Mike Alstott knows football has moved on without players like him.

The NFL was a much different product back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Rather than being pass-centric, the game was rooted in physicality, and Alstott was the last of a dying breed. Fullbacks were once a featured part of an offense, an extension of the running game and capable pass-catchers out of the backfield when needed.

Now, that is no longer the case, and it has already been about 20 years since the “A-Train” last suited up. Appearing on the Pewter Report Podcast last week, the legendary Bucs fullback shared what he has been up to in retirement and reflected on his career and the state of the modern NFL.

Catching Up With Mike Alstott: What Has He Been Up To In Retirement?

One of the biggest highlights of the Bucs 2025 season was not the play on the field. Rather, it was the release of the Raise The Flags docuseries on Amazon Prime that chronicled and celebrated 50 years of Tampa Bay football. Not only did it offer a valuable history lesson and a trip down memory lane, but it was a way for former players and their personalities to be prominently featured.

For Mike Alstott, it was another chance for the organization to keep him involved. Since announcing his retirement after the 2006 season, Alstott has remained active in promoting the team as well as giving back to the Tampa Bay community through the Mike Alstott Family Foundation.

Former Bucs FB Mike Alstott – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

“I’m blessed, I really am, in a lot of ways,” Alstott said about remaining around the team. “First of all, to be able to live my dream and come here in Tampa and play football. At the same time, geez, it’s what, 20 years, 19 years since I finished playing. To be able to still be a part of the team and be on the schedule release and different stuff with the current players. Again, I’m blessed. Just very appreciative of the Glazers and Brian Ford and how they still keep me relevant within the team.”

Although he no longer dons the shoulder pads, Alstott remains physically active — which includes doing his own home renovating.

“It seems like I’m always busy doing something,” Alstott said. “A lot of foundation stuff… I travel a little bit more. I was coaching three years ago, head coach for 12 years. I was really obviously consumed in that each and every day. I like to build; I like to tear things apart and build — literally.

“I’m not lying, go in the bathroom, tear shit apart, and then try to put it back together [with] my own thoughts and ideas, stuff like that… I’ve always been like that, even growing up. A kid that loved the tools, loved putting stuff together, and be creative in different ways like that. I just built a sauna and a longevity bathroom with the cold plunge and shower, a protein station.”

Mike Alstott Discusses Scoring First Bucs SB TD, Lack Of Modern Physicality

Few players were more instrumental to the Bucs’ Super Bowl run than Alstott, who scored the first touchdown in each of the club’s three playoff victories. That included Super Bowl XXXVII against the Raiders, when his second-quarter touchdown made it a 13-3 game, giving the team cushion en route to a dominant 48-21 win.

Former Bucs FB Mike Alstott – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

To him, it was more than punching it in from two yards out. It was a culmination of a life’s work reaching the pinnacle of football excellence.

“I guess I don’t think about it as much as I should,” Alstott said about scoring the first Bucs Super Bowl touchdown. “It was everything. Everything that I worked for until that point was coming down to that one play. From six years old when I started playing football to what was I then, [29] years old? To be able to score the first touchdown or get a touchdown or put my team ahead in the biggest game of all of our careers and be an instrumental piece in doing that. Knowing that they know that I’m going to get the ball.

“That was the telltale of my career, short-yardage, goal line-type of back. Catching the ball in the backfield, four-minute drill, run the clock out type of thing. Get some hard yards and stuff like that in some crucial times. I loved it, and that’s what I did. You talk about pushing the jeeps, all those moments of being by yourself or being with your teammates and there’s no cameras and we’re on the field working, we’re in the weight room working, or we’re in the classroom working. That all came to that moment of that time in that Super Bowl game.”

While Alstott’s greatest moments remain frozen in NFL history, today’s league barely resembles the one he dominated. What he did in trucking defenders would be frowned upon by the league, and the physicality of that time has largely disappeared.

Former Bucs FB Mike Alstott – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Fullbacks — save for a few teams — are seldom used. Inside linebackers are no longer as gargantuan, replaced by slimmed down, more athletic linebackers who can cover. The league was already starting to trend toward passing, but that took on a new form as offenses were designed around efficiently throwing the football.

“I think the whole game has changed — in a lot of ways,” Alstott said. “The smashmouth football type of mentality you only see from probably around 10 teams in the league that still live that type of thing… It’s been more of a passing league, five-wide, and get your step backs in there, stuff like that. Guys that can play wide receiver and running back. I think it’s coming back a little bit more. I think teams are trying to pound the rock a little bit more, but I just think the physicality of the game — it is what it is. It’s changed immensely.”

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds chimed in to say: “I don’t think for the better, Mike. I really don’t.”

Mike Alstott did not hesitate to agree.

“I don’t either, it is what it is. They make more and hit less so…”

Watch Legendary Bucs Fullback Mike Alstott On The Pewter Report Podcast

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds and Bailey Adams had a very entertaining discussion with legendary Bucs fullback Mike Alstott to kick off a star-studded lineup of guests last week. Alstott was on for over 50 minutes reminiscing on the glory days of his time in Tampa Bay and shared his thoughts on the current team. Haven’t watched it yet? Check out the full interview below.