The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Jets/Giants GM Pressure, AJ/Deebo Leverage, Headlines + Mailbag

Episode Date: April 19, 2022

John discusses both the Jets and Giants entering the draft in full rebuild mode, why AJ Brown, Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin have holdout leverage, how the Packers would benefit from having an owner, why John isn’t interested in watching USFL games, and why Apple looking into NFL package rights should terrify TV networks. He also looks at today’s top headlines, and answers questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herd  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show.

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84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Volume. The Three and Out podcast is presented by Fandual Sportsbook. There is no better place to bet every moment more than with Fandual. With football ending, we have the NBA rolling, March Madness right around the corner, and my personal favorite betting on the PGA tour. I cannot recommend it enough. You get winnings fast, and winnings are also delivered in under two hours.

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Hopefully it was great. Spent some time with my own family. My little brother's son is growing by the day. It's crazy how human beings, maybe go babies to then crawling to then walking to then kind of talking. Like you just see a morph into this actual human being. it's wild to watch. As all my parents out there know, for my people that are listening

that aren't parents, better be ready because those little ones are not easy. A lot of energy, high energy would make for high motor, as we would say during the draft process. We're going to talk about some draft thoughts. Something that hit me over the weekend

on the two New York teams, some wide receivers are holding out as we get into this what's considered phase one. It's kind of weird. You're not really on the field. You're working out. You can have meetings.

Also, the Packers. I might have had a little something, something, and my brain was working. And it just hit me, like, why don't they have an owner? Like, when is this going to change? A lot of people DM and me like, Middle Cup, give me your takes on the USFL.

I watched a little bit. So a couple takes there. Some buzz about Apple. Apple Plus, which I powered through the Wii work. It's not even a documentary. It was just a show. on we work. Obviously, a lot of you people have recommended severance. Tried to watch it. A little weird for me. I'll be completely honest. Not really my style.

But I watched an episode. I'll give it a couple more. I'll give it a couple more. Apple Plus is killing it. And they might get the NFL package, which I'd be cool with. I got Apple Plus. And NFL stories just kind of banged through some stuff. John Middilkoff was my name on Instagram. At John Middlecough, slide into those DMs. and get your questions answered here on the show. It's really easy to do. At John Middilkoff is my Instagram. Slide up into those direct messages

and get your question answered. We do a mailbag on Tuesday and then another mailbag on the weekend in the off season when we're not talking gambling with my guy Stucky. Obviously, we'll have a golf podcast coming out Wednesday, a little go-low. But let's start with this.

Obviously, the draft is, you know, a week and a half away. A little longer. I'm recording this on Monday. So if you're listening to this on Tuesday, it's literally a week and a half. halfway. And I think the unique part about the NFL's business is of the three major sports. I don't know if you saw that. It went viral on the internet. These guys went to a Mariner game dressed as the 95 team. And that 95 team was loaded with some of the greatest players ever.

Randy Johnson, a young Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Martinez, Edgar Martinez. The team was Alex Cora, Jay B. B. Those guys aren't in their realm. But you know what I mean? and I don't think it can be overstated how big baseball was in the mid-90s. Baseball was essentially the NFL. It was on equal footing. It was the biggest, it was America's pastime. Cow Ripkin, Barry Bonds, Griffey, Greg Maddox, these people were as big as Mahomes, Alan, Brady. They were rock stars.

And one thing we've seen as sports have changed, same thing with basketball, but that was really led by Michael Jordan, is the three major sports, baseball is very, very dependent now on big market. markets, right? New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, they want the Philadelphia Phillies to be good, the New York Mets. You need the big brands to carry the sport at the highest level. It's not even as star-driven as it used to be. To me, it's big brands and the big brands are the teams and they like the stars on those specific teams. Basketball, a little bit of a hybrid. It's a star-driven sport, but ideally you put your biggest stars on your biggest brands. Curry, Warriors Bay Area, one of the biggest markets in America. LeBron, Kobe, Kauai, those type guys, L.A. Boom. Right? But they have been able to

circumvent New York's been terrible. Chicago's really been bad for a while because it ultimately is a star-driven league. So you can have Janus, Lucas, Yokic, some of these random stars help just carry a little bit of the league. In the NFL, the markets, they've never had more economic success this last decade. And the biggest market in America, New York, has two teams. And they, for the most part, both been terrible. The Jets have been an embarrassment. And the Giants had a couple moments, one moment early in the decade.

They obviously won a Super Bowl. And then they made the playoffs in the middle of the decade when McAdoo was the offensive coordinator, and that was the game in which O'Dell and I think Sterling Shepard went to Miami like the weekend before the game, remember, and that picture went viral. But that's the last time the Giants have been very good. For the last like five, six years, they have been atrocious. So the two biggest brands, or excuse me,

the biggest brand in the league is probably like the Cowboys, the Packers, right? I mean, it's not the Giants or the Jets, but they are in the biggest market. And right now their teams, have done nothing economically for the league in a long while because their teams are awful. And they're running through coaches, they're running through GMs.

What feels like they have two really good GMs. But I was looking this morning, and we've talked a little bit about this, the New York Jets have picked 410, 35, and 38. The New York Giants have picked 5, 7, and 36. So if I'm Roger Goodell, I mean, ultimately, you don't control anything. It's on the coaches, it's on the GMs, to pick good players, coach players up, develop them, make them into stars. Like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, we didn't see that coming.

Andy Reid, Sean McDermott, Brian Dayball did, Brandon Bean, Brett Veach, John Dorsey, rest is history. Right? And that's the thing about the NFL. Patrick Mahomes or Brett Fav or Aaron Rogers can play in Green Bay or Kansas City and be one of the most famous athletes in America. Well, if you put, if the league could choose, they would ultimately take one of these guys and put them in New York. That's not the way it works.

Here's what the league needs. They need Joe Shane, the brand new general manager for the New York Giants, and Joe Douglas, the now several year general manager for the Jets, to figure this shit out. And no two teams are more dependent in this upcoming draft to just start helping out the league and really get their franchises back on track, given gifts which they've earned, right? Ultimately, they made these trades, they put themselves in positions. The Jets with a great trade for Jamal Adams. That was stealing.

The New York Giants, who last year just ultimately this new GM didn't do it, Gettleman did. But it worked out, right? Because you traded back from 11 to pick 20 and it turned out to be pick 7. Like that's a really, really good trade. That's a no-brainer. Now looking back, like should you've just taken Micah Parsons? Yeah, we could argue.

But Joe Shane doesn't care. He has ammunition now. and I think the most pressure in the league is on these two general managers in New York City because of the ammo in which they have. When is the last time two NFL teams have had two picks in the top ten? Now we can argue all day long about the draft,

the power of it, the star power, how good are these players? Listen, you can find players in every draft, whether it's a historically great draft or whether it's an average draft. and when you have this many picks this high, they got to get it right. And listen, the league,

while not dependent on this city to be good at football, it sure as hell would help. It sure would be great to be able to put the Jets and the Giants on Sunday night football. Have them more consistently on Monday night football. Why? It's a numbers game. The amount of people that live in New York

is bigger than every other market. That's why the number two market is lost. Angeles. Well, what does Los Angeles have? They have like 15, 16 million people. They live in LA County. That number might be a really little high, but it's enormous. Like we got eight and a half million people in the greater Bay Area. They dwarf us. And we're top five market in America. So they would really use, like they would love a lifeline. Hey, Jets and Giants, just one of you figure it out. But it'd be great if both of you could just become relevant NFL franchises. Because right now you're not. Some breaking news on Monday. I'm recording this middle of the day on Monday. So a lot of these teams I think are reporting. And when I say reporting, you know,

you just show up to lift some weights and run outside and then do some Zoom meeting. So it's not really that crazy. But one notable, or I mean, several notable guys are going in to be fourth year players and they were non-first round wide receivers. meaning they are in the last year of their contract. A.J. Brown, Debo Samuel, and Terry McLoren are not going to report

until a new contract is figured out, according to reports, to the offseason. And listen, the NFL has become a massive business. We all know that. The money, like ultimately the big contracts in baseball and basketball when you think about it, only so many guys got those. you had to be a superstar to get to $300 million in baseball or basketball. The majority of players don't get that.

Though, we just talk so much about Janice or Kevin Durant or Bryce Harper or Clayton Kirschaw, but they are not the majority. They are the minority. Like, the majority of industries. I mean, Colin always talks about this. The cream rises, the top percentage in every industry makes the most money.

Welcome to America. That's the way it works. Now, if you're in the right industry, even if you're not in the top couple percent, you can still print money. Like, there's ultimately nothing wrong with signing a $20 million contract. But we don't really talk that much about those guys. And for a long time, I think you could debate how valuable wide receivers were in the history of the league, right?

Obviously quarterbacks, but then offensive tackles, pass rushers, and even corners. I actually think, philosophically, my own Middlecoff beliefs, I just went third person, are that corners aren't, are a little overrated. I would build the shit out of my front four and really my front seven. I think middle linebackers get almost undervalued with how many teams have great tight ends and have really good running backs who can catch. I like having Fred Warner on my team. I like having Luke Keakley on my team.

I like having dominant middle linebackers. Like ultimately Jalen Ramsey we saw, I think Jalen Ramsey's a stud. He gets burned. It's not like most guys are not Derell Revis or Dion Sanders. Like just shutting down half of the field for 16 games. They give up touchdowns. I'd rather have a guy that's making at minimum 10 to 15 tackles a game and is covering the other team's first or second best player,

which is now these star running backs and definitely these tight ends. Most teams have a really good running back or a really good tight end. Like ultimately, I can't stop Justin Jefferson or Jamar Chase or Devante Adams. Those guys are going to get theirs. It's like having an elite defensive wing in the NBA. Ultimately, if you're playing Kevin Durant or you're playing Janus or you're playing Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, like if they want, they're getting 30.

That is just happening. So the business has really changed for wide receivers. These contracts that Devante Adams, Tyree Kill, and Diggs got this offseason. We're like, damn, they got a lot of money. And a little bit like quarterbacks that wide receivers, how often do they really get seriously injured, right? Sometimes wear and tear over time, they get worse as they age. But a lot of wide receivers can go on to have very, very long careers.

Calvin Johnson, a little bit of an anomaly. but we saw Reggie Wayne play forever, Marvin Harrison, Isaac Bruce, Randy Moss, like a lot of high-end pro-bowl wide receivers that take it really, like Devante Adams is going to have a 15-year career. Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, you know, obviously you can get some catastrophic injury, but for the most part, it doesn't happen that often a wide receiver. Like you tear an ACL or tearing Achilles, guys have come back. If I ran these guys camps, I bet if you listen to me,

you probably tend to think I'm more pro-management, pro-team. Ultimately, I'm just pro-fan. Because when the fans enjoy the league, that means the league is having success. Every single penny for the NFL comes from the fans. It's always my issue with the NBA. Like the players and just mean to the fans, like you guys realize the fans are providing all the cash. And all the media is always like, what about the media rights? Well, yeah, the media companies pay all this money because of the audience, right?

Any advertiser you hear here, they're coming here because we have X number of downloads, you know, over three. million a month, and they know that we get in front of a lot of people. If we had 10 downloads a month, I wouldn't have any ads. It's just a basic business model, right? So these wide receivers, A.J. Brown, McLaren, and Debo Samuel, under no circumstances, if I was their friend, if I was their representation, if I had an, if, you know, somehow had their ear, would I recommend taking another rep, whether that be in the offseason,

whether that be in training camp, whether that be at any moment for these teams until you get the new contract. Now, ultimately, I think some of these guys have a little bit of a warped view. Like, the reason those other guys got all that money, they've been doing it longer than all you cats. And I love A.J. Brown.

I love Debo Samuel. I'll be honest, I don't watch that much Commanders football, commandos football team, whatever you want to call them. but clearly McLaurin's really good but I'd have to really kind of watch some cutups to know if I can put them on their level and for those of you that have I know a lot of people think he's a star

but to me those guys if those guys are getting 67, 70 million this crew's probably more on the 50 million again your length of resume matters and all these guys have been doing it for a much shorter time than the other Cropa do's and they easily could get that in three or four years when they're 28

but they deserve a large amount of cash. And just because they get $50, $52 million guaranteed, they're going to sign a $90, $900 million contract. And more than likely, all those guys will see every penny. Look at Devante Adams and Tyree Kilt. They saw every penny of their last contract up until they got a new contract. So I have no problem. The business of this league is the smart move.

You cannot afford to get injured trying for another team or trying for your team when they're hesitant to pay you. So to me, these guys should do this. I'm a little surprised. D.K. is showing up, but Seattle Times reported that he plans on showing up

to each his own. But I think these guys are making the correct decision. Now, ultimately, the sport of football, because it's, you know, it's only three or four months of actual games,

you have a long off season. And ultimately, these guys are going to train. There's a risk in training. You can tear an Achilles. You can tear an ACL, like just training on your own. It's just,

aren't risking everything we do. Right. I got in my car today. Could have got hit. I went to the bank. Could have got robbed. Right. Who knows? There's literally risking everything we do. But I think these people are making the three wide receivers are making the right move. In the NBA playing tournament, there are no sure things except one. Bet at least 20 bucks in same game parleyes on Fandall's sports book. You'll get an instant bonus, win or lose. 20 bucks. That's right. Not only do you get to enjoy the NBA's best duking it out for the right to advance to the playoffs. But FanDul is giving all customers a bonus for getting in on the action. Oh, and the more you bet, the bigger your bonus.

FanDuel is an official partner of the NBA. Their app is safe, easy to use, and you'll get your winnings fast. New to the Fan Duel Sportsbook? We'll sign up today, promo code Colin, to make every moment more. So don't just watch the NBA playing tournament be part of it. Bet at least $20 in the same game parlay, get an instant bonus, win or lose. 21 plus and present in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, and Louisiana. Permitted parishes only.

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Either way, the podcast, 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 I-Hard 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 Bats, 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.

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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 a little kill? 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 cracks. I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for 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 Hard Way 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.

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And listen, I don't pretend to know the legalities. And I didn't even do that much research. What is the binding agreement why this is like that? And you Packer fans would probably know the details. But as we see that the Denver Broncos, who are, you know, a top 10 brand in the league, are going to sell. Now, obviously Denver is a lot bigger than Green Bay, Wisconsin. And it's a desirable city.

I mean, it's great city. The Rockies, you know, I mean, it's cool. I've never met anyone that's gone to Denver and complained. Like, it's just a very, very cool place. But the team is going to sell for well over $4 billion. Right. Now, that money goes to the owner's family, right? It doesn't get distributed through the league or whatever.

That's a purchase that gets paid to the people that own it. Now, the one thing that's unique about the Green Bay Packers, again, I don't follow that closely. It's just we all kind of know they're not owned by anyone. They're just owned by the people. I don't quite get it. But if I'm the league, doesn't it make more? sense that we have this valuable asset, that the Green Bay Packers are a top three brand.

I mean, they're one of our biggest brands in American sports, right? Yankees, Cowboys, Lakers, Celtics, Packers. I mean, it's on the short list of massive. You could argue just in American business. How many American businesses, Coca-Cola, Apple, Google, the Packers, I mean, they're fucking massive. I mean, they're one of the biggest brands in the biggest league. in this country in a tiny little town.

What would they be worth on the open market? And again, I don't know how exactly you could finagle it out from the people that own it, shareholders. I don't know how it all works. But you have to think, because listen, as business grows, right, as any industry gets, outgrows what people once envisioned, now, this is not like the league has gone from the way people thought about football business in the 80s to where it is now. It's been a slow, progressive move. they've now all been billionaires for a while. But as things grow, like things change.

And you look at every single, because you never want to not grow. You always want to be growing. Because like we say in the sport of football, you're either getting better or you're getting worse. It's so true. If you say stagnant, you are getting past. That's the way the National Football League works. Well, business is the same way. Talk to anyone in the private sector like, you're either growing or you're dying.

And this can get complicated. the bigger and bigger you get. It's why it's so hard for these massive companies to keep growing, right? And it's kind of why we got to the point where some of the stock inflation with some of these tech companies, it's like, they're not even making money yet. Are they really this valued? It's really more of a projection. It's kind of created some complications where true companies like Apple, they just keep making money,

right? It just keeps working. And the NFL is one of those where it's like they keep generating more revenue. And to me, this seems like a pretty, if you put the Green Bay Packers on the, the open market. I mean, what would they fetch? $5 billion when you factor in the brand power? Now, it would be a risky buy because you're very dependent on them being good.

Like, you don't just have the infrastructure of the market. But the brand alone, I mean, anyone who's ever been to a game, if you're not a Packer fan, to watch whatever team you're watching, right, it could be the Raiders, it could be the Niners, it could be the Cowboys, it could be the Eagles, it could be the Patriots. You're playing the Packers, there are so, it doesn't. It doesn't matter whether you're in California, Boston, or Florida. Packer fans are everywhere. It is a, to me, that thing is a cash cow. And I just wonder, as things change, if the league will go, I kind of want this in the hands of somebody.

I would like to say, because the other thing is, I did the math loosely. If you sold it for $5 or $4 billion, I think it's $130 million per team. Now, you'd have to make the players union hole. it would just be a huge, huge cash influx for the league. So it's just something I was thinking. Again, don't know all the legalities. But it just seems too valuable of an asset to just be sitting there. A lot of people were hitting me up this weekend like,

what's your take on the USFL, middle cop, the USFL? I say it all the time. I watch pro sports for the best. I don't watch minor league baseball. I love golf. I watch a ton of this weekend's tournament at Hilton. You couldn't pay me to watch the Corn Ferry. And the Corn Ferry is the minor league of golf.

Basically, all these guys, Scotty Sheffler, the number one player in the world, was the corn Ferry player of the year like three years ago. It's where all the top guys go to play to eventually get to the PGA tour, right? I grew up in Davis, California. About 20 minutes away from me was the Sacramento Rivercats.

and they used to, the Giants took them smart business move, they used to have the A's. And forever the A's, you know, and they still are, the way they build their franchise, they're constantly developing and making trades.

So incredible players came through the Rivercats system. And a lot, Zach, I mean, a lot of people go. But it's pretty boring. Like, it's not the same as going to Giants Dodgers. So when I get, when I do this,

like I watch football all fall on Saturday for ultimately the payoff of Ohio State Michigan, Alabama, Auburn, Alabama, LSU. You know, hopefully Clemson, Miami if Chris DeBall can get them good. And I saw some pictures of Mario tweeting out there their spring game.

He's going to make that place relevant. You know, hopefully USC Oregon becomes a big game again. Like, that's why I watch for Sunday night football, Alan Chris. Like, we make fun of... Now, it's still the NFL, so I watch and this is how I make my living,

so I, you know, I'm going to talk about it. But like, when Thursday night football, remember it was the Jets versus the Colts and Josh Johnson came in? It was kind of like a running joke. Well, who's a starting quarterback this weekend for the USFL? Josh Johnson. And I have nothing but respect for all those guys that played this weekend or in this league. I would imagine a large percentage of them are Division I players.

I'd imagine a large percentage of them have got a cup of coffee in training camps as practice squad players. Some of them have played in the NFL. it is very, very difficult to make it to the highest level of football, which is everyone's goals, coaches included. But it is tough. But ultimately it's just going to be a second rate product. And part of the reason that I watch, like, on Saturday night, I was watching The Warriors.

Why? Because it's Steph Curry and Clay Thompson. I don't know if you've heard of them. They're called the Splash Bros. They move the needle for me. They generate what I look for in watching sports. no different than watching Jordan Speeth win the golf tournament yesterday.

I'm never going to get that in the USFL. Now, the ratings came out and it was 3 million people watched. But as my buddy, who I have a lot of admiration for this guy too, he left the athletic to start his own sub-sac. I appreciate any guy with the entrepreneurial spirit and takes off from the corporation to do it themselves.

And that's what Ethan Sherwood-Strauss did. And he's written articles, fantastic little substack. If you're into basketball and just kind of the inner workings of like the business and sports. And he's kind of on this, television's kind of cooking their books right now because they've added this out of home element, right?

Out of home element. So if you're at the bars, but no one has any clue how many people are at the bars. I said this forever about terrestrial radio. No one has any clue how many people are listening to radio, whether you're in a major market or a small market. It's all based on these meters. And there may be five people with meters in a market.

In a market of five million people, five people with meters that might listen to sports and that dictates the ratings it's like this is a complete you're pulling this out of the crevices deep inside of you know what like what are we doing and tv ratings are a little bit like that just because you i and everyone else are watching let's just say the world series they don't account for every single human it's based on little meters on nielsen so it's complete guessing game so do i truly believe that you're not believe that 3 million people? I don't. But clearly

some people watched. In football, the power of football is impressive. It is not to be messed with. We love what baseball used to be in this country is now football. It is the American pastime. So it's just going to, people are bored. The NBA is diminished in value.

Obviously golf, you know, by the time football comes on, golf's already over. I don't know what else you could even be watching. But to me, this is just something. Until apps, I have to talk about this, I'm just not. I'm not going to watch it, mainly because it doesn't do that much for me. Now, if it does something for you, maybe you're more of a football diehard than I am.

That could be true. If you put an NFL game on, in the middle of April, on Saturday night, John Middlecops is there on his couch, watching every second. But if you give me USFL two teams I've never, I don't even know the names of, with just random players, I just won't be able to physically watch for more than 10 or 15 minutes. That's just me. And we'll see. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it'll be bigger. And if it gets so big that I have to talk about it,

shit, I don't watch. I'm a businessman first, you know? But as of right now, it did nothing for me. Because I know this. I've seen this movie over and over. There's going to be a tiny percentage of these guys that get a shot in the NFL. At least if you go to a minor league baseball game, a lot of those guys are going to go to the big leagues. That's not the case here. It's just not.

And some of these guys are washed out guys that are never going to get a shot again. Again, it's very impressive. To be at that, to be that good at football is not easy. Better than me, better than you, better than most people. It doesn't mean I have to watch. The other thing on Apple TV getting the direct package or the Sunday package, which feels inevitable, them or Amazon,

I'd say the same thing for Amazon. We've talked a little bit about this before. Their greatest advantage is they have so much more money than these television networks. They have so much more money. and ultimately they can make purchases and you know

these streaming services have been doing this for a long time is just produce content to just generate buzz to just keep the business going whether if a lot of people watch like they let's say invest $500 million in the 10 shows

well if two of the 10 of them hit it's all worth it. They just keep taking swings and listen a lot of businesses like that right? A lot. I mean that's like how venture capitalism works. But with Amazon and with Apple, unlike Fox or CBS,

if I cut a huge check to the NFL, I need a lot of people to watch. Because the moment people stop watching or ratings go down, it's harder for me to sell ads to make money off that product. And once I get to a certain number, we're probably going to break even

or even go the other way. That's the problem with the NBA, right? It's not that still millions of people aren't going to watch their playoffs. It's based on what they sold it at. If it's lower than that, it's harder to sell the advertisements, especially if the economy gets a little weird right now,

at the premiums. So it's one big kind of structure to make money in a little pie chart. I spend X to make Y to make a profit of Z. And Apple and Amazon early on aren't going to give a shit about making a profit. Forever Amazon, and I mean, those of you that fall closely, like, do they even make money on the delivery service? they make money on memberships, recurring revenue on prime, and obviously through now acquiring Whole Foods in that business.

But for a long period of time, like they were not, and obviously their stock, but the reason everything was so cheap, because they were cool breaking even. It was to get you there and then they expanded into other places. Apple TV. Like, they're not going to be average, like they just got into baseball.

Why? Why not? I was sitting down on my, I'll buy bed flipping on TV on Friday night and Apple TV now has I didn't know about this some of you might

they have double header every Friday now the broadcast wasn't great but they just have the content why? Because why not? Because eventually we'll probably have it all because this is one area

of television these live games people still watch now certain sports people watch more of than others but people still watch it and I just think

Amazon and now Apple, they're playing a different game than everyone else, and specifically the networks. Now, there's a loyalty from Jerry Jones or Bob Kraft or some of these long-time owners, the Roonies with all these networks, with the names you've heard from ever, the less moon vases and the Bob Igers. But these kids that are going to run their teams, the Stephen Jones, the Jonathan Crafts, they're going to care way less. Because Apple and Amazon are going to be able to cut them checks at numbers that eventually these TV networks probably are not. Now, it's why all these TV networks have tried to basically speed up this progress of their streaming services over the last three or four years.

But it's hard to catch up to, I don't know, tech companies who are in that world. And if you told me that the NFL of Major League Baseball, the NBA and all these are basically all on Apple Plus and Amazon and YouTube in YouTube in the next, not obviously the next five years, but in the next 20, to me it isn't believable. It's very realistic. And it feels like that's where we're going. Let's just fly through some stories. Stefan Gilmore signed with the Colts. Good signing. You know, this, listen, it's all about quarterback play with them because their team's good. They have a really good offensive line. They have an excellent running back. I like Michael Pittman.

Obviously, they got good players at every level of their defense. So, I mean, to me, they have no excuse if Matt Ryan just plays like a top 13, 14 quarterback in the NFL to not win 11 games. Zero. And I think there is tangible pressure on this coach GM combination to execute and to win. You know, I mean, last year was pretty devastating. To lose the Jags. that cost you a playoff spot, but really the week before

they lost at home to a reeling Raiders team. Think about that. The Raiders team was in shambles. They were just running out of juice. And the Raiders, I mean, Derek Carr kind of single-handedly, him and Renfro,

beat him. That was a bad loss. And ultimately, now they've added Gilmore, they've added Matt Ryan. They flipped him out, obviously, for Wentz. It'd be interesting.

I saw Jeremy Fowler, a little headline, had reported that Malik Willis is visiting the Lions. Talk to a buddy in the league on the phone on Sunday, driving home from Easter. And he's like, you know the problem, Malik Willis? One, he's just so raw and doesn't know what's going on.

Is all of his good play, he doesn't play within the pocket. And ultimately this league, even the runners, right, Josh Allen can run. Mahomes can scramble. Russell Forever could scramble. Aaron Rogers can scramble. But they can dominate from within the pocket. That's where you got to do your work.

Inside the pocket. Can this guy excel? inside the pocket. He's six feet tall. So a lot of his work would probably be early on his career outside the pocket. You know, this guy he's going to go probably higher than he should

based off his film because of his attributes. And listen, I'm an attribute guy, but this guy could also get someone fired. Baker Mayfield, clearly just doesn't feel like he has a landing spot. It's April 8th, where is Baker Mayfield going to play? Just ask yourself,

where is Baker Mayfield going to play? And sometimes it's hard to find an answer, you know? It feels like a pretty big stretch trying to find an answer. Jarvis Landry, I saw he's going to wait till after the draft settles. To me, for Landry, Honey Badger, some of these guys that have waited. Like for Gilmore, he's starting for the Colts, right? Him and more, boom, starters. If you're Jarvis Landry, I would wait until after the draft,

and he said he would, same with Honey Badger, to see where the wide receiver goes. Because if you were going to be signed by a team that ends up taking a wide receiver at the top, like the New York Giants, and they draft two wide receivers in the first two days. You're like, yeah,

I'm probably not going to go there. Now, would they draft those guys if they signed Jarvis Landry? Who knows? Probably. I think it's a smart move for him to kind of slow play this thing. Denzo Ward signed a massive,

massive extension today. I think five years, 100 million. You never really, you know, I saw a line with the guaranteed 70 million. Not sure if that's true or not, but regardless, he got paid.

And if you think about it, they drafted two guys in that draft in the top four. Baker Mayfield and Denzo Ward. Only one guy sticking it out. But you could argue they ended up getting Deshaun Watson. They got $230 million in him. They got a bunch of money in Miles Garrett. They got a bunch of money in Denzo Ward.

I think they extended Chubb last year. I mean, they're paying guys a lot of cash. Paid guys a lot of cash. Andy Reid talked to the media today. I watched a little bit of it on YouTube. He said that he included Travis Kelsey. and Patrick Mahomes in the discussions about Tyreekill. And I think when you see one of Tom Brady's big areas of animosity with Bill

as he was never included in anything. And all I think any elite player wants, just like any person, if you're going to join a company, right, and you become one of its biggest attributes. You just want to be included in ideas. It doesn't mean they always got to take your ideas. But any big decision, it's nice to know. because Andy knows I would not be a Super Bowl champion

of these two guys. They're high character guys. They're the face of the program. And like he said, they're really close with Tyreek. They have kind of been known, as I've said, one of the greatest trios we've ever seen. They probably had the greatest four-year run of trios. Obviously, they didn't have as many Super Bowls as some trios,

but just in terms of domination and productivity. Holy moly, those two guys kicked ass and took names. So it just shows you like, you know, the two best coaches in the league, Belichick, Andy Reid, one guy had to rehire Joe Judge and Matt Patricia. Joe Judge is going to, I mean, coaching offense. He might, I mean, Joe Judge's going to be like,

their pseudo-offensive coordinator with Belichick. Is he going to coach Mac Jones? Patricia's coaching offense too? That's where we're at with these two guys? That seems a little crazy. Bill's the greatest coach of all time. But to go back to the well on those guys who've not coached offense and now depend on them,

like the way they're running up there is a little different. So it's why the chiefs have run circles around them since Brady left. And then I guess last but not least, before we get in the Middilcoff mailback would be the Kyler thing. It's going to be very, like, is Kyler Murray a quarterback going to no-show this offseason? He's just not going to show up to Arizona until he gets a new contract, which they're not going to give him. Is that really going to happen? Seems a little weird. That's a little bizarre.

Most quarterbacks typically attend. He's just not going to show up because they're not going to give him a historic extension. Hard for me to blame them because I would not either. But this situation could get a little hairy pretty fast. Are you looking for the hottest gambling advice out there? Check out the Moneyline Monaco podcast powered by Fandul every weekday. Our guy Alex Monaco will give you his best bets, including game picks, props, same game parlays, and much more. Monaco is in another groove and has won nearly 60% of his bets all time.

So don't miss your chance to make some money by downloading the Moneyline Monaco wherever, you get your podcast, only on the volumes podcast network. 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 iHeart

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, Cliford 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 Podcasts, or wherever you're 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 a 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.

but 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 all day, but just so you 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 for finishing that sentence. Yes.

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 IHeartRadio 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, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we, are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person

while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing,

growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Okay, let's dive into a little thing we like to call the Middlekopf mailbag. At Job Biddlekopf is my Instagram. Slide up into those DMs and get your question answered here on the show.

I have, I usually like once a week for the ones that I don't answer, go through them. my inbox and directly message people. I don't think I did that last week. Kind of got away from me. It's like a work project. Honestly, sometimes it takes, even if I'm kind of flying, it can take a couple hours.

You know, not toot my own horn, but we're not digging ditches here, but it's time-consuming. It's just part of the gig, I guess. It doesn't really pay, but, you know, like interacting with the people. Start with Ryan. Add John Middlecoffs to my Instagram,

slide up into those DMs. Big fan of the show. Love you're not a friend of the show. afraid to speak your mind. Do you think the Chargers are capable of winning the AFC West? Raiders are always underperforming. Chiefs lost Hill. And who knows about Hackett and Russell Wilson will work?

Yeah, I mean, they definitely have the talent. I mean, the Chargers have the talent to be the number one overall seat. So they beat the Chiefs once last year. You know, to me, you can't lose the Raiders. You can't lose the game like they did at home to the Chiefs. They just, to me, their question marks are coach. It's just their head coach. Quarterback's a star.

They have players that are stars. Can their head coach be a good head coach? You know, this year's huge, because honestly, they should be a 13-14 win team. Been listening for a few years, I never miss an episode. Appreciate that. This is from Ed. Hypothetically, who do you think would win more games

in the first year with the Panthers, if traded there? Baker Mayfield or Jimmy Garoppola? What books would you recommend for someone who was starting to make some money and is interested in learning how to be a better investor in stocks or real estate. By the way, I'm in with you on skills. Well, if you are, we, you know, it's a tough day today.

Tough week. You know, started ripping, and it's been a rough couple weeks. Rough, you know, probably 10 days. Lastly, I think you are an edibles guy. But are we talking indica or setiva? Any preference? I'm probably more of a sativa guy. than Indica. That would be my take. On your first question, I would say Jimmy Garapolo,

but Baker-Mayfield, when healthy, is probably a slightly better player, but clearly Jimmy's a way better guy. I just don't know if it makes a difference, to be honest with you. Is Matt Rule, can he handle the big leagues? I know the media loves them. Excuse me, like, people in football love him. Actually, who really loves him? Does anyone love him anymore? I saw Chris Mortensen was like, does he even want to be there anymore? There are a lot of rumors. that he wouldn't mind getting fired, which is a little weird. I've never really read a book

on like how to invest, how to, what to look for. I did, this podcast I was listening to the compound, which I talked about it, which is Josh Brown,

the dude on CNBC, is kind of his company. They had this guy on their Friday show that's called Just Buy More. He just wrote a book. I think he's a younger guy, which sounded like a pretty good book. with just a lot of kind of basic ideas for how to invest.

And again, I'm not your typical, like, I don't invest in the Dow. I'm investing in individual companies. So, you know, a lot of old school people would tell you that's dumb. Like, I'm going to lose some money. Some of these companies are not going to work. But some of them are going to. And it's going to be big. Hopefully.

Because if not, I'll just lose a lot of money. Sending this from my business account, figured you would appreciate being named Anonymous NFL analyst from this clickbait article, especially since you openly share this exact quote to the world on a recent podcast. Appreciate you doing this. I guess someone, a couple of you guys forwarded this to me. I just said Russell looks chubby. Again, chubby people are allowed to make fun other chubby people, just like bald people are allowed to make fun to other bald people, so I don't feel bad. Like, to me, it looks a little chubby. I can get chubby too.

was listening to Three and Out and heard you ask some question or you needed some questions for this week. I'm a huge Eagles fan and think that Jeffrey Lurie is one of the best owners, especially the NFL, but is often overlooked. He has ensured stability

during tumultuous times and maintained smooth transitions of power during team changes. Moreover, he really cares about a fan input as shown most recently by his decision to bring back the Kelly Green Helmins. I do think those look good. Why do you think Jeffrey Lurie isn't mentioned

with the top tier of NFL owners by media, and do you think he should be in that top tier? Well, he's not, he doesn't talk very often, like Jerry or Robert Kraft. And I would say, in my experience, he's not a huge self-promoter. You know, so he's not doing a bunch of articles and videos and just doing stuff on the side. He kind of just lets his people do their shit, let the team print him money, and kind of just lets them do their thing. I think his greatest attribute is he just kind of lets the people he hires he pays premiums right

he had andy forever howies for a while now Doug pays for players just kind of be them and do them i think that's in my experience being around there just thought he kind of just cruises you know he just lets his people do their stuff and i'm sure howie and andy and doug and even serianni and those type guys would be like well he does this and that's a little weird but you know we all would probably have our little faults. I think his greatest attribute is letting his people do the jobs that he's paying them to do. Which is not easy to do in a business like football where it's easy to have a lot of takes. I'm a huge econ and finance nerd and I'm graduating with my econ degree this spring and going to work in finance after graduation.

If you need any help with finance econ salary cap research, I would love to help out. I need to get an educated guy in the salary cap space. I appreciate you. But I don't really dive that deep into the salary cap. Like, I just, that's not really my pitch. You know, I mean, we talk about it in terms of the finances of the league and stuff. But, you know, I don't get, I don't get too nerdy on that many things, right? I mean, I try to keep, be excited about things.

I wouldn't say on the surface level, but most amount of people are going to be able to understand. Not that I am a salary cap wizard by. any means because I'm not. I don't understand. I had an agent get mad at me the other day, actually. Now, in fairness, I can't go into too many details, but I probably crossed the line, even though I didn't say what he thought I said, but he explained that my take on his player's contract was off, and, you know, he had valid points. And this is, you know, the hard part about my job is, I'm an opinion guy, and I'm not always going to be right, and I'm definitely going to pissed some people off. I've pissed off

former GMs before. I pissed off this agent, which sometimes it's fair. It's just part of my gig. And I like this guy. We've never had any issues. But it's just part of the role I'm in. You know? What are you going to do? You can't be liked

by everyone. Even though I left out on the good terms. I do don't have an issue with this guy. One guy I really pissed off. But I felt validated everything I ever said about him. his name was Ryan Grixon. He was not happy with me. This agent, I'm not going to out his name. But, you know, I'm not going to be right on everything I say.

And sometimes in the heat of the moment, I say things that once you get more information, it makes sense. And I was like, you know, it's probably a little harsh. That is, you know, I'm a shoot from the hip guy. It's why, for the most part, like, you know, I mean, I have a lot of relationships in the league, but I actually like not knowing everybody because then I can just speak freely. Like, what if I knew Brandon Stanley? What if I really liked him? But I wouldn't be able to crush him.

Cliff Kingsbury, say it all the time. I would probably like the guy. But fundamentally, I just don't see eye to eye with the way he coaches football. So, you know, none of this is personal. I tell whenever people get mad at me, I'm like, this is not personal. This is the business we're in. This is my role. This is how I feed my family.

Giving my opinions. And the difference is, too, like, there's nothing anonymous about what I say here. Anything I say, it's my name's associated with it. These are my work. This isn't like some anonymous guys. No, John Middlough said this. Where most of these people, like coaches, GMs, agents, they can put them, they don't have to put their name on shit

when they leak stuff, right? I do. Everything I say, names on it. Question for the pod. Everyone is ripping the Cowboys apart for the lackluster offseason they are having. But no one seems to realize that we have hit big on the past three drafts, lamb, digs, parsons, and we will have to resign resign them in the next couple of years.

Do you think this has any part in us dumping Cooper's contract and not doing much in free agency this year? Also, I would like to share my appreciation for you. You make my mornings with your podcast, assistant speaks, appreciate it. From Jason. Yeah, I think it's more, you know, you're paying a lot of money to Dak Prescott and Zieg.

And even Tyron Smith makes a lot of money. But Dak Prescott makes a shitload of cash. So Zique makes a ton for a running back. So I think as part of it is just, you have some high, DeMarcus Lawrence makes a lot of cash. You have some high paid players. You know, I mean, and then just, if you just have random starters making five,

$8 million, like, it adds up. You know, you realize the older you get, you're like, goddamn, I made a lot of money this year. Let's say you had a good year. And then you're like, why don't I feel like I had that much money? You're like, well, inflation. And then you also realize expenses. You know, I probably went to DoorDash,

double the amount of times I should have. You know, I probably shouldn't have. I didn't need to buy all whatever. Like, it's easy to kind of like money adds up. It's no different in football and salary cap. Okay, got one for the mailbag. As a lifelong Lions fan, it's been rough to be a Detroit fan

for a vending sport the last 10 years. Most of us around here want the fords to sell and bring an owner that cares. With that being said, what are your thoughts on the organization and owner from the Detroit Lions? well whenever I see the video of her she is so old I think the same thing with the bears

it's just so old like how is that lady going to compete against Cronkey how is that going to compete against you know Jonathan Kraft or Stephen Jones just very very difficult like ultimately Jerry and Robert Kraft had their kids who let's face it are pretty smart and have been around it for a while now like how's that going to happen it's not and it doesn't. So to me it starts at the top. The owners just kind of suck.

Well, part of also is you got to get a little lucky, right? Now, you're taking educated guesses, but when you hire coaches and GMs, if you get the right ones, if you nail a Bill Parcells or a Pete Carroll or an Andy Reid or a Bill Belichick,

your franchise is going to become a powerhouse. If you miss Joe Judge, Pat Schumer, right? Mike McCagnan, your team's going to suck. And I think that's really been the case. Like Ryan Pace and Nagy did a okay job. Ryan Pace was pretty terrible.

Let's face it. Ryan Pace was bad. I might be biased on this, but I think Ryan Pace ultimately let down Nagy more than Nagy let down Ryan Pace. But same thing with the Lions. Like if Dan Campbell's a big time coach, they'll be fine. If he's not, they're in major trouble. Just that simple. They're in major trouble. I don't know. I'm rooting for the guy.

with the bill signings this year are they overextending themselves and possibly jeopardizing the future Vaughn Miller can't possibly have six years left well these NFL contracts aren't real at a level that justifies his contract and paying digs may cost them Jordan Poirer I remember the contracts paid

to Marcel Darius Mario Williams and just wonder if them getting themselves in a corner your thoughts I think sometimes what happens is you get so close to something right you get so close and in football it's so black or white you either win the championship or get to the Super Bowl or you don't.

And most of our businesses is like, you know, we had a goal of $5 million in revenue and we make four. Like, you know, ultimately you probably still be pretty happy or whatever, you know, the given money is. If you have a quota every quarter you need to hit 300,000 sales and, you know, you know your boss as long as you hit 268, you're going to be good. It's okay. But, you know, in football, it's very, very like you either get it. done or you don't. It's really what makes sports so different than any other business because you're going to make money regardless, but you're ultimately judged on winning and losing. Most of us, like, in our businesses, we just want to make more money, right? We just want to expand. But it's not

like, you guys won that quarter or you guys lost. And it kind of becomes that, I guess, in the stock market when these publicly traded companies, like either outperform or underperform. But those are all a little bit kind of arbitrary. Like, there's no arbitrary outcome of, you know, the Bill's Chiefs playoff game, right? You're either going to win it or you lost it, and the bills lost it.

So to me, they got so close against a powerhouse team that they go, and they've lost to them now two years in a row, they go, how do we get over the hump? And they're really just worried

about 2002 and 2023. They're not worried about three, four years from now. Because their window, and the windows in the NFL are small. We thought the Harbaugh-N-Niners

and the Pete Carroll L-O-B, Seattle, we're going to last a decade. They lasted to combine like six years. So it can end very, very quickly. So I just think the bills, all their chips are in the middle of the table, and they're doing whatever it takes. It's not a six-year deal, but it is basically a three-year deal. Do I think they overpaid for them?

Fuck yeah, I do. But I understand where they're coming from. What I have done it, no. But I do get it. I do get it. Diggs, I have no problem with the Diggs contract. The Vaughn Miller contract, who are you bidding against at those numbers? You couldn't have got them for $35 guaranteed.

They gave him $51 million guaranteed. That to me is nuts. And I think Von Miller is one of the greatest players of all time at its position. But that much money? Man. My question is, is from Nick. Do you think the fact that Packers don't have an owner or earn a small market hinders our ability to bring in big free agents.

I feel like we are destined to just draft and develop in Green Bay. We never make big splash in free agency. I think it definitely hurts. Now, when I talked about the Packers needing an owner, ultimately my point wasn't about them being able to track players or not, was more from financials for the league. But if you were a Packer fan, wouldn't you rather have some sweet rich owner owning your team?

Now, just because you have a rich owner, David Tepper, doesn't mean your team's going to be good. good. Steve Balmer bought the Clippers, like they didn't even make the playoffs technically. Now, Paul George somehow failed a COVID test, and Kauai's hurt. But still, you know,

Steve Balmer's one of the richest men in the world. His team can't win. But if I was a Packer fan, I'd rather have an owner than doing what we're doing. Thank you for entertaining. As a Bears fan, I have plenty of opinions on what the team should do, but I would love to hear your breakdown

of the current situation, Capspace, and how to rebuild the right situation. Cheers, and if you ever need a bottle of Beam Suntry product, I got you. I'm not even sure what that is, but it sounds good. Is that alcohol? I saw someone wrote an article how Justin Field should ask for a trade. Obviously, the Bears aren't trading Justin Fields, and Justin Fields's not going to ask for a trade. But their team needs a complete and utter overall. They don't have a first round pick.

So they're a little bit like the Texans were last year. A little different scenario because they have this young quarterback. but their line sucks. They don't have a first round pick. They didn't have that much cap space because of Ryan Pace's previous money. They needed to take a step back before they can take two steps forward.

I have no issue with what they did this offseason. My only issue was like, they hired that coach? Uber Flus? Uber Flus is going to be a good NFL head coach? I don't know, man. And Ryan Poles, who I've heard great things about,

guaranteed they're going to run the division again. Like, bro, just... What are we doing? But in terms of what they're doing from a personnel standpoint, like I don't, you can't do much. They're in a tough position. I don't think you can really judge them this offseason. A little bit like the Atlanta Falcons last off season when those guys took over.

The team's kind of the team, and unlike Atlanta had the fourth overall pick, the bears have no pick, you know, in the first round. So it's just, it is what it is. Now they flipped Khalil Mack to get a second round pick. That's a good move. because what's the point in keeping Cleo back? That was the right thing to do. Alan Robinson walk.

Alan Robinson wasn't going to resign with them and they're not going to franchise them. You probably just need to suck this year. I don't think it's crazy to just totally suck and bottom out. Which sucks because you're in the second year of Justin Fields, but it's just kind of the situation they're in. It's going to be a long couple years for Bears fans. So buckle up because you're going to lose some games.

Probably a lot of games. because the Packers are obviously better than you. The Vikings are obviously better than you. And who knows? The lion's got a bunch of picks. They could be better than you fast. So you might suck this year. Honestly, you might win three or four games.

If I had to say how many games the Bears win, I'd probably pick four. I'd say they go four and 13. Feels about right. And they end up with the top five pick. Have a great weekend. Excuse me. It's Monday.

I'm off. Not a weekend. Have a great week. And I'll see you Wednesday for the golf. podcast if you're into that thing. And if you're not, see it for football talking Friday. Slide up into those DMs. Add John Middilcoff. Could use a few more DMs to answer on next weekend's show, or I guess this upcoming weekend show. And talk to everyone soon. Peace. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert

Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL. Michael's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 super. 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survive. It's a vibe with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart 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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.