Podcast Summary: Bulwark Takes — The NFL Pretends It’s Above Politics. It Never Was. (w/ Seth Wickersham)

Date: November 27, 2025
Host: Tim Miller (The Bulwark)
Guest: Seth Wickersham (ESPN, author of American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback)

Episode Overview

This Thanksgiving episode explores the deep and often uneasy connections between football—specifically the NFL—and American politics. Tim Miller and Seth Wickersham blend cultural critique with behind-the-scenes reporting, probing how league owners navigate shifting political winds, the NFL’s unique economic structure, and quarterback culture as a mirror of broader social issues. The episode also touches on racial barriers for Black quarterbacks, transactionalism among NFL team owners, and the strange ecosystem of college coaching recruitment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The NFL’s Place in American Political Culture

• Work on Holidays & NFL Dominance:
  • [01:14] Wickersham: Notes how the NFL now claims holidays like Thanksgiving, expanding aggressively into cultural territory once reserved for other sports. “It’s just kind of how it goes…but it’s been an interesting twist. What used to be reserved for like the NBA…like the NFL is just moving into those territories pretty ambitiously and ruthlessly.”
• Politics & Football Colliding:
  • [02:07] Wickersham: “It’s all mixed…when people tiptoe around politics, that’s exactly what they’re doing, tiptoeing.” Describes how the lines between sports, politics, and culture have become increasingly blurred, particularly in recent years.

The NFL’s Reactionary Nature and Political Calculations

• NFL and Political Shifts:
  • [02:41] Miller: Recalls league’s “end racism” messaging in stadiums post-Black Lives Matter, followed by pivot toward overt celebrations of conservative figures.
  • [03:54] Wickersham: “The NFL…is run incredibly like a socialist organization…some of the most ruthless capitalists…adhere to a very socialistic structure.”
  • The league has never been proactive about societal/political issues—always reactionary, often trying to remain “above the fray” but inevitably pulled into debates by events like Trump’s campaign against NFL kneelers in 2017.

Notable Moment: Owners’ Candid Remarks

• [05:25] Wickersham: Recalls reporting on Texans owner Bob McNair’s infamous quote: “We can’t have the inmates running the prison,” a moment that “transcended the sports world.”

The Owners: Malleability and Transactionalism

• [06:44] Miller: NFL owners are “malleable”—exemplified by owners like Woody Johnson (Jets) and Harris (Commanders) shifting political allegiances for transactional reasons, not ideology.
• [07:24] Wickersham: “That encapsulates NFL owners better than anything: transactional over ideological.”

The NFL’s “Socialism” and Civic Obligations

• [07:28] Miller: Criticizes the NFL’s profit-sharing and monopoly structure, arguing team owners have obligations to their host cities far beyond token charity:

  • "You get all the benefits of [socialism] without any of the responsibilities to the community."

• [08:39] Wickersham: Describes the odd groupthink among owners—decisions are almost always lopsided, not the result of “independent kings,” and their sense of community varies widely.

The Quarterback As a Cultural and Political Figure

Wickersham’s Book: American Kings

• [10:12] Wickersham: The book draws a parallel between former presidents—all knowing something unique about each other—and NFL quarterbacks:
  • “You don’t play quarterback. You are one.”
  • Investigates the quarterbacks’ journey from high school to retirement, the immense social weight the role carries, and the ways it shapes identity.

The Manning Dynasty & the Nature/Nurture Debate

• [11:34] Miller: Observes the Mannings’ oddity: not physical standouts, yet highly successful—a family dynasty in the toughest position in sports.
• [13:02] Wickersham: “It isn’t a coincidence…one family has seemed to do it at a level that few individuals can do…It's almost like [Arch Manning] was bionically built.”
  • Points out the obsessive, generational transfer of “quarterback knowledge,” and how Arch Manning’s recruitment was the most intense in social media history.

The Intangibles & Drafting Quarterbacks

• [14:41] Miller: NFL scouting remains hit-or-miss, even with data overload—“still kind of 50-50” on first-round picks.
• [15:31] Wickersham:
  • “NFL teams know more about the quarterbacks…than the American public knows about presidential candidates, which is insane, but it’s true.”
  • Cites reasons for unpredictability: “grade inflation” in college stats, huge context-dependence (scheme, team quality), and luck.
  • Analogy to baseball’s Coors Field: stats can be deceiving due to unique context.

System Quarterbacks & Cultural Impact

• [19:35] Wickersham: “Every quarterback is a system quarterback. Look at John Elway’s statistics…obviously there’s a system component to it all.”
  • There’s no single “magic bullet” for quarterback success—context and environment matter deeply.

The Decline of Racial Barriers for Black QBs

• [20:26] Miller: Addresses the long-standing, racist narrative that Black athletes “couldn’t” play quarterback—“maybe the last sports role where that was really the case.”
• [21:28] Wickersham: Shares the pivotal story of James “Shaq” Harris from Grambling, the first Black quarterback to start a season opener in professional football. Harris’ perseverance and success created a path for Doug Williams, Warren Moon, and Patrick Mahomes:
  • “[Harris] was one of the most pivotal quarterbacks when it came to…introducing the idea that Black athletes could play quarterback at elite levels.”
• [24:17] Miller: Acknowledges today’s field led by Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson likely “incinerated any concerns at this point.”

College Coaching Carousel & NCAA Dysfunction

• [24:17] Miller: LSU’s coaching search as political/football overlap: Governor meddling, Lane Kiffin rumors, and how college football's lack of uniform rules disrupts teams.
• [25:29] Wickersham: Argues that college sports’ “facades” are collapsing (amateurism, student-athlete ideals), and need for a unified, “professional” system to prevent chaos like mid-season coaching changes:
  • “You can recruit players and actively be taking another job during the season while those guys have real careers…That is really abhorrent.”
• [27:32] Wickersham: Calls current situation “frankly, disgusting”—players, teams suffer while coaches pursue new jobs mid-season.

Notable Quotes

• “You don’t play quarterback. You are one.” — Seth Wickersham, [10:31]
• “The NFL…is run incredibly like a socialist organization where…some of the most ruthless capitalists…adhere to a very socialistic structure.” — Seth Wickersham, [03:54]
• "NFL owners are more transactional than anything else in every way." — Seth Wickersham, [09:50]
• “NFL teams know more about the quarterbacks that they look at drafting than the American public knows about presidential candidates, which is insane, but it’s true.” — Seth Wickersham, [15:31]
• “Every quarterback is a system quarterback…Look at John Elway’s statistics under Dan Reeves and under Wade Phillips and Mike Shanahan.” — Seth Wickersham, [19:35]
• “[James ‘Shaq’ Harris] was one of the most pivotal quarterbacks when it came to…introducing the idea that Black athletes could play quarterback at elite levels.” — Seth Wickersham, [23:49]
• “You get all the benefits of [socialism] without any of the responsibilities to the community.” — Tim Miller, [07:28]

Important Timestamps

• 00:41 — Introductions and Thanksgiving context
• 01:14 — NFL’s cultural takeover of holidays
• 02:07 — Changing norms: football, politics, and culture intertwined
• 03:54 — NFL’s socialist structure and reaction to political controversies
• 05:25 — Owners’ internal debates; “inmates running the prison” comment
• 07:24–09:50 — Owners’ transactional mindset; community obligations
• 10:12 — The quarterback position as cultural icon (setup for book)
• 13:02 — The Manning dynasty and nature/nurture of quarterbacking
• 15:31 — Why quarterbacks are so hard to evaluate and draft
• 19:35 — Role of system/scheme for quarterback success
• 21:28 — Evolution of perceptions about Black quarterbacks; history of Shaq Harris
• 24:17 — Example of college coaching chaos at LSU; NCAA as a failed “amateur” system
• 25:29–27:32 — Coaching carousel as exploitative; call for NCAA reform

Overall Tone

Candid, conversational, and wryly critical—a blend of political insight, sports nerdery, and cultural critique. Both Miller and Wickersham are skeptical of institutional self-mythology (NFL, NCAA, or otherwise), and empathetic to the players and fans buffeted by these systems.

For listeners who missed the episode, this summary captures the core perspectives, memorable anecdotes, and ongoing relevance of football as a mirror for American politics and society.