The Herd with Colin Cowherd - What's Wright - Best Of - Tyreek Hill RETURN to Chiefs? Cam Newton x Jalen hurts BEEF, WNBA All-Star PROTEST
Episode Date: July 26, 2025Nick Wright reacts to Tua Tagovailoa's comments on Tyreek Hill at Miami Dolphins training camp. Is Tua right for publicly calling out Tyreek after the star wide receiver's controversial remarks follow...ing the Dolphins' Week 18 loss to the Jets last season? Later, Nick breaks down why he believes Tyreek will return to Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2026 NFL season. Later, Nick reacts to former Carolina Panthers star Cam Newton leaving Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts off of his top 10 NFL QBs list. Is Cam right? And which of the two QBs is better? Lastly, Nick shares his thoughts on the WNBA All-Star Game protest and what the future holds for Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, Chicago Sky star Angel Reese, and the rest of the league in their fight for more pay. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.
I'm Kevin.
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Well, we didn't invent it.
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Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right with Nick Wright,
the best takes and moments from this week on the show.
Enjoy.
Tua isn't exactly welcoming Tyreek back with open arms after Tyreek.
did that little thing at the end of 2024.
Tarreek took some accountability and saying,
I need to be better as a leader.
I feel like he probably should have said as a star player.
But with things already off to a bad start,
how do you see Miami's season going?
I want to believe in Miami a little bit.
I think that they are, you know,
I like the team that used to be overvalued
that now I think people have gone too far in the other direction on.
I tend to like those teams.
And I really like the Jalen Ramsey Minka Fitzpatrick trade.
I think they got better there.
Tyreek, I think will be better this year.
So there, and I think that that last playoff spot in the AFC should be pretty open.
So there are some reasons that I kind of was leaning.
You know, maybe I'll believe in the Dolphins as a playoff team this year,
especially because speaking of the hot seats, I think, you know,
Mike McDaniel, the GM, I think they know we got to start putting some pelts on the wall.
You know what I mean?
We got to get back on the right track.
This is where you might think I'm being unfair.
So Tua's comments yesterday were basically, yeah, speaking for me and for the team.
He wasn't speaking for himself.
He's like, you know, Tyreek.
what Tyree did is not something that you just say my bad about and you know we're all good like
you got to you know work on yourself you got to earn back trust i'm paraphrasing but he said all this
publicly to the media so here's where i mean the exact quote is when you say something like that
you don't just come back with my bad you got to work that relationship up he's working on himself
i didn't love that being a public comment from tua so here's what i'm
all say. And De Manza, you can tell me
Tyreeks said it in public. No.
That's why I thought you were going to say I'm being unfair.
So just hear me out on this. Okay.
What Tyreek did was way out of line.
Yeah.
There is no excusing it.
He was a bad teammate. He was immature.
It was, you know, it was bad.
He's also Tyreek Hill.
He's your receiver.
Oh, okay.
He's cut.
He's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's,
He's a receiver.
He's a kind of known at times knucklehead.
He has, he, you know, just this week, he was like, you know, I talked with my dad and, you know, I thought it was really important that this offseason I just do football and family stuff.
Meanwhile, you know, I'm pretty sure he's in a legitimate beef with I show speed.
and like about the racing and like so Tyreek is just a superstar he's a jock dude
yeah like a bit of a doofus a bit of a doofus and it got a lot of stuff okay it does not excuse
what he said but we're also I don't think you're not getting in the Tyreek Hill business
for maturity professionalism and leadership
You're getting in the Tyreek Hill business because he's freaking awesome, right?
Tua's your quarterback.
And Tua and Tariq have to work for the team to work.
So I wouldn't care at all if at the first day of training camp, Tua got up in front of the team and was like, Tariq, you betrayed all of us.
You have a lot of, you know, making up to do.
That was wrong.
you know, read in the riot act privately.
But publicly, I think the answer has to be either.
Yeah, listen, I think Tyreeks addressed that any feelings I have on that,
I'm going to keep between me and Tyreek and me and the team.
But, you know, we know that he and I got to get back to what we were two years ago
for this team to have a chance.
And I believe we're going to do that.
You either do that or, and Tua might not be comfortable with this
because I know he's like a deeply religious guy.
You just flat lie.
Oh, no, Tyreeks, Tyree.
We're all good.
We knew it was emotional right after the season.
Nobody cared.
I think those are your two best options.
Rather than telling the media,
no, everyone was really bothered by that.
And actually, we're still working on it.
Because then it continues, like, I'm going to need an update on that.
You know what I mean?
And so, again,
Tyreek put Tua in a terrible position.
And he was flustered throughout that.
Like, it seemed like he seemed pretty nervous.
I don't want to say nervous,
but constantly walking back stuff and like thinking super hard about the stuff he was saying.
Oh, you're talking about Tyreek at the end of the year?
No, I'm talking about Tua in the press.
I mean, I felt like he was sweaty.
But, well, you were Miami right off practice field.
But yes, I agree.
I agree with you on that regard.
But I also thought Tariq,
when he gave this initial thing right after the playoff loss,
didn't exactly know what he was trying to say,
and it was like, ah, I'm out.
I just think that there is,
sometimes when you are the face of an organization
and you get put in bad spots by people,
and publicly, you got to just present a united front.
That's the, you know, that's all that I'm,
or you can go
Peyton Manning
about
was it Mike Vanderjack
the kicker
so this you'll love this
to Monzae
because you have no
recollection of this
whatsoever
Mike Vanderjad
who's a pretty good kicker
for the Colts
and the aughts
went on some
radio show
after another Colts
playoff loss
and took shots at Peyton
the kicker
and then
yeah the kicker
and then Peyton was asked about it at the Pro Bowl, like during a sideline interview.
And Peyton's like, yeah, I mean, I really didn't expect that I was going to get asked about our idiot kicker,
getting all liquored up and popping off at the mouth on the radio.
I'll deal with that if he's still a teammate in the future.
Like, this guy's gone.
This guy's gone.
I'm not dealing with him.
I have no interest in him.
And so that's the other option.
The other option is if Tua would have been like, yeah, I don't think it's going to be a problem because I think Terry is going to be on the team.
Like, that's the nuclear option.
But so, but if he's going to be on the team, then you got to, you got to sometimes clean up somebody else's mess.
That's the only, even if it's not fair.
It's tied in with the first topic.
It sounds like the Chiefs and Tyree Kill kind of miss each other.
Well, I told you guys a year ago that I'm very excited for Tyree Kill wearing a Chief's uniform in 2026.
Because that's, I think, going to happen.
It's not going to happen this year.
But that I think is going to happen.
It's looking pretty likely.
Maybe that's enough to get Kelsey to come back for one more year.
A little defiant old Tyree.
Bringing back the band.
Right off to the sunset together.
Yeah.
I think that's absolutely on the board.
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Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news.
What's the news, new?
huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts around there. But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And...
Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas.
brothers.
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,
people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad,
Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel.
Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.
Where does your group perform?
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Those people are starving for banter.
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Imagine an Olympics where doping is not.
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,
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Last night, a blown call changed a game.
This morning, the internet lost its mind.
Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.
That's where Sports Slice comes in.
I'm Timbo.
Every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies,
and the stories behind the headlines.
We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their
reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.
The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.
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So Siriani does not want to think of this year
as going for a repeat.
Jalen Hertz is also focused on the present.
You won't even wear a super rolling.
You're saying that moment is behind.
behind us.
Hold on real quick.
Before we get to the other thing.
What's your take on Jalen Hertz not him refusing to put on the Super Bowl?
I mean, he sounds like Danos or something in that in that quote.
But, uh, but yeah, I mean, he's put it on.
He's warranted.
He says he hasn't.
He's, he's, he's warranted.
I mean, he's definitely put the ring off.
He's saying he hasn't.
I mean, why not?
Like, it's not.
I don't know.
I mean, maybe not wear it out.
But like, I mean, he's...
No, of course, but like put it on once, press the little button so the stupid wings come out.
Like, I don't know.
Like, whatever.
All right, keep going.
So he is now in a one-sided debate with Cam Newton.
Yeah.
What's your take on this whole situation?
Okay, so when I say one-sided, I mean, he hasn't chimed in, but Cam, Cam has.
So this is kind of the back and forth of it.
And full disclosure, again, I really like Cam.
cam was one of my
me betting on cam
was pre what's right show
betting on the Jags
where I just couldn't
every week I was like you know what line I like
I think the Panthers are underrated
or undervalue
I also think
Cam had the single greatest
college season of all time
and I think that 15 and one year
in the pros
was one of the great
individual accomplishments any players ever had given his supporting cast.
So Cam didn't have Jalen's top 10 quarterbacks.
And then people got mad of them.
And Cam, you know, it's the old, it's another version of the Charles Barkley or you know, bus driver or bus rider discussion is what we're having here.
And I do find these two players, a Cam Newton versus Jalen Hertz,
debate fascinating just because it really reveals a lot about what you value.
Because I don't think there is definitively DeMonsea a wrong answer, right?
but and I what I think is interesting is I I am certain to my core that Jalen Hertz could not have gotten that Panthers team to 15 wins in the Super Bowl.
I don't think that's unfair.
I don't think that is me taking a shot.
I don't think there's 10.
12 quarterbacks in NFL history that necessarily could have gotten that Panthers team to have that season.
With that said, I also am not sure that Cam could have had this sustained success that Jayla has had with the Eagles.
And so obviously these are all hypotheticals.
I think very similar players.
I mean, I feel like Cam Newton is a little bit more of a of an athletic freak than
Yes.
Then Jalen hurts.
Yeah, I mean, he's just so huge and he was faster.
Now, Jalen has, Cam didn't have a lot of years of high level passing numbers, but neither does Jalen.
Right.
It's really interesting.
I also think, I mean, again, the year they went 15 and 1, his receivers were Ted Ginn, Jericho Contri, Devin Funchess, and Corey Brown.
And he won league MVP.
And obviously, Greg Olson was an awesome tight end, but that, you know, is his receiving court.
I think Cam looks at it as, man, put me on that type of team.
and we're the greatest team ever.
And I understand that line of thinking.
Again, Jalen's not commenting on this,
but if I were Jalen,
I would be like, well, I was on that team,
and we were pretty good.
We won the Super Bowl and the NFC championship game,
like 100 to 40.
we won 13 games in a row to finish the year
if you exclude the game that I got hurt.
Like, what more do you, did you want from us
from a team perspective?
And so I understand, now, do I think
that there has been a weird media,
I don't know, if overcorrection is the right word,
there has been to me a there's been some patronizing almost is the word I would use in the discussion of Jalen.
So like I saw Orlovsky's video about Jalen Hertz.
Now Orlovsky's video, he is not calling Jalen Hertz the best quarterback in football, to be clear.
But his caption of it, and this isn't like a newspaper where.
You know, you don't write your own headlines.
Let me see if I can find this.
Hold on.
And I'm trying to find.
Sorry, I just clicked on it.
And do you guys still have my audio?
Am I still good?
I just clicked on something.
Okay, good.
Sorry.
Let me find the exact caption.
Because it was, he wasn't calling him the best quarterback in football.
And, but the caption was, really don't care where you were.
rank hurts, he sits at one. So if somebody was like, wait, are you saying he's the best quarterback at football?
Like that, again, if you watch the video, he's not saying that. Um, but there is to me a,
there has been an interesting, uh, what's the right word? An interesting shift in how.
We have talked about quarterbacks the last decade or so when it comes to Jalen specifically,
which is usually if people think quarterback's good, the team is amazing, then we lead with the team as the driving force.
And that's what I think Cam is getting at.
I think with Jalen, and I think understandably, it's because some of his best games ever have been these monster Super Bowl performances.
There has been a reclassification of, well, maybe Jalen is way better than his numbers suggest,
and he simply is kind of suppressing his own individual accolades for team success,
which I understand that line of thinking,
but it does kind of contradict his own teammate from the end of last year.
It's like, hey, we got to get better in the passing game.
and it kind of goes against what we saw when the Eagles were unbelievable in 2022.
They won the Super Bowl in 2024.
And the one dip, 2023, was a year that they really tried to open up the passing game more.
And so it is, this is one of the fun things to me about kind of sports debate is this isn't really defy.
Like, it's not provable, at least in the short term.
here and now, we don't know what Jalen would look like if he played for the 2015 Panthers.
And we don't know what Cam would look like if he had played for the 2024 Eagles.
I do think that there is an element of, even for a lot of Jaylon's biggest supporters,
if you were just asking me like, hey, who's the better quarterback?
Cam Newton or Jalen Hertz, I think most people are like, well, Cam Newton.
And if the question is why or what's your evidence, I honestly think the answer is, he's just better.
And sometimes, like, I know that can feel like a cop out, but it does feel real here.
And where I will, and I know it might sound like, I don't know, I should.
I don't usually go back and listen to the pods.
But I might go back and listen to this segment because there's a possibility.
I'm not making a lot of sense.
But I am, I find this topic fascinating because it is to me layered and nuanced.
Because like I said, if you asked me who was better, Cam or Jalen, my snap,
answer is like, obviously it's Cam. But the, with that said, if you asked me, am I certain that Cam would be
better for this Eagles team? I don't know that I would say yes. I think when you have a team as
stacked as the current Eagles, having a quarterback who doesn't seem that focus
on his individual accolades or success
could really play in your favor.
And I think Jalen deserves a huge credit for that.
It can be willing to do a tush push, man.
I don't know.
Sorry.
Well, I mean, I think that's probably a bad example
because Cam was arguably the greatest short-yardage player in NFL history.
Now, they wouldn't do a tush-push.
They just did regular either.
quarterback power, jump over the line or quarterback sneak.
You know what I mean?
So it was different.
But I am really interested because one day in Jalen's career, he's not going, you know,
you're not going to have Sequin, A.J. Devante.
You're not going to have this amazing supporting cast.
And there will be a time where the Eagles are in a position where it's like, listen, man,
Our defense isn't, you know, what we had hoped.
We don't have this great running game.
If we're going to win, we're going to need you to do it, you know, the old school quarterback style, drop back 30 sometimes and throw the ball.
I think there's real question, like there is a real question over whether or not he can do that.
And so we, this is my ultimate endpoint on this.
and I am definitely at times guilty of this,
which is why probably I'm a little circular
in my reasoning here.
We give guys a ton of credit
for doing more with less.
The LeBron dragging the 07 calves to the finals,
you know, that type of thing.
Like look at you had so little help,
look at what you did.
We don't always do a good enough job of recognizing just because you can do more with less doesn't mean you can do the most with a ton.
And Jalen has proven he can do the most with this great situation.
And not everybody can do that.
And so, and this is something I, I'd be interested at some point in talking to Cam.
about.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news, new?
Huge news.
We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
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-heartedly.
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 Heart 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,
Keer 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, Tript 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.
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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,
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Learn the hard way.
Open your free iHeartRadio app.
Search Learn the hard way and listen now.
Yeah, so the ladies of the WNBA All-Star Game were protesting with shirts that
read pay us what you owe us.
And Kelsey Plum took a little bit of a shot at Caitlin Clark after and said that
zero members of Team Clark were very present.
It could have been an inside thing, could have been a dig.
What did you see here?
Okay.
So the Kelsey Plum thing, I think, was totally misconstrued.
not the real story, but I want to address it because Ramona Shelburne also I thought did a good job
addressing it this morning. So Kelsey Plum is up on the dais with, was it Sabrina? Who was the other player
alongside her? Yeah, okay. So what Sabrina? Sabrina, by the way, is on Team Clark. And they talk about
the meeting that morning about wearing the shirts. And Kelsey Plum says like now no members of
team Clark were there taking poking fun at Sabrina and also I think or I thought poking fun at the
fact that they had all been out partying the night before and that team didn't get up in time.
That was my initial reaction. Ramona Shelburne then reports out on it today. WMBA players,
including Kelsey Plum, had been discussing the pay us what you owe his t-shirts for over a week,
according to multiple sources. They settled on the idea at breakfast Saturday morning that very few players,
on Team Clark attended because of the early start.
But just to make sure, sources said,
Brianna Stewart and Nefisa Collier and others
went by the team Clark locker room before the game
to make sure they were on board with the IDM plan.
Romona writes, I thought it was fairly obvious.
Kelsey Plum tried to make a joke that didn't land.
The meeting where players decided to wear the shirts
at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday,
understandable that not many from Team Clark made it
after what we saw on stud buds from the night before.
Now, I am not locked in enough on WMBA lore to know about this stud bud stream prior to WMBA All-Star Weekend.
It seemed very popular during All-Star Weekend, but I was, I am logical enough to know Kelsey Plum was not in a moment of WMBA player unity taking a shot at half of the All-Stars.
But because Caitlin Clark's name was involved, people took it and ran with it.
That's not the story.
The story is how many people are such utter losers.
And here's what I mean.
Folks, general rule of thumb, blind.
If workers are trying to extract more money from owners and management, general rule of thumb, you should be on the workers' side.
Now, I know some of you listening are like, well, what about me?
me, I own an 18-person habit-astery business and I'm an owner.
Okay, good.
You, I guess, can be management.
But the vast majority of us, and I say this, by the way, as a silent partner, owner of a small business.
Now, it's very small.
It's my wife's boutique.
But, like, I guess I technically have my hand in both pots, worker and business.
owner doesn't matter the people that create the product create the value those
people trying to extract more money at the very least you shouldn't be rooting
against them and if you are going to try to be like well actually here's the
thing actually know what the hell you're talking about so here's the reality
does anybody at does anybody intelligent actually think
think that, well, max contract in the NBA in the NBA is around 50 million a year. So I guess
max contract in the WNBA should be about 50 million a year. No, nobody's making that case.
Nobody with a platform that matters is arguing NBA and WMBA players should be paid dollar
for dollar the same like the purses at Wimbledon can be. But it makes
sense for the purses at Wimbledon to be the same men's and women's. They get similar TV ratings,
the tickets sell for the same. They're generating the same money. The issue that the WMBA players
have that is a fair and correct issue is multifold. And again, so many losers are just bootlicking
management sellouts because they think one day they might actually
be, it's the same folks that are like, well, you know, right now, a tax policy that helps out
the lower class would help me. But what about when I have $50 million and I want to pass that
down to my kids? It's like, buddy, probably not getting there. You probably should worry a little bit more
of the here and the now than the estate tax. But I digress. What people are? What people are?
arguing is in the NBA de Monzae if it's a 50-50 split of BRI basketball-related income.
So if the league generates $10 billion, the player salaries get $5 billion, and that's how you pay the players,
the owners get $5 billion, and that's how they run the league.
You know what I mean?
Pay all the bills that come associated with running the league, and they hope there's money
left over. It's 50-50 in the NBA. Do you have a guess? What again, the size of that pie doesn't
change. The size of the pie can change, pardon me. The split does not. It's 50-50. It used to,
Brew told me the other day it used to be 63-37 in the players' favor. And the owners have
kind of chipped away at it or whatever, but it's 50-50 now, which feels pretty fair. Like, okay,
I'm not going to act like owners don't do anything.
I'm not going to act like they're unimportant.
Now, I would always again.
Yeah, I would always.
But listen, I'm a union guy.
I'm a union kid.
My dad was the president of Firefighters Union for basically my entire life.
I, you know, I am a union guy.
My first term paper I ever wrote my life was about Lech Walesa and the Polish Solidarity Movement.
It's colored my politics.
It's colored who I am.
It's, I think, when I,
A lot of people talk about, man, you know, we see these stupid old tweets.
They're like, you know, in the 70s, you know, people were able to, the man worked,
the wife stayed at home, you had a car, you had a house, you sent your kid's school.
It's like, what changed?
And people, because they're dopes, are like, what changed is immigrants.
What changed is the union jobs and factors and stuff like that.
But again, sorry for being political this morning, but this is kind of a political thing.
So go back to you, DeMonze.
What do we think, or what is your guess?
The WNDA split?
Yeah, the split.
Players.
Owner to player.
What do you think the split is as of this moment?
I think it's like 70-30.
How about 9-19?
Oh, wow.
9-9 owners?
9-9 owners.
Now, what folks' reaction is going to be,
but the league loses money.
But 22, two-thirds of the league.
It lost money last year.
Got it.
Okay, so quick question on that.
Honest question, because the world has changed in the last two years in the WMBA,
thanks in large part to Caitlin Clark, not solely to Caitlin Clark,
but she's the driving force and the success of women's college basketball,
and the eyes and the ratings, all of that.
Guys, you think right now WMBA teams are worth more or less than were two years ago?
You think that if you bought the WMBA team two years ago and you offered it up for sale today,
that you would get more or less money.
Do you think if it's such a bad business that, oh, my God, you can't claw any more money away from?
Are there a bunch of WMBA teams for sale?
It's like, oh, my God, nobody will buy one.
Or are they expanding the league?
Is it a league where more people want to get in?
again, I don't want to
With them expand in the league,
doesn't it also make it pretty
weird to up it right now?
Wouldn't it make sense for like once
all the teams are there?
Because then there's going to be some other split
taking away from the teams.
When those two teams do get there is that now?
No, I, the split because like in the NBA,
they're going to expand.
The split stays the same.
You're bringing in more money.
There's expansion fees, all that.
And I don't, I'm not going to,
I have to be careful on what I
say here, but I actually have a little bit of insight into what it costs for a new WMBA team
because Kansas City is trying to get one, and I have had very casual conversations
about being a very, very small part of an investment group.
And I got to tell you, it ain't cheap.
Right now people think WMBAs on the uptick.
They think it's a growth industry.
It is.
Because it is.
And so this idea that the players should just be satisfied,
and this idea that the poor WMBA owners, like, ah, think about the owners that are losing money,
when with most pro sports, the real profit is in the appreciation of the team that in over years,
when you eventually cash out, you know what I mean?
You make 10, 20, 100 X on what your initial investment was.
That's what it is.
And then there is this other very basic.
logical point. Is there any other capitalistic endeavor? So I'm not talking about social
workers. I'm not talking about kindergarten teachers. I'm not talking about firemen.
The capitalistic endeavor where someone of Caitlin Clark's quality, and I will use her as an
example because she is the most visible place.
in the league.
Is there any other field in the world
where someone of Caitlin Clark's caliber
would make less than $80,000 a year?
Think about it.
Just for real, think about it.
And the answer is no.
There is not.
So it is a little right now out of whack.
It is why Brittany Greiner a few years ago
was over in Russia, playing ball, and got caught up because you can make more money overseas,
which is another point.
Is there proof of concept that you can pay women athletes more than the WMBA pays them
and still be a functional business?
Yeah, because leagues across Europe do it.
So, again, nobody serious is arguing that the WMBAs,
players and the NBA players should make the same amount of money.
But nobody serious can actually think that Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese and Paige Becker's,
making 70-some grand a year, is a proper payment for services rendered.
And again, just a rule of thumb, if there is a labor dispute and you,
you don't know much about it.
I'm not saying the workers 100% of the time in every labor dispute across the border
and the right.
I'm not saying that.
What I am saying is if there is a labor dispute and you don't know much about the actual
details and your gut reaction is to side with ownership, you're a sucker.
Or you're a sexist.
Well, in this instance, there's a lot of that.
In this instance, there is a lot of...
Yeah, there is...
You're being more specific to the WMBA.
Yeah. And I mean, so I...
Guys, this is where, and I am not, you know,
Adam Smith in that I am not a true market zealot.
However, there is a beauty to an actual marketplace, which is, if it's such a bad deal for owners, why is no one selling their teams?
Huh?
Like, why?
By the way, people who are, like, concerned about the long-term trajectory of the NBA, if you are,
you have a few like, ooh, data points of the MAVs sold, the Celtics sold, the Lakers sold.
Like, why did those ownership groups get out?
Now, the flip side to that is they sold for these insane amounts of money, so maybe that's a sign in favor that it's healthy.
But it is just outrageous the amount of people.
that were like, pipe down, ladies, be happy.
When the truth of the matter is, in America, celebrity is super valuable.
And over the last couple years, the WMBA players have become celebrities.
And Caitlin might have been the driving force, but she ain't the only celebrity.
Hell, the, oh my goodness.
Sophie Cunningham is a legit star
Angel Reese is a legit star
Paige is a star
Turns out the stud buds crew
Have this huge Twitch or stream
Following again pretty big
So oh yeah absolutely
I was trying to mention more of like the newer players
But yeah Sabrina's been
But yeah all those folks
Asia Wilson is a legit star
And she's been around for a while
Like, obviously the money's not right.
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