Caleb Williams - would you rather?

Summary

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered – "Caleb Williams: Would You Rather?"

Podcast: Dan Bernstein Unfiltered
Hosts: Dan Bernstein (A), Matt Abbatacola (B)
Date: January 14, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on a lively, in-depth exercise: "Would you rather?"—specifically, would the hosts swap the Chicago Bears’ young quarterback, Caleb Williams, for any current NFL starting QB if given the chance? Dan and Matt systematically debate the merits of Williams compared to his peers, offering insights into his perceived value after one standout year. The second half of the episode shifts to a thoughtful discussion about the Cubs’ decision to invite Addison Russell, a former player with a history of domestic violence, to their World Series anniversary event, and concludes with a segment on the mounting complexities surrounding financing the Bears’ projected new stadium.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "Would You Rather?" Caleb Williams vs. The NFL (00:28 – 22:20)

Game Setup & Rules (00:28–03:01)

• Dan introduces the rules: ignore contracts, salary cap, or hypothetical situations—simply, would you currently swap Caleb Williams for any other quarterback, given their real age/health/trajectory?
• Matt clarifies he's answering from a head coach’s perspective looking for both immediate and future team success.

Quarterback Comparisons: Rapid Fire (04:03–12:25)

• The hosts go team by team, asking if they'd swap Williams for each:
  • Notable rapid “No” answers: Jacoby Brissett (Cardinals), Kirk Cousins (Falcons), various young/borderline starters.
  • Lamar Jackson (Ravens): Brief hesitation, but ultimately a No (05:22).
  • Josh Allen (Bills): “If this was before the season, I’d make that trade every day of the week” – B (07:28)
  • Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs): The only clear "Yes" swap by Matt (08:43).
  • Jalen Hurts (Eagles): Considers Hurts’ age, but sticks with Williams (11:00).
  • Others—Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Stroud, Justin Herbert, etc.—all declined, sometimes with a laugh or emphasis.

Reflections on the Exercise (12:25–18:00)

• Matt’s conclusion: “The ceiling for Caleb Williams is higher than all those other quarterbacks” – B (14:00).

  • Mahomes is the lone exception due to proven championships and similar skillsets.
  • Expresses that Williams’ running style is more about “escapability than escapism,” suggesting lower injury risk and longer career (15:50).

• Dan notes last season’s perceptions vs. now: One year of performance has completely shifted both fan and management feelings.

Fan Perspectives & Neutral Evaluation (18:00–24:22)

• Matt wonders aloud how many other teams’ fans would make these swaps; predicts most, outside of Chiefs fans, would want Williams for their own franchises, highlighting how rare it is for Bears fans to feel this way about their QB.
• Both hosts emphasize Williams is not just statistically impressive but fun to root for, and has major leadership and resiliency.

Notable Quote:
“The ceiling for Caleb Williams to me is higher than all those other quarterbacks... that ceiling is higher than any of those other quarterbacks in his complete ability as a quarterback.” – B (14:00)

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2. A Moment in Bears History: How Rare is This Confidence? (28:55–31:20)

• Matt contextualizes the unique feeling among Bears fans:
  “This is probably the first offensive player since Walter Payton that you wouldn’t trade for anyone else—at least on offense. We’ve never had a Jay Cutler or Brandon Marshall moment where you wouldn’t take someone better.”

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3. Addison Russell – Cubs, Celebration, and Controversy (34:00–48:52)

Issue Introduction (34:00 onward)

• Dan details the Cubs' decision to invite Addison Russell—a player previously suspended for domestic violence—to their World Series anniversary.
• Lays out the distinction between allowing someone back into society after atoning, versus celebrating them as a hero (39:00).

Nuanced Reactions (41:13–48:52)

• Matt opens up about his own family’s experience with domestic violence and details seeking multiple viewpoints, including from fans and his wife.
• His wife’s perspective: “He’s not the first person to do wrong in sports. She’ll focus on the team, not just him.”
• Both agree that group recognition is more appropriate than solo spotlights.
• Suggest that if Russell has since advocated for domestic violence awareness, a platform could be appropriate.
• Dan cites positive examples, such as Tim Hardaway and Meyers Leonard, who became advocates after misdeeds (46:29).

Notable Quote:
“I think there’s a lot of distance between allowing someone to atone… and being celebrated. I can respect someone’s growth, but that doesn’t mean I want to stand there and applaud.” – A (39:00)

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4. The Bears’ Stadium – The Real Numbers Game (51:08–58:27)

Changing Financial Projections (51:08–58:27)

• Dan updates stadium cost projections: initial reports suggested $2 billion, but real estimates are upwards of $6–7 billion due to inflation, land value, and supply chain realities (54:38).
• Notes key barrier: NFL ownership rules restrict leveraging the franchise for enormous loans, making self-financing a huge challenge.
• Musings on the McCaskey family’s possible solutions (“where’s the money coming from?”), with banter about finding $4 billion hidden in matriarch Virginia McCaskey’s kitchen (57:16).

Notable Quote:
“If you think that initial commitment of $2 billion—that’s not gonna pour the foundation of a building, that would barely buy you a hot dog stand, let alone putting up a state-of-the-art indoor NFL facility.” – A (58:08)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:28–13:00 — “Caleb Williams: Would You Rather?” game, team-by-team QB comparisons
• 14:00–18:00 — Reflection on the Bears’ new feeling at QB and what it says about Williams’ value
• 28:55–31:20 — The rarity for Bears fans of truly believing in an offensive superstar
• 34:00–48:52 — Addison Russell Cubs controversy: atonement vs. celebration, family/fan perspectives, possible ways forward
• 51:08–58:27 — The Bears’ stadium funding dilemma; escalation of projected costs and what it means for team ownership

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Mahomes as the one exception:

  • “Yes, I would take a healthy 30-year-old Patrick Mahomes for the next, you know, five years or whatever.” – B (12:25)

• On Williams’ superpower:

  • “His greatest strength is that ability to play one play at a time… that means so much… when that’s your leader.” – B (20:31)

• On fandom and perspective:

  • “For us as Bears fans to be at that point about a Bears quarterback, it says a lot about us, too, because we’re not neutral… we’re always pining for something we don’t have.” – A (24:22)

• On the Cubs and Russell:

  • “There’s a big distance between making things whole and being allowed back on good standing as a human being, and being celebrated.” – A (39:00)

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Overall Tone & Flow

The discussion is brisk, irreverent, candid, and full of humor, but frequently pivots to earnest, grounded reflections—especially around deeper issues of fandom, forgiveness, and organizational responsibility. Both hosts play off each other's perspectives with warmth, inside jokes (including an Alfred Molina/Indiana Jones riff at 06:18), and deep knowledge of Chicago sports history and dynamics.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

You’ll come away with:

• A real sense of how high the Bears’ brass and fans currently are on Caleb Williams—so much so that he’d virtually only be swapped for Patrick Mahomes.
• A nuanced, adult exploration of how sports teams and their fans deal with the complicated legacy of a disgraced (but talented) championship player.
• An understanding of how massive the Bears’ stadium challenge truly is—and how public communication about it may obscure the real dollars and hurdles ahead.

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

[A]

Dan Bernstein, Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports. Dan Bernstein Unfiltered is brought to you in partnership with my bookie. I thought we'd play a game today. We had so much fun with that game on Saturday night. And we've got another game coming up Sunday evening, but I thought that we'd do one now. You cool with that?

[B]

Yes, sir. What do you got?

[A]

All right, what kind of thing we got? We got Bears, Packers. No, here's. I don't know if it's going to be as. Nothing can be as much fun as Bears, Packers. I don't think it's an all timer, but here's what I thought we would do. And the rules of this game are simple. It goes like this. You have Caleb Williams as your quarterback. We are going to go through the league and you are going to tell me this is very simple and we'll see what we can learn from this. But you are going to tell me up or down, yay or nay, would you swap Caleb Williams for this other quarterback? Now this is not idealized. This is not. Well, I would if this is not. Well, I would if this guy were younger or I would if this guy were healthy or what if we ran this system or that system? No, no, no, no. It is very simple. Has nothing to do with salary cap. It has nothing to do with as of if you could simply transpose them for everything you know about where your team is and what you want to do. It's not one game, it's you get theirs and they get yours and that's, that's it. You just swap them as if they've always been in these, in these places.

[B]

All right? And then everything that's true of these quarterbacks today is true for this game. Like their ages.

[A]

Not. We're not doing this for a game.

[B]

No, no, I know, I know, I know. But like if I'm swapping out a, you know, young 30 year old quarterback for a 24 year old Caleb Williams, that's, it's so their age is everything okay?

[A]

Everything, Everything is as is. You can't change any of the facts on the ground, okay? It's just a question of right now, today. If you had the opportunity that you rub the lamp and the genie in the lamp comes out and says, I'm not really a good genie. I don't have the power. I can't just grant you three wishes. This is a very specific genie in a bottle. I don't know how it got into the bottle. I don't know what the curse was. I don't know how it got found, but that poor genie only has the power to transpose NFL quarterbacks as things stand right now.

[B]

Jesus Christ.

[A]

This genie was bullied by other genies. Going back at genie school. This, this bully was pushed. This, this genie was pushed around.

[B]

All right, Okay, I get it. So just, let me just ask you. So I would be swapping out a 37 year old Matthew Stafford for a 24 year old Caleb Williams.

[A]

Correct? Okay, correct.

[B]

All right.

[A]

That, that's the purpose of this. You're already, you're already annoyed. I'm not quite sure why, but you are. You are.

[B]

I'm not annoyed.

[A]

Yeah, you are. Yes, you are.

[B]

I'm not. No, I'm not annoyed because I'm. I mean, I don't, I don't want to make your game go by too quickly here, but I'm not trading Caleb for anyone.

[A]

Well, but see, now you're. I just want to do this exercise.

[B]

Okay, let's do it. Here we go.

[A]

With the current starting quarterbacks.

[B]

Okay, let's go. I'll tell you yes or no and.

[A]

You can think like a fan or you can think like a G. GM I'm not, I'm not going to over Bernstein this.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

I'm going to try not to over Bernstein this. But because I am Bernstein, it makes it very hard for me to guard against that. So you tell me if you think I am. I'm also. My other commitment on this is I'm not going to be too judgy.

[B]

Okay? Here, here's my perspective is I'm looking at it as a head coach. I'm the head coach of the team and that's my perspective on it. And I'm going to put myself in Ben Johnson's shoes.

[A]

Okay. What about Ryan Poles?

[B]

I'm a first year head coach and I'm looking at the first year of my contract with a multi year deal ahead of me. Looking not only for this year, but looking towards the future.

[A]

All right, Just right now. And you get to flip these two names.

[B]

Here we go.

[A]

All right. We're doing this in alphabetical order. Okay? Yes.

[B]

I'll go first then.

[A]

All right. Jacoby Brissette of the Arizona Cardinals.

[B]

No.

[A]

Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons.

[B]

No.

[A]

Lamar Jackson of the Ravens?

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay, but there was a breath there.

[B]

There was a breath.

[A]

Okay, so that one, that one merited.

[B]

And are we swapping like before this, this divisional playoff game or are we.

[A]

No, just.

[B]

So we're taking this Season out of it.

[A]

It doesn't have to be about this game. It can be. It doesn't have to be.

[B]

Okay, but just.

[A]

Would, Would you rather have X as your quarterback instead of Caleb Williams?

[B]

Okay, slight hesitation on Lamar, but keeping Caleb.

[A]

All right. Okay, but we don't, we don't have to. Let me go through the list and then, then we'll talk it through. Okay? Okay. I just.

[B]

I just don't like where this is going to end. I don't know. I think. I feel like there's a trap.

[A]

I'm not sure. I promise there's a trap door.

[B]

I'm going to fall through it. I just spikes at the bottom.

[A]

No, no, no. Just going to stare up with a dispatch.

[B]

Yeah, there's going to be a big spike through my chest as I stare up and look at you.

[A]

I am not doing this. You throw me the idol, I throw you the Whip. So long, Dr. Jones.

[B]

Yes, exactly. That's exactly what this is.

[A]

By the way, do you know who that actor is who says, so long, Doctor.

[B]

Picture him. I don't know who it is, though.

[A]

That's Alfred Molina.

[B]

Yes, it is. I knew that. That is Alfred Molina 100% that. I totally knew that. Yes. Young, fat, pudgy faced Alfred Molina.

[A]

You throw me the idol, I throw you the whip.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And you're Alfred Molina in this, in this bit. And I'm Indiana Jones about to get trapped by the.

[A]

Okay. Only. Okay, I'll be Alfred Molina in this bit If I can be Alfred Molina in Boogie Nights during this bit.

[B]

No, you have to be Alfred Molina as Octopus man and Spider man, whatever he's called.

[A]

Octopus Man.

[B]

What is he?

[A]

What's the Octopus?

[B]

Octopus Man. I like Octopus man better.

[A]

He's Otto Octavius. Dr. Otto Octavius who becomes Octopusy. Dr. Octopus. No, that's Maude Adams. That's different.

[B]

All right. Okay. Go on with the game. All right, I'm ready now.

[A]

Okay. Audrey. Alfred Molina in my underpants, smoking crack.

[B]

Go.

[A]

Perfect. Crack. Give me crack.

[B]

So it's a regular, regular Wednesday for you. Here we go.

[A]

All right, next up in alphabetical order, Buffalo Josh Allen.

[B]

No, this was before the season. I'd make that trade every day of the week, twice on Sunday.

[A]

All right. Bryce Young.

[B]

No.

[A]

Joe Burrow.

[B]

No.

[A]

Shador Sanders.

[B]

No.

[A]

Dak Prescott.

[B]

No.

[A]

Bo Nick. No. Big Hesi there. Hit him with the hesi. Jared Goff.

[B]

No.

[A]

Jordan love.

[B]

Fuck. No.

[A]

C.J. stroud. No. There is definitely a recency effect there. Riley Leonard. No. Oh, no, no, no. Oh, oh, no.

[B]

If he still had the longer hair. Hair and a nice thick beard, I'd consider it just to look at him on the sidelines.

[A]

All right, so for the purposes of this, let's just say Daniel Jones.

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay. Trevor Lawrence.

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay. Now, this name is. It says for the Chiefs, it says Chris Olaticoon, but I'm going to give you. Instead of Patrick Mahomes. Yes. You're a yes on Mahomes. Okay, so. So right now, you would take Patrick Mahomes as the quarterback of the Bears at this moment going forward. Okay, we'll talk it. We'll talk it through after the Raiders, I'll give you either Kenny Pickett or Geno Smith. No.

[B]

Okay. No. Pete Carroll.

[A]

Matthew Stafford.

[B]

I can't just. Because the age. The age difference. I just can't. I can't do it. Okay.

[A]

You don't have to justify it yet. Miami. I'll give you either Tua or Quinn Ewers.

[B]

No. You can have them both.

[A]

Okay. J.J. mcCarthy.

[B]

No.

[A]

Drake May. No. Drake May is a no. Okay. Tyler Shuck.

[B]

No.

[A]

Jackson Dart.

[B]

No.

[A]

Whoever you want. On the Jets. Brady Cook.

[B]

No.

[A]

Just. Okay. Jalen Hurts.

[B]

No.

[A]

This says Aaron Rodgers, but I don't think that's a possibility. Aaron. I'll say it, though. Aaron Rodgers. Yes. Okay. No, I just. I just want to. I want to hear you say no. I just. It makes me feel good. Okay. Brock Purdy. Oh, man.

[B]

Oh, no. I'm Brock Purdy. Sorry. I was still thinking about Jalen Hurts. I'm a no on Brock Purdy. I'm never going to believe it. He could win the next 10 Super Bowls, and I'm still not going to believe in Brock Purdy, so.

[A]

Okay. All right. Do you want to revisit Jalen Hurts? Do you want to change it? I'll give you a chance to alter.

[B]

He's young. He's only 27. I didn't realize he was that young. Now I'm going to stay with Caleb.

[A]

Okay. Sam Darnold. No. Baker Mayfield.

[B]

No. Although I love Baker.

[A]

Cam Ward.

[B]

No.

[A]

And where the Commanders are listing. Josh Johnson. No.

[B]

J. What's his name?

[A]

I will say Jaden Daniels.

[B]

No. I'll stay with Caleb.

[A]

Okay. Well, that completes the 31 other NFL teams. Now, there may be some that I've potentially misidentified here. I don't know if there's anybody else on the Browns that you like.

[B]

No.

[A]

No. You know, Michael Penix, Jr. Penix. No. Right. Kyler Murray?

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay. I'm just trying to see if there's other names that are kind of stuck around in here. But. Okay, so if, if I have this correctly, we had, we had hesitations on Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, notably Beau Nixon, Drake May, Matthew Stafford and Brock Purdy. And the only.

[B]

Oh, no hesitation on Brock Purdy.

[A]

Brock. Oh, that was right, because you were.

[B]

Saying you're thinking, okay, yeah, immediate no.

[A]

Okay, so the only name that you gave a. Yes. That you would say right now, I would rather have this person be my quarterback than Caleb. You said yes on Patrick Mahomes.

[B]

Yes, I would take a healthy 30 year old Patrick Mahomes for the next, you know, five years or whatever.

[A]

Okay. All right, so when I did this list, I had a, the only one that I was a, an immediate yes.

[B]

Can I guess who it was?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Bo Nix.

[A]

No.

[B]

Drake May.

[A]

No, it was Josh Allen.

[B]

Oh, Josh Allen.

[A]

Okay. Josh Allen was the only name where I said, yeah, I think I would do that. And because Mahomes, with the age and injury concerns, etcetera, I don't know. And the fact that I don't know what kind of, you know, where he would be with Ben Johnson, etc. How that would work. So I started sort of thinking that through as I got more serious about it. And the only other one that was a maybe for me was Drake May. Okay, that was, that was a. Where I stopped and I said that I wish I had more of a sample size to go on, more to think about because I think he does some, some pretty special stuff right now at his age. But so now I'm going to ask you this. What does that tell us about where we are? What does that mean? What do you draw from this exercise?

[B]

Well, I don't know if there's something specific you're looking for.

[A]

I'm not.

[B]

In my head there is. Well, obviously I love Caleb Williams. I know what his deficiencies are, what his weaknesses are, where he needs to grow and improve. Yet despite all of that, the, the ceiling for Caleb Williams to me is, is higher than all of those other quarterbacks. He may not get to that. That ceiling that I think he could get to that maybe is projected for him after seeing this first year with Ben Johnson. But that ceiling is higher than any of those other quarterbacks in his complete ability as a quarterback. The only reason I would take Patrick Mahomes is because, I mean, he's. What he's done over the last, you know, five or six years, whatever it's been, has just been completely remarkable. And he has, and Caleb has some of the same Skill sets and abilities that Patrick has. And he's, he's done it already for an extended number of years in the NFL while winning championships. I think the, the, the issues that they had this year didn't revolve around just Pat Mahomes. That was a team issue, I think, you know, it's not like he's on a decline. He's 30 years old. Josh Allen, I hesitated on. Because I love Josh Allen. He can make a lot of plays, but the way he runs, I don't know. He's. He's a big boy. I get that. He's 29. Like, I think like, how much longer can he keep that up? That's the whole point. You know, Caleb is only 24, is learning how to throw from the pocket and will and will improve his accuracy. And his running doesn't come. It's not necessarily game plan to gain yards. His running comes from escapism. And that to me will allow him a longer shelf life in the NFL.

[A]

It's probably more escapability than it is escapism because it's not like he's. Yeah. It's like he's binge watching shows.

[B]

Right. You know, you know what I want. You know what I meant. So it's all good. But he's not running to get yards. He's running to either escape danger and. Sure. So it tells me that a. I love Caleb. Maybe I'm just a meatball Bears fan because I think you asked other fans.

[A]

Of other teams that, that was one of my next questions. Like how many Chiefs fans right now, if you went to them and said, hey, would. If you could swap out Patrick Mahomes for Caleb Williams right now, would you do it? I bet, I bet the, some of the answers might surprise you.

[B]

Yeah. I wonder if that's the case with what he's put on display, especially in this last game. I mean, most fourth quarter passing yards and touchdowns in playoff history. I mean he had 185 and two touchdowns and, and, but, but there's still a lot of people that, that don't believe in the Bears. I, I think that, I think the, I don't know, I think more Chiefs fans would want to stay with Pat Mahomes given the history and what they've done. But I think there are a lot of other fans out there given the nature of the quarterback right now and the fact that of the 32 starting quarterbacks, I think more than half are.

[A]

Pretty much shit most years. That's true, right? Yeah, you can say that at Any point and be right.

[B]

So there's a lot of teams that would. That would take Caleb Williams over what they have currently. There's a lot, A lot of fan bases would absolutely do that. Despite not maybe wanting to give Caleb and the Bears some props or love right now, saying that they're frauds and their weak schedule and they just barely got, you know, by the Packers. And even despite all that, I still think those fan bases would take Caleb over the quarterback they currently have. I don't know. What, what else is it? What is also, what else does it tell you?

[A]

Well, I think that it tells me that what a difference one season makes.

[B]

And why Josh Allen for you?

[A]

Well, because I think he's. He will age just fine as his. Is he. Is he already 29? Is that right?

[B]

29, yeah.

[A]

Okay, well, I might. I might reconsider. I thought he was. I thought he was a couple years younger than that.

[B]

He's 29 and about to be a father, so that changes everything.

[A]

Oh, no. Oh, my goodness. Yes. But they're. They're a cute couple. I think they'll do well together. And she's so good in Sinners.

[B]

Yeah, she is.

[A]

She's great. So good. I. You know what? I didn't know who it was until the credits.

[B]

Oh, seriously?

[A]

I just swear to God, like, who is this young starlet? Who is this, this?

[B]

Well, it's funny, I. I only know her. Her face now because she's with Josh Allen.

[A]

Well, I should have known because I think she was in one. Was she in like, Pitch Perfect 3? She was in one of the pitch.

[B]

She was.

[A]

Yes, she was correct, which I should have known because I've seen them all. But I've tried to erase both 2 and 3 from my memory because they're just horrendous films. As much as I love the first.

[B]

One, my favorite scene of all that. That's. That series was the Green Bay packers getting kicked out of the. The sing off.

[A]

It was Clay Matthews, wasn't it?

[B]

Yeah, he couldn't come up with a. With the lyrics in the second round, so.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, that's true. But no, I, I've tried to. To unsee some of those movies. If I delete all those files from my brain. But yeah, so I, I think there's, there's. I'm not digging my heels in here. And I'm not saying that, you know, my judgment is correct and your judgment is. But, but it just think about this, having this conversation in this way. Last year at this time, you know, going into training camp this year. And Ben Johnson, you know, we're not trying to put all these plays in. He's got to see the game the way we see it and everything that was said and be comfortable being uncomfortable. What this year has done right now, regardless of what happens Sunday, what this has done for the belief in Williams, outside of all of the petty comparisons that we spend our times making with these stats versus these stats and these statistical comps and these probabilities, now you're kind of like, I'm riding with this guy. I'm riding with this guy.

[B]

Yeah, I mean it's hard not to after the season he put together and not looking at all the statistical numbers. But I mean, six come from behind victories, then you have that one in the playoffs. And so that's what, nine in his career.

[A]

And he's just also fun to root for. That's the other aspect to it, that who do you want? This is a relationship that you have as a fan. And there are some people who are just more fun to root for than other people. We're gonna get to one of those in a little bit on this show.

[B]

And I'll tell you too, and what I've always said to you about what I think is his greatest strength, his superpower, is that ability to play one play at a time. And that, that man, that, that just, that means so much and that that can take a team so far when that's your leader, you know, and I know he was, he was being vocal and he was irritated and frustrated on, on, on Saturday night. And I don't mind a guy being a leader and getting in guys faces when he's pissed off if your receivers aren't running the right routes or and it's in the right timing. I get all that and it shows, you know, how far he's come in his own development as well too. So I'm fine with all that. And we talked about that the other day with Ben Johnson saying, oh, I'll sit down and talk with him, see if there's a better way to handle that. Because Ben wants that stoic kind of Persona where nothing phases us, good or bad. We're steady Eddie like he wants to be. So while I appreciate how Caleb does that, I also appreciate Ben's approach to that too.

[A]

He's still allowed to coach him.

[B]

Yeah, of course. And the fact that he can go one play at a time, I just, that that is, that's so valuable to me that he's not derailed no matter what happens. He threw A shitty interception. A terrible interception. Not phased. He threw an interception because there was a miscommunication on the route that was being run with Luther Burden. Not phased. You know, bad snaps by his, his center, who was. Had a fantastic fucking year. Not phased by it. You know. No. Doesn't do the whole. Palms up, eyes of the sky. Yeah. He can get frustrated. He's human. He should get frustrated. I'd be frustrated, too. We all would be frustrated. But it doesn't derail him from the goal and the purpose of why they're on that field. It doesn't matter. The clock doesn't matter. The score doesn't matter. Down in distance doesn't matter. I mean, that is his greatest ability and superpower. Is that right there?

[A]

Can I bring up one more? Another ability. Durability.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

That he's always there.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We're taking him for granted. And I know people are going to get mad at me if he gets hit by a bus this afternoon, 35.

[B]

Games into his career.

[A]

He's always there. Yeah. Like the value of that. If you talk to somebody on draft day and you talk about just knowing that it's. It's like having a computer program where you can just get.

[B]

It's.

[A]

It, you know, you'd have to delete it to get rid of it. That it's just there.

[B]

Yeah. Because, you know, you could, you know, and I know, obviously, you know, Hindsight's, you know, 2020, but if you sat down with Kevin O' Connell and said, hey, all right, you're going to, you're going to red shirt McCarthy his first year, his second year, he'll be your starter. You're going to get rid of two quality quarterbacks who go on to win more than 10 games for their next.

[A]

Two really successful starters.

[B]

Yeah. When they move on. Or Daniel Jones, maybe 8.

[A]

8.

[B]

When I can't remember how much he played. But. And then J.J. mcCarthy is going to miss, you know, half the season for you with injuries, multiple injuries. He might say, oh, all right, well, let's. Where else are we? Out on the board? You know, he might do that. You never know. And maybe he plays all 17 next year and he's an MVP caliber quarterback. I don't, I don't see it. But who knows what they develop him into? But yeah, that durability is a great key to bring up, too.

[A]

That's the thing about Burrow, where Burrow is also 29. Can't stay healthy.

[B]

Yeah, I, that's. That was the reason why. And I love Joe Burrow and I think he's a hell of a quarterback. But that was the only reason why I, I passed on Joe is just. Yeah.

[A]

That injury, I mean it's. And, and he seems unhappy right now is anything so I don't, I don't know where he's going to end up. So I just thought this would be fun.

[B]

No, it is fun and I would, I would love to do this exercise with someone who legitimately like legitimately and truly is like new. Completely neutral. Like knows the game, knows the NFL.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Knows the quarterbacks, knows the teams, but is 100% neutral. I'm not neutral. I know that. And that probably has impacted, you know, maybe the quarterbacks I looked at.

[A]

But if you went to a die hard Arizona Cardinals fan right now.

[B]

Yeah, they're not, they're not going to keep Kyler Murray over.

[A]

But I'm saying if you. Whatever. But just as an example, if you went to like one of these forgettable afterthought teams and found their, their most informed fan or hell go to their general manager and say if right now you could swap your based on where your team is or like where, where that list would be, it would just be really interesting. But for us as Bears fans to be at that point about a Bears quarterback, it says a lot about us too because we're not neutral. If anything, we're just so predisposed to always be looking elsewhere and always be pining for something that, that we don't have.

[B]

Well, it's, it's, that's really interesting. So if, you know, honestly. Let's see. Let me. I'm just going to pull up, I'm going to pull up the teams here real quick so I have everybody in front of me. All right. So if you were to go to all these fan bases, Patriots fans, they, they would keep Drake May.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

Bills would keep Josh Allen. Dolphins would take Caleb Williams. Jets would take Caleb Williams. Steelers would take Caleb Williams. I think Ravens would, would keep Lamar. What do you think Bengals fans would do?

[A]

I think they keep Burrow.

[B]

Okay. Browns fans would take Caleb Williams. Jaguars would probably keep Trevor Lawrence. Texans would, would keep CJ Stroud. Colts would take Caleb Williams. Titans Cam Ward. I think, I think they would take, I think they would take.

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

There's a lot, there's a lot of ability there.

[A]

And Jackson Dart too. If you start talking about the young guys who haven't shown enough yet to still be all upside. Yeah, you know, you know there's, there's one I didn't mention in here who. That I just realized I skipped over Justin Herbert.

[B]

Oh, Caleb Williams.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, I love Justin, but yeah. Broncos fans would keep Bo Nicks. Chargers would take Caleb Williams. Chiefs would keep Pat Mahomes. Raiders would take Caleb Williams. Eagles would probably keep Jayla Hertz. Cowboys, I think they've seen enough of Dak Proska, the in depth Dak Prescott. I mean, he's a phenomenal quarterback. But. But they haven't won anything with him. They haven't won with him.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Commanders, they'd probably want to keep. What do you think? What do you think?

[A]

Are you sure? Durability, man.

[B]

Yeah, that's true. I think Giants fans would take Caleb Williams. I don't think they would keep Jackson dart. Bears fans would get rid of Caleb Williams if they could. Half of them would.

[A]

Tyson Bagent.

[B]

Packers would keep Jordan Love. Vikings would take Williams. I think Lions fans would keep Jared Goff.

[A]

Okay. Even going forward, like, even understanding where. Where everything is right now, age wise.

[B]

What is. What is Jared. I know he's older. I. I don't know. I don't know. That's a tough one. I think just because they're. The Lions didn't Finish last place 9 and 8 because of Jared Goff.

[A]

I know it'll be 32 next year.

[B]

Yeah, I think they would keep him. Panthers would. What do you think? Bryce Young or Caleb.

[A]

What would they think? They'd probably keep him.

[B]

Buccaneers would keep Mayfield.

[A]

Yeah. He's popular.

[B]

Falcons, which I think Falcons would take Caleb Williams. Saints definitely would. Seahawks. After Sam Darnold gets bounced this weekend, they'd probably take Caleb Williams.

[A]

No, no, no, no.

[B]

He hasn't won shit. He's had two really good regular seasons and he puked in the playoffs last year for the Vikings and he's in dude again this weekend too. Against the Niners.

[A]

You watch.

[B]

Rams would keep Stafford. Niners. I mean.

[A]

Yeah, I don't know. They'd keep him.

[B]

They'd keep Brock Purdy.

[A]

Again.

[B]

I think that guy's. He's not.

[A]

No, I know. I just. See, now you're. Now you're doing it.

[B]

Cardinals fans would. Would take Caleb Williams.

[A]

Yes. Now you're doing it a little differently.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

Yeah. That's all I wanted it to be and draw your own conclusions. I just. I had. I had fun. This started in a. In a group chat over the weekend and I thought it would be just kind of worth. Because I found it interesting to be in this position here in Chicago is just. We don't get to do this so. And who knows what's gonna happen if he wets the bed on Sunday. This all could change. But right now, in this snapshot of a moment in Bears history, if you can't do it now, you can't do it ever. So I thought we would.

[B]

But here's the thing though. It's funny because it's really interesting. This is really, really interesting. My brain is rolling now. If you were to take the best offensive player from the Bears over. I don't. Go back as many years as you want. Go back to Walter Payton. M. You wouldn't, you wouldn't keep that for the best offensive player on other teams. You wouldn't. Like, this is the first year in a lot. Like you go back to Jay Cutler who had a successful statistical seasons for the Bears, got him to the playoffs. Like there are quarterbacks. There are a lot of quarterbacks. You would take over Jay Cutler at that time?

[A]

Probably, yes.

[B]

Yeah. Like this is probably the first offensive player since Walter Payton that you wouldn't.

[A]

Get rid of that. You weren't like that excited?

[B]

Correct.

[A]

So proud and excited. What running back would you.

[B]

Would you be like, oh, there's no.

[A]

Way I would trade this because it's a running back.

[B]

What wide receiver would you ever go. There's no way I would get rid of? Like we've never had like an MVP caliber type wide receiver, you know, Brandon.

[A]

Marshall or Marty Booker when he was.

[B]

They were good.

[A]

They were good. Marcus Robinson had a great year.

[B]

Yeah, they were really good players for the Bears. But you take the best receiver at that time, you trade him in a heartbeat, an absolute heartbeat. And now to even have a hesitation or a pause or to consider or to say, no, I'm keeping my guy. This has to be the first time since Walter Payton.

[A]

Right. And before Peyton it would be Gail Sayers. Right?

[B]

Right. And then before that it'd be Sid Luckman, who, by the way, player.

[A]

Who by the way, not just two way player. A. An email came in from a guy named Joel yesterday who said, guys, I know you're having fun with this Sid Luckman on the interceptions list. But he said, take a look at who is just ahead of Tori Taylor on the all time Bears punting list.

[B]

Is it Sid Luckman?

[A]

It's Sid Luckman. Is it really?

[B]

Is it punter too?

[A]

Yes, he was quarterback, punter, defensive back.

[B]

What was his number? Didn't he have a weird number though too? Was he like. I don't know.

[A]

I don't know. But that was all three phases.

[B]

I'M going to have to get my kids Sid Luckman jerseys.

[A]

Yeah, well, I mean, he was pretty good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, if you're doing all of that. Yeah. I mean, if you're, if you're like, you know, punter, defensive back and great quarterback.

[B]

Okay, 42.

[A]

That was pretty impressive. All right, 42.

[B]

I'm going to. I'm. That's it.

[A]

I'm getting.

[B]

I'm going to make Sid Luckman jerseys for my boys.

[A]

The football playoffs are here, and my bookie is where you turn bets into bankroll. Everybody is enjoying sports wagering in the NFL is where you're going to start here. Because these games are just, they've been endlessly entertaining and you can make them even more entertaining. Not to mention there's a college football game that's left. And we have NBA, we've got college basketball. It's the best time to get in the game because right now my bookie makes it incredibly easy to play. It's one account, one wallet, and whatever you like to bet. You like spreads, you like to do live betting, and then during commercials, you can even hit the casino and play casino games. It's all in one place. You've got the power. Go to MyBookie Ag now use our promo code for Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. It's DBU. And get your first bet cut covered up to 500 bucks. If it doesn't hit, use your bet back bonus token and run it back. Don't just watch these playoffs, make them pay. Bet on anything, anytime, anywhere. Only at my bookie.

[B]

That was fun. That was okay.

[A]

Yeah. I don't know what it accomplished. I just, I just thought it was, it was kind of interesting to, to make some of those decisions. And there's so many ifs. And I would do this if this and if that, and with contracts and ages and if they ever healthier, younger. But I think it just makes it pretty simple. Like right now, would, would you do that?

[B]

Right.

[A]

I still, however, want to be Anthony Molina in Boogie Nights at the moment.

[B]

No, because I got to be Dr. Octopus or whatever. That's your, that's your character right there. Octopus Man. Octopus Man.

[A]

No, he, he was. No, Otto Octavius was a good guy until the, the, the, the things in the tentacles got into his brain.

[B]

Yeah. He became a pretty bad guy then, I think. The good guy.

[A]

Yeah, but he overcame it. He overcame it and then he used his tentacles to destroy the fusion reaction that would have melted everything down. No. He threw it into the Hudson river and I Don't know what happened to it.

[B]

He uses testicles to overcome the giant.

[A]

Different villain. Different villain.

[B]

Testicle man. Yes. He's got a huge sack. He just hates people with it.

[A]

Yes. That was Testy Testerberg who became Dr. Testiculous.

[B]

It was Ira Testerberg.

[A]

Ira Tester became Dr. Testiculous because the thing just grabbed his nutsack wrong. And then he saved New York City or something. When I don't know exactly what happened.

[B]

But I think woman fell off a building and landed on his sack and she was fine. Bounced off.

[A]

Yeah. Boeing. Thank you, Dr. Testiculous. Oh, no. Oh, no. No, thank you. Really, really. No, thank you. The Cubs are inviting Addison Russell to Cubs convention. I'm not sure why they want to do this, but the 2016 alumni are going to attend the convention this weekend and the Cubs said in a statement, every player who made a significant contribution to the 2016 team was invited to participate in the opening ceremony at Cubs convention. The organization commented publicly in 2019 on Addison taking accountability, serving his suspension, and completing his extensive rehabilitation process before coming back to play for the Cubs later that season. So the Cubs are letting their 2019 comments stand. Basically. Their point is, once that occurred, he was welcomed back in good graces. That's what it seems to me, that they allowed him to rejoin the team after the suspension. They didn't offer him a contract in 2020. And if you remember what he did, he tackled and choked his wife, Melissa Reedy, in front of their child. It was a. It was an horrible, ugly time for the Cubs. That was handled with utmost care, I thought, by Theo Epstein, where he set the tone. He said he answered every question. He didn't hide anything. He talked about what the Cubs role was. And I've been thinking a lot about this and I mentioned to you that I was gonna talk about this and you know, we have not discussed this off air other than the fact that I told you that I was gonna going to bring it up. And here's just, here's where I am on it. I believe that there is a wide gap. There's a. There's a. There's a lot of distance between allowing someone to atone, to make good, to make things whole, to understand a misdeed and apologize, mean the apology, learn from it, come back from it and be allowed to be on back on good standing as a human being in the world, the way you're looked at when you go out into public, the way people treat you, etc. I think there's a big distance between that and being celebrated. I think just because somebody has lived up to their end of the bargain and someone has whatever term you want to use, served their. Their sentence or done their penance to whatever and made things whole and made apologies that were real, I think that's good and important. And I don't believe that somebody should necessarily be forever shunned and kept out of polite society. But I do think it would be understandable had the Cubs not wanted to celebrate him and not wanted him to be a piece and a part of what they're doing here. And because of what it does psychologically and how the power that the team has and the power that the brand has when he is brought back and introduced and done in front of a crowd to expect applause and to expect him to be. To be celebrated instead. And the, the social pressure would be against people voicing their displeasure. People certainly allowed to boo and be allowed to say, I'm uncomfortable with this. But the Cubs hold, they're in a very powerful position to try to force an open expression of acceptance and positivity on him that may put people in an uncomfortable position. So I would love to know how they discussed this and why they thought it was this important to celebrate him, because I do think you can do both things. You can absolutely allow. Not just allow, but support, support the victim, which they did. And Theo Epstein did a brilliant job of putting Melissa Reedy and putting Russell's family and putting their needs first. And not just this victim, but all victims. He globalized everything, talking about domestic violence and when it comes to MLB, the 40 game suspension was served and he returned and he did everything pursuant to MLB's investigation and punishment. The Cubs, as a private business and as an organization, they can hold him to whatever standard they want. Hell, they kept. They kept Sammy Sosa at arm's reach for decades until it was in their own best interests to commercialize him and market him and bring him back. So they had to think about this and come up with this decision with a lot of consideration. I'm not sure about it. I can speak personally. It would make me a little uncomfortable to have everybody there standing together and with him a part of it. I can do something less than applaud him. I can respect his growth. If in fact he has atoned and learned and changed. I appreciate that and I respect that. But that doesn't mean necessarily I would want to stand there and pump my fist and applaud him.

[B]

It's really interesting to think about because I really don't Think there, I don't think there's one answer to this. I think there's multiple answers and multiple views on his return to celebrate the. And it's not a celebration of Addison Russell. It's a celebration of the ten year anniversary of the 2016 World Series.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

He was part of that. I get it. They're not, they're not saying come celebrate Addison Russell. It's Cubs convention. They do this every year. It just so happens to be the 10 year anniversary. The first appropriate time to celebrate a championship. He's part of it. I think there's a, there's a multiple, there's multitude of answers to have your multitude of perspectives. I personally feel a little uncomfortable because domestic violence was something that happened, occurred in my, in my mom's life, not with, with my dad, but you know what in other relationships. So I have a, you know, I have that in my brain. I also have the idea of people are afforded the opportunity to, to grow from whatever wrongdoing they did, whether it could be a number of things and change their behavior and change really who they are as a person from that previous period of their life where they performed, behaved badly.

[A]

I'm right here.

[B]

I mean I took.

[A]

But believe me, I understand that and I know that not all misdeeds are equal. Correct. That it isn't. Not everything is weighs the same as far as a transgression goes.

[B]

Right. And I afford the opportunity for someone to grow and change. As you made that, that mention, I think there are going to be people out there that just don't care that that his past and the previous and whatever happened, what he did, that's not going to be front and center on their mind. They're going to be there to celebrate the Cubs and the memory of that 10 year anniversary of the World Series. There will be people there that think he shouldn't be there and they could act however they want as long as it's not in a, in a way that would get them kicked out of the Cubs convention. You don't want to do that, but you want to boo, you want to not clap, you have that right to go ahead and do that. And I would support that behavior as well. If you don't want to think about it, that's your prerogative. If you're some someone that says, hey, he's, you know, he's, he paid the penalty and he's a different person. He's grown, he's changed. He should be celebrated because he was part of that team. I don't know, I asked a couple people and one of the biggest Cub fans that I know, I asked Johnny something, my buddy Big Dan, and he, in his take on it was he was part of the championship team. He should be there if they're going to celebrate the championship team. They're not. They're not celebrating just him. He also said that he believes the lines to see Addison Russell will be empty and people's feelings about him will be displayed that way. You know, where you can go up and sign autographs if he is. If he is given that opportunity for people to go up and meet him and acknowledge him and get autographs. He said his lines will be empty if they allow that for him.

[A]

I didn't think about what other ancillary activities there were going to be or whether or not that's been asked about. Is he a full fledged part of this celebration?

[B]

Yeah. And he thinks if those opportunities come, that the people's feelings about him will be on full display. And I tend to agree with that. I also think the Cubs will be smart enough not to do that. I think they'll have him in a group setting to celebrate the team because they. He was part of the team that won the World Series and that will be it. I think giving him solo opportunities would be. Would be a mistake and a bad look on their part. I asked my wife about it and she said she had a lot of thoughts on it, as, I mean, the Cubs are her favorite team and she loves baseball more than anything. And she said he's not the first person to do wrong in sports and still be celebrated by men.

[A]

Oh. Oh, absolutely.

[B]

Right, right. And, and so, you know, she says that she can appreciate that he was part of the team that won the World Series. Her thought was that she. That we can't have selective outrage for people and then not have the same outrage for other people who've done similar things and so celebrate them. So what she's going to do is she's going to look at it and say she's going to remember Addison Russell as part of the big group, as part of the. The team that brought a World Series championship to her favorite team. That's how she's going to view it. You know, and that's another. Another perspective to have on it as well, too, especially coming from a woman on it. I think he should be there. He was part of the team that won the World Series. And I. And I think it shouldn't go beyond that. He should be up on stage in a group setting and that. That's all. The only, the only way I, Dan and I don't know this about him. If they were to do anything solo about Addison Russell, if they could and do this in a, In a tasteful manner that leads positive discussion and growth, is, is he working as an advocate now towards domestic violence? Is he doing that? Is he a part of something that is. Is moving that conversation in the right direction? If so, then I would afford him that opportunity to speak out about. This is what I did. This is where I was. This is where I'm at now.

[A]

That's a great point. I didn't think that it might be positively. That it isn't just getting back to neutral. There are some people who respond from that and go positively beyond that in the other direction. A good example of that is Tim Hardaway.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Because remember when he was. When he said, I hate gay people.

[B]

Oh, yeah, that's right.

[A]

And the response was swift and appropriate. And not only did he grow to understand that he's become an advocate.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And let me give another example. Just off the back of my head, if I remember correctly, do you remember former Illinois center Myers Leonard?

[B]

I do. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Remember?

[A]

Yeah. He played for the Trailblazers and he got caught in like a twitch chat using an anti Semitic slur. And he genuinely, I think, was also based on everything that I read and that I understood, he handled it really well. And he did look at it as an opportunity for increased and improved awareness and growth. So there are other examples of these that I think should be cited. If indeed Addison Russell is that. Then I'm with you 100%. I don't know enough about it. I just, I do think too, that there's the question of, are you putting fans in an uncomfortable position and how does that make your fans feel? Because they went through it already with that team with Araldis Chapman. In the middle of the season, this all came up and we, and we talked about this like, well, this is what you got to do to win World Series. And we all make compromises. We all have our hypocrisies.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

And we have to learn about and live with our hypocrisies when it comes to these things.

[B]

Now, he, he. He was part of the team. And there, there will be people that will be uncomfortable that he's there and there will be people that think he shouldn't be there. And that's fine. I mean, that's, that's completely fine and understandable. And if people choose not to go because Addison's Russell it's as Addison Russell is going to be there then that, you know, you, you have that choice to do. You know, I just, I hope that people don't make it a disruptive type situation for other fans and for the situation, for the celebration itself. But I would completely understand someone not wanting to go because he's there. And again, I don't know. Again, like you, I don't know. But if it is a situation that can be turned into a positive, I really hope they would pursue that, that avenue and he has that ability to do it because I think that would be the best outcome of all.

[A]

If you need windows, Russ Armstrong is your guy. He will come to your house to give you the estimate. And maybe you are shopping around and you're looking for other prices and other opportunities because you heard about buy one, get one free or buy one, get one 50% off or two for one. However they want to phrase it. Russ will explain what real values are when it comes to windows and he's got a price match guarantee that will absolutely prevent you from, for falling for some of these gimmicks. But the thing about Russ, and he'll explain this too is first of all, his factory is here in Chicago. The other thing is all of his employees, everybody who does the measuring and the installation, they all work for him. There's no third party labor. A lot of windows installation companies will farm that out and they'll use, they'll outsource their labor. So you don't know who's in and around your house. Russ does. And it really gives you peace of mind. It's also the windows are absolutely spectacular. He came over to the house and he's given me all, all sorts of brochures about, you know, this window and this is a this with a this. And I said, russ, I trust you. I just, I. Whatever good windows that keep the cold in when it's hot outside and they keep the hot in when it's cold outside and I can see through them and they can be easily cleaned, et cetera. It's like, gotcha, no worries. And Russ will make you feel just as, as at peace when it comes to doing something. It's as big as putting new windows in your house. So call Russ, talk to him. 847302 9171. If you want to look at his five star reviews, those are available as well at ChicagoNowdownGuys.com Russ's windows have a lifetime guarantee also on parts and labor. So you never have to worry If a window needs replacing, he'll replace it. His factory is right here. It doesn't have to go halfway across the globe to get the windows to you because they're right here in Chicago. 847-302-9171. Chicago window. Guys, I don't know.

[B]

I'm sorry, I don't know what the, what the Cubs have done or have been doing or have thought about doing, but bare minimum, there is an opportunity here to donate to domestic violence support. And if they don't take advantage of this weekend to do that in a significant way, that's a missed opportunity.

[A]

I would have to go back because based on the things that Theo Epstein said when they prepared their response to this in the way that they did, I think they have.

[B]

And I wonder, is that continued, though, is the point?

[A]

Well, I know they went out of their way to provide more support to all of their employees, to do a hard look at what they were doing to prevent such things from happening in the future and to support victims in the future. That's a fair question, but I think it's more than money. I'd like to know how, how strongly the Cubs feel about where they are.

[B]

Yeah, no, you're right. It is more important than just money. But money, money goes a long way.

[A]

No question. No question. Before we finish up, I want a quick follow up to discussion yesterday about the Bears and the stadium. And I had some people say, you know, Bernstein, I don't understand what has changed based on those comments that Cam Buckner made over the weekend because the Bears have said that they would be building the stadium. Well, see, here's what changed that. I noticed just to answer that directly, because I had an email come in and say the Bears said that they were always gonna do this. No, the number that we had initially was 2 billion that the Bears, the Bears said that they had $2 billion earmarked to build the stadium and that they just, they just wanted a little infrastructure here and there. They wanted whatever it was, 850 million for roads. And, and I've been very clear that I do think there's some perfectly reasonable arguments to be made for infrastructure, for being good for the taxpayer. If you're talking about exit ramps and traffic issues and stoplights and all of those things, but not for padding the pockets of a billionaire. So this is, as I have understood it, as I understand it, the reason why this is different. The Raiders stadium, Allegiance Stadium, big indoor building, cost $2 billion. They broke ground a decade ago. I want you to think about this, they broke ground a decade ago.

[B]

That's why I said 2 billion is not enough.

[A]

I'm gonna get to with the numbers that I've actually heard.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And not only do they did when you're talking about building in Las Vegas, there is literally open land as far as the eye can see.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

And you can see when we have stayed at circa downtown. And you can look out in any direction. You know what you have everything. Empty land.

[B]

Yeah. It's a desert.

[A]

That's why they built in the desert. It's why they built.

[B]

There's no food in the desert. Come on, get your kids. We'll get a U Haul, we'll take you to where the food is.

[A]

This is. It's sand.

[B]

You know what it's going to be.

[A]

In another million years? Sand.

[B]

You know what grows in sand?

[A]

Nothing. Nothing grows here. It's a desert. Move to where the food is. Yes.

[B]

Sam Kinison.

[A]

Yeah. So things are a little different when you're talking about the value of land. So what I was told one person who is in the banking business who has been involved in stadium deals before, and this was months ago, put the tab for that building at 6 million billion. Excuse me? $6 billion. 6 million. That'd be sweet.

[B]

Yeah, we could do that. Yeah.

[A]

It'd be Wade Boggs's people. Remember I could come in here and build your wing on the hall of Fame.

[B]

One by one, some two by fours.

[A]

I'll tell you right now, I can. I'll knock out that wall. That's a load bearing wall. I'm gonna keep that there.

[B]

That was.

[A]

That was him planning the new wing for the steering wheel.

[B]

I'll build your whole stadium for $150,000.

[A]

And I'll paint your car for 99.99. So 6 billion was that number. And I've also heard that the estimates from the accountants in the governor's office. Seven billion. So just as we do the math here, this is why when Cam Buckner said the Bears have told us, he said they're newly transparent that they will pay for the whole cost of the stadium. He said the whole, whole cost. Where can they possibly find 3, 4, 5 billion dollars lying around? Because they're not allowed to borrow that much.

[B]

Right.

[A]

The NFL has rules, very strict ones, about the extent to which you can be leveraged using your franchise as collateral. The Bears owners don't own anything else. They're just the Bears owners. The only way they could collateralize a massive multi billion dollar loan would be with the franchise itself.

[B]

Right?

[A]

And you're so limited because the debt load that you can take on collateralized by your franchise is limited by the NFL. For, for obvious reasons, they don't want to eventually be a partner with a bank. Right. You know, they don't, they don't want to be an asset in bankruptcy court somewhere. They don't want the franchise to be up in the air like that. It's, it's very similar to the reasons why Jerry Reinsdorf, in the limited partnership agreements for White Sox ownership, you can be an owner of the White Sox, you cannot borrow against it.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It can be worth millions. Right. As an owner of the whites, you cannot borrow against it.

[B]

The only way that they would be able to accomplish this with the value of the franchise is by giving up more than half of the franchise, selling the team to do.

[A]

Right, Correct. By selling a controlling interest in the team or selling it outright. So this is why I'm trying to figure out what is the questions that all this new information brings up. If they are still committing to paying the whole cost of the building, where's the money coming from? Yeah, that's.

[B]

Good question.

[A]

Where, where is the money coming from if this is the case? Because it's not like they've got a huge real estate holdings elsewhere that they can just say, oh well, you know, we'll, we'll take a mortgage out on this and that'll give us all this cash, you know, home equity loan, and we'll get all this cash. It's just not the way it works. So I'm very interested to see what the plan is, what has changed and why they wouldn't just go to Indiana and take a huge check that's cut by those goobers that want to build a building for them and charge it to the taxpayers.

[B]

I don't. Maybe, maybe, maybe George went somewhere in Virginia's house, opened a cabinet and like $4 billion fell out.

[A]

Something happened.

[B]

Yeah. Who knows?

[A]

Something must have happened for them, to all of us.

[B]

He opened the tea kettle and there was a check in there addressed to him for $5 billion.

[A]

Right, exactly. It's like, wait, wait a second. We haven't had Ovaltine for years. Hold on a minute.

[B]

No, he opens the cabinet, it's like, there's no, there's, there's 125 cans of Ovaltine. It's like, why did mother like Ovaltine so much? And opens one, it's cash.

[A]

Another one, it's cash. This is full of Krugerrands. So, So I don't know. I just. For for the Bears to continue in and right now in 2026, after tariffs and everything else has driven up building costs to this point, after everything that's gone on with what things cost, if you think that that initial commitment of $2 billion, that's not gonna pour the foundation of a building that would barely buy you a hot dog stand, let alone putting up a even close to state of the art indoor NFL facility. So I would just say keep an eye on that because there are a lot of unexplained things, a lot of questions that are raised by the information that we got from Politico yesterday. Why bet the playoffs anywhere else when my bookie gives you everything you need to get paid? The NFL playoffs are live. College football is down to the final two teams, and the final team, I believe will be Indiana. And the super bowl is coming up as well. So we're in the middle of peak betting season. Every time you turn on the tv, there's an NBA game, there's college basketball, there's all kinds of stuff you want. So what do you do? My bookie, it's the same account, the same wallet for sports, casino, for reloads, for live bets. Everything you need is right there in one place. That place is MyBookie AG. So when you go there and you use the promo code DBU, your first bets covered up to 500 bucks, and then if it doesn't hit, you've got the bet back, bonus token, and boom, it's like it never happened. You run it back. So build a bankroll in January, ride it through the super bowl with my bookie. Bet anything, anywhere, anytime, only at my bookie. And that will do it for Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered. On this Wednesday, we are brought to you by the Chicago Window. Guys, our friend Russ Armstrong. Give him a call at 847-3-002, 9171. And in partnership with my bookie, Dan Bernstein, unfiltered. Unfiltered.

[B]

On 31 2, sports.