Justin Hardee: Mother inspired his 3 degrees, NFL, Parenthood, and becoming an Entrepreneur

Justin Hardee is not your typical NFL player. After four years in the NFL, Hardee has earned three degrees, become a Father, and is now entrepreneurship as a Papa John's franchisee.

When your mother inspires you in life, and now she is gone; how do you continue her legacy?  For Justin Hardee, Sr., his mother's spirit is still strong, and making her proud is his motivation. 

New Orleans Saints Special Teams Ace and DB Justin Hardee, Sr.'s accomplishments in the NFL represent his mother's dreams and goals she set for him.  On Thursday evening, he spoke with the local New Orleans media about his new business venture. Hardee is a Papa John's Pizza franchise owner who will open in July of this year. The location will be at 3001 Tulane Avenue in New Orleans' Mid-City. Hardee is fortunate to have a great site being a first-time business owner with high aspirations.

As an NFL player with three college degrees, Justin Hardee, Sr. is focused and goal-oriented. Hardee praises his mother for being a positive influence in his life and credits her for his success. In the media session, Justin spoke about developing patience in being a franchisee amid COVID-19. He had plenty of guidance from his financial analyst, agent, Aaron Glenn, and Malcolm Jenkins. 

 

Nov 5, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive back Justin Hardee scores a touchdown after blocking a punt by Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Bryan Anger at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser via USA TODAY NETWORK

When Hardee embarked on his journey of becoming an entrepreneur, Saints Defensive Backs Coach, Aaron Glenn, gave him sound advice. Glenn told Hardee what to expect and look out for and how much time it would take to become a franchise owner. Hardee said Glenn is "a very intelligent guy, and someone I look up to." Justin also reached out to the S Malcolm Jenkins while in Philadelphia. Jenkins and Hardee are fraternity brothers of Omega Psi Phi. He discovered Jenkins owned ten Papa John's franchises of his own. Jenkins provided Hardee some background information on how to purchase a Papa John's franchise.  

Saints reporter, Luke Johnson, asked Justin if "being kind of a well-rounded person, do you that in memory of your Mom?" 

 Justin replied, "Most definitely. I always told myself, because football was a long shot for me making it, growing up from high school. Even in college, [I] didn't have the numbers and was never a highly recruited guy." Hardee went on to say, "Honestly, I did it, you know, and I always worked hard from my Mom. I told her I was going to make it to the NFL."   Justin Hardee, Sr.

Oct 8, 2018; New Orleans, LA, USA New Orleans Saints cornerback Justin Hardee (34) returns an interception as Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed (86) and running back Adrian Peterson (26) give chase during the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Redskins 43-19.

Hardee stated to media the process of ownership was not short and simple. It has been over a year since one of the Papa John's minority owners spoke with Justin and gave him the idea that he could become an owner. "I just wanted to wait until the right time. I want to make my Mom proud. It's so much I want to do, it's so much I want to give back to my son. Because he means so much to me...and there's my Mom. Like I said, my Mom and my son, those two motivations are driving me to another level." said Hardee. "People want to know what's my goal in life? My goal really is to make my Mom proud."

I plan on playing in the next decade if I can. I plan on having about 20 Papa John's, but also dipping into another franchise during that time. I want to be one of the guys that took advantage of every opportunity God gave him.  Justin Hardee, Sr.

Justin feels this accomplishment of entrepreneurship is well deserved because of his hard work, earning three degrees, and honoring his mother's legacy. He is pleased with his achievements. Most of all, as he mentioned, when he visits his mother's gravesite, Justin will tell her, "Mom, I did it. I did what they said I couldn't do."

Justin Hardee enters his fourth year in the NFL when he re-signed with the New Orleans Saints in free agency.  Hardee agreed to a 1-year deal for $1.5M, including a $365K signing bonus, $365K guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $1.5M.  His 2020 salary cap hit for the Saints is $1.5M and has a dead cap value of $365K, according to Spotrac.