The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Lamar's Agentless Extension Risk; Anti-Moving the Combine

Episode Date: June 25, 2021

In this episode, John discusses the risks Lamar Jackson is taking by not hiring an agent to negotiate his extension, why the league moving the out of Indy isn't a good idea like moving the draft. Follow John on Twitter and SUBSCRIBE now to get all the latest content!! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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 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.

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My people, I'm John. Some call me John Middilkoff. And this is a podcast called Three and Out. Welcome. Appreciate everyone that's listening on my feet. If you're listening to Collins' feed, come over to my feet. You're welcome over there as well. Leave a review. You guys know the deal.

Couple quick things. There's not going to be a Middlecoff mailbag today. At John Middlecoff is the Instagram handle. You fire in those DMs. You get rid on the show. I'm going to do a big mail bag. I guess I recorded on Monday for Tuesday show. So it'll come out the 29th.

That's going to be my last show probably till the 13th. I'm going to take a couple weeks. I'm going to Arizona for a week. Little real estate recon mission. Gonna play some golf. Gonna drink some alcohol. Going to hang out. gonna enjoy the weather, gonna live life,

and just take a little step back. Partly, nothing going on. And I just need, I can't force football takes when nothing's going on. So I want to be fresh, keep my creative juices flowing. So I'm gonna take a week and a half and then I'll be back.

Like I said, next podcast. So we'll have one on the 29th and then there won't be another podcast until the 13th. But still, fire in your middle cough mailback questions, Instagram. Obviously, Instagram goes everywhere with me because my phone does.

Sad reality of living in 2021, we're addicted to these things. But, you know, in the business I'm in, it's not like I'm complaining. I enjoy my phone. Though I wish I could probably put it down a little bit more. It's something we're working on, but we'll see.

And like I said earlier, subscribe to the feed, Middilcoff mailbag, leave a review on the three and out feed. That's also greatly appreciated. And you guys help keep this little business of this podcast world, rocking and rolling.

I appreciate you. I wanted to start with Lamar Jackson, and talks of an extension are brewing on the internet streets that him and the Ravens are dealing with each other. Lamar Jackson does not have an agent, and this dates back to when he was coming out of school. And my personal stance on that is I am pro not having an agent. If I was an NFL quarterback, if I was whoever, I would not have an agent either. I would pay a lawyer, an elite lawyer, a flat fee, which wouldn't be cheap,

but it would be cheaper than anything I would pay an agent. Because ultimately an agent is doing lawyer, you know, that type work. Now, I think they would tell you, they bring other things to the table, I could find a marketing agent to get me on TV if I was a big enough star. They will find you. But you're negotiating money, especially as a rookie contract that is already slotted. and when it comes to being my second contract, it's based on previous comps. So you can't, like, if I have an elite lawyer, he's going to get me paid too,

and it's going to save me more money. And I think several players, Bobby Wagner, Richard Sherman, it's become much more in vogue lately of that happening and people having success. Why would you want to pay a middleman more money if you're getting the same amount of money? Hint, you wouldn't. I deal with middlemen. whenever you can, you get rid of them, right? You ideally don't want to pay people cuts of money you don't need them for.

Sometimes you need them, right? Sometimes you don't. And anytime you can cut their, what you pay them to do the service, you try to do that if you're going to get the same amount of money. But when Lamar Jackson came out of college, he made a major mistake, but an understandable mistake. because you don't know what you don't know. And I don't blame him at all or his mom,

who the kind of, I guess, I don't even want to call it a narrative, but one individual who is in the Hall of Fame as a general manager said he should play wide receiver. And the internet acted like everyone had that view. That's not the case. Full disclosure, I was someone who was not a big Lamar Jackson fan. I'm not big into running quarterbacks.

And I don't mean I don't like my quarterbacks. to be mobile, I need them to be mobile. Russell Wilson, Aaron Rogers, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen. I like my guys to dominate from behind the line of scrimmage, but be able to keep plays alive with their legs. And clearly, beside Tom Brady, that's what's playing and excelling in the NFL. And I didn't think Lamar Jackson was very accurate. He has been infinitely better in the pros than I would have imagined.

Same with Polian, right? He clearly should have played quarterback. and he's gotten better every year. He's been a raging success for the Ravens. We were wrong. And this gets back to, when you sit in the seat that I sit in now or anyone listening, the way we judge players, we don't know the person.

And I just think about my time when I worked in the NFL when I was around the players every day. It's pretty clear why Brent Selleck was successful. Or Jason Kelsey was successful. Or Shady McCoy was successful. Or, you know, Fletcher Cox was successful. or Nick Foles has had some success. Once you get to the league, the person is ultimately going to separate.

Like, these guys all have talents, especially high, you know, first, second, third round picks. How are you wired, right? Being doing what I've done the last seven or eight years in the Bay Area. Being around guys like Khalil Mack, Joe Staley, Patrick Willis, like the people, they separate themselves with their mindset, with the intangible stuff. They have the talent, but the intangible stuff makes them consistently really good or great players. I mean, depending on your talents, right? But they maximize every ounce of talent that they have. And we've learned with Lamar Jackson that I was actually wore the sweatshirt that nobody cares work harder.

I ordered a sweatshirt probably a year ago. Sometimes I wear it to the gym. I actually think I got kind of a stink eye, you know, because that in a weird way, and depending on where you live, nobody cares work harder can offend people. It's like, yeah, this is a credo. by. And this lady, I think at the gym was kind of eyeballing me weird, but that's for another time. I love Lamar Jackson. I love every time I hear him talk. I love everything he stood for in the NFL in terms of the way he carries himself, the way he's acted. Like it's clear why he is, for many

people in the league, including all the NFL teams, never forget he went 32nd overall, why he's exceeded a lot of people's expectation. If people would have knew how good he was going to be, right, what's he going? If Josh Allen goes number, number one overall. Lamar Jackson goes two. Maybe Baker Mayfield goes three to the Jets. But that would be the order. Right? Sam Donald, who knows,

Josh Rosen does not go in the first round. But Lamar Jackson does not go any later than number two overall. And there are probably some people in the league that would take Lamar Jackson over Josh Allen. And I, listen, I don't think you're crazy for thinking that. Josh Allen had his best season in a year where there weren't fans.

I've seen Lamar Jackson kick ass with fans and without fans. Now he has some flaws in the playoffs, but again, I've come around. Now do I think he's going to be a super Bowl winning quarterback? I don't know. I wouldn't go that far. But he has earned my respect tenfold over because I actually like the person more than the player. He's really been impressive. And when he went to the combine, because of that narrative of people wanted to move him to wide receiver, even though it was really only one guy, he didn't run. And I'll promise you this.

If I had to guess Lamar Jackson 429, 431, you know, the way I would describe it would be fast as fuck. Like he's fastest guy on the field. Most times he steps on a field. College, NFL, you name it. Anytime Lamar Jackson's ever been on a field, he's been, you know, probably the fastest guy on the field. And if he would have ran that fast, he would not have gone 30 second overall. I'll promise you that. Zero chance on God's green earth. But he did. Because he got advice from people that don't know what they're doing. And like I said, you don't know what you don't know. How would his mom understand the power of running a 40. They looked at it like a detriment, even though it's a positive, right? And the story that I read today is they're negotiating a contract extension.

And you guys know where I stand on the contract extensions for all three guys. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Baker Mayfield. I'm pumping the brakes. I'm not extending any of them, even though Lamar Jackson and probably Josh Allen definitely are worthy of an extension. Lamar Jackson is definitely worthy of an extension just based on what he's meant to the Ravens. They were a joke for those several years of Flacco. He came in. They've been an awesome franchise these last three years.

Now, they've only won one of the playoff game, but they've been one of the top teams in the league in the regular season and there's power in that, made the owner a bunch of money. They have been very, very relevant. Obviously him individually won the MVP, but he doesn't have an agent now. And his mom's negotiating the contract? And listen, his mom might be a really,

smart lady. But she's not a lawyer. I think that's a very, very risky proposition. I think it's a risky proposition for the Ravens too. I mean, they probably can take advantage of her. I just feel kind of, I think this is a terrible move. And like I said, I am all for having no agent, not giving anyone a percentage of a 110, 120 million dollars. Lamar Jackson is getting that money no matter what. He is getting a ton of money. But when you have your mom doing it, there's a lot of emotion involved. I say this all the time. I remember in the NBA finals, I think when the Warriors first started playing the Cavs, there were some issues with Steph Curry's wife, Aisha, on the road. We've seen this before with wives and girlfriends on social media. I never, ever blame parents,

girlfriends, significant others, wives, brothers, for saying dumb things about their brother, husband, boyfriend, whatever. Like, I'm sorry, I give them a pass. Of course, they're going to support their significant other, their sibling, their kid, no matter what. That's the way the world works. Family, you know, stays tight, right? Some families more than others. You know, I think we have some players in the league whose families may not be as close. We know those. But you get what I'm saying. Just like I also think these, because it gets very emotional. And what do they tell you early on in your life? You've got to take

a motion out of business. And I learned this when I was in the NFL as a scout. You got to take a motion out of stuff. Like if you're going to like a player, don't just like them because he's a great guy. Do you not like the player on film? It's why you're taught when you work in college scouting, watch the player before you get the background information. Because if you go into a position coach

or they're pro liaison and you ask them about I'll just use a player from last year. Trevor Lawrence. Let's just hypothetically say you did not, you thought Trevor Lawrence is really overrated. And that's going to be a stance because you're like, I don't like this guy on film. But you get his, before you watch him on film, you talk to the pro liaison and they tell you how great of a guy he is. They tell you they would let their daughter marry him. Everything about him is A plus. And you're like, I love this guy. And then you start, and again, he's good enough, most people are going to like him. But you see what I'm saying, you start watching him on film.

you can turn your mind into thinking he's better than he actually is. Trevor Lawrence is actually terrible example. I should have used like a different player. Like some guy in the middle of like the first round. Like, you know, like Bateman, the guy the Ravens took at the end of the first round from Minnesota. If you thought he was a third round pick and everyone in the league that he was a first round pick, but then they tell you his characters off the charts, sometimes that can skew you, especially if it's before you watch his film.

But back to Lamar Jackson, like I think this is, a miscalculation. You cannot have your mom negotiate what, who knows? The way he plays, he can get injured at any moment because he's a runner, negotiate the biggest contract, potentially, I mean, if something were to happen, and we've seen it before, this is the NFL, guys get hurt his football, could be the last contract he ever has. And because he wasn't a top five or top 10 pick, he's never got huge money. The 32nd pick, basically a second rounder. And let's face it, a big reason he was there was because of her. advice to not run the 40, which maybe there were other people involved too, but like that was

his agent slash manager. I don't blame Lamar. He doesn't know what's going on, right? You're 20 years old coming out of Louisville. So she's already cost him a ton of money before. Now this is different because this is negotiating a contract. You have, you know, evidence of high level play to stand on. But she has, you know, a resume. Now advice. backfired. And now you're doing it again? I think it is very, very risky for Lamar to go against the Ravens and a front office that is pretty cutthroat. They have a long history of knowing what they're doing. Now, I don't think they're going to try to screw him over, but, you know, if they could make the true guarantees, actually a lot lower than what will eventually get leaked whenever this is done

sometimes. 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 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 which I'm 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 what you need to be. 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. 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 Jette. 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's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all 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 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.

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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 Hardway and listen now. This season or this off season, whenever, it won't shock me. You know, it'll be one of those like $175 million for Lamar Jackson.

And it'll be like, well, actually, only 70, of it is guaranteed. I could see something like that happening. I wouldn't even risk it. And he is, I would say somewhat playing with fire by allowing a family member who is not equipped in this world to be, I don't know, a part of, there aren't many human beings in this world that signed contracts over $100 million guaranteed. And he definitely, I mean, has the resume to be one of them Does he have the contract negotiator to get it done? We're about to find out. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.

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Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. One story that has been floating around is that the Combine, as of 2023, will no longer be in Indianapolis. And I remember Phil Savage told me this with the Senior Bowl that he used. used to run. He now works for the Jets and he's like Joe Douglas, one of his executives, that the senior ball was not long for Alabama because you can just put it in major cities. L.A., Vegas. You can put it wherever you want. And one thing I think the NFL has really realized is that forever, the NFL draft was at Radio City Music Hall. The first time I ever went

to New York, I've only been there twice, but the first time I got, it was. It was a lot of, it was, it was going to the draft, my first year with the Eagles. And I got to sit there at the table. I think I've put the picture out before on Instagram. And it was really cool. Radio City was awesome. It was a cool event. A couple years later, the NFL realized,

couldn't we move this thing around like a traveling circus? I think they're realizing with these bowl games, couldn't we put this thing at SoFi or in Vegas and make it a big deal? And the answer is yes. Because first and foremost, the NFL cares about money and cares about marketing and cares about exposure to people. and they have had the greatest 10-year run in the history of the league when it comes to money. A lot of that is just built in, right?

Every league was making more money. But the NFL ratings skyrocketed. More people than ever are watching. It's one of the only sports that consistently you know in the NBA and Major League Baseball, which we've talked about for a while, can have good weeks, can have a good series, but you never truly know. you know for a fact NFL on TV millions upon millions of people are watching and then they've realized in the offseason that the draft is a huge huge thing for them right so the draft now moves around and the combine which you know i know i have a lot of friends that work in you know whether it's construction whether it's insurance whatever you guys have conventions right you go to conventions and i think like most conventions. There is some work done, a lot of networking, especially my friends in

tech, my friends that used to work for Oracle, a buddy, they used to, Oracle used to have this big, like, event. It was like a week-long event, and they would rent out a street in San Francisco, you know, 100,000 people show up for it. Everyone's rubbing elbows and, you know, trying to close deals. It's really a drinking fest. And the Combine has some similarities to that, right? I mean, coaches go out, people are hanging out, people are drinking, people are hanging out. But it is also a major, major, you know, it's an interview session for the crew of players that are about to come in the NFL. And it's where the agents deal with the general managers for free agency or any disgruntled

star players that are going to create a trade. A lot of business is done at the NFL combine. It really sets the tone for free agency and the draft. And then, of course, the on-the-field workouts, but the interviews. And let's face it, we're all kind of creatures of habit. Now, in any business, you always have to be open to change. It's inevitable. You always have to be growing.

So you can never be, you know, keep your head in the sand, like, why should we be open to doing anything else? That's not the way you have to think. You have to be like, well, could we do this better? But I will say this. The Indianapolis Convention setup is actually, Absolutely incredible. There are several hotels that are connected where you never have to walk outside.

And it all leads directly to either the hotel where all the players get interviewed or the field that, as they say in Indianapolis, the place Peyton Manning built. And it's all through these walkways. And they've been going there forever. And it's very, very fluid. Like, I like Jim Nagy who runs the Senior Bowl. I like Phil Savage a lot. Those guys are clearly Alabama southern guys. But my pushback on that, like, you know,

I think it'd probably be better for the game to move it to L.A. Or Vegas. And listen, they'd probably disagree. But I would push back on the league. I would probably just leave the combine in Indianapolis. Because every GM knows exactly where to go. And most GMs and definitely contract negotiators aren't going there to screw around. Guys like me when I go to get some interviews and hang out and, you know, create some good podcast content, I'm screwing around.

Assistant coaches that are really just there for one workout, but they're actually there for, you know, five days are drinking screwing around. But the head coaches, the GMs and the contract negotiators, it's a very, very serious time. And also for a lot of scouts, you know, they might have a group. They're doing serious work. And having the comfort of knowing where to go makes that event very, very, very, very. efficient. I would say the combine is extremely efficient. And unlike the draft

that moves around, right, last year was in Cleveland, year before it was a couple years ago, it was in Chicago, Philly, next year it's going to be in Vegas, none of the teams go. So it doesn't impact their draft literally at all. The draft moving around

is simply a fan event. Even the Super Bowl, which is really built for, I would say, the corporate partners and the fans, the teams, they don't mind because they get a week to prepare at home and then they go to the game and everything's mapped out. The thing at the combine, if you're moving city to city,

where do I stay? Which again, that's stupid. But just the basic stuff of where my doctors go, where I meet the kids, how I be most efficient with, I don't know, the lifeblood of my franchise, the future draft picks, and the future free agents that I'm either going to sign or not, it does make it very complicated.

It really does. Now, I get it from the league standpoint. and when you talk to the league executives and when we talk to coaches I don't know, I've never talked to Bill Belichick but I've always heard stories from people around him he loz and despises Loz

I can't even, I can't carry my TH but loath the front of the league office because he thinks there are a bunch of people that have never coached in the league that for the most part never played in the league never were GMs in the league yet they make all the decisions

for the league. And let's face it, most of their decisions are based on money, which my pushback to Bill is like, they've made everyone a lot of money. And Belichick would have coached in the NFL for 50 grand forever. So he, now while he makes, I think like $15 million a year, he didn't get in for the money. So he thinks that these people just do whatever it takes to just make everyone more money. And they don't actually care about the product. And there's some truth of that. They actually don't care about if the call on the field is right, if replay got it wrong. Because to them, who wins and loses, right? For you listening right now, a fan of a team, if you're a cowboy fan, and you're in a big game against the Eagles, and there's a terrible

call, it goes to replay, and it's still upheld, and you lose the game. You know who truly doesn't give a shit? Roger Goodell, any of his minions, why would they? They get paid every team win or lose. They don't care if McCarthy gets fired or if Nick Sariani is a one-end, none of it's relevant to them. The only, the only thing they care about is the league's interesting. People are talking about the league and the league's printing money. And of course it is. So moving the combine around, I think it's one of those ideas in a boardroom with Roger.

And listen, I'm not a Roger Goodell Hater. I'm actually the opposite. To me, there's two commissioners that stand head and shoulders above everyone else in my lifetime. I would say David Stern is the best commissioner I've ever seen. I would put Roger right behind it. they both guys are elite have been money printers you know the manfreds the silvers uh what's his name the dude manfred took over for like i find those guys to be a joke gary betman kind of a laughing stock but i think roger cadell when i think david stern i think enormous audiences and i think huge money and i think

brands and leagues that grow those guys are ballers now listen do they rub people the wrong way do they make the media uncomfortable? Of course they do. But they've made everyone a lot of money. But here's the problem. Sometimes you've got to go, is this a really good idea? Is this the right thing to do? Like, do we really just want to move from city to city the NFL combine? Because again, for people that don't worry about what the players do, don't worry about where the doctors go, don't worry about how the workouts are set up, they don't care. And this is where I do understand from Belichick's point of view and a lot of coaches point of view and a lot of general managers point of view. No one ever cares what they think. I say it all the time with the CBA.

The owners negotiated against the players. Not the coaches and GMs negotiate against the players. Their say is basically irrelevant because what did the owners negotiate? All they cared about was money. Anytime the players asked for anything football-wise, they're like, oh, you get it. Hey guys, no more double days. Deal. You cannot make us practice on Tuesday during the NFL C- deal no pads after November in the NFL season deal do you think they didn't ask the coaches the coaches wouldn't have agreed to most of it they were said no we want to practice we want pads we want to be able at minimum to have like a week of double days but the owners all they care about is ching ching ching ching ching more money and that's the right move for them but I do think the league office operates like that a lot as well and I don't think the owners care the owners don't mind where the comp combine is, but the coaches and the general managers and the players are kind of all in this together. And at least the rookies, right, or would be rookies, the guys that go to the combine, have no say, and the NFLPA doesn't care about them, right?

Doesn't worry if it's going to be more difficult or not a streamline. That's not their problem. So I just think sometimes I'm all for improving. I'm all for asking yourself in any line of work, in any business, is this the best way to get it done? they often say like ask why I'm all for that I think that's the healthiest way to operate but you don't need to change everything

right sometimes just stick with something that works you know you don't not everyone's Tiger Woods is going to change his golf swing four times like once you got one just roll with it right once you got something pretty good in Indianapolis just stick it out

you know what are you going to make a little extra money I personally and listen it's going to be better for me right? Whether I'm living in the Bay Area or end up moving to Scottsdale, like I'll be on the West Coast and it's surely going to come to L.A. and Vegas, it's a lot easier flight for me than going to Indianapolis. And I, shit, I love Vegas. L.A., whatever. I mean, I don't mind L.A. at all. I do think logistically L.A. SoFi Stadium, you know, Kronke's Palace, as we all call it,

he's housing the NFL network. Like, they're getting events, right? The senior Bowl, several combines, they are going to benefit off this. And rightfully so, he paid all that money. And Vegas clearly, you know, coaches and GMs would not complain about that at all. But I know this. If I was a general manager and I was not going to the combine just to get wasted with my friends, but to do a lot of work, I wouldn't want to go to Vegas because I wouldn't want to have my staff in Vegas.

Why? I wouldn't, because I'd know my staff and it would be no fault of their own, would be screwing around. And even in Indy, you're able to screw around. I mean, there's some bars. There's only so much you can do. Like, if you went to Vegas, do you think any of these coaches

and scouts would sleep? I got news for you. They would not. But who knows? Maybe that's where the combine ends up in three years. Okay, like I said, Middilcoff mailbag

at Job Middilcoff, big one next week. It'll come out on Tuesday. So fire in my DMs and get on the big Middilcoff mailbag. We'll just do a blowout one. I actually have on in the background. I have NFL network on.

It's the 92 Cowboys versus the 49ers. It is incredible how many good players are in this game. I mean, obviously the Cowboys who won, I think this was the first of their three Super Bowls. The Niners, you know, would lose them a couple years in a row before they won it. Ricky Waters is probably one of the more underrated players in NFL history. I just saw Bill Romanowski, who I actually go to the same gym as him. Some of these interviews, like I saw Steve Young, Troy Aikman, you can tell.

They were still in their 30s when they recorded these interviews, probably in like, you know, might have been the mid to late 90s. These guys, these two teams were just absolute powerhouse, Hall of Famers, and Hall of really goods, absolutely everywhere. Those, one of the reasons I think I was drawn to football, I obviously was a terrible player. I mean, I played four years in high school. Not any good.

Never played after that, but it's been a huge part of my life is this game. You know, growing up a big, big Niner fan, you know, you grew up in Northern California in the 80s and the 90s. They were the Yankees around here. And this game, Niners Cowboys, was as big as it got. I mean, it did not get, in my youth, Niners versus the Cowboys any bigger. and, you know, listen, John Madden on the call, right? The Fox had just bought the NFL. You could argue this is really a time when the NFL economics.

I talk a lot about the last decade, and clearly it was fruitful for the NFL. I think the NFL really turned a corner in the early 90s when Fox bought the NFL. The Cowboys got big. The Niners were already a powerhouse, and Brett Farve went to the Packers. And it was on like Donkey Kong, and the league never looked back. It really didn't. And over the last 30 years, the NFC had stretches win. The Giants were great.

The Eagles were great. Obviously, the Niners had many good years. The Packers have been a powerhouse, really, for 30 years. The Cowboys were just America's team. You know, the Bears have had moments. Minnesota. Washington, not really. But, man, what makes me feel, reminds me in my youth.

It really does. And sometimes you realize, like, you would have told 10-year-old me, actually when this game happened, I was probably eight, that one day you get to talk about football for a living. And that's what you get to do. And you're able to, that pays the bills. Like, you have a good living because of that. Pretty cool.

So as I go into the summer and we get ready, you know, we're probably, I'd say more than a solid month away. It's June 24th. You know, by about July 30th, 31st, every NFL team's on the field. in paths. So we got about a month and a week. You know, so 32, about 40 days, I'd say, till everyone's on the field. And once everyone's on the field and football, football season's back. And I love football season. I love the fall. I love summer. I love the heat.

I absolutely love the heat. I, you know, I'm going to, I'm going to be playing probably four to six rounds of golf in Arizona. Many of the day is going to be 112. I love the heat. I hate the cold. It's why in Philly, it kind of rattled me. You know, those people are mentally tough because they're six months a year. It's freezing cold and they don't flinch. I do. Anything under about, you know, I'd say about 60, I get a little uncomfortable. You make it 110, I'm there.

I'll sweat all day long. Not, I don't do humidity, but I can do the dry heat until the cows come home. And yeah, I don't even know what I'm talking about. But have a great weekend. And mailbag next week and then a little break. Adios. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1800flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more.

Surprise your valentine with 1,800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem enchanted rose medley for $39.99, or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more. Go to 1-800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1-800flowers.com slash tune in. 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 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 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Cliford Show on the I-heart 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. Eighty-four was big to me. I'm Sam Jay 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 mean, it 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.