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Ep.84: Who do you trust? · Football Junkies podcast

0:00
It might be a dead period for some, but guess
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what? It's never a dead period over here in the
0:04
Football Junkies podcast because you know what?
0:05
We got collusion in the highest of the high places
0:09
of the NFL, folks. That's right. It is a story
0:12
that's not being talked about as much as being
0:14
swept under the rug, but I am going to rip off
0:17
the rug, burn it, and then cook. Ken Burgers
0:20
on it, all right? Because guess what? This is
0:22
the 84th episode of the Football Junkies Podcast,
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all right? I am your host with the most, all
0:27
right? I am your chief bag roll dominance. I'm
0:30
your chief head of the table, anything and everything
0:32
related to the bag and more. I'm your GM who
0:34
currently is not on a team right now, but don't
0:37
you worry about it because guess what? I'm your
0:39
GM who is rss .com affiliated, all right? That's
0:42
right, folks. rss .com affiliate over here with
0:45
the Football Junkies Podcast. Because guess what?
0:48
We are working. While people are sleeping, we
0:50
are still working. So guess what? I am all these
0:54
things and more. But most importantly, the most
0:56
important thing that you must remember is I am
0:58
your host, Kale. Just know this episode is going
1:01
to be a great episode. It's going to be an amazing
1:03
episode. It's going to be an episode full of
1:06
twists and turns. And yes, I will have transcripts.
1:08
And yes, I will have time steps. So guess what?
1:10
On three. One, two, three. So excited. Let's
1:13
lock in. Right, folks, let's just get into the
1:41
meat and potatoes of everything that is going
1:43
on in the league right now. And yes, even though
1:45
there's not a whole lot of moves going on, we
1:47
still have something that we have to talk about.
1:49
There is a reason why I have not put out an episode,
1:52
a full episode in a while, because you know why?
1:56
I have been reading an arbitration report about
1:59
a case between the Players Association and the
2:03
NFL. Now, this is going to be a lengthy episode,
2:07
but just know. It's going to be an amazing episode,
2:10
okay? For all the people that love to hear conspiracy
2:14
theories and cases and whatnot, guess what? This
2:18
is going to be the episode for you, all right?
2:20
So all the people that got your tinfoil, guess
2:22
what? I want you to make the biggest tinfoil
2:25
hat you can possibly think of because I have
2:27
one that is the size of Texas on the top of my
2:31
head right now. So let's just get into it. So
2:34
there was a case alleging... that the NFL and
2:40
the owners colluded together to prevent guarantees
2:44
for players. Specifically, large guarantees for
2:49
players. And this all has to do with the aftermath
2:53
of Deshaun Watson's fully guaranteed contract.
2:56
Now, for a lot of people, you're going to be
2:58
learning a lot of new things. For others, this
3:01
may be a refresher. So guess what? classes in
3:04
session so this all started on october 19th 2022
3:07
when the players association launched an arbitration
3:10
against the nfl stating that it that it alleges
3:13
the nfl had colluded with teams to quote unquote
3:16
restrict or limit fully guaranteed contracts
3:20
the purpose of this collusion stems from deshaun
3:23
watson's five -year 230 million fully guaranteed
3:26
contract the players association alleged the
3:29
nfl colluded against the contract negotiations
3:32
of kyla murray russell wilson and lamar jackson
3:35
during the owners meetings around august 9th
3:38
of 2022 a high -ranking league official asked
3:43
an owner to start a discussion with other owners
3:45
to not agree on large fully guaranteed contracts
3:49
the players association's grievance shifted to
3:53
an owner's meeting in 2022 the nflpa broadened
3:57
its accusation of collusion to include the limit
4:00
of veteran players receiving guaranteed contracts
4:03
as well now here are the people that are involved
4:06
with this entire case we have former players
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association president jc treanor russell wilson
4:12
lamar jackson roger goodell former nflpa executive
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director d marie smith You also have NFL and
4:20
NFL MC executives Jeff Pasch and Larry Ferrazini,
4:24
Eric DaCosta, John Mera, Jimmy Haslam, Michael
4:27
Bidwell, Greg Painter, Steve Bishotti, Robert
4:30
Kraft, Arthur Blank, and Dean Spanos. Yes, you
4:34
have a lot of high -ranking people that are involved
4:37
in this case. Now, before we go any further with
4:41
this whole case and whatnot, I just want to emphasize
4:45
this. And this was something that I was talking
4:48
to Mook and the rest of my friends about it once
4:51
Deshaun Watson got his contract. I didn't have
4:53
any credible sources, didn't have any information,
4:55
but I knew the minute that the Browns gave Deshaun
4:59
Watson that contract, it was going to open up
5:02
Pandora's box. And the league was going to make
5:05
sure that this would never happen again. But
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here is the thing that not a lot of people talk
5:10
about. Technically speaking, Deshaun Watson wasn't
5:14
the first person to get a fully guaranteed contract.
5:16
It was actually Kirk Cousins. Now that we've
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dropped that bombshell for everybody, let's talk
5:22
about the difference between a fully guaranteed
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and a non -fully guaranteed contract because
5:27
there is a distinct difference. So a fully guaranteed
5:30
contract, when a player's compensation or a portion
5:33
of his compensation is guaranteed in all three
5:36
areas, skill, injury, and salary cap termination.
5:40
That's fully guaranteed. Non -fully guaranteed
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is the opposite, when a player's compensation
5:46
contains some guarantees for skill, injury, and
5:49
or salary cap termination. So with that being
5:53
said, let's talk about everything else that comes
5:55
with the fully guaranteed contracts. So, the
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Players Association has tried to get fully guaranteed
6:01
contracts twice. They tried with the CBA of 2011
6:05
and the CBA of 2020. But the argument the league
6:09
has made within the last few years when it comes
6:11
to giving their contract is due in part to the
6:14
higher chance of injury compared to baseball
6:17
and basketball players, as well as the NFL having
6:20
a hard cap, unlike baseball and basketball, which
6:23
is true. But if you're the owners and if you're
6:26
the league, you should have at least attempted
6:28
to create a formatted, fully guaranteed contract
6:31
that will work for all players. Because we have
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seen multiple times players' careers just end
6:38
because of one hit, one tackle, one sack, one
6:43
interception, one catch. We've seen it multiple
6:46
times. So why wouldn't you want to give them
6:49
a fully guaranteed contract? That is something
6:51
that I can agree with. Now, everything else that
6:54
comes with this arbitration, I cannot agree with.
6:57
So let's get into the nooks and crannies of it,
6:59
all right? So this is what Arthur Blank had to
7:01
say about the salary cap, and I quote. The cap
7:04
is a closed -loop system. You get X number of
7:07
dollars, and no matter what your personal wealth
7:09
may be, it makes no difference. Every team has
7:12
exactly the same salary cap, and you have to
7:15
operate within that cap, end quote. Which is
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true, but here is something that not a lot of
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people know about. The salary cap is a culmination
7:24
of all revenue from broadcast revenues, ticket
7:27
sales, concessions, and other sources. Now here's
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the part that's for the players, which is called
7:33
the player's cost amount. That is the revenue
7:35
players are entitled to receive, which under
7:38
the current CBA is 48 .5%. Another term that
7:43
gets flowed around a whole lot, especially when
7:45
a star player gets cut or traded, is dead money.
7:48
So dead money is when a player with a guaranteed
7:51
salary is cut. The remaining portion of that
7:54
player's salary is counted against the cap. Another
7:58
term that was brought up a lot in this arbitration
8:00
was trenches, specifically trenches period. And
8:05
so there is a rule in place within the CBA where
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teams must satisfy a cash spending minimum for
8:11
players, which currently is at least 90 % of
8:15
the salary, but is calculated within a three
8:18
to four league year increment. So the recent
8:21
trenches period was 2017 to 2020. and we're in
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one right now and that is from 2024 to 2026.
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so as long as a team is spending within that
8:33
period they're fine now if they don't then may
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have a problem but let's get into some more pressing
8:41
things about this uh this case so prior to 2021
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the cap had been increasing from 10 to 12 million
8:49
a year But due to the pandemic, a mini CBA was
8:53
adopted on August 3rd of 2020. Under the mini
8:56
CBA, the 2020 cap was based on pre -COVID projected
9:01
revenue, which remained at $198 .2 million. But
9:05
certain player benefits were either suspended
9:08
or temporarily not funded. So I wouldn't call
9:11
this breaking news, but this is a new development
9:14
to this story. So according to ESPN's Don Van
9:19
Netta Jr. and Kalen Kaler, the NFL and NFLPA
9:23
have quietly agreed to seal this case from players.
9:29
But here's the kicker, though. According to ESPN,
9:34
again, the NFL Players Association Executive
9:38
Director Lloyd Howell Jr. is working as a paid
9:42
part -time consultant for the Car -El Group.
9:45
which is one of the select groups that was approved
9:48
by the league as a private equity firm that is
9:51
now seeking minority ownership within NFL franchises.
9:55
He joined the firm in March of 2023 prior to
10:00
being elected as the NFL Players Association
10:02
executive director. Folks, I don't want to be
10:06
this person that's, you know, conspiracy theorist
10:08
and whatnot. That's not my role at this point.
10:12
I think the players need to come together and
10:14
I think they really need to blow this story up.
10:16
Because right now, this is some next level bull.
10:21
If you're a player, who do you run to? Who do
10:25
you trust? If you're having a problem with your
10:27
team, who do you go to? It's supposed to be the
10:31
players association. Well, clearly that's not
10:33
the case. The only way that true change is going
10:37
to occur. is that the players have to collectively
10:40
come together and say, no, we are not going to
10:45
do this. We are not going to stand for this.
10:47
We are no longer going to allow you guys, the
10:51
owners and the league, to continue to do what
10:55
you've been doing for the past few years. Because
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the Players Association is supposed to be a representation
11:00
of the players. It's not supposed to be the lapdog
11:04
of the NFL. And that's basically what it's become
11:08
at this point. So why in the world has nobody,
11:12
not one player said anything about this? Because
11:16
prior to the new executive director being hired,
11:19
neither Gene Upshaw or DeMarie Smith were allowed
11:25
to be paid for outside work. So then why in the
11:29
blue hell is the new executive director allowed
11:32
to do this? At some point, someone's going to
11:35
have to show that they have balls. Because right
11:38
now, I don't see it. I don't see any. And you
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want to know what makes things worse? A union
11:44
lawyer asked Howell to consider resigning from
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the private equity firm to avoid the appearance
11:51
of a conflict of interest within the firm in
11:54
taking ownership of an NFL franchise. And you
11:56
know what he did? He declined it. So you mean
12:00
to tell me he is still actively a part of a private
12:04
equity firm that could possibly try to get a
12:06
mistake within an NFL team while being the executive
12:11
director of the Players Association? That is
12:14
a conflict of interest. That is something that
12:17
you cannot do. I don't care if this is for the
12:22
NBA, the NHL, the NFL, whatever. This cannot
12:27
stand. This cannot be allowed to happen. And
12:31
the players need to know about this. Because
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I guarantee you they pay some form of dues every
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single month that goes to the Players Association.
12:42
So why in the world would I want to be continuing
12:45
to pay these dues? When I'm not even really getting,
12:49
when I'm not getting representation, when I don't
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have anybody that's standing up for me. At this
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point, it is going to take every single player.
13:00
I'm talking about players who are on the practice
13:03
squad, players who are on the main roster, the
13:06
superstars. Everyone is going to have to say,
13:09
you know what? We're going to hold out. We're
13:11
going to hold out until we get a fair shake at
13:14
the table because we are the reason. While everybody
13:19
wants to put butts in seats, we are the reason
13:21
why people wear our jerseys. We are the reason
13:24
why people wear the hats. We are the reason that
13:27
people make time to watch the games that we play.
13:30
We are the reason why the league is successful
13:34
right now. That has to happen immediately, and
13:40
I understand that that is a very dangerous move
13:44
to make, and it can have serious implications,
13:47
and it can cause a lot of people to lose a lot
13:50
of money. I understand that, but guess what?
13:52
If the players come together, only real change
13:57
will occur. Until then, the players will never
14:01
have a leg to stand when it comes to these high
14:04
meetings. Anything that the league wants, they
14:09
can do. Because you know why? They understand
14:12
that the highest ranking person within the Players
14:15
Association is in their back pocket. And he is
14:20
not going to have the balls to say, you know
14:23
what? We can't do that. Because you know why?
14:26
He has his own interest in trying to acquire
14:30
a stake within a team. If this ain't some next
14:33
level BS, I don't know what is, man. I don't
14:37
know what is, but let's get back to everything
14:40
else. So in 2021, every team was accounted for
14:45
a payment of $4 million in deferred benefit payments
14:48
from 2020. $11 million in benefits were restored
14:52
to make up for benefit spending that was once
14:54
deferred during the pandemic as well. Moving
14:57
forward. There is something that we need to talk
14:59
about, and this is a group that I didn't even
15:01
know existed until I read this document, and
15:03
that is the NFL Management Council, which is
15:07
a group of owners who oversee the operation of
15:10
the management council and engage in collective
15:12
bargaining with the NFLPA and advise other owners
15:15
on quote -unquote labor relation issues. Since
15:20
2012, John Mayer, owner of the Giants, has been
15:23
the presiding chairman of the CEC. Now, this
15:27
is what John Mara had to say about the role of
15:30
the CEC in the NFL MC, and I quote, it is to
15:34
educate the clubs as to what the trends are out
15:37
there so that the clubs can make their own decisions
15:39
about how to handle their cap going forward,
15:42
end quote. Between December and March, the NFL
15:45
MC makes presentations at many league meetings
15:48
to discuss the operation of the CBA and quote
15:51
unquote factors that are in play. Now, here is
15:54
an email exchange between Roger Goodell and Mr.
15:57
Pass shortly after Deshaun Watson's contract,
16:00
and I quote, We discussed guarantees, signing
16:03
bonus commitments, etc. on Thursday and Friday.
16:07
What we don't know yet is whether we are seeing
16:10
what we saw the last two years, where the very
16:12
top players, for example, Miller, Rogers, Stafford,
16:16
Watson, got large guarantees, but many other
16:19
players. Second -tier free agents and below sign
16:23
much more club -friendly deals. As the top of
16:26
the market clears and the next tier starts to
16:28
sign, we will have a better sense of whether
16:30
the large guarantees are extending further into
16:33
the free agent pool and also how they are affecting
16:36
club deals with their own players. It is certainly
16:39
something that we will want to discuss at both
16:41
the football op sessions and with owners as well.
16:45
This is Roger Goodell's response. Agreed. but
16:49
the tip of the market is most of the dollars
16:51
and if we wait to see how it falls it will be
16:54
too late to counter agree with raising with a
16:57
big concern that this will erode a key aspect
17:00
of our cba that resisted guaranteed money except
17:03
as clubs determined own this is what mr pash
17:06
had to say we will definitely be prepared to
17:09
raise it and make sure that people are focused
17:12
The next tier of signings is generally slower,
17:15
as of course you know, so I think we will be
17:18
ahead of it when we speak to the clubs, end quote.
17:21
If this isn't collusion, I don't know what is.
17:25
I knew that Deshaun Watson's contract was going
17:27
to have a negative effect on the league, but
17:29
I didn't expect for it to be this bad. I didn't
17:32
expect for the league to say, you know what,
17:34
we are going to make sure that nobody gets high
17:37
guarantees. Why wouldn't you want that? The NFL
17:41
right now is in a place where it's making so
17:43
much money, it's blowing people's mind. You are
17:47
talking about a league that is far surpassing
17:50
the amount of revenue that they're bringing each
17:52
and every season. You're talking about a league,
17:56
by the way, legitimately taking over the NBA
18:00
spot when it comes to the holidays. Because remember,
18:03
there was a point in time where the NFL really
18:05
wasn't the best during the holidays. We all knew
18:09
that crappy Thanksgiving game where it was most
18:11
likely the Cowboys and the Lions or it was the
18:14
Cowboys and the Washington team at that time
18:18
or it was just really two bad teams, right? And
18:21
then Christmas, you know, they may do something
18:23
a little bit special. New Year's, they might
18:25
do a little something a little bit special as
18:27
well. But now that's changed. The Thanksgiving
18:30
games are amazing now. They have a Black Friday
18:32
game as well as Christmas games and New Year's
18:36
Eve games. And mind you, they're doing this on
18:40
platforms such as Amazon Prime and Netflix. So
18:44
I don't see why there's such a group effort to
18:48
make sure that players don't get guaranteed money.
18:51
It's important and imperative that players get
18:54
guaranteed money because that is the only money
18:57
that they are for sure guaranteed to get if they
19:00
get injured, cut, traded, whatever the case may
19:03
be. What sense does that make? Why isn't this
19:09
being talked about as much? And I don't want
19:10
to sound like a broken record, but when you continue
19:14
to read this document, it just makes you more
19:17
and more frustrated because we are seeing a system
19:20
-wide effort of collusion from Roger Goodell
19:24
all the way down to the Players Association that
19:27
is going to prevent players from getting guaranteed
19:30
contracts. When they need guaranteed contracts
19:34
because of the sport that they play. How many
19:37
times every single season do we see somebody
19:39
tear their ACL, tear their Achilles, break an
19:43
arm, dislocate their shoulder, get a concussion,
19:45
get a very serious injury where they have to
19:49
be put on the back of a stretcher or something?
19:52
How many times do we see that? And how many times
19:55
do those players have guaranteed money? Not a
19:59
lot of them. But here's something else that's
20:02
crazy. The presenter notes found that if guarantees
20:05
continue to grow in the amount of players, then
20:09
there's a risk that it becomes the norm in future
20:11
contracts regardless of players' quality. So,
20:15
if you're a journeyman, your guarantees are going
20:19
to be a little bit higher. If you're a star player,
20:21
your guarantees are going to be a little bit
20:22
higher. If you're somebody that's on the practice
20:24
squad or an undrafted free agent, your guarantees
20:27
are going to be a little bit higher. That's what
20:29
that basically means. But they emphasize that
20:33
all clubs must make their own decisions, but
20:35
continuing these trends can handcuff a club in
20:38
the future. Now we're about to get to the good
20:41
part. So this is what the owners had to say about
20:45
Deshaun Watson's extension. This is what Steve
20:47
Bishotti, owner of the Ravens, had to say, and
20:49
I quote, It's like, damn, I wish they hadn't
20:52
guaranteed the whole contract. I don't know that
20:55
Watson should have been the first guy to get
20:57
a fully guaranteed contract. To me, that's something
20:59
that's groundbreaking and it'll make negotiations
21:02
hard with others, but that doesn't necessarily
21:05
mean we have to play that game, you know? We
21:08
shall see, end quote. This is what Arthur Bling
21:12
had to say about Deshaun Watson's contract, and
21:15
I quote, you have to leave that to the Haslams,
21:17
the owners of the Browns, to make their own judgment.
21:20
The fact that it's $80 million above the highest
21:23
contract ever guaranteed in the history of the
21:25
league that's 102 years old says a lot. Whether
21:29
or not most teams in the NFL or any other team
21:31
would have committed to that, I don't know. It's
21:34
certainly a huge commitment, end quote. But here's
21:37
the thing, though. Weren't you the same owner
21:40
that was in the sweepstakes of getting Deshaun
21:43
Watson? See, I want everybody to remember this,
21:46
right? During that whole Deshaun Watson trade
21:50
debacle, once it got down to the nitty gritty,
21:52
once a lot of the teams were eliminated and it
21:54
was just between the Falcons and the Browns,
21:57
Deshaun Watson posted a picture of wearing Falcons
22:02
gear. It was an old Falcons varsity jacket. And
22:07
everyone was thinking, oh, he's going to go to
22:10
the Falcons. But then come to find out, the Falcons
22:13
didn't want to give him the money that he was
22:14
looking for, and so eventually he went to the
22:17
Browns. But this is the same owner who had an
22:21
opportunity to get Lamar Jackson, and he didn't
22:24
want to get Lamar Jackson because of his playing
22:26
style and the money that he was looking for.
22:29
Man, get out of here. Get out of here with this
22:31
foolishness. Now, this is what John Mera had
22:34
to say about the presentation, and I quote, Beware
22:38
of the fact that the more signing bonuses you
22:40
pay, the less flexibility you're going to have
22:42
to manage your roster, end quote. Many owners
22:45
who testified have denied participation or being
22:48
aware of colluding together to reduce guarantees
22:51
after the March 2022 meeting. Now, this is what
22:55
John Mayer had to say, which, believe it or not,
22:57
this is probably the most that I've ever heard
23:00
him say anything. He is a man that does not speak
23:05
a whole lot. I guess, I don't know, but this
23:08
is what he had to say on the competitive nature
23:10
of the league, and I quote, I'm not going to
23:12
be told what to do in terms of individual player
23:15
contracts by anybody from management council
23:17
or by anybody from another club, end quote. He
23:21
further explains by saying this, and I quote,
23:25
just the thought of me calling Jerry Jones or
23:27
somebody and asking him not to guarantee Dak
23:30
Prescott's contract or somebody else's contract,
23:32
I mean, he would laugh at me. Among other choice
23:36
words, I'm sure. Just the whole notion is ridiculous.
23:40
We're out here to win, to win games, and we're
23:43
going to do whatever we can to improve our teams.
23:46
And if that means give more guarantees, we're
23:48
going to give more guarantees. It doesn't always
23:51
work that way. Unfortunately, sometimes guarantees
23:54
end up hurting you in the end, but you have to
23:56
make your own decisions. And the thought that
23:59
I'm going to be influenced by what another owner
24:01
is saying to me is just absurd. Now, he is right
24:05
with some of the things that he's saying. However,
24:10
Jerry Jones is probably the best example to go
24:13
with this situation because Jerry Jones sometimes
24:15
overpays his players. We all know that Jerry
24:19
Jones loves his players, the players that he
24:21
drafted, not free agents, the players that he
24:23
drafts. And we have seen multiple times within
24:27
the last five years that he goes above and beyond
24:30
with his players. From the Zeke Elliott contract
24:33
to Dak's contract, CeeDee Lamb's, and possibly
24:36
Micah Parsons. We've seen it. But, I mean, one
24:42
has to be a little bit lenient when it comes
24:46
to the guarantees. Because you don't want to
24:49
give a player these crazy guarantees. And then
24:53
something crazy happens. And now you're stuck
24:55
with all this dead money because you still have
24:56
to pay him because, you know, it's guaranteed
24:58
money. So I understand where John Mayer is coming
25:01
from a little bit. However, it still does not
25:05
dictate the decision to collude together on preventing
25:10
large guarantees. Now, here is the part where
25:14
we're all going to love. We're going to get to
25:17
the players. So the first case is Russell Wilson,
25:20
all right? So during his negotiations with the
25:23
Broncos, Russell Wilson wanted a seven -year
25:25
fully guaranteed contract around $50 million
25:28
a year. Now, this is what Russell Wilson had
25:31
to say about his negotiations with the Broncos.
25:34
And I quote, they kept saying, we'll do whatever
25:36
it takes, we'll do whatever it takes. However,
25:39
after he waived his no trade clause and his trade
25:43
to the Broncos became public, I would say shortly
25:46
after, maybe within the next 10 days or so, they
25:49
started getting cold feet on doing his fully
25:52
guaranteed thing. End quote. So after trading
25:56
for Russell Wilson, the Broncos changed ownership,
25:58
which delayed Russell Wilson from signing, which
26:01
is true. But here's the part where things get
26:04
a little bit sticky. So Mr. Penner's handwritten
26:08
notes show that he questioned the urgency of
26:11
a contract extension. He wrote, two years left
26:13
on a contract? Why not wait? But during negotiations,
26:17
Russell Wilson chose to submit a non -fully guaranteed
26:20
offer to the Broncos, though he testified that
26:23
he considered it to be effectively fully guaranteed.
26:27
But talking points within the Broncos' ownership
26:30
indicated that the Broncos believed that they
26:32
had quote -unquote leverage in Russell Wilson's
26:35
negotiations. And so somebody noted that they
26:39
did not foresee any of the owners of teams with
26:42
top quarterbacks with upcoming deals matching
26:45
or exceeding Deshaun Watson's fully guaranteed
26:47
contract. But here's a junkie nugget. Russell
26:51
Wilson had two years left on a pre -existing
26:53
deal with the Seahawks. And with the Broncos
26:57
making this move, they wanted to make sure that
27:00
they signed him to a new contract because they
27:02
didn't want a disgruntled quarterback. Russell
27:05
Wilson also testified and said that the Broncos
27:07
communicated to him that it was effectively a
27:10
fully guaranteed contract, which in some ways
27:12
is sort of like, right? And so we all know the
27:14
results. September 1st, 2022, Russell Wilson
27:17
signs a five -year, $245 million deal, $124 million
27:21
fully guaranteed at signing. So with this situation,
27:26
situation number one, of course. It's a little
27:29
bit weird because during that time, the Broncos
27:31
was going through a change of ownership. And
27:34
so, you know, they had to wait for that to be
27:36
approved and whatnot. And you had Russell Wilson
27:38
and then that whole debacle in itself and then
27:41
the trade and then the contract and whatnot.
27:43
So a lot of moving parts. Definitely didn't expect
27:48
the Broncos guaranteed contract, especially at
27:50
that time. I mean, sure, he was still an elite
27:53
quarterback, but I mean, come on now. See, this
27:56
whole situation is just a very slippery slope,
27:59
okay? Now let's go to the Kyler Murray situation,
28:02
all right? So after Kyler Murray's third season,
28:04
Eric Burkhart, which is his agent, started exploring
28:07
the possibility of an extension, which that's
28:10
normal. He submitted an offer on February 17th,
28:13
2022, prior to Deshaun Watson signing his extension.
28:17
Shortly after that, on March 24th, 2022, He withdrew
28:22
the offer due to the Cardinals, and I quote,
28:25
unresponsiveness to Kyler's proposal that was
28:28
made over five weeks ago, end quote. Both his
28:31
agent and Kyler Murray wanted a fully guaranteed
28:34
contract. Here's a text exchange between Michael
28:38
Bidwell, owner of the Cardinals, and his GM at
28:40
the time, Mr. Kime, about the whole Kyler Murray
28:43
negotiations. And I quote, we are going to load
28:47
up this contract with so many incentives to earn
28:50
the real money, end quote. Now, Mr. Kime responded,
28:54
referring to Deshaun Watson's contract at the
28:57
time. And I quote, why the Browns felt so compelled
29:01
to pay Watson like that is just baffling, end
29:04
quote. Come on, guys. Just come on. Now, Mr.
29:08
Kime let Burkhart know that a fully guaranteed
29:11
contract was not going to happen. Kyler Murray
29:14
valued the ad compensation per year, which is
29:16
the APY, under his new deal. So time passes,
29:21
and then on July of 2022, Kyler Murray signs
29:24
a five -year $230 .5 million deal, $103 .3 million
29:29
fully guaranteed, and he will be making $46 .1
29:33
million a year at that time. Now here's the junkie
29:36
nugget about this whole debacle. He further explains
29:41
that the Cardinals communicated to Mr. Burkhart
29:44
that Mr. Murray was still under contract for
29:47
two additional seasons, even without before any
29:49
franchise tag designations. This is what they're
29:52
saying. This is not what I'm saying. This is
29:53
what they're saying. And therefore, they had
29:55
leverage and did not want to sign a contract
29:57
that would negatively impact their roster flexibility,
30:00
particularly because Mr. Murray is a relatively
30:03
small quarterback compared with others in the
30:06
league. That's how they feel about you. Now,
30:09
here is a text exchange between Michael Bidwell,
30:13
owner of the Cardinals, and Dean Spanos, owner
30:16
of the Chargers, on July 22nd of 2022. Dean Spanos
30:20
says, congratulations on signing Murray. Michael
30:23
Bidwell replies and says, thanks, Dino. These
30:26
quarterback deals are expensive, but we limited
30:28
the fully guaranteed money and have some pretty
30:31
good language. Thankfully, we have a quarterback
30:33
that's worth paying. Dean Spano says, your deal
30:37
will help us for our quarterback next year. Michael
30:40
Bidwell replies and says, I think many teams
30:43
will be happy with it once they have a chance
30:45
to review. Cleveland really screwed things up.
30:48
I was resolved to keep the guarantee relatively,
30:51
and I quote, low, end quote. That simple exchange
30:56
between two owners lets you know how some of
31:00
them feel about their players, their star players.
31:03
Let's continue to move forward before I go on
31:06
another rant. So this is the Lamar Jackson situation,
31:09
and this one's a pretty juicy one, all right?
31:12
So Eric DaCosta, GM of the Ravens currently,
31:16
testified that he wasn't opposed to giving out
31:19
a fully guaranteed contract to Lamar, but they,
31:23
and I quote, have to be pushed out to later years,
31:26
end quote. DaCosta stated Lamar Jackson's playing
31:30
style, being a running quarterback, and having
31:33
some injuries are some of the reasons he wanted
31:35
to minimize guarantees within the fifth and sixth
31:38
year of contracts. In 2022, during contract negotiations,
31:42
Lamar Jackson had informed Eric DaCosta that
31:45
he wanted a fully guaranteed contract at the
31:47
time. Eric DaCosta knew that the contract was
31:50
important to Lamar. After multiple offers, Lamar
31:54
Jackson informed Eric DaCosta that he would rather
31:57
play under his fifth -year option. Lamar Jackson
32:00
texted Eric DaCosta, and I quote, I'm going to
32:04
request a fully guaranteed contract. I understand
32:08
you all don't, and that's fine, end quote. So
32:12
after the 2022 -2023 season, Lamar and DaCosta
32:16
restarted contract talks, and DaCosta offered
32:19
Lamar two different three -year deals that were
32:21
considered fully guaranteed. During these negotiations,
32:25
Lamar stated that his mic on his phone wasn't
32:28
working, which made communication difficult.
32:31
EDC asked Lamar if he would be interested in
32:34
being traded to, but was never given a list.
32:37
Prior to the Ravens franchising Lamar, a few
32:40
teams expressed interest in Lamar, but no teams
32:42
reached out to Lamar directly. Pardon the interruption,
32:45
but this is your GM, your bag road dominance,
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here to talk about RSS .com, alright? If you
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Now back to the good stuff. So Steve Bishotti,
34:13
owner of the Ravens, believed the reason teams
34:15
weren't really interested in Lamar was due to
34:17
some teams already having a quarterback, teams
34:20
weren't interested in the size of the contract
34:22
Lamar was looking for, and or they didn't have
34:25
any money to pay into the league's escrow account,
34:28
which is required by the CPA. Now, this is known
34:32
as the funding rule, which the league maintains
34:35
an escrow account in which teams must future
34:38
year contracts that are guaranteed for skill
34:41
related terminations. While under the non -exclusive
34:44
franchise tag, any team who would have acquired
34:47
Lamar would have had to give the Ravens two first
34:50
round picks. Arthur Blank, owner of the Falcons,
34:53
which we talked about earlier in the episode,
34:55
testified the reason the Falcons weren't interested
34:58
in acquiring Lamar was due in part to Lamar Jackson's
35:01
injuries and keeping their quarterback would
35:03
provide more cap flexibility than pursuing Lamar.
35:07
Think about this for a second here, folks. Here
35:10
you have someone in Lamar Jackson who is a spitting
35:14
image of Michael Vick, a better passer than Michael
35:19
Vick. possibly a faster player than Michael Vick.
35:23
All you have to do is give up two first round
35:27
picks and give them some new money. And instead
35:31
of you doing that, you decide and say, you know
35:34
what? Nah, I don't really want that. I don't
35:39
really need that. And instead, you decide to
35:42
go through a carousel of quarterbacks. And now
35:47
you have what? Michael Penix and you have Kirk
35:50
Cousins who by the way continues to say that
35:53
you know he doesn't want to be a part of the
35:55
Falcons anymore because the Falcons quote -unquote
35:58
screwed him and everything so it's just crazy
36:01
to me you know it really is how the Falcons just
36:03
continue to just fall on their own sword every
36:06
single chance that they get but hey it's the
36:11
Falcons right they choked the 28th 28 -3 lead,
36:14
remember? Remember that, Falcons fans? Remember
36:16
that? Remember that, choke artists? Remember
36:18
that? 28 -3? Remember that? You remember that?
36:20
I know you do. But moving forward. So as Eric
36:25
DaCosta was preparing for the 2023 draft, he
36:27
sent an offer to Lamar in which he accepted and
36:30
signed a five -year $260 million deal, $135 million
36:35
guaranteed, with a $72 .5 million signing bonus.
36:40
So here's the thing with this. And we're starting
36:43
to see a trend within the last two situations.
36:46
Well, actually, yeah, last two situations. All
36:50
three of these players wanted fully guaranteed
36:52
contracts at first. And all three of the teams
36:55
said no. And they stood on their ground for a
36:59
long period of time until the players said, you
37:01
know what, forget about it. Just send me an offer
37:04
and we'll just sign it. Now for Lamar's situation,
37:08
in some ways, I could understand why they probably
37:14
didn't want to give him a fully guaranteed just
37:16
because of his playing style and whatnot. But
37:18
even then, he has been much more healthier now
37:23
than he was probably the first three or four
37:26
years of his career. Because now he knows, okay,
37:29
listen, this is the playing way that I like to
37:31
play at. And he knows exactly the process that
37:35
he has to go through in order to be the best
37:37
version of himself when he's on the field. Which
37:40
is fine. But here's the thing that I will say.
37:43
And this is a conversation that I've had with
37:45
friends. The only other positions that I would
37:49
give a fully guaranteed contract to is a kicker
37:52
and a punter. Because why? Their salaries aren't
37:55
high. So you can give a fully guaranteed to Chris
38:00
Boswell or Sam Coach or whomever and not lose
38:04
an interest lead. Because you know why? For one,
38:07
they're going to be part of the team. probably
38:09
for the rest of their career. You won't have
38:11
to give them 20 or 30 plus million. You can probably
38:15
give them, what, 12, maybe 13 at best. That's
38:19
not bad. That's actually really good money. But
38:22
at some point, I feel like the league and the
38:26
players need to come together. They need to sit
38:28
down. They need to hash this out and try to find
38:31
a way to make a format that is beneficial for
38:35
both the owners and the players. That is structured
38:39
as a fully guaranteed contract. Now, if it means
38:42
that they get probably 50 to 60 percent of their
38:46
money in signing bonus and then their base salary
38:49
is maybe, I don't know, eight, nine million a
38:52
year. OK, fine. I think somebody will be willing
38:55
to do that because right now the current contract
38:59
format really isn't the best. Now, granted. Yes,
39:04
we can look at the Browns prior to acquiring
39:07
Deshaun Watson and now, and we can all agree
39:10
that right now their cap situation is in hell,
39:13
but that's because of the amount of money that
39:16
they've had to give him. I think if you give,
39:18
I don't know, AJ Brown a deal where he's making
39:23
30 plus million a year, but a majority of that
39:27
money is in the signing bonus or some type of
39:30
format, I think you can make it work. Compared
39:33
to, you know, they make up this contract and
39:36
a majority of his guaranteed money is on the
39:39
back end of the deal instead of in the front
39:42
of the deal. The point that I'm trying to make
39:44
with all of this is that it can be done. It's
39:46
just you have the owners that just have their
39:49
head up their asses that don't want to do that.
39:52
And for whatever reason, I don't know why. You
39:55
guys are making a boatload of money. The league
39:58
is making a boatload of money. You have to do
40:01
right by the players. The players are the reason
40:05
why you guys are able to live the lives that
40:08
you're able to live. Remember that. Now let's
40:12
talk about some more conflict. And this is between
40:15
Robert Kraft and DeMarie Smith. So the former
40:19
NFLPA exec DeMarie Smith testified stating that
40:23
Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, raised the
40:25
issue of Watson's fully guaranteed contract during
40:28
a conversation in the summer of 2022. Now, here
40:32
is the conversation between the two. Mr. Smith
40:36
stated, and I quote, I just remember him talking
40:39
about Mr. Kraft saying, you know, Roger has asked
40:42
me to talk about guaranteed contracts at an owner's
40:44
meeting, end quote. He also testifies and says
40:48
that Mr. Kraft told him that he was asked to
40:50
raise the guaranteed contracts, and I quote,
40:54
were a problem. This is what they're saying.
40:56
This is not what I'm saying. This is what they're
40:58
saying. This is how they type the things out
40:59
in this report. I know, weird. But during Lamar
41:02
Jackson's contract negotiations, DeMarie Smith
41:05
emailed Lamar and advised him to, and I quote,
41:09
stand firm in his demand for a fully guaranteed
41:11
contract because he's entitled to the largest
41:14
fully guaranteed contract of all time, end quote.
41:18
Now, Roger Goodell denies having discussions
41:21
with Robert Kraft about guaranteed compensation
41:24
and or having any conversations with owners about
41:27
the issue. DeMarie Smith reached out to Robert
41:30
Kraft on April 11th of 2023 saying, hello. Robert
41:35
Kraft responded by saying, and I quote, always
41:38
felt we had a special relationship. Disappointed
41:42
to hear false claim. attributed to you about
41:45
me relating to guaranteed contracts, end quote.
41:48
The arbitrator found Roger Goodell didn't ask
41:51
Robert Kraft or any owners about guaranteed contracts
41:54
in August of 2022 or any other time. So my takeaway
42:00
from this entire report is that Although the
42:04
arbitrator says Roger Goodell did not have a
42:07
direct hand within the group effort by the owners
42:10
to prevent large guarantees on players' contracts,
42:14
I still believe that Roger Goodell had a hand
42:18
to play in it in some way. Now, whether that
42:22
be an off -the -record conversation with the
42:24
owners, whether it be, you know, they're in a
42:27
smaller room. That's probably with low lighting
42:31
and everyone's phones is out and whatnot. They're
42:34
probably turned off and everything and they probably
42:36
had a conversation. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised.
42:39
But this just shows you how this was a system
42:42
-wide effort to prevent players from getting
42:45
large guarantees as well as getting fully guaranteed
42:49
contracts. If you're a player, what do you do
42:55
at this point? Who do you go to? Who do you trust?
43:01
No one. If you can't trust the Players Association
43:06
to fight for you, you don't have a leg to stand
43:11
on. And it sucks because we know within the coming
43:16
years, they're going to want to add another game
43:19
to the season. They've already said that. And
43:22
they're trying to expand this whole international
43:24
game project that they've been working on for
43:26
the past few years. That's going to take a toll
43:29
on people's bodies. But guess what? You don't
43:33
have a players union that can fight for you.
43:36
You don't have a players union that's going to
43:38
tell the league, hey, listen, if we're going
43:41
to do a game in Australia, then the players need
43:44
at least a week or two in order to get used to
43:47
everything. Because they're going to go through
43:49
jet lag and exhaustion and getting prepared for
43:54
the time zone difference. All of those things,
43:57
even if the field conditions are right for the
44:01
players, all of those things is what the Players
44:05
Association is supposed to do for the players.
44:07
And the fact that you have leadership that is
44:11
as corrupt as they possibly can be is a slap
44:15
in the face to every single player. I'm going
44:18
to link Pablo Torres' and Mike Florio's... episode
44:23
of this entire case. I'm going to link it. in
44:27
the description so you guys can go and you can
44:30
watch and see for yourself. Because they do have
44:32
a more deeper dive into everything because, I
44:34
mean, they have sources within the NFL, NFLPA.
44:38
So they can do more of a deeper dive into everything
44:41
so you can understand it a little bit better.
44:42
But I'm going to end this episode here. If you
44:44
guys like what you are listening, please, please,
44:46
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It's the same thing with X. All right. G -M -K
46:16
-I -L -E. As always, I hope I gave you guys the
46:20
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46:22
you guys so much. I had to get this episode out
46:25
before I do any other future episodes. So guess
46:28
what? Once this is out, I got to get ready for
46:31
gut check time. That's right, folks, because
46:33
by then we will have at least a few teams reporting
46:37
for training camp. So we have to talk about some
46:39
battles that I'm going to be keeping my eye on,
46:41
some headlines that are going to be talked about
46:44
with some of these teams, all of that and more.
46:46
So stay tuned. As always, this is your GM Kel
46:49
signing out. Peace and love. Later.