Charging the NFL: An Interview with the 49ers’ Stevie Johnson

Stevie Johnson, a newly minted member of the San Francisco 49ers and former Kentucky Wildcat as well as number one wideout for the Buffalo Bills, had three 1,000 yard seasons under his belt before joining the 49ers’ already talented squad this offseason.

Though he is coming off of a down season statistically in which he battled injuries and suffered the loss of his dear mother, he has his eyes fixed on the Super Bowl and bringing some hardware back to his hometown and the Bay Area.

Stevie was generous enough to talk with NinerNoise as part of his “Charging the League” initiative with mophie to discuss how things are going this season. If that was not generous enough, read on to learn more about his current gift-giving engagement!

Stevie’s partner, mophie, is the best-selling mobile battery case company and creator of the first iPhone battery case.

NinerNoise: I know you have been asked about it a lot already, so I won’t ask you about the game. But what is it like to play in Levi’s Stadium?

Stevie Johnson: It’s awesome, man. Being from San Francisco it’s kind of sad to not be playing in Candlestick, but I can’t complain at all.

NN: You are with me today for a special reason. Apparently you are an extremely generous guy. Would you like to share about your gift-giving initiative?

SJ: I’m working with mophie, the number one selling mobile battery case company. We are “Charging the League.” We are giving every player—each one—in the NFL a power station and a juice pack, and my 49ers teammates are getting a custom San Francisco power pack.

One side of Stevie Johnson’s gift to his teammates.

NN: You lost your mother last season. I am sure that was difficult for you. Do you find any solace in coming back home and playing for her favorite team?

SJ: Yeah, that was really hard. It is kind of nice doing that, though.

NN: Now, I am actually a big Kentucky Wildcats fan.

SJ: Ah, sweet. That’s my spot right there in Lexington!

NN: Do you still follow them at all?

SJ: I just saw the game against Florida we almost pulled out. Stoops is doing a great job though with his recruiting and getting the boys going so I’m looking forward to the rest of this season seeing if they get in a bowl game.

NN: You are obviously a very talented receiver, but you came into the league as a seventh round draft pick, you weren’t even the top guy at Kentucky. What sets you apart?

SJ: Maybe my skill set. The combine wasn’t really my thing as far as the whole lifting weights and running fast forties. But as far as the skill set, being able to shake guys and get open and make catches is something that sets me apart from all the other wide receivers. My route running is pretty different, I use a lot of my basketball moves to get open.

NN: Did you learn any basketball moves at Kentucky? It’s not really a big football school . . .

SJ: We had a few games in the Johnson Center. There is a reason it was called the Johnson Center: because of me! We had some cool little grudge matches with a couple of the hoops guys.

NN: You went from a team in Buffalo where you had great individual success—you had three 1,000 yard seasons—to now where you are on a team in San Francisco where the expectation is “Super Bowl or bust”, what’s that like? Is there any pressure? Is it nice to play with extremely talented teammates for a change? The Bill’s guys were good, but . . . 

SJ: Nah, people are extremely talented. You make it to the NFL, you are talented, man, Every week we are expecting to get ahead against another squad and get to the Super Bowl. It doesn’t change, no added pressure, because we all got the same goal, I don’t think anybody is saying: “OK, we’re going to go 6-10” or whatever. We are all expecting to win a Super Bowl, so the pressure is the same everywhere.

NN: You had a rough game last week, I know the team didn’t do great. Are you guys already looking ahead at the Cardinals?

SJ: We still got to get through this film, but most definitely. We are definitely thinking about the Cardinals right now, but we still got to see what we can get fixed and go from there as we continue the work week.

NN: Are you happy to be back in San Francisco, are you happy to be back home?

SJ: Yeah, I’m definitely happy to be playing back at the crib.

NN: What is it like playing for Coach Harbaugh?

SJ: It’s good. He is a player’s coach. We work hard; we have a lot of guys that work hard. I’ve always worked hard and pushed the people around me. He already had a good group of guys that was about that same work. He just keeps it fun and keeps it loose but makes sure we are at the top of our game so we can be as good as we should be. I’m pretty sure we’ll have another tough workweek and we’ll get back to the grind and try and get these W’s.

NN: Sounds good! Would you like to share one more time about what you are doing with mophie?

SJ: We are “Charging the League” so make sure you guys visit mophie at Facebook.com/mophie to enter the contest to win your own power pack.

NN: And who is getting these power packs? How many people are you giving them to?

SJ: Everybody! Everybody that is in the NFL will receive a power pack on behalf of mophie and Stevie Johnson.

NN: What about your teammates?

SJ: My teammates are getting some custom power packs.

Another side of Stevie Johnson’s custom mophie gift to his 49ers teammates.

Here are a few more details regarding Stevie’s work with mophie and the giveaways:

More pictures and details regarding these custom Powerpacks and giveaways can be found here on Facebook and from Twitter users @mophie and @StevieJohnson13. Visit mophie.com/innovation if you would like to learn more or stay up to date with new releases.

You also have an opportunity to purchase your very own limited edition product and custom Powerstation at facebook.com/mophie, if you are interested. There will be two Facebook posts from mophie announcing two limited edition products that can be purchased from 9 am PST on September 16 for 49 hours until 10 am PST September 18. If you comment with the hashtag “#49hours” you will receive a direct message with a link that you may use to purchase the products.

I would like to thank my co-editor of NinerNoise.com, Orly Rios Jr., for getting this interview set up for me; to Katie Kotarak and Chad Romiti of The Brand Amp for helping arrange the interview; and for CJ, Stevie’s agent, for his tremendous assistance. 

Most of all, however, I would like to thank Stevie Johnson for taking time out of his busy and I am sure at times draining day of “Charging the League” interviews, to spend some time with NinerNoise talking about his past, his present, and his future.

Let’s root for Stevie as he continues to put on his 49ers jersey and strives to bring a Lombardi Trophy back where it belongs.