The Bobby Bones Show - Lots to Say: Country Music Artist Matt Stell

Episode Date: April 2, 2025

Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel welcome Matt Stell to the studio as the trio recalls some mistaken identity at Super Bowl with the two Matts being mistaken for one another.  Matt grew up playing sports and looks back at a high school matchup against LeBron James, which he has proof on VHS tape!  Matt talks about being 'in the zone' does exist, as does the opposite groove.  Bobby highlights the similarities between being an artist and an athlete.   Matt Stell explains how success between sports and music is different.  Does it bother Matt how much he's known for replacing Tom Brady with the Patriots? On the way out, Matt asks about a recent pickleball invite from Bobby. Bobby compares celebrities and NFL Players...who is the Kendrick Lamar of the NFL and who is the Patrick Mahomes of Hollywood?   Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel is part of the NFL Podcast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. The 2026 NFL draft is here, and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh.

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Open your free IHeart radio app. Search 40s and free agents and listen now. Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHart Podcasts. We got lots to say. Yeah, we got lots to say. Now here's Bobby and Matt. Welcome to another episode of Lots to Say.

I am Bobby Vones. He is Matt Castle. we're going to get right to our chat with country superstar Matt Stel in studio. Some quick notes. We got two mats here, which is confusing. And you'll hear us talk about some of these. He's got multiple number one songs, prayed for you. He grew up in Arkansas, played basketball, played college basketball.

In high school, we played against LeBron James twice, which he has a wild story about. You'll hear us talk about that. And you can follow him at Matt Stell Music, awesome musician. Great, dude. Go stream his stuff, and I hope you enjoy the chat. Here he is. It's me. Matt Castle and Matt Stel.

Our guest in studio is Country Music Superstar, Matt Stel, with hits such as, I wonder if I could sing them. Sing them. Well, you won't? I will, but I don't know. Will you do it justice? I will, but I don't know them. It's not even that I know I will not do them justice, first of all. But when I try to sing songs back to back, I can't.

My mouth. melodies get all lost. Like I, it gets all, no, that's not true. Yeah, me too.

Like I prayed for you. Never single day, I never knew your name, but that's the name I called. I prayed for you. Words probably not accurate, but the melody was kind of there. Yeah.

All right. What are the word? Every single day before I knew your name, I couldn't see your face, but I prayed for you. Yeah. Your face. Your face.

And then, I've been down to London and South Beach, Mississippi and all the way to Beverly Beach. London, Mississippi, yeah. Everywhere but on. That's, yeah, that's like reasonably, you've heard the song before. I know, no, I just sang. I'm not lyrics guy. I'm a melody guy.

So I'm not even know if any of the lyrics were right. Were any of those, what are the words? That's pretty close. We're just some different cities. I've been where, though? Savannah to Long Beach. I said London to. South Beach.

Yeah. I said, I'm a little flattered that you, because I know you're not a words guy. Yeah. You're in the ballpark

though. Yeah, exactly. That's all that matters. Yeah. And then how about, um, that ain't me no more.

I'm losing my melodies, though, and that ain't me no more. See, this is where I get in trouble. Do the melody. Pick over. That ain't me no more.

Get that. And then breaking it. Break it. Breaking him. Yeah, it's because you didn't play this one enough. I don't play anything. Break it.

I don't know. But Matt has a bunch of songs, anyway. I mean, Matt is also an athlete, former athlete, but still an air quotes athlete. And so I'm going to tell my favorite recent story of my two favorite Mats is that we all were at the Super Bowl. We weren't together, but we were together, but we were together at different times.

And roughly, it was like, hey, if we have time, we'll play golf. And Stel was like, I'll set it up. And turns out Matt Castle and I had way more work than we thought we would. We were very busy. And Matt has a bunch of friends. Matt, oh, I got two mats.

This is crazy. My mind's blown right now. Steele will be fine. Okay, Stel and Castle. And so Castle's got all his NFL buddies he's hanging out with. Matt Stel's got all his music people he's hanging out with. I got food poisoning because my bathtub's full of like grime or something. So I'm doing nothing.

No, it was that sandwich shop. Oh, that too. That got you. Yeah. And so. That muffa letter. They had set up just in case of tea time and there ends up being a picture of a person that was working at the golf course. and it's like it was so cool to have Matt Castle stop and play golf

that the problem was it wasn't Matt Castle it was Matt Stel yeah yeah that's pretty funny did she think to you you were Matt Castle I don't know like I don't know the um they were they're super nice folks they just uh probably looked at the T sheet from what it was going to be and just assumed that like I mean you know if you squint from far away you know you could mix the two of us up if you're tall if yeah and also resemblance. Yeah, and they were not, they were immigrants.

So they probably think white people look the same, which I forget. And we do kind of, you know. That's why I wear glasses. I'm so generic white guy that I put big glasses on. So people are. It was one of the best compliments of my life to be called Matt Castle. It was on the Facebook page. I laughed out loud for a day.

Oh, it was so funny. Yeah, I was like, I mean, I sent it to you first. Like, how'd you play? Like, what's their impression to me? I shot... Course record. You have the course record. That's exactly right.

I'm like, yes. You shot 81. You shot 81 at Latour Golf Club down in Lafouche Parish, Louisiana. All day, every day, baby. All day every day. That was a fun memory. And I know, since I know Matt Stell pretty well, you have to tell him, like, we've never heard your LeBron James story. Oh, man, yeah.

So he's a basketball player, college basketball player. Oh, I know that. Okay, yeah, okay. Yeah, I used to. so you get a bucket and I used to think that I was like you know I had hoop dreams man you know like like everybody and then uh man the my senior year uh of high school I went up to play with the team uh in Akron Ohio uh just to play one tournament with them and we played against LeBron James and we honestly we went like it's AAU tournaments or round robin tournament so you play your

first games and you get seated for the tournament and we won the first game actually LeBron had like probably 18 and 10 or whatever. But then we've matched up again against him in the finals of that. And he had like 45 and 20. 45 and 20. Something like it was like he had whatever numbers were available were the ones that he achieved. Like it was his usage was high and his efficiency was high. And yeah, man, between him and then Joe Johnson when I was after I was at college coming back and playing in a pro M league,

that's when I found my ceiling. Like I knew very, I knew very soon. Like, it was very apparent that my dreams were outpacing my ability. You saw them and that created your ceiling. They built your ceiling for you. Yeah, I mean, and at the time with LeBron, you know, I'm coming in thinking, okay, I got some time, you know, to grow three inches and gain 40 pounds. And, but with Joe Johnson, Wavy Joe, one of my favorite athletes, one of the

smoothest games that ever was and he gave that smooth ass game to me in the dunbar and little rock and he just comes out and absolutely just like is better at everything and bigger and faster and it's just a level and i was just like okay well this is my dreams died today but that's all right i'll play i can play guitar well so lebron goes crazy you played lebron the story gets a bit better uh what's cool is you got to watch it right yeah you competed against lebron no and you have it you have a you have that your whole life you get to watch yeah and and but oh yeah right so i have like you know they taped all the games so i had this tape and i brought it home and like you know on the first game in the finals we played and like that first game that we played and like we won and like i had like

it's like six point whatever and but i had a nice little like layup in the lane where i kind of like not so much got around it but made a good cut and made a layup and he like tried to block it missing i made the layup and you know it's like that was just still probably the highlight of my you know athletic career. But then I got back and I don't know what happened, but, you know, at the time, that was a VHS tape. And at the time, you know, somebody, I think my dad had just gotten like a prime star satellite or something. And like if they ordered a movie, they were recording that movie so that it could be enjoyed. And I think it got recorded over. His entire game versus LeBron James got recorded over.

Yeah. That's old school VHS, dude. You put it in the recorder. You're trying to record. You don't know what's on it. And all of a sudden, you're like, wait down. That's a memory that I wanted. And what's wild is, like, mom, the other,

it's probably been about a year ago, but she found the VHS. I have it at my house. And I went, and I was going to, like, I want to see it, but like, no one has a VCR. And I went. Is that why you text me? Yes.

By the VCR? Yes. So because I have the tape. And, like, I can't remember. I remember it being taped over it. but I don't remember like verifying. I think maybe that was, I just want to see what,

at least what movie, Pelican Brief. You know, saying that was actually a pretty good movie. Yeah, well, it's probably, you know,

the client or some, something. And, uh, yeah. Still texts me, do you know I was a VCR? I went, yeah,

1996. Exactly. I didn't even know what he was asking about. And he's very right because I went to, uh, Best Buy,

I went to Walmart. I went to, um, the guy from Best Buy sent me to this video shop. The guy's like, oh, we sold out of our last.

one we knew next week and then I walked next door to a pawn shop and they happened to have a DVD VCR combo they wanted 40 bucks for I was like and like I looked online you can't there's expensive and I bought it and I brought it home and of course like it doesn't work so I have a I have a VCR that doesn't work at the house so I'm just I'm on this case that you may or may not be playing LeBron James yes but it is the handwriting my mom's handwraise is Matt burst LeBron on the sleeve and on the tape and so you know You'd think that she would look at that and be like, maybe we shouldn't record anything on that. Yeah.

Maybe they got desperate. It was a really good show. Yeah, maybe it was a season finale of friends or something. No, it's Bobby's Dancing with the Stars. They put it in. It's Bobby. Bobby's on. How am I evict?

Why am I going to pick down here now? Hey, Castle, do you have a, like, a high school tape? Did you make one to get recruited? It was before the air that they're in now where everything's digitized. even for my daughter, she's a freshman, and she plays in these club volleyball tournaments. They have this AI app that will literally put together your 10 highlight reels. And all you have to do is upload them if you wanted to.

But back then, it was VHS. And so you're going through this grainy film. You know, it's up on the old school. And I just went through the tape and put it together myself. Really had no music to it. So there was no music. It's just me out there. Shooting from where is it?

Because when we would shoot, you know, it's up on the bleachers. Yeah, the top of the bleachers, where it's the old school tripod, big, big camera up there. And so you're seeing like little people out there. You can hardly even tell what type of athlete you are. So I sent it out and said,

I hope for the best. But, I mean, I got a little bit of, get a little notoriety from it. They came out to the school, check me out. Who came? Who showed up? I mean, honestly, there was a ton of people. Back then, coaches used to come to the facility.

every other week. I mean, from Miami to Cal, the USC to UCLA to Tennessee to Notre Dame. specifically? Were there other players? Really? Did you play on a really good team, though? Was there? No, we were okay, but we're in the middle of the pack in the like in our

conference. There was teams that were way better than we were. We only had 30 guys on the team or something like that, whereas some of these other schools, 45, 50. I mean, we were L.A. unified, but we weren't known as a football school. We were going to as a baseball school. That's what I originally went to high school to play baseball. I wasn't even going to play football. Then I got the itch and said, I'm going to go off for the football team. Then you figured out you could throw a ball over the mountains. Then I could rip that thing. Did, if I ate Phala Mignon every night, eventually I get tired of Fulay Mignon.

Were so many coaches showing up that it wasn't a big deal anymore because a lot of the high profile schools and coaches were showing up, but you're like, oh, cool, Tennessee's here this week. It's just a wild experience because as a young kid, you think about getting recruited. but then all of a sudden your sophomore year hits and you have a good sophomore year. And then all of a sudden, coach after coach, start showing up. It was always for me something that I got excited about because it means you're doing something right.

And at the same time, you didn't take it for granted. But sometimes when schools like Tennessee at the time or Miami or these national brands come to your school, you're like, wow. Where you're familiar with the Cal and the UCLA and some of these coaches. But then at the end of the day, when those teams start showing up, you're like, maybe there's something more to this recruiting thing because I'm getting recruited by national brands.

So that's when you start to realize maybe I am, okay, and I might be able to play at the next level. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the free IHeart Radio app. Open the app, search NFL Daily, and listen now.

I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg, free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, Pro Days, trades. this is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money.

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We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite. team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's do greatest stat line in a high school game that you can remember of your own. Matt, Matt Stell, you go first. Can we just point out that the fact that I'm being talked to like I'm an athlete sitting next to him? Stop it. Dude, I say with them every day. I do jack crap. So you're the middle. You're the one that brings us together. Me, Jack crap.

Him pro athlete. You played college ball. Yeah, all right. So, greatest high school stat line. I mean, I think I had 40-something and several rebounds. But no, no, don't be humble. I'm asking you for specific numbers. I think I had, I think I had like 40, 42 and like, I don't know, probably a lot of rebounds. Like, I don't know.

Over 10? Yeah, for sure. Any chance there was a triple double there? No, no. Yeah, he's taking all the shots. No, I've been fascinated. No, I used to pass a little bit, but not that game. I mean, there's just not enough shots.

But, yeah, I mean, like, yeah, but it's a function of your competition, too, you know. Did you ever feel the zone? Yeah, I did. I felt it in a game I lost. I was actually, I fouled out of the state tournament the first round, but I was hitting everything. I was hitting threes. I was like, yeah, I felt it. Like, I could just kind of throw it up there and it was going in.

Greatest high school stat line that you can remember, Castle? Gosh, I mean, we played in the, the 3A championship at the Coliseum my junior year. Now, 3A, that means it's kind of like the, what's the NIT division. You don't get into the big dog tournament, but you're playing probably more caliber teams. It's not based on size? It wasn't based on size.

It was based on record. So like you say they take the top eight teams around L.A. County that play in the upper 4A division, 3A divisions like the step down because you didn't qualify. But I remember that game. I think I threw for I had to throw for around 300 yards with three TDs but I also

ran for like 70 yards with maybe a rushing touchdown. Did you ever feel the zone? Oh yeah. And the crazy part about the zone and you probably can speak to this and Bobby I know you can speak to this because you're always in the zone.

Exactly. Stay. Stay's in the zone. When you're like I'm not athlete I have to deal with this all the time he'll talk about somebody Bobby for sure you know wink wink. So this is our relationship.

Come on, you know. Go ahead, go ahead. But you're not thinking so much, right? It's just the games coming to you. It slows down and you're hitting everything. And there's games like that that just happen. There's no rhyme or reason behind it because you kind of prepare the same way every single week. But it's just that day you're not missing.

Whereas other games, you know, you feel good, but it's just not falling. The zone is something special because if you can achieve it at any point, it's amazing. But when you're in it, it's like you get superpowers, right? your Captain America out there. My question with you guys, both being high-level athletes, I was not. Very mid, you know, a high energy, big motor, you know. Technician.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was fine, very, very scrappy. So probably my best game was like 80 yards in a touchdown. Like four catches, 80 yards of touchdown. But that, to me. That's a big stat line. Yeah, not, okay. I feel like Matt did just a minute ago when you were like, but okay.

Then you think about who you were playing against, who was guarding you and you're like, eh, wasn't that? Yeah. So that was like my best game in high school probably. Now, but my zone would be in a creative space. Like if I'm doing stand-up and it is so effortless and everything feels so right that as soon as I start to question it, I start to come out of it. Now, I wonder if athletically that feels that, when you're in it, do you acknowledge it and

go, I'm freaking on or are you in it and you try not to even think about it? Like ballplayers, if someone's throwing a no-hitter, they're not messing with a pitcher. because if I'm on God dang I'm running from thinking about feeling how perfect it is right now Matt Stell I mean Even as a performer as a singer

I would honestly say like I've felt that I felt that more even even not so much as like the performance side but like the days that I go in and I feel like I really wrote a good job or we came up we wrote a cool song and you're chasing it down

and you're trying not to like my thing is you obviously have to think but I try to not to do the meta thinking like i try not to think about the situation like i'm looking you know what i mean like that perspective to me can jar it out of there a little bit um thinking about the actual situation i not if you start thinking this is awesome instead of start which is like a a level removed from you in the room then i find that to be distracting but if i can if i can just stay connected with the you know it's less sports now but if i if i can stay connected you know with the idea of the song and and in the moment.

I mean, it's the same things you talk about. But yeah, I know that feeling. When it's pure and you're feeling at Castle, do you realize it's pure and you're feeling it?

It's like, I'm on. So let me just go. Or do you try not to think and just go? I try. You try not to think and just go. And that's why I'm saying when you're in the zone

for a complete game, particularly when you're competing in sports or just like what you guys are saying. You're in front of an audience and the whole show goes off and you go, wow, I was in the zone the entire time. time because I've been in those games, particularly the ebbs and flows of any situation where

you have a tremendous first half and then your second half, you shi the bed. And you go out and go, wait, I was in the zone. Everything was going great. And so you've been through both circumstances, but when you're in the zone and you're feeling it, I just try to ride that as much as possible because you're ultra-focused and then your confidence just goes through the roof every single series. But so many times there's a small misstep here or there that just changes the momentum of the game. that you always have to be prepared to deal with the adversity. Do you believe in momentum? Oh, yeah.

100%. I was always a big guy of when we start a game and we start early, get me some easy completions. Let me just get into the rhythm of the game. Because if you get that confidence early and you hit a few throws now, all of a sudden you feel that momentum and you feel it throughout the entire chemistry of the team. Let's talk about the opposite,

where everything should be going fine, but nothing is going right. And I've had those nights where there's no reason. that I should feel this clunky or awkward or I'm stumbling over words. But man, everything is going wrong. I'm not sick. I don't have any drama happening because that can affect us in all performance. But nothing is going right.

It's like the anti-zone. I've been there and trying to get out of the anti-zone. If I think about it, I don't get out of it. Much like if I think about it, I do fall out of it on the other side. Castle ever have for no reason. at all. You just can't stop sucking? 100%. And it's... Can I just... Can we get a

rephrase? No. That would be pretty accurate. We keep our phrases, yes. Yes. I mean, there's a game we played the Patriots so I was with the Vikings and, you know, I wanted obviously to have a great performance. We'd go out there, go right down the field. Had a good start to the game.

Next thing I know, it was four interceptions later and they boat race us and I just go, what the hell just... But no elbow problem, nothing at home. No elbow problem. I felt confident about the game playing, everything, and it's just one of those days where I'd throw a pass. One would get tipped at the line scrimmage, and it falls right to here. You make a bad decision. Oh, Revis picks it off. Next one, the guy's running in-cut. He fades back. Another intercept. It was just one of those days. And like you said, the more you think about it, I think you harp on

the bad and you're now starting to play scared. The only way to come out of those situations are just have a, I used to call it the effit mentality. Like what else can happen today? Like you got to go out there and keep singing it Because the guys feel it in the huddle too You got to give a kind of that false bravado at times Make them say hey castle's not disturbed by it We got to keep rolling even though I know in the back of my mind I'm going I'm letting these guys down

It's not a good day but I've still got to go out there Try to get us back on course What about doing a live show? No reason for you to suck You've ever a bad night where you're like why? Why do I suck tonight? 100% I do find though that Typically not always but typically my worst is better than I think

and my best is not as good as I think and so there's always some solace in that a little bit you know because I can and honestly sometimes you know like in a golf swing you know they say feel isn't real that's why you know

that's why they tell you to do stuff that doesn't sound like it would be right because it's not what you're doing is what you're feeling and I find that that is also the case when I'm you know like on stage or something like that is I can't always trust how it felt because I can listen to it back.

You know, we typically have a board mix. I don't listen to them very much, but, you know, we will or, you know, but I take solace in that fact sometimes when things aren't going well, that it's like, well, I put in all this work so that my, you know, I'm sort of in a, in this range, right, as I use hand gestures on a podcast. But I mean, I'm somewhere between a six and a half and an eight and a half all the time, you know. And so the worst is. as bad as it seems, the best is it maybe as good as it seems. But yeah. Are you a self-critical guy?

Like you criticize yourself a little bit, or would you say you're more of a self-confidence guy in those bad days you can put it behind you? I feel like I'm fairly honest. Like, I don't, you know, my wife probably hears it more, and she would probably say I'm pretty negative on myself. But, like, I know when I feel like I did a good job. Now, it just doesn't happen that much. You know what I?

You know, I don't think I did a bad job. a lot like writing a song playing a show but I know what a good job feels like and I and I just kind of chase I chase that you know I kind of have to let that be my North Star even though it's it's not an objective thing that that is my best or whatever but I just kind of know but I'm very I'm very critical and but I try to your point I try to go out of my way to think something positive when something when I feel like something good happens I write a good song if I play a good job you know whatever I try to in my mind give, you know,

say something positive to myself, so it's not always negative. What are you? That was the harsh thing for me is I always felt when, like you went out and kicked ass during the game or something like that, I always had that mentality of, well, that's my job.

That's what I'm supposed to do rather than really acknowledging the fact that I, you know, I crushed today. And so I was always one of those guys that you'd nitpick at little stuff. Where can I get better? Or when things don't go well, you're really self-critical, you're thinking, gosh, I could have played so much better. And you harp on the things that you made mistakes on or the bad throw.

Rather than you could go 18 for 22 in a game, have a bunch of really good throws, but it's that one ball that got interception that was the outcome of the game. So I would say I'm more self-critical than I am, like, of always from a positive nature. And I think it's the nature also of the business of every time you play. playing a game, what do we do? They don't go in there and praise you for the good place. What they do is they go in and look at your mistakes, correct them, put them up on the big board in front of the team

in your quarterback room, and you harp on the little details and the little mistakes that really probably didn't make the major difference in the play. And so I think you just train yourself, okay, well, you're searching for perfection, which you're never going to achieve, but you try to be the best that you can be and try to create it.

every single time you go out in the field. Did you have to learn how to be coached? Yes, I was not always one of those guys that took coaching well at times, especially if personality-wise, right? Certain personalities I got along with really well. And then there's other ones that just became more combative than anything else. And what you have to learn is you have to be adaptable, right? Everybody's going to do it a little bit different.

You've got to find a way to not only accept the coaching, but also learn how to communicate best with that person. It might be allowed, if you have a thought, and this is one of those coaches that, hey, look, I'm this smart with a big circle and you're this smart with a little dot in the middle, that you had to try to make it their idea. But if you try to make it their idea,

they're more receptive to implementing it into a game plan, whereas if I just went in and said, hey, I think we need to put this play, this play, this play, they'd be like, no, we're not doing that. We've got our foundation. We know what we're going to do. With different head coaches and different styles, And the parallels between athletes and musicians are very similar because, Matt, you have people telling you what songs are good or what songs aren't.

As you had coaches telling you what calls, what audibles are good, what aren't, why you should think this way and that way. Were there people that you had to listen to that you knew they did not know near as much as you, but you had to play the game and act like, okay, I'm listening, but really you weren't? 100%, but you also have to be somebody that is going to take the coaching regardless of whether or not you agree with it and somehow find a way to maneuver through the minutia and all the stuff that they're saying and get your point across. Because at the end of the day, especially for any you guys know as a performer or a quarterback in that you're the one out there on the field performing. You're the one that's got to make the calls. You also are the one that's going to be judged at the end of the day. the coaches are sitting in the background. They've put together a game plan.

But if you don't like a play that somebody put in, I will be very open about, hey, coach, I'm not comfortable with this. I don't know if I can make it go. And it's not because I hate the fact that he installed it. It's just like I'm more confident with something that we've practiced during the week. We've repped. And now I can go out there and execute at a high level. Call this play twice.

I don't care. But there's always that happy. medium of not pissing people off. But at the end of the day, you're the guy that's got to go out there and pull the trigger. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the free. iHeart Radio app. Open the app, search NFL Daily, and listen now.

I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg, free agency, the combine, the NFL draft pro days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team.

Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What about songs with you? Like, you ever saw, you're the same. You got a guy and executives like, I don't think this is a good song or I think this is a good song and you feel the opposite. Yeah, I mean, for sure. And I think, I mean, it's my opinion that I don't like to judge or be judged all that much on outcomes. I mean, that's what people do.

But it's really the process that I'm more concerned with that's going to lead to good outcomes, right? So what I mean by that is I want to know that we're making decisions based on, you know, everyone being incentivized the right way for one thing. Like, you know, if everyone eats or doesn't based on the success of a, has skin in the game, you know, that it's my like label, management, publishing, even band, whatever. If we're incentivized the right way, if we have a system that does that, which is just basically,

you know, for me it's been, does the song do well or do not? Then at least the decision makers in the room are not, are incentivized for that to work and not for them to be right, let's say. Because it's the real key difference to me between sports and music, pop music, like we make, you know, like popular music, like whatever the genre is, but is sports is much more objective. At the end of 60 minutes, there's a final score, you know, unless you go over and overtime, whatever, but you get my point. Music is so much more, you're targeting like kind of a moving target that if you chase too much, it doesn't work out and you're trying to get ahead

of it a little bit. It's almost like leading a, uh, uh, a skeet when you're showing. shooting a gun kind of, but it's the process that, and not so much the outcome. So if we made a good decision with the process, you got to believe that over time those outcomes are going to be more than they would if you hit the lottery, because that happens in our business a lot. I'm fascinated with you guys as parallels. And one more, one more, one more parallel. Matt, your song prayed for you was a monster. It was a wedding song. It was a number one song. You've put up multiple versions because it was so big Like I don't know

Like you like played one with this five drink instead of six You sing it I don't know But it got so big you put out all these different versions It's like Oreos where they change the stuffing in it Yeah yeah And so And so concept but

Everybody wants that from you And you've done a lot in your career But everybody wants that because that was your biggest thing And so it's always like play for you And with Castle You've done so much And play with different teams And had success at places

but it's probably always like, hey, when Brady got hurt, I would assume that as grateful as both of you are for the opportunities that you were given, that sometimes you're like, I got to tell this freaking story again. Any truth of that castle? You're saying that when people say that, do I get annoyed? Not annoyed because I think you understand. Do you think is that one thing being such a dominant part of the narrative of you outside looking in, you knowing that your life is much more complex and dynamic.

What is that like, is that what you're asking? And you know you're going to get asked every single time. Every time. You step in. You know it. Yeah, I'm known as a patriot more than anything else that I did in my career. And I played 14 years. And it was probably based on the simple fact that it was such a polarizing time

because Tom Brady won the MVP the year before we were in the Super Bowl, first game out of the year, guy that hadn't started since high school. And so everybody looked at that season, particularly Patriot fans, but fans alike, and said, what is this sloppy going to do? And to go out and win 11 games and go 11 and 5, it was a defining moment, not only for me in my career, but in my life. It set me up to go on and achieve other things as well. And I went to the Kansas City Chiefs. I went to the Pro Bowl in 2010. Nobody even knows that, I don't think. But that's fine with me, because I know what I was able to do, especially coming

with the story that I had not ever started in a game in high school and then just wanting to get my foot in the door, getting that opportunity the final year of my contract, which if I don't play that year, let's be honest, guys. I'm not I didn't have the career that I had at all. I might maybe get

on to another team as a practice squad, but it set everything else up in motion. So I'm totally fine when people say that because it was a good time in my life and it was something that was an opportunity in front of me. It was given to me. And it's whether or not you capitalize on it, and I was able to capitalize on it, and the rest is history.

Did you have a process, though, for a while? You're like, God, I wish people would ask me about something else. But now, with time, you can appreciate what it is? I can't. You know, I think it was more so when I was still playing in the league for different organizations when you're starting for a different organization, but everybody still wanted to go back, talk about that season. Because, again, I know it's an interesting story.

I think that was probably more annoying than, let's talk about the now, what we're doing now. But as you get, remove yourself from the game now, it's my fifth year out. Talking about it is totally acceptable to me. And I, I embrace it. Actually, it's a lot of fun to talk about. And you know you were going to talk about it every time you do a new interview. 100%. Okay. Matt Stelle, you got this massive song. You've got other number. It's not your only number one. But this song is your monster. Yeah. Thoughts. Well, it definitely defines you. And I think, you know, in in entertainment, especially in music, and in country music, right?

The brand, quote, unquote, ends up being you're the, you're the protagonist in the song, you know? So I'm connected with that song, not as necessarily the, like, I wrote that song about one of my co-writers meeting her husband like the day before, right? I'm telling that story. That's how I view the song. Like I'm, because that's my favorite kind of music is like, you know, storytelling stuff or whatever.

Like, you know, Kenny Rogers didn't meet a hobo in a train, car that taught him how to play poker, right? Like, that's a character in the same way that that person in the character, that person in my song is, is not so much me, but I love the song. I mean, yeah, you want to, I mean. You know you got to play it wherever. Yeah, I'm proud to play it every night, though. Like, I worked so, all I ever wanted to do was for anyone to give a shit about a song I wrote.

And I thought it would be about different stuff than what I, that I didn't think that would be the song that did it, but it did it. and now that I look back on it, and now that I'm married now, and now that I'm in a place in my life where there's like a person that I care the most about, it's, it is like that song has been refreshed to me,

and like I know what it, how big a deal it is for people to include that song in a wedding or in an anniversary or to say that that's the song that matters to them, you know, like it's even more of like a compliment. Like I've come more than full circle. on that, you know. Yeah, I didn't think I'd be the wedding song guy, but, you know.

Hey, it's a good thing to have. I mean, yeah. Hey, wedding song guy, give it to me every time. There's a lot of weddings. There's a lot of people getting married. People get married. And sometimes they get married a lot. There's more marriages than couples sometimes. You drink, you drink coffee over there? Castle or no. No, I don't have a coffee. I already had two coffees. Stel's drinking coffee. I drink that much coffee every day of a, or of a single origin being of, a, you know, of somewhere in a subtropical climate and a pourover that I grind and make every day like a barista in my house.

I hate coffee. Yeah, well. Did you ever do it with a little bit of creamer in there? I'll tell you what, it's fantastic. I never even tasted coffee until I did dancing with the stars, but because I was doing radio show, training, traveling, doing stand-up, and I was like, I'm about to die. I tried coffee, and that's only, I was my 30s forever,

awful. The fact that you got, I can't acquire that taste. I love it. It's the reason I, it's the reason I want tomorrow to happen. Yeah, I'm really, I love coffee. And it could be the worst cup of coffee.

I could go into like a local gas station and just be like, this has been here for 24 hours. I'm still going to drink the hell out of it. I'm such a like, I'm like Bobby with clothes about coffee. Like I am snooty. And I am.

Why do that come from? What are you talking about? I am highbrow. I am exquisite. I get less and less offended. I am luxurious about my coffee. And I don't put anything in it. It's just about the bean and where it's from.

You research this, I'm guessing. You dive deep in the woods. There's coffee shops within, you know, like I could, you could throw a football and hit some of my favorite coffee shops here. and they just source these beans from all over the world. They have different flavor notes. Like, you ever hear people that are duches about wine? Oh, yeah. And the flavor notes?

It's the same. I'm a coffee douche. Oh, you know what I am? I'm a tartar douche. I just found out. Ooh. You ever had like some really good beef tartar? They make in front of you.

And they put like a little egg. Then you taste it. I never take, I never had alcohol, so I don't know what wine tastes like. So I never got to do the cool thing where it's like, mm, that's good. But I had some tartar made. And they do it in front of you and they give you a little spoon. And they're like, is this to your liking? and I'm like, yeah, that'll do.

I finally got to do that, and it was awesome. Yes, it was awesome. Matt Stell, you playing, you playing shows? Yeah, I got to go to Florida in the morning. Well, not like today. Like, this is where I go, hey, promote your, whatever. Like, I don't know, man.

I got music everywhere. You can find me everywhere, and I'm hilarious on social media. So, enjoy, enjoy that audience. Instagram at Matt Stel, on TikTok at Matt Stel music. Did you know he has, like, he's still. studied religion. Like he's a master's. He got like, he's going to go be a doctor,

decided to do music instead. I can see that it's a brilliant mind in there. There's no doubt about it. It's just a caffeinated mind. When you studied religion, what was, was it religious history? What's the one you didn't like?

Yeah, what didn't you like? Yeah, let's go there. Let's get, all right edgy here. Religion's ranked. Coming next. I'll be right back. Yeah, yeah.

How did, what did you study? I started really I majored in philosophy and religion my undergraduate I was interested in not so much answering questions but I didn't know this at the time but I basically have a degree in critical thinking right and you know I come from a I come from a Christian evangelical background and I was interested in those questions and where those kinds of things come from and I learned a whole lot changed my perspective a whole lot when I encountered new and not even new ideas I just encountered different ideas but really I have a degree, I suppose, in critical thinking. My undergraduate and then my master's is somewhat similar. It's sort of been rhetoric and power struggles between groups. And it looks dumb as a rock. Smartest can be.

I mean, smartest can be. Yeah. It's not. I have a degree in critical thinking. Mine was just in communications and I don't know what I really learned. That's what my master's is in. It's communication. Matt Stell, thank you very much for coming by.

Yeah, you're welcome. Appreciate it. You guys. Can I ask a question? Why did you invite my wife and I to play pickleball and then we couldn't make it and haven't since and it's been beautiful. Is it because she is an unbelievable pickleball player and would just beat the dust out of you and us?

Is that it? Great question. And I have a great answer for that. So I invited you and your wife to play and I said, hey, come over. We're playing. And my phone died. Oh. My phone died.

That is a great excuse. He turned it off. He's like, you know, phone used to die a lot when I was dating. It literally died. And I was, and I was like, I told George Burge, both of our mutual friend, I was like, invited Matt, but I've heard anything back. And I was like, oh, my phone died. And so as soon as it came on, I was like, yeah, I'll be over.

And I was like, oh, God, that's like 45 minutes ago. And so on me, but then we left the country. We've been gone. And you had the flu. Yeah, it's true or false. It's true. Yeah. So you had the flu until we left the country.

So you're saying this is just a timing issue. And it's not saying it. I'm not saying it. I'm proving it with dad. Okay. I'm a data-driven guy. I'm a slave to data. Yes. So if we're looking at game tape here, that's exactly what happened. Glad I asked. Yes. Castle's the pickleball player.

I mean, pretty strong bullet points right there. Yeah, I got him. My wife is the best ping pong. I cannot score 15 points on my wife playing ping pong, and I'm not terrible. But in my defense, she grew up with a carpeted basement, so it tells you all you need to know. I would choose to rephrase that different, but we're not rephrasing things different on show are we? Let it stay. Let's go. Let's stay. Let's stay there. Shag carpet, baby. At Matt Stel Music on TikTok. All right. Thanks, guys. The 26 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the

three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the free IHeart Radio app. Open the app, search NFL Daily, and listen now. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg, free agency, the combine, the NFL draft pro days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters.

From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits. To my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move? We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season.

We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis. real conversations every week. I'm not about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's the game. If we had to equate NFL players with celebrities, you would compare the current player with a current pop culture figure.

I'd like to hear some. For example, and I have a few of these, I will go. Patrick Mahomes and Drake. That is my parallel. Here's why. One, they win. All they do is win. Except recently.

See? Yeah, that's true. See, they win constantly, except recently. Okay. Polarizing because of how much they win, they're constantly in the goat combos, even though they're not the actual goat yet. Ooh, very strong bullet points there.

So I would go Drake and Patrick Mahomes. You're up. All right. Well, you mentioned Drake. I'm going to have to go in that same realm. I'm going to go Kendrick Lamar and Jalen Hertz. Well, why? They both just were at the Super Bowl and performed at the Super Bowl.

Jalen Hertz slayed the dragon, so to speak. Oh, good one. Beat his biggest rival. Good one. And Kendrick Lamar. absolutely served up some humble pie to Drake at the Super Bowl. You won. Even if a lawsuit might come along.

Who cares? That was amazing. He won the whole beef. You won it just right there. I mean, he performed in front of how many millions of people and just completely had Serena Williams up there tripwalking. It was amazing. This isn't even a competition, but you won round one.

Next up, Josh Allen, Chris Pratt. lovable. Great. Athletic. Yes. Thick. Very thick. Does it always get the critical respect that they deserve because of their lovable thickness?

But people love them. Both of them. Of course. I would go Josh Allen, Chris Pratt. I think that's a fantastic celebrity NFL player comparison. Let's go with my boy Matt Stafford. And I'm going to go with Matt Stafford and Brad Pitt. Matt Stafford is now considered one of the elders of the NFL community.

Brad Pitt, obviously, he's been around for a really long time, been very successful. He's considered a little bit older of an actor. But guess what? They're still getting it done. They're still making hits. They're still dominating their profession. That's a good one. And they're a little bit older, but they still got it.

That's all I got to say. They still got it. When you're older as a male and somebody, you know, like a lady comes up and says something to you and it's like, gosh, that made me feel good. I still got it. They still got it. Derek Henry. Oh, who are you going to compare to Derek Henry? Jason Momoa.

Oh, I like that. Absolute tanks of humans. Both superheroes look great in whatever superhero or football costume, uniform they are wearing. I'm going Derek Henry, Jason Mamoa. I love that. I love that. And they both have the long hair. I mean, it all works.

All right, I'm going to go, let's see, Robert Downey Jr. And Kyle Shanahan. Oh, a coach, nice. I went Kyle Shanahan because guess what? They're all really well respected in their profession, thought of as one of the top in their profession, but neither one of them have won the big award. Shanahan's never won a Super Bowl.

Robert Downey Jr.'s never won an Oscar. That's a great one. I didn't even think to go coach. Well, I thought coaches sometimes might be a little bit easier, don't you think? I mean... I obviously didn't. Again, I didn't think coach. That was really good.

I'm going to go, retired, Tom Brady. Can I guess who you're going to go with? Yeah. Taylor Swift. George Clooney. Oh, darn it. Tom Brady, George Clooney.

Ageless. Okay. Polished. Frickin iconic. Walks into any room and it's just like, that's MFN, George Clooney, or MFN Tom Brady. That's that dude. I love it.

That actually is a beautiful comparison as well. I went Taylor Swift because they're both polarizing figures. You either love them or hate them. They've got their little group, like Brady's got Boston and whoever else really likes them. And then Taylor Swift has her swifties. But other than those people, there's a lot of people that just dislike them want to see him fail.

That's why I said that. And a lot of times out of jealousy. Just sheer jealousy. Because they've been successful. They're good at everything that they do. There's nothing that you can sit there and go, oh, God, I wish I didn't do that. How many more you got?

Let's see. How about Timothy Sholome? Oh, I got a Shalemay one too. Do you? Yours is going to be better, though. I stretched with mine. Well, I just kind of went, him with say a Brock Purdy.

That's who I have. Do you? Swear to God. Come on. I see great minds. You're the very best friend that anybody's ever had. What does that say? Brog party equals Timothy Shalmeler.

Go ahead. Small frame. You go first. Go ahead first. Small frame. Kind of up and coming. Both have proven themselves in some way, but everybody,

they're still always going to be their doubters because they kind of came out of nowhere. Yeah. And I have two, with Timothy Salomey and Brock Purdy constantly people are telling you why they're not the person

Exactly Like that's it Eh, not that good He's too skinny I'm not a shalami Like he can't be in action He does Dune too He's freaking awesome

Brog Pratt yeah I had that one Okay okay okay I'll hit you with another one here Some of mine are terrible How about Aaron Rogers Walking Phoenix

I like that Weird. Very weird, but both of them are very weird. Mysterious. Genius level like talent, one on the field, one acting. Both off the grid type people, but undeniable when locked in. Mm. Yes.

Like the Joker. Oh, the method acting. I mean, it's incredible. And Aaron Rogers slicing defenses up, like when he's healthy and on. Oh, he's methodical. Nothing like it. Yeah. So much fun to watch.

I love that. Let's go one more each if you have one more. I've got, let's do Kanye West and Tyree Kill. Oh, boy. Because guess what? They beat to their own drum. They don't give a crap what other people think.

They beat to their own drum. That would be right, because I think the term is drum to their own beat. Yeah. But they do beat to their own drum. I'm just coming up with something new. No, exactly. Maybe it's me and Kanye then, okay?

Because I say stuff, whatever I want, and I don't give a crap what anybody else thinks. Okay? That's where I'm at. right now. And I just think that those two they're highly successful. They go out, they perform, but it's done in a way that it's always

going to be their way. I give you one more. Okay. You didn't like that one as much. I can feel it in your bones. No, I... In your bobby bones. I... I do. They do drum to their own beat and beat their own drum or whatever you said. What if I did like the rock in Matt Castle? Except I could find no...

There's no comparison. Yeah, nothing. Yeah, he's a better... entertainer. He's more fit. Okay. Julian Edelman and Mark Wahlberg. I could see that. Boston. Scrappy is crap. I mean, Julian's from California. But you think of him as a Patriot. That's true. That's true. I'm just kidding.

Did I pee in a single Cheerio you had? When you think of Edelman, you think of the freaking Patriots. You think of Boston. Yes. Short. I mean, because. Yes, they are. Walberg is not a tall guy.

No, he's not. Had to figure it out differently. Like they both had to come up and figure it out a bit differently, non-traditionally, and just kind of won't be ignored type guys. Well, you crushed that one because I'd 100% agree with that. Edelman was played quarterback in college. Yeah. Do you know that?

At yellow. Kent State. Kent State, thank you. Ken State. And then Walberg was Marky Mark and Funky Bunchy bunch. I mean, how? Yeah, he was. But his brother was new kids on the block

I know, I used to love new kids on the blog I secretly did but not publicly No, I publicly Show them love everywhere I went I think I even did a lip sing to them When I was in grade school Crushed all four of them Or five of them

You know which song Um Please don't go girl No, it wasn't that one Step Oh baby Gonna get to you girl Step one

Step one so good. Yeah, it's good. Thank you guys for listening to another episode of Lots to Say. If you do not mind, subscribe to our show. If you're listening to this on any of the feeds that aren't the Lots to Say feed, it would help us tremendously. I'm begging at this point.

Go over and subscribe to Lots to Say. Give us a rating because it helps the algorithm. And there are a lot of shows out there, and we're just trying to cut through. So thank you very much. A big thanks to Matt Stel for coming in and to Matt Castle. I'm Bobby Bones. and we'll see you next week. This is Lots to Say.

Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHeart Podcasts. For more podcasts from IHartRadio, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The 26 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal,

and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap it. everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the free IHeart Radio app. Open the app, search NFL Daily, and listen now. I'm Daniel Jeremiah.

And I am Greg Rosenthal. I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and free agents, the podcast that owns the NFL off season. This is where teams are built. Free agency, combine, pro days, trades. Every move matters. From my draft boards and mock drafts to my vaunted top 101 free agents

and how rosters come together. Quarterback movement. Surprise signings. We'll tell you what it means and who really wins. Open your free IHeart radio app. Search 40s and free agents and listen now. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.