366: Fran Tarkenton | The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler #366 | Full Episode

Summary

The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler — Ep. 366: Fran Tarkenton

Release Date: December 29, 2025
Guest: Fran Tarkenton (NFL Hall of Famer, entrepreneur)
Duration: ~63 minutes (content)

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Overview

In this lively, wisdom-packed episode, Ryan Sickler sits down with legendary NFL quarterback and business mogul Fran Tarkenton. True to The HoneyDew’s format of finding humor and insight in life's hardest moments, Tarkenton reflects on his unconventional football career, his business ventures, and life lessons shaped by adversity, humility, and curiosity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Fran’s Approach to Life & Vitality

• Living Fully at 85
  Fran immediately impresses with his boundless energy and zest for life.

  “I live every day like it’s my last day. I love playing football. But while I played football, that wasn’t enough. I built businesses… It’s fun to be in the game, whatever the game is.” (06:08, Fran Tarkenton)

• Discusses staying active in both business and life, still working and innovating as he nears 86.

Entrepreneurship from Early Childhood

• Started delivering newspapers at seven in Washington D.C.; the origins of his lifelong business curiosity and drive.
• Early lessons in work ethic:

  “From 7 years old to 85 years old, I work, I build businesses, I do services. And I learned all that, started it in Washington D.C.” (10:48, Fran Tarkenton)

Football Beginnings & NFL Draft Experience

• Born in Richmond, raised in D.C., then moved to Athens, Georgia as his preacher father pursued a doctorate.
• Played high school and college football in Georgia, drafted by Vikings in 1961 (third round, sixth QB taken—“that pissed me off” [11:56])
• Vivid description of new-franchise NFL life in icy Bemidji, MN; limited prospects but hunger to prove himself.

First NFL Game & Family

• Notable debut: The underdog Vikings beat the Bears under Tarkenton’s lead after he was benched to start, throwing 4 TDs and running for another, setting a record.

  “He said, ‘Can you do any better than that guy?’ I said, ‘Try me.’ … I completed 17 of 21 passes ... that’s a record still holds in the league.” (15:41, Fran Tarkenton)

• Humorous humility check from his mother:

  “‘Do you know how many truly great quarterbacks there are in the world today?’ She says, ‘Yes, son, but you’re not one of them.’ She brought me right down to the world.” (16:39)

Money, Off-Season Work & Early Business Ventures

• First contract: $12,000 salary, $3,500 bonus—took NFL offer over higher-paying AFL option due to league uncertainty.
• Worked sales and odd jobs in off-seasons to make ends meet; did speeches for $25 each.
• Contrasted with modern lucrative opportunities for former players (Nick Saban “did 25 speeches last year, $200,000 a speech.” [22:29, Fran Tarkenton])

"Welcome to the NFL" Moments & Changing Nature of the Game

• Describes brutal hits, the days of “kill the quarterback,” and how teammates and opponents were often close-knit off the field.
• Face-masked by Hall of Famer Gino Marchetti, leading to equipment evolution; tales of being doubted as a “scrambler” in a pocket-passer era.

  “Gino Marchetti … cracked me right across. And so I came in at halftime and I said, ‘I’ll take a double bar.’” (24:04, Fran Tarkenton)

Scrambling as a Quarterback — Changing Offense Forever

• Never saw himself as unique until critics labeled him a “mobile quarterback,” but always played his way.

  “I was me. That’s the way I played. … All the guys, ‘Oh, he’ll never make it. … You had to be a pocket quarterback.’ ... Now, these young quarterbacks, every one of them.” (35:56-37:30)

• On today’s protected QBs (vs. brutality of the past) and evolution of play style:

  “If you touch the quarterback now, you’re thrown out of the game. Back in our days, it just wasn’t that.” (38:18)

Relationships, Mentors, and Humility

• Fran worked with or learned from business giants (Sam Walton, IBM’s chairman, etc.) and football icons (Lombardi, Shula, Sid Luckman).
• Candid about always seeking advice and never being “the smartest guy in the room.”

  “Everything I’ve learned is from somebody else, but I’ve learned a lot.” (53:26, Fran Tarkenton)

Coaching and Mentorship Today

• Only one current Vikings coach has reached out for advice, reflecting a generational change in learning cultures.
• Fran continues to use lessons from football to shape his business and personal ethos.

Transition to Entertainment & "That’s Incredible!"

• Post-football moves were pragmatic: needed money, leveraged modest TV and speaking gigs to support business investments.

  “I didn’t have any money. … I was the highest paid player in 1978 ... $180,000. … That’s Incredible came along … I made $25,000 a show. Now, I did that to put that money went back into my businesses.” (58:03, Fran Tarkenton)

Philosophy & Advice

• Never had an “original thought”—believes in learning and borrowing from the best.
• Advice to young Fran:

  “Be yourself. … Anger never wins. … If you’re angry, I don’t want to be around you.” (61:53)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Self-Belief:
  “I’m a competitor, right? … And it pissed me off that I was a third round pick.” (12:16, Fran Tarkenton)
• On Mother’s Perspective:
  “‘Yes, son, but you’re not [one of the greats].’” (16:39)
• On Business Success:
  “[Sam Walton] became one of my best friends. … I did a lot of work with Sam Walton. … Greatest businessman the world’s ever seen.” (52:59)
• On Football Teamwork:
  “It’s all about my teammates. If anybody thinks it’s about themselves, they get kicked out. … It’s truly a team game.” (27:01)
• On Regret:
  “I have regrets. … We just didn’t have the talent [in NY] and organization to win.” (45:30)
• On Innovation and Change:
  “This is the greatest time in business that I’ve ever seen. You just got to open your brain up and say, I’m going to get involved with AI.” (56:51)
• Best Game Memory:
  “The greatest moment happened my first game I ever played. … No one ever played or won a game their first year.” (60:11)
• Advice to Youth:
  “Be yourself … be kind, be generous. … Anger never wins.” (61:53)

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Important Timestamps

• Start of Interview / Introduction – 04:09
• Fran's Age and Mindset – 05:36
• Entrepreneurial Beginnings – 06:49
• Playing for the Vikings, First NFL Game – 12:01–16:39
• NFL Draft Process in the '60s – 18:20
• Off-season Jobs / Pay Comparison – 21:27–22:29
• Welcome to the NFL (Gino Marchetti) – 24:04
• Teamwork & Legends Recalled – 26:46–33:44
• Evolution of the Scrambling QB – 35:52–38:18
• Mentorship, Coaching, and Learning – 50:41–54:16
• Business Philosophy / AI Discussion – 56:51
• Post-career TV and Business – 58:03
• Signature Game & Lessons Learned – 60:11–61:44
• Parting Advice – 61:53

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Tone & Style

Conversational, candid, motivational, sprinkled with humor and humility. Ryan brings out Fran’s warmth and relentless optimism, while Fran combines durable sports wisdom with practical business advice, delivered in his charmingly frank and engaging manner.

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a must-hear for fans of football history, entrepreneurship, or anyone interested in the mindsets that fuel resilience and reinvention. Fran Tarkenton is a living bridge between eras—his stories connect mid-century football’s grit with 21st-century innovation and adaptability. His humility, ongoing curiosity, and generosity of spirit shine throughout the conversation.

For more on Fran’s latest business venture: pipiq.com (AI-powered business platform)

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Summary prepared for listeners and non-listeners alike—capturing the wisdom, highlights, and personalities of The HoneyDew, Ep. 366.

Transcript

[Andy Staples]

Hi, I'm Andy Staples from Andy and Ariane three. And another five star quarterback just entered the transfer portal. That's what college football is now, a non stop adventure. And we cover it every day at Andy and Ariane 3. Whether it's the transfer portal, the college football playoff, the coaching carousel, you name it. And guess what? It doesn't stop even when the season ends. So join us every day, Monday through Friday. New episodes drop at 3pm wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Fran Tarkenton]

A new car this year.

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[Andy Staples]

Hi, I'm Andy Staples from Andy and Ariane 3. And another five star quarterback just entered the transfer portal. That's what college football is now, a non stop adventure. And we cover it every day at Andy and Ariane 3. Whether it's the transfer portal, the college football playoff, the coaching carousel, you name it. And guess what? It doesn't stop even when the season ends. So join us every day, Monday through Friday. New episodes drop at 3pm Friday, wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Andy Staples from Andy and Ariane three. And another five star quarterback just entered the transfer portal. That's what college football is now, a non stop adventure. And we cover it every day at Andy and Ariane 3. Whether it's the transfer portal, the college football playoff, the coaching carousel, you name it. And guess what? It doesn't stop even when the season ends. So join us every day, Monday through Friday. New episodes drop at 3pm wherever you get your podcasts.

[MyFico Ad Voice]

A new phone for Billy, a necklace for Sam. All the while on the lookout for scams. A swipe here and tap there. Better make it go far. Turns out mom didn't know she needs.

[Fran Tarkenton]

A new car this year.

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[Andy Staples]

7.

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[Fran Tarkenton]

People that created it.

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[Fran Tarkenton]

Credit report every month.

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No credit card required. FICO scores are used by 90% of lenders, so trust the MyFico app to keep you in the know. Or download the MyFico app today.

[Ryan Sickler]

Hey guys, Very important announcement. Do not Skip this on January 6th, we are doing our best of 2025 Honeydew with y' all review and our special guest this time is Tom Segura. So here's the deal. We are shifting the start time of that episode to 9:00pm Eastern, 6:00pm Pacific and I will be live in the comments with you the entire episode. All right, so click the link in the description. Set your reminders now. I will be in the live chat with you guys the whole time. Join me. Let's have some fun with it. And Thursday, January 8th is the episode of the Way Back with My brothers. You guys been asking for years. There it is. So make sure you click that link now. So set your reminder. I'll see y' all in the premiere. The Honeydew with Ryan Sickler. Welcome back to the Honeydew, y'.

[Fran Tarkenton]

All.

[Ryan Sickler]

We're over here doing it in the Night Pan Studios. I'm Ryan Sickler. Ryancickler.com and Ryan Sickler on all your social media. Social media starting this one like I start them all by saying thank you and thank you guys. Listen, right now, the special at the time we're doing this is over 300, 000 views. We were dead in the water for a good chunk of a day and you guys supporting it, getting it back out there. I can't thank you enough. It really does matter if you like it, comment on it, share it, save it for later, all that stuff. Bookmark it all helps. So thank you for everything you guys do. You're the best. And if you gotta have more, then you gotta check out the Patreon. The Honeydew with y'. All. It's five bucks a month. It's this show with y'.

[Fran Tarkenton]

All.

[Ryan Sickler]

I'll never stop promoting it. I'll never stop wanting you guys to do it is one of my favorite. It is my favorite part of the job, if I'm being honest with you. So if you or someone you know has a story that has to be heard Please submit it to honeydewpodcast gmail.com. if you sent it before, send it again, bump it to the top. All right, guys, that's the biz. You know what we do here? We highlight the low lights. I always say that these are the stories behind the storytellers. And I am very excited to have this guest with us here today. Ladies and gentlemen, hall of Famer Fran Targeted. Welcome to the Honeydew, Fran Target.

[Andy Staples]

Dad.

[Ryan Sickler]

Fran, thank you so much for being here. I said before we recorded, I feel weird calling you Fran. I grew up properly, and I'd like to call you Mr. Tarkenton, but I'm.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Gonna call you call me Fran. That's it.

[Ryan Sickler]

Before you. I let you promote here. I want to say this. I was told you're 85. Is that correct?

[Fran Tarkenton]

B86 February 3rd.

[Ryan Sickler]

Man, let me tell you something. I know you hear it all the time. Good for you, man. You. You're not. I mean, 85 is nothing to sneeze at. But a man that grew up playing in the NFL when the job was to kill the quarterback. You can't touch the quarterback now.

[Fran Tarkenton]

You know, the difference is, you know it. I. I live every day like it's my last day. I like. I like playing football. I love playing football. But while I played football, that wasn't enough. I built businesses, and I love building businesses, had good partners. I'm 85. BE86, February 3rd. We're still doing it. We're. We're. And it's fun to be in the game, whatever the game is.

[Ryan Sickler]

And I can see your love for life. I see it. I can see. I said I can see your love for life. I can feel the passion.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Good for you. Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Let's promote real quick. First. Go ahead. Please tell us what anything and everything you'd like to promote, Fran.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Well, we're not going to spend much time there, Ryan. I. I've been in business all my life. Had a paper out when I was seven years old in Washington, dc, But. But here, I'll share with your viewers. The best thing here to do is whether you're a business services provider wanting to partner with us or a business interested in the service. The service is PIP iq, which is unbelievable. If you want to learn more about PIP iq, talk to my people. Schedule a demo, a demo, or simply get started. And that's pipiq.com. i think you will really like it. The world is changing rapidly, whether it's sports, whether it's business or whatever it might be. And come to that, Website, see what we're doing. We would love to have you as a partner with us, whoever you are out there who wants to do some really neat things. That's it.

[Ryan Sickler]

This is available to anyone out there.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Anyone out there.

[Ryan Sickler]

And it's pip.com friend p I. P.

[Fran Tarkenton]

I q.com pip.com pipiq. Pipiq.com and you know, here's the deal in football, nobody wins football by themselves. You've got to have great players, you got to have great coaches, you got to have great owners. And in all my life of football, I had those. And all my life of business, I've had people like Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart and other great business people. They've been my mentors. They've taught me business. And what they've taught me, don't sell anybody anything. Tell them what you do, take their questions, and if, if it makes sense to your audience out there, give us a ring, give us a call. We partner with people who want to partner with us. We partner with people who want to do something great.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's great. Also, I want to say, you know, I'm 52, so I'm, I'm the, my father, you know, you are the Johnny Anditis class, you guys, you're my dad's quarterbacks coming up. So I, you know, my father made sure I knew my football history. But I believe I first discovered you as a kid. Was it. People are amazing. What was it? What was the show you were on? That's incredible.

[Fran Tarkenton]

That's incredible.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's incredible.

[Fran Tarkenton]

John Davis and Kathleen Cross.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's right. Who did she not marry? Joe Theisman. At some point they were married. Like, you got two quarterbacks connected on that damn show.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Well, she, she dated Joe, okay. And they, they dated for about a year, but they did not get married. But I love Joe Theisman. I mean, he. Terrific player, great personality. The. That was a good show.

[Ryan Sickler]

That was a fun show.

[Fran Tarkenton]

I had to. Yeah. Tiger woods was on my knee at that show and he was four or five years old and we did a whole segment with him. He had his dad on the show with us and he was hitting golf balls there and he could just slam the ball four or five years old. It was a great fun deal. I'm not an actor. I didn't then do a lot of television, but the experiences of meeting the people and, and nothing was bigger than him. He was, he was terrific. He's just a kid.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, that's. Well, also, I still feel like that show was so far ahead of its time. That today it was Instagram. All these damn apps we have that, they are our highlights. It is the. That's you. You would think that a show like that should come back. I mean, it would be viral. Everything anybody did, these dude perfects and all that out there. But enough. Let's talk about you. Where are you originally from? Tell me where you're born and raised.

[Fran Tarkenton]

I was born in Richmond, Virginia.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right.

[Fran Tarkenton]

My father was a preacher man. At five years old I moved to Washington D.C. and I loved Washington D.C. the sports teams weren't so good. The Redskins were there, they didn't win. I love the Redskins, I love the Washington Senators and all that, but I love Washington D.C. i lived there for five years, had a paper route when I was seven years old. That's when I started my business thing. It was great. And from 7 years old to 85 years old, I work, I build businesses, I do services. And I learned all that, started it in Washington DC. Then I. At age 10, my dad wanted to get a doctorate degree in education. He's a preacher. So he came down to the University of Georgia down in Athens when I was 10 years old. And I grew up, played high school football there, Little league baseball there. Loved Athens. Still do. Then I, I got drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1961. Got drafted in the third round. I was the sixth quarterback picked. That pissed me off.

[Ryan Sickler]

Who went ahead of you?

[Fran Tarkenton]

Pardon?

[Ryan Sickler]

Who went ahead of you?

[Fran Tarkenton]

You know, I, I don't remember all the names. I think Billy Kilmer, some of those guys, and Norman Snead, who's a quarterback and is. And none of them had great careers, but they were nice guys and good guys. But I'm a competitor, right?

[Ryan Sickler]

Hell yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

And it pissed me off that I was a third round pick. And so I came into training camp in 1961 and I went in the training camp in Bemichi, Minnesota.

[MyFico Ad Voice]

A new phone for Billy, a necklace for Sam. All the while on the lookout for scams. A swipe here and tap there. Better make it go far. Turns out mom didn't know she needs.

[Fran Tarkenton]

A new car this year.

[MyFico Ad Voice]

Stay on top of your credit with the Myfico app. Get your FICO score straight from the people that created it. Plus free credit monitoring and a free credit report every month. No credit card required. So make holiday spending one less stress under the mistletoe. Visit myfico.com or download the myfico app today.

[Andy Staples]

Hi, I'm Andy Staples from Andy and Ariane 3. And another five star quarterback just entered the transfer portal. That's what college football is now, a non stop adventure. And we cover it every day at Andy and Ariane 3, whether it's the transfer portal, the College Football playoff, the coaching carousel, you name it. And guess what? It doesn't stop even when the season ends. So join us every day, Monday through Friday, new episodes drop at 3pm wherever you get your podcasts.

[Fran Tarkenton]

The only, only month that doesn't snow in Bemidji is July. And we're a new franchise team. It was 1961. What's that mean, new franchise team? It was the first year we were a team and how we got our players. The other teams in the league had 40 players each. They could freeze 37. We got to pick one or two of the bottom three. That's how we got our players. No new franchise team ever won a game their first year. The Dallas Cowboys were a new franchise team with Tom landry's coach in 1960. They had Don Meredith as a quarterback and they didn't win a game. We won three games that first year. But I got to tell you the story. This is a great, great story. I. We got six quarterbacks in training camp in Bemidji, Minnesota. And Van Brocklin, Norm Van Brocklin was a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams. Won it, won a championship at Philadelphia. Brilliant mind. So they drafted me. We played five exhibition games and that's what we normally did back then. I played in those. We lost five exhibition games. Didn't come close. So I come, I come. The last week prior to the first game, Fat broccoli comes to me and says, hey kid, I'm going to start you in this game. Not George Shaw, who was the veteran that they had traded for out of New York. I'm going to start you. I said, you really gonna start me? I said, yeah, but can I come to your house all week? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I want to watch film of the team we're going to play. It was the Chicago Bears. Now the Chicago Bears won a lot of games because their owner was George Hallis. Their coach was George Hallis. The guy who started the National Football League was George Hallis and he cheated and he got all the players. So he's our first team we're going to play.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's how he got Gail, these guys. That's how he did it.

[Fran Tarkenton]

We're 35 point underdogs. 35, yeah. And so then we're, we're gonna play. And I've been with him all week and I come to the Stadium. And he tells me, hey, kid, I gotta play the veteran George Shaw. We gave up a number one choice. I gotta play him. I said some really nasty words. I was 21 years old. I was pissed and I let him have it. And so we start the game. I don't start at the end of the first quarter. We hadn't made. Made a first down and they were behind, I think, six, six to nothing. He comes to me, hey, kid, you, can you do any better than that guy can? I said, try me. And went out. I completed 17 of 21 passes for 237 yards. I threw four touchdown passes in one and ran for one. That's a record still holes in the league.

[Ryan Sickler]

Wow.

[Fran Tarkenton]

We beat him 30 and we beat him 37, 13. But here's the kicker for your audience. Keep in mind, my father is a Pentecostal holiness preacher. My mother was a Pentecostal holiness preacher. I'm not supposed to be able to play football on Sundays. It's against our religion. And so I didn't think I'd see my mother and father at my first game at all. Well, first game we win, we're celebrating in the locker room. I come out of the locker room and there's my mom. And I said, mom, my God, I didn't know you were going to be here. I said, do you know realize how many truly great quarterbacks there are in the world today? She says, yes, son, but you're not one of them. She brought me right down to. Right down to the world, right?

[Ryan Sickler]

Yep.

[Fran Tarkenton]

But it was such a great thing. She runs a Greyhound bus from Athens, Georgia to Minneapolis to see that first game. Wow. Newton. No new franchise team has ever won a game in their first year. The Cowboys with Tom Landry and Bob Lilly and Don Meredith. Their first year. As great as Landry was, they didn't win a game their first year.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's incredible. Let me ask you a question, Fran. I want to jump back for a second. Back then, what is you're in college. What is the draft process like back then? Like, how do you know the teams are interested in you back then? And how do you know where you're going to end up going? All that sort of thing.

[Andy Staples]

Thing.

[Fran Tarkenton]

We didn't know till they called us.

[Ryan Sickler]

It was that.

[Fran Tarkenton]

And this was 19. It was the winner of 1961. And. And the teams were all there. And so I was drafted by the vikings in the third round. And I was. And now the AFLs come in and they drafted me at. At New England. Here's how smart I was. The vikings offered me $12,000 to play and a $3,500 bonus. The new New England Patriots were, were in the afl. They offered me twice that. And I'm so smart that I took the Viking deal because I didn't know whether the AFL is going to make it or not. So I could have gone to, to Patriots. But it did work out. But it did work out because I was in the NFL and I got to play in three of the first 11 Super Bowls.

[Ryan Sickler]

Three of the. That's incredible.

[Andy Staples]

So.

[Ryan Sickler]

But, but you, you're literally just sitting home. Do you know at all, like, they're going to call? Do you have a sense that they're going to call? Or is everyone just like, hey, we're sitting around and if that thing rings, good, good for us?

[Fran Tarkenton]

Well, what I was, I was in the blue gray game in Alabama. I guess they still had the blue gray game. And I got a call from the Redskins. I lived in Washington. I was a Redskins fan. And their owner said that they were going to, they were. They were going to draft me at first round. And the first round they drafted a guy from Wake Forest, good player named Norman Sneed. And so I, I didn't. I'm watching this in Montgomery, Alabama, where we playing this game later on in the week, and I don't know what's going to happen. And I not drafted in the first round, not drafted from the second round. And finally in the third round, they drafted me. And I got on an airplane in February to go to Minnesota. And I got there and they had about 12ft of snow. All the lakes were frozen. People were fishing in the lakes, drilling holes in the. It's crazy. And I went up there and, and then I moved up there for two years, and I finally said, I, I'm a play. I love playing there. And, and, but I just couldn't live there anymore. So I moved back to Atlanta after my second season and stayed here.

[Ryan Sickler]

So I got so many questions for you. Here's one. Especially as a businessman who started as a paper route guy back then, you guys, as you said, you're getting $13,000. What?

[Andy Staples]

You.

[Ryan Sickler]

You're all working in the off season. I used to hear stories about, you know, these NFL players, like in my era or my dad's era, like when Gino Marchetti opened the restaurant Geno's, and these guys are working at car dealerships and things. What are you. Also at that time, sort of building business in the off season. What are you doing?

[Fran Tarkenton]

Oh, yeah, I, I, I. Remind me to tell you Gino Marchetti's story. My first off season, there was a trucking company in Sioux Falls, S.D. and their trucks took stuff from Sioux Falls to Minneapolis, Chicago and back. And they came down during that first season and they hired me to be a salesman for them. And I worked at, knocked on the doors of shipping clerks all over the Dakotas in Minnesota, and colder than cold. But they paid me $600 a month. And so I did that for a couple of years. I worked for a printer for about the same money. And I did speeches. I spoke in every church in Minnesota. Okay, $25 a speech. Nick Saban, my great friend who's retired now, he did 25 speeches last year, $200,000 a speech.

[Ryan Sickler]

A pop.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Uh huh. And so he's liking me. He's liking being retired from coaching football. Right. He's doing just fine. And so I was glad to get the money, but again, I worked. And it's like anything else if you don't start it early in life. I started football early in life. Tiger woods started golf at four years old. I started business at five years old. And even before the paper route in Washington D.C. on Saturdays, the women would take a little wagon and go to the Safeway stores. I had my wagon at the Safeway stores. I put their packages in my wagon, take it for two weeks, and they'd give me maybe a dime a quarter. And I took that money and I spent it on football cards. And, and I, because I loved, I love, I loved all sports. And, but it taught me I was involved in sports at an early age, which is important for you to be. And also in the early days, I started earning money.

[Ryan Sickler]

Let me ask you this, what was your welcome to the NFL moment? When were you like, okay, these guys up here are all at this level. You know what, what was that for you back in those days? Because you guys were getting clotheslined. I believe your wasn't your first face mask. The, the small bar.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Yeah, I had, we played the Baltimore Colts in an exhibition game and I had one bar.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

And Geno Marchetti, who's a great, great defensive lineman, as good as ever been, really soft spoken. And he cracked me right across. And so I came in at halftime and I said, I'll take a double bar, double bar. And I did that. Gino, Gino was my hero. So yeah, Gino was soft, smoking. Baltimore had John Unitis, they were winning championships, but Gino Marchetti was the toughest, greatest defensive lineman I'd ever Known and he was from San Francisco. And so anyway, we played them that first season. Here we're playing a championship team, a great quarterback, and we've got just, you know, bunch of young kids playing. And so we're playing them and we beat them. And, and during that game, I remember I went back to pass and I had a left tackle. There's about 250 pounds. They weren't as big back then. And he's blocking Gino. And I go back to the pass, and my offensive lineman, Gino had torn his jersey off and threw him on the ground and tackled me. And so he was that tough. So after the game, we win. And the people said to him, said, well, what do you think of this targeting kid? She go, but he's a scrambler there no scramblers in the. In the whole. He said, what's going to happen? They'll kill it. He won't last more than two yard, two years. He'll. They'll. They'll. They'll run him out. They'll run him out of the league. And then we played them and we. And we. And we beat them. Now, six years later, I'm now in New York City, and I'm offensive player of the year. And a guy named Dick Shap, who wrote for a sports magazine up there, was a good friend of mine. He. He wanted. He wanted to give me the. I was the player of the year, and he wanted me to come to New York and pick up my trophies. Play of the year. And by the way, who would you like to introduce you? I said, gino Marquette.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yes, sir.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Yeah, he did. And up until he died a few years ago, I never miss talking to Gino at least two or three times a year. And so I learned from the old guys, the old guys were really great. Deacon Jones, I have him.

[Ryan Sickler]

Young boy, I have him written right here.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Deacon Jones was unbelievable. But on my team, we had a group called the Purple People.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yes, you did.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Jim Marshall, Alan Page, Carl Eller, Bob Lurzma. They were great. And. But it just shows you that the only way you can win in football is the same way in business. You got to have great owners, great coaches. You got to have great players, and they got to get along together, and they got to love each other and they got to have each other's back. And if anything I learned in all my life was sports. High school sports, college sports, NFL. It's all about my teammates. It's not about me. If anybody thinks it's about themselves, they get kicked out, they get Kicked out. It's a. It's truly a team game. And if you don't have the players, you cannot win. Quarterbacks get a lot of, you know, you got to have a great quarterback. I hear it all the time in this genre, right? You got to have more than a great quarterback. You got to have great partners, you got to have great linemen, you got to have great running back, you got to have great coaches. You got to have great owners. There are not a lot of great owners.

[Ryan Sickler]

I agree on that.

[Fran Tarkenton]

The owners are guys who made billions and billions of dollars and they got into pro football, and it's the. And they make billions and billions of more dollars, but they don't have to do anything. So it's. It's been a great ride being able to be in the business world, being able to be in the NFL world. I'm still a football player. I. I love it. I watch it every. Every Saturday and Sunday. I'm a Georgia Bulldog. I'm a Minnesota Viking. I'm not so much a New York Giant, but I played there for six years, and I like. I like the town a lot, but it's a great game. It's taught me all my life. Taught. Everything I've learned about life and about business has been as a football player. And humility. I learned humility there. If you don't have humility in that locker room, you're dead.

[Ryan Sickler]

What's the. Give me the hardest hit you've ever taken.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Wow. There's a guy. This is a great story. It's a true story. There's a defensive tackle with The San Francisco 49ers named Leo the Lion Nomolini.

[Ryan Sickler]

He sounds like a mother.

[Fran Tarkenton]

He was the baddest. Baddest guy that was in football. He didn't talk much. He played for the 49ers. And so we're playing the exhibition game with the 49ers, and I've got a guy on my team who's in the hall of fame named Hugh McElhenney, and he had played for the Niners, and he. And he didn't. Was. We got him in the expansion draft. They didn't want him anymore, so we got. He was a handsome guy, Italian guy, great, great running back, and he played his best years with them. And so we're in the. We're in the locker room to play an exhibition game, and there's just nothing there. But I see that our players are taking some stuff, and their eyes are getting big. They're called bennies. They were taking Bennies back then. And the line lineman and the linebackers were the ones taking the bennies. And I say to McElhenney, when they call him the Chief, I said, chief, put them. Our guys taken there. Oh, boy. Taking that stuff they take, they just. It doesn't do anything for them, but it makes the. They pop out in their face and they get, they get crazy. They really get crazy. And they think it makes them better players. I said, but how about Leo Nomelini? Does he take those bennies? Oh, yeah. He. Not just my guys here in the locker room. No, he. He'll take those bennies. And do yourself a favor, he'll be right to your right, right over your guard. Don't look at him. It'll scare you to death. So of course, I go in the game ringing in my ears and background. He said, and I, I look over there and I go, holy cow. To myself. He, he. He had one eye and he had a thing up on his forehead, a glass eye. And I looked at it and I said, and I, I had to. I went nuts. I said, I wish I'd have never done that. That was the era back then, right? Nobody made any money. Well, what. Had beers together. We all went to. And we all, you know, we hung up with each other. But those characters all those years. The Marketes, the Leo Nomelinis, the. The name were priceless. Deacon Jones, Merlin Olson.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Two Tall Jones.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Johnny Yu. I played an all star game. I'm the backup quarterback to Johnny you. And Don Shula was our coach. And I'm 27 years old. I'm ticking to death. I'm playing as my, my hero. And so we get to the end of the week of practicing, and Don Shuler was the coach. He said, well, you know, I'm going to have to play John and start John unit. I said, sure, you got to start John unit. He's Jesus, He's. He's the best there is.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

He said, but I'm going to let you play the second quarter and the fourth quarter and he'll play the first and third. And that's the way it went. And we won the game. And I threw for three touchdown passes. And Johnny, you didn't throw for any. I couldn't believe it. But it was such a thrill to play with my hero.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Who was the greatest quarterback of that generation by far, I thought. And to be able to spend a week with him and play with him. I love the old players. I learned from all of them.

[Ryan Sickler]

Me too.

[Fran Tarkenton]

All of Them.

[Ryan Sickler]

There's so many. There were so many. We had Art Donovan. I'm sure you knew Art Donovan.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Gosh. Oh, my God. Donovan.

[Ryan Sickler]

I was lucky enough. He. He spoke. So I'm from Baltimore originally and grew up in Maryland, and he spoke at our varsity club. We went to his country club, and he spoke. And I mean, unfiltered were high school kids, and he. You know. You know how he was. He didn't know. Filter.

[Fran Tarkenton]

No.

[Ryan Sickler]

I used to love seeing him on Letterman. David Letterman. Loved them.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Just a great story in a great way.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Yes.

[Fran Tarkenton]

And a great football player. Massive guy. Great player. The Baltimore Colts of that late 50s, they were. They were great. You know, they had the great Lions, and they had Johnny Yu and Lenny Moore, Don Joyce. They had Big Daddy Lipscomb.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yes, they did. Yes.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Do you remember Big Daddy Lipscomb?

[Ryan Sickler]

Read all the books. Yes.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Oh, he was about 6, 8, maybe 270. And so he's playing for the Colts, and. And I'm having to play against this guy. My guard is 5, 10, 2, 20, and you got to go get. I'm running all over the field trying to. So. So finally, Big Daddy, Big Daddy, he got me one time. He said, hey, little, little man, why for you run so much? I said, to get away from you.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Hell, yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

He was a classic.

[Ryan Sickler]

I think I might be wrong. I'm wrong a lot, Fran, But I feel like I read something where he died in a mysterious way. Something happened to him. Maybe a murder.

[Fran Tarkenton]

I don't know.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, I don't want to speak on that.

[Fran Tarkenton]

He ended up in Pittsburgh.

[Ryan Sickler]

He did.

[Fran Tarkenton]

And. And he went to Pittsburgh and played with Bobby Lane at Pittsburgh, who was a great quarterback, and I played against him there. And I don't. I don't remember that. I just remember he was just a massive, massive man. When a guard. The guards back then were £225. The tackles were maybe 240, 250 at the most. And he was a guy that was, as I said, maybe 286, 6, 6, 7. Now. Now, you, offensive lineman, if you don't weigh over 300 pounds, can't play. And in college or pro 3 and 3, 300, most of them weigh 320, 330, 340.

[Ryan Sickler]

Can I ask you this question, because you're really the guy, and maybe you'll correct me if I'm wrong. Very early on, with scrambling and using your feet, running as a quarterback, did that come out of necessity through college and stuff, just because or were or did you see the rule where like, hey, no one's really doing. Like, obviously, it was a running league for a while. I know Johnny Unit is credited often you as well, with make beginning the aerial attack, so to speak, but. Well, why were you a running quarterback?

[Fran Tarkenton]

To get away from Big Daddy Lip.

[Ryan Sickler]

Comes in the league.

[Fran Tarkenton]

That's a really good question. I played high school football in Athens High, right where the University of Georgia is. We won a state championship there. And I said, all kind of records. I went to the University of Georgia and I played there, and they weren't a good team when I got there, but we won the SEC championship. We didn't have playoffs after that. And, and, and, and really, I didn't call myself a mobile quarterback. I didn't think about it. But as I was getting called a mobile quarterback, a scrambler, I'd looked back to my high school career. I ran, I played in high school like I played in pro football, but I didn't recognize it. I played in college football like I did in pro football. I was a scrambler, but there was no scramblers. And all the guys, oh, he'll never make it. He won't play all the other quarterbacks. Johnny Yu was a pocket quarterback. Dead Luckman was a pocket quarterback. All those guys were. And, and, and they, they ridicule, they, they, they chastised me and I'd get in words with them, but they, they, nobody thought I could make it because they thought it was only a. You had to be a pocket quarterback. And so therefore, you know, I, I was me. That's the way I played. Played that way all my life. Later on, Roger Staubach came into the league. He could run. He was, he could. Now, these young quarterbacks, every one of them.

[Ryan Sickler]

Lamar is, this is the thing too.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Lamar, Lamar.

[Ryan Sickler]

You, though, you come from an era where it was kill the qb, you take off. These guys can do what today, if he slides, you can't even touch him. You know what I mean? Like, so, you're, so you're. It makes sense to me why back then people would say, well, Fran, ain't gonna last long. We're gonna kill that guy if he's running where today. Even when we drafted Lamar, I loved it, but I was very worried. This guy is gonna get, you know, crushed out there. But he's been very smart and very.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Oh, he's.

[Ryan Sickler]

I feel like he does it the best when it comes to, I, I'll take all four.

[Fran Tarkenton]

I need to. And they, they, they put a, a yoke on him that he, he couldn't throw he can really throw, he can.

[Ryan Sickler]

Throw the out fr.

[Fran Tarkenton]

He is arguably the fastest quarterback running. I mean, he's got great athletic ability and, and, but now what's happening and they protect the quarterback. But in my era, I, I, I played four years of high school, four years of college, 18 years of pro football. I missed five games. I broke, I broke an ankle against the Detroit Lions and we clinched our division championship. And I couldn't play in that. And, and other than that, that's the only five games I missed in my life. You look now at the pro quarterbacks. Minnesota got a draft of the guy out of Michigan. Really good player. He didn't play at all. Last year he got hurt. This year he played two games, got hurt. I think this year I haven't measured it out. I think they're probably 50 starting. 50% of the starting quarterbacks in pro football have missed at least one game and more. And, and, and, but, and they protect them now and they really slide a lot as we see. And if you touch the quarterback now. Yeah, I mean, you're thrown out of the game.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. You're getting fined.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Back in our days, it wasn't, it just wasn't that.

[Ryan Sickler]

Imagine that too. You're, you're, you get a penalty because they say it's a late hit, which is, you know, an objective call. And then it's like, all right, well, you're not going to kick that out of the game, but the NFL is going to come behind later and give you a $20,000 fine. You're like, good God. Another question I want to ask you. Once you realize that scrambling is a weapon for you.

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[Fran Tarkenton]

A new car this year.

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[Fran Tarkenton]

And Doug, here we have the Limu emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty, Liberty. Liberty. Liberty Savings Ferry underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts.

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[Ryan Sickler]

Do you do you guys game plan with it or do you just use it when the passing breaks down down like what was the idea and strategy for you?

[Fran Tarkenton]

Interesting story. I played my first six years with Minnesota. My coach was a guy named Norm Van Brocklin who was a pocket quarterback, a hall of fame quarterback, won a championship at Philadelphia and, and he thought that was the way to play. I, I argued with him about that. That's why I really got out of Minnesota. Said I'm not going to play for you anymore. You because this is my style and that's the way I play. That's my talent. And that's why I went and got traded to the Giants because I wouldn't play for him anymore because he wanted me to be a pocket quarterback. And so I went to the Giants and we had a little coach named Alex Sherman. He was a third string quarterback at Philadelphia. He coached up in Canada. Sweetest, nicest guy in the world. And I was going to New York and, and they were in a slump the year before I got there they'd won one game, they lost 12 and tied one. And the quarterback was Earl Morrow.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Who was the quarterback that won at Miami when they won the Super Bowl.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

And he's a really good quarterback. And they gave up three number ones and two number twos to go to a team that was 112 and one. And so it was but there little Ali Sherman. I want you to run, I want you to be a scrambler. We'd have times in practice, every practice where I would practice coming back running to the right, taking world go to the left. And we taught our receivers that when I go this way they go that way. If I go that way they go that way. And it really worked. And I was still probably the only guy running the football and buying time passing. But here's the deal. United's my great friend and my hero when I was I think When I was at New York, it was, in fact, I know it was. I broke his records for touchdown passes and yards gain passing. And so after the, I set the record, I was up in Buffalo playing up there and they're writing, what is this? We never thought of you as a pastor. You broke John Unitis record and those records held for 18 years. My friend Peyton Mandy's records held for three years.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

And, and, and so I, I showed that you can run and pass at the same time. I love, I love Patrick. What's his. Patrick Holmes. Yeah. Yeah, he's great. He is a mobile quarterback. It's almost impossible today to play quarterback, not being a mobile quarterback. And even some of your older, older guys that are playing, they have mobility, they can run when they have to run, they can buy time running and it's the way the quarterback position is going to be played. Whether you like it or not. I think you're going to be.

[Ryan Sickler]

Aaron Rodgers is probably the last guy you're going to see that. That was of the era of pocket passer. Yeah.

[Fran Tarkenton]

And, and he, he was and a great unbelievable talent. But he in his prime would run, he would run to get another set to throw and he still does. He's a remarkable player and he, he wasn't just a pocket quarterback. I'm thinking now who was just a pocket quarterback anymore? I can't tell you.

[Ryan Sickler]

Nope.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Maybe there's one I'm missing, but I can't tell you. But in my era we were laughed at. We were, you know, it wasn't the way to go and da da da da da. And, and so, but it's, it's, it's just what I did, I did it all my life.

[Ryan Sickler]

You have any regrets?

[Fran Tarkenton]

Yes, I have regrets. I, I got the chance. I came back to Minnesota because New York, I was 31 years old and I went to Mr. Mara, the owner of the team, and his father owned the team before him. His kids own it now and I played there for five years in New York and I really love playing in New York, but I really, we just didn't have the talent there and organization to win. And so I asked him if he would. I said, you know, 31 years old, I want a chance to be able to get it in the playoffs and play for a Super Bowl. You need more than me here. You need to rebuild this whole organization. He said, you mean you don't want to play for the New York Football Giants? I said, oh, I love playing for the New York Football Giants. I really loved it. But we didn't have all the stuff so you could get something for me. So he traded me back to Minnesota. And he got three number one. I think he got three number one choices. Yeah. And I went back there, and I met a man that made my career mean something. I met a little guy who was a great coach in Canada, and he was. He was a great coach in Minnesota before I knew him. His name was Bud Grant. And Bud Grant was different from all the other coaches. He never called plays from the sideline. He did it his way. He was as great a coach as it was. But all the great coaches that I played for, I played for him. I played for Lombardi in All Star games and Tom Landry and those people. Big Saban, who arguably is the greatest college coach of all time, is a great friend of mine. And I asked Saban a month or two ago, I said, what makes you different from the people I just mentioned, Landry and all those great coaches? And he said, well, I really never thought about it. I said, I've thought about it all you coaches. I played for all of you in All Star games or whatever it was. I said, you're authentic. You are yourself. You're not trying to be somebody else. Bud wasn't trying to be Tom Landry or Lombardi or vice versa. And Sam said, you know, you got something there. I said, yeah, I know I do. Bud Grant was not an exit nose guy. He. He had the best instincts of anybody I know, but he let his offensive coordinator go. He let his defense coordinator coach, and he let me be me. And so we're playing the game against the Rams for the championship, and this is Bud Grant, and he let me call the plays, and he let me put in the pass offense. And. And so we're playing the Rams right around the day after, two days after Christmas, and. And we have a. In the fourth quarter, were winning by three points. And I. I had third and five. And I came over, I said, he never called to play, but they'd call timeout. So I. I knew he'd say something. I wanted to hear what he said. I said, what do you think, Bud? He said, well, I think we played for another three quarters that they could score on our defense. The purple people leaders were stable. That's all he had to say. I came out third and four. I ran the ball. We didn't make it, but we won the game because they couldn't score on our defense. He had more common sense than any person I've ever been around in business or in football, he was different from everybody there was. He was not an X and O's guy, but he was. He turned my life around by giving me the opportunity to win. And in this. And that's my six years there, we. We won. We. We were in three of the three. We went to three Super Bowls in those six years that I was there. And it was because he let us play. But he was smart about it. He wasn't just, go, go play. He was smart about it. He was one cool guy.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's great. Here's a question I want to ask you again. I'm a little bit of a student of the game. So when Unitis gets hurt, Earl Morrell gets hurt, they bring in Alan Amici. Back in the day, he's the first guy to have the armband because he's the running back and he doesn't know the damn play. So did you ever adapt to that coming up, or were you. Was it always up here in your head?

[Fran Tarkenton]

Well, I put in the offense, but.

[Ryan Sickler]

I mean, did you. Did you ever use the arm thing? Like, none of that?

[Fran Tarkenton]

No.

[Ryan Sickler]

I mean, I know that was a necessity then, but it's now a tool that these guys use, so.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Yeah, well, they don't call the place right at all. They look at this and they got somebody in their ear. I forget about telling them what to call.

[Ryan Sickler]

And yours is all here.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Yeah, yeah. And the first guy to kind of do that one thing is Paul Brown, who coached at Cleveland. Now, your audience may not know Paul Brown. Look him up. He was the most successful coach in football in the 40s and 50s. The Cleveland Browns came to the NFL in about 49, and he was a genius coach. When I came to pro football, I went there. He was now in Cincinnati. I went down, spent three days with him. Tell me how to play quarterback. I went to Sid like, teach me how to play quarterback. But back to Paul Brown. Paul Brown was the first guy to call the place. He won in the NFL. He won in the AFL before the NFL. He was a brilliant coach, but he have his guard. He'd have three starting guards, and he always had one guard. He'd give him the play, he'd run on the field and give it to the quarterback. And he was brilliant. And I worked. I learned to play football from watching the United. But I went and met with the coaches. I went and spent three days with him in his home in. In Cleveland because I wanted to find out from him how should a quarterback play with. With Landry and Don Shula and Lombardi I played in All Star games, so I'd stay after practice and say, tell me how a quarterback should play. And with Lord Lombardi, he didn't have many plays. I said, coach Lombardi, we have about 60 plays in our office in Minnesota, and I put them in. I said, but. But here at the All Star Game, we only got six runs and six passes. Why is that? He said, we could take the six passes that he had in pro football, and they. They could blitz. They could have five men in the line, eight men in the line. We can do it with any defense they have. We know how to make it work. I came back to Minnesota, and we put in six plays. I took him down from 50 to six, and that's what we did. I learned from all of them. I have never had a. My. My own thought in football or in business. I've always gone out to. Not only to work and play, but I got with the great coaches and got them to teach me. Sam Walton, I've got him on my show. He became one of my best friends. I got out because I did a lot of work with Sam Walton, and Walton, he's the greatest businessman the world's ever seen. And I went out to the great business people that I knew running businesses. I did that while I was playing football. Tell me how you do it. So everything. I've never had an original thought, Everything I've learned is from somebody else, but I've learned a lot.

[Ryan Sickler]

So let me ask you this, then, Fran. You. Obviously, I think that's the best way to be. You know, the people that know everything know nothing. And you're out there wanting to learn everything from anyone. Any little tip, trick, loophole, all of it, like, teach me, please. Are you a resource for anyone today? Are. Do you mentor any of the players? Are you still involved in that way? Or is it more business for you, or.

[Fran Tarkenton]

That's an interesting thing. The present coach of the Vikings came to see me about a year ago. He played football for a couple of years in NFL one year with Brett Brady. He's a brilliant coach. He's the only coach or player in my lifetime that's come to me to sit down and say, how did you do it? The only one. Isn't that interesting? It's the only one.

[Ryan Sickler]

Only one.

[Fran Tarkenton]

The only one.

[Ryan Sickler]

You're a Hall of Fame quarterback last.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Year, and last year he got coach of the year at 39 years old. He's a brilliant coach. But. But I've. You know, I've. I've learned from Other people and, and I like that they have so much more knowledge than I have. And I would ask them questions, ask them questions, and thankfully they would sit down with me, business people or quarterbacks or coaches, and tell me how they did it. Sid Luckman played at Chicago Bears in the heyday of the Bears, because his owner started the National Football League. He was a slick guy, handsome guy, moved down to Florida, well dressed and so forth. And he was one of my mentors and, and way in, way into my life as a football player. He may have been my favorite mentor and he really helped me. But all of them, I was, I was all about all of them. I, I was some of Paul Brown, some of Lombardi, a lot of Bud Grant, and goes on and on and on. And, and that's how I learned. But business, again, is the same way I learned from the chairman of the board of IBM, who was a partner with me way back, Sam Walton and Don Keough, the president of Coca Cola company And it goes on and on and on. I haven't had an original thought myself. I really haven't. It's come from other people for what I read, what I, what I asked of what they told me. But I went out and I got the people to partner with, the people that really had great talent and great hearts and were honest and wanted to help people. The mission of business is what to do something that, to help somebody sell more product, have more product, have more assets. That's the mission. That's what I do. And I built a lot of companies, we still own a lot of companies, and my hands are all over the place. And I. All I do is say the same thing to them that these guys say to me. And these guys are really smart, a lot smarter than I. Technology wise, they could go way beyond. But we use that technology that like we have today to do things that I never thought we could ever do. This is the greatest time in business that I've ever seen. You just got to open your brain up and say, I'm going to get involved with AI. I'm going to find out how this can help me be more efficient. And that's what's happening. And we're just at the beginning of it, just at the beginning of it. It's going to go on and grow like crazy. We're doing better things, business wise, in America than anybody's ever done in the rest of the world or with our country right now. Just hang on.

[Ryan Sickler]

Let me ask you this. I'm going to respect time and get you out of here shortly. But okay, post football career, you end up, like I say, I see you on. That's incredible. My dad's like, oh, you got to know who this guy is. Was that an intentional move into entertainment or how did that, how did that come about?

[Fran Tarkenton]

I didn't have any money. I didn't make any money playing football. My last, I was the highest paid player in 1978 in football. They paid me $180,000.

[Ryan Sickler]

Wow.

[Fran Tarkenton]

So I went out there Monday Night Football because they paid me $25,000 a game to do Monday Night Football. Then that's incredible. Came along and this director said, gosh, I really want you to be on this new show. That's incredible. We filmed 25 shows a year. I made $25,000 a show. Now, I did that to put that money went back into my businesses since I was 7. I've always been in business, but I keep going and changing because if we stay the same, if I stayed the same in my office of game planning, I'd never, I could have never done what I did. We had to have better plays and better. And business is no different. I am challenging our people, challenging myself. We got to be better. We got to have better partners. We got to have better ideas. We have. Our mission is very simple. Not to make money, that's a byproduct of our mission. But to go out and learn and help people do better. If I can help people do better, I'm going to have a lot of customers and I've got a lot of customers and they do extremely well. Not because of me, it's because of what I've learned and reached out to, to. To get smarter. Because I'm not smart, smart enough by myself. I failed kindergarten. That's the truth.

[Ryan Sickler]

Listen, the men like you, excuse me, the people like you and me who know we're not smart enough without other people are the smart ones. It's all these nulls that are dumbest people out there. Okay, last question before I'd ask you advice you give to your 16 year old self. Statistically, I don't care if it's high school, college, NFL, give me your best game ever. What's the one where you're like, man, I threw. What's your Al Bundy Poke High game?

[Fran Tarkenton]

I loved every game. I love the ones who we won more than that. But I go back to the. The greatest moment happened my first game I ever played. And the reason it did, nobody ever played or won a game their first year. Tom Landry didn't win. He came in 60 and being prepared to start, not starting, and then go out in the second quarter and be able to execute and use. I couldn't win it by myself. I had to execute. I had to get the ball in the hands of my running backs, my receivers. I had to rely on my defense to get sacks. And quarterbacks are important, but we got to have all the help in the world. We got to have great, great teammates. And if you don't understand that, you don't play. And a lot of quarterbacks that have great talent don't make it. All of them can run, all of them can throw their physical, but you only got four or five out of 32 teams. Only four or five quarterbacks can, can really play. So mainly I think they don't go out and find out how they can get better. And, and you got to get better in your tip and here.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's right.

[Fran Tarkenton]

And you got to go out and get that information from quarterbacks and coaches that have proven themselves. So everything I know is from somebody else. I have never had an original thought and I'm okay with that. I love that.

[Ryan Sickler]

Fran, I'm gonna let you get out of here, but real quick, advice you would give to 16 year old Fran Tarkenton?

[Fran Tarkenton]

That's a good question. And be yourself. You can learn from other people, but you are a unique person that God has, has given you life. Be yourself, Be kind, be generous. You know all this anger we see today in this country, anger never wins. And all we got to do is go to the left or the right. It's, it's this and that. It's anger, anger, anger. I don't have anger. I walk away from anger. And if you're angry, I don't want to be around you. And that's, that's the best lesson I've learned in my now 65 years. In 85 years. 85 years is soon to be 86 years.

[Ryan Sickler]

Thank you so much. Please promote everything you'd like one more time. Fran. Go ahead.

[Fran Tarkenton]

Well, we're talking about PIP iq. It's an AI. We built it here. We've now taken it out to some people to go work. And it's working well. You need to go look at it and if you'll just go, you can schedule a demo and get started with PIP iq. Take a look at it and see if it's for you. If it's not for you, don't do it. If it doesn't make sense for you, don't do it. But we can help you. We got people here who can help you understand the power of this AI thing that's going on and help your business. And you'll be glad you did.

[Ryan Sickler]

Fran, thank you so much.

[Fran Tarkenton]

My pleasure. Thanks. Love being with you.

[Ryan Sickler]

Hey, I. I can't tell you how great this was. Thank you so much. All of you out there watching, listening. Thank you so much. We'll talk to y' all next.

[Fran Tarkenton]

And Doug here we have the Limu emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates excludes Massachusetts. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day. Yeah. Give it a [e-mail] Save upfront payment.

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[Andy Staples]

Hi, I'm Andy Staples from Andy and Ariane three. And another five star quarterback just entered the transfer portal. That's what college football is now, a non stop adventure. And we cover it every day at Andy and Ariane 3, whether it's the transfer portal, the college football playoff, the coaching carousel, you name it. And guess what? It doesn't stop even when the season ends. So join us every day, Monday through Friday. New episodes drop at 3pm Wherever you get your podcasts.