Quotes About NFL

Being from the same umbrella as Jay-Z, I'm not political, but I'm sure whatever he's going to do with the NFL, he's going to branch out and open more doors for other players and for us to get a better understanding of the NFL.

I've been overlooked, praised, questioned, lauded, labeled, celebrated, and derided - sometimes all in the span of a single week. That's life in the NFL.

Ever since I was a kid, I knew I could play in the NFL because I had a knack for the game. But I can't play this game forever. When I'm finished, maybe I'll become a motivational speaker, maybe a preacher. But children need to know that life may be hard, but you can always overcome.

There's no time in the NFL, especially as a specialist, to pat yourself on the back. It's a week-to-week, game-to-game, kick-to-kick kind of job.

As much as I enjoy TV, I've always loved radio. And I love doing the NFL games, the Monday night games, on radio. Because you are the game. I really enjoyed calling basketball and hockey on the radio, but the presentation is more specific - you're talking all the time.

When you get into these NFL rushers - the power, the speed, the bull rush, and all those kind of things - it's just different than college football.

The demands of excellent NFL quarterbacking I always said took every piece of me, emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually. It was like it just took it all, and I think that was what was so energizing about it and unreplicable.

Maybe I'm just getting old, but I remember when your average NFL player would come to the sideline, spit out three bicuspids, Scotch-tape his humerus together and get back out there.

I joined forces with the American Cancer Society in 2010 as a spokesperson for the N.F.L.'s 'A Crucial Catch' campaign, which benefits the American Cancer Society. This was important to me because I lost my mother to breast cancer, and I have always felt a strong commitment to doing all I can to fight this disease.

I'm always hesitant to make any serious moves because you never know how the N.F.L. will treat you, you know?

I remember I wanted to be an athlete. I wanted to be in the NFL or NBA or something, and I don't think I dreamed of being a benchwarmer. I'm sure I wanted to be the best. But I didn't really ever think I was going to be a famous musician.

I think that, in all of my time, I got just one fan letter, from an NFL fullback named Darian Barnes. NFL players might not have enough time for my books.

As a former NFL player, I am one American who will have nothing to do with any NFL Team that cannot find the corporate courage to stand for the millions of courageous past great Americans whose sacrifice gave meaning to our flag and national anthem and to the millions upon millions who still dream to come to its free shores.

The 49ers drafted me assuming I wanted to play more than one year. At the time, I did, too. Things changed. They didn't deserve to be undercut. And I didn't want that to happen.

Justin Smith was one of the most underrated players in the NFL for what he did. He would sacrifice and do the dirty work, then someone else would clean up off it.

As I learn more and more about the six-year extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, it's obvious to me that NFL owners understood that they were going to get a new deal done at all costs.

What shocked me, and what I wasn't prepared for, was just how brutal and how unethical some people can be in the NFL. I mean, there were some great people, but there were some real snakes, too. I was like, 'Holy cow!' But it made me a better person, and it got me ready for other things.

Americans' addiction to sports, with the NFL at the top, is based on the excitement generated by the potential for the unexpected great play which can only happen with honest competition from great athletes.

The week of the Super Bowl takes on a carnival atmosphere. There are so many media commitments. There are so many NFL commitments, buses being shuttled from here to there. You are practicing at unfamiliar places. You are asked to do things that are outside of the norm of your typical game week.

We in the NFL unquestionably are in sports and competition, but we're also in entertainment, and that's the entertainment capital of the world. It just bowls you over when you see the opportunity in L.A.

As a sports fan, I like the one-and-done playoff setups of the NFL and NCAA, but a best-of-seven gives the favorite a much better chance of prevailing in the end.

In the NFL, there's never really that moment where you're like, Hey, I made the team. Or: Hey, you made the practice squad. You just kind of show up the next day and go to work. Nobody really says anything. You just kind of go to work.

One cheerleader per season per NFL squad is chosen to attend the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. All season long, the cheerleaders speculate about who will be chosen.

Only 7 percent of NFL fans have ever been inside an NFL stadium.