darrelle revis datingAs all of you know, I’m a tortured Jets fan. It’s the curse of my father. My brother and I have talked about it so many times. My father, thinking he was a rebel back in the early 60’s. Instead of rooting for the Giants, he decided to root for the upstart New York Titans.

The Titans became the Jets. The Jets became Joe Namath’s Jets. And the curse of Joe Namath lives. The New York Jets have never had a good quarterback, including Namath. If you look at Namath’s hall of fame stats, they’re of a mediocre quarterback.

The man had 50 more interceptions than he had touchdowns. The reason he lives on in America’s memory as exceptional is because he correctly predicted the AFL could beat the NFL’s powerhouse, the Colts. Combine that prediction with his good looks and charisma and he’s a shoe in for the hall of fame.

Joe Namath lives on in a man called Darrelle Revis. Darrelle Revis has basically held the Jets hostage with a guaranteed contract of over $40M. The contract itself is worth $70M.  If Darrelle Revis plays out his entire contract, he will have made over $155M in football.  Want to know how Revis became the modern Frank Sinatra of Football?

Authenticity

If you look at the way Darrelle Revis has conducted his career in the NFL, he’s never held anything back. It’s clear at all times who he wants to play for, how he feels about his team and what he deserves, monetarily. When he was feuding with the Jets a few years ago, he told them he still wanted to play for them. When they left, when they traded him to Tampa Bay, and then left for New England. When he became a free agent again, he told everybody he wanted to go back and play for the Jets.

He took the money from New England because the Jets didn’t want to pay.

Strategy

So Revis went to play for New England. He was no a great team player. He’s been a spectacular competitor his entire life. Every day, he puts it out there on the football field. But he’s also a businessman. Darrelle Revis is phenomenal. He’s trying a one-year deal for New England with a ridiculous option for a second year.

When the option was over, he said he was willing to play for one of two teams. He would play for the Patriots, or the Jets. He made it clear to the rest of the NFL he didn’t wouldn’t play for anybody else.

Clarity

Revis has always been clear about his intentions. This clarity is why he gets paid. Most people are wishy-washy. They have difficulty making decisions. They’ve got trouble saying what they want because they’re afraid of being confrontational. Most people don’t have clarity. When Revis signed the new contract with the Jets, he said, “I’m coming home; it’s where I wanted to be the whole time.” He allowed the feuding he had with Woody Johnson to pass.

Woody Johnson said things about Revis that would make anybody upset in the heat of the moment. Revis is about money. Revis let it all go and put it behind him because when you lead a spectacular life, you’re able to get what you want. You communicate the things that you want and people are able to give them to you.  Darrelle Revis was able to let it go.

There was a lot of water under the bridge. The Jets paid him what he requested. A lot of people think Darrelle Revis went for the money, but I think Revis went where he wanted to go. A lot of other teams would have paid him the exact same amount of money.

I know none of you are going to be entering the NFL, but there’s so much to learn from Revis. You can use so much. I truly believe that when you open your mind and go after what you want at first there might be an obstacle, but the obstacle is always you. You can get out of your own way by making a plan and sticking to it

Darrelle had a plan; he followed it and executed it perfectly. What’s your plan in life? If you’ve got a distinct plan, you need to execute it every day. You need to stand your ground in order to live a spectacular life.