Aaron Lockett was a star in college at Kansas State. He even earned Second-Team All-American honors as a junior for the Wildcats in 2000. However, Lockett’s football journey was far from just sunshine and roses.
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Lockett was a wide receiver, but where he really made an impact was on special teams as a return man. He was quick and shifty as anyone at just 5’7″ and 163 pounds, with a 4.31 time in the 40-yard dash, and that got him a look in the NFL as the seventh-round compensatory pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002.
In a cruel twist of fate, Lockett was cut by the team after training camp, and the Buccaneers went on to win the Super Bowl later that season. He just missed out on a Super Bowl ring in his first NFL campaign. And while he latched on elsewhere after his short stint in Tampa, he never got a shot on an active NFL roster. He did play three seasons in the CFL, leading the league in punt return yardage in 2005 and winning the Grey Cup in 2006.
Lockett went through a lot of ups and downs as a pro athlete on the fringes, and he had some advice for youngsters like him in an exclusive interview with The SportsRush.
“Be yourself. Show up. Learn the playbook. And when it’s your time, you know, show up. It’s that simple. It’s not really a complex recipe to be successful. It’s just, when your number’s called, you’ve got to do what you’re expected to do right,” Lockett said.
The former wideout speaks from experience. After being cut by the Buccaneers, he caught on with the San Francisco 49ers as a member of the practice squad.
During that 2002 season, he was cut often, but the team always came calling again a week or two later. That’s because while Lockett may have been a little small to become a major success in the NFL, he had all the intangibles that made him a great guy to have in the locker room and on the practice field.
“So, just work your butt off, listen, and take advantage of every opportunity. That’s it. It’s pretty simple. It sounds easier than it is. Don’t let me make it sound like it’s not hard. But it’s not a hard recipe, it’s hard to execute,” Lockett added.
As someone who wasn’t blessed with a ton of physical gifts, Lockett knew how to make the most out of what he had. In college, he set Big 12 records for single-season punt return average (22.8) and longest reception (97 yards). He also set Kansas State school records for freshman single-game and single-season receiving yards.
He also went for 100+ yards in three straight games in 1998, a record that stood for nearly a decade until Jordy Nelson came along. Lockett’s 4,023 career all-purpose yards were a program record that wouldn’t be broken until another diminutive return man, Darren Sproles, came along to smash it in 2004.
Lockett can only dream or imagine of the type of dollars he could have been commanding as such a big college star in Kansas if there were NIL rules back then, like there are now. Lockett says that it’s important for these young athletes getting NIL money to surround themselves with people they trust and who know the finance industry well.
“While I’m not a financial advisor, it’s one of those things where surround yourself around somebody that has expertise. … As far as investments, once again, put yourself around people that know what to do with the money. Obviously, I’m always an advocate of enjoying your money as well… Save, but enjoy, and find that balance.”
Aaron Lockett—whose nephew, Tyler Lockett, did turn into a star in the NFL—didn’t make much money as a pro athlete. But he’s been able to parlay those experiences into a business.
He is an NFLPA-certified contract advisor and a certified NBPA/FIBA agent. He works through the company he founded, Next Page Sports, which provides representation, training, marketing, and career transitioning for players and coaches.
