With the way Cam Heyward is playing, retirement is a distant thought. But eventually, Heyward will hang up his cleats and move on with life’s work. While he’ll eventually stop playing football, he doesn’t plan to leave the public eye. With a podcast and consistent media appearances, including a recent interview with sports business expert Andrew Marchand on his Marchand Sports Media podcast, Heyward wants to be a stone’s throw from football.
“I think so,” Heyward told Marchand when asked if he wanted to eventually start his own media empire. “My own production company. And to create something that has legacy to it.”
Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast previously partnered with Peyton and Eli Manning’s Omaha Productions. They’re one of several notable current or former players to thrive in the sports media landscape. Pat McAfee has become one of the most recognizable names in the business and licensed his show to ESPN while becoming a staple of the new-look College Gameday. Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast is wildly popular and landed a $100 million deal from Amazon earlier this year.
Heyward’s own show has grown over the years. His channel has nearly 20,000 subscribers and gotten big-name guests like Lil Wayne, Michael Keaton, and several Steelers teammates.
“I love what Pat has done,” Heyward said of McAfee. “To watch the run he’s been on is really special. I’d love to create something like that on the Not Just Football Page.”
But a podcast microphone isn’t the only place Heyward hopes to be heard.
“Whether it’s color commentating or being an analyst on those Sunday shows, can always be big,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of flexibility and it’s really cool to see the way the landscape has changed.”
Former players fill broadcast booths and talk shows, networks eager to get the perspective of someone who played. Not all who have tried found success. Emmitt Smith didn’t work out while Drew Brees has struggled to find his voice, but many have become mainstays of the football conversation.
Heyward dismissed the idea of getting into coaching in his post-playing days, joking his wife wouldn’t be happy to hear the news. It’s a path a smaller number of ex-players take, including Steelers legend Joe Greene, but like Ben Roethlisberger, Heyward wants to make time for family.
“I understand this job is very daunting and puts a lot of stress on a lot of people,” he said. “And I’m very thankful that I get to do a job I love. But I want to be [a] present husband and father as well.”
Heyward’s contract runs through 2026. With the performance he’s had this season, he seems likely to play out the length of the deal. Whenever his post-football transition occurs, he’ll simply go from playing the game to analyzing it.
