The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 242 - Darius Butler, Shams Charania, Ian Rapoport, & Legend, Eddie George Join Us For Some Insightful And Incredible Conversation. Let's Go.

Episode Date: August 28, 2020

On today’s show, Pat discusses the monumental shift in sports right now as it pertains to social justice reforms, and how the Milwaukee Bucks led the way in putting the sporting world in a position it hasn’t been in for a very long time. Joining the show from the NBA bubble is NBA Insider for The Athletic and Stadium, friend of the program, Shams Charania. Pat and Shams discuss everything that was talked about in the players meeting on Wednesday night, speculate about what was said during the Board of Governor’s meeting (we now know that the NBA will resume the playoffs), what the ultimate goal will be moving forward, and whether or not the players would hurt their ability to shine light on the changes they want to see if they were to abandon the season and leave the bubble (7:18-17:08). Next, friend of PMI, 9 year NFL veteran at DB, co-host of the Man-To-Man Pod, creator of Everything DB, maybe the smoothest athlete to ever walk the face of the earth, Darius Butler joins the show. Darius breaks down the plight of being a black athlete in America and why things are so much different now than they were 4 years ago when Colin Kaepernick decided to take a knee. He explains the ramifications of trying to make societal changes, why more guys feel more comfortable being a part of this movement now, and ultimately what needs to be done so we can see this change enacted (19:56-29:02). Later, NFL Insider from NFL Network, Ian Rapoport joins the program to chat about all the different NFL teams that have decided to postpone or cancel practices, how hands on Roger Goodell is in this whole situation, what he’s seen from the different Covid protocols and whether or not they seem to be working, his thoughts on kind of getting body bagged by Jerry Jones in relation to Earl Thomas potentially going to the Cowboys (Ian doesn’t believe so), and who he is hearing may be interested in Earl Thomas (31:06-50:15). To close out the show, 4x Pro Bowler, All-Pro, NFL Rookie of the Year, Heisman Trophy winner, member of the Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers Ring of Honor, and Ohio State legend, Eddie George joins the program. Pat and Eddie chat about the current situation with Ohio State, and what Eddie thinks top prospects will ultimately do when faced with not having a fall season, what he thinks they’ll do with all the awards, why the RB position is so undervalued now, his thoughts on the upcoming NFL season, how his financial planning business is going, and his thoughts about playing golf at the AAC Challenge in Lake Tahoe (51:20-1:09:39). We appreciate the hell out of all of you for listening, have an incredible weekend. Come and laugh with us, cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, it is Friday, August 28th. A lot of conversation for you today to send you into the weekend in beautiful fashion. A little change up happening in our world. We'll talk about that a little bit over the next couple of days. If you want to follow on social at Pat McAfee show at Ty Schmidt, at Viva Lozito, at Evan Foxy, at Tone Diggs, at Nick Moraldo. Who'd I miss? Somebody. We thank you so much for listening to the show. You know, we don't always have bangers. Sometimes we have duds.

But the fact that you choose to listen to the show, we are forever grateful. If you enjoy it after you listen to it, please tell a friend. If you don't enjoy the show, just act like it never happened never happened all right have a great friday let's get to it in the sports world is in a place that it hasn't been for a long long time the milwaukee bucks decided to boycott their playoff game in a act to raise and put a spotlight on what happened in their home state of w to Jacob Blake. Now, this is the second time in NBA history where a boycott has happened. Bill Russell led one in 1961 for the same exact reason that the players are doing one right now. And obviously, anytime

you boycott or take a protest, it's going to be met with either resistance or celebration. And that is exactly what happened yesterday and into today with what's going on in the Orlando bubble. It's a very interesting time to be alive because if you look back not too long ago, in the world that we're currently in in 2020, there's a quarantine. There's a worldwide pandemic. And we're all subject to watch a almost nine-minute video of a man named George Floyd being murdered by an officer of the law. It was the first time I feel like in my entire life where the entire world was on the same side. Now granted, there were outliers out there who have massive amounts of hate in their heart and ignorance in their brain that maybe felt differently, but for

the first time in a long time, because of the world that we're living in, I feel like the entire world was on the same side saying, hey, we can't have this happen anymore. This is not what our country stands for. This is not what citizens and our neighbors should ever have to experience. So I feel like there was protests. And then those protests obviously got distracted by riots where cities were burnt down and the mission and the narrative got sent in two different directions. But it felt as if race relations were heightened for the first time in a long, long time. I felt like you were able to see and now I'm out here in Indiana, which is obviously a much different place than New York, California, or anywhere else, but I felt like we were a much more understanding society for the

most part, as opposed to, obviously, the idiots and morons who are always going to put a bad face onto whatever group they represent at the time. Then conversations kind of settled a little bit. It felt as if the world was getting back into a little bit of a groove. There was some sports happening. There was conversations happening. Businesses were starting to open up and then close, and then the pandemic was cooking. And then all of a sudden in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a man named Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times while trying to get back into his car after an apparent altercation with the officers of the law. That conversation was not a big one for whenever it happened, but on the internet, it was not anywhere else. And the NBA players, especially the ones for

the Milwaukee Bucks, felt as if it was their duty to put a spotlight on what happened just because what happened a couple months ago with George Floyd, This isn't the same situation. He didn't die. He got paralyzed. This is something we should still talk about. So whether you hate the boycott, which has happened, which I assume there are some people who do, who think that this is not for nothing or this is all for naught. The boycott and the protests are always going to be uncomfortable. But if you look around the sporting world right now, everybody's talking about what happened to Jacob Blake. Everybody's talking about how we can still become a better America. Everybody's talking about how we can make the lives of our citizens better. So I would say this is a successful protest and a successful boycott by the NBA players. Now,

the conversation yesterday also spun around. Well, Kyrie Irving was bringing this up and mentioning this whenever the guys were thinking about going into the bubble to play to begin with now I would argue this and I obviously am not the person that should be speaking about this because I didn't grow up in the neighborhoods I did not have cops soliciting my parents and my family and my friends and things like that on a daily basis but if they didn't go into the bubble and they didn't boycott this playoff round and they didn't do something that they hadn't done since 1961, would the entire world be talking about what happened in Wisconsin? I say no. So I think going to the bubble and playing basketball and attempting to do what the NBA put together was a success overall. I think it has heightened awareness for what's going on outside the communities that maybe most people don't know about what's going on and with police brutality and police injustices.

And by the way, I think we all agree that a majority of cops are good. It's just you can't have the bad cops doing the things that they're doing because cops are supposed to be the standard bearer of our community. They are the ones who are put in power to judge others on the spot. So we can't have bad cops. And I would assume that other cops that are good cops, they hate the bad cops more than anybody else because it puts them into a terrible position as well. But I would say if it wasn't for the bubble and the players boycott, this conversation about Jacob Blake, which it was for the beginning, wasn't very loud, would be nowhere near where it is now. so whether they get

back to playing games which i think is going to be discussed today at 11 a.m between the board of governors of the owners and the players they're going to meet whether they don't whether uh the nfl who three teams have already chose to cancel practice today to have conversations and hopefully raise awareness about how we can make america a place that is great for every human that lives here and how we can become a much cooler society. There's already teams doing that. So whatever the future holds, we have no idea. But I would say this was a successful protest because the entire world is talking about it. Today, joining us in the next couple of minutes, Sham Sharanya, insider from The Athletic, who is down in the bubble, will give us the update. Darius Butler, good friend of the

show. His dad was in the military and is in law enforcement currently, and obviously is a man who could speak about what has happened, what could happen, how can we change it, and his thoughts on the entire thing. And in the second hour, Ian Rappaport, NFL Networker Insider, will join us on what's next for the NFL, because once you saw the NBA do what the NBA did, or once the Milwaukee Bucks did, decided to make the decision they made, it was pretty obvious if you know sports at all, like, okay, the rest of the NBA is definitely going to do it. And then the MLB, they saw, they're like, hey, we'll join in this, the WNBA, the MLS. And now the NFL today we're waking up is making decisions. It feels like this is a unified front amongst athletes to say hey let's continue this conversation to be the best place that we could possibly be because we can't take seeing another hashtag another video

or anything like that we'll try our best to talk about all things that are happening from however we can we'll try to be a unifier i would like to bring the world together that's what i like to be i like to see the place in harmony and that's what this show is about all the boys are here at nick miraldo's here at tone digaldo is here. Ty Schmidt is here. Jason McAfee is here. The Don is here. Evan Foxey is here. Emmett McMahon is here.

Boston Connor and Mr. Mansuri are on the couch hanging out. Joining us now is a man who is down in the bubble in Orlando. Senior NBA insider for The Athletic. Ladies and gentlemen, Sean Strani. Yeah, Sean!

Good boy, Sean! What's up, Pat? Doing all right? Sean's wild world, man. This is the second time in NBA history that a boycott has happened by the players to put a spotlight on an issue and to raise a conversation. And I just opened up saying this was a successful protest. the entire world is now talking about what happened with jacob blake in the world that uh it is for for some of our citizens and the way they grew up down there in

the bubble how i saw there was marching going on with refs at one point what is the vibe in the field down there in the bubble shams yeah i think last night was was tense you know i i think there's a lot of uncertainty about um you know what's going to happen with the games. Obviously, moving forward, I think the season's been put in peril, but you're right. The refs were marching this morning, and I think it's just a show of solidarity with the players. where this is going to go today. There's a players meeting here in an hour. The owners also have a call in about an hour or so. Where this goes, I think, will hopefully be determined over the next few hours.

Shams, you were reporting last night a lot of breaking news, as was the Woj. I mean, there was, I think at one point between the two of you, there was 70,000 retweets in just a couple. I mean, it was, last night was very active, obviously, in what's going on, because not only are we in unprecedented times in the world, but now we're in unprecedented times in sports, really, with all this attention and the potential for whatever. And then there was said that there was a meeting last night amongst all the teams, and it was tense, like you mentioned.

And the Lakers and Clippers were the only teams that said they didn't want to continue to play. What does that mean? Can you elaborate on that? And is that what that 11 o'clock meeting that's happening today is all about i think the 11 o'clock meeting is more of a follow-up but at at uh you know at the meeting last night basically the message was um you know is guys just trying to figure out where they want to take this right there were a lot of different opinions thrown around there was a lot of questioning some frustration toward the bucks playerss players for not telling everyone, basically blindsiding everyone.

Why did you guys decide to boycott the game and not give everyone a heads up? At least we could have planned and we could have prepped. So that's where some of the confusion revolved around. But at the end of the day, they threw ideas around. It reminded me a lot of the Kyrie Irving call in June where you had all these different opinions. It's going to be tough to get everyone on the same page. So that's what you saw.

You saw a lot of differing opinions. And I was told the Lakers and Clippers were the two teams out of all the other teams. They were the only two teams that voted to boycott the remainder of the season. LeBron James exited the meeting early um all the play you know all the lakers and player clippers players followed him and so um where this goes again we'll see those two teams were in the minority they were the two teams out of like 12 there that that wanted not to play so um you know this could have been more of a message sent to the the league the remainder teams that, that if LeBron James and his team

and the Clippers, who were the two powerhouse teams at Western Conference, don't want to play, how will there be a season? Well, and it's very interesting because I saw some players, and these are all reports coming out about what players are thinking or saying because we're not in the meeting, obviously, so we're not 100% sure. Ludonis Haslam there said that if LeBron's not playing,

does it even matter? Great question there. If LeBron's not playing, does it even matter? Great question there. If LeBron's not playing, what will the NBA do if it is just the Lakers and Clippers and that vote continues here at 11 o'clock? But then there were some players that were like, hey, we sacrificed for the last 40 days to come down here to do this.

There's 12 of us left. We have to finish this season. And they feel like, I feel from reading the reports that some players are going to view this as, hey, we have a massive this season and they feel like i feel from reading the reports that some players are going to view this as hey we have a massive platform right now we have the ability to talk into action a lot of things we should continue this we've already sacrificed enough coming down here away from our families we've been locked up we're like a social experiment at this point we're down in a bubble down here away from everybody we have to finish was that the large majority of

players that were thinking that is that is that kind of the way the conversations were going from what you've heard? Yeah, the majority of players wanted to play. But overall, there was a lot of confusion. There was a lot of tense moments. And guys just trying to figure out where are we going with this? Are we going to be a unified group? Andre Godal led, him and Chris Paul really led this meeting. And Andre Godal, his message was we need to be together.

If we're going to do something we got to be unified and um when you again but you when you have this many players in one room in one meeting it's going to be brutally difficult to get any type of real unification because there are so many different opinions so many different voices out there at the end of the day these players you know there's a lot at stake financially that was also discussed if they decide not to play um they're going to lose even more money and so this will impact collective bargaining agreement talks a potential lockout just decade down the line of the nba that is the type of impact that sitting the rest of the season would have shams there's been a lot of talk about the owners and the players just being disappointed in what the owners have done.

Do you have any idea, have you heard anything inside the bubble, what exactly the players are looking for from the owners? Action. They want owners to take action, but what's their plan? What is the players' demands? Do they have a list of demands? If they do, I haven't heard them yet. So I think putting a plan together, putting a list of demands together, that has yet to be done. But there was a clear desire by several players, including LeBron James, that we want to see owners step up and be more vocal, be more involved, take more of an initiative. But again, the NBA and the MBPA partnered and started a $300 dollar fund uh to empower uh you know black youth and so movements like that the nba has always been ahead of the curve in terms of social uh movement and um you know i think you know but you have these players like lebron who are

stressing that they want owners to be involved in an even more uh greater way is the ultimate goal of this for the conversations to be had that we're having right now you greater way is the ultimate goal of this for the conversations to be had that we're having right now you like that is the ultimate goal of this entire thing right like when the milwaukee bucks uh in george hill and they decide after by the way there's a couple things that have happened within the milwaukee bucks with officers of the law that have gone poorly so they it's very personal for them was the tweet but is the entire goal obviously for this conversation to happen that we're currently having and for it to be happening across the globe no question i mean that is the only you know that is the one benefit that that comes out of the gate and and um you know the two teams you know

two teams sticking up and deciding not to play or voting not to play um that to me has more of a measure and an impact because those are two powerhouse teams in the nba the lakers and the clippers they're the minority in this most of the other teams they still want to play but the fact that you have these two powerhouse teams it's a stand it sends a message to the rest of the league the rest of the players patrick beverly said a couple months ago you know if lebron want to play we're all playing and that message still is true today so it'll be interesting to see where this this meeting goes um and where the players go from here if they don't play and they're not in the bubble and they don't have national tv press

conferences available literally every single night are they not thinking about potentially losing the platform that they currently have to potentially enforce more positive and more change than any? Like, that's my biggest question. It's like, because last night I saw a lot of people saying like, Kyrie was right. Kyrie was right. I was like, okay, I understand Kyrie was right that something will continue to happen that's terrible that we should not have happen in our country or police and brutality. I agree that part.

But if they don't boycott a playoff game, the entire world isn't shut down. Last night, the entire internet was shut down. Now, granted, there's a hurricane that was supposed to rival Katrina coming in again. So like T's and P's, everybody down in Louisiana, Texas, everything like that. But other than that, the entire world was talking about what happened. If they're not in that bubble, they're not doing this. That is not the conversation right now. And if they leave, it's like, well, that conversation just kind of disappeared because I just don't know. I think it's counterintuitive to leave the platform you have if you want to enact change with a platform helping.

I just I don't know. And that feels very interesting to me. That's a great point. And that's what several players spoke up in the meeting about. You know, in terms of, you know, guys, I'm told at least one player spoke up and basically was like, listen, if we're going to leave here, what are we doing? What's our plan? Are we just going to go back home and sit around and do nothing about what's going on in the country?

So these are all things that I don't feel the players still have a precise answer for. These are things they want to express themselves. And last night was a lot of raw emotion. That's what I sensed as well. You had a lot of players in there very, very emotional and very much wanting to make a stand. They want to create change. There's no question about it, Pat.

The question is, how do you really go about that? What's your plan? Can you really control the uncontrollables? If you really want to dedicate all your time and energy and resources into making change you you might need to step away from it for a decade two decades like how long will the real amount of change really take well it's interesting because this is bigger than sports obviously i mean they everybody they boycotted a game because of it but sports are the avenue to potentially make the change that is bigger than sports.

Ladies and gentlemen, insider from The Athletic, Shams Sharania. Thank you, brother. Thank you, Shams. I appreciate it. I enjoyed watching your flip on WWE, so congrats on that. I didn't think I was going to land. I didn't think I was going to land there. I'm flying through the air right now.

This is not good. I appreciate you, Shams. We'll follow along with you today through the air right now. This is not good. I appreciate you, Shams. We'll follow along with you through today, through the developments. Okay. So sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you about something that's really awesome. Change is constant, but these days it feels like there's something new to grapple with every day. We may all be adjusting to this new normal, but it's still stressful. It's important to talk about it and seek support.

The future is unknown, plain and simple, and if you've been struggling with the so-called new normal, it's not just you, but stress and anxiety don't have to rule your life. Talkspace Online Therapy is here to give you that support because we all understand that we could potentially need it right now. You can match with a licensed therapist from the convenience of your device. No matter where you are, reach out to your therapist 24-7 from phone or computer and you'll hear back five days a week. Luckily, Talkspace Online Therapy can match you with a licensed therapist all from the comfort of your phone or your computer.

Receive support and accountability every day to talk through challenges and stay on track with whatever you're working hard for. If anything helps reduce stress and anxiety, it's talking it out. Doc Space has thousands and thousands of licensed therapists trained in over 40 specialties, including anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and more. If you have something specific you want to work on right now, they will find someone right for you. One month on Talkspace costs about the same amount as a single in-person therapy session. But with Talkspace, you can send unlimited messages to your therapist and they'll engage with you at least five days a week. That means you never have to wait to share what's on your mind.

Talkspace therapists have experience treating depression, anxiety, substance abuse, trauma, you at least five days a week. That means you never have to wait to share what's on your mind. Talkspace therapists have experience treating depression, anxiety, substance abuse, trauma, relationship issues, food and eating, and much, much more. Talkspace is secure and private using the latest encryption technology to store client information. The bottom line is that we all need to talk sometimes and Talkspace wants to give more the support we deserve. And very much at a price we can afford. As a listener of this podcast, you can get $100 off your first month on Talkspace. To match with your perfect therapist, go to Talkspace.com or download the app. Make sure to use the code McAfee to get $100 off your first month.

And show your support for the show. Well, you get it. They put that at the end there. You listening to the show is you showing your support for the show. Well, you get it. They put that at the end there. You listening to the show is you showing your support for the show. But I think this is a very, very cool thing. I think this is a brilliant concept, good idea. And I don't think anybody should ever feel embarrassed to talk it out and become a better you, become the best you with Talkspace.

That's Talkspace.com. Code McAfee. Get $100 off your first month. Why not give it a try? See if it works out. Back to the show. All right, let's pivot back to the task at hand and what the world is talking about.

The NBA players boycotted playoff games yesterday for the first time since 1961 when Bill Russell did it for the exact same reason. Joining us now, good friend of the show, a man whose dad was in the military and in law enforcement. Can't wait to get his perspective on all this and what the mission and goal of it is in his eyes. Ladies and gentlemen, Darius Butler. What's up, fellas? up fellas D-Bud I let off the show I don't know if you heard it uh you follow the products you probably did the um the entire thing I think this is a successful protest because the entire world is talking about it right now I feel like what happened yesterday in the NBA which went into the WNBA the MLBB, and the MLS.

I believe this would be considered a successful protest, a successful boycott, because the entire world is now talking about how we can make this place and this country better for every one of our citizens as much as possible. Definitely, man. It doesn't matter what channel you turn to, what you're watching this morning. That's what everybody's talking about, and rightfully so. That's the point of it is to get the attention get the conversation but um you know a lot of people you know are beyond the point of you know conversations real action needs to be taken um and uh you know some change really needs to be made or um you know i think

the country's you know it's getting close to something crazy i assume much like me there was a lot of group texts that were popping off over the initiative that was taken by the milwaukee box yesterday yeah what is the conversation around now because you have a lot of friends are still in the nfl obviously you played the nfl for a long time three teams today in the nfl are canceling practice to continue conversation and hopefully enforce some action and enact some action what is is the overall goal? Is it for the owners to get involved, to help out and to politic and maybe use their money to enforce some action? What is the overall goal of all these sports, you think?

I don't think it's necessarily an overall goal that you see, hey, it's just one thing that's going to change. Because I see the issues that guys are talking about and standing up against are longstanding issues. these aren't anything new um it's just for so such a long time it's like a lot of people almost look at you or listen to you from a standpoint like you're making it up or something or these things don't really happen or you know you can't feel marginalized you can't like you have this you have that so it kind of gets to a point it's kind of like a boiling

point and i think every kind of generation has certain things that happens and we happen to be that generation that's kind of like okay you know it's it's a certain amount of things that we'll take but at some point we understand our power and um you know you got to flex it and stop the show at some point and it was it is very much like hey we can't have this happen anymore and i and you and i have talked about this on air and off air the uh the terrible nine almost nine minute video that the world saw to george floyd uh in the middle of being locked in their houses while a worldwide pandemic was happening with the potential of murder hornets flying out of whatever so i think that was the first time though, that a majority of humans, even the people who said like, oh, they don't, they didn't believe

that it happened. Even people that said like, oh, this is all a lie. I think for the first time in a long time, a majority of humans were all on the same page. Right. And that is not, I think the George Floyd video was one that kind of put everybody on the same page. Then protests started happening and you saw people from all races. You saw all ages. You saw everything coming together, and it wasn't just in one city. It was in like 50 cities. It felt like there was real change happening. And then the riots happened, and the mission and the message

got kind of taken off course, as it always does, and then it kind of settled back down. Do you think the NBA players, whenever – because Breonna Taylor's police officer is still not arrested. That's been a message that NBA players have whenever, because Breonna Taylor's police officer is still not arrested. That's been a message that NBA players have said every single night, basically, after every single game they've mentioned it. And then whenever the Jacob Blake video comes out where he's getting shot in the back seven times, leaves him paralyzed. Do you think that there was just a tipping point for the NBA players? Or do you think there was like, it just came to a point where it's like, all right, enough of this.

We're done with it. We're in a bubble. We're locked away. And we are sick of this type of thing happening what like what do you think yeah i mean that's been this it's kind of been the uh i'll say the plight of the black athlete for a while because um it's just and it's not just black athletes but a big portion of us come from uh communities that you know you've seen things that are happening right you see the things that you see happen on tv like that's real to you that's i haven't happened to you you've had a personal experience or you know someone who has same thing when you see you know uh you know

people locked up for crazy crimes and things like you that stuff is a lot more real to you and as a player you can almost be removed from that you know you go from high school and you go away to some college and now you go to a pro um league city and now you're kind be removed from that. You know, you go from high school and you go away to some college and now you go to a pro league city and now you're kind of removed from that. You aren't marginalized the same way. So it's like, okay, and then now in 2020, you got brands. So people are aligned with certain brands. So it's like, damn, and it goes all the way back to Michael Jordan days. Like, hey, Republicans buy sneakers too.

So it's always that tear. And even when Cap, when he first started in the list, every black man in the league understood what he was standing for. But a lot of us didn't know because of what we we knew we would have to sacrifice. You know what I mean? Even in 2017, when, you know, Trump made the call and everybody knew, like, it's just always that tug. Like, do I mess up my you know, what's what's my what's my livelihood to stand for what's right? Or do I stand for, like, where is my net balance? And now guys are more empowered.

I would say to never collectively that I've seen to say, hey, even the guys that are kind of tethering, if LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard are saying something, it's easier to fall in line than everybody else because they know the league can't continue without those guys. So it's about protecting each other, standing up for what's right, and really using your power and your platform to make some change. That was awesome. Hey, D-Blade, I feel

like I just learned a lot right there. Because I knew that whenever the kneeling started with Kaepernick, four years ago today, by the way, Kaepernick did his first kneel, which is just incredibly perfectly timed for what we're having conversation right now. I knew that a lot of guys in the locker room were feeling extraordinary amount of pressure from their neighborhoods, from their families, from where they come from.

They're like, Hey, why aren't you, why aren't you sticking up with, with what Colin, why aren't you alongside Colin because we're dealing with this in our neighborhoods as well. This is something that we're going. We're your family. We grew up with you. And then you had a lot of guys that were like, well, Colin just got kicked out of the league. Like, what's better for my neighborhood and my family?

Having a job or taking a stand and not having a job? It just, it always feels like whenever you are going to make a decision to do something, there's always so many things you got to weigh. And it feels like right now, everybody's on the same page more so than it's ever been in the past yeah i feel like you know um especially after george floyd's um murder uh it it kind of that shifted everything and i think now everybody a lot of people are like okay you know we weren't listening before but now we see it and that that's, I guess, understandable. You can kind of be ignorant to a lot of things if that's not your walk. But when you keep seeing it, you keep seeing it, you keep seeing it,

it's like, all right, like something has to change. Something has to change now. And don't just, you know, be an ally or say something cool because it's okay now, because it's cool. It's a safe space to say it or do it now. Like even the kneeling thing now. Like if everybody's kneeling and, oh, okay, okay we're gonna kneel here and kneel there like now it's kind of that's that's not the point of a protest you know what i mean like the point of a protest is to shake up the status quo so um you know just two three four or five years ago um you know the status quo

was hey i don't care whatever you're protesting against that's not important enough for us to respect it um because of whatever else the flag flag, the anthem, whatever it may be. People always look for excuses to defend what they want to defend. But, I mean, I feel like you're going to be on the right side or wrong side of history with this one, though. And, you know, a lot of people are showing their true colors. Well, I think Darius, incredibly well said, by the way, and thank you for that. I think the large majority of humans are on the right side here. said by the way and thank you for that i think the large majority of humans are on the right side here and i hope we don't let the terrible scumbags of our community ruin it but boy the conversations

are a good thing to have and i think the protest yesterday obviously uh proved that and i think we're in the middle of it again and if we can heighten race relations and bring our country together we're all about it ladies and gentlemen uh former teammate former teammate mine, host of the Man to Man podcast, Everything DB, ladies and gentlemen, Darius Butler. Thank you, DButton. There we go. That was good. Yeah.

You know, like nobody will – if somebody is against everything that's going on, they'll never listen to what he just said right there. Like they will never, ever – because we live in a world right now where you have to – you have to dig your feet in as hard as you can on your stance or you're a sellout or something like that instead of being a world where maybe you know you can listen and be like oh okay i understand what they're saying let's go ahead and try to fix that as much as possible so we can all

get along and keep it moving 39 minutes minutes. This episode is brought to you by Fracture. Fracture turns your digital images into beautiful glass prints. That's right. They print your photos directly on glass, transforming your memories into handcrafted frameless prints. My fiance just got one of these, a Fracture print of our dog. Let me tell you, the quality is unmatched. I mean, it looks just like him. The artistry, the glass it's on, it looks incredible. Got that thing sitting in my living room and it is a great, great conversation piece. Fracture helps you focus on the moments that matter most by turning your favorite memories into beautiful glass prints. Fracture prints directly on durable glass with soft edges for soft handling. And the prints come in multiple sizes, no frame required.

And each print comes with a 100% happiness guarantee. If for any reason you do not love your print, Fracture will make it right. Glass prints also make unique gifts for your friends and family that they'll never forget. I got a wedding coming up. I can't think of a better gift to give a new couple than one of these fracture prints of them. Maybe on like a beach or like on the Empire State Building, you know, a nice vista behind them. Fracture prints look incredible and you really need to see them to believe it. Upload your photo at fractureme.com slash pat to print your photo on glass today. And we've got a special deal for our listeners. When you visit fracture-me-dot-com FractureMe.com And enter promo code PAT20

You'll get 20% off your order. That's FractureMe.com And enter promo code PAT20 To save 20% off your Fracture glass print. We thank Fracture for sponsoring this podcast. Joining us now is NFL Network Insider, a man who knows everything going

on in the world. You can follow him on Twitter at Rapsheet and NFL Network's Inside Training Camp live coverage airs daily starting at 10am. Ladies and gentlemen, friend of the show, Ian Rapoport. Hey! What's going on? How you doing uh i'm great ian uh great to talk to you thank you so much for joining us here wild time okay wild wild time unprecedented times let's not even talk about

the pandemic let's not even talk about there having to be social distancing within football facility what's going on brother sorry great my son max say hi hi bye what's his name what's his name max max he's got incredible flow there he's got good hair believe me we spent we spent three years in alabama and uh i would always be like how do all those alabama college kids have their hair like that and then i made one well hey the alabama swoosh was a big deal because Hoover High School was on oh yeah two days two days at Hoover High School thing it was it took our it captivated the world that southern draw and the hair flip was a big old deal back in the day uh tell Max we said hello he's a good man obviously and I assume he'll read all those books behind you at some point in his

life to be a very smart man. Let's talk about it. If people are still reading things when he becomes a little older, but yes. True. I mean, I started that trend 33 years ago just not to read anything, and I'm happy old Max is going to jump on board there. Let's talk about the NFL. Wild time to be in the NFL. Obviously, quarantine, and then there's no OTAs, and then there's social distancing,

and there's plexiglass in between lockers, and there's no media, there's Zoom calls. I mean, it's insane. And then now, a lot of NFL teams, four of them thus far, the Colts, Washington, the Jets, and Green Bay, have decided to postpone their practices today to put a spotlight on police brutality and social injustices. What are you hearing about those decisions? What are you hearing about what's going on in those buildings? And what does today look like for those teams? Yeah, I mean, certainly interesting times. The Bears are another team I heard that was going to practice this morning and then are not on the practice field.

And I was told the players were planning to protest, so I would not expect them to practice today as well. Jags moved back their practice, I believe, two hours after having some intense discussions this morning about, you know, racial inequality and police brutality and all sorts of things that are way more important than football. You know, it's interesting. I think what's happening behind the scenes now is instead of practice time, teams are discussing what to actually do. And I know it was interesting to read the quote from Bruce Arian saying, you know, he has always thought since 1968,

the protests don't work. Well, something works, right? Calling attention to it, calling, making action works. And so I think that's what players are hoping to do is instead of just using the time to kind of explore. Yes, like everyone is against. I shouldn't say everyone, unfortunately, but a lot of people are against police brutality and racial injustice. But what are we going to do, actually do? And so you've seen more teams than ever before set up situations where their stadiums are used as voting as voting booths biggest voting booths in america i mean really having change getting on the community and trying to figure out a better way i think that's what's going on inside facilities now players have voices we are way

beyond the point where players should just get on the field and entertain us way beyond that um hopefully so i think it's great what's happening honestly i agree with you the players have a much larger voice now and and there's always going to be people that are like well politics shouldn't be in sports it's like well politics came into sports a long time ago i mean that is just what happened and with the way everything is now in the world everything's politicized so it's getting shoved in there obviously and i think it was a successful protest because we're having this discussion now the world is having this discussion on how we can become a better society together and i think heightened race or race relations are always something that could be good

let's talk about roger goodell real quick roger goodell four years ago when the colin kaepernick uh neil started today by the way it happened today I believe Roger Goodell didn't know what the uh ripple effect of it was going to be didn't take it as serious I don't think the NFL took it as serious it was kind of like something like that here we are now four years later and there was a video made by NFL young stars that asked Roger Goodell to do certain things and then Roger Goodell goes on with Emmanuel Acho and uncomfortable conversations with a black man and talks about how he wishes he would have handled it differently. How much do you see Roger Goodell being involved in what's going on right now in the NFL? I would say more than ever. I mean, I just know,

well, a couple of things. One, like when that call to action came from, you're right, some of the NFL's biggest stars, I mean, from, you know, Saquon was the first one I saw, and Michael Thomas was hugely involved, and so were actually people at our network creating it, as it turned out. And they asked Roger Goodell, stand for Black Lives Matter and stand against police brutality and systemic racism, and he did it. He came out with a pretty heartfelt video later that night and did exactly what they asked for. And I was like, I was wondering which direction

it would go from there. And what you've seen is, and what I know, like there's been, you know, inside the NFL and even at NFL Network as well, there's been a lot of Zoom calls and really in depth, some intense discussions about the state of the world and racial inequality and diversity and all sorts of things. And Roger Goodell has been involved in all of those, like very hands-on. And he does the Emanu Acho show and admits that, you know, kind of what we knew at the time, but I'm still interested to hear an NFL, the NFL's top executive say it, which was that they didn't understand it at the time, didn't take it seriously enough, didn't understand the ramifications.

I think the NFL, using your voice for change is now being embraced in a way that I never could have imagined. My personal views don't really matter. Certainly not like the views of a lot of these players with a huge platform but it warms my heart to see people take this so seriously and say yes these athletes are not just here to entertain us anymore when they have something

to say we should listen and I appreciate the direction that the NFL has taken this. I really do. I did not expect it from Roger Goodell either. I think just like you were surprised, I was very surprised as well because you know, Roger Goodell has to answer to 30 billionaires,

31 owners, no offense to Mr. Davis out there in Vegas, but it is alleged that he does not have a billion dollars. So I was very intrigued to see how that worked. But I think that's good, by the way, because you see Adam Silver and the league get along. Now, granted, we'll find out if that continues

after whatever happens today in the conversation. I think the Adam... It's going to be very interesting. Very interesting. Hey, Ian, very interesting what's going to happen today because Adam Silver, the executives of the NBA and the NBA players, it feels like more than any other league have always been on the same page.

Always. It feels like the executives understand, like, we need the players. And the players are like, hey, this is what we need to make happen. So now today is going to be a tipping point, potentially. But now Roger Goodell potentially being on the same page as the player. I'm excited to see how it all works out. Let's assume that something awesome comes from this. The NBA puts their money where their mouth is, makes them have the NFL, does the same thing.

And let's assume that the NFL season will go on now. Do you mind talking about some of the NFL regulations and guidelines that are happening in these stadiums around the country right now? Yeah, I mean, it's so right. Let's assume that the things are going kind of as they should. I mean, it is I would say this's assume that the things are going kind of as they should. I mean, it is. I would say this is all kind of interrelated, right? So the NFL and the NFLPA, maybe in part because they have a 10-year CBA that they struck earlier this offseason, are literally on the same page like they have never been since I've been covering this.

So instead of fighting each other like like the player association and baseball did, and MLB did, they worked together for some intense, strict guidelines for coronavirus. And I believe there are now, I think this is the latest, three players on the COVID-19 reserve list, literally three of 2,600. That is insane. Everyday testing, they've continued it. We'll see if it continues through the regular season, but as tests get cheaper and more available, certainly I could see everyday testing continuing. The regulations for stadiums are strict. Teams spent a lot of money and a lot of resources to completely redo everything they did inside their stadium to get players to exist there while

social, this socially distancing. It has been such an incredible collective effort. And I'm a big college football fan also. And I wish college football was like this, but they are clearly not the NFL and the NFL PA have worked together to basically put us in a position where the season could literally happen, which I still can't believe.

Yeah, me neither. And it's going to take a lot of people to buy in. I i mean it already has taken enough people to buy in because whenever we saw that seattle seahawks guy undrafted rookie try to sneak a lady in there was always automatically the assumption like yep that's gonna happen that's gonna happen then it was like well and and i would say this the season's gonna start on time and it's gonna be good The only worry I have, like, you know, if the Ravens are 11 and 0, I would trust their players are going to do the right thing, not go out and be, you know, be good. What if a team is two and six and their coach is about to get fired? That is really the, I mean,

I don't know if you've ever been on teams like that, but sometimes when stuff's going downhill, I mean, I don't know if you've ever been on teams like that, but sometimes when stuff's going downhill, it keeps going downhill. So that would be my worry is if players kind of go off the reservation, if their team is bad, how does that affect the other teams and everyone around? That would be my worry. What is the plan? Will they postpone games?

Will they delay games? Because I, as an insider, no big deal. I've been in the insider game a couple times. I've dipped my toes in the insider water. It's not a fun place to be. I don't know how you live in there. I don't know how you live in there. It's very annoying.

You should just text me your scoop instead of pushing yourself. That's what I'll do. I'll do that now because it's a lot of pressure to go ahead and release some information because you're going to have people that hate you immediately. And if you're wrong, oh, my, you're going to get buried by the other insiders. I mean, it's not good. But we had a little piece of information that told us that the hotels that the NFL rent down in Tampa Bay

for the Super Bowl, they extended those rentals or right for first refusal for an extra month after the Super Bowl happens. Is this something you have heard? And why would they do that? Is this normal? What would be the plan? Obviously, in my head, it's like, oh, if they're thinking about delaying or postponing, if that happens in the middle of the season,

do they have a plan for all that? I've not specifically heard that that is a fact that happened, but I was told that it is at least a contingency plan, and the NFL has not really the whole time addressed their contingency plans because they have been, well, business as usual, the draft's going to be on time, and then it was, the season's going to be on time, and it seems like it's going in that direction,

and they believe the Super Bowl is going to be on time too. I believe that as well. Perhaps, if this scoop of yours is true, and not that I doubt it, maybe what they're doing is paving the way. So if something happens, make sure that the hotels can deal with it. Now, I will say this. If the Super Bowl gets delayed, which I don't think is going to happen, but if the Super Bowl gets delayed and all sorts of people are at a place where they can come into town and reporters can come in and everyone can be present for a Super Bowl, that means coronavirus is basically over and that would be great. for a Super Bowl, that means coronavirus is basically over,

and that would be great. So even though I don't think the Super Bowl is going to be postponed, the fact that people could show up in person would also be good. Yeah, that'd be awesome. But I think the – not the Super Bowl being postponed, but like, for instance, the Marlins, when they had 22 players get it or whatever, they had to delay those games. We'll postpone those games. In the NFL, you can't run double headers.

Like, that's not something you can do. And you can't be like, oh, we'll play three quarters instead of four. So do you think there is even a conversation happening? Like, all right, if 20 guys get on a team, which is possible, all you need is one person to mess up from what we know from COVID is next to nothing. But will they delay the games or just kind of go on as is? Like, hey, you've got to find replacement players.

That is something that I assume every team is trying to figure out right now. Yeah. I mean, the NFL does have a sort of council or committee of former GMs and coaches to make decisions. Like what if an entire offensive line gets it? Like what, what do we do? Right. I mean, those are the nightmare situations, but you can't rule out literally anything now. So those are the nightmare situations, which no one thinks will happen, but you have to be prepared for it. The one thing I think that is helpful is because the NFL is testing so much more than baseball and because they wear wristbands that literally buzz when you're within six feet of someone and they're going to test everyone before they get on the plane with hopefully these saliva tests, which results can come in a

couple minutes. Hopefully, huge outbreaks are something that can be prevented. But yes, I mean, theoretically, if you had to postpone or if the season is set up based on where teams have bi-weeks and who has bi-weeks on the same weeks and what if it comes back in october or you know it's set up where it can adapt you hope it doesn't happen but contingency plans are are there shout out to yale by the way for that saliva hope that thing works there's been another one that just got uh just got released last night too it's because actually a couple of them now from where because russia said they got a vaccine hey i don't yeah from where i forget but i don't think lusher okay goodness goodness goodness ian um earlier this week you reported that the dallas cowboys

are most likely out on uh the earl thomas sweepstakes and then mr jerry jones said oh yeah you got punked by jerry that was not the case so do do you call Jerry after that or you call your source or what's the situation there? I believe my information very, very strongly. Very strongly. And nothing against, I mean, nothing against Jerry Jones at all. I didn't say anything about him. Now, he may have said something about me.

I heard that on the radio, but that's okay. I mean, one of the things with, as you know, being an insider, Pat, is when you put something out there, you have to be ready for it to come from all sides. He has been a free agent for four days. The Cowboys have not made an offer yet. Could Jerry Jones theoretically do anything he wants? I guess my understanding, talking to literally everyone in this situation is that they do not plan on making an offer. And there's going to be other teams that are interested, but I was told do not expect the Cowboys to be interested.

So that is where it stands. That is what I was told. Jerry Jones also said later in the interview that Earl Thomas was not coming on right now. Not right now was what he said, which sort of supports what I said. So anyway, that was kind of strange. I didn't need to call anyone else because I believed my info. But my phone did blow up a little bit, I'll tell you that. Well, yeah, anytime you get a shout out from Jerry Jones, he does not get get cramps when ratting checks in his hands the um who you almost gave us your source

there by the way you said from talking to and then i thought we're going to get your exact source and he said everybody that knows the situation basically so that means multiple i would say multiple sources okay so what what are you hearing about earl thomas and if you're talking to earl thomas's team what are his expectations does he Thomas? And if you're talking to Earl Thomas' team, what are his expectations? Does he want to play somewhere? Is he trying to get signed somewhere? Is he trying to find the right scheme? Because Baltimore allegedly wasn't the scheme that he wanted. Does he want a winning culture?

Does he know he's going to take less money? Like, what is the entire mindset of Earl, you think? Yeah, I mean, clearly wants to be on a winning team, wants to be on a great organization. And he's been in two great organizations. I mean, Seattle and Baltimore, you know, top notch. A familiar scheme would help to avoid some of the issues that he dealt with last year. The weird thing is the money is a weird thing, right? Because let's say he just got cut and he was guaranteed $10 million. No one's going to pay him more than $10 million. So that money's

offset. So basically someone would sign him for the minimum, and then Baltimore would pay the rest, the other $9 million, and that would be it. So it would be almost no negotiation. He would just make the minimum and sign somewhere great. We do not know if that money is guaranteed, because Baltimore is contesting. He's filing a grievance. They're fighting so like what actually is the salary and the answer is i have no idea but that actually makes it really complicated but we're not going to find out till probably next offseason so teams are going to have to negotiate with him not knowing whether or not the 10 million is offset or not makes it hard he's going to the patriots how they're going to pay him nothing cam newton approach yeah that's i mean at with the pay i

don't i've not specifically heard the patriots are in the mix um who have you heard with the patriots that could literally be anything who have you heard ian i've heard some teams any big shocking teams like shocking teams that's like like oh wow that would be cause quite a way would anything shock you at this point? The world is on fire. Nothing would shock you. Just one of the teams that you've heard. Maybe two of the teams that you've heard. Did he say Chiefs?

Chiefs would be fun. Chiefs. Is that going to happen? All right, we'll just start doing it. All right, Pittsburgh Steelers. They said they want him. I do not think. See, I'm not going to.

Here's the thing, seriously. If he's making the minimum, which is possible, he could literally sign with anyone. That's what makes it so fun. Now I've got to check my text and make sure he didn't cause me to miss some Earl Thomas scoop after this. Oh, yeah. By the way, last time you were on, you broke some massive news

literally six minutes after leaving our show, which I will pay attention to at Rapsheet on Twitter. The man's always breaking news. NFL Network Insider and Daily Training Camp. NFL Network's Training Camp Daily. Is that the title? Live. Live.

10 a.m. every day. A lot of good clips. I assume it's on in the office now. Oh, yeah. We watch it all day. It's on out there. And you do great work. Ladies and gentlemen, Ian Rapoport.

Yeah, Rapsheet. Rapsheet. Thank you, Ian. Tell Max we said hello Will you please tell Max We said great appearance there His hair did well Will do, take care

All right, see ya So a lot's unfolded The Bears are postponing I assume that a lot of the NFL teams Would take the route of the Colts Washington, Jets, Packers Now the Bears They said another team delayed

I would assume there's gonna be There's gonna be a lot of that's going to happen in the sports world today. There's going to be a reset. Let's have a conversation. How can we change and continue this conversation to make our country a better place? All right, let's go. Everyone knows about the risks of driving drunk. You could get in a crash. People could get hurt or killed.

But let's take a moment to look at some surprising statistics. Almost 29 people in the United States die every day in alcohol-impaired vehicle crashes. That's one person every 50 minutes. Even though drunk driving fatalities have fallen by a third in the last three decades, drunk driving crashes still claim more than 10,000 lives each year. Drunk driving can have a big impact on your wallet too. You could get arrested and incur huge legal expenses. You could possibly even lose your job. So what can you do to prevent drunk driving?

Plan a safe ride home before you start drinking. Designate a sober driver or call a taxi or an Uber. If someone you know has been drinking take their keys and arrange for them to get a sober ride home we all know the consequences of driving drunk but one thing's for sure you're wrong if you think it's no big deal drive sober get pulled over this is paid for by nizza oh my god ladies and gentlemen living legend four-time pro bowler, two-time All-Pro, Heisman winner. His number is retired at Ohio State and at the Tennessee Titans. Ladies and gentlemen, financial advisor, I believe.

I believe he, yeah, he does a lot. And he'll be in front of about 400 books. Never sent me a jersey to wear after I lost my bet with him. Ladies and gentlemen, Eddie George. Lies, lies, lies. I did see that jersey. The jersey's somewhere. It must have lost it.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You got a nice little red tan going there, my man. It's a spray tan, Eddie. This is a spray tan. Is it? Yeah, it's sad. It's a sad situation. You haven't been laid.

First of all, I apologize. Nice. Very nice. Ah, Eddie! I got to tan it. You know what I mean? You tan it, you look better. What do you apologize for?

Well, congratulations, man. I saw that you got married or got engaged. Yeah, I got married forever's a long time. I'm pumped up for it, Eddie. Man, congratulations. Welcome to the club, my man. I really feel bad for your wife, bro. I really do.

Everybody does. We got a bunch of cards that was basically like congratulations to you guys sam you're an angel i don't know how you're gonna pull this off but yeah my lady is a uh she's the absolute best i would assume by the way how long have you been married me 16 years okay here we go yeah i've been man i've been this i'm a veteran, brother. I'm battle tested. When did you guys meet? Where did you guys meet at? Oh, man.

We met in Orlando in 1994. When were you born? 87. I was seven whenever you and your bride met. Yeah, yeah. So we were born in – can you hear me okay? Oh, yeah. You sound good. Okay.

We met in 94, became good friends through that period of time. She had a boyfriend. I was out doing my thing and saw her again in 1995 after when the Heisman reconnected. We got in touch again. Yeah. And then I saw her again at the NBA All-Star Game in New York City in 1997. She was in a fashion show. And long story short,

we never stopped talking after we met at the bar. At the bar, we said, hey, we're meeting each other so often. We feel like we're connected. We feel like we're soulmates. And it's been that way ever since, man. So 23 years, actually, together. 16 married. So it's been that way ever since, man. So 23 years actually together, 16 married.

So it's been great. That's unbelievable. I mean, congratulations. My lady and I are hoping to do the same. We met at a bar one night when I asked her for 100 shots of tequila. So pretty similar situation. Let's talk about some sports here, Eddie. You're a legend in the football world,

both college and in the NFL. Let's talk about, do you want to talk about Ohio State first, or do you want to talk about the NFL first? Listen, brother, wherever your heart wants to lead me, let's do it. Okay, so let's talk about Ohio State then. North Dakota State just announced that they're going to have a one-off game against Central Arkansas

to showcase Trevor, or yeah, Trey Lance, which is quarterback who's an absolute superstar. Everybody knows Justin Fields was going to have a one-off game against Central Arkansas to showcase Trevor, or yeah, Trey Lance, Trey Lance, which is quarterback. Who's an absolute superstar. Everybody knows Justin Fields was going to be a Heisman contender this year. He was a Heisman contender last year. A lot of people who know things about quarterback say that's actually the guy. This is going to be the guy. I think in 10 years that people are going to say was the best quarterback

out of this draft and said, Trevor Lawrence, if you're these guys at Ohio state, like Justin Fields and you see that your schedule has been pushed to spring what is your mindset are you immediately starting to train for the NFL in order yeah you have to right I mean listen I think you're training for the NFL at Ohio State's practices I mean that's that's what he's doing he's preparing for the next level whether this was a pandemic year or without that. He was preparing for that. He has just the coaching and day to help him do that.

Day has an NFL background and all that good stuff. So, yeah, he's definitely prepared for the NFL as we speak. Now, the question is, will he play a college football game? I don't think so. I think it's smart that he just prepare for the draft to think about playing in the spring at this point in time is kind of foolish because you don't want to take on that pounding and then have a small – you don't know what life is going to be like in the springtime around the draft,

around when they're doing all the physicals and the combine stuff. So you've got to get ready for the next level, and I think he's just going to do that. That's my personal opinion. That's what I would do if I was a guy that was projected to go in the top five or top ten or even in the first round, first two rounds. That's what I would – that's what I prepare for. I agree.

And, Eddie, what pick were you? You were obviously early in the draft. Yeah, I was picked 14th. I was projected to go 7th. I went 14th. I was pissed off because I went 14th overall. Well, I was projected to go like 150. I went 222.

And I was upset as well. But I, at 222, even if I was was a senior I'm not sure I'm going through that spring but like granted punter I could probably do a kicker I could probably do it but if I'm playing a position and I know that a they have film on me already and I'm going to get workouts because I think there's going to be a lot more workouts with NFL teams now for colleges because of the situation not being able to see it it'd be hard for me not to be like hey I'm not going to play this spring whenever the draft is right there so I think that is the the smart move and now that we now that we talk about the spring schedule how do you think we'll talk about the spring football season years down the road because you

got the SEC the ACC and the Big 12 they're going to play it seems like they are going to play they are very confident they're going to play now you got the Big 10 and the Pac-, they're going to play. It seems like they are going to play. They are very confident they're going to play. Now you've got the Big 10 and the Pac-12 playing in the spring they've already announced. How do you think we'll talk about this later on down the road? Because how do you know who is the best? There's going to be these conversations or is this just going to be a wash, you think, whenever we talk about this?

It's going to be a wash. I mean, this is the first time I think anyone's ever experienced anything like this, where you have some conferences playing, other conferences not playing, kind of like a split year. It's not going to be a real national champion. I'm curious to find out how the Heisman is going to be handled, some of the awards that are going to be given out. Do you give out two different Heismans?

You know, I mean, like, what does that look like? Personally, you know, I think we need college football. I think just from a morale standpoint, just what we've been through as a country with the pandemic moving forward. But it has to be done in a responsible way. It has safety first. So that's what I think. But overall, you know, when you look at the football season it'll be something to watch on television it'll be entertaining but in terms of it being like with

college game day and the game of the week and you have all the teams on slate you have a full schedule you're not going to get the full um of the full jokes of the college football seasons it's going to be something like we're watching, okay, this is just a glorified preseason game where in the end, it may not mean anything. I'll take anything at this point in time, but I don't think it's going to be the same weight that we

all come to love with college football. How did you feel about some of the Big Ten schools that wanted to play? There was this conversation, and I don't know if we started it. I kind of feel terrible if we did and people had to answer it, but I assume we thought like a lot of other people. When the SEC and the ACC

and the Big 12 were like, hey, we're going to play. In the Big Ten and the Pac-12 were like, well, we're not going to play, but then there was a lot of coaches that came out and athletic directors that even came out and were like, we're going to try to exhaust every opportunity to play this fall. I thought there was a chance like, okay, Ohio State coming down in the SEC for this fall.

We got this going on, this going on. And then that got shot down very quickly by the powers that be because the amount of money that they think they would lost. Did you think about that potentially being an option or did you know that the money would get in the way of all of that? I think the money and the big L word liability comes into play okay you know yeah a lot of universities can get sued if a kid comes down let's say hypothetically with covid they didn't sign off the waiver or um you know i think that comes into play as well and i think in terms of

the whole conference they didn't want to go down that road i think they figured it'd be safer just to cancel the season altogether than to go ahead and move forward i mean hell we're still playing high school football you know we're still being able to move forward so i don't know if it's if it's um a situation where they said hey you know we're really looking out for the kids safety or we're looking out for our pockets in the end so i think it comes down to the money in my opinion and we're obviously only looking at this from a meathead sports side we understand that the health and safety that is from somewhere else we're talking about strictly from a sports standpoint so i have we have to clarify that

every time we talk about this because at some point somebody on the internet goes well who cares who wins the heisman if somebody it's like we get that okay we let's let's go ahead and eliminate the fact that they say, let's talk strictly meathead football stuff here. Okay, let's move to the NFL. You just talked about high school football. High school football is happening. I'm getting highlights sent to me on Twitter from high school football players.

The NFL is happening. They said they had, what, 53,800 tests or something like that? 58,397. 58,39 397 tests and they had zero confirmed positives and then that one day they had 77 false positives out of that thing if you were an nfl player how hard do you think it would be to be able to keep yourself self-quarantined throughout an entire nfl season they're having massive success right now and i'm very pumped up about it and i hope the energy is contagious and it continues but this is going to be tough i think throughout an entire NFL season. They're having massive success right now, and I'm very pumped up about it, and I hope the energy is contagious and it continues.

But this is going to be tough, I think. This is going to be very, very difficult, Eddie. Well, it is going to be difficult, but if they follow the protocols and if you have things set up to where you have loved ones that are tested prior to them seeing you, I think that's a valuable option. But the NFL has done a masterful job of managing this.

The protocols have been in place. Much like the NBA, they've done a great job and it's been very successful what they've done in Orlando, very entertaining to watch. And we're not hearing any cases. But if everyone has the discipline to avoid large crowds, avoid parties, stay safe, and really think about others, not be selfish in this matter, we can have a wonderful season. I think we'll begin to see as we move along, hopefully we can get fans back in the stands in some capacity.

Maybe it's not full, but for some teams like Indianapolis, they're not going to have a packed stadium anyway. So they're used to having it. Following quarantine rules. So some is already built in for some teams. Yeah, yeah, the Tarps, you're saying, down in Tennessee. That's what you're talking about. The Tennessee Titans, when you were there, did you have any contract disputes with them?

I forget if we talked about that. Was there any contract? Yeah, yeah. Toward the end, it got kind of ugly. You know, they wanted me to take a pay cut, willing to take a pay cut. I said, well, you know, how deep of a pay cut? I mean, that just depends.

I mean, so the fact of the matter is it didn't end well. Went to Dallas for one year and played with a star on the helmet and under Bill Parcells. It didn't end very well for me at all. Well, I mean, that's on me for bringing that up. What I'm talking about is next offseason, there's like 11 premier running backs that are hitting the market. Like every running back that you basically can think of right now off the top of your head that's like oh that guy's a great running back

he's going to be a free agent next offseason so it's going to be very much like the quarterback carousel that happened this past offseason there's some big name free agents dalvin cook was in the middle of contract negotiations they said they're going to cut it off he was potentially uh you know there was a chance he wasn't going to work out or anything like that and then aside from the running back situation, you look at what Melvin Ingram's doing, where he's doing like a hold in, where he's going because the CBA says they can't find him if he's at practice, but he's not practicing.

Whenever guys like hold out for their business sense, I think the locker room is like, hey, that guy's got to take care of his business. Like if he's going to get his money, he's going to get his money. This whole hold in thing where they show up, but don't do anything i think that is a very very interesting that's a very interesting interesting dynamic yeah i don't think i think he tries to save face by being there but also saying i need a long-term contract and given where the running back position is and the optics on the position and the market on the position, they don't have any leverage. You know, Derrick Henry got a deal that he felt comfortable signing.

Unless you were at McCaffrey, you know, they figured out a wonderful deal for him to sign to get the maximum dollars. So the market for the running backs aren't necessarily – isn't a robust one, and nor do you really have the leverage because they're looked upon as a diamond – a guy that's diamond dust. Ten free agent running backs will hit the market. And I guarantee you it's going to be an organizational-friendly deal if they go back to the organization.

It's not going to be a win-win with the running back once they get. So we'll have to wait and see. How do you say... I wasn't able to separate it. Whenever I got into the negotiations and some things were said about me, like I was the piece on Pawn Stars

that they walked in with. Like, this is me. This is what we think. We think this. I wasn't able to handle it. I got... Like, when somebody said about me, I'm like, man, you don't even know. Like, who are you to... this is what we think we think this yeah i i wasn't able to handle it i i i got like when somebody said about me i'm like man you don't even know like who are you to die like it's hard to separate that entire listen in business you got to take your emotions out of it talking about

a 27 26 year old kid it's hard for him to take the emotions out of business because guess what money is on the line they're going to try to get you at the cheapest rate possible while you're trying to maximize your dollar value your future value and all of that so you got to allow you know the emotions to come out of it if you can compartmentalize your emotions from your business sense then that's great but some guys are can't do it because you put so much energy and focus in your craft and you believe that, hey, I'm the best. I need to get every dollar guaranteed. Well, it don't work that way. It don't work that way.

So there's a win-win. There's compromise. You got to figure out what that is and what you're comfortable with taking home, you know, in terms of the contract, in terms of the guarantees, the longevity, and how you're viewed. You know what I'm saying? So that's why these kids got to understand this is a business first, bro. It ain't about the rah-rah team, gold coats, or titans. I mean, you can be wearing one uniform one day to the next.

It's about maximizing your platform, your dollar value, and getting in and getting out healthy. So that's what it's all about. Yeah, and winning, by the way, brings all of that, is what is always the message. That's how the coaches kind of balance the business and the personal side. They're like, hey, if you win, there's enough to go around. And then there's guys looking around like, well, isn't that interesting?

Because I feel like we just won, and there ain't nothing coming around this way. It is a very interesting thing, especially with this year, with the amount of guys that are going to have to buy in to do the whole thing. I'll be intrigued to see how this affects business and everything moving forward. Speaking of business, how's your business doing? I'm not rich enough to be able to have you manage my money. Actually, you are, man. Is that Peyton Manning over your shoulder?

A.J. Hawk. That's your guy. A.J. Hawk. Okay, I couldn't tell. Okay. I was going to say you got the spokesperson for Nationwide up there, but anyway. No, just AJ Hawk, spokesperson for Ohio. Nice. This is actually going really well.

The markets are doing great. My clients are happy with where they are. Expanding on the business. My wife actually got into the business as well from the entrepreneurial side, helping individuals get into the insurance business with really no type of experience. So we're building out agencies where she is under that umbrella. And because there's high employment, people are getting furloughed. They're looking for new options. This is an awesome way for them to bring in supplemental income and if they find success they can come

on full full time and okay build out their own agencies become business owners so we're supporting business owners uh at this particular time through our platform well eddie you're a good man great man great running back appreciate it my man if you would have played for the colts i think a lot better potential uh you know outcome for the entire career but you're a titan's legend um and before we let you go uh you are a businessman they say a lot of business gets done on a golf course uh your uh uh your golf game was called into question out there at Lake Tahoe on numerous times. What happened? Was that a bad weekend?

Was that a bad round? Or was that the normal? You know what? It was just an all-around bad experience. I had a wonderful time. Good people. And my first time playing out there, a couple things I've learned. I didn't bring a caddy with me.

I thought I can go play country club golf out there with my buddies. I'm thinking, okay, there'll be some leniency here, right? There'll be a breakfast ball. I hit my first tee shot 50 yards into the woods. They're like, well, you have to go find it and play that. I can't just drop. It was a penalty. Man, that's what I realized.

I'm playing golf. I played golf for the first time in my life and got my ass handed to me. But that's why I have on my attire right now is I'm getting ready for Tahoe to come back and beat Charles Barkley. Yeah! There it is. Well, we hope you do that. ready for Tahoe to come back and beat Charles Barkley. Yeah!

There it is. Well, we hope you do that. We can't thank you enough for joining us. Every conversation, I feel like I learned something. Ladies and gentlemen, absolute football legend and financial guru. Ladies and gentlemen, Eddie George. Thank you. Eddie! Woo!

All right, all right. That's the show. Wild week, obviously, in sports. I think we'll be better on the other side of it all. We'll grow. We'll learn. Hopefully, we'll understand each other all a little bit better. That's what it's all about.

Have a great weekend. We'll talk to you next week. This has been the Pat McAfee Show 2.0. From all of us to all of you, thank you. You're the greatest. Ty Schmidt, please play some independent music. សូវាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប� Thank you. សូវាប់ពីបានប់ពីបានប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់� Thank you.