In New Orleans, there are few names more respect than Rickey Jackson. The NFL Hall of Famer, Saints Hall of Famer, Saints Ring of Honor member and cornerstone of the Dome Patrol defense played an unparalleled brand of defense during his 13 years for the Saints. For fans of the Who Dat Nation, Jackson is a legend. To Tyler Rickey Anderson Jackson, he’s Dad.
Tyler Jackson: Son of a New Orleans Saints Legend
It goes without saying that life is a little different for the child of an NFL Hall of Famer.
As one could imagine, there are some positives.
“One thing is, not too many people can say that they have a Hall A Fame father, that’s pretty cool,” Jackson mentioned.
Jackson would go on to mention that he appreciates the amount of time he gets to spend with his father, despite his popularity and busy schedule.
The Downside
As one could imagine, there are also some drawbacks to being born to such a legend.
“The negatives, less personal time because of his busy schedule and there is no sense of a normal life,” he emphasized. “Often times people think, since your father is a Hall of Famer, you get a lot of perks. One of the drawbacks is, he’s a Hall of Famer. I’m just the kid trying to make it in this world. I am an athlete and often get compared to my father. I respect the game of football. However, my love is for basketball. Also, when people find out who my dad is, they try to challenge me, etc. Most of the time, I don’t say a word until I have total trust in a person. To me, it’s just a name. My loyalty lies because he’s my dad.”
Just like being an NFL player, being related to an NFL player can make it tough to know if people have good intentions when you meet them. When asked if he has a hard time trusting people or if people treated him differently because of his father’s success on the football field, Jackson replied in the affirmative.
“Often times, I find people get caught up in the lime light that they forget that my dad, myself, and our family are just like any other family out there without the titles,” Jackson stated.
His humble upbringing with his mother keep him grounded through all these type of challenges.
A Fight For Attention
As a child of a Hall of Fame player, you often share your father’s attention with many different outlets. You split that attention even more when, like Jackson, you’re one of nine children. While Jackson may feel like he missed some time with his father in his early years, their relationship has grown into something special in recent years.
“To me, what’s important, (is) that I am living with my father today and have been with him for a while,” Jackson said. “He supports me, I support him. I’m old enough to understand, dad has a life and with his fame, there are consequences. Less time with family but, the time he does provide, are the BEST! I used to live with my mom but, now I live with my dad. In my case, I have the best of both worlds. Both mom and dad are really good.”
Jackson would go on to say that despite being the youngest of nine children, he doesn’t feel like he missed out on anything.
What did Tyler Jackson say his father is like when the door is closed and the cameras are off? Probably just what you’d think.
“My dad is a funny guy,” he said. “He makes a lot of jokes. Sometimes I think he let’s his fame go to his head because when we disagree, he reminds me that he is the Hall a Famer, we both laugh. What the public see is a nice guy, at home what I see is a dad that is trying to live his life based on his fame. As a father, he has rules, those rules are somewhat different than the norm because having his status, I cannot bring just anyone home due to the sensitivity of who and what he is and stand for.”
What Drives Tyler Jackson?
As for the future, Jackson has no time to spend in his father’s shadow. Jackson was built with the same itch for greatness as his father. This generation of Jackson, however, is not spending most of his time on a football field. If you’re looking for Tyler Jackson, odds are you can find him on the basketball court.
“A lot of folks doesn’t know this but, dad was a basketball player and a good one as well,” the 6’2″ guard emphasized. “I think he played that sport prior to football. My goals are simple, I want to finish school, and play professional basketball. I am currently at Tulane.”
While the city of New Orleans sees Rickey Jackson as NFL royalty, Tyler Jackson still sees his father, his friend and his mentor.
