THE CULTURE EXCLUSIVE: FRED TAYLOR SPEAKS ON WHY HE LEFT ‘I AM ATHLETE’
Ex-NFL star Fred Taylor sat down with The Culture to discuss why he parted ways with Brandon Marshall’s popular show “I AM ATHLETE.” Taylor left the show and launched his own podcast with former football players Ryan Clark and Channing Crowder.
Taylor admitted Brandon Marshall put the initial startup dollars into the show, meaning Marshall assumed the majority of the risks and felt he should be the one to call the shots.
“The business side didn’t keep pace, so when it was time to go back to the table and really just work these numbers out it had gotten too far ahead,” Taylor told The Culture.
However, Taylor says Marshall is not responsible for the show’s overall growth. “Although he did make a lot of call behind the scenes, they all had input and pitched ideas,” Taylor said.
I Am Athlete is an original, unscripted podcast formally hosted by Fred Taylor, Brandon Marshall, Channing Crowder, and Chad Johnson. The show covered essential and controversial topics around sports, culture, society, and more! The media mavens held nothing back while speaking on the importance of the covered issues.
Once the show started gaining publicity and took off, Taylor wanted to discuss numbers and develop a contract with Marshall. Taylor stated that once Marshall presented the numbers, they were a little short. Taylor was hoping for 25% of everything, not revenue sharing at the very least.
Channing Crowder and some producers of the show also parted ways due to their own circumstances. Taylor, Crowder, and the producers ventured off to start a new gig, “The Pivot Podcast.” Last Tuesday, the podcast launched with its first guest, former NFL star Chad Ochocinco.
After about 15 years of friendship, Taylor and Marshall both agreed that’s there’s “no beef” between them, and they wish each other the best. However, their visions for the show simply did not align, which led to the split.
