The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Top ‘23 QB Storylines, Saudi NFL Takeover Odds, LIV/PGA Mailbag

Episode Date: June 9, 2023

John pinpoints the top QB storylines heading into the ‘23 NFL season, looks at the odds of a LIV-like Saudi NFL takeover, and audibles to a GoLow mailbag to answer listener questions after the stunning LIV/PGA merger, and the subsequent fallout. Follow John onTwitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Been a long day or two, but we're here. Here's the plan. We're going to have some football thoughts off the top, some stuff on quarterbacks around the NFL. Could the Saudis ever get their money into football? I think it's, I've seen that float around, and I just think it's, listen, it's topical. And then for the mailbag, I didn't answer some questions.

didn't answer any questions on the golf pod Wednesday. I'm going to answer, I'm going to go through at golo pod is the Instagram for the golf content. It's how you get in the golf mailbag. I'm going to answer some of those questions after football talk. And then I'll just do a mailbag show that will come out on Sunday. Like we do a lot of the times. And I know some of you guys listen to that by Monday or Tuesday, but be a long mailbag that will be posted on Sunday of this weekend.

And then you can listen to whenever you want. But those will be a lot of your questions. questions because I got, I looked in my, my normal DMs, just my name at John Middlecock, ton of questions. We will attempt to get to everybody. It's hard, you know, no secretary here. I should get AI, uh, the AI bought. My girlfriend was like, have you seen that new $20 AI that does a bunch of stuff for you? I'm like, no, but shit, play with it and tell me if it's good and then I'll use it. I could use an AI secretary. I'll tell you that much, especially $20 a month. That's a hell of a deal. No wonder computers coming out for people's jobs.

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Let's start with some quarterback storylines. And one thing I always love in the NFL is like when old school coaches, and listen, this guy's an elite defensive coordinator. Vic Fangio was king of this. I'll never forget when the 49ers,

they had been good for a couple years with Harbaugh, and they drafted Eric Reed in the first round. I think it's like pick 20, really, really high. Might have been the late teens. And through OTAs and even through early in training camp, Eric Green was like running with the threes. And then when week one came around, he was the starting safety. And, you know, a lot of times with young quarterbacks,

and I totally understand making a guy earn his stripes. You know, in the big leagues, in any professional environment, you can't just hand someone 21, 22, 23 year old something. They have to earn it. But I also think in pro sports, like if I just work at Welsh Fargo and I hire some guy at 23 years old to work in the corporate office, obviously he's not going to be in meetings with the CEO, right? But if I had paid that 23-year-old coming out of Harvard,

$30 million to be like the co-CEO, he's going to get to do some shit pretty immediately. And I saw that Bryce Young is now running with the ones. And I understand starting the off-season. It's like, just have Andy Dalton go out there with the ones, have this guy go out there with the twos. But this is not Trey Lance, a guy that played one season of college football or Mitch Trubisky.

This is not some guy like Anthony Richardson who's barely played and even he could end up being the week one starter. This is a multi-year starter at Alabama. This guy has been operating in an NFL operation, an NFL program, as Nick Saban would say, with an NFL offensive coordinator, Bill O'Brien. So any snap, any single rep, this guy, and he's a high character guy, he's all in. it's not like you're dealing with your Marcus Russell here. We've got to hold his hand.

This guy's been a pro for a couple years. Every single rep, whether it be in June, whether it be in early August, and obviously once the season starts, you don't give to this human being is insane. Like part of the reason Mahomes had the redshirt is, one, he needed some work, and two, they had Alex Smith. You guys have Andy Dalton. So I'm going to give Frank some credit for going with them. I don't think we ever see this player ever again running with the twos.

The only way this guy isn't the week one starter is if he's injured. And when you trade all that, like, what are we waiting for? This isn't 1992 where we got to earn our stripes. Those days are over. You're paying this guy a $30 plus million signing bonus. He comes from probably the best college football program ever. I know they haven't won at the last couple years, but when you look over a 15-year period,

Nick Sabin is my version of John Wooden. and this guy's ready to roll. And everything Nick said about him, everything, everyone that's been around this guy has said about him, just hand him the keys and let him drive. You know, this guy doesn't need a learner's permit. Now, it's the NFL. It's going to be different,

but there probably isn't a guy given the, he's played Georgia countless times, who isn't more ready to at least operate as a 21-year-old rookie. I saw this story coming out of Detroit, that Dan Campbell said that Jared Gough is better now than he was when he was a ramp. And I think a lot of people's first reaction, like, if you're not a Detroit Lion fan or a Rams fan, you're like, well, didn't he like take the Rams or help the Rams get to a Super Bowl

and have a couple of years stretch where they were winning a ton of games, winning the NFC West, going to the playoffs several years in a row. I say, yeah, it's true. Take a little bit of the difference is that defense was awesome and their run game was elite. And one thing I give the Detroit Lions a lot of credit for, because I can speak for myself. I've been in positions. I'm in one now where I feel very supported. Like with the volume, people behind me, people have, you know, this has been a team effort. We're all on the same page. We're all rooting for each other. We're all arm and arm. And I've been in positions in radio and in the NFL where management changed and the support was not there.

Now, I'm glad it all worked out that I'm sitting here now. But at the time, it was like, this sucks. And when you don't have support and you work for people or work with people, it's easy to lose. confidence. Like you're not born with confidence. And confidence is easy. Or once you have it, you feel invincible. But once you lose it, I don't care what you do. It's not always easy to get back. And at quarterback, I think how many things are out of your control, right? You don't control the personnel around you, who's playing an offensive line, who you're throwing to, who's your running back. You don't control who your offensive coordinator is, which is enormous in any level of football, whether it's high school or whether it's the pros. And you don't control kind of the city, the narrative, and just the elephant in the room.

You play for the Detroit Lions. It's not easy that they are used to losing. And I think the Lions, starting with Dan Campbell and starting with the front office, have done an excellent job of supporting Jared Goff. Because when they got him, it felt like he was kind of a beaten dog. I've never had a rescue dog, but no, several people that have, I'm around one now, even though she's just like a domesticated dog now. And, you know, people will tell you when they get a rescue dog,

depending on the situation, they can be very timid and can be very scary, right? Maybe they've been beaten depending where they were previously. It wasn't pretty. And then after a while, you give them some tender loving care. The dog just starts acting normal and gets very friendly and gets very social, right? But at first, you're just kind of timid. Anyone that's been fired or lost a job or been laid off, like it's a pretty low position, even if you didn't even want to be there anymore.

And anytime that you get traded and the way Jared Gop was traded, It wasn't just like, hey, listen, NFL, I got traded for Matt Stafford. He's a better player. He got traded as his head coach was talking shit about him constantly. Hell, Sean McVeigh, who, listen, impressive guy, has even had to come back after and like, studo apologized. You know, I was a little harsh because he was. And listen, there were probably things about Jared Gauth that pissed you off.

But like, hey, Sean, there's things he's not physically able to do. And I think one issue with Sean McVeigh, I think Josh McDaniels have this, has this. and John Gruden definitely had this, is they're too fickle with players. You know, obviously some players are bad and they're not going to improve and you've got to get rid of. But some guys have some good games

and they have some bad games. There is like a long view. Andy reads the best at this. I think Pete Carroll's really good at this. They're not like living and dying every single game, every single play with every single player. John Gruden turned on guys after one game. Can't coach this guy.

Hunter Renfro with the Raiders. It's like a year ago, Josh, you extend this player because he was a really good slot receiver. You really liked him. And now a year later, you've been trying to trade him. Like, what happened? Happens with Sean McVeigh all the time. It's like, Sean, you just signed Alan Robinson. And then a year later, you can't get rid of him fast enough.

Make up your fucking mind. Like, you can't consistently operate like that and have sustained success. You have to be willing to like adapt to the player, go through some down times. and I think the Lions, and it's easy when you suck, but it's just been very positive and have been very uplifting to a guy that needed a lot of confidence. Jared Goff has limitations.

He is never going to be as talented as Herbert, as Mahomes, as Burrow, obviously is Josh Allen. He doesn't have their physical gifts, but he's pretty good. Like, if Kirk Cousins can do what he's doing, Jared Goff sure as hell can do what he's doing. Right? So I think the Lions know

they actually have something pretty good who's on a relatively cheap contract for a starting quarterback in the NFL. And they deserve a lot of credit. And there's going to be a lot of pressure on them this year. It's going to start with that week one game against the Chiefs, but building up a guy's confidence. It is so key.

Any parent that's listening to this right now, there's a difference of being unrealistic. Like, son, you're going to be the next Steph Curry. No, you're probably not. But like, son, you can do whatever you want. Like, and really, really push them in a positive way. You know, the way I grew up, you know, be a little more negative.

It could be a little more negative reinforcement. But that's just the baby boomers. They're a little different. I think this generation, my generation, a parent is going to be very positive. Yeah, you have to do it realistically. It's like, son, you're the next Reggie White. It's like, bro, your kid's like 5, 9, 200 pounds. We're going to sell real estate, but we're going to do a hell of a job.

We're going to be the number one real estate in our county. And I just, I think the Lions, man, have done an awesome job with Jared Gough, because he is good and you clearly can win games with them. And they got enough talent around them that I don't, think it's just not unrealistic for them to win 10 plus game. Last but not least, Siriani today. He said that Jalen Hertz is the most coachable player, not the most coachable quarterback, the most coachable player he's ever been around. And he's obviously been in the league now for, you know, 10 plus years, been around the Phillip Rivers, been around a lot of really good

players. Look at the guys on the Eagles. And I think it shows you, man, when you are willing to be to be pushed, I think it's whatever we do. Because I think it's, easy. You can sell cars. You can be a doctor. You can be a podcast. So I think you know it all. Now, depending on who it's easy when you're Jalen Hertz and you're listening to Nick Siriana, you're listening to Lincoln Riley or listen to Nick Sab and like they have a lot of credibility. Not everyone talking to whoever's listening to this right now, trying to give them advice always has credibility. But I think sometimes like you can get realistic, good advice and just kind of not listen. And it's a quality. A lot of us probably battle, right? Of being like, you know, there's a

difference between criticism and like, yeah, I should probably implement that into my daily life. Like, it's pretty good advice. And Jalen Hertz, he shouldn't be as good as he is. He shouldn't have become a max quarterback in the NFL. But when you have his work ethic, his desire, his drive, and his willingness to be coached, you usually get the most out of yourself. I saw it with the Golden State Warriors, their star player, Steph Curry, Clay Thompson, Draymond Green. Steve Curris pushed them and pushed them and pushed them. them for a decade now. And they've accomplished a lot. Now, obviously they have, the three of them combined have a lot of talent, but they were willing to be coached. Greg Popovich talked that forever with

Tim Duncan. Same thing with Belichick and Tom Brady. Every story that ever came out of New England is like, I had no choice but to take it because you go into one of these meetings and the first guy getting lit up is Tom. And that sets the tone for the whole organization. When the guy making more money than literally everyone on the team. I mean, you could take probably 30 of the lowest paid eagles, and they wouldn't even equal Jalen Hertz. And there's only 53 guys on the team, and he's willing to be pushed, he's willing to be yelled at.

We talk so much in Philly about Jason Kelsey, about Fletcher Cox, about all those guys who are just fantastic leaders. Lane Johnson, clearly just will play under any circumstances, put his body in the line. When the highest paid guy, when the highest paid guy on the team, by a wide margin is getting screamed at, is getting pushed, is listening and is asking for it back, that's all you want, man. It's why when you look around the NFL, you know, you can't do it by yourself. Patrick Mahomes get coached hard by Andy Reid, really hard. I mean, Andy doesn't coach like,

you know, Nick Saban does swearing at you, but he pushes him. Like he's on him, right? And Patrick wants it. Patrick's on them. And, And it just, that gets the most out of yourself. Like, part of the, like Michael Jordan, you watch that documentary? Like, Phil Jackson was pushing buttons there, especially when Phil first came in, right? Phil wasn't just like, Michael, do whatever the hell you want. It's not the way it works. Not the way it works in sports, man.

I saw this good Instagram the other day of Jay-Z talking about, you know, early on in his business career. He wanted to own everything 100%. Like, I'm Jay-Z, I want to own 100%. And they started doing deals. Someone talked to him like, you know, you're stronger when you do partnerships with other people and you take their expertise and you use them go to higher places.

He's like, you know, I started doing some of these 50-50 deals with some of these companies and we start doubling tripling the value of the things I was involved in. And the sooner you get open-minded like, and listen, I can battle with this sometimes. Like I can just do it all myself. No, you can't. And why would you want to? You're so much more powerful. And I can speak for myself on this podcast right here.

This podcast, I'd say 90% of you, never would even know who I was if it wasn't for Colin Coward and the volume. You'd have no clue who I was. You'd never heard of me. I could just be talking to a mic in front of, you know, 5,000 people. Instead, we're doing pretty well. So the notion that the top players in the league all want to be pushed, it's kind of a tried and true formula. You know, the league is full of high-level guys that are getting coached hard. And when you look at the top teams, like how did Josh Allen become a star? Brian Daibel was in his ass every single. day. And what happened when Brian Dable left? It was like,

as Ken Dorsey coached him his heart? Kind of had a down year for his standards, right? Hard of being a star. If you want to go to war with Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow, Joe Burroughs clearly willing to be coached. And I think we can question, like, how great is his coach? I don't know. Time will tell. But I got a lot of respect

for Jalen Hertz, man. And this is why I think in the NFL sometimes and in drafts in general, when you try to evaluate guys and don't know the character stuff, good or bad, it's truly hard to put a stamp on a guy. It's why in the scouting community, you can be so confident when talking about a player

because you know so much about the human. You have spent so much time getting to know the guy. Because ultimately, the guy is going to be the reason the guy maximizes his talent. Now, Josh Allen has more talent in his body than Jared Gauth. But I'd say both of them are getting the max out. Why? Because they give you everything they got.

They want to be pushed. They're open to listening, right? And clearly, Jaylen, like, that's, I don't think he's just blowing smoke up Jaylin's, you know, asked by saying that. I think he truly believes it because he lives it. I'm sure we got some business owners here. I'm sure we got some people who are in charge of businesses.

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slash J-O-H-N to get visibility and control you need to weather any storm. Netsuite.com slash John. Do you know that Angie's list is now Angie? You're home for everything home? Listen, as someone who's been looking to buy a place and want to do big projects once I do close on a house, I don't know where to start. Who am I going to contact? Angie can help you get the best price for your product.

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It is ripe to be disrupted because in a niche sport, it is a billion dollar business, but it's quickly fragmented because it's very dependent on a small number of players. It's very dependent on a certain number of sponsors. It's complicated, right? It's why Liv was able to come in. Live was funded by the Saudis, but to just create some. chaos. And I, you know, I'm not a big soccer guy. I'm sure many people listening that like, you know, European soccer. I'm pretty sure that don't decide he's own Man City. Then when they

bought Man City, it was not in a great position. Having a lot of teams that they've invested in over in the European soccer leagues was because they were kind of down and out and they were ripe to take advantage of. They have so much money that when you are a little desperate, they can come in like a great white shark. Right. It's why actually, I think, if they were smart. They were kind of sniff around major league baseball. The NBA, you see some of these people buying into the NBA, their wealth is so big that they don't really need anybody. It's weird. Like the NBA is not as strong as it probably has been at certain points in time in its post-Michael Jordan era, but it's still strong enough where some of the richest people in this country are

willing to pay an ungodly amount of money to own these teams and don't care whether they are making NFL money or not. Now, when it comes to the NFL, one thing that is going to be fascinating with Liv and the Piff and the Saudis and the PGA Tour is it anti-competitive. Because once they control all of golf, it's impossible to start another league.

You get destroyed. It's very anti-competitive, right? Well, do you ever turn on TV and see, like, the USFL or the XFL? Like, there are other professional leagues. Now, I'm pretty sure the NFL is kind of, financially invested in some. But regardless, like, you can start another football league. You could start another little independent baseball league. You're not going to make any money, then you're going to fail, but it's not necessarily anti-competitive. The one thing the NFL really had,

I was thinking about it today, I love golf. And I like golf from like, I love this story because a lot of you that aren't big golf fans care about it because it is fascinating. My mom called, my girlfriend's mom called. It's a, it's a story on, Fox News, CNN, let alone all the sports channels, right? It's, they broke the news on CNBC. They didn't break the news on the golf channel. It's a, it's a story that everyone's going to have an opinion on. One thing football really has going for, one, is it's the biggest cash cow in America when it comes to sports.

And two, all their stories, or at least a lot of their stories, get that immediately. Right? You can just ask someone like, how about the Raiders in Vegas? And you can just have a start having conversation. Like who would have thought there'd be an NFL team and just start talking about relocation. Like could the NFL go to London and you could just have a realistic conversation with someone at a bar who might not even be a football fan. It's like how, why do we have two teams in L.A.? We're just talking like locations, let alone Tom Brady or Aaron Rogers.

And if you just bring up Aaron Rogers, do you know what could come up? Not like Aaron Rogers. How about his back-to-back MVP's? Like that might be a conversation or how the Packers going to be without him. Or immediately it comes up like, God, how about the vaccine stuff? Or Jesus, sat in a dark room. Right? Or damn, was he really going to retire?

Like, the elements of the drama, and this is why football is the number one television show in America, it has every fucking element that you want. It's got all the casual drama, the big money, the succession type stuff, the sales of the teams, the moving of the teams. To then to the niche, like how teams are playing certain defenses, right, how this player,

I saw some quotes today from coming out of Seattle. Tyler Lockett says that Jackson, Smith, and Jigba is going to be a phenomenal player. DK just went on like a two-paragraph rant about how good the guy is. So it has like really in-depth stuff on certain players, on certain schemes, on certain coaches. It just kind of got it all. I saw today a clip from my guy Field Gates. Andy Reid just talking about the different food items at the White House when they went. He actually gave this pretty good description of French toast, grilled cheese ham sandwich

that he said had some powdered sugar on the top. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but when you really think about it, I could see it kind of working. I think the NFL, and I've said this forever, it's not going to stay on top our entire lives. That's just not the way the world works. Things ebb and they flow. But for the foreseeable future, when it comes to financially, they're pretty insulated. They really are because of the television money, because of the owner wealth that's been created this last decade plus.

And from the club, they don't really need anybody else. They really don't. And the reason golf was ripe to be taken advantage of is because they kind of needed some help. They got out in front of their skis. They were never going to be able to compete with the Saudis making these crazy elevated events.

There's not the support. There's not enough people watching. The sponsors can't double their investments. It does not pencil. But it has to pencil because there's no way for them to keep their top stars. if they can't pay them what the Saudis can pay. Eventually, the dam opens back up, right? Like, why do they own some of these soccer teams?

Because they're fucking going broke. Like, if you told me the Oakland A's was sold to someone with the Saudis, and they moved into Vegas, like, I can see that. Who would want that business? Pretty risky. Not a guaranteed moneymaker. Maybe they wouldn't care. They just want to get their hands dirty.

The NBA, probably closer to the NFL in terms of there's enough super rich people lined up that they can insulate their business well enough. Now, for the foreseeable future, who knows? You never know. I think I saw a quote from Adam Silver that said, you know, I think he pushed back on the notion. Because clearly a lot of people are asking, like, are they going to get involved in some of the major team sports?

And I think it's inevitable. They're going to try. They're just slowly, surely, surely moving their way in. It's definitely something to keep an eye on. Okay. Let's do some live golf, mailbag at Golopod, at Golopod is the Instagram. Fire in those DMs and get your question answered here on the show. One thing I wanted to address because someone had emailed me, or excuse me, had DM me last week, my timeline's all messed up.

It's been a long week. I think it would have been on Tuesday's podcast. So he had DM me for the mailbag about he'd been with his girlfriend. Is it a good time to get married? and then I think my advice was to spend a couple years before you had kids. And I had some people DM me and say, you know, I would recommend having kids as early as possible. And I was like, listen, I think kids a little bit like a polarizing when to buy a home conversation, everything is unique to yourself. So I didn't have kids in my 20s.

It wasn't even a thought in my mind. I made sure, you know, avoided it at all costs, right? in terms of relationships, in terms of not trying to get anyone pregnant. Like, I couldn't have afforded it. I know a lot of people say you just figure it out. It wasn't even on my mind. And it really hasn't been on my mind until the last couple years, right? And I know people that have kids in their mid-20s that are financially stable and are ready to rock and roll.

I know people that aren't financially stable and have done it and everything is unique to the individual. We talk about this in the draft all the time. Like, every player is his own person. So every person's character and question marks when it's negative stuff or positive stuff is unique to themselves. Now obviously like work ethic and stuff like good ones, that's very similar to a lot of guys. But like I've had a lot of friends that have had kids in their early to mid 30s and were much more financially stable. It's obviously than when my parents or your parents had kids in the 60s, 70s, 80s, whenever, it was much more affordable. I know people in the Bay Area,

that pay over six figures to have a nanny, just to themselves. And just child care in general is like $60,000, $70,000 in certain areas. Now, obviously, depending on where you live, it can change, depending if you have a mom or a dad around, right, or aunt, uncle, or whoever. So everything is unique. My advice was only, if you're going to get married at 25, 26, I don't think it's insane to just enjoy yourself for a year, right?

I mean, just have a good time together. Now, you could argue, we're ready to roll. You're ready to roll. If she really wants to have a baby, get pregnant. Do what you do. My path is not your path, and your path is not my path. As Tiger Woods once told Harold Varner, run your own race. You only know what's best for you.

Obviously, sometimes you need direction or whatever, but some people are ready to have kids right away. Some people are not. 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. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Let's go to the mailbag.

Question for the bag. Love the pod. We know that Rory regrets being the sacrificial lamb. Do you think now it feels worse on Rory in a golfer sense because he was the lead guy in all the talk meetings? Is it fair to say that he could have won a major if he was focused strictly on golf and not the live golf debate? Context, won the Tour Championship in 22,

playing great golf, finished top 10 and six of the last eight majors. Here's where I think he got screwed. Jay Monaghan is not like a Roger Goodell or Adam Silver. Like he never talks until he absolutely has to talk. He honestly is behind the scenes to me way too much during this whole thing. Now, I don't think Rory, and he admitted as such, regrets not going. I think he said, I was watching my golf channel today. I don't know if he's just saying this.

He said he was never offered a contract. Clearly John Rom, Hadeki, Tiger, you know, Speath, Zander, Tony Fien, all those guys were off for contracts. I don't think, in one conversation that I think is missing the boat a little bit, some guy surely regret it. Like, if you told me Patrick Cantlay and Zander regret it, I'd believe you. But I bet John Rom and Rory McElroy and obviously Tiger Woods, Jordan Speeth, do not regret their decision at all.

Now, could they have made more money in the short term 100%? But part of being really rich and all those guys, I mean, Roy's worth hundreds of millions. John Rom's going to have a two-year stretch now where he's going to make probably 50 plus million dollars just playing golf. That doesn't include his massive Callaway, Travis Matthews deal,

his net Jets deal, his top golf deal. John Rom, I bet the last two years is banking 50 mil a year. Money means nothing to John Rom in terms of like he doesn't worry about money. And he hasn't had to worry about money in probably half a decade. Part of being really rich is like, I don't really want to play

live golf. It doesn't interest me. Could I have made more money? Of course. Right? Like, if I'm an NFL player and I play for the Cowboys or the Eagles, what if I'm a free agent and they want me back?

But I could make $2 million more going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Washington commanders. It's like, well, I've already made, let's say, I'll just pick a number, $30 million playing in the NFL. They want me back at 85% of the price. I love this team, I love this coach, I'm staying. Now, obviously it's not apples to apples more money, but my point is simply,

you can't always make your decisions based simply on money. Now, you can when you're poor, or when, if you're making $100,000 right now, and someone calls you up and goes, listen, I want you to come work for my company. I will offer you $150,000. You're like, I don't like the boss. I'm not interested in the product. It doesn't make sense. But if that same person calls you and goes, listen, you're making $100,000, I'm going to offer you a million dollars.

Like, you probably got to take it. Because worst case scenario, you leave in a couple years. You make so much more money than you would have. If you have a family, it changes your life. But if I'm already worth $85, $100 million, and I know I'm going to make another $50 million over a couple years, if someone offers me $100 million, even if it's guaranteed, and I don't even have to do anything for it, If I'm not interested in being involved with them, I don't think it's a huge mistake that guys didn't go if they didn't want to go.

There are definitely guys that wanted to go that said no. Patrick Cantlay wanted to go. Zander Schauffley, those guys were Cam Young were sniffing around. They probably would have gone if they would have known the way this would play out. But I don't think John Rom, Roy McElroy, Jordan Speeth, Justin Thomas would have changed their opinion. I really don't. Could be wrong on that one. I think Rory got screwed in terms of

it shouldn't be his job just like it shouldn't be any player's job I even struggle like everyone's shitting on Bryson DeCambeau and I would have recommended if I was his PR guy like hey we're not going on CNN because when you talk about 9-11 you say eventually you got to forget or we got to forgive like Bryson just stop talking

but it is not Bryson it's not on Bryson to like he has he's just taking the Saudis money. He really is just a golfer. He might say some stupid shit, but I can't be the moral police on him. I honestly don't give a shit. I don't think he's a terrorist. I don't blame him for taking $150 million. He didn't like the PGA tour. And no one on the PGA tour liked him. So I understand why he left. Just saw the news come across. Live

in the PGA tour. I think Liv, successfully got the tour's attention enough to force them to either sign a truce or deal with the headache into perpetuity. Now that they've agreed to play in the same sandbox, do you think they'll get along and will tensions continue a power struggle to persist? Here's the thing. Let's use the NFL as an example.

When the CTE stuff was happening, they started realizing they were going to lose a shitload of lawsuits and it was going to cost them a ton of money. So eventually they started paying people out. And as they were paying people out and settling lawsuits, they also changed

all the rules in the NFL. hitting the quarterback, hitting people over the middle, targeting the independent doctor with concussions. They didn't actually care about the concussion stuff because if they did, they would have done this a long time ago. They were just mitigating their financial risk. The PGA tour could not afford to go to war with the Saudis in court. I've heard other podcasts that are dialed into this.

I think it's been reported before that the Saudis had earmarked I think it's up for debate the number $2 to $5 billion just for money to fight in court legal fees the PGA Tour could not fight them

in perpetuity in court if me and you if you I don't know let's say we're business partners and you start suing me and you're suing me for a million dollars. And I think I didn't do anything wrong. Like, I can fight it, right?

And I would fight it. But if you are backed by Warren Buffett and are like, I'm going to fight this to the desk, you are, I'm going to bleed you out and you're going to lose. Eventually, I'd be like, well, I probably, even if I don't think I did anything wrong, I don't have the financial ability to fight this guy. Should I try to cut a deal?

And I think what the PJ Tour did is attempt to cut a deal. Now, I've seen some conspiracy theories like the DOJ is never going to allow this because it's anti-competitive. So could Jay Monaghan just be doing this, know that it'll get shut down, and then kind of screw Piff's ability

to ever get back involved with golf? I don't know. I wouldn't go that far. I don't know if Jay's proven to be that smart. And the guy leading the charge, Jimmy Dunn, who is this really, really successful business guy, who's buddies with Tom Brady based in Florida. Jimmy Dunn's entire operation

was in one of the towers in 9-11. Like his whole business, everyone died. He knew, I mean, I don't know the exact number of people he knew, but like people in his own business, like best friends, partners, were all killed. He said today on TV. Because a lot of this is like, did the Saudis, did these people fund the 9-11 terrorists?

And listen, I don't know. I mean, it feels like, my main question is, do these people hate us deep down? And do they want to see us fail? I do think that's a fair question? Like, do they fundamentally hate us? But we're kind of forced into doing business with them politically, right? I think you could say the same thing about China. If they could, would they immediately wipe us out or take over?

I think we can have those conversations while we're doing business with them. Because capitalism is, you know, you just got to do business. You know? Now, you could argue, you don't have a choice. Like, we got to get our iPhones and everything. Like, we couldn't afford to do it here. No one would have any of these things. You could argue, do we need to have iPhones?

I mean, we get down the rabbit hole. But Jimmy Dunn said if he knew the people that were involved would decide he'd kill them himself. Because they're getting peppered with these 9-11 questions, as they should, because the PGA tour took this moral high ground and the commissioner who said that, you know, he knew the families of people that died. It's hard to pivot.

But I think there are so many variables to this story that it just simply comes back to, golf is not football. It has limited amount of resources financially. And they had to up all the purses to compete with live. And they don't actually have enough people watching and enough people willing to finance it to make it make sense. Nate Hubbard, whose brother plays on the PGA tour,

who's a business guy, has tweeted like the VCs, the people with the cash, like won't just give them the money because it doesn't pencil. So the only place they can get the money is from the people that know that want to take over. And that's Piff. And then I think the big picture is like,

do we want to be in business with these people? I think it's fair to ask that question, which most people ask. But I also struggle shitting on all the guys for taking the money. It's tough. I mean, this is a complicated issue. I can't believe I'm saying this.

I watched Sunday live when Harold Varner won, and it was awesome. The shotgun aspect and other players in contention, and Varner needed to birdie his last hole to win, and he did. The last hour had multiple players with a shot or two. Cam Smith and Bryson were right on him. I was home with a sprained ankle, and I was stuck on the couch. I enjoyed how it played out. They have a long way to go, but it's somewhat enjoyable.

No real question here. Just wanted to say it was a fun watch. I flipped it on that tournament that Harold won. I think it was a Trump's DC course. And for one hole I watched and Varner was on like a par three right by the water. And tunes were just blasting. And listen, there's a vibe. There's no, like the vibes were strong.

Their main problem is, let's just say it's a perfect world and everyone's going to get along. Because I think there are some debates whether is Liv going to die or whether it's going to continue. And Alan Shipnuck, who was like a legit journalist, who's gotten in with, you know, covers live closely, wrote an article today that the plan is for live to continue, that the Piff has told Greg Norman that they're not going to cut it out, even though, in my opinion, now you could argue that these people don't operate like normal businesses because they don't have to, they have an unlimited amount of money.

But isn't part of getting a universal tour to everyone to play together? Now, if it's true that they're going to keep Live going, I think the question mark still is. How are they going to play at better courses? Because if Live is a separate entity, and I understand the PJ Tour might be involved with Piff, these country clubs and these places like Pebble Beach are not going to want to do business with them if they don't have to.

So I don't understand why Live would continue. I also think the shotgun start don't hate it. But part of like a good no-cut event is you have more. people playing, they would be in the shotgun start. Unless you just went four guys, every single hole, what's, you know, four time 18. I guess that would work. So if you cut down to like 60, 70 players, 72, yeah, I guess it would work on Saturday and Sunday of a tournament. My only thing is what makes a cool part about watching golf for myself is like Sunday of a golf tournament is a guy finishes and he has a two shot lead.

and the leaders are still on hole 14. You know the different holes they got to play. Like, oh, that's a birdie hole. They could bogey that hole. And there's like a sequence to golf, right? Like when you watch the Masters or in a week, you watch the U.S. Open, once you kind of learn the holes Thursday and Friday, come the weekend, you've got a pretty good idea. Oh, shit.

Whole 14s is really, or 15s is really short par three. Whole 14, birdie a bull par five. So you know, like, hey, DJ's one back or Brooks and, and Patrick Reed and Max Homa and Tony Fee now are two ahead. Well, they've already gone through the easy hole. They might bogey this hole. Once a shotgun start, the ebb and the flow to the round is a little bit different. Anyone listening to this that's played like a shotgun,

that you start on hole like five, it is kind of weird. Now, from a viewing perspective, I like people just playing one through 18. Like if me and you were going to play golf, right? If you and I are going to play golf, let's just, let's say we're going to play a sweet course. I'm going to meet you and we're going to play Pebble Beach. Would we rather tee off the place is empty. We got the whole place to ourselves. If we could choose, would we start on hole seven, the little par three? That's right by the water. Probably the most famous

hole at the course. Would we start a hole one? We start a hole one. Longtime listener of three and out. I absolutely love your content. But the past recent months, I have been diving head first into the game of golf. My new long work commute, I wanted to know what golf podcast you listen to. I listen to No Layin' Up, usually Sunday, you know, Monday morning, their reaction to big tournaments.

I listen, Smiley Kaufman actually has a good little podcast starting. I really enjoy. Smiley's talented. I think Smiley, if his golf career, you know, is over, I think he's got something going. He's pretty natural. Personality, his understanding of golf, he's a cool customer.

I think he's got a bright future. So Smiley's got a good podcast. I listen to I think Golf Digest has a podcast. I would say the main ones would be no laying up. I like, I listen to the ringer has one with Hubbard and House. Not bad. I enjoy that.

I listen to a Golf Digest one that's not bad. The Fire Pit guys, is the fire pick guys? Let me go to my podcast here. Yeah, I think it's the fire pit collective. They have a good newsletter too. Golf Digest, not bad. Golf.com.

Let me just type in golf. Play around. I still am doing that. Hey, John, question for the mailback. With the news of the merger, merger would be strong. I think it's more of a business partnership. Was a statement that mentioned

growing team golf going forward. Team golf is sweet when you feel connected to your country during the Ryder Cup or President's Cup. But I do feel like no one cares about random arbitrary teams like Liv has. How are they going to make a team format work in pro golf? I completely agree. Even the guy that just said he watched Harold Varner win. The reason that was cool is Harold Varner was competing with Cam Smith and Bryson to win the tournament.

No one gives a flying, you know what, about whether Harold Varner and whatever, the cleaks and the range goats and the four aces. No one cares. and no one's going to care. I am in complete agreement with you. Part of what makes the World Cup suite, I don't pretend to care that much about soccer, but when we're playing like Brazil or the Netherlands, like I'm pretty locked in.

When it's J.T. and Speath playing Rom and Rory or Hovland and Sergio, I get badass. The President's Cup and it's Tom Kim and Sun J.M. Against Homa and Fiena, I'm in. I do not care about if Brooks Keppka can carry Chase Keppka to a team win. I truly believe that live as a team element.

Now, we could argue could some of the shotgun start stuff, could some of, I don't really know what else, the music, I guess, some of their kind of waste management, always tournament vibes kind of work. Shorts, yeah, I mean,

you could convince me some of their stuff. The random arbitrary team, like, hey, it's Jordan Speeth, it's Jordan Speath, Max Homa, Denny McCarthy and Maverick McNeely. Like, no one cares. This is not like Mahomes throwing to Travis Kelsey or Stefan Clay. No, I'm completely with you.

I do not think the team stuff works. It works in basketball, works in football, works in baseball. It does not work in golf beside the countries. I completely agree. It's really just a way to funnel guys more money. What a week. What a week. Okay, we'll have a big mail bag come Sunday.

And have a good Friday, have a good Saturday. Joy the fam. Peace. The volume. 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 I-Heart 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, unfiltered 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.