How Peyton Manning, the XFL and technology changed pro football — and what’s coming next

Forget fantasy football and daily fantasy sports: football fans are about to have the opportunity to get much more involved

Ray Austin isn’t just a former NFL player. He’s an actor. He’s a model. He’s been on reality TV. And he’s an entrepreneur whose latest company is Project Fanchise, where he serves as Director of Sports. What is Project Fanchise? A chance for fans to control every aspect of an actual pro football team. Check out the site, and follow the account on Twitter.

As for Austin, we recently talked about his involvement with Fanchise, Peyton Manning, concussions in the NFL, the XFL and more:

Project Fanchise: Let’s start with your high school, college and NFL football experience.

Ray Austin: When I was in high school we won the USA Today national championship — we had the best football team in the country my sophomore year. 10 of us went to Division 1, four of us went to the NFL. When I went to the University of Tennessee, my defensive backs coach was Lovie Smith, a student of the game, who recruited me out of high school. I lost eight games in college in four years. The guy at the helm was Peyton Manning. I was a team captain — me, Peyton, Leonard Little and Jay Graham, all went to the NFL. So when I was getting drafted my senior year, I watched a ton of film with Peyton, because I was going from a safety to a corner. I had to see the film from a different point of view, in a different way. I learned a lot from Peyton — he would be throwing touchdowns over my head in practice, so I’d say, ‘what am I not seeing?’ He really helped me and coached me through. When you’re going against him on Saturday you can go against anyone on Sunday.

In the NFL, there are the guys who run around and are athletic, and then there’s the smart guys. The smart guys end up playing longer.

PF: It does seem there’s been a shift in some ways in more recent years to put a focus on analytics, the ability to watch and break down tape, to over-prepare. Do you think Peyton was leading the charge with that?

RA: When I was in college, Peyton was the first guy in the film room and the last guy leaving — and he had his playbook with him. That rumor that he’s a student of the game, it’s true — he actually taught me to be a student of the game. In the NFL, there are the guys who run around and are athletic, and then there’s the smart guys. The smart guys end up playing longer. That’s just how it is. When I got drafted my head coach at the time was Bill Parcells, and my defensive backs coach was Bill Belichick. I saw him all day long. He showed me what defense really was. I didn’t really understand what I thought I knew until I was working with him. People don’t understand — you only get limited time to practice. Most of the time you’re in the tape room. You watch more film than you do actually playing football. We got tested, weekly. The rookies had to get up in front of the other defensive backs, and I had to give a report each week on the receivers and the quarterback that we were about to play. Imagine being 21-years-old, talking to players that had been in the league for 10–15 years, and you’re trying to tell them about Randy Moss or Dan Marino. It really wasn’t for them — I didn’t realize until later, but it was for me. And Aaron Glenn, who was on the team at the time, he showed me how to be a pro. He took me aside and said ‘get your notebook. Have a folder for every team.’ By the end of the year I had this huge binder. That’s when I started to learn that the only way I was going to make it was to be a student of the game.

PF: People don’t realize that yes, football is this incredibly physical game, but also the playbook is so much thicker than any other sport.

RA: People have the nerve to call football players stupid. I don’t think they understand how difficult it is to go from one team to another team and pick up a different language instantly. Yeah, you have Cover 1, Cover 2, but the New York Jets might call it “pirate” and Chicago Bears might call it “Texas” — you have to correlate it and communicate it out. Before the play starts, there’s like 17 different keys going through your mind.

PF: It seems like it’s slowly evolving. People are paying attention now to the guys on both sides of the ball, calling out plays before the snap, making adjustments. It’s incredible to watch.

RA: When I’m in the stadium or at home, I don’t watch like a fan would watch it. I’m always looking at ‘why is the coach calling this’ and ‘why isn’t the offense adjusting to the defense’ and vice versa. I see it from a different angle.

PF: How has the NFL changed from when you played?

RA: The thing people don’t realize about the NFL is that it’s evolving so quickly. I remember when I was on the sideline they’d have folders with pictures of the defenses for the quarterback to look at. Now they have iPads — it’s faster now. The NFL is evolving, and the fans can also evolve.

Project Fanchise allows everyone to engage. It’s opening up a door, a whole new revolution, to enjoy football in a new way.

PF: That’s a great segue to talk about Project Fanchise. For people that don’t really know, what is it, and what should people expect when they get into it?

RA: The ability for fans, coach potatoes, guys in the bar, real students of the game, women who think they’re better than their boyfriends, who say ‘I think I can do a better job and call better plays than anyone else, my voice should be heard and I want to be involved and I want my opinion to matter’ — that’s what Project Fanchise is. We want people who can’t get a job like a coach or an owner or player or scout — Project Fanchise allows everyone to engage. It’s opening up a door, a whole new revolution, to enjoy football in a new way.

PF: Fantasy football has been around a long time, and daily fantasy in the last few years has made people have to learn about every player and match-up — this seems like the logical next step.

RA: It has to be. This is live Madden. This is bragging rights. Actually now you’re a part of it, fans aren’t just putting in money but getting something out of it too. You can’t get closer than this.

PF: How did you get involved with this idea?

RA: I was literally sitting in a bar watching TV and I wanted to watch the football games and everyone else wanted to watch MMA. So I said, ‘let’s vote on it.’ And I lost! So my mind went to football, and I thought ‘wow what if I could vote on what play I wanted.’ I went to a friend of mine’s semi-pro football team and asked if I could watch them play. After, I walked up to the coaches and asked if I could demonstrate something. I sat up in the stands, and texted my friend on the field, ‘tell them to run a sweep.’ He got the message, told the coach, and they ran sweep left. I told them ‘run a play action pass’ and they did. That’s when I started thinking ‘holy crap this could be something.’ What [Project Fanchise CEO] Sohrob Farudi and the team have done with my idea, they‘ve blown it up into something way bigger. It still is authentic, what I love with the play-calling, but now it’s so much more. There’s the front-office part, the decision-making. There’s something for everyone.

PF: You mentioned social media — you’re big on Twitter and Instagram. The amount of people on their phones while they watch, it seems like social media has upped the ability to interact with what you’re experiencing.

RA: Social media is going to be our best friend. That’s what’s going to push this. This is giving the power to the fans.

PF: This Project Fanchise team will play in the Independent Football League, and you have some experience playing in an independent football league, playing in the XFL. What was that experience like, being a part of something that was a really interesting and kind of forward-thinking league?

RA: Loved it. 90% of the players in it loved it. 90% of the coaches in it loved it. It would have worked if [Vince] McMahon would have gotten his ego out of the way. It had quality football. Two things came out of the XFL, pieces of technology, that the NFL uses now: the overhead wire camera, and the helmet camera. It was phenomenal. Of course the NFL was going to shame it, because they’re the big brother. No one can compete with the NFL. We’re not going to compete with the NFL.

Would I have done it over again? That’s a question I still ask myself….At the end of the day, it’s a business. You’re an entity.

PF: You were one of the players who sued the NFL over the concussion issue. How do you think they’re handling it now?

RA: Well first, I was invited to see Concussion recently. It was very tear-jerking. The way they explained football — it was a gift and a curse. That’s what football is. They made a good statement that, sure could you break your leg, tear your rotator cuff or ACL, absolutely. That’s what I knew. That was my risk. Did I know there’s a possible link to CTE, Alzheimer’s, dementia? Absolutely not. The way they’re handling it now, even today, is not good enough. Look at how they handled it with Case Keenum. They have a concussion protocol now, but it was clear over television the man was out of it. He should not have been in the rest of the game. Is football going anywhere? Absolutely not. Is there a grace and goodness to football? Absolutely. Would I have done it over again? That’s a question I still ask myself. It’s opened up tremendous doors for myself, my family, my friends — I wouldn’t give up the experience.

PF: Did you see Ben Roethlisberger took himself out? I guess it’s a small thing, but maybe that’s what it’s going to take — you take it in your own hands.

RA: Well it was worse in my day. You can’t sit. Every guy behind you is just as hungry as you are. They used to always say to us ‘you’re a play away from not being here’ and ‘that guy behind you who you think is your friend, he’s trying to take food off your table.’ At the end of the day, it’s a business. You’re an entity.

PF: Let’s talk about life after football. You got into modeling, acting, working with Coca-Cola and other companies. How has that transition been?

RA: It was easy for me to transition into it, because, I never thought about acting or modeling, but I just love competition. I’ve had a tremendous career here in Chicago with over 100 commercials, two dozen print ads, and I just did Chicago PD last week, where my character from Chicago Fire just got put on Chicago PD.

It’s hard to recreate yourself. I know a lot of teammates who were great guys, but you don’t know where they are now. They walk away from football, and that was their identity.

PF: You also got into some reality TV, with the show 100 Days of Summer on Bravo.

RA: (laughs) I’ll just say one thing about reality TV — it’s not what people think. It’s not scripted. But there are events that are scheduled. If such and such is having a party, and you don’t want to go, tough. I enjoyed it. You just have to keep going. Keep your name out there. It’s hard to recreate yourself. I know a lot of teammates who were great guys, but you don’t know where they are now. They walk away from football, and that was their identity. Now they’re a realtor or contractor — they’re doing something they don’t really want to do. They kind of disappear. I thank God I was able to keep my name fresh.

SK: On your Bravo bio they said you have a motto where you say “I can accept failure, but I can’t accept not trying.” I’m curious that now, as you go into entrepreneurial work, with Project Fanchise, what can you say about that to other aspiring entrepreneurs who may be looking to make a career change?

RA: This thing we’re doing now, Project Fanchise, was dead to me two years ago. All the people I know, in sports, I couldn’t get it off the ground. It was damn near depressing. I worked so hard and then it just died. Then, all of sudden, full circle, my former Bears teammate Tony Parrish, he introduced me to Sohrob. That’s how it all started. You don’t know when it’s going to happen, but you have to keep cranking. Always keep your idea fresh — open it up, just look at it. And if you really have an idea or project you’re working on — tell the people you respect, because they’ll tell you the truth.

Stay up to date on all things Project Fanchise at our website: Fanchi.se