It's become another dimension to who I am. I don't think Sports Illustrated is going to be wanting me. But who cares? I'm at a different place in my life.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
After my first 'Sports Illustrated' cover, I felt terrible about myself for a solid month. People deal with models like they are children. They think they can pull one over on you. I'm not a toy; I'm a human. I'm not here to be used.
You're a person a lot longer before and after you're a professional athlete. People always say to me, 'Your image is this, your image is that.' Your image isn't your character. Character is what you are as a person. That's what I worry about.
My dream was always to be on the cover of 'Sports Illustrated.'
I was a subscriber to 'Sports Illustrated' like so many of us, and I was overwhelmed by a toxic mix of naivete and arrogance, and just thought to myself, 'I think I can write like this.'
The 'Sports Illustrated' cover was the last thing I shot. That week, I told my agent, 'You know what, I really... I don't want to be a model anymore. I really want to do movies.' And I think he wanted to wring my neck at the moment.
I never thought I'd make the pages of 'Sports Illustrated', because I've always been skinny.
I don't care what they say about me when I'm through with sports. I don't want to be known as anything else in life but a great father.
I've gained fans, fame, fortune, but I don't feel different. Am I supposed to?
When my TV show, 'Sports Jobs with Junior Seau,' assigned me to be a 'Sports Illustrated' reporter for a weekend, I didn't realize I'd have to squeeze it in around another sports job. I had planned to retire from the NFL to enjoy the cushy lifestyle of a full-time reality TV star, but I wound up getting run over by a bull.
Every single model wants to be in 'Sports Illustrated,' and I feel extremely blessed to have that opportunity.