants down, so to speak, to where they're not prepared to know, you know, if option A happens, they got this plan. If the option B happens, they have this plan. They have option A, B, C planned out already. And they're aware of that. And they have a plan going forward. They're a very well-run organization, a great front office. There's no question in my mind that they're prepared no matter what. ⁓ And you got to be prepared also for a player who says yes, and then maybe later changes his mind too. no matter what, the quarterback has got to be on the table for them moving forward at some point, sooner versus later, one way or another.

AD (15:58)
Mm-hmm.

TF (16:13)
it's in their playbook for sure

Zach Klein (16:15)
to Todd says the emotion has to wear off. You can't make a sudden, drastic, life-changing decision one way the other based on emotion. So when you closed out the season,  long did it take you, how long could one expect it to take Matthew Stafford to kind of calm down, gather your thoughts and think clearly with the emotion of the disappointment set aside?

AD (16:36)
I don't know, everybody's different. For me, I kind of knew leading up to the whole season, that was going to be my last year, right? And so, as soon as the game was over, as soon as Sean seen me walking into the locker room after that Detroit game, he was like, that's it. I'm like, that's it, right? And everybody knew, you know, I didn't want to make a scene over and talk to the media about it, right? It ain't about me right now. So, you know, people that knew, knew. And obviously, the day after we in the locker room, know, everybody had cleaned my whole locker out.

was there, talked to everybody around the building. A lot of tears were shed talking about the, from the rookie year to where we at now and the whole journey, man. So my situation was different. But Matthew, he got time, Season just ended, right? Sleep on it, think about it, talk to his family about it, make a decision with him, his wife, and see what best fit him and what he wanna do. So it's not an easy process to do.

Not an easy decision. Definitely when you've been playing 17 season. And like I said, having a season how you had this year, MVP this year, if you ask me, I think he will be the MVP. So it'll be hard to walk away. I think he's still got some stuff left that he want to do and accomplish and with this team. And we're going to see. We're going to see though. But he got time. He got some time.

Zach Klein (17:46)
I saw this with Sam Darnold and the incentives in his contract. A half a million dollars for throwing over for 4000 yards, a half a million for completion percentage over 67.5%, half a million to lead Seattle to a top 10 offense, a half a million to make the playoffs, a half a million to go to the divisional round, another half million to win a conference championship, and then there's a million dollars on the line to win a Super Bowl. Do you think these incentives will be more and more involved in players?

and especially beyond the quarterback position, Todd, I know you represent one of the best kickers in the NFL and your guy in Dallas that you could put in future contracts. Hey, if you make 20 PATs in a row, you're good. If you connect on 50 yard field goals, we'll give you a bonus. How realistic do you think it is for more incentives to be placed more into these contracts?

TF (18:26)
Ahem.

Well, I you got to understand the incentives to begin with, right? I mean.

You really want the contract to be in real money and hard dollars in your base of your contract and guarantee the incentives you want not to be the meat and potatoes. You just want that to be the gravy or the cherry or the little nuts that you drizzle on a Sunday. Yeah. I mean, the reality is when you're making a player, ideally the highest paid player in the history of the NFL or in the at their position, whatever it may be, or a very highly compensated player, the incentives

AD (18:41)
Yeah, yeah.

Just a little extra.

TF (19:02)
The whole contract's an incentive. you're not, it's like saying, hey, I want my guy to be the highest paid, you know, quarterback. And we need a Pro Bowl incentive in there. If I'm a team, I'm looking at you and being like, the whole contract's a Pro Bowl. If you don't make a Pro Bowl, the contract's a disaster because we're paying you the highest paid at the position. When Sam, again, I'm not saying his contract was good, bad, indifferent. I have nothing to talk about that. I wasn't in the situation. But you know, he did a three year deal at the time. The market was the market, whatever he could get, I assume.

AD (19:10)
Yeah.

We expect that. Yeah.

TF (19:31)
And at the time he was probably about the 20th highest paid, I think when he got the contract. And it was in the, what was it, averaging around 33 a year or something like that. So he wasn't getting a $40 million a year that say Daniel Jones got on his four year deal that same off season, maybe even a week before Sam Darnold got his deal. He wasn't getting what the 50 and 45, 50, 55, whatever the numbers were at the time that all those guys were getting. So how do you bridge that gap? You bridge that gap by saying, all right, well, let me put in any incentives I

possibly can get through to the team and albeit at the time you're doing them, they're high level, right? I mean, they're very high level. A million dollars for the Super Bowl is not something I would look at my player when I did his contract and say, this is, you're going to get this million. Like, yeah, it's there and you always put it in if you can, because here we are and he has a chance to actually earn it. But put it in as many incentives as you possibly can to show that your player, if he hits those levels and all those different benchmarks that he can earn extra money and layer it on top. But at the end of the day, as an agent, that's just sort of that.

the extra and the after the fact. mean, that is not the focus of any contract that I'm going to be doing. The focus on every contract I'm going to do is real dollars that if my player dresses, my player is playing and he's playing on that team, whether he plays unbelievable or he stinks, he's getting the money. And that's it. Now, again, if there's a huge gap and we're in a situation where we have to do a deal with that team and there's no other options, well then yeah, I'm going to try to bridge that gap as much as I can through some sort of performance type based incentives for sure.

AD (20:40)
Mm-hmm.

Zach Klein (20:58)
I

know there's or NFL teams rather that listen to this podcast. know GMs are fascinated to every word one Todd France from athletes first divulges on the Inner Circle podcast. So you might not want to get into this, but let's just say you have a guy out there and you know his market value is 10 million and you can get him 10 million you feel good the team reaches 10 million. Does one Todd France guy let me let me have some fun here. Let me see if can get

more incentives to the deal, even though I feel comfortable with the base and everything he's earned. Let me see if I can get another half a million, million and a half dollars spread out in this contract. And instead of knowing that I've already feel comfortable with that yearly rate that we got our guy. I guess what's the downside for asking for?

TF (21:37)
Yeah, look,

there's never a downside. There's never enough. I but I would probably argue I'd be trying to get more money again in the base cash and or in guarantees and or money upfront or cash flow or a better structure or whatever it is before I start worrying about adding the extra flavor, if you will, to the deal. But again, sure.

Zach Klein (21:43)
Hahaha.

Gotcha.

It's just sexy. It's

just people like talking about those things.

TF (21:59)
Yeah, sure. And you can't, it can't hurt, but I just, I don't want to oversell it to someone as if it's real dollars because it's just not real dollars. mean, there's things you have to do in order to get it. and so while it's nice to have just in case it's not something you want to sell the player to

AD (22:13)
Yeah.

TF (22:15)
Yeah, don't forget about it, but you still got to do A, B, and C to get it, right? So it's kind of an afterthought, if you

AD (22:16)
That's just a bonus. Yeah. That's just a bonus.

Zach Klein (22:23)
What's the week before the Super Bowl like, AD, in terms of wanting your body to rest, preparing for the opponent, worrying about tickets? Walk me through what the week like was for you when you played in your two Super Bowls.

AD (22:36)
Well, the first one was a lot different than the second one because we were just coming off COVID. So we didn't have to really do like the team stuff, the media in person. A lot of stuff was over Zoom. So that was a lot better. But the first one, was, it felt like it was getting pulled all over the place, right? You got to do your media shoots for, you know, TV, you know, the posing and all that. it's overwhelming. It is a distraction. You got to do a lot of media stuff. You know, you got to do the stuff with the team where all the teams come and you...

You you on the stage, you do this, you do that, then you all sit at podiums, you get interviewed. And it's like, I understand this, the Super Bowl, but you kind of wish it was just be more, you do your media stuff and then it's just football. But it's a lot of other stuff that go into it that can be frustrating, that can be overwhelming, that can kind of throw you off your game if you allow it, right? And I think for some of us, I think a little bit for me, my first Super Bowl did that.

Cause I just be like, man, I just want to play football. why do I gotta talk to this media person? Why do I gotta do this shoot? Why I gotta, come on, man. I'm here to play football, win the game and that's it.

Zach Klein (23:36)
Now you're

sounding like Todd, AD. It's always the media's fault. Blame it on the media, AD. You're sounding like Todd right now.

AD (23:40)
No, I'm just saying it's

just a lot, right? I'm not just saying the media, but I just prefer to just meet like regular season. My day I talk to the media. Yeah, I like that. I'm a structured person, right? And it was so much better my second Super Bowl because I didn't have to be in a hotel all week. You know, we was in LA. We got to stay at the house still. We still training at our facilities. Everything was done on Zoom. So after practice, just going in the room with just me.

Zach Klein (23:47)
Routine structure. Yeah.

AD (24:05)
camera and we just talking to the media, then you done with that, right? And then on the day we stayed at the hotel was the night before the game. So it just, it felt like a regular week for me. So I was like, ⁓ I got to do my normal routine, still be around my family, my kids in the house with me. So I'm comfortable, right? I'm in my normal routine. I'm still got my massages set up. I'm still, you know, around what I need to be around and keep my mind where I need to be the ultimate goal. I come straight to my office in my house, study film all night, right?

So for me it was a lot better, the second one. And then got to play the Super Bowl in my own damn stadium, right? So it was the comfortability part, keeping my same structure, my same structure in my space. For me, I'm more of a guy that's superstructure. I don't like change too much. So it was a lot different, a lot better experience. And obviously, if you can see behind me.

Zach Klein (24:41)
That's who did.

AD (24:57)
I ain't lose, I won one. it was a lot different feeling after the game too. Went from a lot of emotions and down and sad for weeks to, I ain't go to sleep for a week. So it was a whole different experience, man.

Zach Klein (24:57)
Yeah.

TF (25:11)
A.D.

I have the best picture with me and your mom celebrating someone caught and send it to me in the suite during the game with like the oh it was just all the confetti company was just like it was actually one of my favorite pictures and with one of my favorite people your mom who is by far she's like oh my god I wish if we just talked about your mom if we brought Anita on this podcast it would be on.

AD (25:21)
Yeah.

Man.

Yes.

Mama need her. ⁓ You know she watch

Zach Klein (25:35)
We'll get her on one day.

AD (25:36)
the podcast and she gonna be talking about this. She like it that you give her a shout out. What's up mama? She gonna be excited about this one.

Zach Klein (25:39)
Clap it up for Anita everybody, clap it up, clap it up, clap it up, clap it up.

TF (25:41)
Oh, she, she, she, she's the best. I mean, she's

hilarious. I have some of the best stories with her. Oh my God. Remember back in the day at the Pro Bowl, we were talking about Ray Rice. Oh my. None, none, none. She'd be a. Yeah. We're definitely going to get her on for sure.

AD (25:50)
Yes. You know, mama ain't got no, she ain't got no filter neither at all. No filter, no filter. She said how it is. She said how it is. yes,

Zach Klein (25:56)
She will come on the pot. We'll get her on for sure. Right on Mother's Day. Love to get her up.

fantastic.

AD (26:03)
yeah. So, but it was, it's a lot, it was a, it's a lot for sure though. But you know, it just come with it, man. It just come with it.

Zach Klein (26:10)
Yeah,

for sure. As BB King says, you pay the cost to be the boss. That's what it is to play in the Super Bowl. All the other things you got to do, but you wouldn't trade it for the world. Todd, on the other hand, might want to trade where he's been going on the last three or four weeks for a few other things. What year? What? The Senior Bowl right now? Shrine Bowl? you at right now? Senior Bowl. Mobile, Alabama. Todd is holding court right there. You're there for a couple days. What's this week like before the Super Bowl week?

AD (26:14)
Yes.

TF (26:25)
Senior Bowl, yeah, great. Mobile, Alabama. ⁓

Zach Klein (26:35)
What has taken up most of your time? What do you got going on at the senior ball T France? And then how do you transition that into the weekend and then to taking off for San Francisco for the Super

TF (26:44)
I mean, you got a lot of things going on. I you're meeting with players right now. I mean, ⁓ upcoming free agents, you're meeting with guys that want extensions or meeting with guys that might not be happy with their situation. Just talking kind of about their exit meetings from the year and trying to put a plan together for each guy on what we're trying to accomplish this off season. Whether I think we want to try to pursue a trade for one guy, whether we want to try to get a deal done, what's the best plan. So you got all that going on. Then you also got guys that have some postseason medical issues that we're dealing with. And, and, so we're trying to get, you

updated MRIs and trying to determine the best plan of action for some of these guys, whether they're going to go try stem cell or whether they're going to get PRP or whatever. And you got to get it signed off by their existing team because you don't go do things behind the team's back from a medical perspective. They got to know about it. So we want everybody on the same plant, same page. Others were trying to figure out what's the best situation for them. The younger guys, what are they going to do this off season? It's their first off season. What is our plan? You know, what, how are they going to go train on their own? What are they going to do to take care of their body? All that type of stuff.

because obviously it's a new world for them. It's their first NFL offseason. They don't have classes or anything like that from school. So you're dealing with all the existing guys. then senior bowl wise, you're dealing with those that are in the senior bowl from your rookie guys that you signed for this draft process or draft class. You're dealing with their families and updating the families on how the guys are doing every day at practice today or not today, but Tuesday was the first day of practice. And then they have practice Wednesday and Thursday and then walk through Friday, game Saturday.

AD (27:48)
Yeah.

TF (28:08)
And you had the East West this last week, of course Dallas with the terrible weather and their practices and stuff that was indoors. Mobile Alabama's outdoors at University of South Alabama. But long story short, those guys are competing and doing everything every day practice. They're having interviews and meetings with teams at night and in the morning and they're doing locked in, just locked in. The practices are intense and these guys are trying to do the best. Every scout, every GM, head coaches, everybody's here.

Like Jim Nagy said last week, they coined the phrase, the NFL draft starts in Mobile, and it kind of does. And so it starts to get a lot of answers or questions answered here. And that's kind of what goes on. And at the same time, we got the Pro Bowl coming up. And so we're doing a lot of coordination for all the different guys that we have that are getting ready to go to Pro Bowl. And the families and coordinating all their travel. And luckily, I got a great team behind me that has to do all that stuff.

AD (28:54)
You fat mu...

Jules, shout out Jules. Yes.

TF (29:03)
and all and Cam and all them. I if I was

doing something, if I had to coordinate that stuff, my guys would end up in Orlando and I didn't even realize the game was in San Francisco. they don't want me touching that. So they're going to go, they're doing all that. And then we head out to Pro Bowl and we got things going. We have company things going on for all the players at the agency. We want to celebrate them. That's just a great time to able to spend with all the players. And it's a great thing that they got there and accomplished things that they've done to receive that.

Zach Klein (29:09)
hahahaha

AD (29:10)
Yeah

TF (29:31)
recognition. So we're there for that. And this year, the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl are in the same city. So you end up just kind of staying out there for a long time, because during Super Bowl week, everything that's happening right now, and this is not my wheelhouse, but it's the marketing side of the company. I mean, they're out there cranking and building and doing, you know, and different activations with all the NFL sponsors and getting that whole thing locked up. Eventually I'll end up getting a sort of itinerary. So I know which of my players are doing what and where and what day.

AD (29:49)
Mm-hmm.

TF (29:59)
and I'll build out my schedule so I can go spend time at Radio Row with Jameer Gibbs, who's, you know, doing a deal with XYZ company, or I'm going to go be with Dak Prescott when he's doing something for State Farm over here. And I'm going to go spend time with Derek Henry or whatever it is. I try to spread myself out to be with the guys as much as I possibly can, spend time with them. We'll go to dinners. There's events at night. Athletes First has this unbelievable A1 house where we have all these things going on throughout the week. So I'm ripping and running all sorts of different directions from Pro Bowl to Super Bowl stuff.

Come Super Bowl Sunday, I'm out first thing smoking.

Zach Klein (30:31)
You

TF (30:31)
Get

back to back to Atlanta. I'll never forget that one year. I Atlanta was actually in the Super Bowl and I was I was leaving Sunday morning and all these people from Atlanta were arriving and I knew a bunch of people I guess at the airport and they're like, Todd, where are you? What are you doing here? I'm like I'm going there like but the Super Bowl is today. I'm like yeah, no, my work's done. You know, I I'd rather I'd rather watch that game at home. You know, plus the players, you know the players, you know, have to pay for that. They get these tickets and you know they're they're expensive and you know Aaron Donald. Yeah, I don't care if he buys me a ticket. He's making a gazillion.

AD (30:50)
You

Mm-hmm.

TF (31:00)
He can give me that tick now. I probably own for that one, too I shouldn't I shouldn't bring that up. It's checks and checks in the mail ad ⁓ But you know the guys have family and all that stuff So I and I love to get back and I love to watch the game and obviously sometimes if it makes sense And there's a client in the game, know stay for the game But love to fly back and then watch it with the family and it culminates the whole season and everything that's been going on So season no season there's no such thing as an offseason other than the fact that the guys aren't physically playing It's just constant. It's ongoing and you know, you know get a brief

AD (31:02)
No, dog. No, you good.

Zach Klein (31:04)
Yeah.

Yeah.

AD (31:25)
I was about to say...

TF (31:30)
break and before you know it you're at the damn combine and you're preparing for free agency and yeah it yeah yeah

AD (31:33)
I was about to just say that as soon as you done with that, go straight to the combine and then OTAs and then you

still like, ain't no break. Damn, that's crazy, Todd.

TF (31:40)
No, and we're still finishing contracts for all these NIL

guys and the Portal guys. So there's just, it's a lot and it's good, but I have a great team around me. I'm not like a one-man band. You know, I am what makes me great. There's the people around me and I surround myself with great people and great team and we're a well-oiled machine and everyone knows what they do and to do the best. But you have to treat every player as an individual because there's not a cookie cutter process to this. Every player is different. Every situation is different. Every need that they have is different. Some want more communication, less communication. Sometimes families are involved, players, you know, want to not have families involved.

AD (31:47)
Yeah, the team is everything. Mm-hmm.

TF (32:10)
Sometimes they're married, sometimes they're not. There's just a lot of moving variables and you got to play the game and understand how to do it all and I've done it for a long time so it's kind of easy and it just works and so I love it. Obviously I have passion, I talk a million miles an hour but that's just kind of how I operate and how I roll. Yeah, that's how my mind goes.

AD (32:24)
You're like... Yeah, that was...

Zach Klein (32:24)
Yeah, well you're going.

Listen,

you're going from by the you get up to time, you late in the afternoon, early evening, you are just nonstop. You are on, you are going. So the question is this, because I know you and I know you prefer to be in bed by about nine o'clock San Francisco time because you've been going all day. If A.D. and I are to go to San Francisco and through your sources, you're going to get us into the party at night. What's the one event?

Todd France can hook up Zach Klein and Aaron Donald to go have a good time in Super Bowl week. Is it still like the Maxim party, Super Bowl or a Playboy party? All the same?

TF (33:01)
All the same. It's all the same. It's all the same parties.

Yeah. It's a whether it's Playboy, Maxim, EA. I mean, all the different brands are doing it. And I stay up, believe it or not. I stay up. there's music. Yes, I can. If there's music and whatever I can do it. I mean, I, it's not easy. I'm not going to lie. There was, there was one time I was at a place. I forget where it was. was LA. And I was with Dak and some other guys and like Future and Drake and they were there and Drake had like taken his phone, I think, and maybe put it, connected it to the DJ.

Zach Klein (33:10)
No.

AD (33:16)
He... Yeah.

Zach Klein (33:17)
Yeah.

TF (33:30)
halfway

asleep, but like he came over to the table to talk to Dak. I literally was like, I vaguely even remembered I was so like in and out of it, but like it's 3 a.m. our time at midnight, right? So like it was, it was an easy, yeah. They're just, yeah, 100%. Yeah, exactly right. Because I gotta go, you guys might, some guys might be able to sleep in. I gotta go crank it back in them.

Zach Klein (33:40)
They're just warming up.

AD (33:42)
You was hanging, but you was a little out of it. Like, you look a little tipsy. Like, I ain't drink, I'm just sleepy.

Zach Klein (33:49)
Yeah

AD (33:52)
You gotta work at them.

Yeah, exactly.

TF (33:54)
in

the morning, yeah. So I may or may not go to the bathroom and may or may never come back. ⁓ But don't look for me, I can handle myself. So I'm good, don't worry about it.

AD (33:59)
Yeah

You I know I tried

to force a couple of drinks on you before. You're like, you threw it over your shoulder though.

TF (34:07)
AD is a bad, bad, bad,

bad influence. This dude, remember AD when we did, I used to do a football camp in Atlanta for like 12 years straight. I mean, we put it on for like 50, 60 of my players, fly them all into Atlanta four days. We did it for free for kids and then it called.

AD (34:15)
Every, yup, every year, yup, yes.

Duh.

We just look forward to that.

TF (34:24)
It culminated in the end with a celebrity waiter and waitress event. And then the next night we just did a sort of a player event. And I purposely, it was at the end of June. And I literally, the party was from like seven to 11. And like, and I shut like, at 11 o'clock, was like, to like, it was at Del Frisco. So was like, turn the AC off. It's the only way I'm gonna get these dudes out of there, right? Because it's gotta get hot, right? And by the way, I learned from the years before.

AD (34:43)
You

Zach Klein (34:44)
Hahaha

TF (34:49)
all the nice bottles, put them away. Do not put, because we're all, you can't have them sitting out there and then they say, no, you only get kettle one when these guys are gonna want, you know, whatever else it might be, especially a person named Aaron Donald after a cocktail or two at that time. And so, and then the last thing, yeah, that's what he does right there is he grabs me.

AD (34:51)
You

huh.

Give me the bottle.

TF (35:08)
And then he wants to put me in the old AD headlock, which in his thing is like love and a way to hug me, but he's literally hurting me. And then he takes the bottle and then it's like, he wants to pour it down my throat. And there's two issues I have. Number one, I don't want to consume that alcohol. But the second thing is, is I've just saw how many people were drinking out of that bottle. This germaphobe wants nothing to do with that. Like do not put that bottle on, get some alcohol, rub the alcohol around that thing, maybe a clean bottle. I do not want my lips on this.

AD (35:13)
Love.

He's a germaphobe.

TF (35:38)
think these guys have been just like...

AD (35:40)
No, you got

a waterfall. You got a waterfall.

TF (35:42)
No, that's why I could

never play in the NFL. I could never do that thing where they take the hose and they put it in everyone's mouth. I was like, I need my own separate one. Thank you. And my own separate shower stall and all that. But yeah, AD is not a, ⁓ that was just one of the times, believe me. As long as there's a plant or something nearby that I can turn and do the old spit in, you know, to get rid of whatever I put down my mind. And the players are laughing so hard when they think I'm drinking. So they're they're laughing and turning. They're not even paying attention. And I'm out there just completely, I'm getting rid of

Zach Klein (35:43)
Hahaha

AD (35:47)
⁓ man. Good times, man. Good times. Good times.

Yeah, again.

We got him. We gonna get him tipsy

TF (36:10)
Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly.

AD (36:10)
tonight. ⁓ man.

TF (36:13)
That Waffle House food truck was outside waiting for you AD, remember that? Hell yeah. Yep, and then they want me to go out. Yeah, then they want me go out with them, Zach, and they only want me, not because of me, they just want the black card. And that's why Todd dips out and says, Todd's not going out because I'm not getting stiffed. It's like a rookie dinner. Go to the dinner, but don't go to the after party because you're gonna lose a lot more money. I was like, I'm good, I'm gonna go home.

Zach Klein (36:14)
⁓

AD (36:16)
Yes, yes, yup, yes I do. Me and my brothers, we look forward to that every off season. We looking forward to that.

You

TF (36:38)
So yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.

AD (36:40)
Good times,

Zach Klein (36:40)
All right, AD,

I'm saying we go to San Francisco, you put him in a headlock, I grab the black card and it's on. That's what's gonna happen.

AD (36:41)
good times.

TF (36:45)
Yeah, exactly.

AD (36:45)
How about we just

get him a nice drink? I'm little older now, a little bit more mature. We're gonna just get a nice cocktail. We're gonna sip, maybe get a shot, our own glass and just throw one back and, you know, cheers. That's it. Let's do it like that. The old AD, the young, I was still, know, couple probably a year or two removed from college. I was still, you know, hard work, but you work hard, you play hard. was, yeah, you know, so a little different now, a little different now, so.

TF (36:49)
Yeah.

Yeah, I'll do that. I'll do that with you all night. That'd be fun.

Zach Klein (37:10)
You lived it.

TF (37:11)
It was a hard week,

man. You were out there with the kids, you know, six, 700 kids and you know, from eight to noon for, ⁓ hot in Atlanta. Yeah. It was fun. It was great.

AD (37:15)
Yeah, it was fun though. I used to love that though. think first couple years in the

Zach Klein (37:16)
Hot Atlanta in the summer for sure. Yeah.

AD (37:22)
league, we enjoyed it. Me and my brother was like, we going to Atlanta this year? I'm like, yeah, we going to the, Ty got the part, we there. Used to look forward to that, man, for sure.

Zach Klein (37:23)
We gotta bring that back. You did a fantastic job with that.

TF (37:26)
Hell yeah.

⁓ yeah,

every year, every year.

Zach Klein (37:32)
Let's wrap things up, Todd. You mentioned the Pro Bowl that you'll be out there, how it coincides with the Super Bowl, same week, same location. So maybe you could say hi to Shadour Sanders for us, huh? More interceptions than touchdowns, ranked 41st in passer rating out of 42 eligible quarterbacks. He ⁓ finished on a losing team with a losing record through for 1,400 yards, seven TDs, but he's going to the Pro Bowl.

AD (37:56)
happy for him, man. I'm happy for him. First year.

Zach Klein (37:58)
Is Shandor Sanders

really a pro bowler AD? Come on.

AD (38:01)
It obviously is, it's his title now. It don't matter what nobody say, he got it, right? He accomplished it. But I would, yeah.

TF (38:06)
What?

Listen, there's alternates and there's alternates for

the alternates and alternates for the alternates and things happen. I he probably does have a, I mean, I'm not going to get into it all. He's not my guy. don't know. I assume, you know, there's one third of the votes come from the fans. I bet he had a bunch of fan votes. He's a very polarizing name. So they're probably, I mean, the fact that you even bring it up, people are going to talk about it. So it's probably a good thing. And if otherwise, I don't know. I just know that, you know, pro-ball wise, just, guys get elected and nominated, whatever. And then there's a lot of guys that can't go like a Drake man.

AD (38:21)
Yeah.

TF (38:36)
and others that can't go and they start backfilling whether guys are injured or just don't want to go or have a contract coming up so they don't want to risk getting hurt or whatever it might be. Sometimes you end up a little deeper at a certain position in terms of grabbing a guy to be in it.

Zach Klein (38:50)
I'm not throwing shade at the young man. not saying like yeah I for sure that's what it is.

AD (38:50)
But I will say this, no, it's a hell of an accomplishment, right? But it's an all-star, but I will say this, you know,

it's an all-star game, right? You happy to accomplish it, you're happy to be a part of that, but you obviously, you still young too. The next goal is, you you want to be the all-pro. Why? Because there's only one or two of those guys, you know, one for every single position. got obviously two 4D tackles, you got two D tackles, but as a quarterback, there's one of those guys, so.

You know, that's the next goal. That's what you shoot for, you know? Cause I know as a rookie, I came and I'm like, I'm a pro baller. I just assumed that I was going to be an all pro. And they're like, no, all pro is different. And I was like, oh, I'm happy with the I'm happy with the pro baller, but I want to be an all pro. There's only one of those. I want to be that guy. I want to be the top dog. you know, everybody, it steps to it. You know, you got to work for it. That's all.

TF (39:36)
And there's and there's truly no rhyme or reason. Honestly, I mean, you could look at Derek Henry, who's second in the league in rushing. James Cook is first and Bijon is third and Bijon is first team all pro. Cook is second team all pro and Derek's neither. So how does that happen? mean, Josh Allen won MVP a year or two. Last year, I think it wasn't. He was second team all pro, second team all pro. How does that

AD (39:51)
Mm.

TF (39:58)
to be honest with you.

Zach Klein (39:58)
it to your point, it's an all

star game. It's for the fans are not competing. They're playing seven on seven. They're running through hoops. They're catching punts. They're enjoying and putting on a show for the fans. It's like the NBA All-Star game in basketball when the final score is 211 to 205. They're just putting on an offensive show. on your resume, it says All-Star. On your resume, it says Pro Bowler. And at the end, know, 10 year Chameleon, you're looking at 80, a 10 time Pro Bowl. You're like, holy shit, man, he was one of them.

TF (40:07)
Sure.

Zach Klein (40:26)
So that's, guess, how you need to look at it through the context of what it is. The Pro Bowl and the All-Pro are two totally different things. And AD, in your world, in your space, Todd, it's about being an All-Pro.

AD (40:32)
Mm-hmm.

Yes.

TF (40:39)
I mean,

Zach Klein (40:39)
the best of the best. Because everything else is for the fans.

AD (40:41)
Yes. It's one of

TF (40:39)
yeah, for sure.

Zach Klein (40:42)
ADT France, as always, we appreciate your time. Safe travels, Todd, to wherever you're going to go. Back to Atlanta, out to the West Coast, to San Francisco for the Super Bowl AD. I know we'll talk next week as we get ready for the Super Bowl. Hard to believe, but Seahawks and Patriots for the best of the best in 2025 football season. Much love, guys. Talk soon. Thanks for everybody hanging out on the Inner Circle Podcast. We'll see you next week.

AD (40:55)
Yes.