Catching Up With Former Player Rep: Michael Thomas
Former NFL safety Michael Thomas played 12 years in the league between the 49ers, Dolphins, Giants, Texans, and Bengals. The 2018 Pro Bowl player made a big impact on and off the field as he is also a former NFLPA Player Rep and Executive Committee member. We caught up with Michael and he gave us insight into his life during and after football.
What inspired you to become a Player Rep?
First, just hearing from older guys talking about the NFLPA being our union and not really understanding what it meant. You would see our Player Directors come into the facility and guys would be like, oh man, we just want our Madden checks and stuff like that. That's the only reason why they'd be rushing to get to the meetings. But then you see them a couple of times and then you hear the things they're talking about, and it piques your interest a little bit. When I started hearing more and more guys who would be a little bit more serious about serving the players and saying, “This is a brotherhood, this is our union” and anytime we're talking to the NFLPA or the Player Directors, we're learning about the business, which is our business of this game. I leaned in a little bit, probably around year three, or year four, and went to my first rep meeting and I was blown away after that. Just debunking all of the myths that I thought were true all those years about who's really looking out for us, who has our best interests at heart. Even with all the benefits, player performance, and all that stuff, seeing that it is really coming from the NFLPA, I was blown away.
What made you want to pursue your new role as a Player Director?
A bunch of things. I guess after that first meeting, I leaned in all the way. I'm one of those guys who is either all in or I'm not doing it. So, once I went to that first meeting I started learning about all the resources and benefits that we could even take advantage of while we were still playing, like the externship that the NFLPA has to offer for us trying to prepare for life after football, I did all those. I did every event, I exhausted all NFLPA resources that an active player probably could partake in. Then doing that and constantly going to meetings, constantly being involved as a rep, getting voted on as an EC member, and seeing the roles the player directors had, it was a no-brainer. Three years ago, I thought “That would be the perfect transition for me” because this is about serving the players and making sure guys understand and know what's coming. That's the type of stuff I did as an active player anyway, so this was just perfect for me.
What lessons and experiences were you able to take away from being a Player Rep and Executive Committee member?
Understanding our player dynamics and the landscape of what we're actually dealing with. Every single year, there's going to be at least 300 new guys coming into this league from drafted and undrafted players that make the teams and or practice squads, and you have to constantly be re-educating them. I know I had my "A-ha" moment in year two when I went to my first ever rep meeting. I know for a fact that because of the landscape, we're going to have to re-educate every single year and I don't mind doing that. Even as a player, this past year being with the Bengals, I would get young guys, not just rookies, but even young guys who haven't been involved with the NFLPA yet asking me questions about our 401k and whether should they sign up to do it. Asking me questions about player performance and what is that. When they get their player performance back in the off-season, they're like, “Oh cool, this is awesome”, but just to even understand how that came about, it was players who negotiated for it a couple of CBAs back. I see that light bulb go off and they are either getting more interested and want to get more involved in the NFLPA or you can just see that their perception of the NFLPA and what it is starts to change. So for me, I would just say that the experience of being on the EC, being a rep, just all the things I've seen over the years of my career, I think that's helped me understand that this is something I want to do as far as being a Player Director because I want to continue to help guys understand the benefits that they have, that they have a right to, as well as maximizing their time and their earnings while they're playing.
Why should more players look to get involved/be active within the NFLPA?
One is because the union is as strong as its membership. We have thousands of guys active, involved, and informed. Then, when it comes time for serious issues where we either have to vote on or use our voices collectively, like we've done these past few years, whether it's surveys, guys doing social media posts all at the same time to try to create a little controlled chaos via social media, that's when we're at our strongest. So to keep guys informed, to know the issues that are coming about, and to know that this is your business and the NFLPA works for you, that'll only make our membership stronger. So, I think that's why it's important for guys to lean in and that's why it's important for guys to continue to try to lend their voices and their platforms to the NFLPA and to push those messages and narratives out there that we want and that we need when we're going against the NFL because we're serving in the best interests of the players.
What is a piece of advice that you have for players transitioning out of football?
Speaking for myself personally and just from seeing all of my peers who have already transitioned maybe years before me or maybe at the same time, I can say this confidently. It doesn't matter how much you've made, it doesn't matter how long you played, there's going to be a period of even if I know what's going on, I know what I'm about to transition to, what's next? This is the unknown. I'm nervous. I'm anxious. That’s normal and it's OK. Have somebody that you can talk to though, regardless of if it's a former teammate that you're really close with or a mentor. Have someone you can reach out to and talk to. Reach out to me, reach out to the NFLPA if you need to, but there's going to be that part. I don't care how much money you've made. I don't care how long you've played, how long your career was, or how successful it was. There are guys that I've talked to that have gone through that as well as myself going through that. So, I'll say for me, I noticed that I learned that and having someone to talk to as you're going through that transition, regardless of if it's coming up with a game plan for what's next or just being like, “Hey, your skill set and your experience of playing in the NFL, your dedication, your work ethic, your study habits, your leadership skills, all those things translate to whatever you're going to do next. And wherever you're going to end up, they're going to love you for that skill set that you bring.” I'll say that those are some of the things I've noticed about myself and from others and I would give the advice to all young guys that there's going to be that part that you go through that you experience, but you'll be fine.
What’s a piece of advice that you wish you had early in your career?
I know that I've done well because I've listened to the advice I was given when it comes to investing, vetting advisors, vetting financial institutions, and stuff like that just from utilizing the resources that either the NFLPA provided for me or others that were provided to us as players. I'll say this to my younger self; don't feel the need to readily invest just because you feel like I've gotten a bunch of money, what do I do with it? I don't want it just sitting and I don't want to blow it. It's okay to be still for a second. I wish I could tell myself that and just be a little bit more liquid because I vetted, I went through my process, I did what you're supposed to do. But if I could have done something differently, it would be to take even more time.
How have you applied the lessons you learned playing football to your post-playing career?
It's a good and a bad thing but I already see the need for having that routine and having the discipline of if I start something, I have to finish it. Having a routine of always trying to get better and trying to improve things, it's great because I'm going to keep trying something and keep working at something until I either finish it or get it done correctly. The other side to that that I'm learning is that when it comes to your relationship and being home a little bit more with your wife and your kids, maybe you need to dial it back a little bit. I know that I can see it for myself. I need to dial it back because while it translates well into life and that's a skill set that helps you even in your next career, it's not always the best approach when trying to nurture kids or cultivate a relationship with your wife. So that's one thing that I'll continue to work on, but I know it will help me in my career.
Can you explain a little bit about your role here at the NFLPA as a Player Director?
As a Player Director, my new role is going to be informing all the players and all the teams that I visit about all union business. Anything that's coming up, any of the events that we have, that we want them to go to including Rep Meetings. If we need guys to sign up to go to the Player Leadership Summit where we're trying to recruit new young leadership, first-year players and second-year players who may have not been as active or as involved with the NFLPA. We're trying to encourage those guys to learn about the business of the union. This is your union, come get involved. So I'll be informing guys about all of those things and making sure that all guys are signing up for their benefits like their 401k. I’ll be making sure that we have all the documents that we need. If we're missing anything, making sure they're getting them signed. As well, this is an election year, so we're conducting those elections for Player Reps. That way when we go to our rep meeting this year, we have all the reps or the alternates available and we're able to conduct our union business the way we're supposed to. So it's one of those roles where I get to travel to different teams. I get to still interact with the players, but I'm informing them of anything dealing with wages, working conditions, and their hours. If there's something going on at their clubs that needs to be addressed, I'm the one that's going to address it. I'm telling them to talk to me. Don't feel like you have to drop a dime or anything like that, but if there is something going on, I'm that first point of contact. So I'm letting guys know that as well as informing them of all the events coming up and making sure that they're all signed up for their benefits.
What does the NFLPA Fraternity mean to you?
For someone who grew up with three older sisters and no brothers whatsoever, it's cool to have lifelong relationships with guys that I'll be able to talk to about anything for the rest of my life. I didn't have that growing up. I played a bunch of sports and now to be a part of the NFLPA community, the NFL brotherhood of being a former player now, it’s dope. Richard Sherman and I just had a long conversation earlier this morning. I talked to a bunch of guys, texting over social media over the weekend, just clowning around and reminiscing. But also, when stuff pops up, we're able to bounce ideas off each other or talk about what's going on. So, that's something that's unique. I’m grateful for it. I'm blessed to be a part of this and I hope that I've given back more than what I've been given because I've been blessed with a lot from being a part of this fraternity of the NFLPA.