NFL Cover Zero: What's the Best Fanbase for a New NFL Fan?

Summary

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NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones & Drew Franklin

Episode: What's the Best Fanbase for a New NFL Fan?
Date: July 8, 2026
Podcast: NFL Cover Zero (iHeartPodcasts)

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Episode Overview

In this lighthearted yet insightful episode, Matt Jones, Drew Franklin, and producer Billy take on the unique challenge of ranking every NFL team by how good a choice they'd be for a new, neutral fan—especially one visiting from abroad, like Australia. The hosts conduct a draft-style ranking, examining each team's culture, history, fan environment, city appeal, and future prospects, all with the aim of answering: If you could pick any team to start fresh, who should you choose and why?

Beyond the main segment, the hosts cover recent NFL news, Hall of Fame announcements, and even digress into memorable anecdotes about meeting NFL legends and the social scene around football—always keeping things conversational and comedic.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Kicking Off with International Football & The Fan Dilemma

• The episode opens with reflections on the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team exit and the rise of international fans discovering American football ([03:03]).
• Matt recalls meeting Australians in New York asking, "Who should I root for in the NFL?"—setting up the episode's main draft ([05:37]).
• The group agrees on ground rules: Assume a totally neutral, new-to-America fan; ignore personal loyalties; judge teams by fanbase, environment, tradition, and long-term appeal ([07:11]).

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The NFL "Best Fanbase Draft"

(Time stamps mark the beginning of the main segment - individual picks are rapid fire in sequence)

Draft Order:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (Matt) — Historic, passionate fan base; not a bandwagon pick; city with a welcoming, blue-collar vibe.
   • "It's like buying Nike stock today. It's the worst it’s ever been. Get it now, because you know Nike’s coming back one day." — Matt ([10:50])
2. Buffalo Bills (Drew) — Legendary tailgating, new stadium, competitive but not over-hyped, tight-knit city ([11:07]).
   • "I think they are the most fun, fun fan base in the NFL. They'll put you through tables to christen you." — Drew ([11:07])
3. Green Bay Packers (Billy) — Iconic home-field environment, unique small-town ownership, essential to NFL history ([12:34]).
   • "You can't learn the history of the league without the Green Bay Packers. This is historic Lambeau Field..." — Billy ([12:38])
4. Chicago Bears (Matt) — Tradition-rich, bright future with Caleb Williams; passionate fan base; big market ([14:30]).
5. Kansas City Chiefs (Drew) — Exceptional fan environment, not in a stereotypical big city, still competitive post-Mahomes ([14:41]).
6. Dallas Cowboys (Billy) — Global brand, always discussed in media, games easy to watch worldwide ([18:34]).
   • "The Dallas Cowboys are the NFL. ...All the shows talk about the Cowboys." — Billy ([18:34])
7. Denver Broncos (Matt) — Mile-high mystique, outdoorsy culture, passionate fans, new QB era ([19:42]).
8. Seattle Seahawks (Drew) — Electric stadium, strong recent history, connected to Pacific rim ([20:46]).
9. New England Patriots (Billy) — Winning tradition, "hate-watch" appeal, new QB in Drake Maye ([21:48]).
   • "One strike against them is everyone's going to hate you. Anyone that picks a Boston sports team that’s not from Boston, I think we just naturally hate them." — Drew ([22:21])
10. Las Vegas Raiders (Matt) — Fresh start, iconic identity, Las Vegas appeal, chance to “grow with the team” ([23:18]).

(For the rest of the list—see the extended rankings below)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Team Selection Strategy:
  • "If you were a complete neutral, what would be the best teams to tell your Australian friends ... who they should cheer for?" — Matt ([05:37])
  • "We have to be as objective as possible. This can't be about what you yourself like." — Matt ([07:11])
  • "I just think it's one of the longer traditions in the NFL you could join." — Drew on the Seahawks ([21:32])
• On Fan Culture:
  • "Maybe some people like to be a fan of a team when they're hated. And I think there's no team hated more than the Philadelphia Eagles." — Billy ([25:20])
  • "Australian people like to be drunk, and there's no place to be more drunk than with the Bengals." — Matt ([36:14])
• On Australian Stereotypes:
  • "Australians like to dress up." / "Australian people like bright colors." — Matt, repeatedly, joking about Aussie traits in relation to team mascots and uniforms ([31:06], [32:19], [32:34])

Fun Anecdotes

• "Never meet your heroes" — Billy’s Mike Alstott story:
  The disappointment at a Buccaneers camp where his idol barely acknowledged him ([32:52]).
• On the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Show:
  • "What other cheerleaders have their own show? Only Dallas." — Drew ([19:16])

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The Full Drafted Rankings (Summarized)

| Pick | Team | Rationale (abbreviated) | |--------|----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Tradition, future upside, passionate fans | | 2 | Buffalo Bills | Most fun, tailgating, genuine, hopeful | | 3 | Green Bay Packers | NFL history, small town vibe, Lambeau, unique ownership | | 4 | Chicago Bears | Tradition, new QB (Caleb Williams), big city experience | | 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | High energy, heartland city, not just a Mahomes bandwagon | | 6 | Dallas Cowboys | Always relevant, easy to watch anywhere, massive fandom | | 7 | Denver Broncos | Scenery, welcoming, unique stadium experience | | 8 | Seattle Seahawks | Modern, passionate, Pacific connection, easy for Aussies | | 9 | New England Patriots | Winning, strong franchise, new era with Maye | | 10 | Las Vegas Raiders | Vegas excitement, new era, iconic bad-boy culture | | ... | ... | ... | | 20 | Baltimore Ravens | Long-term competitiveness, crab culture, “The Wire” city | | ... | ... | ... | | 29 | Miami Dolphins | Location, colors/fashion, clubbing culture | | 30 | Atlanta Falcons | City appeal, tradition, nice stadium | | 31 | Indianapolis Colts | History, not exciting but respectable | | 32 | Arizona Cardinals | “No real fan base” (even players say this), lack of identity |

(For a full pick-by-pick transcript with all reasoning, see main segment from [08:23] to [46:39].)

• Notable for the Cardinals:
  • "He said there are no fans in Arizona. ...Every game is more the other team and retirees who just wander in off the street." — Drew ([47:02])
  • “I think the Cardinals do deserve to be last.” — Matt ([47:34])

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NFL News Segment ([48:23]–[65:00])

Pro Football Hall of Fame Game / Class Announcement

• 2026 class: Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Adam Vinatieri ([49:08])
• "That’s a star-studded class." — Matt ([51:05])

Notable Storylines

• Sean Payton considered a wild plan to let Bill Belichick break Don Shula’s win record as Broncos' temporary coach, then didn’t pursue it ([52:23]).
• Brandon Aiyuk drama: Under contract with the 49ers, but openly pining for the Commanders and feuding with Jaden Daniels online ([54:24]).
• Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift wedding: star-studded guest list, including NFL luminaries and even officials like Dean Blandino ([57:46]).
  • "If Drew didn’t invite me to his wedding but invited Dean Blandino, I’d be like, are you kidding me?" — Matt ([60:56])
• Falcons re-sign Kyle Pitts to 3-year/$54M deal ([63:29]).

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On Picking a Team as a Foreigner:

  • "You only have to like Aaron Rodgers for a little bit longer." — Drew (about the Steelers) ([09:45])
  • "Maybe you could hang out with Cam [Giants QB] … maybe you think Jackson Dart is handsome." — Drew ([25:08])

• On Philadelphia:

  • "There’s no team hated more than the Philadelphia Eagles… But if you’re part of the Eagles fandom, I think that could be really cool — it could be you against the world." — Billy ([25:20])

• On Being a New Jags Fan:

  • "You get hot tubs at the stadium." — Billy ([38:43])

• On Team Fandom Longevity:

  • "If they ever win, that will be an amazing celebration." — Matt on Browns fans ([43:55])

• On Cardinals Fans:

  • "He [Trey McBride] said there are no fans in Arizona... even Taylor Lewan, who’s from Arizona, agreed." — Drew ([46:56])

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Extended NFL News – Memorable Nuggets

• Hall of Fame selection quirks:

  • Drew wonders why Roger Craig waited so long for enshrinement ([50:28]).
  • Spitballing about kicker legacies: "Kickers get ignored enough. We can’t just be like, all right, no kickers in the Hall of Fame." — Drew ([49:46])

• Sean Payton’s Belichick Proposal:

  • "Why would Sean Payton want to do that?...That would be the equivalent of me saying, ‘Hey, want to come host NFL Cover Zero and I’ll just be second, until you do 10 episodes?’” —Matt ([53:12])

• Travis & Taylor’s wedding guest list:

  • "If you come to my wedding and Kellen Grady and Zach Blair are there, I'm at their table." — Drew ([60:25])

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Flow & Tone

• The overall conversation is fun, free-flowing, and loaded with banter, inside jokes, and pop culture asides, but always returns to the thread of fan experience and NFL culture.
• The hosts keep things lively with stories, light roasts, and running bits about Australia ("Australian facts according to NFL Cover Zero") and NFL fandom stereotypes.
• News is discussed informally, often leading to tangents but with clear opinions and reactions.
• At the end, the hosts reiterate their rankings and encourage new fans (especially Australians) to use their guidance.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Start Time | |------------------------------------------------------|---------------| | Intro, banter, World Cup talk | [02:00] | | Setting up the NFL Fanbase Draft | [05:37] | | Draft picks and rationales (main segment) | [08:23] | | Picks 1–10 Rapid Fire | [08:35]–[24:21]| | Discussion on choosing “unloved” or “hard-luck” teams| [25:20]+ | | News Segment (Hall of Fame, NFL news, wedding, etc.) | [48:23] | | Hall of Fame Game / Class Discussion | [49:08] | | Hall of Fame kicker debate | [49:46] | | Sean Payton’s Belichick pitch | [52:23] | | Travis/Taylor wedding, guest list, inviting friends | [57:46] | | Kyle Pitts/Falcons contract to end | [63:29] |

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a delightfully irreverent, yet surprisingly thoughtful, breakdown of why each NFL team might (or might not) be the right pick for new fans—complete with personal anecdotes, unique team culture insights, and plenty of laughs. For anyone curious where to hang their NFL hat, or simply wanting to enjoy football talk “for the rest of us,” this is a guide as entertaining as it is informative.

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Top Recommendation: If you’re new to the NFL (especially if you’re an Aussie!), the hosts' consensus is start with the [Pittsburgh Steelers], [Buffalo Bills], or [Green Bay Packers]—for history, culture, and a great fan community.

Bottom Line: Sorry, Arizona Cardinals—maybe your luck (and fans) will turn around by the next decade.

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Transcript

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[Matt Jones]

NFL Cover 0 with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin is a production of the NFL and iHeart podcast. Welcome to episode two of Season two of NFL Cover Zero. We are getting you ready for the new football season, which is now nine weeks away and what better group to do it with than myself and Drew Franklin? And if you missed episode one of the season, you miss pretty much all the news of the off season. So you might want to catch up before you get this. No spoilers. And now we're here for week two, getting closer and closer to our training camp reports Drew I think we're going to do like a mini training camp tour of a few days. Go visit the training Camps, which is good. They need us. And it's good to see you.

[Drew Franklin]

You as well. Looking good with the shield behind you. It's good to get back in our routine of doing this weekly. Had fun with you last week after a few months away. Excited to get up all the way to kickoff when the season begins.

[Matt Jones]

We did, and we're doing this On Tuesday, what, July 7th. So the U.S. men's National Soccer team just went out, which means football is gone, and football is. Is back. The. Did you. You know, the tournament's still going on. Are there. Are there teams you're going to root for now that the United States is. Is out? You know, I mean, as we're taping this, Egypt is beating Argentina. You got Norway, you, England. That was not a good. Not a good.

[Drew Franklin]

Let's try that again.

[Matt Jones]

England.

[Drew Franklin]

There you go.

[Matt Jones]

Is there a team that you're gonna. You're gonna pick up?

[Drew Franklin]

I'm a pretty neutral observer, but I will be locked in. Like, the match that's ongoing right now that we can't watch will be maybe the only one I miss. Like, this past weekend, the round of 16. I didn't miss a second of it. I love it. Absolutely love it. Now, I'd prefer the US still be in it, but from here on out, you know, I guess maybe Norway, if I had to pick one, because the Viking row. But other than that, I just. I just enjoy the whole spectacle.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I'm. I think I'm just going to pick happiness for whoever. I like to see scenes of joy. Like the scenes in Cairo right now seem. Seem wonderful. And, you know, I'm a big pharaoh guy.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

So all of those things, I'm. If Egypt wins this game, of course, as you're listening, Egypt may have already lost, but if they win, you can consider me pro.

[Drew Franklin]

Egypt, I love that. You know, our team lost and they were out. But it's been so fun. Like that Cape verd, you know, punching up and almost pulling off the upset, or Cabo Verde, I want. I want to get it right. I say cape, they go back and forth.

[Matt Jones]

Some people say cape, some people say Cabo Verde means green.

[Drew Franklin]

Got that? But there's just been so much to it. They've all been so close and so fun. It's been hard not to enjoy it.

[Matt Jones]

So, you know, a lot of people from around the world came to America and they got to see our country. You've obviously seen all the videos of them, you know, trying the Waffle House and all that. It feels like Freddy Rose to stardom and then became hated as they found old tweets. Everybody has old tweets. You don't want to get famous in this world if you have old tweets.

[Drew Franklin]

No. And Freddy, of all people, I didn't think to see him disappear. I mean, yeah, I thought he was

[Matt Jones]

a sleeper agent for somebody. It was too good to be true.

[Drew Franklin]

It did get a lot of little over the top. It went from we're driving around the south, going to BUC EE's to, like, airlines flying him wherever he wanted to be. VIP at a concert. Kind of the. The authenticity out of it.

[Matt Jones]

It's like J.J. watts giving me a shoulder massage. And you're like, what? This is not what happens when you come to America. Well, one of the conversations I heard people have is they were trying to learn American sports, right? And I. When I was in New York, I met a couple of guys that were Australian, that were in town for. For the games. And one of them said, I want to pick up American football this year. Who should I root for? And I thought to myself, you know, that's a really interesting question. Who should you root for? What would be the perfect team for someone with no connection to America? If you could just not worry about where you were born, not worry about who your parents taught you to love, if you just could just pick a team to become fans with, what would you do? So I decided this would be a good game for the show. We're going to have a draft, and we're going to draft. If you were a complete neutral, what would be the best teams to tell your Australian friends you meet at the bar, who's a little drunk and has on too tight a soccer jersey, who they should cheer for? Now, the problem we have is, of course, I'm a Bears fan, you're a Titans fan, Billy is a Bucks fan. What do you do about your own team? So my goal is I want all of you to become as objective as possible. This can't be about what you yourself like. We are putting ourselves in the neutral observer. Kind of drew what you said you're doing here for the World cup, where you have no preferences. We have to do that for this.

[Drew Franklin]

I like that. I'm also thinking about getting into soccer more and doing this with the Premier League for myself. So I understand the exercise and us doing it for Australians.

[Matt Jones]

Coming here now, when. When I have thought about becoming a Premier League team, I. I picked Tottenham, but then it felt like everyone was picking Tottenham. And so then I was like, well, I don't want to pick Tottenham anymore. The problem with the Premier League, though, is it's inevitably unequal. So if you. So you either have a choice to root for one of the six teams that can win it, or just be sad.

[Billy]

I.

[Matt Jones]

In the NFL, in theory, all of these teams could end up winning. So you could pick anybody. So let me give you some theoretical standards. You want to think about future success. Obviously, you want to pick a team that has a chance to be good. Fan base. How big is the fan base? Environment of games, potentially ability to watch the games if you're somewhere else. So how popular are the teams? These are all things you can consider. And when you make your draft choice, guys, I want you to say why it is, and we're going to pick the team you would recommend all the way from number one to the least popular team that you would recommend. Does that make sense?

[Drew Franklin]

Makes perfect sense.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, now I'm going to go first, then you, then Billy, and we're going to do it as a draft. So once I pick one, they're off the board.

[Drew Franklin]

So this is our.

[Matt Jones]

This is our collective list.

[Drew Franklin]

I've got my teams and my ink pen right here ready to mark them off.

[Matt Jones]

Okay? So I spent a lot of time with the first pick. I think there's a lot of responsibility because this would be. This is our collective first pick. And I thought to myself, I don't want to pick a team that you're asking for sadness. So I don't want to pick a team that has no positive future early. But for me, a big part of being a fan is fandom, right? Being around fans, people who care, people who are passionate. So I am picking number one. I'm picking the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm going to say the Pittsburgh Steelers, and here's why. In year one, you may struggle, but chances are they're going to get a good quarterback in the draft. Maybe next year. They're Pittsburgh Steelers fans everywhere. It's a secondary city, so you're not kind of being on a bandwagon. And the games, the environment we've been, is great. I think being a Steelers fan, this may be the low point of being a Steelers fan right now.

[Drew Franklin]

You're getting it at the bottom.

[Matt Jones]

You're getting it at the bottom.

[Drew Franklin]

You only have to like Aaron Rodgers for a little bit longer.

[Matt Jones]

You get one year of hate watching him, and then the future is bright. So I'm taking the Steelers. So what do you all think of that selection?

[Drew Franklin]

I like that pick. I like your explanation. It all makes sense. I got them Marked off here. I had a number one and that wasn't it. So.

[Matt Jones]

But let's. Let's do the teams as we go. Yeah. Is there any disadvantage, you think, to the Steelers or do you agree with it that that would be a good team for a stranger?

[Drew Franklin]

I think that'd be a good one. You could join the black and gold. A lot of tradition there. You know, color scheme. Yeah. They get sometimes that's true. Slimming. If you wear it to black, you know, they can have a reputation being kind of rough around Pittsburgh, but we've been a couple times, always been very hospitable with us, so I think they'd welcome you right in, especially from. From Australia. They'd love to have you because people

[Matt Jones]

don't go to Pittsburgh a lot, so I think when foreigners go there, they'll be like, what are you doing here?

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[Matt Jones]

And I think they'd be happy.

[Billy]

A lot of consistency. So you know what you're going to get for the most part with the. The amount of coaches, great history, but

[Matt Jones]

you're getting them at a discount rate.

[Drew Franklin]

A new era, starting with Tomlin out, and you'd be at the ground floor of a new era.

[Matt Jones]

That's right. It's like buying Nike stock today. It's the worst it's ever been. Get it now, because you know Nike's coming back one day. Right. I say that this is not a stock advice.

[Drew Franklin]

It's not financial advice.

[Matt Jones]

This is not a financial advice podcast. All right, Drew, you get the second pick.

[Drew Franklin]

I'm going to go with the fan base I fell in love with last season. I think they are the most fun, fun fan base in the NFL. They're up in Buffalo. You've got a brand new stadium. You've got a team that still has a lot of success ahead of them. Josh Allen, by all accounts, seems to be very likable. So you don't have to have like a Roger situation where you kind of got to hate someone. I mean, several other players on the team, like our guy Ray Davis, they seem like a very likable bunch. New stadium. Yes, they've been very good, but they're not so good. You're just jumping onto a bandwagon.

[Matt Jones]

Still haven't won yet.

[Drew Franklin]

Yep. Contenders. So you still can join them with some hope that you all take the next step while you're part of it. You're. I didn't want to pick, like a major city. Don't want to just go to New York because then you're distracted and then you're like, I forgot NFL's here. There's so much going on. Buffalo, it's football and the people there and you jump right in. What was our guy's name that has the mustard? You can do part of the mustard baths. They'll put you through tables to christen you. I think being a Bills fan would be a great way to get started like that.

[Matt Jones]

I think it's going. That was going to be my third pick if I just picked them directly. So I think that's good. The only negative to me would be it's really cold. And if you're from Australia, you, you, you see snow and you would start to freak out and maybe melt.

[Drew Franklin]

But the wings, you're getting America's best wings.

[Matt Jones]

You are getting good wings. And so I like that. I think Bill's at number two is good.

[Drew Franklin]

And if you want to see another country, Canada's right there. You can check that off your list on a day off. Niagara Falls.

[Matt Jones]

All right. What's number three?

[Billy]

Pinto. Ron was who you were.

[Drew Franklin]

Pinto Ron. That's his name. Sorry, Ron. I know you're listening.

[Billy]

If I were to advise someone who didn't know anything about the NFL, I'd like for them to learn the history of the league. And you can't learn the history of the league without the Green Bay Packers. This is historic Lambeau Field. This is Bart Starr. Okay. These are the names that you need to know if you're an NFL fan. And so I think in like the stadiums in a neighborhood, it's not necessarily just, you know, shops and everything around it. It's got a cool vibe to. Even though I've never been, you guys have. I think Lambeau Field and the Green Bay packers is who I would advise at number three to somebody looking.

[Matt Jones]

It's going to be my second pick. So I think so. So we basically did. We all kind of have the same top three.

[Drew Franklin]

I was kind of debating Bills, packers in my head before I committed to Bills. So I really like that. And Steelers I didn't really consider past two, but I love it. I'm good with it.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I agree with you on all that. I think there's also a vibe that's in Green Bay. You're not going to find anywhere else the sort of small town thing. I mean, I don't like the packers cause there are rivals. But I do think that's. That's an excellent pick. Which gets us to number four. I think a lot of people would have had those three. I'm going to be honest. I'M probably going to get some flack for this, but I think I go with the Bears number four. Not because of the historic fan base, but because you're getting Caleb Williams kind of on the ground floor. I mean, they had the grid year last year. Bears fans really care, have not won in a long time. It is a definite football environment. You're soon going to have a new stadium, for better or worse. And you have a young quarterback that if you start becoming a fan now, you may get to watch him for 15 years. And so I think objectively, it's a jersey you can wear that everybody knows. I think the Bears at number four is. Even though it's my team and I may sound a little biased, I think that I was going to put the packers ahead of them anyway, so I'm going to go with Bears.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, as my wheels were turning for what I could do next, Bears were high on my list. So I don't think you're doing it too high. I was even hesitant to do one of our own teams if it got to me. So I'm glad you did it, and I'm good with it.

[Matt Jones]

All right, what's number five?

[Drew Franklin]

I want to be careful here because we don't like jumping on front runners. But Kansas City really loves their football.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Drew Franklin]

Even before Mahomes, I've been to several Chiefs games. That's top two environments in all of the NFL. Kind of again with the big city thing. We're not throwing you into LA or New York or anything like that. You got the power and Light district in Kansas City. It's a fun time.

[Matt Jones]

But do you worry that you're picking like you're investing in Kodak film right as the cell phone is coming out?

[Drew Franklin]

Think about where the Chiefs are right now. It's kind of like you said, we're in a little bit of a blow,

[Matt Jones]

but Kelsey's got like a year. Don't know about my homes. Probably still has another few years.

[Drew Franklin]

But they're. They're a winning franchise, though. I think even when all those guys are gone, they'll have new life. That is a passionate football city fan base and the organization also. We're going to throw you right in the middle of America.

[Matt Jones]

That's true.

[Drew Franklin]

You want to be in America.

[Matt Jones]

Here's town, the two hiccups. And they love soccer there. So you can. If you're from a soccer country, you have something in common.

[Drew Franklin]

Australia might play a friendly there.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

My other hiccup, though, is you're going to be very confused about the Kansas Missouri situation. But we can help teach you about our states.

[Matt Jones]

That's true. So even though and they're moving back to Kansas.

[Drew Franklin]

Yes, they're going to be really confused or maybe that'll help the confusion.

[Matt Jones]

Kansas City, Missouri in Kansas.

[Drew Franklin]

So even though this feels like picking the Yankees or Manu right now, with how good the Chiefs have been, I really think the fan base sets them sets them high on the list.

[Matt Jones]

That's probably a little higher than I would have had them, but I don't hate it. I probably would have had a more like 10 or 12, but I think your case you make about the franchise Caring is a good.

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[Drew Franklin]

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[Matt Jones]

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[Matt Jones]

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[Billy]

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[Matt Jones]

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[Billy]

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[Matt Jones]

All right, Billy, what's six?

[Billy]

All right, six will be on entertainment value alone. The Dallas Cowboys are the NFL. They care about all their fans. Care a lot because everybody's been watching since the 70s, so they have a great fan base. All the shows talk about the Cowboys. So if you're looking to join the league and learn more about it, they're going to be talking about your team. They have Jerry World.

[Matt Jones]

There's no hope for the future.

[Billy]

Oh, there's hope. And you'll. And you'll know about it because they'll tell you about it on every show that they has done.

[Matt Jones]

That would be a positive for someone living in is that there's no network that when they talk. The NFL is not going to bring up the Cowboys. So you're going to hear about your team a lot.

[Drew Franklin]

You're not going to miss a game. They're going to be on.

[Matt Jones]

They're going to be on national TV quite a bit.

[Drew Franklin]

Maybe you like, like the DCC cheerleader show, which I just finished on Netflix. Whatever, whatever. What other cheerleaders have their own show? Okay, name a, name a team that have. Have a series about their cheerleaders. Only Dallas.

[Matt Jones]

That's an interesting view that the fact that they have their own TV show brings you in. All right, we'll go to number seven then. This is back to my pick. I'm going to take. I'm going to take the Denver Broncos.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

And the reason being Denver is a mile high. You're probably wondering what that, what's it like to be a mile high? You can also be a mile high in Denver if you want. If you want. People are. If you want to do that, you're going to have a young quarterback, Bo Nix, whether you believe in him or not, you've got a long years of Runway of watching him. Another fan base that cares a lot. Great environment, walking to and from the games. And when you go to a game, there's a lot to do in nature around it. As an Australian expert, I think the Denver environment is the most similar to Australia.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

You may ask how. I'm not answering that question, but I just, I think the idea of having the Broncos, that's a fan base that it would be fun to be a part of.

[Drew Franklin]

I like that. I've been to a Denver game also. Another one that loves their. Loves their team.

[Matt Jones]

They do. All right, number eight.

[Drew Franklin]

I'm really sticking with the fan base and caring here for that. I'm going with Seattle.

[Matt Jones]

I know they just won, but that's the ultimate bandwagon.

[Drew Franklin]

I know, because they just did it. But we don't consider them in a dynasty right now like we would the Chiefs or when the Patriots had their dynasty. I know there's a ring on their fingers, so you're picking a front runner. But Seattle, easy to get to from Australia compared to.

[Matt Jones]

Is it?

[Drew Franklin]

I guess so.

[Matt Jones]

It's on that side of the country. Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. Like I said, one of the best stadiums, one of the best fan bases. We just saw it rocking for the World Cup. Wish that had worked out better, but I think you could be. What do they call it? The 12th man. An Australian would fit great with the 12th man. Again, the minus is you're picking a team that has a ring and you're here.

[Matt Jones]

Are you hitting them again at the peak? I mean, how often are you going to have Sam Darnold winning you a title?

[Drew Franklin]

That's the thing. I think that's a franchise. They've won it, like, different points on their timeline. I think they'll get back whatever happens for the next four or five years. Got a young coach and, you know, I just think it's one of the longer traditions in the NFL that you could. You could join.

[Matt Jones]

All right, number nine, what do you got?

[Billy]

Jumping on winning bandwagons. I'm going the New England Patriots here.

[Matt Jones]

That was going to be my next

[Billy]

pick at a young quarterback. And Drake May. Mike Vrabel seems like he's going to be doing this for a long time.

[Matt Jones]

Worry about scandal in your new team. You're going to have to explain to all your Australians what's been going on.

[Billy]

Yeah, I'm going to have to catch up on that. But I think this is a fan base that really cares. The ownership group has shown that they care about football as well. And I think the New England Patriots, if you are looking for a winning team to follow. Nobody has won more in the modern area than the Patriots.

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, one strike against them is everyone's going to hate you. That's not a Patriots fan. Anyone that picks a Boston sports team that's not from Boston, I think we just naturally hate them.

[Matt Jones]

But Australians, I think, you know, Scottish people liked being in Boston. Feels like you are kind of Australia is kind of the Scotland of Australia.

[Drew Franklin]

A lot of history you can learn about.

[Matt Jones]

What does that mean? Australia is the Scotland of Australia. That doesn't even make any sense.

[Drew Franklin]

But if you're coming to America, you need to learn about America. Lots to learn in Boston. I get it. I support it.

[Matt Jones]

All right now, I actually think those top eight, I don't know if I'd have had the Seahawks or top nine, but. But still, I. Generally speaking, it starts to get harder right here. I think a lot of personal preference. Yeah. Because now there, I think are big negatives to everyone, which I didn't realize how many teams don't have a negative. So I'm going to go a little bit off the board here. I'm going to take 10, the Raiders.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

And here's my reason. You go to Las Vegas, you're going to have fun even if your team stinks. Right. Raiders actually have a great tradition. We don't think about it because it was not in Las Vegas. And you get to follow this career of this Francisco Mendoza. You get to really get on the ground floor of a number one pick. Who knows if he ends up good or not. But you're going to. You're immediately going to have a Mendoza jersey. He is going to be your love child. Okay. Forever in your heart, you're going to like this kid and it allows you to grow with him. You couldn't pick a team that's more at the bottom. And then when they win, you will feel like you are a part of it. And then when they start winning, the Raiders fans are all going to come out of their woodwork and you will be part of it.

[Drew Franklin]

Love that. Really. Mostly for being able to just be in Las Vegas.

[Matt Jones]

That's the reason, if you were to

[Drew Franklin]

ask most people coming from Australia to America, like, pick a city. Leave aside sports, just which city would you like to visit? I think Vegas would be high on most list lists.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. What's number 11?

[Drew Franklin]

You're right that it's getting tough. I'm going to stick with tradition here in a young team. I'm going to go with the New York Football Giants.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, okay.

[Drew Franklin]

You get New York City. It's far enough down the list now. And a team that's won several Super Bowls, different eras, should have more life ahead of them. You're automatically better than the other team in your city.

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Drew Franklin]

So you own the stadium.

[Matt Jones]

You're the primary team in the city. Although the Jet, the Jets have fans. But you're right, they're the primary team.

[Drew Franklin]

So I'm going to go with the Giants at 11.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. That's it.

[Drew Franklin]

Maybe you could hang out with Cam Scatter. Boo at one of the millions of things he goes out doing.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, you get to be in New York, and objectively, there are a lot of Giants fans. Like, it's not. It's not like a. It's not like cheering for the Brooklyn Nets. Like, they. Like, they do have a lot of fans.

[Drew Franklin]

Maybe you think Jackson darts handsome.

[Matt Jones]

That's what you.

[Drew Franklin]

I'm not saying that, but some people

[Matt Jones]

think that you're kind of betting on Jackson dart and his good look slash charm, which I know is something that's always mattered to you. All right, what's number 12?

[Billy]

You know, maybe some people like to be a fan of a team when they're hated. And I think there's no team hated more than the Philadelphia Eagles. And on the outside looking in, I get it. Like, I hate the Eagles, too, as a Tampa Bay Bucks fan in their rivalry. But if you're a part of the Eagles fandom, I think that could be really cool. It could be you against the world. And they've had.

[Matt Jones]

But they also hate their own team. Well, I mean, that's part of. Quite a bit.

[Billy]

That's part of it. I mean, there it is, a unique fan base experience unlike any other in the NFL. And I think that would appeal to some foreigners who isn't just all sunshine and rainbows. Maybe they want a little grit in their pigskin.

[Matt Jones]

Why does it sound offensive when you say foreigners?

[Drew Franklin]

I kind of. I kind of cringed a little bit.

[Matt Jones]

Maybe it's just something about the way you say it. Say it again.

[Billy]

Foreigners.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, I think foreigners. Definitely foreigners. I don't know.

[Drew Franklin]

I'm not very welcoming.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, don't say that word again.

[Billy]

I meant no offense.

[Matt Jones]

I know, but. But just. I don't know. I didn't like it. All right, number 13 again. We're starting. This is getting difficult. I'm going to take the 49.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

You have, you know, they. They are able. They got a great coach. They're able to put a lot of different quarterbacks there, have success. Maybe you believe in Brock Purdy if you're in Australia, Shortest flight, nice cities, and, you know, a great history with the 49ers. And people don't always think of that as being the most rabid fan base, but they have a ton of fans, especially people who grew up in the 80s, and they were really good. So I think the 49ers at 13 makes sense.

[Drew Franklin]

I like that a lot. That would have been my pick if it had fallen to me or my next one, which I considered with my last two picks, they're high on my list. I'm glad they're still available. Maybe not a top 20 city to live in, but it's getting better. But you could be a part of the Detroit Lions finally turning around their franchise. Dan Campbell's fun. They're much better than they used to be. One day they're getting over that hump and getting there, and you still have time to get on board before they actually find some success.

[Matt Jones]

I was very close to picking that one my last round, too, so I like that one. You know, it is Detroit to learn

[Drew Franklin]

about our auto industry.

[Matt Jones]

That's right.

[Drew Franklin]

You can hop over to Canada again.

[Matt Jones]

You don't celebrate Thanksgiving, so you can come celebrate it here.

[Drew Franklin]

Exactly.

[Matt Jones]

Because you don't have to worry about missing your family meal because y' all don't care about it anyway.

[Drew Franklin]

On the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader show, they actually have an Australian cheerleader. She came over and it shows her celebrating Thanksgiving, and they have no idea what to do. She takes a pumpkin pie and puts sour cream on it because she thought that was our tradition. So to your point, you don't know what's going on with Thanksgiving.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

You'd rather just have the Lions game

[Matt Jones]

and you won't get the conversation I have every year with my mom when we turn that game on and she goes, why would these people spend their Thanksgiving? And I'm like, we. We have this conversation every single. All right, number 15.

[Billy]

I'm going with the Washington Commanders. If you're coming over to this country and you'd like to learn a little bit about our history, then the District of Columbia is the perfect place. Not only that, they have a history. Doug Williams, some success in the Super Bowls.

[Matt Jones]

So I think a young quarterback and Jaden Daniels.

[Billy]

That's right. Entering a pivotal year. 3.

[Matt Jones]

The hard part about the Commanders is you will think your team's only a few years old because they've changed the name.

[Drew Franklin]

It's true.

[Matt Jones]

And that might throw you off a little bit. They have an owner that. Or had an owner that people didn't like. One.

[Drew Franklin]

Great.

[Matt Jones]

And then the problem is the games are six hours away from Washington, D.C. so that makes it harder. But I do agree with you. I think for Jaden Daniels alone, I would consider joining that. That group. Now. I actually think it starts to get really hard here because you have to weigh the city, the fan base, losing, etc. I'm going to go at 16. I'm going to go with the Saints.

[Drew Franklin]

Yep. I feel like that's the answer here,

[Matt Jones]

because the Saints, their fans have a lot of fun at the games. They are a passionate group. I don't like that they play inside. But you're in New Orleans and you know, Spencer Rattler has been fun in the last couple years. Or no, I'm sorry, Tyler Shuck. I don't know why I said Spencer Rattler.

[Drew Franklin]

He had some moments.

[Matt Jones]

He did, but it was Tyler Schuck is what I'm thinking of. But. But you know, they've won a Super bowl in the near east and they got their uniforms are cool with. And if you have any French influence in your family, it's like a connection to the homeland. I don't know why you would if you're in Australia, but if you are, then that would be good.

[Drew Franklin]

That's some of America's best food down there. The Creole gets fat on gumbo while watching Tyler Shuck.

[Matt Jones]

All right, number 17.

[Drew Franklin]

Looking at the list there for you, there was one answer and that was the Saints. I'm glad you went with it. I feel like we're dropping to another tier now after losing New Orleans. I hate this team for what they did to me in the super bowl. But at some point the Rams are so good and continue to be good and you get to live in la. Got to have the Rams. So I'm going to do them at 17 here.

[Matt Jones]

What worries me about picking the Rams is a couple things. One, I don't know how many fans they have to their quarterbacks not going to go much longer. So you're going to fall in love

[Drew Franklin]

with somebody and he's going to Ty Simpson guy. The future.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. I mean, it didn't seem like McVeigh was a Ty Simpson guy either. And then McVeigh likely only has a year or two. Right. So, I mean, you're going to kind of fall in love with one team and then it's going to be a new one.

[Drew Franklin]

But then you just go to the beach.

[Matt Jones]

But you do have a chance to, in your first year as a fan,

[Drew Franklin]

get a Super bowl and then feel pain the rest of the time.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, but at least you would be able to experience really the high because it would be nothing worse than becoming a fan of a team and then they're just awful.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, I've done that.

[Matt Jones]

So I'll tell you, the Rams I don't think are a bad one. All right, Billy, I'm going to go

[Billy]

with the Minnesota Vikings here.

[Matt Jones]

I think that's good.

[Billy]

That's the next Purple People Eaters. And I Don't know if nine will be the quarterback for much longer, but hopefully they get somebody else and. And can have some success like the. The miracle with Stefan Diggs or Brett Favre's Hail Mary.

[Matt Jones]

Australians like to dress up.

[Drew Franklin]

I don't know if that's true. Your Australia facts could be.

[Matt Jones]

I think from what I've seen, they like to dress up and you can wear the Vikings gear, the. The hit, you know, spikes on your head and stuff. That's really my best case for picking the Vikings.

[Drew Franklin]

I would have had them higher if not for there's just the minute. The location is a big strike against nothing. It's Minnesota. I'm sure you're great, but it compared to others, not the best.

[Matt Jones]

I'm kind of surprised that Billy didn't do the bucks. I'm going to go ahead and pick the bucks here. I mean, I think good weather, you know. Again, Australians like to dress up. You can dress up as a pirate

[Billy]

and go a lot of losing besides those two Super Bowls that we have.

[Matt Jones]

But that's a big. Besides those two, you've won two Super Bowls.

[Billy]

True.

[Matt Jones]

That logo right there where the guy has a knife in his mouth, kind of exciting.

[Billy]

Bucko.

[Drew Franklin]

Bruce.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

You got the creamsicles they bring back occasionally.

[Matt Jones]

Those are really cool colors that like again, Australian people like bright colors.

[Drew Franklin]

When he just a graphic of Matt's Australia facts from this podcast.

[Matt Jones]

So the combination of all of those things and you know, for your first year as a fan, Baker Mayfield would be a fun random dude to kind of have as your. As your quarterback.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. Maybe you can watch some old Mike Allott highlights to. To get ready for it.

[Ad]

Yeah.

[Billy]

Never meet your heroes.

[Matt Jones]

What happened there?

[Billy]

Oh, I went to the Mike Allstott football camp as a kid.

[Matt Jones]

No, you didn't.

[Billy]

It was like a five day thing. So the last day you get to go to Mike's office and meet him and he like.

[Matt Jones]

He has an office?

[Billy]

Yeah, a big old office. And he was on the phone and like just signed my thing and told me to get out of here. Broke my heart.

[Matt Jones]

So the final day of Mike Alstott camp is just walking to Mike Allstot's office?

[Billy]

No, it's a day. And then you get to go see Mike and meet him.

[Matt Jones]

Is that the only time you meet Mike? The whole camp?

[Billy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Matt Jones]

What a horrible camp. Does he not teach people things?

[Billy]

No, he was there. But this was my one on one time. Right. It's like, hey, Mike, what were you hoping for? A hug and like a hug A photo maybe. I don't know.

[Matt Jones]

Wow. I didn't know you had Mike Alstot angst.

[Billy]

I hope this doesn't get to him, though. I, you know.

[Matt Jones]

Well, maybe it'll teach him a thing or two.

[Drew Franklin]

Or maybe we can have like a redemption moment. He hears it.

[Matt Jones]

I want to read and make you feel better.

[Drew Franklin]

You know, people have bad days. Maybe you just caught them at the

[Matt Jones]

worst part of the stop. Come back to Billy. You were rude at your camp. Mike Ostott. I'm looking at you. I need you to fix this. This man has never been the same and he still remembers.

[Drew Franklin]

Help.

[Billy]

I was there five days barely getting too much.

[Matt Jones]

Mike Allstock camp. I think that's a three day camp at most.

[Drew Franklin]

Fullback camp. Did you wear the big pads? Did all the kids wear the big.

[Billy]

No, no. It wasn't pads. It was all no pads.

[Matt Jones]

All right, what's 20, Drew?

[Drew Franklin]

I've weighed a couple options here that I feel like on the same tier, but I'm going to narrow it down to the Baltimore Ravens.

[Matt Jones]

That's good.

[Drew Franklin]

You know, Australia, they have crabs. They can come try our crab that we have in Maryland. We're proud of that. You can watch the wire in learning about your city. Very. You know, one of the more cultural things that Baltimore has as well in media. And then of course, the team's been good, but still hasn't really broken through lately, at least not in the Lamar era. They've got a few rings from the past, but it's another. Another organization I feel like will continue to win on into eternity because they care. So I will go with the Baltimore Ravens.

[Matt Jones]

All right. I like that one. And you get a couple years of Lamar, right? So you get a couple years of watching somebody really fun and again, a history, an organization that seems competent.

[Drew Franklin]

And I'm currently wearing a Derek Henry T shirt. Who knows, he may never retire. At this rate, you could have 20 more years of Derek Henry.

[Matt Jones]

All right, what's 21?

[Billy]

I'm going with a team that has two quarterbacks. You can root for C.J. stroud and Davis Mills. The Houston Texans are my pick at 21. You also get the city of Houston.

[Matt Jones]

I didn't know what to do with the Texans because there are some things like C.J. stroud and having a big city that's easy to get in and out of. But Houston is an awful place to exist. It's very hot and spread out and I kind of think of the Texas as a boring team to be a fan of. But Houston's A huge city, so I'm going to assume there's a ton of

[Billy]

Texan fans consistently in the playoffs. I don't know how often they get ahead of wild card weekend, but they're always there. And so I think. I think they. If you're coming to America and you want to live in Texas, Houston would be your second option.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Okay. Now I'm kind of stuck between two here.

[Drew Franklin]

Feel like we could draw out of a hat at this point.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. I'm going to take the Bengals because Australian people like to be drunk, and there's no place to be more drunk than with the Bengals. It's the wildest fan base for someone that doesn't have success. You're going to have Joe Burrow, so you got a competent quarterback. You're close to Kentucky, which a lot of people say is nice. And you know, they haven't won anything, so you are not bandwagoning. And they do have a passionate fan base. So I'm going to take the Bengals.

[Drew Franklin]

They have international appeal because I have two friends from Scotland. Born, raised in Scotland, and they love the Bengals. They've flown to Lexington twice and I've taken them up to Bengals games. And the reason they've liked them since they were children is simply because of the tiger stripe logo. Like, they knew nothing about them. They just liked how the Bengals logo looked. And they've been like die hard Bengals fans on the other side of the.

[Matt Jones]

What is it they like about it?

[Drew Franklin]

Well, they eventually grew to like everything. I mean, they're like, they can tell you all about the rosters, the years, but the initial thing they liked is they just like the orange, black tiger look.

[Matt Jones]

And you know, when they do the icicle one, that's a good. That's a cool, good look as well. All right, bro 23.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, boy.

[Matt Jones]

You can take your team.

[Drew Franklin]

Here we are getting into territory where I think my team would be a good pick.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Cause I mean, people love Nashville. Cam Ward.

[Drew Franklin]

Let me just scan. Cause I don't want to be that guy. But there's really. I think we're getting close to that point.

[Matt Jones]

I think you can do it.

[Drew Franklin]

It's time.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So you take the Titans.

[Drew Franklin]

Yep. Good reports out of our wide receiver. Draft pick Cam Ward looked great in his rookie year. I don't know what the defense will be, but the offense should have some fun next year. New stadium coming. And if you like country music and bachelorette parties, what better city to live in? So I think I do. Like I. I was going to intentionally Avoid them. But I think at this point, it's. It's time.

[Matt Jones]

I think this is where you go with the Titans. I will take that. Plus, they're going to host the super bowl win next two years, three years away.

[Drew Franklin]

But also they're going to have WrestleMania, a Final Four. It's going to be a very busy.

[Matt Jones]

Is going to be. It's. And you're going to be. People are going to be like, oh, what about Nashville? You're gonna be like. Like, hey, mate, that's my team.

[Drew Franklin]

Exactly.

[Matt Jones]

And that would be. That would be exciting. What's 24?

[Billy]

Staying in the same division, going with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and I'm picking them up over a few other teams because you get hot tubs at the stadium.

[Matt Jones]

That. Right.

[Billy]

There's a reason you get Liam Cohen, who is. I mean, if you like drama, Liam Cohen will give you a little. He will.

[Matt Jones]

He will give you drama.

[Billy]

It's like a soap opera. If you can brave the heat, Jacksonville might be the place for you.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I feel like people are going

[Drew Franklin]

to get to Florida thinking they're just gonna have this beautiful coast.

[Matt Jones]

I think you went. They went a little high on that on this one because there's Trevor Lawrence. You do have Trevor Lawrence, and you have Liam Cohen. I think those are two.

[Drew Franklin]

And then you're likable.

[Matt Jones]

And they're in. Their owner is from England, so you've got that. Which Australian people like people from England.

[Drew Franklin]

Another one for the graphic. Australian facts according to the NFL cover zero.

[Matt Jones]

So. But. But I still would go. That's a little high to me. 25 starts to get real tough here. I still am like, I'm someone who likes character and who likes fan bases that are passionate. I'm gonna go with the Jets. You're in New York. You've never won anything, so you really are catching it. I mean, this is like buying GameStop right before GameStop, right before COVID if I'm not mistaken.

[Drew Franklin]

And across all major sports, they have the longest playoff drought of any team in any sport.

[Matt Jones]

And that's why you can say I'm doing this for my character. Right. And I think that's. That's good. And then, you know, the jets are having to start completely over. So you're. So you're going to be part of whatever it is that's happening. And I know actually a lot of jets fans and they. There's character and miserable. Yes. But you are Australian, and you will add joy to the. To the scene 26.

[Drew Franklin]

Let me scratch that one off real Quick. Mine is now an easy pick. I almost took them earlier. If I had 150,000. The Panthers are on their way up. It's a fun fan base. What was that guy's name? Carolina Mike. He can sing. Sure. Not a lot of history. Charlotte, man. Maybe you get into NASCAR to learn about a little bit about America. Banking. You're going to need a place to put your money, Matt. You know, Australians love banks and money.

[Matt Jones]

They're big on banking.

[Drew Franklin]

So it's time that the Panthers come off the board.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

You play it one o' clock every day when you're.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, you're going to get to know Chris Myers, which is nice. The problem with the Panthers is you're going to wear that uniform in Australia and people are going to think that you made up the team. They're going to go, there is not a team called the Carolina Panthers. And that logo does not look like a real logo.

[Drew Franklin]

But that's your opportunity to educate them. I mean, think how much they love the Jaguars over in London.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. This is like being a fan. Yeah. It would be like if you were in the Premier League and you were a fan of Brighton and Hove. I'll be on. And people go, those are not words. And you could go, actually, no, they're playing in the conference league this year.

[Drew Franklin]

Look at you knowing ball over there.

[Matt Jones]

That's what you get to do with the Carolina Panthers.

[Drew Franklin]

Also, Australia has Panthers.

[Matt Jones]

Do they?

[Ad]

I don't know.

[Drew Franklin]

I just said that. I'm sure they got a couple somewhere.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, in a Zoo. What's 27?

[Billy]

I think that's a really cool opportunity. You could be the first Los Angeles Chargers fan.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, this is a. See, that was going to be my 32nd.

[Billy]

I mean, you have Jim Harbaugh, you got Justin Herbert, Madison, Brer or beer. One of the two.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, but you have, you, you have no people to have camaraderie with.

[Billy]

Well, that's.

[Matt Jones]

You will fly around the world in your Chargers jersey and everyone will look at you and go, why?

[Billy]

Because you are the one.

[Drew Franklin]

You're already gonna be lonely in this new country, looking for friends, and no one's gonna acknowledge you at the bar. You're just gonna be sitting at the table by yourself.

[Matt Jones]

Good seats available for the games, though.

[Billy]

Good place to live, nice weather. You're going to do some more winning than the other teams that we have left on this list.

[Drew Franklin]

Still, a team that wins quite often on the list.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Okay. I mean, I, I, I, I'll let you buy that. What's 28. We have five more. Who we. Lots of teams were ready to be last. 28.

[Drew Franklin]

That's you.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, it's me.

[Drew Franklin]

You looked at me again.

[Matt Jones]

I think. I think I want to have fun. I want to be part of a collective. I want to be part of something that matters. So give me Cleveland at this point.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, I thought they'd be number 32.

[Matt Jones]

No. I'm going to be in the dog

[Billy]

pound, get married in the parking lot.

[Matt Jones]

Australians like group activities and so they'll get to sit there. They can wear the noses and then, you know, you get. Brown is an ugly color. I'm kidding.

[Billy]

I.

[Drew Franklin]

It's not those flattering on you. That's fair.

[Matt Jones]

But I think, you know, if they ever win, that will be an amazing celebration. And I feel like Cleveland and Australia can kind of connect on their feeling overlooked and that's where why I would pick them next.

[Drew Franklin]

It is a conversation starter because when you meet someone and you're wearing your Brandon. What was the name almost said Brandon Weems. That's not it. Brandon Weeden. Brandon, you're wearing your brand Wheaton jersey and it's got all the names on the back. Someone's going to look at you and be like, why did you pick them? Bang, you're in a conversation talking about why you're a Cleveland fan.

[Billy]

There you go.

[Matt Jones]

Now we have all left is Dolphins, Browns. Cole. Excuse me. I just took the Browns, Dolphins, Colts, Cardinals, Falcons. The four least exciting fans to join. Which one is 29?

[Drew Franklin]

I'm conflicted on two of them. I'm going to lean location and go with the Miami Dolphins.

[Matt Jones]

Kind of surprised it draft falls this long. I mean, people would love to go to Miami. The teal is very nice. Clubbing, you know, that's a big culture.

[Drew Franklin]

And up and down south beach just have a time.

[Matt Jones]

It is. However, no one's at the games and it's hot and. But they do have quite a history.

[Drew Franklin]

Australia's hot.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. No, it's true.

[Drew Franklin]

Maybe you're single. Miami is a good place to live if you're single.

[Matt Jones]

I think you could have had them like 18th and people wouldn't be shocked. So this is kind of a little bit of a faller, but I get it. All right, Billy. All that's left is Cardinals, Colts and Falcons. Falcons, who you got?

[Billy]

I don't know. I think I'm going to go Atlanta.

[Matt Jones]

That's probably the right.

[Billy]

That is the best city available left out of this between Indianapolis and Phoenix and Matt Ryan's there, so maybe he can get the right guy in to a tag of I Loa is the quarterback now. He can bring you some winning before he has to leave. So Atlanta is the best option left.

[Matt Jones]

They do have a better fan base than people give them credit for, I think. Again, because they play at 1 o' clock on Fox every week, people just think no one's there. But you know, you have the Dirty bird in your history. One day they'll bring that back and I'm with you. I can't make the Colts last.

[Drew Franklin]

I've wondered when we're going to do the Colts.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I don't feel like they deserve being last. I mean, there's nothing inherently wrong about the Colts. They have quite a history with Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck and you know, they've had some success. So they probably feel disrespected to end up 31st. So I'm going to take them. Which would leave the Arizona Cardinals as the worst team for an Australian to be a fan of. Why do you think that would be the case?

[Drew Franklin]

Well, this is actually topical and you could argue we did this intentionally. Did you see what Trey McBride said this week?

[Matt Jones]

No.

[Drew Franklin]

He plays for the Cardinals and he said on bus him with the boys friend of the program, there are no fans in Arizona. He said that about his own fan base.

[Matt Jones]

He said there are no fans.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. And Taylor, the one who's from Arizona even agree with him. He's like, I'm born and raised Arizona. I wish the Cardinals were bigger. But they're. They're not.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Every game is more the other team and retirees who just wander in off the street and have nowhere to go.

[Drew Franklin]

So this, even though we picked them last, one of their own players recently

[Matt Jones]

said this like if you were to do the Mount Rushmore of Arizona Cardinals, who's even on it?

[Drew Franklin]

Emmett Smith.

[Matt Jones]

I don't think he's on Jake Plummer,

[Billy]

Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald.

[Matt Jones]

Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner on it. I mean, is Jake Plummer on it?

[Billy]

Klais Campbell, Kyler Murray? No.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean it's, it's a tough, it's a tough list. So I think the Cardinals do deserve to be last. So there you go. That's our rankings of Australian people who they should like. Top 10, Steelers, Bills, Packers, Bears, Chiefs, Cowboys, Broncos, Seahawks, Patriots, Raiders, kind of like that top 10. Some people would not understand the Raiders, but I think the rest are good.

[Drew Franklin]

It's. It's important that any just reading this on a piece of paper knows location really went into it that that carried a lot of Weight with the Raiders

[Matt Jones]

in future, by the way. Well, update. Argentina came back and won.

[Drew Franklin]

No. Or Egypt.

[Billy]

Really?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Who's your team now?

[Matt Jones]

Argentina.

[Drew Franklin]

Argentina's had a lot of scares.

[Matt Jones]

They really have. They made. They scored three goals in the last 20 minutes.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, that's crazy. That'll be fun. Highlights to watch.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So we missed that.

[Drew Franklin]

We're talking about the real football.

[Matt Jones]

That's exactly right. All right, before we go, got to make sure we keep you up on the news in case this is the only podcast you listen to about the NFL. At which point, God bless, Billy, give us some news.

[Billy]

Yeah, speaking of the Cardinals, we are less than one month away from the 2026 Pro Football hall of Fame game. Guys, real football is almost here. Well, preseason football.

[Matt Jones]

When is the first game?

[Billy]

It's Thursday, Aug. 6, at Tom Benson hall of Fame Stadium. It's Cardinals, Panthers. Both teams have to have ties to the 2026 hall of Fame class. Both Larry Fitzgerald and Luke Kuechley are being enshrined. Keakley, including Drew Brees, Roger Craig, and Adam Venateri.

[Matt Jones]

So who's the class again?

[Billy]

Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Teakley, Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Adam Venateri.

[Matt Jones]

Is that it feels like a pretty well known class, you know, I mean, those are five.

[Drew Franklin]

Remember at the super bowl, we saw these guys doing like, that game show or whatever with McAfee. They're all lined up there. Yeah. And wearing their gold jackets.

[Matt Jones]

Do you think kickers should be.

[Drew Franklin]

Get in if you're putting one in? He deserves to be in.

[Billy]

Yeah. This was the kicker of all.

[Matt Jones]

But is he the, like. Okay, so the problem with kickers, though, is he's not the best kicker of all time. It's true, he's probably the most clutch, but there are guys who are kicking it farther and better and longer.

[Drew Franklin]

Kickers get ignored enough. We can't just be like, all right, no kickers in the hall of Fame.

[Matt Jones]

If I was like, who's the best kicker? Like Morton Anderson.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Is he in the hall of Fame?

[Billy]

Yeah, I think so.

[Drew Franklin]

He should be. If not, we're going to make sure he gets in.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. I mean, well, the problem is I just don't know what kickers are in the hall of Fame. I'm like, speaking with complete ignorance here. Morning. Anderson in the hall of Fame. Yes.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, then I'm good. But now, like, all these guys kick it a thousand yards. So who? Everyone's going to get it.

[Drew Franklin]

Brandon Aubrey from the Cowboys. If it's just on talent, he would have to Be in eventually.

[Billy]

Not a lot of kickers.

[Matt Jones]

I'm surprised Roger Craig was not in. Roger Craig stopped playing 40 years ago. How's it. How was he not in?

[Drew Franklin]

Maybe we make that our cause this summer.

[Matt Jones]

At least he is in now.

[Billy]

Don't they vote by eras too? Like you can only vote for a certain amount of modern guys and certain amount of older guys that have been waiting. So I think that maybe that's part of it.

[Matt Jones]

Are you, is that true or are you just making that up?

[Billy]

I think it may be like 50% true, but I think it's close enough to worth bringing.

[Matt Jones]

I just, I'm surprised because like Roger Craig is from my youth and he's just now getting in. Drew Brees was a no brainer. Kykley is a no brainer and then Larry Fitzgerald's a no brainer. So I feel like the rest of them all makes sense. So we only have five people in the class, but that's a. That's a star studded glass.

[Drew Franklin]

My takeaway is we are under a month away from watching NFL football. You said August 6th.

[Matt Jones]

Do you like preseason games?

[Drew Franklin]

I do. I mean, obviously doesn't really matter. I don't really gamble on them because who knows what can happen? But anytime you're going to put football on tv, I'm going to watch, especially my own team. I'll even like if I try to watch every minute of the Titans to figure out, you know, new pieces, draft picks, see how they look.

[Matt Jones]

We. Why don't we go to the hall of Fame?

[Drew Franklin]

I was going to say that.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I don't want to just volunteer the group down the street.

[Billy]

It's two days before my wedding.

[Drew Franklin]

We'll have you back in time. It's a Thursday.

[Matt Jones]

Nobody cares about your wedding. I mean, especially you.

[Billy]

So I need to be back.

[Matt Jones]

You probably don't need to go to the hall of Fame game instead of your wedding. That would be.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, we can have you back Friday afternoon.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, that would be a really poor decision from a marriage standpoint. Honey, I'm, I'm not. I'm going to be late for the wedding. Why the hall of Fame game?

[Drew Franklin]

The Panthers play the Cardinals and preseason

[Matt Jones]

Cardinals team 26 and 32 on our Australian team rankings play a meaningless game in Ohio.

[Drew Franklin]

Got to be there.

[Matt Jones]

All right, what's next?

[Billy]

Seth Wickersham of ESPN had a story profiling Sean Payton this past week and the Broncos 2025 playoff run. And there was an interesting note in it. The Denver head coach considered temporarily stepping aside in 2024 to allow Bill Belichick to capture the NFL's all time win record. Quote. When Belichick and the patriots divorced in 2024, Peyton considered presenting Broncos owner Greg Penner a proposal for the ages. Hire Belichick as head coach until he's reached 15 wins, enough to make break Don Shula's career record. He will coach offense and be an assistant head coach. I guess it got a little too complicated and he never made the offer. But that was something Sean Payton wanted to do in 2024.

[Matt Jones]

He never made the offer or he considered it.

[Billy]

He never went to the owner and asked for him to do it.

[Matt Jones]

Why would Sean Payton want to do that?

[Billy]

That's a great question. They both coached under parcels back in the day, so they have a relationship brother.

[Matt Jones]

That's weird. I don't know. That doesn't make any sense. I mean, that would be the equivalent of me saying, hey, friend of mine out on the street, would you like to come host NFL cover zero and I'll be second, you know, until you do 10 episodes and then like, why would you do that?

[Billy]

Because the friend on the street is only three episodes away from breaking the all time record of podcasts.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, they should have.

[Matt Jones]

But unless the friend on the street is broke, he'll be all right. Like, why does Bill Belichick have to pass Don Shul's record? And isn't it a little cheap if

[Drew Franklin]

you Don Shula should fight him for this, even having this thing?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean, if Sean Payton's like, I'll coach it, but Bill's name will be on there.

[Billy]

It's pretty much what he was saying in this article.

[Matt Jones]

Man, Sean Payton loved him some Bill Belichick.

[Drew Franklin]

How funny would it be if Bill took him up on it, then just fired him, canned him right there.

[Matt Jones]

You think Bill will ever coach in the NFL? Probably not, right?

[Drew Franklin]

No. I don't know how much longer he'll have his college legs either.

[Matt Jones]

What's next?

[Billy]

The Brandon Iuk drama has taken an interesting turn in the last week. Many expect the Washington Commanders to be the likely landing spot for the receiver. He was team with Jaden Daniels at Arizona state in 2019. But he is.

[Matt Jones]

I thought he was already on the team.

[Billy]

He just talks like he is. He is actually still under contract with the San Francisco 49ers.

[Matt Jones]

What am I missing? Why does he always act like he's on the Commanders?

[Billy]

Well, because he keeps going on Instagram and making videos about how he's going, wants to join the Commanders, bought tickets,

[Drew Franklin]

come see Me in Washington.

[Billy]

But a video of Jaden Daniels went viral this past week at a World cup game. A fan came up to him and started talking negative, negatively about Ayuk and Jayden. Daniels did not react to the fan talking negatively to Ayuk. Well, Ayuk took offense to that. He went on social media and started lashing out on Daniels, including insulting his mother who acts as Daniel's agent.

[Matt Jones]

He also said something like, it's my team now, Jaden. Yeah, so I admit I haven't followed the details of this. I thought he was already on the commanders. That makes his statements even more nuts.

[Billy]

Just.

[Drew Franklin]

I'm just gonna start saying I work

[Matt Jones]

for somewhere and that I'm gonna trash the quarterback. What's he trying to accomplish here?

[Billy]

Well, he. He is not asking to be reinstated to the 49ers. He is on the left team list. So he does not get any guaranteed money and he is.

[Matt Jones]

So is he going to play in the league again?

[Drew Franklin]

I don't think so. In his brain. I think he's playing for Washington right now.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I don't know what you do. I think he needs to get. He and Jalen Brown.

[Billy]

Daniels.

[Matt Jones]

No Jalen Brown in the NBA. They both need to make a. They're on different ends of the spectrum, but they both need to make a pact to not go online for a few weeks. You know, I just take, take the month of July off.

[Drew Franklin]

It can be very healthy to put your phone down for a while, recommend it for both, buckle up, put your

[Matt Jones]

phone down and maybe reset.

[Drew Franklin]

Although Jaylen Brown gets to do a victory lap right now. You can enjoy his.

[Matt Jones]

I like how people and Jalen Brown may be the smartest person in the world, but I like how people be like, you know, he went to Cal, I mean for like six months

[Drew Franklin]

for basketball.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. And then they're like, he got a P. He got a special degree from mit. Is that true?

[Drew Franklin]

Do they give those out?

[Matt Jones]

In what?

[Drew Franklin]

Basketball?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean mit, the last I checked was not a part time opportunity that you could do while you were playing in the NBA.

[Drew Franklin]

You don't think he was studying on the Celtics flight back home from Golden State?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. It reminded me of. There's Horton Business school is like the best business school in the country. And I looked one time a couple years ago and was like, maybe I should get an MBA just on the side. And I was looking at it and I was like, oh, that's pretty expensive. And then it was like, oh, it takes two and a half years. And then there was A program that was like, get a Wharton MBA in a weekend. And I thought, that doesn't seem right. And it was like a special weekend mba. It was like, would you like an MBA in a weekend? And I signed up for the thing, and the guy just will not stop calling me. He calls all the time and be like, last chance to apply. I was like, I feel like you're gonna have more.

[Drew Franklin]

You got a few freaking free weekends left, though. Go and get you an mba.

[Matt Jones]

What's next?

[Billy]

Two more. The Travis Kelsey Taylor Swift wedding was this past weekend, and I have secured the guest list of NFL figures.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, what do we got?

[Billy]

Who made the list? Andy Reid, of course. Kansas City Chiefs head coach Mike Vrabel was there. The Patriots head coach Ryan Fitzpatrick. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski. Jason Kelsey, of course. Russell Wilson, Peyton Manning, Julian Edelman, Richard Sherman. Now, this is where it gets interesting, because we have some NFL media that was able to make it, including Tony Romo and Jim Nance. Aaron Andrews, Carissa Thompson, Greg Olson, Joe Buck, Michelle Beisner, Buck. Roger Goodell, and Pat McAfee were, along with many Chiefs teammates, the NFL Dean Blandino. Well, I was. Yeah, that was good. I was getting to that.

[Matt Jones]

Dean Blandino going was the first of all. There's no way they know all these people, right? I mean, now, Travis may know all these NFL guys, but there's no way. 1100 people. They don't know 11. Although I do have 2000 names in my phone. But I couldn't invite them all to the wedding. You know what I mean? Like, don't you think they invited some people that were not necessarily even their fans?

[Drew Franklin]

Well, I've done it, and Billy's going through it now. The guest list is hard. You invite people you have a special connection with, memories with. I just find it hard to believe that they are close to all these people.

[Matt Jones]

All right, we're gonna play a game. I'm gonna go through my phone here, and you're gonna tell me when to stop.

[Drew Franklin]

Stop.

[Matt Jones]

And I'm going to tell you whether or not I would invite this person. All right, here we go. You just tell me when to stop. All right, Stop. Zach Blair. Who's that? Oh, that's the PGA Tour golfer.

[Drew Franklin]

Feel like he's got to be there.

[Matt Jones]

Why do I have his number in here? I played in the. In the scramble or I played him in the Pro Am with him that year.

[Drew Franklin]

There you go. And y' all haven't stayed in touch.

[Billy]

Let me get your number. I'll get you on how many Years

[Matt Jones]

on the leaderboard of. Of the tournament last week. How I'm probably not gonna invite him to my wedding.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. What's the gap? If you played last year, maybe if you played 10 years ago.

[Matt Jones]

Shocked. He gave me his number. Why did I even ask for it? We played nine holes together.

[Drew Franklin]

Must have been a fun day.

[Matt Jones]

All right, give me one more. Let's see if I'm gonna invite one of these other people in. Tell me when. Stop.

[Drew Franklin]

Stop.

[Matt Jones]

Kellen Grady, former UK player. I don't think I'm inviting him to my wedding either. I don't think I've spoke. I don't think I know him. So my point is, I wonder if they, like, if. If. If you come to my wedding and Kellen Grady and Zach Blair are there,

[Drew Franklin]

I'm at their table.

[Matt Jones]

It's gonna be interesting.

[Drew Franklin]

It reminded me of Bezos's wedding. It was just all these. These Hollywood A listers is like, do you really have a personal connection with all of these people?

[Matt Jones]

But if you got invited this, you would definitely want to go, right?

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, absolutely.

[Matt Jones]

I saw Will Compton did not get invited, and he's very upset. Which, to be fair, Will Compton seemed like his actual friend. I think if I was like, if Drew didn't invite me to his wedding but invited Dean Blandino, I'd be like, are you kidding me?

[Drew Franklin]

Did he end up inviting all the Chiefs? Was it.

[Matt Jones]

I think he invited everyone. But will come.

[Billy]

I don't know if it was every.

[Drew Franklin]

Now that's personal.

[Billy]

It's a long list.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. And then what? Blake Lively didn't get to go.

[Drew Franklin]

And another NFL connection, Tom Brady, was the first to leave. I really enjoyed the reports of who's leaving early. That was just as good as who's there? I wanted to know who's skipping out. They just wanted to be there to say they were there and get out of there as fast as possible.

[Matt Jones]

I was impressed, honestly, with how quiet they were able to keep all this. I mean, with the exception of people seeing people go in and out, you really didn't hear anything, which is kind of amazing with 1100 people in the

[Drew Franklin]

middle of New York City. I like the links. People are going to get reports. They were, like, finding out what the caterer was unloading off their truck. They'd, like, zoom in on the box, and it'd say, you know, two pounds of lobster. He's like, oh, they're having lobster. Just looking at every possible little detail they could figure out to report.

[Matt Jones]

I still think the fact they're a couple is Funny to me. Like Travis Kelce seems very likable, but seems like an adult but a nice guy.

[Drew Franklin]

She said she wishes she had met him in high school. Do you think she would have liked high school?

[Matt Jones]

Travis liked him in high school. Are you kidding me? She would have not liked him when he was on that reality show when he was looking for women. Do you remember that?

[Drew Franklin]

Oh yeah. She should have been a contestant on that.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. What was it? Cooking up a Kelsey or something? I also like T. I got a TMZ notification that said Donna Kelsey spotted at airport leaving.

[Drew Franklin]

I got that too.

[Matt Jones]

You know what, what do they expect her to do? She's got to go home.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, I saw some people criticizing her for not flying private. I mean, I guess they have billions of criticizing Who? Donna. They're like, why is she at LaGuardia? She should be on a private jet.

[Matt Jones]

I don't know if Donna Kelsey has private jet money.

[Drew Franklin]

I think they're saying Taylor.

[Billy]

Travis and Taylor sure does.

[Drew Franklin]

He can't just get private jets for everybody.

[Billy]

My mother in law.

[Matt Jones]

You can't expect Taylor Swift of private jet Dean Blandino home was probably a first class.

[Drew Franklin]

I'm sure she was fine.

[Matt Jones]

I don't know that the expectation is the most luxurious thing you do. You also have to do for your husband's mother.

[Billy]

No, no, there's no expectation. But I think it'd be a nice gesture to fly Donna out in a pj.

[Matt Jones]

I think it's a little bougie look, it should at least been of economy

[Drew Franklin]

plus at the minimum and give her a Chili's gift card for the airport.

[Matt Jones]

If they didn't do that, then I will say they're cheap. All right, what's last?

[Billy]

Finally, in actual NFL news, the Atlanta Falcons resigned Kyle Pitts to a three year $54 million contract. His $18 million per year ranks third among tight ends behind George Kittle at 19.1 and Trey McBride at an even 19. The fourth overall pick had career highs and receptions and touchdowns last year for the Falcons.

[Matt Jones]

He had a good year.

[Drew Franklin]

Was he at the wedding?

[Matt Jones]

You know, normally you always say you start strong and you end strong.

[Drew Franklin]

I knew you were going to say

[Matt Jones]

did you feel like ending with the Kyle Pitts contract was a good. I think I would have ended with Taylor and Travis.

[Billy]

I figured, you know, for our hardcore fans that wait till the end of that episode that they would get some of your knowledge on what your expectations are.

[Matt Jones]

Well, I mean I thought he had a great year. I think he's gonna have a hard time matching that production. So I actually think you're paying him for past production.

[Billy]

Even with TUA now in Atlanta.

[Matt Jones]

More especially with tua. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not sold on two in Atlanta this year, but. But I'm glad you ended on a bang.

[Drew Franklin]

He's locked into six touchdowns this year. I'm looking at his stats. In five years, he had one touchdown, two, three, four, and five. So, I mean, guaranteed six touchdowns incoming

[Matt Jones]

in 20, 24 million for six touchdowns.

[Drew Franklin]

He's good.

[Matt Jones]

No, he is very good. Third highest paid tight end good.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

What? Even invited the wedding? It doesn't sound like not even the. There were more than three tight ends invited.

[Matt Jones]

Do you think Dean Blandino was surprised when he got his invitation?

[Drew Franklin]

I think he made a fake QR code. I don't think he was actually invited.

[Matt Jones]

He was like, he's the wedding crown. Is this for Dean Cain? This can't be for me, you know, hey, good for him.

[Drew Franklin]

Good for Dean.

[Matt Jones]

Billy, thank you very much.

[Drew Franklin]

Great job, Billy.

[Matt Jones]

To all you Australians out there, feel free to use our advice as you're picking your team.

[Drew Franklin]

Sorry, Arizona, don't take it personal.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, please take it personal. And thank you all. We'll see you next week.

[Billy]

Foreign.

[Matt Jones]

Matt Jones and Drew Franklin is a production of the NFL and I Heart Podcast. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

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This is an I Heart podcast.

[Drew Franklin]

Guaranteed human.