← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
3 & Out - Maxx Crosby to the Ravens, Eagles Questions, Kelce’s Future & NFL Contract Boom
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John Middlekoff
The volume. What is going on everybody? John Middelkoff three and Out Podcast hopefully everyone is doing well out there in the real world and today we're going to react to a trade that is now. I don't know if you're listening this on Monday. It's a couple days old, but the Raiders have traded Max Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens for a haul. Pick 14 Pick 20271 which on paper right now is more than what the Cowboys got for Micah Parsons. So we will dive into every angle starting with Max the person, the player, his loyalty to the Raiders Spy tech pulling the trigger. The Ravens doing something That's a little abnormal from historically. They've never traded a pick that high. The Eagles. There's some rumors right now about Jalen Carter. Travis Kelsey is potentially going to sign with another team not named the Kansas City Chiefs. Khalil Mack has resigned with the Chargers. So we will have the next couple days the free agent frenzy. The free agents are great, but I'm sure we will get more trades. We will get more action. So this is a busy, busy time for GMs, assistant GMs, pro scouting directors, coaching staffs this fun. So buckle up, we will have you covered all week long. Talking football, talking free agency and love this time of year. So gives us a little couple weeks to, you know, react to stuff before we get into to the stretch of the draft, which is fun too. But you know, by the time we get to the middle of April, we're ready for the draft. So this is, this kind of sets the tone for what teams like, oh, maybe they won't pick, you know, a running back or maybe they won't pick a linebacker. So it's fascinating team building exercise. Obviously a lot of teams have money and some teams don't. So we will dive into it all today and tomorrow we'll dive back into it. We'll also probably do a mailbag sometime this week for sure. At John Middlecoff at John Middlekopf. Is the Instagram fire in those DMs questions answered here on the show? Make sure you subscribe to the podcast if you listen on Collins feed as well as the run Netflix. So check us out on Netflix. All of our videos up on Netflix. Never miss an episode. Appreciate everyone that watches and listens. You guys are the, you know what, let's dive into the pod and I want to start big picture on the player because I, I, I, I do feel for Raider fans. This is a franchise, especially if you are an older fan, that was once as good as it got. I mean historically they've had John Madden, they've had countless hall of Famers, they had one of the most legendary owners in the history of sports. They won super bowls in the 80s, they resurrected the franchise with Jon Gruden. And then once they made the trade over the course of the last 23 years after they made the Super bowl in 2002, it has not been good. And in 23 years they have made the playoffs twice and obviously have not won a playoff game. It has been a lot of ugly. And during that time, especially during the, you know, post Al Davis era, which was like 2011, 2012 I thought they had two guys who were just all in who the Raiders meant everything to and you know, Khalil Mack, Amari Cooper were both traded but to me, Khalil, not that he wasn't passionate about a Raider, but listen, he's modern day athlete who was going to pay him the most. The Raiders weren't. See you later. Adios Amari. Kind of laissez fair, didn't give a shit. But Derek Carr was all in. Now we can argue if he was good enough. I, I do think in 2016, before he hit hurt his ankle, you know, he was competing to, you know, win the MVP that year. They were going to be the number one seed and after that happened it was kind of hit or miss for the rest of his Raider tenure. Obviously ended weird with Josh, but I. Derek was very solid player for the Raiders for a long time. Max to me is a hall of fame level guy and his passion for the brand, his passion for the team, if you haven't got a chance. His 10 to 12 minute goodbye is one of the cooler, more genuine things I've ever seen. I mean the modern day athlete just has their agency or their manager take some picture of them, put it on some cool backdrop and then write words in the middle of thank you and goodbye and I love you and it's, it's somewhat hollow. And listen, in fairness maybe those guys don't care. They're just businessmen which I'm totally okay with. It did feel that Max was much more. He loved being a Raider. It meant everything to him. The organization, the effort sometimes not to get sentimental here but I'll just be sitting there in silence looking at my 8 week old or 7 week old or however old he is. I'll just be staring at Jack and I'll think God, I got. There's a lot of pressure on me to teach this guy some just core value life lessons in life and you spend a lot of time and any father knows thinking of, you know, what are the things that I'm going to instill in this human. What are going to be some of his, his core values that are non negotiables. And I, I do think Max kind of encapsulates a couple things that I am 100% which I would have done this whether I was thinking about it over the last couple weeks or not of like passion for what you do. And I think most of us are, are walk into rooms with smart people and are never going to be the smartest guy in the room. And you can go a long way. I, I, I can only speak to America, but in this country, in all, in the world that we live in, by just giving all out effort in what you do all the time, consistently go hard. And in football that means physical energy. In some of our professions it could be mental energy. But give all you have when you're going to do something. Go all in. What, what did they say in what was the movie called with Mark Wahlberg? It's I wanted to say American Sniper, but it's not, It's Lone Survivor that moderation is for cowards. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. And I think Max Crosby represents what every coach really values in a guy whose effort is just great all the time. And to have great effort, you got to be in great shape. You got to be prepared. This was a guy that after his rookie year checked himself into rehab and anyone that's followed his career, you're just like, this guy's just a certified badass. Changed his life, cleaned up his life and absolutely dominates on the field for mostly an awful organization. So if I, I totally understand Raider fans. Even if you go, which we'll dive into, the compensation being bummed because this guy wasn't just a badass on the field, he wanted to play for your team. I mean how many players in football and basketball and baseball cosmic stinks force trades want somewhere else? I do believe that up until the end of the year the Max would have been very cool being a Raider for life. And I think when he said it, he meant it. And when they benched him or forced him to get knee surgery, like it was the right move, it was the proper business move. And I think it also represents why Max Crosby is who he is, that he was like, fuck you. I don't give a shit about the number one overall pick. I want to play because in this team it's not like we're playing a lot of playoff games. The only thing I have to hang my hat on is our regular season games, whether we're winless or whether we're going to win eight games. I'm giving everything I have and you taking that away from me. And he was pissed off. And I think the respect around the league even went up. And I've been saying this over and over and over again. They were going to get two first round picks. I did not understand when people like, I don't think they're going to get the Michael Hall. I'd argue right now they got more. Now both teams have picks in 2027. I think the Cowboys traded one of them. It's going to be the higher version that's going to go to the jets for Quinn and Williams. So they might end up with the packers pick. But the the Cowboys got picked 20 this year for Micah Parsons. And let's be real, they are lucky as shit to have that pick. If Micah doesn't get injured, if they don't implode in that playoff game that picks like 24, 25, hell could be 28, 29. The Raiders just got pick 14 in two months. Pick 14. If you were bed man you'd say the packers and the Ravens more than likely will have similar seasons next year. I could see both their picks being in the middle of 20 of the 20s. But you would rather have pick 1 and 14 than you rather than pick 7 and 8. I mean getting the 14th overall pick when you have the number one pick and also the top pick in every round is a very, very powerful thing. I think Warren Sharp tweeted this out. He's the analytic gambling guy. This is the most draft capital a team has ever had just because of the power of that 14th pick along with their top picks in every round. And I they have multiple picks in some rounds as well. But this was there were other teams sniffing around, right, like the Cowboys, the Jag, some of these teams, it's like they were not going to get this type haul from anyone else because all the good teams, you know, the Lions or the Bears or the Niners or some of these other teams that would be interested, their picks are going to be in the 20s. So they got to the point and this is why I think this trade was announced so far ahead of free agency where it's like there's no way we could do better than this. I'm sure some people offered a one and two twos, maybe potentially two first round picks, but they were in the 20s. Let's like it doesn't get any better than pick 14. Even if next year is pick 30. I mean you have the chance. Kyle Hamilton was once the 14th overall pick. That is prime, prime real estate. So I think John Spytack deserves a lot of credit. I do believe that they weren't just dead set on trading Max Crosby, given what he brings to their team on and off the field, but they got an offer they couldn't refuse. No different when The Chiefs traded McDuffie. I don't think there was any other team in the league that would have thought even contemplated for more than a second giving the Chiefs a first round pick for Trent McDuffie. Then if you look in the second round, you know, bad teams, if you're drafting in the 30s, aren't going to give up their pick 30 for Trent McDuffie and they give them $30 million. It's going to be the good teams. Well, their picks don't come till like the 50s. So you could argue that the Chiefs probably went into this okay with like there might be a chance. The best we can do is like pick 49 to get rid of Trent McDuffie and then a couple weeks later they, they're a couple weeks past the combine, they get picked 29 when John Spice Tech and they had the meetings at the end of the season once Max causes stink like, hey, we might have to trade this guy at the combine, you're that they probably thought, hey, what's our goal is going to be two first round picks. Then once you get enough teams involved, probably going to happen. You're probably thinking it's going to be two picks in the mid to late 20s. And then when the dust settles, you have a pick 14 for a team that kind of needs everything is, is an incredible haul. I mean, it truly is. And as someone that thought they would get two first round picks, I never for a million years thought that one of the picks, especially the pick going into this draft, would be this high. Now it's also an outlier situation. You know, the Ravens had never given up a first round pick for a player and they historically have acquired a lot of good veteran players. Most recently Roquan Smith when we, when I was younger, you know, Steve Smith senior and Quan Bolden, they've done it with countless players. Claeus Campbell, but Shannon Sharp, once upon a time, you know, Ozzy Newsom's big thing was play like a Raven. They have a certain type and Max Crosby falls right under that. Derrick Henry falls right under that. But I think they had to have these long conversations like, this is a bold move. This is going to be a big swing. And I appreciate anyone in life and this is one of those other things you think about teaching your son of. Like sometimes in life, most people, you know, the action is on the edges. The reason the fruit grows at the edge of the branch. The most sturdy part of the tree is the middle. So you want to get the fruit. You kind of got to climb out there a little bit to do it. You got to put yourself out there. And listen, just because you take big swings doesn't guarantee anything. Chris Ballard went all in for Sauce gardener. It blew up in his face immediately. We're all going to make mistakes and I'm not trying to on Chris Ballard here. He made a calculated move, it was a calculated risk and it did not pay off. And it is something I think clearly today, several months away from the move he regrets doing, given the information that he has. But that's not how life works. You make decisions based on the information you have at the time. You don't get to go six months in advance and go, what's this going to look like then? This could be a disaster. This could be a problem eventually for the Ravens, but for a team that I would say mostly has been extremely conservative with their draft picks, been extremely conservative with how they do business, they have notoriously let guys walk over and over in free agency because they love these comp picks that they get and they are drafted, developed franchise. Well, their owner put his you know what on the table and said, you know what, John Harbaugh, you're gone. Fired his coach in something that I honestly, I thought was a pretty shocking move. But it does feel like he's kind of given some life to this organization of like, let's put our nuts on the table a little bit more here. Let's stop being so goddamn conservative. We have a two time MVP winner at quarterback. We have one of the best players in the league on defense at Kyle Hamilton. We have one of the best cultures in the league in our locker room, in our facility. We're the Baltimore freaking Ravens. Let's go for it. And this is a go for it move. And Max Crosby, to me, when you close your eyes you go, what type team does he feel like? He feels like a Baltimore Raven, feels like he could have been on the Pittsburgh Steelers 15 years ago. That that's the type player that he is. And I commend the Ravens for making a bold move. Now here's the thing. I said when they made the DJ Moore trade that the Bills are AFC championship or bust. The Ravens making this trade is the same thing. And obviously if you make the AFC championship at either one of those teams, not being in the super bowl is a disaster. So I think both the Bills and the Ravens, who were the betting favorites last year in August to win the super bowl, the Ravens didn't make the super bowl or I mean didn't make the playoffs clearly and went eight games and the Bills lost in the second round. Both of them shit canned their coach because it was like the expectations couldn't have been any higher. And the Chiefs didn't make it. So I, I think they're both well run organizations, they both have hall of Fame quarterbacks. But it's now or never. And these moves, like you're living in these next short windows. Why did the Rams make their move? Because they've been living, you know, year to year with Matt Stafford. So last year when they booted Cooper cup and went to get devonte Adams, they're not thinking five years from now, there's no guarantee they're going to figure out their quarterback. There's no guarantee McVeigh might not take a couple years off. Like you're living in the now and that's the way the NFL is. Like, especially when you're good, you got to take advantage of every single year. And I think people that have been
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critical of the Bills of like, they
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John Middlekoff
haven't been aggressive enough. You know, the Ravens, that's never been their style and it kind of backfired this year because they didn't feel quite as talented and they made a massive move. There was a ton of pressure. And this is what is cool about the NFL. You know, Sean McVay, they have a Super bowl level mindset and you could argue a Super bowl level team, but if they don't win it, Sean McVeigh and Matt Stafford have one, right? They have a ring. They're champions. So whether they win it or not this year, you can never take that away from now if they win a second one, you go from, from being viewed as a champion to being viewed as a legend to being viewed as a historic individual. In the history of this sport, the Ravens and Josh or the Ravens and Lamar and the Bills and Josh are looking to just throw their hat in the ring. In history, we've seen a lot of guys win MVPs and never win a Super Bowl. Hell, in recent memory, Stafford did it. Cam Newton did it. These guys had great individual seasons. Now I think Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are better than those guys. But like, are you going to put
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a ring on your finger?
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John Middlekoff
Are you going to get to a Super Bowl? The Ravens had an incredible opportunity two years ago when they hosted the Chiefs and they blew it. They the bed. This year, the Bills, they're playing bow freaking Knicks. You got to win that game and they didn't do it. Josh had a weird game. Their defense didn't come through. Coach got fired because of it. So I, I think the Bills and the Ravens, all their chips are in the middle of the table. Well, they play in the same conference, so it's not like they both can win the conference. And you would say historically the conference is really good at the top. It's going to be very difficult. But I, I, I do respect both teams doing everything possible. Even if trading all this for a 28, 29 year old guy that's had some injuries like I, I, I get the skepticism, but I also can overlook that for the type. Guy doesn't booze, all he does is football. All he wants to do is win, plays his ass off, will immediately be a plug and play guy in big games is tailor made for this stuff. And like I understand it because like what about four years from now? What about four years from now? Who cares? What about 2026 and 2027? And that's what the Baltimore Ravens kind of showed you, which they don't typically operate that way.
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John Middlekoff
And last but not least, on the on the Raiders you get these opportunities with these picks and I saw it when I was doing radio and they traded Khalil Mack and they traded Amari Cooper. So they traded Khalil Mack right before the regular season started the regular season. Then they traded Amari Cooper. You Know, in the middle of the year to the Cowboys, they had three first round picks in one draft and they blew it. Right. Josh Jacobs, I think was their last pick, but they took, I think David Arnett or, or Leatherwood. That and Cleland Feral. It was a disastrous draft. Part of once you make one of these big trades is you got to nail the pick. Like the Micah Parsons trade looks a lot better if at pick 20 they get a high end starter. So it's easy to do these and we constantly are evaluating these trades when the trade's made, then when the draft picks happen and then as the draft picks plays and how the veteran does. So it's a fluid process. But there is a lot of pressure on spite deck with pick 14 and he has an opportunity if he does it right. If Mendoza becomes, if he becomes Jared Goff and they get an impact player at 14, they already got Bowers, you know, Genty should be a solid player. They can find other offensive linemen eventually build up this defense within a couple years. They could be a good team. They could be a really, really good team because they already have a couple core pieces and it all comes down to nailing the pick 14. Like do you get a Pro bowl level guy or you just get like, okay, starter and we'll find out. I guess we won't know in a couple months, but we'll know in a couple years, which is not the business I'm in. We'll be talking about it the whole time. But that this is the NFL's fun. Trades are fun. These last, you know, from D.J. moore to Trent McDuffie to Max Crosby to hopefully Jalen Carter and A.J. brown. Sign me up for this stuff. Speaking of trades, potentially Jalen Carter, when the headline came out that they had extended Jordan Davis, I went, whoa. Because there had been some rumors on the old interweb of, you know, the Raiders or excuse me, the Eagles, you know, are they going to pay 40, 45 million to Jalen Carter, who clearly is one of the most talented players in the league. It's like, ah, not quite comfortable doing that. And then they extend Jordan Davis and you go, would they be better off if they're uncomfortable doing this? Giving Jordan Davis and Jalex Hunt a bunch of money and getting two players that they feel good about on and off the field. Then one of the biggest wild cards in the league. And then there have been some stories that Jeremy Fowler, who I saw at the combine, super nice guy, reported they're already getting calls about Jalen Carter. Here's what I would tell you. If you are an opposing general manager and you were talking to Howie Roseman on the phone about Jaylen Carter, hang up the phone. You should not be interested in acquiring Jaylen Carter because you tell me it's one thing if you can't afford a player. That's why Khalil Mack was traded Once upon a time. The Raiders did not have the financial wherewithal to give him the contract. The Bears did. They couldn't give him the signing bonus. It was a financial situation. It had nothing to do with the player or the person. It was 100% money. Well, I know money's not an issue with the Eagles. Their owner gives it out like it's growing on trees. So you go is how he not into sweet defensive linemen? Well, that's definitely not the case. Never forget he fell to nine for a reason. He was the best player in his draft a country mile we've seen him when he's healthy on the field he is a dominant NFL player. So why wouldn't they resign him run if they do you have big Dom. Do you have four or five Georgia defenders on your team to that that that played with them in college? Because if you don't, you should not be interested. It's really that simple. And if Howie is able to unload Jalen Carter for a hall he is. He's truly one of the great general managers in the history of the league. And I get it. Talent trumps all. But these teams, I just think most of these teams would have no shot with the infrastructure to handle what they'd be getting in business with. Especially given that part of trading forum which would not be cheap, you know, in terms of draft capital, would then force you to give him a historic NFL contract. So I just think that some of these teams, if he's able to offload them, that should tell you everything you need to know. It really should. I mean look, look at what the Eagles do. When you're good, they retain you. Obviously if they draft you Lane Johnson, Kelsey Devonte Smith, you know, Jordan Davis, they will Quinn and Mitchell and Cooper De Jean will both get big contracts. If they sign you as a free agent and then you're sweet like the linebacker Zach Bond immediately give you a sweet extension Saquon Barkley give you throw more money at you as a thank you they take care of their guys that ball. So if they are open to trading you and your balling man, red flag some stories coming out right now because Travis Kelsey is a free agent for the first time a true free agent like going to free agency in his career that he is going to talk to multiple teams. And I talked to Colin about this. The NFL is very difficult. It's a salary cap league. Even when you have legendary players like Ronnie Lott did not finish his career on the Joe Montana. Tom Brady like Peyton Manning was cut the the NFL. The Seattle Lob led led by Sherm and that crew are still bitter about the way it all ended. Like guys, welcome to the NFL. Like that's just kind of the way it goes. Most people do not go out like John Elway, you know, on the stage winning his back to back super bowl and retire. That's not usually the way it works. Usually people play on another team. That's the way sports work. It's very, very rare for a guy to just run it out. Michael Jordan played on the Wizards. So Travis is not only going to get his number retired one day in Kansas City, he along with Mahomes and Andy Reid and Chris Jones, like these guys are going to get like statues. He's one of the most legendary figures ever on the field in the prime of his career in the history of the league. I think he's the greatest pass catching tight end I've ever seen and big game player. He's just, he's the ultimate winner. But there comes a point. We saw this. It's different because Cam hasn't had the same level of success. But Cam Jordan missed two games in 15 years for the New Orleans Saints. Two games in 15 years. He's given them everything he's had on and off the field. From a leadership standpoint, team captain standpoint, production standpoint, comes a point in time like, listen, we appreciate everything you've done, but we got to move in a different direction. And I think the Chiefs, it's one of those like, listen, Travis, here's our number which is going to sound like, you know, a slight to you, right? 3, 4, 5 million dollars, which we basically know you're going to say no to. So essentially what you do is like you almost don't even offer him a contract. And I do think that Travis, one team that makes a ton of. If I was a betting man right now, a team that I'd be stunned if he not only is, you know, there was a story today that at the start of free agency or the tampering period in the middle of Monday, you are allowed to have five zooms because before you could just talk to the agent, negotiate the contract, but you couldn't Talk to the player. Until the free agency officially started a couple days later, you're allowed to do up to five total zooms with players. So you can get your head coach, your gm, your coordinators, and zoom a guy almost like a pitch meeting, like you would do in college. One team, to me that makes a ton of sense is the New York Giants. They have a young core of offensive guys. Quarterback, wide receiver, running back. You bring in a guy with pelts on the wall, rings on his finger, who knows the offensive coordinator. Nagy has known this guy since he was drafted and then spent the last however many years around him, you know, winning these Super Bowls. So the coordinator knows him who's calling the offense. The head coach really, really values championship mentality, championship habits. Well, one thing about Kelsey is a fantastic practice player. To me, if you're the Giants, like, is it worth overpaying now? It's a little risky for Kelsey, right? You're going to a team that's not guaranteed to be good next year, especially if there are talented teams like playoff contenders or teams that are locked to be in the playoffs that are interested in your services. Like, what if the Chargers call? You're like, hey, I could live in la, play a little golf, play for hardball. But I do think New York, especially, you factor in, right? Taylor has an operation there. I think she lives there. Technically, when you have a jet as big as hers, you can. It's like, I just drove two hours somewhere. That'd be the equivalent of me flying from Scottsdale to Dallas. So it's like when you have jets, you driving three or four hours is no different than me hopping in the plane and going across the country. Like, we're operating at different levels and we're not caring about the fake tree planting thing that Kauai invested in. We're just hopping in that jet and doing whatever the fuck we want to do. And I think that Travis and the New York Giants make a lot of sense. Now, I do wonder if some of the good teams would be interested, but usually the good teams, you don't have as much money to deal with. There are price points on how much you can spend. Some of the teams with a lot of cap space, even like a Seattle, and it's like, are you going to give Travis Kelsey two years, $20 million or something? Probably not. Would Travis want to go live in Seattle? Little downfall? I mean, let's face it, he's kind of a celebrity. He's kind of like, you know, famous NBA players, like the market kind of Matters. That's where I think the Giants make a ton of sense. And if I was a betting man, I have no inside information. I would say if Travis Kelsey is not a chief, which I kind of don't expect him to be a chief, I would expect him to be on the New York Giants. And I also listen. It's not like Veech or Andy would ask advice for me. I just think it's time, and that's sometimes just time to move on. And it's hard. It's not easy, but it's when you get to the point, like, you have to make tough financial decisions, and this is a tough financial decision, given that his play is not quite the same. And I also think sometimes with an older player, when you go somewhere new, it's no different than it. Than an individual like myself or yourself listening to this, you can get kind of stuck in a rut. Even if you're having a lot of success in a job, in a profession, life can become kind of monotonous, right? You ever change a job, do get a new role, it kind of sparks a fire of. Of just creativity, of passion, of just, like, ambition. I don't even know how to quite describe it, but there's like an edge brought back to you that sometimes can leave you after a while. And I think it's no different with players, especially older players that get to go to a new spot. It's like, hell, yeah. Almost like I get to prove people wrong all over again. And if I was on Travis's side, I'd be like, now we got to be careful about where we pick. I wouldn't just go play for the Arizona Cardinals or Seattle, you know, not the Seattle Seahawks. But I. I think they're going to be very brand conscious of putting him, like, he's not gonna play for the Minnesota Vikings, right? There's certain markets is like, he. He ain't going there. Would you go to the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants? Like, you kind of see, there'd be some spots, like I could see that I. I don't picture him going to, like, the Atlanta Falcons, you know, and these are no shots at any of these individual teams. But we just got to be real. I mean, there's probably a small, small list of organizations that. That he would even retain, you know, playing at. And listen, he's, you know, if you're just listing the free agents, he's not one of the top guys. And this is not some class. That is great, right? Who's the best free agent in this class? Tyler Lindenbaum. I saw some lists with Daniel Jones, like a top five guy. If Daniel Jones a top five free agent in a given class, it's a bad class. It is a Kenneth Walker, excellent end of the season. Like he's had a meh career. You know, when I see some of these people like you're going to give them 13, 14 million dollars a year.
- [38:35]
Ad Voiceover/Commercial Announcer
Pretty risky.
- [38:36]
John Middlekoff
It's pretty risky. Now maybe he's gotten over the hump and he's going to be a good player for the next several years. But there were some years you watch Kenneth Walker like this is the guy that I loved at Michigan State. This, this is that guy. What's going on here?
- [38:47]
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John Middlekoff
If you would have told me that
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John Middlekoff
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- [40:52]
Lavar Arrington
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- [41:23]
Daniel Cormier
This is Daniel Cormier from the Daniel Cormier Show. This podcast is sponsored by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of ufc. All UFC fighters know power doesn't wait in the octagon or outside of it. You either make the move or you miss the moment. That that's why you need a network that's as powerful as you are. With Total Wireless, you get unlimited 5G data keeping you in on all the action, from the walkouts to the knockouts. You'll never miss a moment. That's coverage that you can count on for every single round. So when the moment happens, you're not catching up. You're already there. Now that that's a total power move. In the ufc, power isn't given, it's taken. So make your total power move today. Visit totalwireless.com or stop by your neighborhood Total Wireless store. 5G access requires a 5G capable device in a 5G service area. Monthly rates on the Total Base 5G Unlimited plan for new subscribers applies only to the monthly rate for your plan. Additional terms apply. See website for details.
- [42:19]
John Middlekoff
And last but not least, these guys Linden Baum, Alec Pierce, whoever, Max Crosby, we're all listen who our parents are and when we're born is clearly out of our control. But there has never ever been a better time to play in the NFL forever. Even like 10 years ago I was like, God, you know, the NFL might be more popular, but look how much more these basketball and baseball players make. And obviously you know, we got Kyler Kyle Tucker making $60 million a year with with player options after year two. And the NBA money is just funny money. Now granted, There are only 12 guys on a roster and only five guys on the court and really only two guys on a team that matter. And if you're an individual that does matter, your level of importance is such
- [43:14]
Daniel Cormier
a
- [43:17]
John Middlekoff
outweighs so many other guys on the roster that you make an absorbent amount of money forever. It's like these NFL guys are way underpaid compared to these other guys. Now we're going to see some of these quarterbacks over the life of their career make 4, 500, $600 million, right? Derek Carr, who, who knows if he's going to unretire and come out, made $200 million playing quarterback in the NFL. $200 million. Kirk Cousins made over $300 million. Now they were the quarterbacks, but what about the other players? Khalil Mack just got a 1 year, 18 million dollar contract for the Chargers. So I was like, you know what, how much is Khalil Mack made in his NFL career? I would have guessed like $150 million. And I googled it, like, what did J.J. watt make in his career? Because hall of Fame level guy, great player, signed a pretty big contract at the end of his career with the Cardinals. J.J. watt made $130 million, which, don't get me wrong, is an astronaut, astronomical amount of money. Khalil Mack at the end of this year. And listen, if he stays healthy, he's gonna get another contract at the end of this year, will have made almost $220 million. Now granted, he's played in Illinois and he's played in California, and he's played at California again like he's played in high tax. So it's not like he's pocketed all this money, but he's made a lot of money playing defensive end and pass rusher in the NFL. And these guys now at these premium positions, pass rushers, you know, Max Crosby, when it's all said and done, he was a late round pick. So those first several years he didn't make any money. But he's 28 years old right now. For example, Khalil's 35. If you assume that Max Crosby can maintain a high level of play till he's Khalil's age, he'll make $250 million. So the timing of being a good player. Cleo Mack, pretty sure there's a little off the cuff here. I didn't do my research on this one. I don't think he's ever won a Playoff game. Didn't obviously didn't win one with the Raiders. The year Derek got hurt they lost went a couple times in Chicago. They never won one. Right. The one year the doink and then a couple years later they were an 8 and 8 team and lost. And in his Chargers career they have not won a playoff game because Herbert it's right. It's one of the main talking points. He's been terrible in the playoffs. They haven't done anything. Well you look at Cleo Mack you go that's incredible. Now granted football lots out of. Listen, Max Crosby's a winning player. It's not his fault that he's played with a bunch of scrubs. You know it's a lot out of your. This isn't basketball where you can be LeBron James even you're playing with scrubs in the prime of your career. You're going to. Your team's going to win 50 games. But I just some of the money getting thrown around. You're going to see this like the center historically getting a guard or center you wouldn't. Unless they were like an all time great player. You wouldn't give a huge contract to because it was easy to find those guys. You could always find a Kelsey, he's best case scenario. But a guy like that in the fifth round, a good guard in the six, a random, you know, seven year starter in the fourth, that has become a lot more difficult with the spread offenses in college with the transfer portal it is much more difficult to find guards and centers who are going to translate to the NFL which I think has led to a lot of guys once they established or decent NFL players getting overpaid in free agency. I mean Last year the 49ers let Aaron Banks, the guard from Notre Dame who had been, you know, he had started the whole time, I think he was pretty marginal at best. Get a big contract from the packers like God that's, that's pretty bold. And I think a year end they clearly regret that deal. So. But you got to be aggressive and that's part of free agency is you typically have to pay a tax, right, A premium to acquire a player in free agency. This is back to the Crosby thing. Well, why do you have to do that? Because typically you have multiple teams bidding on a guy services, right? If I said hey is the 10th pick in the draft and whoever has the 10th pick, the 11th pick and the 12th pick all have access to that 10th pick and whoever wants an individual player can get the 10th pick, they just have to Give up other ones of their picks in the draft. Well, teams would get aggressive and be like, hey, we'll give, we really want this guy at 10. We'll willing to give up our fourth round pick to make sure we get him at 10 if we have to bid against these other two teams because we all get this slot. But when you just have to pick and you have to bid against anybody, you can just pick whoever you want. It's no different when you're negotiating with a guy and extending him early on your team. Well, some guys have the balls and the nut sack and the agent to kind of convince them, like hold out for a couple more years. We can get you the biggest contract in the history of the league. Or the team throws, hey, listen, yeah, that could go that way. Or in the middle of the season, you could shatter a limb. Never be the same. Never play in the NFL again. I'm currently offering you $78 million guaranteed and total value of a contract worth $130 million. And if things go well, more than likely you will see every penny of this contract. Or we'll negotiate in a couple of years and extend the thing again. So listen, I know you're a third round pick. I know you've banked two and a half million dollars in your career. We're offering you close to $80 million the moment you put pen to paper. So if you, if you got the, if you got the stones to hold out a couple years to maybe make that number be 105, you got balls, kid. But if you want to do business, we're willing to do business right now and make you the richest man in the history of your family and a guy that, you know, set, set yourself up and your kids up for life, which I always push back against. Now having a child, you know, it's not like my dad left me a big pot of gold, but if he did, like, let's just say my dad had left, been some super rich guy. It just left me $50 million when he died. Would I be doing this right now? Would I be working on a Sunday afternoon while my eight week old's inside my, my wife's just hanging out, like eating some snacks, watch tv or would I be in there with them? So I never quite understand of like this generational wealth to give my kids. You're just gonna give your kids a bunch of free money?
- [49:45]
Ad Voiceover/Commercial Announcer
It's always, it's like a little pet
- [49:46]
John Middlekoff
peeve of mine because everyone celebrates it on social media, like isn't part of it, but Then they also like crushing nepotism. Don't we want to teach our, our family members or our children, like, the proper way to, you know, be ambitious to go your own path? You just give people free money, why you do anything, I've never quite understood that. But when you're making this much money, it's like you can spend it all in a lifetime. So you're going to give a bunch to your kids. And if you have pretty good financial advisors and the market keeps ripping over the course of the next 20, 30 years, you're going to make that decent amount of money, which is a lot of money, into a lot more money. But fascinating times. It's one thing that's always stood out to me because the media, who in this weird way, like, hates business, right, like politically, like they're on the side, very anti business, anti big money people. Yet anytime that an athlete makes like some huge deals, like generational wealth for this guy and his family. So you're just telling me, like his great grandkids aren't going to have to do dick, like they're just, what are they going to contribute to society just sitting at home cashing their dividends, you know, like, is, is that, is that good? That's just random rant, but it's something that is, is really kind of. I, I, I've noticed this for a long time. It's always stuck out to me and I've always wondered, listen, I, I, I, I wouldn't have turned down if my dad would have been like, you know, before, before I passed you, I just want to let you know, got $75 million with, with Billy at Wells Fargo. So just you go to, you go tomorrow and it's all yours. I'd have been like, damn, thanks. But I promise you this, I probably wouldn't have done much since, right? I would, some, some of these guys that have made just, I mean, especially in basketball or baseball, like, what are they going to do with it all? What are their children going to do? Listen, I've seen Tom talk about this. You know, Tom clearly grew up like his dad was a successful businessman, but I, I don't think he was multi millionaire as a kid. It's like, you know, it's a challenge raising my children, try to teach them to kind of be normal humans in society when they just, all they know is like, they don't know what Southwest or American Airlines is. They won't know what that is. Think about that. You just don't know what American Airlines is. It'll humble you, right? I. When I was flying back from the combine and I missed my flight and had to, like, change the next flight, and they. They threw me on the back of the bird. I'm in the middle, middle seat with two smelly kind of. One guy's kind of fat. I'm like, oh, my God, I'm hungover. I haven't slept. But sometimes you got to just put a little shock to the system. Like, John, just don't get fat and happy here, buddy. This is. This is it, baby. NFL free agency. It's here. Let's go. The volume.
- [52:47]
Julian Edelman
This is Julian Edelman from Games With Names. I want to take a second to talk about something that's personal to me. I've had the privilege of working closely with Robert Kraft for a long time, and one thing I've always respected is how seriously he takes up standing up to hate. As a Jewish athlete, my identity is something I am proud of. But I also know what it feels like to be singled out for it. That's why this new commercial for the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate that aired during the big game really hit home. It's about showing up for someone when they're targeted.
- [53:21]
Daniel Cormier
Even.
- [53:22]
Julian Edelman
Even if you don't have the perfect words. And sometimes standing next to someone is enough. And you can show support by sharing the Blue Square.
- [53:31]
Daniel Cormier
This is Daniel Cormier from the Daniel Cormier Show. This podcast is sponsored by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of ufc. Power doesn't wait in the octagon or outside of it. You either make the move or you miss the moment. That's why you need a network that's just as powerful as you are. With Total Wireless, you get unlimited 5G data keeping you in the action from the walkouts to the knockouts. Now that's a total power move. Make your total power move today. Visit totalwireless.com or stop by your neighborhood Total Wireless store. Additional terms apply. See totalwireless.com for details.
- [54:07]
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John Middlekoff
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Daniel Cormier
No.
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John Middlekoff
A toaster. No. A hamster in a jetpack. Fun. Let them put golden wings on a dog. Good boy. Let them color correct anywhere and everywhere. Let them make Powered by Intel Core Ultra processors, Lenovo gives creatives everything they need. Lenovo.com, let creatives create Lenovo.
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Daniel Cormier
Lenovo.
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