Awaiting the kickoff in front of a packed Raymond James Stadium for Super Bowl LV, Jaydon Mickens savored the moment he was in. He was about to return the opening kickoff in a Super Bowl for the 11-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers led by future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. First, he had to battle the sea of flashing lights before toe met leather.
“My most vivid memory was the kickoff. I was the first one to return it so just the lights flashing before the game and how it went from one flash to just a multitude of flashing. I’m just looking at the flashes as it’s going on and I find the ball and saw even more flashes. As the ball was coming down, the flashes came even harder and boom, the game starts,” Mickens said.
The Buccaneers ended up winning, 31-9, in front of their home crowd in Tampa against another future Hall of Famer in Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. One thing Mickens valued most from that championship team was camaraderie and the level of respect from all players on the roster.
“It was amazing. Being with Tom and so many greats like Ndamukong Suh, Lavonte David, Mike Evans, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski and LeSean McCoy. We had some great men in that room that could not only teach each other but also learn from each other, no matter if you’re the highest of the high or the lowest of the low. Everyone had the same type of respect because everybody did what they were supposed to do and we had real team camaraderie.”
This wasn’t the first championship caliber team that Mickens played with. In 2017, the Washington product was a return specialist/wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose staunch defense captained by Calais Campbell led to their ‘Sacksonville’ nickname. Jacksonville went 10-6 that season and reached the AFC Conference Championship, before losing 24-20 to the New England Patriots. With nine years of experience in the National Football League, Mickens joins the DC Defenders this season to showcase his talent and use his past experiences to build up others around him.
“This league is an open league that allows you to play on national TV every weekend. Everybody watches every weekend and if you’ve already made a name for yourself in the NFL, fans have a different respect for you when they watch. Building these guys up and giving them the confidence is a good experience to have and knowing that you can overcome adversity.”
As one of the vets from the NFL, Mickens is now a rookie to the UFL and has turned to Defenders wide receiver/return specialist Chris Rowland, who enters his fourth year in the league, as a guide.
“Chris is actually a vet in this league, he’s been with the USFL and the UFL. He taught me things like the nuances of the league and how the kickoffs and conversions work. I had to learn a lot of things from him.”
The Defenders are 3-1 in their first four games this season and Mickens has been able to draw some parallels from his past teams with this 2025 squad.
“This team is resilient, hard-nosed and fast. This team is special. From the coaches to the players, the administrators and even the athletic trainers. We know where we want to go and we’re not taking anyone lightly. Every game is a Super Bowl, I don’t care if it’s UFL or CFL, we’re playing in a Super Bowl game once we get on that field. That’s the same energy we had in Jacksonville and Tampa.”
NEW BUSINESS
Once Mickens finishes his work on the gridiron for the day, he begins another line of work as the CEO and Founder of High Society, a membership compound based in Houston, Texas with a focus on networking and fostering a community with like-minded individuals.
“High Society is basically a country club with benefits. It’s a networking universe that allows a multitude of people to be a part of something and not just taking away in a sense of partying and clubbing. It’s a universe where we all can come together with good business plans and good organizations. It gives you an opportunity to be around people who have already done something in life with others who want to do something with their life.”
At High Society, members can host events that span from food truck nights to a VIP recording room session.
“We have two VIP recording rooms that are soundproof and you’re specifically on your own. We have a bar and have an inside where we can have different paint and sips, we can have jazz nights, wine nights and entrepreneurial brunches. Those are the things that we’re going to have. We’re going to give everybody something to do throughout the week but also give them something to do within themselves. With this compound, I will allow people to do their own events whether it’s networking/marketing, whether they want to do something fun/dress up, whatever it is. I also give them ten percent of all net profits from their event.”
The idea for High Society was conceived from Mickens’ past experiences with NFL teammates at wealthy clubs, including Pro Bowl wide receiver Kenny Golladay.
“The idea started with me just living life, seeing membership lounges like the 75th floor in Manhattan where you had to be a high-end member that one of my NFL teammates took me to. When you spend money at those type of clubs, they don’t give you the respect that you need when you just want to come and vibe and have a good time. I built something where like-minded people with influence and people that have the energy to want to be better can connect.”
Balancing professional football and owning a company can be a juggling act, but Mickens shifts his mindset to each profession based on his schedule.
“With that and football, I make sure that I keep myself at a mental standpoint when I’m mentally aware of everything. Football is something that I do, it’s not who I am. At the same time, I’ve lived my dreams, I played in the NFL for nine years, I got my pension, and I got my Super Bowl ring. I’m doing it because I love it, but it also brings great eyes and attention. I make sure that I schedule my days and I’m as busy as ever.”
While he’s running routes and studying game film with the Defenders, Mickens has a whole new playbook with High Society.
“I’m in charge of getting licenses, making sure our construction plans are on point, I got to make sure everything happens the way it needs to happen but also putting people in place to manage these things and making sure that I know everything about the situation just like in football. If I’m a receiver, I can’t just know the slot receiver position, I have to know the outside receiver position and I even have to know some of the running backs stuff because I have the talent to play running back.”
Along with High Society, Mickens also owns Lost Visionary Recording Studio with locations in Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles. Some notable musicians who have used his studios are Grammy-nominated artist Jordin Sparks, rapper Jaz-O and hip-hop artist Jhonni Blaze.
“It was just being around the music and I love the creative process of it all. Every time something big happened in my life, I’d get a beat and go pour it out in a song. I’m about to open another recording studio in Houston. I love the ability of telling a story through music and it’s emotionally filling.”
With a continuing professional football career and two successful business ventures, Mickens has been hitting the right notes.