Joe Burrow had some rather interesting advice for young athletes.
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, who grew up in the age of social media, cautioned young athletes to let their work show on the field, not their Instagram accounts.
“Focus on getting better,” Burrow said to reporters on Monday. “Don’t have a workout and go post it on Instagram the next day and then go sit on your butt the next four days but you’re really not. Work in silence. Don’t show everybody what you’re doing. Let you game on Friday, Saturday and Sunday show all the hard work you put in. Don’t worry about all that social media stuff.”
Burrow can certainly attest to the hard work he’s put in to get to this stage of his career.
After spending two years at Ohio State backing up J.T. Barrett, he was passed over for Dwayne Haskins and decided to transfer to LSU.
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Even at LSU, Burrow was not highly regarded as an NFL prospect until leading the 2019 to winning the national championship and becoming the No. 1 overall pick.
He was drafted by a 2-14 Cincinnati Bengals team that he now has playing in the Super Bowl in just two years.
Of course, the flip side to Burrow’s advice is that young athletes — especially now in the age of NILs — can use social media to market themselves and their talents.
That only works if athletes put in the hard work rather than post the appearance of hard work, so Burrow’s advice still applies.
Plus, Burrow has social media accounts including 2.4 million followers on Instagram. He does not post very often, though, so he at least practices what he preaches.
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