Terrell Owens Knows Why He Didn't Make the Hall of Fame, Endorses Excessive Celebrations

T.O. makes some bold predictions in this interview.

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Complex Original

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Terrell Owens is one of the most hated athletes of his generation. He's also one of it's most prolific. T.O. is top 10 in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, catches, and is fifth all-time in all purpose touchdowns. Still, those numbers weren't enough to make him a first ballot Hall of Famer as he announced via Twitter yesterday, the powers that be apparently felt he was too much of a diva during his career. Owens was a well-known menace in the locker room and one of the players responsible for excessive celebrations becoming a thing. He once took a marker out of his sock and signed a ball for a fan after a touchdown, but his most famous celebration was when he defiled the Cowboy star. Being a Giants fan, I thoroughly enjoyed that moment.

Tonight, during Super Bowl 50, T.O. has teamed up with Butterfinger to cover up to $50,000 in fines for any player willing to have an excessive celebration. Much has been made about Cam Newton's endzone dabbing throughout the year and what better player to be a part of this promotion than Terrell Owens? We talked to the former wide receiver about his Hall of Fame chances, Cam Newton, and excessive celebrations.

Do you think you're a first ballot Hall of Famer?
Yeah, in my mind I think my stats speak for themselves. To get into the Hall of Fame I know there's a lot of criteria, there's a lot of people weighing in on it for individuals to get in. But for me I think it's been echoed across the country since my nomination that my stats speak for themselves. A lot of people that are weighing in with the character issues and the way that I celebrated, and the way some feel like I didn't get along with some of my teammates and things like that but there are a number of guys in the Hall of Fame right now that have done far worse things that I have. I'm just fortunate to be in this situation.

For me it's a platform to express to kids if you got a dream the world awaits you and if you put in a lot of the hard work, the dedication, and the discipline into something that you can make it. I was a guy who didn't think he play beyond the collegiate level.

Why was that? Because of the school you went to?
No, for me growing up my passion was basketball. I played a number of sports in high school throughout my career. I played basketball, baseball, and I ran track in addition to football. I didn't limit myself.  I just kept myself active and things kinda just worked out the way they worked out, and now everybody knows me as one of the most polarizing figures and one of the best to play the game at the receiver position.

Talk to us about Calvin Johnson since you guys have a similar build.
I met Calvin a couple times. You can't not understand what he's able to do on the football field because of his size and his speed; he's a big target. He's one of the top guys in this era.

How do you feel about him announcing his retirement?
He knows his body as well as anybody. Obviously he knows that there's something there. He doesn't feel like he has that passion there where he can give it his all. I think it's a fair assessment with the organization to let them know: "I don't feel like I'm giving you, or would be able to give you all that I got. And so, I think he's being truthful and forthcoming with where he is, how he feels, and really to the organization whether he could give it all or not.

How do you feel in general about guys retiring early with all the CTE talk happening? Do you feel the NFL will be around in 20 years?
I don't know. In 20 years? I don't know. I think that at the rate that we're going, I think it will definitely be on a decline. I think that a lot of guys are being honest with themselves. Football is a violent sport, we take a lot of hits, and it takes a toll on your body. And I think to with the way that our contracts aren't guaranteed, it's almost like we're overworked and underpaid at certain positions. The other positions aren't getting paid like the quarterback. They're not getting paid $100 million contracts with the big, upfront guaranteed money.

A lot of those guys really understand the nature of the business and if guys are signing these long-term deals, the money is back-loaded. So as soon as they approach those latter years in their contracts, management cuts them. It's not fair, but it is what it is. I think that's why you're seeing an increase in players retiring at a young age. There's really no incentive for the player.

Let's talk about the big game. So who do you got?
I'm gonna go out and make a bold prediction because that's why I'm here. I'm gonna go out and say Carolina's gonna win it.

They're the favorites, though, that's not really too bold, man. That's not T.O. bold.
Maybe I'll say, they're gonna win by three touchdowns, how about that?

Yeah, that's better right there. Most of the conversation around the game has been about the "black quarterback." I know you guys didn't really get along during your time in Philly, but you played with Donovan McNabb. Do you have some thoughts on how Cam Newton and black quarterbacks have been perceived?
He made a bold statement. In terms of the message he was trying to get across, I think people misinterpreted that. And I think what he was trying to do was to send a message to the kids out there that have aspirations to be a quarterback and to allow them to have the confidence to play that position which has been predominately played by whites. For him, he's really trying to encourage and motivate guys so they can be in power position and they can be your Tom Bradys, or Peyton Mannings, they can be pocket passers, they don't necessarily have to be stereotyped as a black quarterback that can only run.

I think he's dispelled that stereotype this year. He's been a dual threat all season and has done it at a high efficiency rate. You don't see a lot of guys dropping balls, you don't see a lot of inaccuracy. He's changing the game. I felt him and I understood where he was coming from when he said that he scares a lot of people because we haven't seen a quarterback like him with the skills he possess. Again, you've seen the Michael Vicks, you've seen the Randall Cunninghams, the Donovan McNabbs, but it seems like the guys I just mentioned had weaknesses in certain aspects of their game. With Cam, he embodies and possess everything you want in a quarterback.

Early in his career he was criticized for celebrating when the Panthers are down. And I get that, it's corny to me. But now they're 16-1 and he's helped popularized the dab. You're partnering with Butterfinger to pay excessive celebration fines. Tell us more about that.
The game is four quarters. So whether you're up or down, that really shouldn't discourage you or deter you from celebrating and, as Cam said, being true to yourself. The league has really taken the fun out of the game with some of the celebrations guys are allowed to do. And with Cam he doing what every coach in the country are teaching kids from pop warner to high school and that's to have fun. I applaud him for and again, he's out there being bold just like myself.

So that made a great partnership with myself and Butterfinger. We're trying to create an environment where we can bring the fun back to the game and we're willing to cover up $50,000 for excessive celebrations. At the beginning on the game everybody's tight, everybody is really focused, but during the course of the game somebody has to loosen up. We're giving them that opportunity to be themselves, be bold, and go out there and be themselves.

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