Austin Ekeler Shares Why He Signed with the Commanders and the Expectations on Offense This Season

I don't care who Seattle played that night we could put all 30 one other teams together and they would they would we would to beat seatt P I taught Pat how to punt he's a friend of mine and you know it's really cool seeing him do what he's doing now he will was there and good coverage broke it up and then the ball was in the air so I caught it ball in uh P my chest and uh just go for the pylon there I told Pete Carol in his face doing the Seahawks Le I'm going to run a 4 three so you don't want to miss it CU it's going to happen quick hey everyone welcome back to for the athlete I'm your host Brook subber and we're here with another athlete conversation this time with star running back Austin Eckler who's about to start his first season with the Washington commanders a week from now Austin what's going on how are you doing I'm doing well man thanks for having me on looking forward to chatting oh yeah hey me too A lot of people know you as a two-time touchdown leader with the Chargers and the fantasy football Guru but a lot of people don't know a lot of things about you and that's what we're going tocover over the next 20 minutes and one of those things is that you're a passionate entrepreneur you just launched an app called experience I've been on the app I love the vision with how you're connecting athletes their fans how did you come up with experience and what's the end goal with it yeah I appreciate you asking uh for me I really wanted to create a easier way for athletes to actually do fan engagement type things fans obviously want to engage or have some type of memory or moment with us as athletes uh especially during the season when it's really emotional uh but there's not really an easy way for us to go about doing that uh during the season that actually is is something that is Meaningful for for fans you know like me you know liking something on a comment stuff like goes a long way because it's so easy but it's like okay how really memorable is that so I want to create a platform that had more interaction types so if you want to get for instance your Austin neckar jersey signed and you don't have an opportunity to now you can go in through experience and check out my my profile see that I'm offering fan mail and if you send it your fan mail it'll get to me and it'll get signed so that's off that offers with Washington right now with fan ma but we have like personalized videos video chats social media interactions there's a team newsletter if you want to get stories from the team you can go in there and sponsor the team you get a newsletter every single month so a ton of different interactions on experience and really wanted to make it easy for athletes and that's what I've done I love that how were you able to get all these athletes on board cuz see you have your Al Mater Western Colorado there you have a bunch of NFL players I mean what was your pitch yeah so we are definitely new we've been around for about two months now and I understand the pain points of being an athlete and doing fan engagement and I have been using those pain points as things that we're going to solve for with experience oh and by the way it's spelled EK KS like my last name Eckler so X that's awesome by the way who is in charge of who is in charge of putting that together because a name and and we were thinking of like different ways to like play off of my name my last name my first name and um experience was definitely a home run and we've stayed with it ever said so it's it's great it's incredible by the way kudos to you guys thank because we're about we we say we're about the real Fan Experience that's what we say uh and so how about been get these guys on I I know their point uh pain points and they understand that and so when I talk to these guys I'm like hey this is going to be the easiest type of fan engagement you've ever done but you're also going to give something meaningful to the fans as well that they're not going to be able to forget they'll have that they'll always have that moment where they remember when you were talking about either the game coming up or you sign their Jersey or so on and so forth so that's how I've been getting guys on and like I said we're early on and we'll keep adding as we go when a fan buys an experience how much of the money goes to the athlete yeah so there is compensation with this because our athletes are definitely uh pressed for their time it's very limited um and so it's a small moment but it's a moment that like I said will last and 80% goes to our athletes um and then the there'll be a 20% cut which is a typical marketing cut um in the athlete in the entertainment World um that we take for experience of course Welly I love everything to do with experience I can't wait to see more athletes on there and hey okay I don't think you're gonna like this answer so I'm a Cowboys fan okay and I was going to wear my Dallas hat but I was like okay I don't want you leaving after 30 seconds I had to change it I'm new to the Rivalry here I you know I've been in the I've been in the AFC West you know for the past seven years so now this is new to me so you wouldn't offended me because look when you when you're as big as in a fantasy football as I am you have fans of you that are across the entire NFL for all these different teams so I embrace it hey just make sure when you're at a you know uh you know Washington uh charger I mean uh Cowboys game that you make sure you just yell blue as loud as you can't cuz I want I want to feel that P that passion and energy I just didn't know cuz you know Sparks were flying when you played them last year and yeah everything was experienced I love it I was part of the beta test um and I love seeing all these different athletes you ever get Tony Romo I'll just give you my entire bank account so um well don't do that don't do that but uh yeah definitely get yourself an interaction for sure we'll we'll reach out and see if we can get that done while we're talking about the awesome things you're doing off the field we can't just skip over the elephant in the room which is the Austin Eckler Foundation you started it back in 2021 after finding out a high school needed a new gym why do you feel that's important for you to get back to your community and how can others help do the same thing through your foundation yeah absolutely so I I really really am close to the gym and I love the the different transferable skills that it can build within oneself and really for really a low cost but besides your effort and actually going and showing up and because of that you know just showing up you learn how to push yourself mentally how to push yourself physically how to work with others how to you know improve yourself and push through hard times in a safe environment right the the Jim is such a great teacher of several different skills and I think everyone should have the gym or some type of physical activity like lifting weights or running or something that they can incorporate in their life because like I just mentioned there's so many transferable skills that transfer into work that transfer into relationship being consistent all of these other things so I wanted to make sure that I was providing what helped me when I was younger back to the communities that were in need of that resource which was the weight room and so that's why we renovate weight rooms all across the nation uh we've done five up to this point so these are Big projects they take a long time to build as you can imagine and get equipment shipping and all of that so it's uh it's been slow but very impactful and we'll continue to ramp it up but if you want to learn more about our project we've done washers and dryers school school equipment all t items that we can put back into the um into the community you can check it out at Eckler foundation.com awesome well hey to help I want to challenge you this football season for every touchdown you score versus my Cowboys I'll put up $50 to the Austin neckar Foundation hey I I appreciate that I appreciate that pledge man thank you so much of course you you have two tries at it I just y I want you to score touchdown just don't go nuclear because I still want the cowbo to win I think the most I've ever scored was four in one game and so that was oh I know you on my fantasy team for that and hey I appreciate it let's go suay night game against the Steelers so that's the ball well yeah seriously though like I I love everything you're doing and if it can you know do some fun while I'm watching the Cowboys game why not yeah absolutely well I appreciate the players my friend well so before we talk about why you sign with the commanders because everybody's wondering and you're pairing up with Brian Robinson I'd love to talk about your first running back Duo that you were a part of with Melvin Gordon so in 2019 you were named the starter with Melvin's contract hold out lasting four weeks into the season and you never gave it back to him basically what do you remember from like that time in your life and how come you weren't starting sooner you scored six touchdowns in the first two games yeah um you know I wouldn't say I never give it back to him he definitely was in that spot when he came back uh Melvin Melvin was definitely a big impact on my my career early on and you know he came into a situation where he wasn't liking what he was getting offered in his contract and you know how that goes out with the holdouts and stuff like that but you know in the past I had definitely been playing well and now I finally got the opportunity to show hey Austin can you be a starter in this league and then for those first for those first few weeks I was continuing to play at the level that I was playing at which was pretty high and then yeah it never necessarily went back to being necessarily like a true backup where I'm on special team teams and stuff like that CU that I just was strictly offense um and it was able to make an impact there but definitely really appreciated my time with Melvin and I see that same type of maybe Duo um that we have with Ryan Robinson here coming back and no telling how it's going to play out but you know Melvin and I definitely were uh a force to be reckoned with what we were both rolling back in those days of course well so did his hold out change the way you approached your own contract situations with the Chargers last year and in 2020 so not necessarily you know I was in a situation where um they had my cont they had one more year on my contract so really I had I had zero leverage um I didn't have any guaranteed money um and so I was in a situation where hey if I can get anything extra because of the way I've been playing um and because how we had negotiated my contract wasn't on the terms that I'm playing on it was hey that you're going to not be the Workhorse back you're going to be splitting carries just like you did with Melvin Gordon and that obviously never happened uh so that was what I was using as leverage to try to get a bigger a bigger contract and extend myself because I was that Workhorse back I was that predominant person in that back field I was playing at not a high level the highest level in the league um during those two years so beauti before beforehand so definitely gave the Chargers a discount based off of what happened um and so was trying to trying to get some of that that value back a discount is putting it lightly you scored the most touchdowns out of anybody in a two-year stretch come on Austin right wait while we're on the topic about talking about contracts you signed a two-year deal with the commanders this off season I know the Chargers were cleaning house with a new GM new head coach new receivers you name it but were you close to staying in LA and how many teams were you Fielding offers from not even close not even close I think I think they had made up their mind that they wanted to clean house and they want to start over it seems like uh you know get rid of some of the you know the predominant Playmakers and the skill positions over there and um that's that's what it was they brought in a whole new type of philosophy with uh you know Harbaugh and I mean I can't blame them it's their organization you do what you want to do with your organization but it just wasn't align with what I was trying to do with my career where I feel like I'm still at um and so that was an easy decision to move on from them as far as the the contracts as far as the community now now I still love the community still love the Chargers fans all of that like that was definitely the hardest part and okay now I'm going to have to up and join a whole new community which has been welcoming over here in Washington so I've really appreciated that um but it was it was a bit of sweet moment but then also now um like I said or you said found myself you know in a two-year situation out here in Washington looking forward to this new new adventure yeah were there any teams that you were close to going to I know the Cowboys aren't shelling out too much money but I would say there was like five or six teams that really reached out but there was such a frenzy um for the running backs right after uh because there had been the three guys that have got that were franchised and so they were going to be available my contract was coming up there was a couple others that were coming up like Aaron Jones uh you know Josh well Josh Jacobs was the guy that franchise so there was a lot of us Derrick Henry another one um that were coming up uh Joe uh Mixon as well so it was about to be a friendly and so there was like okay who's going where who wants who who could fit to the right system where uh and I feel like I I feel like I landed myself in the best position for myself as what I'm looking for U going back to when I had my first success and when I was playing at my high level at the beginning of my career being in that type of environment so that's why I ended up where I'm at I love it well I almost feel bad for Herbert because he lost you Kanan Mike Will I mean hey almost feel for the guy it's a new opportunity for some other guys to step up out there so you know um he he lost some of his his bigger name guys but like I said it's it's now an opportunity for these younger guys to to show uh show up and step up and show hey I can make an impact too and if not then you know that'll that'll be something that they'll have to go and address in the draft in free agency next year yeah well something that people don't talk about enough is like the actual move from going from one team to another how are you and your wife adjusting from the change from the west coast to the east yeah it's been um it's been a lot as you can imagine uh you know knowing that okay okay hey well we live in the LA area and then all of a sudden okay hey hey hun we're actually going to move to Washington you know and guess what Camp starts in two weeks because we have a new coach and we start early so not only is it a big change but we're leaving in two weeks tell your family by we're out of here you know so it was it was a big jump I came out here by myself uh for the first few weeks just to get acclimated and be with the team and everything and so it took a little bit longer to kind of make the move cuz she had some work and stuff scheduled uh but yeah that's not easy it's it's really not easy at all because you do I had to find a new place to live I need Furniture I got to get a car out here and so for the most part I was living in a hotel and taking a bus to to the work our little you know our shuttles taking our shuttles to the facility and back and kind of just hanging out in my hotel room trying to get everything figured out for the move yeah so you're not driving from the west coast to the east no I did not make that drive I definitely flew and then shipped the car out cuzz that's a lot of miles and a long time to make a road trip that I was not trying to make hey I I don't blame you um no that's probably what like 25 30 hours maybe more yeah I can't imagine that's a long time for sure so a lot of people when they talk about Dan Quinn as a head coach they talk about the culture he instills it was always about the culture in Dallas and in Atlanta how is the culture with Dan Quinn different than what you experienced with previous head coaches I think Dan well not think Dan coaches it more than any coach I've ever been around as far as culture Brotherhood the standard how things he always says it's got to go down like this this how it's got to go down that's how it's got to go down so he's Al always talking about what it means to hold that standard and what what can't go down can't go down like this can't do this um and so he's really intentional with making sure that people understand what's expected from us as players on the practice field outside of the practice field in the locker room and the meeting rooms during recovery and I'm really appreciative of that because when you're coaching those things what you're really coaching is processes and habits and how you go and how you go about doing things how we do it together and or or do it on your own um and when you coach those things and you're really tight on those those give you results you can't coach results you can't say well we're going to go win the Super bowl or we're going to win the game like yes obviously we want to do that but you don't just go out there and do that you have good systems and processes that allow you to go out there and have those results hopefully but you can't control the results you can only control the things that Dan Quinn has been coaching and so I really appreciate him for that yeah I miss him over in Dallas you guys take care of him and hey you guys are going to be pretty good this year you guys got if you B Rob and Jaden Daniels in the backfield you guys can all run the ball effectively what's the dynamic going to look like between you three and how much of a headache do you guys plan on giving opposing DCS yeah you know if you go back and watch any of Jaden's tape in college then you know he can run um which is definitely been showing up even in the preseason game so you know there's something that's really annoying in this league uh it doesn't matter what team you're on but it's you know when it's third down and you have a quarterback that's mobile who scrambles for like 13 12 yards and gets a first down and uh it's one of the most annoying things whether you're it's the worst you know like when you're on when it's your team you're like yeah but when you're on the other team is like come on like and so uh I'm looking forward to seeing him come alive uh making plays with his feet you know obviously us making plays around him as well uh but when you have someone that's mobile can throw the ball um and has been as detailed as as Jaden has been then it's it's it's a combination for a really good turnout and now it's up for us around him as Playmakers to make sure that we help him live up to the standard that he's he's been held up to well yeah so you played with Justin Herber when he was a rookie you you've been around Jaye Daniels this Camp as a rookie where is he at comparison to Herber in his first season because Herbert came out firing he came out as one of the top Premier quarterbacks as a rookie oh yeah um and I think what what herb had too around him too was I mean remember all the different players that he had around him as well and so I think that's a similar situation to what we have with Jaden right now where we have Zach we have myself we have Brian we have Terry like we have a lot of Playmakers around him that have been around that are veterans that can that can play at a high level um and when you have someone that's as talented as Justin or talented as Jaden they come into that environment it's it's it's a great opportunity for you to go out there and Thrive and put yourself on the map as far as hey I'm a real quarterback um and so Justin obviously did that and it's continued to do that up until this day and now it's Jaden's turn to show that he could do it as well well he has a great chance to win offensive Rookie of the Year and hey you have a great chance to put up some fantasy points let's talk about fantasy football I just did a 32-man league with all of my followers that's disg it's tough no it's disgusting but quarterback first did I did so I I took Lamar I took I pick 20 I traded back from pick eight to go take Lamar and then I have Devon aan because I'm like that guy's a dog and then I took Amari Cooper and the rest of the team looks terrible so yeah 32 teams is tough that's the most I've done is 20 and that was brutal well so the fun thing about this league is I call it the Survivor league so each uh week a team gets eliminated and their players hit free agency you can bid on them with like Fab money so it's it's be pretty fun but I couldn't draft you in this league so I'm at a tough spot I need to trade for you before they know I have this interview in place or else your value will Skyrocket so I need a trade for you but what can fans expect from you this season how many air guitar celebrations are they going to get I love it I love it so look everyone in this league is judged off of what you did for me last year and obviously last year first game coming out I have 150 yards in a touchdown down and boom also high ankle sprain and so dealing with the ankle sprain all year and then also our team was going through some stuff as well um and so it kind of put out for uh you know a down year for your boy unfortunately and uh you know saw that going into you know my contract year which also which also hurts um in multiple ways but uh for me it's like look I'm back I'm healthy uh which is the number one thing that you're going to see from or number one thing that if you see Austin healthy hey it's probably going to mean good things um not only in the fantasy world but also you know on the actual field as well so that's what I can give you a healthy Austin is uh putting up some points and so I'm looking forward to going out there staying as healthy as I can and making an impact not only on my own team but and everyone that has our fantasy as well let's do it well I have one last question for you it's cut week in the NFL as teams get down to their 53 players and as a guy who was an undrafted free agent and had to fight for everything he has in the NFL what message do you have for those guys who got cut this week and trying to do the same as you yeah so it's it's cut down day which means hey the valuations are in and people are you know finalizing their roster um some of the advice that I gave to our younger guys you know going into the game uh was just make sure that it's make sure that you put everything that you possibly can into this like exert everything uh but also know that you don't have to go be Superman all of the plays that will come to you will come within your Technique your fundamentals but just at the end of the game make sure that you can tell yourself in the mirror like that was everything I could have given that was me exerting all the effort that I had and that was that was me there you go um that's my resume because if if you do that you'll be able to live with that and regardless of the result obviously you want to make the team but no matter what if you go out and exert everything you possibly could have and you feel like that then you know you'll be able to live with yourself not thinking oh it was something that I didn't do that caused me to fail if I would have just done this or done that you don't want to do that to yourself so that's been the advice and now on this day you know the chips fall where they fall and you know it's not only um it's not the only day you know it doesn't mean this defines you as a player or anything like that it just means if you got cut maybe it's not your time right now and you got to get back to work just like all of us do and so that's that's what this day is about this day is about learning where you're at where you're valued in the league and you know learning of hey what's the progressive what's the progression that I need to start focusing on that whether it's on special teams trying to get back into League I'm on practice squad trying to get on the active roster no matter where you're at in the ecosystem we all got work to do and so it's it's not necessarily the end of your career it could get cut today uh it's just a you know a measurement of hey this is where they're they've evaluated you at but it doesn't Define you that's a great message thank you so much for taking time out of your day to do this interview I wish you nothing but the best this season I can't wait to see what happens with the team this year yeah and I got give one last plug here at the end so if you're trying to get your jersey signed for one of your NFL guys um right now it's with Washington only actually we have some La teams on there as well if you're interested there but if you want to get interaction make sure to check out experience um on any of the app stores iOS or Android eksp e r i n c so experience um and I'll see you on there hey don't worry Austin I'll be plugging in as much as you want I got you man appreciate it appreciate it man thank you so much yeah thank you I'm your host Brooks youber signing off until next time thank you for listening to the Austin neckar episode on for the athlete a [Music]