Primer on life lessons in the NFL
While some Raiders players and coaches dispersed for a summer break following last week’s minicamp, the incoming rookie class still had work to do.
First- year players have been at the Raiders’ facility this week for the team’s “rookie academy,” a program that provides lessons and advice on transitioning into life in the NFL.
Session topics vary from financial advice and dealing with media to NFL policies and a history of the Raiders franchise. The academy is put on by the team’s Player Engagement Department.
“It really is holistic,” said Lamonte Winston, the Raiders’ director of player engagement. “It’s no different than the
coaches, what they’re doing with various systems — offense, defense, special teams.”
The NFL used to hold an annual rookie symposium. But that was only for drafted players, and it was disbanded after 2015 in favor of teams hosting their own programs for incoming rookies.
The past two months have been busy for rookies who were drafted or signed in late April and thrust immediately into learning new playbooks and workout programs. This week has provided a chance to focus on off- the- field changes.
“It’s been extremely helpful being able to hear from players, former players, people they’ve brought in to discuss the things that go on in our daily lives just being football players and part of the NFL,” defensive tackle Maurice Hurst said Wednesday.
“We’ve never really had training like this. You go to school for four or five years and never learn how to balance a checkbook or anything like that. So it’s just having these sort of meetings and getting to hear from people that have done that before and figure out what your future’s going to look like in the NFL.”
Monday’s sessions focused on Raiders history, with speakers including former players Greg Townsend, Lincoln Kennedy and Darren McFadden. Hurst said he was impressed by “just their message about where Oakland’s been in the past and sort of how it’s fell off in the past years. … Just trying to bring the Raiders back to the glory days and try to make them great again.”
Other meetings dealt with practical topics for players who just signed their first professional contracts.
“One thing college did prepare us for coming here was time management,” offensive tackle Brandon Parker said, “but now it’s kind of like you have to learn time management with money. Some guys can go and get kind of wild. … Me, I’ve always been a humble guy, very budget- oriented. Being the type of guy I am, just knowing what I have to do, it helps a lot.”
One Wednesday session addressed dealing with media. Parker said one message about social media in particular left an impression on him.
“‘ Nothing goes away,’ ” Parker said. “Luckily I’ve never been a bad tweeter, never put anything bad out there. But where they said that yesterday’s behind you but it doesn’t go away, that probably stuck with me more than anything.”
As part of this year’s program, the Raiders for the first time also flew in rookies’ parents for a three- day introduction to the organization last weekend. For some players, like Parker, it was the first time their parents had visited the area.
“They still can’t stop talking about just the weather, the environment,” Parker said. “My dad, he enjoyed some of the sessions just as much as I did.”