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Diego Pavia - Now It's Legal with Jim Cavale - S3E1
126 Plays2 months ago
Diego Pavia is currently a quarterback for the Vanderbilt University Commodores. He previously played for New Mexico State, leading them to a 10-5 record which included beating Auburn. In December 2023, Diego entered the transfer portal before transferring to Vanderbilt in January 2024. He led the Commodores to the Birmingham Bowl, their first bowl game since 2018, where he was named MVP. Diego also led the team to an upset victory against Alabama — the program's first win over Alabama since 1984.
Diego joins Now It’s Legal to discuss winning an injunction against the NCAA, allowing him to enter the transfer portal and play in 2025.
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About Now It's Legal
In July 2021, NIL forever changed the trajectory of college athletics. It’s been a long time coming as the NCAA has long needed changes like NIL, the transfer portal, revenue sharing and other benefits for college athletes.
We introduce to you the Now It’s Legal podcast. Join us as we discuss the industry that holds the hearts of millions of fans who want to understand where its trajectory is heading. We are talking to those who are invested in and affected by NIL including: Former and current college athletes, presidents and head coaches, broadcasters and media personalities, investors and more. This is just the beginning of NIL and what it means for the future of college athletics.
Host Jim Cavale is a former college athlete and entrepreneur who has become an advocate for young athletes across the country. In 2017, he created the INFLCR app that allowed athletes to build their brand on social media, and in 2021, evolved into the NIL management technology for more than 100,000 athletes across 200 college athletic programs. INFLCR has since been acquired by sports tech titan, Teamworks.
In 2023, Jim founded Athletes.org which which is the players association for college athletes to negotiate the best terms for their college athletics experience. AO provides its member athletes with a free membership, empowering them with a voice, on demand support, and group licensing income in the same ways that professional league associations do for their member athletes.
Tune in to a new episode on Wednesdays this spring and join in on the conversation on Instagram with @nowitslegalpod and @jimcavale.
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Transcript
Introduction & High-Selling Jersey
00:00:00
Speaker
Manziel had the high-selling jersey, brawn move back to Cleveland.
Podcast Introduction: Now It's Legal
00:00:10
Speaker
Welcome to season three of Now It's Legal, the podcast we talk about everything NIL, past, present, and future. I'm your host, it's Jim Cavall, and we have a wonderful season ahead. Starting with episode one is i had...
00:00:25
Speaker
ah chance to spend time in Nashville with the starting quarterback for Vanderbilt, a guy that the college football world knows very well, Diego Pavia.
Diego Pavia's Football Journey
00:00:35
Speaker
Diego's a guy who comes from New Mexico, was not really recruited, had a couple of Division II offers, and ended up playing JUCO at the New Mexico Military Institute.
00:00:45
Speaker
And after a couple of really good seasons there, he goes to New Mexico State, Beats Auburn at Auburn, along with a 10-win season and a bowl victory. Before you know it, he's at Vanderbilt, beating Alabama and bringing them to a winning season, ending with their victory over Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl. And
Advocacy for Athletes' Rights
00:01:06
Speaker
his story is amazing because it's not just about football success.
00:01:10
Speaker
It's about being an advocate for other college athletes and college football players. Diego's the guy who started the lawsuit over the JUCO years being taken from his NCAA eligibility, and that has led to an injunction that is allowing him to come back next season to play again at Vanderbilt and allowing other athletes who played JUCO to be able to do the same thing.
00:01:32
Speaker
He's a guy who isn't afraid to speak up and speak loud effectively. think you're really going to enjoy this interview. Here it is.
Diego's Passion for Football
00:01:39
Speaker
Diego Pavia and I talking on Now It's Legal.
00:01:43
Speaker
right, Diego. So I'm really excited about this convo. We've got college sports fans, college sports leaders, a lot of different people listen to this content. um And I can't wait for them to hear your story. So thanks for making time. I know that you've got a lot going on as a college athlete. I appreciate you having me here.
00:02:01
Speaker
So we're at On3, Nashville, Vanderbilt, star quarterback. But that didn't happen overnight. Let's start at the beginning. And let's talk about how you fell in love with the game of football growing up in New Mexico.
00:02:13
Speaker
and how you chased your dream to play college football. Let's start there. Yeah, um New Mexico, ah not small in my eyes, but small in other people's eyes. um I started when I was six years old. my mom lied on my birth certificate to get me to play. my but I have two older brothers younger sister.
00:02:31
Speaker
At the time, it was just you ah my two older brothers playing football, and I fell in love with the game. Like, we would I remember we'd get our football pads two weeks early before practice would even start, and we would just go on the side of the house and just cram each other.
00:02:45
Speaker
And it was just like, I just loved it.
Recruitment Challenges & Success
00:02:48
Speaker
you know um Just the ability to when you walk on that field, it's like a safe haven. and you know like Anything goes between the white lines. like It's just a place where like you forget about um your responsibilities, family, family girls, freaking whatever's going through your mind. Like it all shuts down. and It's just gamer, you know.
00:03:10
Speaker
And so that's that's how I fell in love with the game. if It's like a place where I go to just be me. 06.035 001 You what's interesting as a former college athlete, I go back, I try to, I'm a lot older now, man, in my 40s, but I try to remember that mindset of going onto the field before a game and what got me going the best. And it was when I took it personal that the other team actually thought they could beat us.
00:03:35
Speaker
That really would bother me to the point of competing at a higher level. I see that in you. Like when I watch you play, you're like, you think you can beat us? Really?
00:03:45
Speaker
All right, I'm about to show you. yeah So where did that come from? 100%. That's how it is every time I sit on the field. ah You go to like, I don't know, I feel like it started when I was, um when I went to JUCO. Like I went to a JUCO that's not really known, New Mexico military.
00:04:03
Speaker
And the year the year prior, they didn't you know they didn't go to the playoffs. The year we we got there, went to a bowl game. People still thought, you know, it's like it's New Mexico football still. It's all right. You like you eating beat us went that year one and won the national championship next year went to New Mexico State. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.
00:04:22
Speaker
This is the best part. How did you end up? Let's talk about the Hooters. Oh, you know, how to start yeah how do you know about that? And I study, you know, I'm not like I mean, I'm not, you know, professional podcast host, but I study enough. I know the story. yeah Give it to me. How do you end up in... So you're at New Mexico Military Institute playing for the JUCO National Title. yeah youre not You're not going to New Mexico State yet.
00:04:44
Speaker
Jerry Kill. Tell me. So there's... You're playing the ah semifinals, right? And I'm like reaching out to all these... My brother Javi and I would sit down like in high school, email every single coach. like Even... ah ah Coach Larry Black at the D-line coach still has my text on his phone from Twitter that I sent to him like back in 2019, 2020.
00:05:08
Speaker
And so we would just sit down, email everyone's Twitter, everyone. If you had your DMs open, I was in them. you know And so JUCO comes. you know we're We're in the semifinals. like A lot of people are coming to watch D2s. I had D2 offers from New Mexico. and I'm like, what the freak? How am I not getting these big-time offers? like JUCO's popping, you know.
00:05:28
Speaker
And um like if you play anywhere besides the California schools, like you're getting recruited. Like if you're going to the semis, the other kids has offers, other quarterbacks had offers. It's like, damn, like no way. Right.
00:05:40
Speaker
We go to semifinals. um Our running back, we had a crazy running back from Nebraska who was really good. And this is true story. And so New Mexico State wanted him.
00:05:52
Speaker
The staff just came in, Jerry Kill, Coach Beck, all of them. They're like, oh, we need him. You know, so my coat, my offensive coordinator, Coach Kaiser was like, hey, we're going to push you guys as a package deal.
00:06:04
Speaker
Like, just go with him. like I was just basically a tag along at the time. And so he's like, hey, so we won the semifinals. We had a week off, and then we played the next week in the ah national championship.
00:06:18
Speaker
So that week off, it was on a ah Thursday. We were like three hours away, two or two and a half hours from ah Las Cruces, where Mexico State's at. So we go down there, and they offer a our running back like – All this stuff.
00:06:35
Speaker
um You know, they're like catering to him. i i'm feeling no love. And then ah they offer me a blue shirt, basically, like I wouldn't have the scholarship for the spring, but in the fall, I would have a scholarship. So I'm like, I'm juiced up about it. Like I posted on Instagram, Twitter, everywhere.
00:06:53
Speaker
And then the next week or following up to that week, they offered the kid like on, we got there on Thursday. We played on Saturday. So we got there on Thursday. They offered the kid from Isle Western.
00:07:04
Speaker
ah New Mexico State did. So i was like, damn. That's the team you were playing. Yeah, that's the team we were playing. In the Juco title. In the title. So was like, what the? Like this kid, you know, and he he was he had offers from like everywhere.
00:07:17
Speaker
Like I can't he was like good in Juco. And I was like, what? Like, no way. You know and I mean? Like, like are you going to just invite me and then offer this kid?
00:07:27
Speaker
So I knew they were watching the game. Like he told our coach, hey, we're going watching the game. so I was like, all right. Went there, had four touchdowns, three passing, one rushing, um like 220 yards.
00:07:41
Speaker
Just we we beat them. It was like 38-0, and then they had like the trash points.
Vanderbilt Success & Memorable Wins
00:07:47
Speaker
They had 13 points. so nexta So then, you know, everyone's hype, whatever, still have no offer.
00:07:54
Speaker
Come back home to Albuquerque. And I'm working out on Monday. So we get yeah we get back Sunday, go to Albuquerque Monday, um and I'm working out.
00:08:06
Speaker
I just get done, and I look at my phone while I'm in the car, and it was like... Coach Gil, when he wants something, he'll make sure like it's known. like Fly missed calls, text message, and ah voicemail. Coach Gil leaves voicemail. He's kind of old.
00:08:25
Speaker
But he he left a voicemail. It was like, hey, son, give me a call back. I got some good news for you. Boom. my I went to the phone. d I called my mom first. I'm like, hey, New Mexico State's probably going to offer. I got a feeling.
00:08:39
Speaker
So, hey, call me back, call me back. I remember pulling off on the freeway. um Right there, it's called by Twin Peaks. And I called Coach Kiel back.
00:08:52
Speaker
And I'm like, hey, what's up? He's like, hey, you got you got a scholarship offer. um We need you to decide, like, within the next few days. And, like, before he said it, like, hey, I'm in.
00:09:04
Speaker
Like, I'll be there. He's you got to be here by, i think it was like a Saturday or something to move in. So literally I was like there for two more days, went to new Mexico State. But the Hooters story is that they were at the, him and Coach Beck had Hooters together. Watching the national championship game. Watching the national championship game. And they're like,
00:09:24
Speaker
I'm not so sure about that kid. Let's let's take the other kid, you know. So that's how that's how basically I started my journey. And it goes back to what I said earlier, which is you took it personally that the Ohio Western a young man was their choice. Yeah. And you went out in the field.
00:09:39
Speaker
And you proved it. I love it. I appreciate it. So you you you go to New Mexico State with Coach Kill. You come into my home state, Alabama, play Auburn. Shock the world.
00:09:50
Speaker
Of course, you beat Auburn another time at their place and Alabama. So you must have something again. You won the Birmingham Bowl. So Alabama has been good to you. But um yeah, so talk about that season at New Mexico State and then the choice to come with Coach Kill here to Vanderbilt.
00:10:08
Speaker
um So the first year at Mexico State, a lot of people told Coach Kiel, like, hey, don't take the job. And he would tell us this. like He's open-minded. He's like, hey, don't take the job. No one could win there. like Leave alone. It's a trash job.
00:10:22
Speaker
And Coach Kiel, he's like me. we're We're messed up in the head. like he He takes that stuff personal. um So you know he was telling us this. And first year, I was in and out the lineup.
00:10:33
Speaker
We were And... and We were going to play San Jose State and the The kid tragically, like he passed right before when they were travel to New Mexico State.
00:10:48
Speaker
So the game got canceled. um Then the next week we played at UMass. And I'm like, oh, freak. the The kid who's starting, his name's Gavin. Like he's going to go crazy. It's UMass.
00:11:01
Speaker
Oh, man, my my opportunity's done. you know um But in the court and like in the back of my mind, i was like, if if I get another chance, Like, it ain't no looking back. Anyway, we go down to UMass.
00:11:13
Speaker
It's 0-13 or like three to thirteen in the first half. And we just couldn't get the ball moving. And they at halftime, they're like, all right, we're putting you in, Diego.
00:11:24
Speaker
um You know, we'll ah we'll see were from there. I remember going back to my phone, texting my brother Javi. I said, it's over with. Like, I ain't looking back no more. Texted him. um Went back out there.
00:11:38
Speaker
think I had like, we came we came back and beat him like 28 to 20 or something. So, you know, ever since then. And then to go from one of five to a bowl game that year. So we went six and six cause we lost to Missouri at the end.
00:11:51
Speaker
Liberty, i had I had six touchdowns, which kind of like put me on the map. um And then we went to a bowl game, won the bowl game. So we went seven and six. This how history repeats itself. So first year JUCO, bowl game, next year national championship.
00:12:07
Speaker
First year JUCO, or first year New Mexico State, bowl game, next one ah Conference USA championship. So Vandy, first year bowl game. I love it. I love it. History you just got to keep repeating itself. No prediction. or You are making one.
00:12:22
Speaker
yeah I like it. But, ah yeah, so the next year we had a 10-win season. um And then after the bowl game, ah Coach Beck was like, hey, I'm leaving for Vanderbilt.
00:12:36
Speaker
Yeah. SEC school, you know, and we're like, oh, like, okay, like, I knew right away. ah Well, my first question was like, is Coach Kiel staying?
00:12:47
Speaker
And they just said they didn't know, they didn't know. um And then Coach Kiel got on a FaceTime, like on a Zoom call with all of us. I remember I was at my ah high school watching my Gotts on Russell. And he got ah on a Zoom call with us and said that he was leaving.
00:13:02
Speaker
And before like he could end it, I ended the call. And I ah called him at New Mexico State and told him I'm in the portal. And so I got in the portal. um I really liked to Coach Cho at Nevada.
00:13:16
Speaker
And I thought I was really going to play there. um He just, same person as Coach Kill, hard hat, would let me just play my game however I wanted. And so I thought I was going go to Nevada. So when I took my visit, I took my visit to UTSA, North Texas, Nevada.
00:13:33
Speaker
And I really liked Nevada out of all of them. And I i committed. Like, he just pulled me his back off. He's like, hey, what's the deal? are you committing or not? Because if not, I got to work on these other quarterbacks, I said. Like, yeah, I'm committed.
00:13:45
Speaker
And so I committed to him. And then later that night, I called Coach Beck and told him, like, hey, I'm going to Nevada. Like, I committed already. He's like, no, no, no, wait. Just wait a second. to have someone call you.
00:13:58
Speaker
Literally, like, two minutes later, I get a phone phone phone call from Coach Kills saying that he was in Mexico um on a boat drinking margaritas. And then he was like ah is like, hey, but don't don't go.
00:14:12
Speaker
um want to be the chief of staff at Vanderbilt. I'll see you there. Like I've been telling all these coaches you're going with me to not recruit you, so I'll see you there. He hung up the phone. I talked to my mom about it, and i was like, this is no-brainer. Like he took a chance on me. Why wouldn't follow him?
00:14:27
Speaker
So that's how I ended up here at Vandy. I had to take 21 credits to get down to New Mexico State to come here. And you're a pretty good degree here, huh? Well, I graduated my degree, but I'm doing a master's program. Yeah.
00:14:41
Speaker
Still a degree. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome, man.
NCAA Reforms & Athlete Advocacy
00:14:43
Speaker
That's a great story. So season gets going, um come out the gate strong, and then the Bama game happens, right? That's when people are like, oh.
00:14:52
Speaker
Really, right? The goalposts getting taken out of stadium. Your brother, Javi, told me the story. He even showed me a picture with no shoes on. um And so the goalposts end up in in the river, right, go down Broadway. i mean, that was iconic, right? I think that's when you started saying, Vandy, we turn.
00:15:10
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. few more words, but yeah. Yeah, yeah. Give me that story, man. i mean you're going into the game. Your mindset the whole time was like, these guys don't know what's right what's about to happen. I mean, what's your... yeah Well, you know, we started off Virginia Tech. Virginia tech was supposed to be a really, really, really good team this year.
00:15:29
Speaker
And so the same thing. i was like, shit, let's see it. You know, started out the gate fast, beat them, beat Alcorn State. So we started off 2-0. And then we go to Georgia State. And we just, a last second touchdown that beat us.
00:15:43
Speaker
um And then we go to Missouri. And Missouri's ranked like top five or whatever. And it comes down to a field goal, and they they beat us.
00:15:54
Speaker
So we're like, man, what the f- Like, we're just there, you know? we have an offer We have an off week going to Alabama, and yeah they came off the win against Georgia. And, like, everyone's just super excited to get back and just, like, go compete, see, like, we're who we really are.
00:16:11
Speaker
And I remember at the beginning the game, like, all them, like, man, you are like you're Vandy, you know? And I just was like, I don't really talk, like, too much, like, on the field.
00:16:23
Speaker
I'm all right, like, we'll see, you know? And so we didn't shake their hands, and in we came out the gate swinging punch for punch, and we just landed more.
00:16:36
Speaker
You go back to Auburn, and what was that like after shocking the world the year before to go back there and beat them again? Yeah, they thought it was a fluke. You know, a lot of them were – remember one of our teammates that transferred thought it was – he has a friend that played over there, and he's like, man, it was a fluke, you know?
00:16:54
Speaker
So I just – I was just going to – like, I wasn't going to lose that game. So you're you're this great story that is a story that wouldn't have been possible 10 years ago, because there was no transfer portal.
00:17:08
Speaker
And NIL is a big part of your story. You've built a really successful and n NIL business. And a lot of your NIL is real endorsement NIL. And so you got this story that that has to do with some of the reform that's happened in college athletics through lawsuits, right?
00:17:25
Speaker
And I know we can't talk a lot about your lawsuit, but ultimately you've got lawsuits in this century, 21st century, that have changed college athletics, opened up the door for NIL.
00:17:37
Speaker
ah That'd be O'Bannon, right? O'Bannon beat the NCAA and it was all about name, image, and likeness. And this was back in the mid 2010s. Took seven years, but then we had NIL. um Transfer portal. The Department of Justice said you can't treat non-employees with non-competes, and now there's no transfer rules, and you can just transfer.
00:17:56
Speaker
um I could keep going, but there's a lot of these cases. um Alston is a case that got decided in 2021 and essentially says that the and the antitrust... ah ah violations of the NCAA don't allow them to really set rules anymore. That's why there's no rules yeah because they'll just keep getting sued.
00:18:12
Speaker
But the few rules that are left that remain are also getting challenged and you're challenging one of them. And, and without getting in the specifics of the lawsuit, most of the lawsuits we've seen have been from former players after they get done playing and seeing how the business works, saying, hmm, I'm at O'Bannon.
00:18:33
Speaker
They're using my likeness in this video game. That's not right. I'm going to sue. But it's never really been current players doing it. mean, you still got another season left. That's what your lawsuit has helped you achieve. Right. So, like, what's it like being an NCAA football player, playing to go to the CFP in the SEC, but also being a guy that's challenging the rules? Right.
00:18:54
Speaker
it's It's different for sure. um But yeah yeah, like you said, no one's done it and then who's still playing, you know, so I feel like a lot of people texting me, um you know, thanking me because I got a lot of Juco friends. I went to Juco.
00:19:11
Speaker
So a lot of guys with more opportunities to to go show that they got the talent to go play in the NFL, too. And that's That's something that I want to. This ain't just about, um you know, just me. I want to shoot show that I can play in the NFL, you know.
00:19:26
Speaker
And, you know, the more years you have in the SEC, the better. so Absolutely. So speaking up while you're playing, whether it's through a lawsuit or just activating your voice, the voice of other players, something that we're seeing more and more players do. We're seeing, um you know, really players push back now by – When they don't get what they're promised, they leave.
00:19:50
Speaker
um But there's also players speaking up about key issues. what what is What is the tipping point for current players to think more like you and and actually gain access to the information, understand how the business works, and actually speak up? Because obviously we work on that every day at athletes.org.
00:20:09
Speaker
um But you're in those locker rooms. You're in those competitive fields where those players are. And you guys are busy. You guys got school. You got NIL endorsement deals to go do. You're in a business to run.
00:20:21
Speaker
You got workouts. You got a lot on your plate.
Future of College Football
00:20:24
Speaker
So it's got to be hard to understand how all this works and speak up. Yeah, um I feel like I'm busy all the time now.
00:20:31
Speaker
um Sometimes, like, i call my mom like four times a day, but now it's like down to one, one or two, you know, if I get lucky. But ah like you said, I feel like the athletes, um we we have a lot on our plate that sometimes it's like a lot of things side try sidetrack and we forget about the bigger things, like how we are as a player and then and things like that but you know my my main focus is is winning a national championship to take whatever i can and and go win one absolutely um okay so when we look at the the voice of the athlete um the power of the athlete the power is stronger when the athletes are together
00:21:14
Speaker
And we were talking about this a little bit before the interview, but the reality is, is all the changes the athletes want, they could go get them next Monday if Notre Dame and and Ohio State just didn't didn't go out and play. And then everybody listened, right? and that's probably the the most so the most intense way the athletes can show their voice.
00:21:35
Speaker
Saluka leaving because he didn't get what he was promised. um Other players, Florida State basketball players suing The coach, because they didn't get what they were promised. um Players transferring midseason because they're not getting treated the way they told they were going to get treated.
00:21:49
Speaker
That's maybe a level down. um And then what we're trying to do athletes.org, getting players together to understand all this and speak up is probably ah level three, let's say. So you got these levels um for you.
00:22:03
Speaker
Obviously, your goal's in the NFL, right? And you're gonna get another year to earn money, which is great, and improve your stock. But how much do you care about the players not getting bonused when they win CFP games? They're playing extra games, their coaches get bonused, their school gets bonused, they don't.
00:22:23
Speaker
How much do you care about, you know, coaches, you know, maybe doing some things to players with practice time and other other health and safety standards that that aren't just like how how much do you care about those things? Yeah. what Well, what I think um is this game is turning more into like the NFL.
00:22:42
Speaker
in the way of like, shoot, the players are going turn it, it's to turn into incentives too, you know? um And just from, from that standpoint, I think there's going to be tears like, like me and you were talking about.
00:22:58
Speaker
um But I think like, in In my own way, I think it's going to be like the lower, the non-P4 teams are going to be in ah in a lower tier. And then like we're going to be ah the SEC, the Big Tens, the ACCs um like that are going to be in their own conference, which would be a gateway to the NFL. And and the lower tiers would have to move up and then go to the NFL. So.
00:23:23
Speaker
That's what I think it's moving towards, too, is just, um like you said, the incentive-based. um I think, you know, you'll you'll be able to, um one, retain talent because now if a kid comes in and you tell him, okay, you are going to compete for the job,
00:23:42
Speaker
Here's an incentive whoever gets a job. Here's an incentive for blah, blah, blah. You keep players like that, you know? So I would like the idea of doing that.
00:23:52
Speaker
um But you you just never know with the NCAA. You don't. And it also goes down to the conferences too, wanting to work on it together. um Do you think that there'll be a world where the athletes will be able to organize and, you know, speak for themselves and negotiate for themselves on all these key issues?
00:24:12
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. um i feel like the athletes getting together and and I think um it's kind of like closed doors right now, but for them to speak up to a higher power would would would um benefit the athlete and the programs.
00:24:28
Speaker
Yeah.
Conclusion & Season Recap
00:24:29
Speaker
I mean, it's really the only way that the the the programs can even know what the athletes want, you know, is is they have to let them speak up, right? Yeah. um Well, this been great, man. I mean, I was going ask you the last question which i was going to ask you is where does college football go from here? But you kind of gave the outlook. I mean, I agree. I think having a league focused on college football that, that you know, generates more revenue by centralizing scheduling and having a central media deal and has multiple tiers so that, you know, everybody can make more money. But depending on
00:25:04
Speaker
what you produce, you you can win more if you're a top tier team. I agree. I think that's where it ends up. I just don't know how you can have that NFL looking model without doing what the NFL does, which is collectively bargaining with the players right on everything.
00:25:19
Speaker
Minimum salary, maximum salary, free agency, health and safety standards, how many games we play, all that. you know what i mean? Yeah. It'll be interesting where it goes. I i kind of like that, you know, how how many games you play, where, when the portal opens, when it closes, um things like that. Because it's, there's a lot of, I feel like there's a lot of chaos going on right now. And and it, I feel like the, like you said, the players need to get together and, and you know, get their voices heard too.
00:25:46
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, I'm looking forward to spending more time with you, man, and appreciate the support you've given us at athletes.org and just ah you being engaged on this conversation as a current player. right That's important, right? yeah Former player has been doing this.
00:25:59
Speaker
Current player doing it. love it, man. Thank you. appreciate you. Good luck this year.
00:26:05
Speaker
Such great stuff from Diego. And I think the biggest thing is he always believes in himself and he always believes in what's right. And that belief has led him all the way to where he is today and will lead him probably to a very prominent place in college football lore and really in life.
00:26:25
Speaker
Diego's a guy who has a lot of talents beyond the field. I got a chance to know him recently when he came to our private meeting for 50 college football players in Atlanta, the CFP as AO athletes.org put on some players only meetings. And I got to be around Diego and see the leader that he really is. The other guys really feed off him, even if they're leaders from other college football programs. And that's just what he's about. Leadership impact, leadership.
00:26:53
Speaker
Really appreciated him making time for the conversation. Listen, if you're not subscribed to our podcast, we have an amazing season coming with season three. A lot of great athletes, leaders, business folks from the space of college athletics talking about, as I said earlier, the past, present, future of NIL.
00:27:12
Speaker
So I want to make sure you subscribe an Apple podcast. If you haven't, do it. If you prefer Spotify, use that to subscribe. YouTube, use that to subscribe to Now It's Legal. You can find us on all three platforms to be able to consume full episodes as they come out.
00:27:26
Speaker
Also, follow us on Instagram at NowIt's Legal Pod, where you can get teasers and short videos of the next episode and kind of get an idea of what's coming next. So thank you so much for joining us for another episode. We'll be back again soon.