Welcome in to the newest edition of the Justin
Time Sports Podcast. I am your owner and host,
Justin Jackson. And in this week's episode, we'll
be discussing the WNBA, as they had a very successful
All -Star weekend. We'll be talking about the
NFL, some guys got paid, some guys are fighting
for money, some other stuff's happening. And
of course, we'll talk about the NBA, and as always,
we'll have our best for last. Now, as always,
don't forget to like, rate, and subscribe to
the Justin Thomas Sports Podcast on iTunes, Spotify,
or wherever you get your podcasts. And also,
don't forget to follow the social media handle
at JThomasSports. I repeat, at JThomasSports
for all of your breaking news, updates, and coverage.
Now, as always, don't forget to sit back and
get ready to learn something. We'll be right
back. Louisiana till I die is where I'm from,
I can't replace it. Some people minds are obtuse,
but I like to be adjacent. Giving my opinion
like I'm Nick Wright or I'm Jason. ESPN better
watch out cause I'm coming for the spaceship.
We even tweeting on Twitter, you can meet us
in the spaces. Highlight clips of sports news,
yeah, you gotta embrace it. We never had it easy,
we just came from the pavement. I might be controversial,
but I like to make my statements. This is just
a ton of sports, come and get your weekly takes.
His opinion from the heart, he can never show
you fake. If you winning or you losing, he gonna
tell it to you straight. This is Just In Time
Sports, come and get your whoopie takes. He gonna
tell it to you straight. Welcome into the show.
It has been a long time since we've been together.
I think it's been about a month since the last
time I did a show. I kind of got through that
dark period, as I call it. A lot of times guys
in national media take breaks around that time.
I took one as well. Because it's just baseball.
I mean, no offense to the MLB, right? But it's
mostly just baseball. Of course, the WNBA is
in full swing around this time as well. But a
lot of people in the national media take a little
break off because we grind all the football season
and all the basketball season. So when you get
that opportunity to kind of reset. you kind of
take that you kind of take that opportunity uh
to take that reset uh for about a month during
the summer but we are back the plan is to be
consistent every week now i cannot guarantee
you a little behind the scenes i cannot guarantee
you every day or what day every week But the
plan is to show to pop up every week. I do enjoy
doing these shows. You may get them Friday mornings.
You may get them Saturday mornings. You may get
them Sunday mornings. If I record on Saturday
night kind of thing. But the plan is to do a
show every single week. And of course, something
super big happens. We'll do a special that week
and that'll be kind of the weekly show or we'll
figure out that point. We get there. I talk to
my producers about that kind of stuff. But. However,
this is Justin Jackson, host of the Justin Time
Sports Podcast. As always, don't forget to follow
the social media handle at JTimeSports. I repeat,
at JTimeSports. Any social media I'm on, it'll
pop up. So that will be anything from X to Facebook
to Instagram to threads. I'm going to get back
into posting on the stunt. I was supposed to
be kind of a purely sports social media. I'm
going to get back to posting on there. I've kind
of been neglecting that. However, the other four
definitely on there as well. And don't forget
to like, rate, subscribe, and share to the Just
In Time Sports Podcast on YouTube as long as
the audio version that you're hearing now and
also the YouTube version as well, JTS After Dark,
typically featuring T -Mail and Jai. We just
filmed an episode yesterday, so that should come
out within the coming days. And you'll hear thoughts
on that as well. But, let's get into it. So,
the WNBA has kind of taken the social media,
or kind of taken the media world, rather, by
storming social media as well. So, they had All
-Star Weekend. They do the All -Star Weekend
a little different than the NBA. So, the NBA
is Thursday night skills challenge, or Thursday
night celebrity game, Friday night, no, Friday
night celebrity game, Thursday night, Friday
night celebrity game. Then it's All -Star Saturday
night, which is dunk and three -point. and skills
challenge typically and then there's all -star
Sunday night the WNBA goes Thursday to Sunday
because they start playing today which is Tuesday
I'm recording this late Tuesday night so they
record so they record um or rather they do their
all -star weekend Thursday through Saturday with
the culminating event being the all -star game
typically Saturday night um had a few injuries
some stars in play Kayla Clark didn't play in
her home uh gym She was out along with a couple
of other players. Ryan Howard ultimately didn't
play as well. And then, oh man, I forgot. Somebody
played like just to play, like just because they
were from Indiana. And I can't think of it right
now, but they basically played like two possessions
and then they did live. So she live sucked herself
out and she was done for the evening. But great
all -star weekend. I don't want to go into the
nitty gritty just yet. Great all -star weekend,
right? spectacular all -star weekend we had uh
the stud buds made a lot of money and a lot of
fandom uh the stud buds did their recording throughout
the weekend um if you don't know what stud buds
are that was a lady with the pink hair that was
running around um causing absolute havoc throughout
uh all -star weekend um but it was havoc in the
most fun way imaginable um They had a ball. They
basically ran a 72 -hour stream. It was everywhere.
It was great. It was spectacular. The stud buds
were great. Now, the stud buds are Courtney Williams
and Natasha Heidman. You'll typically see Courtney
Williams be referred to as Court and Natasha
Heidman be referred to as T whenever they're
referencing the stud buds themselves. A joy.
And they not only showed themselves having fun,
like everybody was in these streams. LaVisa Collier,
Angel Reese, I mean, Kelsey Plum, Caitlin Clark,
hell, Kathy Engelbert, the WNBA commissioner,
was in the stream dancing and having fun because
it would show the WNBA in a light we don't often
get to see them, which is them being a competitive
unit. I mean, being a joyous unit, not always
at each other's throats. We get a lot of the
interpersonal connections with the NBA. Because
we know their stories early. We know them from
high school. We know them from when they play
the AAU ball. We know them from when they're
in McDonald's All -Americans. We know them from
when they teamed up in college. We know them
from when they went to the NBA. We know them
from the Olympic team. We know these interpersonal
connections. We know their business dealings.
We know their agencies. We know so much about
these male players in the NBA. So where when
you... See LeBron and Draymond hanging out. You're
not going, that's weird. Like, they played in
the finals four times in a row against each other.
Why are they friends? Like, no, they're both
under Rich Paul. They do a lot of business deals
together. So on and so forth. Okay, these have
a connection off the court. Like, Kyrie and Kevin
Durant. Like, that's weird. Like, they're not,
like, they're, again, they battled in the finals
multiple years in a row. Why are they, you know
what I'm saying? And no, they're doing similar
business dealings. They have a lot of same outlooks
on life. They feel the same with basketball.
So on and so forth. So you get used to seeing
those people together. In the WNBA, we didn't
get that, right? Like, and then go back a little
bit, I'm old enough to remember the three to
C, when it was Brittany Griner, Skylar Diggins,
and Elena Deledon. That was, oh God, 14 years
ago? That might have been 2011. I'm old enough
to remember them now coming into the W and being
like the three, they literally called them the
three to C because they were going to be the
people to catapult the W into 2013. 2013. I mean,
it was Brittany Griner, Elaine Del Don, Skylar
Diggins. They were going to catapult the W into
another level. I mean, you know, you had the
Candice Parker draft, and then you had the Maya
Mora draft, and then you had the 3 to C. And
then it kind of was a dip. Right? And it kind
of, there was no real mega stars coming out of
the W. And then, You kind of get this momentum
in girls basketball starting with the high school
class of 2020. The high school class featured
the top five in that class and you'll know all
these names. Paige Beckers, Camila Cardoza, Cameron
Brink, Kaylin Clark, and Angel Reese. They were
all one high school class. Now of course they
all entered the WNBA in three different years.
which is very atypical in the W. Usually the
W, I mean, you play four years. I remember Morgan
Tuck left UConn early, and people, like, lost
their minds that she left as a junior because
typically you play four years in the WNBA. Your
high school class becomes your graduating class,
becomes your rookie class. I mean, that's typically
how it goes. But due to COVID and some other
things, Cameron Brink got into the W a year before.
Angel Reese, Camila Cardoza. And Kaitlyn Clark,
who got in a year before Paige Beckers because
Paige Beckers took her fifth year because she
had torn ACL. She got a fifth year because of
COVID. So you kind of got this staggered entry
of the three. Otherwise, all five of them would
have been in in the WNBA. This would be their
second year. Cameron's a year earlier than the
rest of them. Maybe she isn't. Maybe she isn't.
I said that, but she might not be. But anyway,
so that was, I know Paige Becker, the actress
is behind them, but that was, um, that was the
high school class 2020. It was, it's arguably
considered the greatest, um, women's, especially
modern high school class of all time being that
how they came in, uh, together. And I'm looking
it up now. Um, Nope, I lied. So Camila Cadoza,
Kaylin Clark, Cameron Brink, Camila Cadoza, and
Angel Reese all came in two years ago, along
with Rekia Jackson, of course. She was in their
class. She just wasn't as highly ranked as them.
And then you bring in Paige Beckers this past
season. So they all came in within two years.
Again, the difference is Paige got hurt, so she's
played an extra year. Anyway, so this class has
been building the women's game since that 2020
class. The ESPNW Hoops. That was the most watched
class ever. That class. That 2020 high school
class. Okay, that 2020 high school class, four
years later, enters the WNBA, fresh off Kalen
Clark and back -to -back national championship
games, playing Camila Cordoza and Angel Reese,
losing to both, but playing Camila Cordoza and
Angel Reese. Cameron Brink is one of the greatest
Stanford players ever. They all enter the W.
Well, you're coming off a lot of controversy.
So, of course, you know, most of you guys know
this, their junior year, you get Kalen Clark
waving off. The girl at Stanford. And you're
getting Angel Reese pointing to the finger. Their
senior seasons. You're getting revenge. Raven
Johnson getting revenge. Beating Kaylin Clark
in the national championship game. To a lot of
controversy. Of course, it broke down into racial
stuff and it carried on to the W. Well, that
fandom carries into the W. So now, Indiana selling
out every night because of Kaylin Clark. Chicago.
Ticket sales through the roof. L .A. tickets
spike. You know, and of course, because they're
home gyms, now when they travel, teams are moving
games because the sky and the fever are coming
in and down. Like Dallas goes into American Airlines
because the fever are coming and they need more
than 10 ,000 tickets. You know what I'm saying?
Like sky went into this past season. The sky
went into the Bulls arena. because they were
playing the fever you know like you know that
sort of thing so you get all this attention i
remember somebody ended up oh man connecticut
moved to a bigger gym um and it was a couple
of others one of the teams that i remember moved
to a bigger gym a bigger arena because the fever
in the sky were coming into town because of this
revenue has spiked right and also kathy engelbert
who i've disparaged a lot and i think she doesn't
do enough, had a new TV deal coming. Now, this
new TV deal, I think, is probably half of what
it should be. The old TV deal was about $45 million
a year for the WNBA. The WNBA salary cap, okay,
was about a million, it's a little over a million
dollars. Which is why the max is like $200 ,000.
Jackie Young thinks it makes the max. She's like
at $100 ,000, $200 ,000. And I kind of jumped
away from All -Star. And I'm going to jump back
in there really quickly. I want to give credit
to the StubBuds for showing how amazing it was.
It was how this ended up starting. Shout out
to T in court. Shout out to Indiana for being
such a great host. And Jerese remarked that it
feels like Miami is in Indiana. She ended up
calling it Indie -ami on her way out. Also, I
never put the four -point shot back in the All
-Star game ever again. Thanks. All right, so
anyway, back to the money. So the reason why
this became controversy, because the players,
there's TV negotiations all weekend because everybody's
together. And then the players decide morning
of, they're going to wear Pay Us What You Owe
Us shirts. Now, this, of course, sparked a bunch
of amateur economists online. oh the WNBA is
losing money and they lost 40 million dollars
last year how can the players say pay us more
if the league lost money and even to the point
of you're gonna see T -Mail on JT's Out The Dark
jump down this rabbit hole and I corrected him
with that and it didn't move him but hey a lot
of people aren't you know what I'm saying so
a lot of ill -informed I won't call them ignorant
but a lot of ill -informed people um have used
similar tropes to say um you know why the women
of the WNBA don't deserve more money um and again
I and I won't I'll say ill -informed I won't
say ignorant because I'm going to give them more
credit than that I'm not sure I'm gonna use ignorant
because I informed him and he didn't care um
and i think there's a lot of misogynists not
saying he's a misogynist i said he's sexist however
i didn't love the the comments um i do watch
the women's game he hardly does um but it is
what it is right um but moving on into why it
is an antiquated and outdated situation in the
way of thinking so let's really dive into these
finances Let's really dive into these finances.
So, the WNBA is getting a $200 million annual
TV contract. Up from the $40 million -ish that
they were getting prior to, right? Why is this
important? This is important Because the WNBA
only was sharing about 9 .9 % of the revenue
from the league. So I found that out. I think
we talked about this last year, actually, when
the players were coming to it, when they were
opting out of the CBA and trying to get a new
deal with the CBA done. I found out they don't
share in most of the revenue. So the NBA, and
most leagues, actually, the NFL, too, and others
I've looked into CBAs, they get... 49, 50, 51,
somewhere around there, about half of the total
league revenue. That is from TV, ticket sales,
merch, whatever. Whatever the league makes. So
if I say League A makes $10 billion. Well, the
players get $5 billion divided amongst the 30.
Divided amongst X teams. That is the salary cap
for the league. The WNBA was only about 9%. I
forgot what they were taking. They weren't getting
any TV money and they weren't getting something
else. They weren't getting any merch money. It
was crazy. A jersey sale was just going to the
owner. That shirt sale, that Angel Rees shirt.
I bought an Angel Rees shirt when I was on vacation
in Houston. Angel Rees didn't get a percentage.
That went straight to the Chicago Sky ownership
group. It's crazy, right? So anyway, um as opposed
to the nba it's getting about 50 so the salary
cap was only about one and a half million dollars
where do i say um in previous previously rather
the the max is only like 200 grand i think jackie
young's like giving the magazine right around
200 grand even if the league were to get 40 if
they were to get 40 of the league revenue they
would make 6 .481 million if nothing changed
they would still have the same tv deal if they
still had the same whatever their salary cap
would triple outside would go up about four times
a little more than four times to about six point
six point five million ish it's about six point
six and a half million dollars meaning that max
contract goes from about 200 grand to about 800
grand that rookie scale goes from Kaitlin Clark
coming in the league and making about 70, 80
grand to times four, 280, maybe even 360 grand,
somewhere in that range. So the rookie scale
now becomes bigger than the max contract ever
was. Okay? So, however, however, I mean, that
would help a lot of things out. That would help
a lot of things with roster expansion. However,
With the league, do you lose $40 million? It's
a number you see everywhere. It's a popular number
because around last year, whenever the money
popped, people were wondering why they're getting
paid so little. That's when they found out the
league lost money. That's when people found out
the NBA subsidized. A whole bunch of new fans
found out a whole bunch of new things. However,
people who don't know it, starting in 2026, the
WNBA TV deal goes from about $45 million to $200
million. go up a little under five times their
tv deal however if they were to do that the salary
capital if they get the same nine percent they
would only go up to about four million dollars
in salary cap now again that's still three times
more than what they make now so that max goes
from 200 to 600 right great however the owners
would give would have to give up little to nothing
of the new money However, if they were to go
to 40%, and again, we're not even saying 50 %
like the NBA, we're saying 40%. If they were
to go up to 40%, they would get a $17 million
salary cap. That's 11 times more than what they
make now. So that max contract of $200 ,000 times
11 goes to $2 .2 million per year. We're talking
a player in a lot of, in the whole league, pretty
much is going in for agency. We're talking a
player in a Brianna Stewart who can sign a three
-year, $8 million contract. You know what I'm
saying? So that $2 .2 million, if she signs a
three -year deal, she makes $6 .6 million. So
she'll make what she made in her career annually.
So we're talking players no longer having to
go overseas. If you're a top player in the W,
if you're Kaitlyn Clark, And in two years, you
sign that max extension, you go, let's say you
go four years, $10 million. Well, you never have
to go overseas again. I mean, she wasn't anyway.
But like Angel Reese, it makes an international
player like a Gabby Williams. I remember she
went off for France, and the WNBA basically begged
to get her back. And she kind of was like, why?
Now, ultimately, she came. But, you know, ultimately,
she did come. Ultimately, she did join the W
and she's a problem with the W, right? But that's
what we're talking about. We're not saying when
people fight for the W in their finances and
talk about the W in their finances, we're not
saying they should get as much as the NBA. Of
course not. We're not saying that they should
get... Oh, the women, they should get... Whatever.
No, we're simply saying the share of the profits,
the share of the revenue should be the same.
For those of you who argue that they don't make
money, how can they marry salaries? Okay? Bobby
Marks, to keep it sports, Bobby Marks spoke about
somebody went into his comments saying that.
And he said, you'd be shocked how many NBA teams
don't make money. And yet the NBA salaries go
up every year. Devin Booker signed a deal in
three years. He'll be making $70 million a game.
So did Shea Gildas Alexander. We spoke about
both of those deals previously. We didn't. We
should have. Probably in those weeks we were
off. But Devin Booker signed for two years, $145.
Shea signed for four years, like $240. Like at
a certain point, $250, somewhere in there. At
a certain point, those deals are going to be
making about $71 million a game, $70 million
plus to play basketball. Now, those teams are
making money. But like Bobby Mark said, you'd
be surprised how many teams in the league don't
make money, and yet their salaries go up every
year. The max goes up. The salary cap goes up
every year. Businesses in the world don't make
money. Like, a lot of states operate in the negative
as far as their governments. Like, this country
in and of itself operates in a deficit, meaning
we owe people money, and yet federal employee
salaries go up. State employees' salaries go
up. Why? Because that's the way the world works.
Revenue dictates salaries, not profit. If you
have a profit problem, you find a way to either
increase your revenue, which will up your salaries
more than likely, but increase it enough it won't
matter, or you alter your business model. If
the WNBA was a bad business, expansion fees wouldn't
be what they are. The Golden State Valley expansion
fee was about $200 million. I read something
the other day. I'm trying to see if I can find
it. I can't find it anymore, but I read something
the other day where the expansion fee has like
went up 10 times or 20 times in just the past
couple of years. The Las Vegas Aces valuation
has gone through the roof. This was not a bad
business. It was a badly structured business.
This is what I spoke about several times. I spoke
about that several times in podcasts. It's the
fact that we had issues running the W. It wasn't
the fact that the attention wasn't there. The
attention wasn't there either, but they should
still have made money. Right? And now we're getting
to that point. So, for instance, I'm going to
speak about the growth in valuations. Excuse
me. Mark Davis bought the Las Vegas Aces for
$2 million from MGM Resorts and Nationals. So,
first of all, a casino owned the Aces. Mark Davis
buys the team for $2 million. Now, he also, he
invests. He builds their own practice facility.
He signs a contract with T -Mobile Arena. Like,
they were one of the first teams to have their
own practice facility, so on and so forth. He
bought the team for $2 million in 2021. In 2025,
they have a current valuation of $310 million.
Now, he did build, he was the first team to build
a training facility solely for them. So he's
4 ,000 foot, square foot, $40 million facility.
And multiple other teams since then have built
facilities. The average valuation of a team in
the WNBA is $272 million. And the Valkyrie. were
not included in that um i wonder if it shows
i wonder if it shows what else um it doesn't
say what like with the growth but the aces were
the best team in the wba they had a two million
dollar sale and now they're evaluated about 300
300 to 400 million dollars it's a great business
model the growth is there People don't want him
to invest. Dave Portnoy has gotten to it. He's
like, yo, if somebody gave, if he got an offer
to open a team, I forgot what he said, but for
$200 million, he said he does it without blinking.
Because the WNBA business model is a great business
model, plain and simple. Joe Lacob is a very
smart human being. Joe Lacob and Bob Myers run
the Golden State Warriors. They're very smart
people. The second they can get a WNBA team,
they did it. So if all these billionaires are
saying the business is fine, simple math, basic
economics is saying the business is fine. There
should not be all this conniption and all this
pearl clutching and all this panic owned by amateur,
often it's sad to say, men on Twitter slandering
the WNBA about money. You're never going to have
to pay the WNBA. You're not going to have to
pay one salary, not a singular one. Buy a jersey,
buy a ticket, buy a league pass. Okay, cool.
Yeah, you contribute. Buy a shirt, buy a jersey,
buy some shorts, buy your girl a hoodie. Buy
a hoodie for yourself. I bought a shirt for myself.
I bought an injury Chicago Sky shirt for myself.
Like, you know what I'm saying? But, like, let's
not pretend that you're going to have to pitch
in $5 to pay the salary. Like, it's not a big
of a deal, guys. They deserve it. They earned
a piece of their revenue. The players grow the
league, not the owners. And so they have earned
the right to have a bigger piece of revenue.
And I was doing the numbers off 40%. I hope they
get to 50%. That salary cap is $22 to $25 million.
And I'm reporting four -year $12 million deals
for Kalen Clark, Angel Reese, and this next crop.
Paige Becker's max is at four years, $20 million.
You know what I'm saying? I hope I'm reporting
those numbers for them because they've earned
the right to have that. They've earned the right
to not have to go overseas. The modern player
doesn't, really. even that a role player should
make 500 grand on the bench. That seventh, eighth
man in rotation, woman in the rotation, should
make 400, 500 grand on the bench. And I'm like,
look, I'm not going to France. I'm not going
to Russia. I'm not going to China. I made 500
grand in three months. I'm not going overseas.
I play in Unrivaled. That's cool. You know what
I'm saying? That's to keep my legs fresh. I play
in Unrivaled, but I'm not about to go. And I
think Unrivaled was a great solution too. Shout
out Fee and Stu for that. But I'm not about to
go overseas. Or, you know, whatever. Like, I
can go do business. I can go model. I can go
whatever. Like, because I made $500 ,000 in three
months. I can go play on arrival. That's cool.
But, like, I'm not about to go overseas for X
amount of months, six months, eight months out
of the year, and then fly right back into the
WNBA season just because I needed extra money.
So I hope this CBA negotiation goes well. I am
rooting for the players. Without a shadow of
a doubt, 10 ,000 % on that, rooting for the players.
And I will keep you guys updated as much as possible
in these negotiations. But up next, after a very
long -winded A block, had a lot to say about
that, we are going to shift to the NFL and talk
about what's going on with the Shield. Welcome
back into the show. And now we're going to talk
about the NFL. A lot of guys getting paid. A
lot of news happening with the NFL. We're going
to run through some of the big deals that's happened
over the past couple of weeks. Some historic
contracts are happening. We're going to talk
about some holdouts and a couple of guys have
decided to hang up the cleats. So we'll give
those guys their flowers. But the NFL money men,
as I'm calling them, the Jets paid out a bunch
of money to their future. The Jets, this new
regime with the Jets, as a Patriots fan, is a
little worrisome. It seems to be kind of professional.
I'm used to the Jets being a little silly, but
this seems to be kind of professional. They took
care of Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson. Both
of those guys had two years left on their deal.
Well, one year plus the option, so really two
years of team control. They took care of them
early. Sauce Gardner went for four years, $120
.4 million. I believe he got around $80 to $90
million of new guaranteed money. And then Garrett
Wilson goes for four years, $130 million. He
gets a $90 million guarantee. Garrett Wilson
goes into the top five, I believe, of receiver
salaries. Sauce Gardner, if he isn't number one
in corners, he's right up there in terms of corners
with their salary. This Jets regime seems to
be, like I said, professional. I'm used to them
being silly, so it's a little bit worrisome.
I'm sure they'll have their silly moments, but
they went ahead. and took care of their star
young players, which if I'm Justin Fields, I'm
smiling. If I'm Justin Fields, I'm like, look,
I signed a two -year, $40 million contract. You're
in the business of giving out extensions. And
Fields have one of those years. He goes 3 ,500
passing yards, 28 touchdowns, seven picks. He
runs for another 750, another five touchdowns.
If he gets one of those 4 ,300 total yards, 30
-ish total touchdowns, keep trying to open it
under 10, He's got to go to the Jets and renegotiate
that money and try to get a big, probably three
-year deal, probably three years, 100, probably
a Baker Mayfield kind of deal is what I'd be
after. But if I'm Justin Fields, I'm smiling.
If I'm any of those young players, I'm smiling.
I do my job, they take care of me. I mean, that's
very encouraging if I'm a young player on the
Jets. Speaking of taking care of, TJ Watt sets
a record. He becomes the highest non -paid quarterback
in the NFL. He signs a three -year contract extension
worth $123 million with $108 million guaranteed.
He becomes the highest non -paid quarterback
in the league at $41 million a year in his extension.
So he passes Jamar Chase and Myles Garrett. Myles
Garrett was at 40 .5. Who passed Jamar Chase
is 40. Now T .J. Watt goes to 41. he's earned
it i mean since he's been in the league he's
number one in everything he's number one in sacks
pressures hits uh win block rate uh pass block
rate like he if it's if it's a number he's first
or second and if he's third in the stat it's
probably a bad stat like he has been the number
one edge in the league since he's entered the
league especially since he's been in his prime
he's easily been the number one edge he's earned
it um kind of shocking that pittsburgh took so
long i wonder if there was something with the
guaranteed dollars if i don't think i would see
them arguing over is maybe guaranteeing a certain
percentage of it maybe the guaranteed structure
maybe what the incentives are um but it had to
be something language wise i don't i don't see
them fighting much on making him the highest
paid edge um considering that he had to go to
me he had to go above miles garrett which was
done by a half million dollars a year um You
know, I don't see them arguing much over that.
Maybe, again, maybe it became a situation where
certain incentive language or guarantee language,
when is money guaranteed, when is it due by,
cash flow situation, that sort of thing. But
I don't see them fighting over the total dollar
amount much. Miles Gary set the precedent at
40 and a half. You got to go to 41. I mean, it's
simple business. But apparently these guys make
it harder. then it has to be. We'll talk about
that when we get to our holdout section. George
Karloftis with the Kansas City Chiefs, he goes
for four years, $95 million with $62 million
guaranteed. Part of that Tyreek Hill trade, part
of that repercussion or positive cushion, whatever,
from that Tyreek Hill trade. So remember the
Dolphins traded a bunch of picks in that Tyreek
Hill trade. Those picks have mostly all extended.
They're all costing less than Tyreek Hill put
together. especially in the first year of that
deal. So a big shout out to George Karloff that's
getting paid. He's earned it. Another one of
those guys, not necessarily a name. He's not
a Miles Garrett name. He's not a TJ Watt name.
He's not a Khalil Mack name, whatever. But he's
one of those guys that go to work. put their
hard nose work in. He's a baller. He's on the
same D -line as Chris Jones, so he kind of gets
overshadowed star power -wise by Chris Jones.
And, of course, you're on the same team as Travis
Kelsey and Patrick Mahomes. So sometimes you
get a little overshadowed by those guys, but
he's an absolute baller. Real football fans know,
yes, you've got to double Chris Jones, but you've
got to find a way to block George Curl off this,
too, or he's going to ruin your night. It was
a kudos to him and then the Green Bay Packers
I think this is their first big extension under
new CEO new Structure regime. I was gonna say
ownership regime, but they don't have owners.
They have their CEO. They have their board Um,
so he I believe He is the first big signing under
that board. I believe he's the first big signing
under that group But Zach Tom, offense tackle
goes four years, $92 million. He gets an NFL
record $30 .2 million signing bonus with it as
well. Great tackle. You got a good young quarterback,
Jordan Love. You got to protect him. Tackle is
the most important business on the field besides
quarterback on an offense. You got a good one.
You got a great one at times in Zach Tom. So,
therefore, you got to take care of him and lock
him up. So, kudos to him. And by giving such
a fat signing bonus, he's only going to count.
over the rest of his extension for like $15 million
a year on the salary cap. By giving him so much
money up front in the signing bonus, you've greatly
reduced his salary cap hit number over the course
of his extension. All right, so now we got that
out of the way. We've got the guys who have gotten
paid. Let's discuss those guys who have not gotten
paid. I'm going to focus on three teams here
as we've discussed those three teams pretty much
in earnest. more than anybody else. I've seen
that in national media, and the reporting has
been on them as well. So training camps have
opened. I mean, you've had, like, if you had
a new coach, he opened up last weekend, rookie
camps, rookie reported. If you had a new coach,
you opened up the past couple of days. Veteran
coaches are opening up the past, these next couple
of days, whatever. But the Cincinnati Bengals,
of course, they have opened up their training
camp. They are missing both edge rushers. Two
edge rushers they were preparing to kind of build
their defense around, Trey Henderson and Shamar
Stewart. They are both missing from Bengals training
camp. Now, why is that happening? Both of them
are fighting contractual problems. Contractually,
it's thought off with Shamar Stewart. So he obviously
was the Bengals' first -round draft pick. He
has never reported to the Bengals. He reported
to them early. When the contract negotiations
fell apart, he left. He's never been back. He
recently reported a picture of him in a Texas
A &M facility. He's in College Station, Texas
right now. Obviously, he can't go back and play
college football. However, he can re -enter the
draft next season, or he can ask for the Bengals
to flat out relinquish his rights, and he'll
enter free agency like a traditional free agent,
neither of which has ever been done in modern
NFL. I don't think it's ever been done ever,
but for sure, I don't remember it. I mean, I'm
28 years old. I've got a Rolodex of information
here. I'm sure it would have come up in the discussions.
It has never come up. I don't think it's ever
been done. It's a provision in the CBA, but I
don't think it's ever been done. Shamar Stewart
feels pretty comfortable in the fact that it
might get done. Also, he's an NIL baby. It's
not hurting for money. Right? Like, he's part
of the Texas A &M. I mean, they just read a report.
They spent $50 million on NIO for their roster.
Like, he probably was getting $2 million a year
plus at Texas A &M. He's not hurting for money,
right? Like, at least a million dollars a year.
But he has money in the bank. He could sit a
year and live perfectly comfortably fine and
then come back into the draft, probably still
be a first -round pick, and go on with his career
from there. especially with the year off, he'll
have to heal some stuff up, so on and so forth.
So he's holding out. And Cincinnati Bengals owner,
you finally heard from Mr. Brown, Mr. Brown,
Mr. Mike Brown, stated that, hey, it's a battle
over contract guarantee language. Now, we heard
for weeks, for months, it was a clause. It was
a clause in the contract. Shamar Stewart's agent
said, man, it wasn't in there last year. Like,
why is it in there this year? It's something
the Bengals reportedly have put in all their
rookie deals, but it's not something that Shamar
Stewart and his camp wanted in his. Now, according
to the owner, it's over guaranteed language due
to conduct detrimental. Conduct detrimental to
the team is a standard voiding of a guarantees
in the NFL. So let's say that's why the Browns
have low -key wanted it's going to sound bad.
They've low -key wanted Deshaun Watson to do
something. Because if he does something, they
can hit him with conduct detrimental. It voids
the guarantees. And now you don't have to pay
him the guarantee money. Cut him tomorrow. You
don't owe him anything more than what's already
scheduled to be paid. So, according to the owner,
They're fighting over the language related to
being suspended for conduct detrimental, voiding
out Shamar Stewart's guarantees. He's the first
-round draft pick. Traditionally, and I don't
know when he started, but traditionally, pretty
much as the rookie pay scale came into play,
those contracts are fully guaranteed. I've never
heard of a draft pick's contract being voided
due to conduct detrimental to the team. Which
is probably why Shamar Stewart's camp is fighting
it, because when that contract is slotted at
four years, $27 million with the fifth year option,
and it's fully guaranteed, I've never heard of
conduct detrimental being in the contract, or
at least it's never come up. When Shamar Stewart's
camp is fighting it, like it's never been in
there. Like it's flat out just wrong, like it's
not supposed to be in there, whatever. So the
owner goes, look, like, I don't want to pay a
guy sitting in jail. I feel like I shouldn't
have to pay a guy who's sitting in jail. Personally,
I agree. If I'm an owner and I have an employee
contract or not, if he's not providing the services
that are deemed in the contract for whatever
reason, barring it's, you know, medical, of course,
or something like that. If it's because you're
hurting the brand of the company. and you cannot
perform the services in the contract, I shouldn't
have to pay you the contract. Like, that's just
pretty simple to me. Like, I agree with what
he's saying. Shamar Stewart's camp is dug in.
They're not rocking with it. So either it looks
like either the Bengals would have wasted a first
-round draft pick, literally, or, and I wonder
if they would compensate it for that. I wonder
if the NFL, like. throw him 33 or something.
Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I throw
him, yeah, like, you get the first round, first
pick of the second round. I don't know. Or, the
Bengals remove the clause. I mean, that's pretty
much the options here as it sits now. Maybe Shemar
Stewart finally says, screw it, I'll take it.
Like, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
I really don't. And the Bengals have no recourse
of doing anything. He's not under contract. It's
very similar to when a player, has a player option
and he wants a long -term deal and he doesn't
pick up the player option and he just goes home,
the team can't do him anything. He's not on the
contract. Well, Shemar and Stewart never signed
a contract with Cincinnati Bengals. They're under
no recourse. They have no recourse to fine him,
punish him, suspend him, anything. He's not on
the contract. He didn't even sign the practice
insurance agreement where I'll practice. I know
I'm not in a contract, but I'll practice. If
I were to get injured, I'm going to owe this
amount of money. He didn't even sign that. They
can do nothing to him right now. And I'm sure
that's bothering the hell out of the owner because
I have no way of recouping what my asset was,
which is either you or the pick. I have neither.
That's one rusher. And then the other edge rusher,
which the owner spoke on, is Trey Henderson.
Trey Henderson's openly said, I'm not playing
under this contract. So much so, training camp
started today, or yesterday, one or the other.
Trey Henderson is in Florida. Like, he posted
an Instagram of him being in Florida. Like, on
the road, driving into Florida. Like, he's not
even wearing a training cap. He's not even in
the state where they are. Like, he is nowhere
near them. He's openly said, I'm not playing
under this contract. Now, according to reports
and the owner, it's a fight over guarantees.
He believes they're going to get the deal done.
The owner does. Trey Henderson reportedly, and
I've been told this too, wants a guarantee structure
similar to Myles Garrett, Max Crosby, TJ Watt.
All of those guys got basically three years of
guaranteed money in their deals. Reportedly,
the Bengals are only offering Trey Henderson
one. So Trey Henderson's like, screw it. I'd
rather just sit. Because if you're going to not,
if you're going to come, apparently the dollar
amount's not the problem. It's the guaranteed
money. So if the guaranteed money goes to where
Trey Henderson wants to be, which is guaranteeing
him three years in the extension, by all means,
Trey Henderson and Cincinnati Bingo is a happy
man. He's signing his contract. If that money
doesn't get to that point, Trey Henderson's going
to be in Florida. Like, I mean, and he led the
NFL in sacks last year, and him and Shamar still
were supposed to form this dynamic one, too.
You know, they have two dominant edges. You kind
of fill in the space in the middle. You play
defense that way. Currently, you have neither
edge with the team in training camp. It's a crap
show in Cincinnati, but what's new? The Washington
Commanders, who have been in a source of naming
controversy with our president, they are in a...
I guess you would say negotiation with wide receiver
Terry McLaurin. They have an issue with his contract
as well. Reportedly, Terry McLaurin wants to
go north of $30 million, which will put him in
the top six or seven highest paid receivers.
Do I think he deserves to be up there? Absolutely.
But Washington, however, is fighting back. I
also think he would do that in New England. I'm
just saying, I'm a Patriots fan. I think he would
get paid in New England. Same with you, Trey
Henderson. I feel like both of you guys would
get paid in New England. I think the issue with
Washington is they're looking at future extensions.
They're looking at, okay, Jane Daniels is going
to have to get extended to a really, really big
deal. Probably the highest paid. He'll probably
be the highest paid quarterback in the league
when he extends. You know, you're looking at
all these guys looking at the extensions. My
thing is, take Terry McLaurin. Give him the annual
money he wants. Guarantee him money until Jane
Daniels has to extend. So Jane Daniels probably
extends. Jane Daniels is at least two years from
his extension, and he's... at least three years
from accounting, maybe four years. So to me,
you can give Terry McLaurin a four -year contract,
guarantee you three years of it, and you're not
hurting your money as far as having 16 James
Daniels and other young talented players on your
roster. Just match it to where when those extensions
really would matter, Terry McLaurin guarantee
you money to cut out the books. To me, that's
really simple. To me, if they send him to New
England and New England pays him, you're probably
going to go four years, 120, similar to Chris
Gary Wilson, and then we'll just... make his
guarantees stop whenever Drake May has to get
extended. You know, with Drake May, Will Campbell,
and the rest of those guys, Christian Gonzalez
are all counting for huge dollars. Terry McLaurin's
guarantees no longer matter. I feel like that's
the structure. Stephon Diggs' deal is structured
where it's basically year by year as far as guarantees.
If he's on the roster by a certain date, the
year triggers for guaranteed money. But, like,
if you want to do a group... Situation where
you're guaranteeing so much of the money up front
to structure it to where when your extensions
begin to matter, his guaranteed money goes away.
I feel like it's not a difficult situation. Another
situation I feel like is not difficult, but it's
becoming difficult, is Micah Parsons with the
Dallas Cowboys. Micah Parsons is one of the better
edge rushers in the league. Plain and simple.
A year ago, you probably could have got him for
$32 million. And then Max Crosby happened. And
then Miles Garrett happened. And then T .J. White
happened. So now 32 has become probably 42. It's
similar to the Bengals with their receivers.
You could have got Jamar Chase and Justin Jefferson
combined for probably $50 million, 18 months
before they signed the extensions. Now, put together,
they're like north of 60. I mean, they're north
of 65, actually, because Chase is at 40. I think
Higgins is at like 28. So you pay $20 more million,
probably, at least. For two players that you
could have gotten for $20 million less. And they
would have been happy at the time because that's
what the market dictated. And then for Jamar
Chase, Tyreek Hill happened. You know what I'm
saying? So these extensions began to happen.
Well, my dollar goes up. Micah Parsons is thinking
similar. 18 months ago, he gave me for $32. Maybe
even $30. And then Max Crosby. And then T .J.
Watt. and miles gary like so now i'm looking
at a different pay scale of where the top address
is getting paid i need to be at 41 and a half
42. according to both sides it's become a struggle
as far as getting it done um it's become a struggle
on both sides and getting it done he's begun
to make noise In training camp, him and Trayvon
Diggs had an impromptu media session where they
just got to talking about how Micah Parsons basically
don't have a deal and how they're not close to
getting a deal and how Micah's saying he doesn't
know how close it is. He says they're basically
holding the pen. He wants to get it done, and
they have to get it done. And then Trayvon Diggs
is sitting there, which makes it more interesting
because he's co -signing. everything that Micah
Parsons is saying. So now your two best players
on defense seem to be forming a united front
that Micah's getting screwed. And Micah referenced
Matt Crosby and Myles Garrett and T .J. Watt.
So clearly he's looking at those numbers as where
he should be. Obviously, Jerry Jones is not getting
to those numbers. So we're at an impasse, kind
of very similar to what the Bengals did with
Trey Henderson. You're hearing it like the number
is the number. They have to get this solved.
And I think they will get it solved. I think
all four of these players will be playing on
their teams week one. It's just a very awkward
way to get there. And I feel like none of these
are hard decisions. It's not a situation where
you're like, man, I got the 10th best quarterback,
but I don't really have another quarterback,
and he's due. You know what I'm saying? I feel
like the Vikings would have been in a tough spot
if... J .J. McCarthy didn't exist, and Sam Donah
had the year he had. And Donah comes up like,
yeah, I want $35, $40 million a year. And it's
like, we ain't got nobody else. You know, it's
kind of how he ends up in Seattle making $30
-something a year. Gino Smith was gone. He ain't
got no other options, right? And so I think that
because all four of these teams, I feel like
it's not hard. I feel like the vets for sure.
Henderson's guaranteed more of it. Terry McLaurin,
make the guarantees fall off when the rookies
start to get winning. Jane Daniels needs his
money. And for Micah Parsons, take T .J. Watt's
salary, go up a half a million dollars, and go
from there. None of these are hard decisions.
Now, do I want to pay Micah Parsons that much
money? In a perfect world, no. I'll definitely
see his trade value. You're going to tell me
how much he's willing. If somebody's willing
to give us... four, you know, two firsts and
a second or something crazy, dump him. You know
what I'm saying? But if that's not the case,
he's going to be, you know, one first, a first
and a fifth. Like, okay, in that case, just pay
him and get the job done. So I think all four
of these guys ultimately week one will be on
the field for their respective teams. I think
the most tradable one is Terry McLaurin. I think
he's most tradable to New England. Trey Henderson
also could be very tradable. I think if the Shamar
Stewart thing continues to go left, I think Cincinnati
may panic and maybe try to dump Henderson for
two firsts and kind of recuperate some of those
assets from a failed Shamar Stewart negotiation,
in my head, in my opinion. A couple of guys I
want to give their flowers to. First of all,
they decided to walk away from the game. Mike
Williams lost an endless charge of receiver.
He goes on the pup list, and then like a day
later, he retires. And to me, that tells me that
was a guy that was in pain. That was a guy that
didn't love where he was physically, and he walks
away now. And I always respect those guys who
look up and go, man, I'm not what I was, and
I'm in pain, and I'm hurting. And I don't want
to do this anymore. I've made enough money. I'm
gone. I respect it. Right? You know, and then
Tyron Matthew retires from the New Orleans Saints,
from the NFL as well. He's been in the league
12 seasons. A 5 '9", 160 -pound DB was in the
league 12 seasons. Right? And he's been, I'm
going to speak a little more on Tyron Matthew.
He's a Louisiana kid, St. Aug, I believe. New
Orleans kid, St. Augustine High School. Went
to LSU with a 5 .9 DB. Special team for his freshman
year, and he's the best defender in the world.
In college football, his sophomore and junior
year, has multiple stuff. I mean, failed drug
tests, ultimately didn't even finish his junior
year. Goes into the draft, gets drafted by Arizona.
lands with Patrick Peterson, which was the best
thing for him. He said it multiple times. It
was the best thing for his career. Because not
only did he land with a great vet, he landed
with an LSU vet. He landed with a guy that he
looked up to, that I think Tyron was a freshman,
Pat was a senior, or Pat was in, whatever, Pat
was Pat's last year, Tyron was a junior. He lands
with Patrick Peterson. Pat basically shows him
how to be a pro. And then he goes into Kansas
City, gets his championship ring, finishes his
career at home in New Orleans. Never missed a
game in New Orleans the last three years of his
career. Even when that team was not good and
he was hurt and had every right to sit, he didn't.
You know, he loves LSU. And he said, I want to
be the head coach of LSU one day. I don't think
that's ever going to happen. However, I can see
him being a defensive analyst. If I'm LSU, if
I'm Brian Kelly, if I'm Blake Baker, if I'm Corey
Raymond, that's the first phone call I'm calling
time after. It's like, hey, defensive analyst
position. It's going to be 50 grand, whatever.
You made enough money. Come learn how to be a
coach. Come be in the DB room. Come recruit.
Come whatever. Like, come be in that space to
see if you really want to do this. Because to
say, I want to be the head coach at LSU, or to
say I want to be whatever, that's one thing.
But to come in and learn how to be a coach, I
think that would be huge for Tyron Matthews,
and I would love for him to be in that space
at LSU. But again, congratulations to both of
those gentlemen. Congratulations to both of those
gentlemen on excellent careers, Mike Witt and
Ty Matthew. But up next, we're going to have
our best for last, which is going to be a couple
of NBA moves, including a couple of reunions.
Welcome back into the show. We're going to kind
of combine our best for last on the NBA segment
because truthfully this segment is about homecomings
and reunions. Los Angeles made a couple of moves
and they bring home, I guess we'll get to the
non -reunion first. The Los Angeles Lakers signed
Marcus Smart. Two years, 11 minutes out of contract.
I think he was bought out from the Washington
Wizards. Very similar contract and constructually,
contractually and structurally, rather. I combined
two words together. Contractually and structurally
to what Bradley Beal got from the Los Angeles
Clippers. But it resulted in Shaq Milton and
Jordan Goodwin being released or being waived.
Clear the space for Marcus Smart to sign his
contract. And the Lakers are still $1 million
under their first apron. So the Lakers are going
to operate this year as a non -tax team. It would
have been the first apron if Dorian Finney -Smith
would have resigned. However, when Dorian Finney
-Smith moved on to the Houston Rockets, basically
got a four -year mid -level exception level kind
of contract, it allowed the Lakers to operate
under the first apron. They're not paying the
tax. I mean, you've got LeBron James, Luka Doncic,
Austin Reeves, Marcus Smart, Dalton Connect,
whose value dipped a little bit, Gabe Vincent.
Jackson Hayes, DeAndre Ayton. You've got a pretty
solid amount of good players, and you're not
paying the tax. So kudos to them. I would say
the Pelicans are the best non -tax team in the
NBA, but I've got to give it to the Lakers on
this one. As they pick up Marcus Smart, but going
into the reunion aspect, the Los Angeles Clippers
come to an agreement with two players. They come
to an agreement with Bradley Beal. and they come
to chris paul so very similar what i just said
bradley bill signs i believe a two year i think
it's right it might have been 11 million dollars
um deal with the los angeles clippers um and
actually let me double check that now um let's
see here uh can't find it now i know i reported
it it's somewhere in here oh no that's market
smart Let's see. I can't find it now. But I believe
it was a very similar contract in structure.
Two years, $11 million. And Marcus Smart got
two years, $11 million. Both with player options
in their second year. Eat up a bit of the mid
-level exception, but nothing more than that.
So congratulations to both of those guys. Like
I said, Bradley Bill goes to the Clippers. He's
either a potential starter or he'll probably
be the sixth man. He was given $95 million from
Phoenix to go away. Hell of a payday, which is
why he was not tripping on the fact that they
told him to go away. The only thing he didn't
get was his trade kicker. But $95 million. I
think he was over like $107 million. He ended
up getting $95 million. And then he makes the
$11 million up by going to the Clippers. And
that's not even saying he has a really great
year and opts out. And then he gets paid by somebody
for agency. Who knows? But congratulations to
Bradley Beal for sure. And then Chris Paul. Chris
Paul ultimately comes back to Los Angeles. So
it was widely reported over the last few weeks
that his kids are in L .A. He wanted to play
basketball near his kids. That was, I mean, that
was as known as known can be. He wanted to play
near his kids. That was, like I said, it was
known around the NBA. Milwaukee was coming. Especially
after they had the Damian Willis situation. But
there wasn't enough money to convince Chris Paul,
or even roll to convince Chris Paul, like, hey,
play another year away from your kids. Even in
the press release, they say he's coming in to
be a reserve guard and to fill any role Ty Lue
wanted him to fill. He's basically retiring.
This is his retirement tour. He hasn't outright
said it, but it's widely reported. This is Chris
Paul's last year in the NBA. He's going to be
a full -time dad and make a couple million dollars
doing it. No harm in that at all. He's going
to be there most of the time. Harden has a bad
night or Harden sprains an ankle, get Chris Paul
come in and run the show for a couple of weeks.
But as far as every night starting point guard,
whatever, no. He's there to make a couple million
dollars, be a full -time dad, be at all his kids'
stuff for the first time in a couple of years.
He was in Milwaukee. I mean, after he left the
Clippers, his kids never left. Like, his kids
never left L .A. He went to Milwaukee. He went
to Phoenix, not Milwaukee. Not even Milwaukee.
I don't know. But he went to Phoenix. When he
went to San Antonio, his kids were always in
L .A. So the fact that he has gone back to the
Clippers and he's going to get number three back.
Bradley Bill's giving him number three. He's
going to go back to the Clippers and pretty much
retire with the Clippers in L .A. and be with
his kids. No harm in that at all. Congratulations
to him. And then the big reunion. Damian Lillard
returns to the Portland Trailblazers. So Portland,
not Portland, Milwaukee. decided to waive and
stretch Damian Lillard. So what that does is
the waive and stretch provision allows you to
take a contract. I believe it's only one at a
time, however. But it allows you to take a contract
and you are waiving that player and instead of
basically buying that player out and coming to
a number and then giving them that amount of
money to go away, however you agree to pay it
out, you stretch it. So on the cap, So, in short,
that person still gets the money when he's supposed
to get it. It just counts on your cap less. So,
they stretched his $120 million or $110 million
he had left. He only had two and a half years
left, two years left, something like that. Well,
they did the waiving stretch provision. So, now...
Because his player option, the player option
kind of counts as half. So it becomes over five
years, $110 million. It's like $22 million a
year. So he's on the books for the Milwaukee
Bucks for the next five years at $22 million
a year. He still gets his money as if he was
on the Bucks. So his cash flow doesn't change.
As a result of that, he goes to Portland, returns
to Portland, signed a three -year contract worth
$42 million. And because of the waive and stretch
provision, It includes a player option and a
full no -trade clause. So because he'd already
served eight years with Portland, he was able
to get a full no -trade clause when he returned.
He's going to make $70 million in this year and
$71 million the second year because his Bucks
money is still there and what he's getting from
Portland. He's going to make basically $70 million
to rehab, and then he's going to make $71 million
with a chance to opt out and sign that big last
big deal if he wants to with Portland. to retire
on that contract. So homecomings were a plenty
in the NBA. Chris Paul for his family, Damian
Lillard, same thing for Dame, because Dame spoke
about how his kids said, wait, we don't have
to go on a plane in Milwaukee anymore? So, I
mean, that's what you're for, man. Those guys
are going to make a lot of money. Both of them
are past their opportunity to win a ring. Like
Damian Lillard had the chance to go to Boston.
I mean, you know what I'm saying? Like, he didn't
do it. Probably if Tatum's healthy, he probably
does it. Because at that point, I could come
in, be the starting point guard, and it's me,
Brown, and Tatum. When I get back in April, you
know, I get back right before the playoffs, and
we're going to make a run at this thing. But
Tatum's already out. He's out. It's a situation
where, you know, going home, making all your
money is what he wanted to do. He never wanted
to leave Portland. But he thought he had to.
But he never wanted to leave Portland. Now he
gets a chance to return. Chris Paul left. Chris
Paul was in Phoenix when he went to the Finals.
Chris Paul was in Phoenix. He never wanted to
leave L .A., truly. And now he gets a chance
to go back with his family and play on a good
basketball team and not have to do very much.
Chris Paul might play 10 minutes a game, 12 minutes
a night, maybe. Because James Harden is routinely
38, 39. You know, so. Great opportunity for Chris
Paul to kind of ride out his last NBA year and
be with his family and his kids. So kudos to
both of them. But that is all I have for this
evening slash this morning, by the time you guys
hear this. Absolutely great enjoying. Being back
in the booth with you guys. Talking to you guys.
Sharing my thoughts and opinions. A little bit
of a longer show. Kind of went 30 minutes on
the WNBA. But it was deserved. It was deserved
to be fleshed out. Kind of killed some of these
terrible narratives running around. Along with
some other stuff with NFL and NBA. But this is
your host, Justin Jackson, signing out.