By Jim Gehman, Player Engagement Insider
In television news-speak, a reporter/cameraman/editor is a one-man-band. During his eight seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, Michael Robinson was a one-man-band who earned a living as a fullback. His work with a microphone and camera actually began while he was at Penn State.
“I always tried to prepare myself for life after football; I just never knew when life after football was going to hit me,” Robinson said. “I wanted to do something I loved which is talking, obviously, and being around the game of football.”
Selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft, Robinson made the 49ers and shared what he had envisioned in college.
“I told the P.R. staff that I wanted to work on-camera,” Robinson said, “so we created something (for the team’s website) called the “Rookie Report.” And then the next year because we had so much success, the “Rookie Report” turned into the “Robinson Report.
“When I got released and signed with Seattle (in 2010), I bought my own camera and everything and called it the “Real Rob Report.” I created my own YouTube channel website and started doing things myself. The teammates were interesting. In San Francisco because I always did it with the P.R. staff; they kind of always accepted it.
“It was all about taking 10, 15 minutes of that sacred place, which is the locker room, and giving fans an idea of what we do. I wanted the “Real Rob Report” to give the players more of a voice, to give us an opportunity to show our personalities.
“In San Francisco, it was cool because like I said, it came from upstairs. But when I got to Seattle it was different. When I first pulled the camera out, guys were just like, ‘What you doing, man?’ Richard Sherman during his rookie season, and John Moffitt, some of the young guys, after they talked to me a couple times, I put it on YouTube and it started to get some traction. And once we started getting some traction guys ran to the camera. It was pretty cool and the fans loved it.”
In 2014, just months after helping the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII, the NFL Legend became a rookie again. Only this time he was a rookie who had experience when he made a smooth transition from player to an analyst on the NFL Network.
“I took advantage of the Broadcast Boot Camp the first time the NFL offered it to us (in 2007) and took advantage of it again in the Advanced Boot Camp,” Robinson said. “By the Advanced Broadcasting Boot Camp, I already had over 50,000 YouTube subscribers to the “Real Rob Report.” I had over 11 million views on the entire page. I had created a brand.”
Having been in their cleats, has Robinson found it difficult to critique players – even former teammates – who are in the league today?
“No, these are guys used to being critiqued,” he explained. “What people don’t understand is we are used to on Monday mornings, having everything told to us (from coaches) about what we’d done (during the previous day’s game).
“The only thing is there are so many guys on television that critique them; they don’t know what they’re talking about because they don’t watch the film. And so what I always try to do a great job of is being prepared. I watch as much film as possible.
“In my basement, I have a war room with a projector screen up and dry erase boards all around on the walls. I have AFC on one side and the NFC on the other side. This is what I do. I’m not a gold jacket guy. I’m not a Hall of Famer. So I have to be prepared.”
When Robinson isn’t preparing for his work on the NFL Network doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not busy. He and his wife, Shameka, have four children, Raylin, Mikayla, Burton and Ruby. Robinson also has a Foundation, Excel to Excellence, a non-profit organization that benefits students in grades 7 – 12.
Its mission is to ensure that disadvantaged children have the proper educational opportunities, resources and life experiences necessary to achieve their dreams and become productive citizens. In the foundation’s signature program, Team Excel, students become fantasy athletes who are coached by professional athletes. They receive weekly individual and team scores based on their grades, attendance, and community service.
“I want to have a national Team Excel league, just as we have fantasy football leagues,” Robinson said. “Why not invest your time and compete from an academic standpoint? Because when you turn that résumé into whatever company that you want to eventually work for, you’re not just going to be competing against people that look like you, you’re not just going to be competing against people that live in your neighborhood, it’s going to be a global competition. So why not start now?
“Probably the best thing about being me right now is my family and I have been able to have a great head start on life through the National Football League. That’s also provided me a platform to really affect change in this world and that’s what I feel like I’m doing with my foundation.”