The last time Russell Wilson visited New York City, the star quarterback was hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of Super Bowl XLVIII.
About a month removed from the Seattle Seahawks epic Super Bowl win, Wilson is back in the Big Apple — only this time, he’s not carrying a trophy, but rather the Microsoft Surface.
Wilson is on a mini press tour in New York City this week, doing interviews with everyone from Charlie Rose to Seth Meyers.
He’s also promoting the heck out of Microsoft’s tablet.
Microsoft has a partnership with the NFL and is having Wilson tout the benefits of its tablet both during national interviews and through his social media channels.
Check out how many times Wilson, who has 725,000 Twitter followers, tweeted about the tablet just this week alone:
Had a blast filming with Charlie Rose and team! Watch it tonight on PBS at 11pm! #GoHawks @surface pic.twitter.com/7wfs6ifpXh
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) February 25, 2014
Great time this morning on @foxandfriends talking about @surface pic.twitter.com/jeITK23HSm
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) February 25, 2014
See everyone on @foxandfriends in a few minutes!!! Talking about SB XLVIII and how @surface is changing the game!
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) February 25, 2014
Thanks @surface team for helping me set up my new Surface tablets! pic.twitter.com/t5j1SYq5Pa
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) February 21, 2014
He also retweeted this tweet that was sent from the official Surface account:
“It’s really a computer.” RT @DangeRussWilson Great time this morning on @foxandfriends talking about @surface pic.twitter.com/TrxNIYTD2h
— Microsoft Surface (@surface) February 25, 2014
Wilson is also talking about the tablet through the tube. On Tuesday’s edition of “Fox and Friends,” host Brian Kilmeade started discussing tablets.
“You’re also here for the Microsoft Surface,” Kilmeade said. “I’m so jealous of [co-host] Elisabeth [Hasselbeck], she made the adjustment to the iPad.”
It’s unclear exactly what “adjustment,” Kilmeade was referring to, but Wilson responded candidly.
“We got to steal the iPad from her,” he joked. “We need to put a Surface in her hands. The iPad is no good for notes.”
Kilmeade then asked Wilson what he liked about the Surface.
“It’s so efficient for you,” he said. “You can split the screen, you can do so many different things. I can watch film. It’s got Microsoft Word and all that. It’s really a computer. You can get everything done that you need to.”
Wilson then spoke about how the kids who attend his Russell Wilson Passing Academy also get to use the Surface during the camp.
“To play with those kids with the Surface, it was awesome,” Wilson said.
We reached out to Microsoft to see if the Redmond company had any special deal with Wilson outside of the NFL/Microsoft deal, and they gave us this statement:
With our NFL partnership we get a chance to work with standout players like Russell Wilson. Russell is fired up to use Surface to be more productive on and off the field.
Wilson also sat down with the Wall Street Journal and spoke again about Microsoft’s tablet. He noted how he switched from the iPad to the Surface and described the tablet as “very productive.”
“I can also Skype with family members,” he added. “I’m always using my Surface.”
Wilson, who said that the NFL’s partnership with Microsoft is “changing the game,” told the Wall Street Journal that he wants to be a professional sports franchise owner one day. The 25-year-old said he has a “great relationship” with Seahawks owner and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
“He loves music and I love music. We exchange Frank Sinatra albums a little bit,” Wilson said. “He’s just a great human being doing a lot of great things for the community and for the world.”
Would Wilson consider owning the Seahawks one day and follow in Allen’s footsteps?
“Maybe he’ll pass it to me one day, who knows,” the quarterback said. “Obviously I love the city and the Seattle Seahawks mean a lot to me.”
Watch the entire WSJ interview here: