The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Hour 2: Happy Thanksgiling Pt. 4! (feat. Nick Wright)

Date: November 27, 2025
Location: The Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Guests: Nick Wright (FS1’s First Things First), regular show crew

Episode Overview

This episode blends the show’s signature offbeat, rapid-fire banter about sports, food, and pop culture with a featured appearance by sports personality Nick Wright. The main theme centers on the intersection of NFL drama (Tyreek Hill’s situation in Miami, Hard Knocks, the Chiefs), NBA scandal coverage (the Clippers/Kawhi “side deal” exposé), the culture of sports fandom, and—naturally for late November—the holiday-infused absurdity of nuts and rivalry. Rival podcast host Pablo Torre and famed sportswriter Mina Kimes are lampooned affectionately, Nick Wright’s Chiefs obsession is playfully skewered, and deep dives into the business and psychology of professional sports are never far from the surface.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Opening Banter & The “Nut Talk” Segment

Timestamps: 02:30–15:56

• Game-Day Snacks & Endorsements:
  The crew launches into a sponsored but genuinely playful back-and-forth about their preferred snacks, focusing comically on Hampton Farms peanuts. Discussions about weird peanut-eating habits spark laughter and camaraderie.

  • “Somebody who eats the shell of the peanut, like just the whole thing. Like, if it was just one shot. Insane or not insane?” (Dan, 06:23)
  • Nick Wright shares that cracking peanuts at baseball games is a ritual—he balks at the idea of eating the whole shell.
  • The group reflects fondly on memories of communal nut bowls and the eccentric traditions of their fathers.
    • “Occasionally, yes, that occasionally your father might—just to remind you...who’s in charge—break the walnut in his hand.” (Nick, 11:45)

• Nuttiest Sports Fans Mini-Contest:
  A lighthearted contest to crown the “nuttiest college football fan,” pitting an Alabama fan flipping off the camera against a couple in creative UM jerseys.

  • “Spicy dill pickled peanut, if I’ve ever—she’s the piece. You get it?” (E, 04:52)
  • The segment underscores the show’s carnival atmosphere and sponsorship-integrated humor.

2. Tyreek Hill, Team Leadership, and Dolphins Drama

Timestamps: 16:19–21:07

• Dan asks Nick about Tyreek Hill’s role in Miami and speculation about team chemistry:
  • “We have a Tyreek Hill problem in Miami...What can you tell me about what it is you’re seeing from Tyreek Hill...?”
  • Nick analogizes the situation to infidelity in a relationship: “If you are in a long term serious relationship and somebody cheats, you have a fork in the road moment where you must decide, you know, after a set period of time, am I over it or am I not?” (Nick, 16:55)
  • Nick criticizes the Dolphins’ “half measure” approach to Tyreek’s discipline/captaincy:
    • “You can’t be like, ‘we don’t want you, we don’t trust you, but we need you.’ That’s not going to work.” (Nick, 18:38)
  • Theorizing on whether Tyreek could have been purposefully kept from captaincy or perhaps removed himself voluntarily to show growth.

3. Hard Knocks, the Buffalo Bills, and Chiefs Super Bowl Heartbreak

Timestamps: 21:07–28:05

• Hard Knocks = Underwhelming:
  Nick admits he hasn't watched the latest Hard Knocks (Bills season), pokes fun at Buffalo’s perennial “underdog” narrative, and notes the annual American custom of glorifying small-market fandom.

  • “I'm so sick of hearing about the Bills and the Super Bowls. They made four straight Super Bowls. That’ll never happen again…unless the Chiefs do.” (Nick, 21:15)

• On the Worst Sports Pain:
  Dan needles Nick about the Chiefs’ Super Bowl loss.

  • “Worst sports loss of my life, Dan. Thanks for bringing it up.” (Nick, 23:17)
  • Nick explains how, due to complex betting swaps, he stood to either lose “less than $10,000” or win “close to $80,000,” and how the loss ruined him financially, emotionally, and professionally.
    • “The reason it’s the worst sports loss of my life, Dan, is...they entered that day with the opportunity to become the greatest team in the history of American team sports. And that’s now gone.” (Nick, 25:16)

4. 2025 NFL Season Anticipation: Mahomes, Lamar, and Hot Takes

Timestamps: 26:09–28:58

• Nick outlines what excites him for the new season:
  • Annual “It’s Not Lamar’s Fault” analytics cycle.
  • Hopes for a Baker Mayfield breakout and predicting a surprise Super Bowl by the Bucs.
  • Pokes fun at “Bo Nix is the new Mahomes” hot takes:
    • “There is no hotter take out there…than Bo Nix is going to dethrone the greatest quarterback of all time…” (Nick, 27:35)
• Dan accuses Nick of only being able to talk about the Chiefs. Nick responds:
  • “In the 2000s and 2020s, the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes are the main character of the movie and everyone else is supporting actors.” (Nick, 28:30)

5. Pablo Torre Jealousy & Podcasting Rivalries

Timestamps: 28:58–31:46

• The crew ribs Nick about possible envy of Pablo Torre’s rising podcasting influence. Nick is tongue-in-cheek but effusive in his “grudging” praise:
  • “How groundbreaking your work has to be to in six months become…a more influential podcaster than Joe Rogan or Dan LeBatard?” (Nick, 29:13)
  • Lampoons Pablo posting a screenshot of his name in the NYT mini-crossword—“Then right before he hit send, he was like, 'Should I tag the Peabody Award?' That’s hilarious. That is objectively hilarious. And I can’t get over it.” (Nick, 31:13)
• Consensus: Affectionate mockery of Pablo is its own sports media tradition.

6. Kawhi/Clippers “Side Deal” Scandal and NBA Accountability

Timestamps: 34:42–44:06

• Nick’s Reaction to the Kawhi Leonard/Clippers “Joe Smith”-style exposé:
  • “These are the lengths the league has to go to prevent LeBron from getting six rings. It’s just unbelievable.” (Nick, 35:01)
  • Surprised at “ham-handed” nature of alleged secret payment schemes—“In today’s day and age, I would have thought there’s easier ways for a multi-billionaire to slide a guy a few million bucks…” (Nick, 35:28)
  • Skeptical about real ramifications: Expects NBA to try to minimize fallout, despite quality journalism:
    • “My guess is it’s just easier for them to…do nothing. Because the real penalty…it feels like a Max Men situation. The real penalty would be way, way, way worse than what happened to Joe Smith and…Timberwolves.” (Nick, 38:33)

7. League Workarounds & Player Payment Schemes

Timestamps: 39:18–44:06

• Nick shares cryptic but pointed observations about players taking unexplained pay cuts and whether side deals/crypto backchannels are common but undetected.
  • “The only way that ever made sense was if the owner was like…Here's a flash drive that's got 10 million in crypto on it. I'm going to leave that on the table…” (Nick, 40:06)
• Discussion of the infamous Anthony Carter/Heat cap-space blunder, which the hosts and Nick suggest “must” have had an unofficial fix, though none was publicized.

8. Take Integrity, Mina Kimes, and Nick’s Brand

Timestamps: 44:06–46:59

• Dan brings up Mina Kimes’ claim that Nick “fraudulently” listed two different “number one teams” (Ravens, then Chiefs).
  • Nick:
    • “There's a lot of things you can make fun of my nose. You can say I might have a gambling problem…Do not question my commitment to take integrity in any circumstance.” (Nick, 44:32)
• Nick promotes his podcast “What's Right with Nick Wright” and his camaraderie with his son.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Dolphins’ “No-Captain Tyreek” Problem:

  • “You can’t be like, ‘we don’t want you, we don’t trust you, but we need you.’ That’s not going to work.”
    — Nick Wright (18:38)

• On Eating Whole Peanuts With Shell:

  • “If things ever really go south and we're all on our own, that guy probably has a slightly greater chance of survival. He hasn't evolved to contemporary luxury, which is probably positive.”
    — Nick Wright (07:10)

• Chiefs Fan Heartbreak:

  • “The reason it’s the worst sports loss of my life, Dan, is…they entered that day with the opportunity to become the greatest team in the history of American team sports. And that’s now gone.”
    — Nick Wright (25:16)

• Podcast Rivalries:

  • “How groundbreaking your work has to be to in six months become…a more influential podcaster than Joe Rogan or Dan LeBatard?”
    — Nick Wright (29:13)
  • “Right before he hit send, he was like, ‘Should I tag the Peabody Award?’ That’s…objectively hilarious. And I can’t get over it.”
    — Nick Wright on Pablo Torre (31:13)

• NBA Side Deals:

  • “In today’s day and age, I would have thought there’s easier ways for a multi-billionaire to slide a guy a few million bucks…maybe Ballmer and Kawhi need to spend a little more time in the high stakes gambling world.”
    — Nick Wright (35:28)

• Hot Take Integrity:

  • “Do not question my commitment to take integrity in any circumstance.”
    — Nick Wright (44:32)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Nut Talk, Fan Contests: 02:30–15:56
• Tyreek Hill/Dolphins Drama: 16:19–21:07
• Chiefs/Super Bowl/Josh Allen/Hard Knocks: 21:07–28:05
• 2025 NFL Season Preview (Lamar, Mahomes, Hot Takes): 26:09–28:58
• Podcast Rivalry (Pablo Torre/Joe Rogan): 28:58–31:46
• Kawhi Leonard, Clippers, NBA Scandal: 34:42–44:06
• League Payment Schemes, Anthony Carter Anecdote: 39:18–44:06
• Mina Kimes/Takes Debate & Podcast Promotion: 44:06–46:59

Final Thoughts

This episode is classic Le Batard: part zany talk-show, part therapy session for sports obsessives, brimming with inside jokes and unexpectedly sharp insight into serious league business and personality drama. Nick Wright proves the perfect fit, delivering earnest sports analysis, confessional fandom, and gleeful mockery of sports media culture, all seamlessly woven into the Le Batard Show’s playful, irreverent world.

Fans of the show, Chiefs die-hards, and anyone following the NFL or NBA’s shadow economy of loyalty and side deals will find much to chew on (pun intended).