Tennessee Titans safety Bernard Pollard can add one more accomplishment to his list of life-long successes. Along with his eight-year professional football career, he can now claim the title of inventor.
Pollard, a second-round NFL draft pick in 2006 for the Chiefs and a 2012 season Super Bowl champion with the Ravens, signed on with the Titans before last season. Many say he is a tough opponent, maybe even a bit of a dirty player–Tom Brady, Wes Welker, and Stevan Ridley all suffered injuries in plays involving Pollard–but now he is also an inventor with the introduction of his Style Pro 31 Smart Tray.
The Style Pro 31 Smart Tray is a device that can be clipped onto many different types of bathroom sinks to add up to 288 square inches of temporary counter space.
Pollard said he came up with the idea when he was living in an apartment in Baltimore with his wife, Meghan, and found that they just didn’t have enough space in their bathroom. “I’m not an artist,” he explained of his device, “so I had to hire somebody to actually draw it. And the guy did a phenomenal job. Once we finalized how we wanted it to look, we went and started getting trademarks and the patents.”
“We, as people, we tend to come up with a lot of things in our head,” Pollard told Fox Sports. “Some things are crazy. Some things may actually work and be a help to others. But I think it’s that fear of not wanting to put the money in, not wanting to put the time in and then get no results.”
Pollard said that the “Smart Tray” name was modeled off the idea of “smart phones.”
Once it is all up and running, the product will initially sell exclusively online for $39.99 in black or white.
An idea like this is one way Pollard hopes to help keep himself in good financial shape after football.
Pollard lamented how many players have ended up losing their money through poor management and seemed determined not to be one of them.
“As players, we ought to be smarter and understand we have to turn the tide at some point,” the Titan said. “It’s sad seeing so many guys having to sell Super Bowl rings, Heisman Trophies and other things just to make a payment on a house. We need to take control of our lives and finances.”
He also pointed out that any player could find his football career all-too suddenly ended with an unexpected injury.
“I’m an old-school player,” he continued. “I know and understand that at any time I could be taken out of this game, and at any time, anyone else can be taken out. If anything happens, it’s on us; we know what we signed up for.”
Pollard also noted that his life in football is soon coming to an end.
“The window of football is closing,” he told the media. “But it’s not closing yet because the passion and everything is still there, and I am still capable of running.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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