Beyond the Flats: Derrick Morgan

In this weekly feature, we’ll take a look at what Tech’s finest are up to since leaving the Institute. We kick things off with Derrick Morgan.

Many players struggle to find purpose after their time in the NFL comes to a close. For Derrick Morgan, however, the post-NFL path has been clear for some time. In an editorial published last July in PA Prep Live, Morgan detailed his passion for serving his community and giving back.

“Around the midpoint of my NFL career with the Tennessee Titans – I started to transition much of my time and money into projects that would benefit communities all over the country, just like the one I grew up in,” Morgan shared. He founded Austin-based NexLegacy Construction with business partner Kendrick Whittington in 2015, earned his MBA in 2016 from Miami, and in 2019 launched the KNGDM Group, a real estate development company focused on equity and investment in underserved communities. After executing projects in Atlanta, Nashville, and Birmingham, KNGDM turned its attention towards Coatesville, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia and Derrick Morgan’s hometown.

There, Morgan and KNGDM utilized Opportunity Zone legislation to raise the capital needed to turn a former metal polishing plant into a community asset. The vision for the project: a 22-acre mixed use complex called “The Flats,” complete with six basketball courts, an indoor turf fieldhouse, expo center, and food hall.

“We’re looking to partner with local non-profits and community partners to harness their resources and...to make this facility as inclusive and multi-use as possible,” said Morgan in describing the Flats project. While the Coronavirus epidemic delayed the project, the site’s sale was approved in April, paving the way for a much-needed project in an oft overlooked part of the country.

But Morgan’s community engagement goes beyond real estate development. In June, he hosted a financial conference called I AM NATION, with the goal of advising current and former professional athletes on how to leverage relationships to create sustained wealth. We always knew Morgan as a leader on the gridiron, but he has gone above and beyond to lead his peers and his community, lifting all to greater heights.

Want to know more about the project and Derrick’s post football ventures? Check him out @dmorg91 on Instagram and Twitter.