By Troy Vincent
NFL Player Engagement
Here at Player Engagement, we welcome new ways where current players can start second careers while still active in the NFL.
At our recent Rookie Symposium, we heard how one such player began that process right inside his team’s building, which has taken off to become a full-blown photography business.
(TDaniels Photography)
Travis Daniels told his tale to the rookies of how his dabbling in photography caused him to wonder if he could create images that people could appreciate.
It did, and led to him becoming the first-ever active player to be a credentialed photographer at an NFL game, on top of now shooting professionally with top Miami agencies in his native South Florida.
(TDaniels Photography)
“It all began when I conveyed my camera interest to Steve Sanders, our Kansas City Chiefs official team photographer,”
said Daniels, who emphasized that Sanders was more than willing to take on the tutor role for an organization teammate, advising him to study on his own as well.
When word of the cornerback’s photo prowess worked its way around the Chiefs locker room, teammate Javier Arenas asked Daniels if he could take a family photo, and of course he could.
From there, his list of clients grew both inside the locker room and beyond, and the former LSU star began to build a portfolio that became the basis for his new agency, TDaniels Photography.
(TDaniels Photography)
A company with endless opportunities, and just as he had taken the initiative to work with Sanders, he then talked with the team about someday shooting a game.
That led to Daniels contacting us here at NFLPE to discuss an appropriate NFL event that he could cover, and we all agreed that the Pro Bowl would be perfect.
Next thing you know, Daniels is winging his way to Hawaii and into history to become the first active player credentialed for a game.
(TDaniels Photography)
A classic case of a current player seeing and seizing an opportunity within his own team, and then taking it to the League level to maximize its impact even further.
An impact that for Daniels stretches far beyond photography.
Since being drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 2005, Daniels has started a Miami marketing business and opened a barbershop in Atlanta, while also finding the time to finish his college studies and earn his degree from LSU in 2011.
(TDaniels Photography)
Daniels has done all this while making his mark in the NFL, first with his hometown Dolphins and then with the Cleveland Browns, before joining the Chiefs.
So, even though football is your first priority and your day-to-day NFL schedule is all-consuming, remember that there are other opportunities abounding – perhaps right in front of you – that could lead to learning what you might like to do off the field both now and when your career closes.
Click here to view Travis Daniel Photography
Follow Travis Daniels on:
Twitter: @T_Daniels34
Instagram: T_Daniels34