Billy Slappa

I’m so sick and tired of people blaming “the white man did this” or “the white man did that,” or saying the 3 letter network did this or the 4 letter network did that. Ryan Clark, man up. That’s life. All them damn tears and crying is crazy to me. You played 13 NFL seasons from 2002 to 2014 with the Giants, Washington, and most notably the Steelers. You made roughly $29.9 million in the NFL. Then you joined ESPN in 2015 and, over roughly 11 years, reportedly made somewhere in the neighborhood of $15–20 million. You also started The Pivot, which is estimated to generate $3.5 million to $9 million annually. Now you’re talking about seeking acceptance and validation? Crying about this and that? Fam… man up. You have your own podcast. You have your own platform. You can say whatever you want, and your audience will follow you. Stop acting like ESPN is the only place your voice matters. Us independent media creators grind every single day. I put in 15 to 17 hour days producing content, and people still overlook what we do. We’ve been in the same rooms as y’all. The difference is, we had to pay to be there. Y’all got in for free. I’ll never forget paying thousands of dollars to cover Cowboys training camp as independent media, then watching The Pivot walk right in and get moved to the front because of borrowed credibility. Y’all got the exclusive access without ever reaching into your pockets. Over here at Law Nation Media, we’ve had to earn and pay for every single inch we’ve gained. Do you see me crying? Do you see me complaining? Do you see me whining? No. I get back to work. If I had just a fraction of one of those ESPN or NFL checks, it would completely change my small business. But I don’t spend my time looking for sympathy. I spend my time creating. Independent media is always the way. Nobody owes us anything. You build your audience, own your platform, and bet on yourself. That’s how you create real freedom. So wipe them damn tears, get back to work, and go build your own empire. You’ve got the audience, you’ve got the platform, and you’ve got all the time in the world to say exactly what you want without looking over your shoulder. The money will come. Now go earn it.