Stetson Bennett details how his life changed as national champion

The biggest change for Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett aside from walking around campus as the starter for a national champion? Finally giving in and getting an iPhone. That’s right, Bennett was a holdover loyalist to the flip phone prior to winning a College Football Playoff ring. But now, he finally made the move into the 21st century of smartphone technology. That and he has a few tips from Peyton Manning under his sleeve ahead of the 2022 season.

At SEC Media Days, Bennett addressed both his cell phone upgrade and what he learned from his time at the Manning Passing Academy regarding NIL/endorsement deals.

Here was him detailing the snafu that came with finally switching phones:

“I do. I had to get rid of the flip phone. Oh geez, let me get weak. It was brutal trying to TI-9 it up. And my contacts wouldn’t switch over because they weren’t compatible or something like that. Oh my goodness, I had like 500 text messages — and I just had to be like ‘thanks.’ So I couldn’t deal with that so I had to get rid of that.”

Bennett reveals advice from Peyton Manning

Then Bennett addressed a more serious topic: football! And how he plans to keep his play on the field as the top priority despite the influx of NIL opportunities he has following the 2021 season. Something that Peyton Manning is important to remember as the endorsements start flowing.

“As far as NIL, I went to that Manning Passing Academy. And one of the things I took away from it — Peyton was talking to us, and he said that when he was in the league — he was referring to making money to the NIL that we have now. He said: When I did the commercials I made sure that my training and my preparation increased. He said he wasn’t going to be put in a situation where somebody would question, you know, has he made it and he’s not the same person anymore.”

Stetson Bennett expressed his full support for NIL and then noted that the whole team has taken Manning’s sentiments to heart and kept their eye on the real prize.

“So I think we’ve done a good job as a team doing that. I make sure that that’s never called into question personally. I don’t know, I think NIL is a good thing. You know, we have a job, and most people get paid for their jobs.”