AJ Francis Recap

On Wednesday, February 17, TerpsSBS welcomed Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle A.J. Francis back to the University of Maryland Campus. Francis, 25, joined UMD students to talk about his path to the NFL and offer some insight to the sports business world.

Francis, a native of Baltimore, attended Gonzaga College High School in Washington D.C, taking the train from BWI to Union Station every single day. According to Francis, he always knew he wanted to be a professional athlete, but had his sights set on the NBA. Standing at 6’5”, he still hasn’t given up hope and still participates in intramural basketball and the UMD campus (he’s a three-time champion, by the way).

After spending four years at Gonzaga, Francis joined the University of Maryland football team where he spent five years (one as a red shirt) competing for the Terrapins. After his senior season concluded, Francis’s hopes of becoming a professional football player became a reality. After being passed over in the NFL Draft, Francis was able to sign with the Miami Dolphins as a free agent. After spending time with both the Dolphins and the New England Patriots, Francis now finds himself a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

Francis’s electric personality was evident in the hour he spent talking to UMD students. He covered topics from how he decided to sign with his agent to how you should trust people that listen to Future. When it comes to being successful in sports business, Francis says that, “Sports business is just like sports, you get out of it what you put into it,” He advised students to find their niche, what makes them unique, and run with that.

Francis also discussed a number of different career paths within the sports industry that students showed interest in. As far as becoming a successful agent, Francis says that all it takes is to get lucky one time, and if you’re looking to make the big bucks, consider sports real estate. When it comes to being a financial advisor, Francis reminds us that there are 40,00 NFL-approved financial advisors and only 18,000 players. You do the math. Additionally, he says telling a professional athlete that he or she can’t have access to his or her own money is never a fun job.

Francis closed with his sleeper draft pick for this year – Maryland’s own Yannick Ngakoue – and a reminder that former Terp Stefan Diggs is the best player that he has ever played with, on any level.

He left the group with one final reminder, “Even if you don’t achieve your goal, you’re going to know that you did everything that you could to get there.”

Follow A.J. on Twitter here and check out our Twitter account for more quotes and reactions from the event here.