After a solid 10-year career with the New Orleans Saints in which he set every major receiving record, Marques Colston has embarked on another chapter in his life where he's been equally successful.
Colston may not be catching touchdown passes from Drew Brees anymore in the Big Easy, but he's making his presence known as an entrepreneur around the country as well as in New Orleans. The one-time Super Bowl champion has been busy building an impressive resume with his off-the-field ventures including his latest endeavor in which he and his wife, Emily, have partnered with the New Orleans-based, Main Squeeze Juice Co.
The former NFL star took some time out of his busy schedule to speak with ClutchPoints at length about numerous topics including Main Squeeze partnership, Brees' legacy, Michael Thomas' chances of breaking his records, the NFC Championship Game controversy, Antonio Brown situation in Pittsburgh, the one young wideout he sees himself in as well as the one veteran pass-catcher that is setting the best example for the next generation, and the direction of the Saints franchise moving forward.
Ryan Ward: You’ve been a busy man since retiring from the NFL. You recently agreed to a partnership with Main Squeeze Juice Co. Talk about this new partnership and why you and your wife decided to go in this direction.
Marques Colston: For us, it was a really interesting opportunity to get connected with a Louisiana-born company and obviously spending 10 years playing for New Orleans for the Saints built a lot of really good relationships in that community and supported by a really great fan base down there, so for us, it was a no-brainer to partner with a group that we felt really good about the product and the ability to provide healthy nutrition and snacks to the people that have shown us so much love over the years.
The ability to join a company so early that has the opportunity and potential to become a national powerhouse we were just really excited about it and jumped at the opportunity.
RW: What stood out to you about Main Squeeze that made you want to pursue this partnership?
MC: It was two things. I mean, first and foremost, the product itself. What the company stands for and the ability to provide healthy choices to folks of all walks of life and all ages groups I think was huge for us.
Again, being able to jump into a business in Lousiana in New Orleans with a management team that's born and raised in New Orleans. It was just a really good fit for us culturally, and it's just been a really great experience integrating into the management team and really driving a product that we feel good about being able to service a bunch of different types of folks.
RW: Is the Main Squeeze Juice Co. solely in New Orleans and are there plans for expansion?
MC: We are already in four different states I believe. Our goal is to expand throughout the Southeast initially, and obviously, our overarching goal is to be a national player in the cold-pressed juice and smoothie industry.
RW: What other ventures have you gotten into since walking away from football?
MC: This is my first foray into the food space. I've been in the sports and technology space for about five years now. Got a consulting company called Dynasty Innovation. We do a lot of business development. We call it growth consulting in that space.
I've got an education partnership with Columbia Business School up in New York. Educating current and former athletes around entrepreneurship and venture investing.
RW: What advice would you give a rookie in the NFL about life after football?
MC: I think the biggest piece of advice is that you've got to find is balance, especially as a young player in the league.
Your sole purpose has to be preparing yourself to have a long enough career to get to a second or third contract, but at the same time, I always urge guys to really understand that this platform that everyone talks about is not given to them. It's something that they are building real-time and should be very intentional on how they're building it, and always being open to opportunities that you can leverage your own hard work and your own brand into opportunities that have long-term capabilities.
RW: What would you like to do in the future? Is there a goal you're striving for?
MC: It's funny. I kind of work in five-year segments. For whatever reason, that's just kind of how my brain works.
For me, I'm kind of in the middle of this five-year segment I'm working in now and my goal within in that time is to really expose myself to a bunch of different types of opportunities that have high-growth potential and check all the boxes that I'm really interested in right now. Position myself within the next five or 10 years to take on two or three of them at a really high level and continue to learn along the way.
RW: Your New Orleans Saints are a force to be reckoned with once again. What did you think of your former team's performance in 2018?
MC: I think it's a team that is in a really, really good spot. They're a group that you can tell that they're really connected on and off the field. In football, that culture in that locker room is everything.
When you've got a Hall of Fame quarterback [Drew Brees] pulling the trigger, and you have a Hall of Fame head coach [Sean Payton], you are always going to have that opportunity, and they're taking advantage of this window they're in right now.
RW: Drew Brees continues to pad his legacy with an impression 2018 campaign. Where do you think he stands in the GOAT conversation?
MC: I think he's definitely in the conversation for sure. I mean, it's a matter of: What are you looking for? I always talk about quarterbacks, and their job description really is to win games. Complete a lot of passes. Don't throw interceptions, and if you look at those metrics, he's checked off every single one of those boxes at the highest level.
The only place where you can make the argument that he's lacking is in Super Bowl rings. Quite frankly, no one is going to catch Tom Brady in that space. I think it's just a matter of what you're looking for, but no matter what metrics you use, I think he's got to be in the top three or five.
RW: Do you have a Drew Brees story that maybe no one has heard before after playing with him for 10 years?
MC: It's crazy. He is exactly what you see on TV. He has an ability to be whoever he needs to be for that week. So he can definitely be Corporate Drew. The face of the franchise guy, and in some weeks he has to be Drew that can kind of get down and dirty with you and connect with everybody on the roster.
He understands who he is and what he can do, but he never presents it in a way that it makes you feel like you're not on equal footing with him. I think that's a testament to his leadership and it's what allows that team to win a lot of games.
RW: So basically the perfect leader?
MC: Yeah, you've got to be relatable and gold-jacket material at the same time, and that's a hard balance.
RW: The NFC Championship Game controversy had a lot of people in New Orleans upset and for good reason. What's your take on what happened against the Los Angeles Rams?
MC: I think it's going to drive the league to look at full-time officials. You kind of saw blown calls throughout the year, but for it to happen on that stage in that moment with that much on the line. You never want to see a game end with something other than what the players are doing on the field.
It's really unfortunate, especially when you pad on what happened the year prior in Minnesota. It's definitely tough for the fan base down there, but that group is not going anywhere. I think they'll be right back in the hunt this upcoming season.
RW: You had a solid 10-year career with the Saints. What was your favorite career moment?
MC: I won't go cliche and talk about winning a championship, but a moment I look back on and I reflect on is actually my first start.
It's something that I've always kind of been this eyes down just kind of working and grind it out. Unassuming in the way that I approached the game and as a rookie coming out of training camp, coming out of the preseason, I had no idea that I was going to be starting Game 1 of my career.
The way that I found out on Wednesday preparation going into the game that I was starting, I'll never forget that moment. Just because it was kind of unexpected and at the same time it happened in a way where it didn't really feel like pressure.
RW: What are your thoughts on the Antonio Brown situation with the Pittsburgh Steelers? How that relationship with Ben Roethlisberger became toxic and as someone that played 10 years with a superstar quarterback yourself?
MC: I think if both guys could go back in time they'd probably approach it a maybe little bit differently, but I think there's validity on…it's just a really interesting situation.
Not being in that locker room I don't have a full grasp on how it all played out, but I do know that I've never been on a good team that guys were being called out by their peers publicly. I've never been on a good team and saw that happen.
RW: Where do you think Brown will land or where do you think is the best fit for the superstar wideout?
MC: I couldn't tell you, man. But I do know that wherever he goes, they're going to get a top-flight receiver that is going to outwork everyone else on the field.
That's the one part of Antonio Brown that I think doesn't get mentioned enough. Everyone talks about the bravado and the personality, but no one wants to talk about the work that he puts in.
Whoever gets him, they're going to get one hell of a player. Somebody that works their butt off!
RW: As someone who played a decade with one team in the NFL, that star players in today's game, outside of quarterbacks, won't be playing with the same team for their entire careers anymore? Star players moving every four or five years?
MC: I think it's the blessing and a curse of free agency. But from the player perspective, when the lightbulb goes off that the team is always going to make the right financial decision for the team, it puts you in a different mindset that you've got to do the same for yourself.
Teams have no problem signing you to a five-year contract and cutting you after year three because it doesn't make financial sense for them anymore, so as a player, it's funny how it's perceived that you're the bad guy for thinking the same way.
It's going to become the nature of the business as these contracts, and these salary numbers continue to grow, and I think it is just a matter of players understanding the business and playing the game the same way that ownership plays it.
RW: So do you think it is a good thing in terms of player empowerment? Players being able to know what they're worth and controlling their own fate?
MC: I think in a lot of ways it's good business. You have to preserve this small window that you have. The average career is three and a half years. You have to maximize it because it's not coming around again, so I do think that empowerment is important, but at the same time it does make it tough as a fan to really have loyalty to a team, especially in this fantasy football driven era as well.
RW: You basically hold every receiving record in Saints franchise history. Do you think Michael Thomas can challenge you in that respect?
MC: Yeah. I mean, I think he's off to a ridiculous start already. That's what records are for. Records are meant to be broken. Knowing him and kind of understanding the person he is and the player he is, I'm kind of holding my breath and waiting. I know it's coming.
If he does get to them, he's going to earn every single one of them. I'm happy to see another guy come along and not only respect what goes into having sustained success, but also appreciate the folks that came before him. That's all you can really ask for.
RW: Is there a young receiver in the NFL right now that you see yourself in?
MC: It's funny. There's a guy out in Denver, Courtland Sutton. He's somebody I watched in college and actually just got a chance to meet him this past weekend. He's a guy that I think has a lot of similar qualities. He can play outside. Smart enough and savvy enough to play in the slot and do some damage in there.
Anytime I see a young receiver that can play that big slot role; I always enjoy it because you can create some really interesting mismatches inside.
RW: Which receivers in the league do you see as role models and setting the best examples for the next generation?
MC: My favorite receiver in this generation is Julio Jones. A lot of it is, I think his production is understated. He's a guy that's in the top two or three in every meaningful receiving category every year. He's a guy that just goes out and puts the work in. He lets the work speak for itself.
Personally, when I was playing against him and seeing what he would do two times a year, I've got a ton of respect not only his talent but the way he plays the game. The way he carries himself.
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