The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Broncos $4.5 Bil Bargain, Browns/Watson Debacle, Baker Red Flags, Headlines

Episode Date: June 3, 2022

John explains why the Broncos are a steal even at their massive $4.5 billion price tag, why Brandon Staley is the only thing that can derail the stacked Chargers, why the Browns and Deshaun Watson marriage seems like a guaranteed disaster, why Baker Mayfield still doesn’t get it, why Ryan Fitzpatrick’s remarkable career is only possible in the NFL. He also touches on the day's top headlines, including Kyler Murray at Cardinals OTA's, and the pressure on Zach Wilson to make a second year leap. Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates. Go to  FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the ice planet, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. The three-in-out podcast with me, John Middilcough, is presented by Fandul's Sportsbook. There's no better place to make every moment more than with Fanduel. Great odds and markets for baseball, the NBA, NHL, PGA, Tours, and so much more.

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started smelling the footballs. And it was terrible. I mean, it was, I understand the Rogers, the Brady's, the Mahomes and Josh Allen taking off some of these practices. There might have been 55 guys there. It looked like a high school practice. just in terms of I get it.

These OTAs have changed a lot and it's no fault of the coaches or the players. It's just it is what it is. Now, Kyler, who we'll get to a little bit later, I don't put everyone in the same category. Not everyone's got the same resume, but I do get, if you're a great player, a perennial all pro,

a dominant force, not going to some of these, I do understand. And I respect the guys to go. Iron sharpens iron, working on your craft, but we'll dive into a lot today. subscribe to the podcast, three and out, separate from Collins feed, if you could. I know a lot of you guys listen on Collins feed. Subscribe to the pod.

Share it with your amigos, your friends, potentially your enemies too. I don't discriminate. So share it with anyone you want. The Middilkopf mailbag, which we do now on the weekend. So we do it on Tuesday's podcast, and then we put it again on the weekend for a little weekend content. You know, for you weekend warriors, mowing the lawn. going for a jog, going for a hike, may be playing golf, having the background, whatever.

At Job Middlecalf is my Instagram. Fire in those DMs and get your question answered here on the show. Let's rock and roll. I wanted to start with, first and foremost, the story, I love acquisition stories. I love anything that involves business. It's why my favorite story of the Sadi League with golf, all those guys, Dustin Johnson getting paid $150 million to leave.

I love this stuff. So anytime that a franchise goes on the market, like, I love a good sale. I love a good, like with the Broncos, all the dollars fighting over the money. This is made for me. I like that more than like, how's the right guard looking? I go, how much is the Broncos worth? I would much rather talk about that. And from all accounts, it's going to go for over $4.5 billion.

$4.5 billion. And I do believe that the NFL is so much different than most businesses that would sell at these type price points. Because I was listening to this All In podcast. It's called All In. It's for venture capitalists. This guy named Shamath, who's a big businessman. They're all VCs kind of based in Silicon Valley. You got a liberal one.

You got a Republican one. You got a couple in the middle. And it's just a really good nuts and bolts business podcast. Well, they had a huge conference where they had a huge conference where they had a, all these people from all these industries. Elon was on the podcast. And they basically opened his, it was hour and a half. It's really good listen. A couple people recommended it. I just, I listened to it probably the last 24 hours. Elon's a trip. But it opened up with about his buying of Twitter. And the thing he talked about with Twitter is he believes that potentially there's up to half the

users on Twitter are bots, not real. And, you know, they claim it's only 5%. He says at minimum, it's 20% and they're going back and forth. And they refuse to give him that information. Now, logistically and legally, how the binding of the agreement, I don't understand how all that works. I'm not a lawyer, just state school grad. But I do agree with Elon that there's some sort of Fagazi going on with a lot of fake accounts at a high number. Whatever they claim to have the number of accounts on Twitter, 150, 200 million people, active users. I do believe that it's potentially you could cut that in half of actual real people that use the app. But his whole point was to buy it at this purchase point and at this price point, if the numbers you're giving me are completely fake and it's a public

company, so the ones that you put out publicly are not true. This is not a viable business. And Twitter of all the tech stocks over the last decade was by far the worst. I mean, over the last decade, we saw some of the greatest economic boom on the stock market with these gross stocks. And Twitter didn't budge. And I do think it's because it's not a great business model because they have a lot of fake accounts. And to make money, like the reason YouTube make so much money is they have a billion users. And those are actual people that use them. When you get a view on YouTube, it's a real person, right?

It's like, the reason Apple makes so much money is because we all buy Apple products. And most businesses, like, you are very dependent on how many people use your product, how many people will consume your product, how many people will purchase your product. the best part about buying an NFL team because $4.5 billion is an astronomical amount of money for a football team. But I'd argue that it's actually a discount.

And it's more than double what Tepra, who I think paid $2.2 billion for the, I almost said the Charlotte Hornets, the Carolina Panthers, whatever two years ago. Now, Denver, better city, bigger market, more, more key brand, way more history. It should go for more.

But you could argue that TEPA, that's one of the great buys of all time, and the Denver Broncos are immediately worth it because your greatest expense as a football team is your players, and now your coaching staff is getting expensive too. But your payroll for your players and probably potentially 15 plus added million dollars for your coaching staff. If your head coach makes 10, all the coordinators, assistant coaches, maybe it's 17, 18. Well, the media deal that is signed for the next decade guarantees that you, will not only break even, you will make a profit from your biggest expenses. You will have more money

coming in than more money going out. So you are guaranteed 100% to not lose money. Most businesses that are in the billions cannot say that because things can change. Some can happen. That is not true with the NFL. So the moment whoever buys this team for 4.5 billion is going to start making money immediately. Now, obviously in football, and I would say in any pro sport, to truly make a lot of money, you got to win big. The reason the Warriors, and I'm recording this before game one, are making so much goddamn money is because they win. And they host a bunch of playoff games. Their TV, you know, their local TV deal does huge ratings. But in football, think about that. My player, you know, the salary cap for players is whatever, 205, 210, 220, it's only going to keep

growing. The media deal, I think last year, paid $300 million. to every team. So even if you didn't make a dime in your stadium, in your suites, and anything else, you would still be positive. That's incredible. So it's crazy how this works. It's crazy what the NFL has become where they're at. Teams are going for $4.5 billion.

And honestly, I think it's a pretty big steal. Speaking of the AFC West, Kenan Allen, star wide receiver from Cal, was supposed to actually go to Alabama, but they wanted him to play safety. he wanted to play wide receiver. Jeff Tedford led his brother, who is one of the worst power five quarterbacks we've ever seen.

Packaged deal, so we get Keenan. And Keenan has gone on to be a star player in the NFL, right? Several Pro Bowls, excellent wide receiver. He was quoted yesterday saying, OTAs are amazing. Every position we have all pro players. And I don't disagree with them. I feel very, very strongly and confident that on paper,

Now, in sports and definitely the NFL, paper does not translate to wins or championships or playoff victories. But on paper, the Los Angeles Chargers have the best roster in the NFL. So when he's saying they have star players at every position, he is not lying. He is telling the truth. And he's been in the league long enough to know he looks around. We got studs everywhere. So I don't think there is a team and really a division that has more pressure on

the head coaches not named Andy Reid, then the AFC West. Now, obviously, Andy has pressure because their goal, they're probably the only team that's like winning the AFC every year or bust. I wouldn't say their Super Bowl or Bust yet. They've only won one. But it's fair to say, like, their goal every year is to be playing in the Super Bowl. That is not the case for the other three teams, right? Chargers haven't made the playoffs in forever.

The Broncos have a brand new coach, brand new quarterback, and the Raiders, same thing. brand new head coach. But I think we all agree that all three rosters are playoff level rosters. Literally the Raiders won 10 games last year. The Chargers, like I said, best roster in the league on paper. And the Broncos, you get Russell Wilson. They have good players everywhere. No excuses.

Not all three of those teams are going to make the playoffs. More than likely. I guess it is possible. I would bet against it. But when I look at the Chargers, the amount of pressure that's on their head coach, and I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here. This is not pro or anti-Brand and Saly.

because I'm going to pick them to make the playoffs. Their team is just too good. They would have to have a catastrophic injury to their quarterback, or, you know, I don't even know. I don't see how it's possible for them not to make the playoffs. And the only way I see it's possible is because of the head coach. And I think sometimes we talk about these young head coaches in the NFL, and there are a ton, right?

Just a Niners practice, Kyle's like 43. McVeigh's my age, he's 36, 37. Matt LaFleur is 42 years old. Robert Sala, early 40s. It's not all created equal. Just because you're a young coach in the NFL doesn't mean you have just the same as in common as the other guy who's your age.

Kyle Shanahan has been in the NFL for almost 20 years as a coach, and then you factor in being around his dad. Sean McVe, LaFleur, both been in the NFL for almost 15 years. Even Nick Siriani, who looked like to be a pretty good young coach with the Eagles. has been in the NFL for 13 seasons. Brandon Staley got to the NFL, got to the NFL in 2017. Obviously, he didn't become a coordinator in the NFL until 2020.

Kyle was calling plays a decade ago. McVeigh, seven, eight years ago. This guy is so new to the scene. And I say it all the time, like, I do believe talent's overrated. I think it's a book. Talent is overrated. It's true. 100%.

I think what was Angela Duckworth book say grit is the most important characteristic to be successful in any industry? I don't disagree with that. But experience at the highest level of industries. If you're on Wall Street, if you are in the NFL, if you are in the restaurant business, matters. Because you have to have the ability to go back and go, well, why is this not working? Let's do this. Sean McVaig can go, I remember in 2011 when we were with the football team Redskins commanders,

we got this look and did this. I remember with the Houston Texans, LaFleur can look at Goudicans. We had this issue with this one player and we decided to cut him, we should cut this guy that just got in the same amount of trouble. And they have all these, this reservoir of things they have seen in their career

to go back on. Because for the most part, A season isn't just like 12 and 5, 13 and 3, no, no rocky roads, no bumps in the road. Just a nice, smooth, easy street. You know, if you water ski, you try to water ski early in the morning or late at night, so the lake is glass, because when you water ski in the middle of the day, it gets a little bumpy. Most NFL seasons are like water skiing in the middle of the day. It's bumpy.

If you're a snow skier, the moguls, you're hitting moguls. And Andy Reed to Belichick, I mean, they have a combined 80 years. of experience. But even the younger crew now, Robert Sala has been in the league since the late 2000s. Brandon Staley showed up in 17. So there is no excuse for them

not to make the playoffs. I'm going to pick them to make the playoffs, but he makes me very nervous. I didn't like what I saw last year at all. And they have much more talent. They have an influx of high end players. You get a high end corner. You get an elite

defensive player in Khalil Mack who is dominant against stopping the run, which they really struggle at. They signed a defensive tackle from the Rams who's a good run stuffer. No excuse. If they don't make it to me, the pressure on Brandon Staley this year, I guess you could say the same for Nate Hackett. Someone pays $4.5 billion for your team. I would imagine Russell Wilson's going to get a contract extension

over the next three or four months. The pressure on these guys is immense. The difference, though, is the chargers, I've seen the chargers, won like 11 games last year. Like the Broncos, there's a lot of projection. There's a lot of like, well, if Russell's really great, they got some good players, but we'll see if it all comes together.

Because I thought about this. They're Dwight Clark, who obviously had the famous The Catch from Joe Montana in the 1981 NFC championship game against the Dallas Cowboys. Passed away a couple years ago. And around where I live, they do a yearly foundation for them and raise money for, I think he had ALS. It's a big deal.

Steve Young is very involved. Matt Mayoko, who has covered the team for almost three decades, is very involved. It's a big deal. And every year they award one of the players on the team as like the best teammate of the year award. Because that's kind of what Dwight Clark was known as, like the greatest teammate in the history of the 49ers dynasty. And Eric Armstead won it, who was like DeForest Buckner, a first round pick out of Oregon. And for a couple years,

Eric Armstead didn't look like he was a very good player. A guy that was drafted the following year after Eric Armstead, or maybe it was the year before, was Jimmy Ward. Both these guys were Trent Balkey picks. And early on in both their careers, people around where I was and people in the NFL would have called them low-end players,

guys that will never be lived up to the draft billing, guys you would not want on your team. And I was thinking this with Brandon Staley and just any coach, that coaches, we talk a lot about players not being good enough, not living up to the hype. I don't think we spend enough time on coaches who derail and ruin players' careers.

Eric Armstead is now basically the team captain and has fulfilled the shoes of DeForest Buckner and it's really impressive to watch. I've been blown away by how solid he's become as a player but how impressive he's become as a guy. Trey Lance, they put his locker next to Jimmy Ward because they love Jimmy. Jimmy Ward's character, his just love of football, his intensity, and just obviously they want

him to rub off on Trey Lance. And I went to 49 in practice yesterday, and I swear to God there were 50 guys at practice, and it's a 90-man team. All their star players were nowhere to be found. Trent Williams at home, boasts at home, I don't blame him. I guess you check a pro ball of practice, but Kittle and Fred Warner are cheering everybody on. Armstead and Jimmy Ward were practicing.

Both these guys are in their long-term context. contracts, they make a lot of money. They do not have to practice. But iron sharpens iron. And they are, I would say, some of the few talents in the league who overcame, and a lot of players all over the league right now. If you are with the New York Jets, if you're with the Jacksonville Jags, if you're just with some of the crappy teams, I'm probably leaving some out, that it's sometimes it's hard to overcome because coaches and incompetence can derail, derail your ability. They can put you in the wrong scheme. They can ask you to do things you're not going. good enough. And then we ultimately, it's unfair, but as fans, and I'm guilty too, it'll be like,

this guy can't play. This guy stinks. You got to replace them. And I don't think we do a good enough job of isolating that. And that's really what separates teams in the NFL. I think the Steelers for a long time have been great at this. I think the New England Patriots under Belichick and Brady were great at this. Isolating players who could play and you could basically get cheap because people viewed them as not very good. I remember when the 49ers got Lakin Tomlinson, who was a first round pick by the Detroit Lions. He was terrible for them.

They traded a seventh round pick to acquire him. He then went on to start for the Super Bowl team, and then last year, obviously, multiple playoff victories. He then got $30 plus million from the New York Jets. Was he not a good player or the Lions a complete clown show? And I just think we see enough. the players that have the mental fortitude and just because ultimately your ability, you improve, but to last through the tough times in the NFL, it is such a pressure cooker, right?

You're playing every week. So many people are watching. So many people are talking about you. And when you start playing poorly and your team sucks because you have an incompetent coach or an incompetent coordinator, it can ruin your career. And for any guy that's able to overcome that, I respect the hell out of it. The playoffs are heating up, and you can make every game feel like game seven on Fandual Sportsbook, an official partner of the NBA.

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Wyoming, visit www.1-800 gambler.net, West Virginia. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment.

And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we

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pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. The Cleveland quarterback situation, it's a complete debacle. And we're going to talk about both guys. I'm going to start with Deshawn Watson. I've said over and over and over. I'm not a lawyer.

I don't even quite understand. I mean, I get the difference between, you know, a trial, civil cases. I understand there's difference. He has not been charged criminally. There are differences. I'm an innocent to proven guilty, but I can also red flag you as a decision maker. I can also go, yeah, something's fishy. I'm 37 years old.

I'm not 10. We've all seen enough of these. We've seen enough guys in the NFL getting trouble, right? one girl says something. Sometimes he's guilty. He gets in trouble. Sometimes he's innocent. Johnny Depp style, you take her to court, defamer, you get 15 mil. Big win for Team Johnny.

And then you get a situation like Deshawn Watson, which, let's face it, I don't remember anything quite like this. We saw when Harvey Weinstein got in trouble, and I'm not comparing DeShan to Harvey Weinstein. Because Harvey Weinstein clearly all-time sexual abuser creep. Honestly, keeping him alive in jail is a joke. waste of our tax dollars. Fucking get rid of them. That would be my take.

But my point is, when you have Bill Cosby's been fighting it for years, countless people, the number was 22. And then there was an HBO show where multiple of his accusers talked. And it inspired another girl to come forward and get involved. And now she's claiming that Deshaun Watson was paying a guy who ran the massage parlor to funnel him with it. And listen, consensual sex I have no issue with. No one does. Like I've said over and over, we celebrate that. It makes the world go round. We all want to have it. We all talk about it. We all think about it. I've even said that two consensual adults, if you want to pay for

sex, should be legal in this country. You call me a wacko. You can call me some crazy. I have no problem if we wanted to legalize prostitution between two adults. That's why I was not bothered. by Robert Kraft when he went to the Orkins of Asia. He paid for a service from a lady who ran the thing. It was like 45 years old. Now, it's against the law, but to me, I think we should change the law. I've been to other countries where they legalize it. But where we get a slippery slope,

if it's not only against the law here in America, you'd be naive to think that a lot of people, especially in the National Football League, have not done things like that. But where we get to with the problem, and where we get to the situation where you go to jail is when she's saying no. And now they're acknowledging,

and even he's acknowledging, that not everyone was on the same page here. So when this woman gets added to the case, like Deshaun Watson has an absolute shitstorm that is not slowing down at all. I've said over and over, I do not see how the NFL, at minimum, doesn't spend him a year. And if he turns out he's completely innocent,

they can reduce it all. And even if he's completely innocent, like he put himself in this situation. I don't know anyone else in the NFL who's having sex with every massage therapist in their state. That's a Deshaun Watson poor decision. That is not debatable. Now, if he did things that crossed the line

and it's provable or comes out, he gets convicted on it, again, I might not even be using the right verbiage. I'm not a lawyer. I'm just a ag business major. I got Deshawn Watson as being a complete, the whole situation, the Browns look worse today, Deshawn Watson looks worse today, they got a serious problem on their hands. And it's clearly not going away.

And I, you know, now is he going to settle? He's been adamant. It's already gone too far. Like the settling, which the Browns, when they introduced them, they said, we are very comfortable with him not settling and going through this process. Well, a two or three or however long later, he's found himself. and even a deeper hole. Another girl coming out

because she was inspired by watching them and giving evidence that he was paying this dude to funnel women his way. Pretty crazy, man. It's just, I don't see how he avoids a year-long suspension. I feel that's borderline inevitable

at this point. And then the other quarterback that's on the Browns roster not named Jacoby Rosset is Baker Mayfield. And I follow him on Instagram and I follow his wife on Instagram. and she, and I'm not a Baker Mayfield hater.

I think he's a little overrated as a player, but as a player, like he's an NFL quarterback. He's probably somewhere between 20 and 32. He should start in the NFL when fully healthy. But right now, the reputation for Baker Mayfield, it's different than DeShan Watson. Like, Deshaun Watson's character and as a human being is completely in question. Baker Mayfield, I think we just viewed it's like, oh, he's kind of a cool guy, gets along, with everyone to like, what's this guy's deal? Like, why don't people like this guy?

What's going on here? And his wife, Instagrammed a picture the other day of them like, I think they own a house in Lake Austin, which is cool. I mean, I'd love to own a house in Lake Austin. And they were basically having a big party. And she posted this like on Wednesday.

And if I was in his camp and I was advising Baker Mayfield, I'd say, listen, man, your reputation around the league is terrible right now. They can't even pinpoint exactly what it is, but the perception of you is negative, not positive. Now, I'm not a huge believer of leading some fake life. You know where I stand on that. Be true, be authentic.

But I also think there's a time to be tactful of just the, what you're putting out there, including your significant other. And a picture on a boat parting on a Wednesday when everyone around the league is practicing, probably not the best idea. Now, if Mahomes did that, if Brady did that, no fucking big deal. Their reputation, they played golf yesterday on the match.

Not only did no one care, it was funny. But you're not in that situation. Because people, for whatever reason, don't think you're a good teammate. They don't like you. So you're showing like, what's this guy's, what's he doing? Just on a long summer vacation? Now, I'm not even saying you should post videos of you running gassers and throwing passes to, you know, some random wide receiver that you bring to work out.

But I would lean doing that over posting any picture of you drinking, of you hanging out. And you may call me a stiff, but you're the one whose career right now is in some jeopardy. And I know, and again, I'm speaking from a position if I was his agent or his close friend, I'd say, I know a lot of these GMs. I know a lot of these executives. I know the way they think. And at this point in time in 2022, they are monitoring all this. stuff. Because if they're going to acquire you, if they're going to trade for you, if they're

going to bring in, we don't think twice about bringing in a lot of different position players, but when it comes to quarterback, it's taken very seriously. It's why so many teams, despite him being very talented, were out on Deshawn Watson. They did not trust that something didn't happen on his end. And every day that goes by, it feels like, you know, is a guy innocent? and Baker Mayfield falls under the category of like, do we want this guy in our building? Would anyone like them or would we try to kick him out? And I would just recommend, bro, lay low. No posting anything of doing anything remotely fun beside working out.

And like, listen, I just, I don't know how much that would even change, but I would avoid at all possible any pictures of you screwing around. Because right now the whole league views you as a screwing. around. Like, that's the way they view you. And like I said, those four guys played golf. No one cared. I watched a hole, but no one cared. Baker Mayfield couldn't pull that off right now. So not everyone falls under the same category. We're not all judged on the same levels. Some people are on pedestals. Some people are in the gutter. And right now it feels like Baker Mayfield's careers in the gutter. Ryan Fitzpatrick retired.

And the one thing, like even being at the 49er practice yesterday, which was terrible. I mean, it was really bad. But if you were a young guy, an undrafted free agent, a fifth round pick, a six round pick, you got a ton of reps. You got to tell your friends when the day ended. I just was running with the twos. I'm an undrafted free agent in the NFL. And this time of year is great for young.

guys. And the NFL ultimately, once you get to training camp and then the season, is the ultimate meritocracy. Obviously, first and second round picks get a little more time, but that's because they're more highly compensated. But within a year or two, if you have a seventh round pick who is dramatically better than your first round pick at wide receiver, at guard, at linebacker, that seventh round pick is going to play. And that first round pick will not play. Happens time and time again at all different organizations all over the league. And in the NBA, for the most part, you got to be a highly drafted guy to play in the league. Most guys, you know, they only have two rounds, but you don't hear that many stories of like,

you know, this guy was an undrafted free agent played in Europe for seven years and now he's a stud. It happens every once in a while. And when it does, P.J. Tucker is kind of legendary. Patrick Beverly, whatever. Draymond Green is one of the better stories in like NBA history. He was a 35th pick. Nicole Yokic, who's won back-to-back MVP's might be the greatest draft pick in the history of the league, was pick 41.

Now, there are obviously less players in the NBA, so it's not apples to apples. But we all know that, like, being a seventh-round pick, being an undrafted free agent, you not only can make a career, you can have a long career. You can become a star. You can become a highly compensated starter.

Ryan Fitzpat... If you are a rich kid who goes to private, at school and then goes to college and then goes on to work at Wall Street and make millions of dollars where I sit, I don't say that's not impressive because ultimately you have to take advantage of the opportunities. And once you get into a certain situation, unless someone hands you free money, you have to close deals, you have to generate money, whatever industry you're in eventually, you got to close. You got a close. But I'd say, well, how about the kid from, who grew up in poverty, who got straight A's, who took out student loans to go to UCLA and then

created his own company. I'd go, well, listen, I respect anyone who's successful because I do believe that in the real world, in the trenches of society, like, you've got to get it done. But that's way more impressive. Growing up poor, making it start in your own business, then the guy that makes billions who grew up on third base goes to a school because his dad knew someone and then gets a job because his dad knew someone, and then from there takes advantage of it. I think we'd all agree with that. So if Trevor Lawrence goes on to become a star,

that'd be cool, and it'd be impressive, but we were calling him a star before his career even began. There's a reason he was drafted, number one overall, right? Because people viewed him as a potential star. I'd say the same thing about Zach Wilson and Trey Lamps. If they are ever really good, I don't think it should be viewed as that crazy.

They were drafted in the top three of a loaded draft. right? It's no different. Like, Dak Prescott, becoming a top 15 quarterback, is more impressive than, you know, a first rounder. I'm trying to think of a guy who was drafted really high, who's really good. I mean, I guess you could use, you know, Josh Allen, but Josh Allen is an impressive story, so that's probably a bad example. But like Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes, you know, Patrick Mahomes become one of the best players.

I think part of the reason it's such a crazy story is because not many people thought he was going to be that good. but he was the 12th pick in the draft. So when Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott go on to have 15-year careers as a starting quarterback, third, fourth round, Ryan Fitzpatrick was drafted in the seventh round, started a 147 games. He was picked 250. Pick 250. What a career. What a story.

A couple years ago, I was playing golf in Monterey, and I was playing with his guys, they were on a guy's trip and they had like three different foursoms but one of their foursums was a threesome so they put me with them and it turns out they were all from Southern California and one of the guys in the group

played football at Harvard and they were successful young guys and this guy was running back at Harvard when Ryan Fitzpatrick was there and I remember asking him I was like God was he just the best player in your team did you guys think you were playing with Dan Marino he's like honestly

his first couple years he couldn't even start because we had a guy who at the time was the most accomplished quarterback in the history of Harvard. And when he did start, we love the guy, but we never viewed him like we're playing with Dan Marino. And part of the NFL,

the NBA too, is why late, you know, undrafts of free agents can make it. Toughness, intangibles. You can separate yourself with that stuff. You need the baseline physical attributes. Like Ryan Fitzpatrick

would have to be tall enough. He has to have a good enough arm. He has to understand football enough. Like, obviously. but then in terms of his willingness to work, his willingness to be a good teammate, his willingness to be beloved by the coaching staff, comes into play.

And this guy, you know, he's not a Hall of Famer. I'm not even, I don't even, he's probably never even made a Pro Bowl, but that is an impressive career. Like, that deserves, if you just appreciate overcoming, because it is not easy to be a seventh round quarterback and play 17 years in the league.

and not as like a 15-year backup. This guy was starting games, a large percentage of his career. You know, I think it's much easier to be Chase Daniel and basically, you know, I think Chase Daniel might be an undrafted-free agent. He's going to end up having a 12, 13, 14-year career. But he was a backup the entire time.

If Chase Daniel had to start back-to-back seasons, that he would be out of the league. Because he's not good enough. I saw him start a game a couple years ago for Chicago Bears. He's terrible. But he never has to start. Ryan Fitzpatrick was good enough to be able to start games. I remember they came to the 49ers two years ago with Miami.

He'd run the best games I've ever seen. I mean, it was like watching Dan Marino. And he was 38 years old. Like, Ryan Fitzpatrick could play. So you just, it's what makes the NFL cool. But even in a league where there are great stories, late round and undrafted free agents, I would say Ryan Fitzpatrick has to be near the top

of most unique stories in NFL history. Let's hit on a couple of nuggets really quick before we get out of here. I've been hard on this guy, and I'll continue to be because I just, I don't like his vibe. I'm not into quarterbacks who aren't good leaders and the teammates kind of question sometimes. And I think Kyler falls under that, kind of the baseball mentality. I don't think he's beloved in the room that they even, they admitted last year that they had to, that they had to, you know, bring in leadership, that they needed to sign JJ Walk because the team needed leadership. You don't have to do that with Patrick Mahomes.

You don't have to do that with Lamar Jackson. You don't have to do that with Josh Allen. Those are my leaders. I want my young quarterback to be like, that's my leader. Justin Herbert, viewed as a leader. My quarterback, I build the fucking franchise around. So when I have to think, and again, I'm not saying you don't need leaders at other positions, but it's like, yeah, we have no leadership on this team.

Well, you have the number one overall quarterback who's been in your team multiple years. That's a red flag for me. And clearly, he thought like he deserves a lot of money. and I think physically and his talent-wise, I think he could be worth a lot of money under no circumstances. I'm going to say it over and over until they either do or don't do it.

I could not pay him this off-season. Could not do it. Not after the way last year ended. So for me, I think someone told Kyler, if you even want a chance of getting paid, you better show up. And he showed up. And I'd even argue that's a red flag.

Like, what's going on here? What's up with the wishy-washy? Because basically you realize they ain't paying you, and you better go because they need year round. Because the quarterbacks, basically, every team in the league, and Lamar Jackson, I do not compare

Lamar Jackson to Kyler Murray. He's won an MVP. Every year he's healthy. They go to the playoffs. He's also beloved in his franchise. They clearly question Kyler Murray. That's not debatable at this point. And I think it's going to be a very,

very complicated situation. If they were asking me for advice, I know they're not, we can't pay him. Mike LaFleur, who was, I think, because what happens usually is the coach, the head coach talks the first week of OTAs, and then the different coordinators talk for the next couple weeks. And Mike LaFleur, who's Matt's brother, who's the offensive coordinator with the New York Jets, said yesterday that there's a lot of urgency to make Zach Wilson a good player.

And like we talked about with the Broncos, the Chargers, and the Raiders, how there's a lot of a lot of pressure with those teams to make the playoffs. Any one of those teams that don't make the playoffs, it's going to feel like a disaster. I think there is a lot of pressure with the Jets. Not to make the playoffs, but to be a competent looking franchise. To be a team that maybe goes seven and ten, but goes, God, they're just a player or two or a little bit more leadership or a little bit more experience away from being a playoff team.

They cannot have a season where they win three or four games. Because if that happens, I think we question absolutely everything that's going on there. And the problem is it's not like, well, they just missing a quarterback. They literally drafted the guy number two overall. So I agree with LaFleur. There is a shitload of urgency to see Zach Wilson look like a competent quarterback, to look like a good player. Because ultimately, we were talking about this standing in a nineer practice. Like, if I was an agent, I would want my quarterback, my young quarterback, to get drafted by a team that has a head coach who's my offensive coordinator.

Because no matter who goes, comes or goes, that guy and the coordinator never changes. Mahomes, to Andy Reed. Right? Josh Allen, we're going to see how that goes. Now the day ball's gone. Trey Lance, boom. Kyle Shanahan. Is it going to work? I don't know. But to me, that is the best setup.

I think it's same for veteran quarterbacks, right? McVeigh, Stafford, LaFleur, Rogers. That's the way I like my setup. Now, I'm not saying that a defensive coach can help out, but in this modern day NFL, that's what I like. And I think there's going to be a lot of pressure on Robert Sala, on the floor, and Zach Wilson to just look good. And I'm not sure. Time's going to tell. I wouldn't bet on it.

Akeem Hicks, who I've always liked, really good player with the Chicago Bears, signed with Tampa Bay. What I think is going to be fascinating about Tampa Bay is, like, their team's going to be really good. it's just going to come down to the coach but Todd Bowles is going to be clearly a lot different than Bruce Ariens because he's going to have absolutely nothing to do with the offense he's going to be I think he's going to be the defensive coordinator but even if he's not going to be the defense coordinator

defense is his baby and Tom and Lefwich are going to run the offense where clearly the last couple years and it's just human nature Ariens and Brady and Lefich which there's been a lot of a lot of cooks in the kitchen well now it's pretty black and white. Tom, left which, two voices. If anything, Leftwich is going to just lean with Tom

because he's Tom fucking Brady. And it's those guys' offense to run. If their defense is good, which I don't see how it's not going to be good, Keem Hicks could come out to be one of the better signings of the offseason. Tampa should be right there. And last

but not least, David Tepper, he is building a practice facility and clearly him in the city were not on the same page. And, and building the practice facility through this LLC, and he just went bankrupt. He's like, yeah, we're done with it. We're not paying for it anymore.

And just stopped. When you get some of these guys in the league that pay, I mean, he paid cash for his franchise at $2.2.2 billion. I don't know if the guy's going to pay cash at $4.5 billion for the Broncos. Interest rates a little higher now. Maybe he's got $4.5 billion cash. Obviously 4.5 and $2.2.2, you'd have to have $2.3 billion more of cash lying around. Most rich guys I know don't love.

of getting rid of all their capital, but who knows? Regardless, whether you finance it, whether you pay cash for it, it's a large sum of money. And these guys are ruthless, absolutely ruthless businessman. And David Teper is a good example of, we thought he was going to be good just because he was really rich. And it's clearly just gone a little weird. And I'm not necessarily talking about this because he easily could be in the right. I'm in Northern California where we got some of the wackiest whack jobs of municipalities to

deal with permits and to get that. things done. It's basically impossible. Another thing Elon talked about. The main reason moved to Texas was not as even much to the taxes. He would never be able to build his facility here. Like he said, it would take infinity amount of time. We would never be able to get the permits. I go to Texas, it takes us 18 months. We're building the bad boy. It's going to be as big as the Pentagon. He just wants to build. And when you deal with the government and local administration, it can be very, very difficult. Now, obviously when you're not financing it all yourself, it's going to be on them. And most people in local government, you know, aren't business people.

They're just financed by us, the taxpayer, who really bring nothing to the table. We finance all their ideas. It's kind of ass backwards when you really stop to think about it. But when you get guys like TEPR who aren't going to respect those type people in the first place, you get some of these situations. But overall, let's face it, the Carolina Panthers have been a very, very unimpressive operation under David Teper. Where when he bought the team, a little bit like the New York Mets with Axe from Billions, who bought the team, Steve Cohen, we thought like, oh man, this is, this is either going to be

crazy or blowup. It's actually going pretty well. It's going really well. The Mets are really good. He's a really good owner. I'd even say same thing for Steve Balmer. Rich guy, crazy guy, how's it going to go? Clippers, really good, really competitive, especially given the circumstances this year with Kauai being injured and Paul George being in that lineup. But you watch the Carolina Panthers, you're like, is this guy kind of a wild card? You know, it's this guy used to just knowing everything about the stock market. Now he's in these other industries. He has no fucking clue what he's doing, what he's getting into? Like, I wonder if you asked the league office, like, what have you thought about this operation so far? They'd go, yeah,

you know, we like having his wealth involved in the league, but it's not as seamless as we thought it would be. He pays whatever, $65 million for Matt Rule. That hasn't gone very seamlessly at all. I think most of us agree that we don't even envision him being the coach in six months. I would imagine he's a college coach next year, would be my bet. And then he'd have to up David Tepper going to look for a coach. If that happens, I wonder how desirable, especially they want to have a quarterback, unless Matt Corral turns out to be a good player, for coaches to go to. Now, money talks, of course, just asked Dustin Johnson.

So if he's offering someone $10, $15 million, he's going to get someone to take the job. But as you saw with the Jags, who have a very, very rich owner, people didn't want that job. Now, some of that had to do with Trent Balke being the general manager and picking the players, but also some had to do with like, that's where careers go to die. This owner, like, it clearly doesn't work there. And I would say that Khan has proven to be pretty loyal. But I don't know, man. It's just the Carolina Panthers,

might just be that region of the country. It always felt like the teams down there are just a little weird, right? Carolina, Tampa historically, has been a little weird. Miami's weird. Atlanta's been pretty stable. We'll see the Saints, you know, where they just all shit, Sean Payton, Drew Brees, because they get a little weird.

That's SEC country. Like when I, I think the South, I think the SEC. Now, obviously some of these teams, you know, the Panthers had some success, but they had Cam Newton, who was the MVP, star of the league, one of the stars of the league,

for even years when he was going to Pro Bowls. If you don't have a quarterback and you have an owner that doesn't know what he's doing, you got some problems. And that's kind of what it feels like going on with the Carolina Panthers right now. Let's enjoy the weekend. I'm sweating right now.

I didn't turn my AC up high enough, and it is muggy. It is really muggy where I'm at. I got to get some better airflow here. I also got to fix my dryer. That's a whole other project. But, yeah, you know, getting old. Being an adult sometimes sucks.

You just like, I wish I just had a landlord I could call. Be like, hey, could you fix my dryer? You know, my, my sink's not working. Can you come here? And then you realize, like, I'm my own landlord. So I got to fix these problems? I just want a podcast and watch the Warriors game. But fucking dryer doesn't work.

And, you know, it's just not easy being an adult. You know, anyone who's listening who's like in their teens or early 20s enjoy them. You know, times are good. You know, you don't have that much responsibility. Enjoy those times. Like I said, everyone have a good weekend. Three and out podcast, subscribe. Middlecough Mailbag at John Middlecough.

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