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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 This week has been a fun one in football,
00:08 as around the National Football League,
00:09 organized team activities known as OTAs
00:13 underway across the league.
00:15 So you get to see guys back on the practice field,
00:17 running drills, going through practice together
00:20 in shorts and helmets.
00:21 That's always fun.
00:23 But you also get to hear from those stars around the NFL.
00:26 And at the store in Dallas, that included quarterback Dak
00:30 Prescott yesterday, who should be
00:32 due for a large contract extension,
00:35 we would believe, at a certain point this offseason.
00:39 Dak Prescott on that contract situation yesterday,
00:43 saying, I know my business will take care of itself,
00:46 just controlling what I can control.
00:48 Why has he been able to be so patient?
00:51 I don't play for money.
00:52 I'll leave that to the business people
00:54 to say what it's worth, what they're
00:55 willing to give a quarterback of my play.
00:57 It's about controlling what I can control, handle that part,
01:00 and everything else will take care of itself.
01:03 Do you believe that Dak Prescott is
01:06 worthy of a contract extension this offseason?
01:09 Ah, how about that?
01:10 He doesn't want to play for money.
01:11 Well, Jerry Jones said here, I'm like, great.
01:12 We're going to restructure you down to the league minimum,
01:14 since you don't care at all about money at this point.
01:17 And we can spend that on Michael Parsons and also CeeDee Lamb,
01:20 and maybe bring in some new football players.
01:21 I always love when they say they don't play for money,
01:24 but they're one of the highest paid players at their position.
01:26 And certainly, look at the bank account
01:28 over the past couple years for Dak Prescott.
01:29 It's pretty expansive there.
01:31 I think Dak Prescott is a quality quarterback,
01:33 but the question always comes up for Dak.
01:35 Can he perform in the biggest moments?
01:37 And the Dallas Cowboys, as a franchise,
01:38 never perform good in the biggest moments
01:41 here, as they never make runs to a Super Bowl, which
01:43 if you want to be paid like the top quarterback in the NFL,
01:46 your organization wants to know that there's
01:48 a legitimate chance that that money is
01:49 going to be spent on a long career and a long career
01:53 of making it to NFC Championship Games and Super Bowls.
01:56 So I look at Dak Prescott.
01:57 And again, obviously, I'm a Philadelphia Eagles
02:00 fan, the NFC East.
02:01 I don't like the Dallas Cowboys.
02:02 But I do think he's a quality quarterback.
02:04 But I always see the first part of that quote,
02:07 I don't play for money, and say I've already checked out.
02:09 This is a nonsense interview right now.
02:12 OK.
02:12 I appreciate that heat behind it.
02:14 Dak Prescott in the 2021 NFL offseason
02:17 signed a big contract extension with Dallas.
02:20 At the time, a $40 million per year annual average salary
02:25 that now really doesn't even look
02:27 all that hefty in National Football League circles
02:30 at the quarterback position.
02:31 Four-year deal worth $160 million
02:34 signed back in 2021 that expires at the end of this 2024
02:39 campaign, thus the conversation around a potential contract
02:43 extension.
02:44 I think it is rightful to question Dak Prescott's
02:47 ceiling and where he can lead Dallas to.
02:50 13 straight playoff trips since their last Lombardi
02:53 trophy in 1995 without even getting past the division
02:57 around or playing in the NFC Championship game.
03:00 But Dak is going to get his money.
03:02 And very likely, Donnie, it could
03:04 be the highest paid salary we have seen in the National
03:07 Football League and at the quarterback position.
03:10 Joe Burrow reset the market last offseason.
03:13 Five-year deal, $275 million, annually worth $55 million.
03:17 Jared Goff got a new deal this offseason.
03:20 Four-year, $212 million, $53 million a year.
03:23 I think Dak Prescott will get close, if not to,
03:27 $60 million per year on an annual average salary basis.
03:34 It sounds crazy, but that's where
03:36 inflation is going at the quarterback position.
03:40 No, it certainly is.
03:41 And it's going to get a lot of money.
03:42 But also understand this.
03:43 It's an odd tactic that Jerry Jones
03:45 is using with his franchise.
03:47 My head coach, how do you usually
03:48 say that you're real confident your head coach is good?
03:51 Extend them a couple years here, as opposed
03:52 to playing the card like, well, put up or shut up this season.
03:55 It usually doesn't work well because players also
03:57 feel that-- like, you're not going to be here next year.
03:59 Why am I going to listen to you?
04:00 And then you take a look at Dak Prescott.
04:02 Forget about him, which in the whole conscience of this
04:04 is saying, OK, you're telling Dak, put up or shut up
04:07 and win this year.
04:08 I understand that makes somewhat sense.
04:10 But do you see how much Dak Prescott is counting
04:13 against the salary cap?
04:14 You're literally telling Dak to step up to the plate or not.
04:16 But your football team could be much better
04:18 if you already extended in believing
04:20 he is your future quarterback.
04:21 And that frees up hundreds and hundreds of millions
04:24 of dollars down the table that you don't
04:26 have to kick down the road.
04:27 And you can afford to pay some of your other talent
04:29 and bring other players in.
04:30 So on one side, I sort of respect Jerry Jones by going,
04:33 I'm not paying these guys unless they actually
04:35 show me on the field.
04:36 But at the same time, you sort of undermine yourself
04:38 and also harm your football team on the salary cap
04:41 because Dak Prescott should not be counting $50 to $60
04:43 million against the cap.
04:45 It should be around $15 to $20 with a restructured deal.
04:49 Yeah, absolutely so.
04:50 And there is no coach on a hotter seat than Mike McCarthy.
04:54 Sure, he's back.
04:55 But there was no contract extension,
04:57 no vote of confidence for Mike McCarthy this upcoming season.
05:01 The Dallas Cowboys remain one of my favorite, favorite follows
05:05 in all of the National Football League.
05:06 Now we go to another quarterback who
05:09 was paid last offseason, Lamar Jackson.
05:12 Slimmed down by about 20, 25 pounds from his 2022 NFL season
05:17 weight and where he was last year as well.
05:19 Checking in around 205.
05:22 People ask Lamar Jackson, why did you
05:23 slim down, to be more agile, to move more,
05:27 is what Lamar Jackson said.
05:29 Do you think it makes Lamar Jackson a better quarterback
05:32 to be a little bit more trim?
05:34 I don't know, but I want to bet him early on in the season.
05:36 Because if you're losing that much weight
05:38 and you're expected to be even quicker than we already
05:40 know you are, you know he is going to be running early.
05:42 But the question then begs, man, a quarterback, sometimes
05:45 it's good to have a little bit extra meat on those bones
05:47 to absorb those hits you're going to take in the pocket.
05:49 And if he's slimmer than he was last year,
05:52 I don't know if that's actually a great thing or not.
05:54 But as I told you, in the month of September,
05:56 look for Lamar to go over 100 yards rushing
05:58 in each one of those games.
05:59 Because if he's coming in 20 pounds lighter
06:01 and how fast he is, I don't know who's going to catch him
06:04 early in the season.
06:05 But if they do catch him, man, you
06:07 might be headed to the sidelines for a few games here, buddy.
06:10 16 games for Lamar Jackson last year
06:13 after only playing 12 the last two seasons prior.
06:18 Maybe due to injury, maybe due in 2022
06:21 to an ongoing contract dispute and situation,
06:24 who is to truly say.
06:26 But 821 rushing yards for Lamar Jackson.
06:31 Led the league in yards per average
06:33 at 5 and 1/2 per pop.
06:36 I don't think he needs to be any skinnier,
06:38 but Donnie's right if you look at some of the rushing yards
06:41 numbers early on in the year.
06:43 For Lamar Jackson, for any quarterback,
06:46 for a team hoping to contend, health is always
06:49 the most critical component.
06:51 Lamar Jackson, a two-time NFL MVP in his sixth year NFL
06:55 career, enters this season with the fifth best number,
06:59 or tied for the fifth best price, at 14 to 1
07:02 alongside Jalen Hurts and Jordan Love.
07:04 Also in a contract situation is Jordan Love.
07:07 And how about CJ Stroup?
07:09 Tied for the third best price to win the NFL MVP
07:11 award alongside Joe Burrow.
07:13 More around the National Football League.
07:16 Football news up next here on this Thursday.
07:18 NFL news and notes during OTAs this week
07:22 in the National Football League.
07:23 We have some moments in the offseason calendar
07:25 outside of the draft and free agency
07:28 before training camp, where some focus is
07:31 paid to the National Football League.
07:33 Before Memorial Day, football, pretty fun stuff.
07:36 NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has hinted a few times
07:39 at a potential 18-game regular season schedule.
07:43 We have 18 weeks, but 17 games at this moment.
07:47 Goodell saying this week, we think that's a good trade,
07:50 is in regards to an 18-game schedule,
07:53 less preseason games and more regular season games.
07:58 What do you think of what Roger Goodell had
08:00 to say about a potential 18-game regular season?
08:04 I love it.
08:04 I think it's fantastic.
08:05 And there's ways that you can sort of massage it
08:07 to sort of help the players out.
08:08 The one thing that we love about football
08:10 is when all the superstars are on the field each and every
08:13 week.
08:13 We don't like it so much when a lot of the quarterbacks
08:15 are missing because it would be subpar play.
08:18 The reason I bring this up is I do find it funny.
08:20 That's like, well, we just take away two--
08:22 nobody plays in the preseason anyway.
08:24 So don't tell me you're taking away two preseason games
08:26 and adding two because the wear and tear on the bodies
08:28 will be the same because the same amount of games you play.
08:31 Nobody is in the preseason.
08:32 These guys do most of their work in the preseason camps
08:35 where they actually go up against other teams
08:37 and scrimmages much more than they do in the games.
08:39 But having said that, an 18-game schedule makes sense.
08:41 Who doesn't want more football?
08:43 Everybody wants more football.
08:44 But also, I think there's a happy medium.
08:46 If you throw that extra bye week in there during the season,
08:49 I think the players will love the extra money
08:51 in their back pocket for the extra game.
08:53 The NFL will like that because they
08:54 can pitch it to the networks and probably
08:56 sell it to another streaming service for that extra week.
08:58 Who knows?
08:59 But I do think we're heading on that collision course
09:01 because more football means more ratings and more money
09:04 in everybody's pocket.
09:05 And for us, from a content perspective,
09:07 you want to give us an extra week of football games?
09:09 Sign me up.
09:12 Listen, let's call a spade a spade.
09:14 It's the most simple truth in this life
09:16 and for the National Football League.
09:18 It is all about the money.
09:21 That additional regular season game
09:23 is not a benefit for the National Football
09:25 League and its organizations and its players
09:27 from a health and safety perspective.
09:30 It is not because we love to see regular season games
09:33 and it's for the integrity of a schedule.
09:35 We're fair and equitable around the National Football League.
09:38 It is about the dollars.
09:39 And if it don't make dollars, it don't make sense.
09:42 And if you can add in an additional regular season
09:45 games with all of the TV viewership that
09:47 comes along with it for what you can do for TV rights revenue
09:50 and TV rights contracts with additional buying partners
09:54 like Netflix, Amazon Prime, continue to move things out,
09:57 it is going to always move the needle for the National
10:00 Football League.
10:01 You can stop.
10:02 You can cry.
10:03 You can speak for player safety.
10:05 And you are correct.
10:07 But it doesn't mean a darn thing.
10:10 If money is available for the taking,
10:13 the National Football League is going to go get it.
10:16 And that is what an additional regular season game would mean.
10:21 Absolutely.
10:22 And that's all it's about.
10:23 Because I always go back to this.
10:25 Thursday Night Football is terrible for everybody
10:28 but the bottom line.
10:29 The reason I bring that up is if you tell players now,
10:32 they're all about the bottom line as well themselves.
10:34 Hey, guys, by the way, you guys wanted
10:35 to get rid of Thursday Night Football.
10:36 We know it's not the most safe thing for you guys to do.
10:38 But you're each going to take a 15% pay cut next year.
10:41 They'd say, no, put the Thursday game right there.
10:43 Even if I'm hurt, injured, or get a concussion,
10:45 I want that extra 15% in my bottom line
10:48 and my bonuses here.
10:49 That's just the way the world is here.
10:51 Sometimes these games don't make any sense.
10:53 And teams are going to play three games in 10 days.
10:55 But if you tell the players they're going to lose money,
10:57 they'll say, sign me up for three games in 10 days
11:00 every single time.
11:02 Every single year, if you look at the top 50 television
11:05 broadcasts across the country, 42 of the 50 are football.
11:10 38 of the 42 are NFL games.
11:13 The NFL averaged nearly 18 million viewers
11:16 for every single game last year in the regular season.
11:20 Thursday night football, some of those clunkers on prime,
11:23 11.86 million.
11:26 You know how much money that means when
11:28 you can generate nearly 12 million viewers for a live
11:31 event?
11:32 That's what it comes down to.
11:34 And the NFL draft continues to produce numbers as well.
11:38 The home of the 2026 NFL draft in the Steel City, Pittsburgh,
11:43 has been picked as the site, the hosting city for the 2026
11:47 National Football League draft.
11:50 Yeah, it should always be in one place and one place only.
11:52 Just put the bad boy in Vegas every single year.
11:55 Nobody wants to go to Detroit.
11:56 Nobody wants to go to Green Bay.
11:57 Nobody wants to go to Pittsburgh.
11:59 Hey, hey, hey, now.
11:59 Just put it in a city with nice weather and enjoy.
12:01 Come on now.
12:02 We're doing this all backwards.
12:03 Brother, TRS, you can't say nobody wants to be in Detroit
12:07 when they had over 700,000 fans absolutely shattering
12:10 the record for attendance.
12:12 Yeah, that was Detroit.
12:13 Yeah, let me know when somebody actually flew into Detroit
12:15 because they wanted to go to the draft in Detroit.
12:17 I'll wait.
12:19 It doesn't matter.
12:20 They had over 700,000 people there shattering
12:23 the record of less than 35--
12:25 or 3,000-- 350,000.
12:28 I can't even think.
12:29 That's why they do it.
12:30 They're going to get that in Lamba.
12:32 They're going to get that in Pittsburgh.
12:34 They're going to get a bill in Pittsburgh.
12:36 That's my prediction.
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