Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to the issues of sports. It's wonderful to be back with the rude dog. I am Emac. Evan Makoski. Yeah, I'm wearing the macho man's t shirt. I feel good. The NFL is upon us. The Olympics are in the rearview mirror and it's my favorite sport. There's two times of year. There's football season and not football season. Rude dog, first off, how are you? Real quick, you okay?
[00:00:28] Speaker B: I'm doing good. How are you doing?
[00:00:31] Speaker A: I'm just wonderful. You know, we were thinking of ideas for the issues of sports and just quarterbacks and their salaries and we're not going to break down their entire contracts and all that, but we're going to talk about their 2024 annual salaries that they're getting paid this year. And some, you know, it's a mishmash here. Some, okay, you know where they, first of all, it's all bloated. Okay? They make basically between north of like 35 million and all the way up into the fifties to the mid fifties. But you'll see as we go here. Let's start at the top. They're tied for first for this upcoming year and the three highest salaries we have Jordan Love at 55 million, Joe Burrow at 55 million. And then this is the problem. Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars, his team, he didn't play well down the stretch. I don't even know what they, who cares? They lost six or seven, whatever it was. They did everything under the sun to miss the playoffs with a very talented roster last year. And he now makes 55 million, which is rolling eyes in amongst critics. Amongst. Yes, it's stupid money to begin with, but how he, when there are clearly, including the two guys that he's tied with for 55 million, Joe Burrow and Jordan Love have shown themselves already to be better quarterbacks than Trevor Lawrence. Rude dog.
[00:02:08] Speaker B: The problem I have with this whole contract is that you're right from the onset. This is bloated, it's nonsensical. And to be honest with you, you just flat out stupid. This is, this is monopoly money that the guys, these guys are playing with and without even missing a beat whatsoever, except for guys like Joe Burrow, who's already been to a Super bowl, lost it, but at least he got into a Super Bowl. Jordan Love increased his value last year, especially in postseason make, trying to make a run to the NFC championship game, which they fell short. When I'm talking about him and them, it's referring to the packers with Jord Love under center to a tie volvo you know what? 53.1 million. Not bad. Stupid money. Did he deserve it? Well, more so than Trevor Lawrence. And there's a lot of reasons behind that. Right? We look, contract extension includes a signing bonus, which is absolutely nonsensical to me, salaries, and an option bonus through 2026. So he plays two years with option bonuses of probably more like engage that on performance. Right? Because if he gets into postseason, there's additional monies. You don't get into postseason. Those monies are lessened at least by 50%. So when you look at the 2027 compensation, which is just absolutely stupid, an additional $12 million will be fully guaranteed in March of 2026, along with $46 million in March of 2027. Look, the guy has played okay at best, okay, from Clemson. It's been hunky dory when he was in Clemson, but this is not NC double a football. This is national. This is a national football league. So did he deserve any of this money? Not unless he showed up for.
[00:03:51] Speaker A: Wait, are you talking about Trevor Lawrence right now? You're talking. You're talking about Tua. You're talking about Trevor Lawrence.
[00:03:57] Speaker B: Yeah, because to, for the most part, again, postseason playdead. That's where. That's why he earned the money that he did. That's why he was able to acquire another contract. The problem I have with this is that Trevor Lawrence did not show up when he needed to, yet now makes more money than Tua, who did.
[00:04:17] Speaker A: Well, as you go down the list, you're right, tua.
I don't even want to pronounce his last name, say to a, I have trouble with it still. I still do. But we had people come to it. But the point is, he don't play great down the stretch last year necessarily, either. Now, I know Tyree kill got banged up towards the end of the year, but I feel okay about Tua's contract. I don't feel okay about Trevor Lawrence's contract going down.
Jared Golf, he took the Lions to the NFC championship game just a shade under at 53 million. You know, we don't have to do each one here. I'll do a group. Justin Herbert. Okay, 52 and a half million. He's got all the talent, but he has not won. He has not won. He's got Jim Harbaugh now with him to turn him into a winner. Lamar Jackson, 52 million. I think I have to be okay with that. He's won two MVP's despite playoff letdowns, including last year. And then Jalen hurts at 51 million. So out of that group golf. Herbert. Lamar Jackson.
Jalen hurts.
I think golf, who's a good indoor quarterback, has been great for the Lions, belongs where he is. Herbert jury still out. He's making more money than his production. That's what I think. Maybe not more than his talent. Lamar Jackson.
I'm okay with it. At 52 million, he's got to break through one of these years and authenticate MVP with a Super bowl. And then Jalen hurts what he was two years ago. He's a weapon. He's still a good player. The Eagles were a mess. They lost to Tampa. They collapsed down the stretch. But I don't really have a problem with any of them except Justin Herbert, I feel like, is still getting paid on his talent, not his accomplishment.
[00:06:13] Speaker B: Well, his talent's going to be hampered slightly because he's dealing with plantar fascia, and plantar fascia is no joke. Plantar fasciae disables you from putting pressure on your. On your. On your throwing foot. Right. So when you go into a throw, you put your best foot forward. If you're right handed or left handed, predominantly. If you're right handed, you put your left foot forward. Unfortunately, the fascia is going to disable him from making those types of throws. It's a case by case basis. This doesn't happen to everybody. It just so happens that Justin Herbert, the guy, just can't catch a break, regardless of what he does or, you know, the. Who he plays.
[00:06:46] Speaker A: Bye.
[00:06:46] Speaker B: Behind offensive line or whatever that means. Then you brought up Lamar Jackson. I guarantee you he would love to turn in one of those MVP awards for a Super bowl trophy. There's no doubt about that. He bet on himself to get the contract that he did, and he held out relatively well, and that's why he's being paid $52 million, because he did bet on himself. Jalen hurts, as you mentioned. Yeah. He's still extremely serviceable, very talented guy. He's great. Out of the pocket.
[00:07:14] Speaker A: More than more.
[00:07:15] Speaker B: Yeah, well, he's beyond serviceable, but, I mean, if anybody's serviceable, it may be Kenny picket, and that's a big maybe as his backup. Now, he's out of Pittsburgh. But one thing that I. There's one other quarterback that I don't, outside of Trevor Lawrence, I don't really see why he would make the kind of money that he is, and that's Kyler Murray. And I think he won ride enough to get that contract, which wasn't well deserved, in my opinion. Uh, because when you look at the fact that he scrubbed his social had no connection with the team at one point. And then this merry go round of, well, I'm still injured, I'm still injured, I'm still injured, and we're talking half of the season already. Now it's time to put the money where his mouth is, and that's to shut up and play instead of the weapons that he does not have at 46.1 million, reasons why he needs to get around that curve and play better.
[00:08:08] Speaker A: So as you just said, he makes $46.1 million. Then after him at ten is Deshaun Watson at 46 million. Then we go to eleven and it's Patrick Mahomes, who's a Hall of Famer. If you retire tomorrow and probably was a Hall of Famer two years ago, if he retired at 45 million, I want to start with the first two and say, I agree with you on Kyler Murray. He had a very optimistic start to his career, but then injuries, and then the team also took a fall. So I don't want to say he's lost in the shuffle. He still has that talent, that excitement that he brought to the National Football League. But I would bet between him and Deshaun Watson, for different reasons. Some people talk about this as the worst trade in NFL history at the Browns. He hasn't been living up to his contract yet, but I would bet that one of those two guys, whether it be injury, whether it be being a head case, and we've seen them play super well back in the day, Deshawn and Kyler, just a couple years ago. But I would bet one of those two does not, quote unquote, pan out and earn their salary this year. And we can all agree that Patrick Mahomes should be number one on this list if it's pure accomplishment and talent.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: Well, yeah, you're right. Accomplishment and talent. When you're going for a three p, which has never been done, that, that's certainly something to hang your hat on. Now, don't forget Patrick Mahomes being very selfless in the case of I'm going to give some extra money away, you could, you can take that money you invest in, in the talents that I'm going to need in order to get another Super bowl.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: And then if that Brady did that, too. Tom Brady did that.
[00:09:58] Speaker B: He took a discount. That's right. He was shopping at the goodwill store one day and said, you know what? I want to give back. So it's exactly what Patrick Mahomes has taken a page out of Tom Brady's book to do. Exactly the same thing. Deshaun Watson, as far as he's concerned, he's a washout.
And I say that in all due respect because he just hasn't shown up. He injured and then playable. Injured and then playable. The guy hasn't had good numbers since he was in a Houston Texans uniform. So let's be realistic about this. At 46 million reasons why DeShawn wants it needs to put his money where his massage polars would otherwise actually be at. He needs to play better or he's done in Cleveland. There's no question. And it starts in preseason and it works itself through to the regular season. I just don't know that Deshaun Watson has enough mental toughness. He does have the talent we've seen. It's been on display. The problem is that he's been so injured. And between that and the scandal and.
[00:10:57] Speaker A: The scandal, he's not the same player he was winning national championships at Clemson, nor is he the same player he was early in his NFL career. I think that scandal, like you're saying, and yes, injuries, but that scandal has derailed him. Moving on. Now, this is where I start to have problems. So you got Mahomes at 45 million. We don't need to go over his accomplishments. And then I next at 45 million is Kirk Cousins, who lost to the Giants two years ago. He's done nothing in the playoffs. He is breaking into the rankings of like the top 20 all time passers in this. But to me, he's a stat sheet, regular season stuffer. I understand why Atlanta got him, but he's another guy we talked about. Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson's done more in the playoffs then. Kirk Cousins was one win to date, and he's a very expensive quarterback. Like, he's totally different than, like, Jeff George, but you feel like he's like that super talented guy and he just does. I mean, I think he's, his statistics, he's ahead of like, Tom Brady's pace. But who cares because Tom Brady's been to ten Super Bowls and won seven. Kirk cousins to me, and I'm gonna let you hop in on this, is certainly not better than the person below him. Tied or tied, 43 million for Josh Allen. Josh Allen's a top five QB. And then 14, Matthew Stafford, who's aging a little bit. And then dak at 40 million.
I'm okay with those. It's. It's the Kirk cousins and the Falcons knew what they were getting. I know they signed Michael Pennix Junior in the draft or whatever, which caused a little bit of unrest there. I'm not saying it was a bad sign for the Falcons and that he doesn't have the talent, but he certainly doesn't have the accomplishment. Like you were talking about with Patrick Mahomes.
[00:12:56] Speaker B: No, no, not at all. Kirk husbands is a poor man's.
Gosh, I hate to say it. The guy with seven kids who used to play for the charters, he hasn't won anything either. I'm trying to remember his name.
[00:13:09] Speaker A: What are you talking about? Antonio Cromarty.
[00:13:11] Speaker B: No, no.
[00:13:13] Speaker A: A lot of children.
[00:13:14] Speaker B: He plays San Diego Chargers.
[00:13:17] Speaker A: No, the Chargers are in LA now.
[00:13:19] Speaker B: Well, I'm talking about when you played for the San Diego.
[00:13:22] Speaker A: Philip Rivers.
[00:13:23] Speaker B: Yep. Philip Rivers has four kids as an offensive line than he does any titles or any accolades.
[00:13:29] Speaker A: So with that AFC title game, we lost to the Patriots in the year that they lost to the Giants in the Super bowl. That's the furthest he knows.
[00:13:37] Speaker B: Exactly. Right. And even Kirk Hus has gotten there yet, and Philip river is still getting paid by the Chargers. So it just says a lot, or lack thereof, about Kirk Cousins and the fact alone that he's sitting there at on the cusp and the precipice of where Josh Allen is currently is just absolutely ridiculous. But there's one other quarterback that really chaps my hide, who played absolutely horrific football. He had one good season. I think you know where I'm going with this.
[00:14:05] Speaker A: Daniel Jones.
[00:14:06] Speaker B: And that's Daniel the dime interceptor Jones, because he throws dimes when he needs to and he throws Nichols into the nickel defense. And when he does that, he's taken. Whoever intercepts that ball is taking that in to break the bank. And that's happened last night.
It sure did. So it goes to show that Daniel Jones is not as advertised. And for him to be in the same conversation as Josh Allen, are you kidding me? Even Matthew Stafford is taking less money so he can add to the regimen in his offensive line. And he's also at $40 million. I mean, okay, look, we're talking apples and oranges. Neither one of us will make $40 million in any given year in our lifetime. But when it comes to quarterback perspectives and where these guys rank, I just see a problem with Daniel Jones's contract, and I believe that this could be the one and only year in his existence in a New York Giants uniform, and he'll find himself somewhere else as a backup QB, serviceable at best. And it won't be for the Giants.
[00:15:10] Speaker A: The issues of sports, I don't know what you're getting but I'm getting 39 million for doing this podcast once every six. Not sure.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: 39.99.
[00:15:23] Speaker A: We can wrap this in a second. A couple more. Aaron Rodgers at 37. Okay. You know, I guess he still, though, he has to pan out for the jets to a degree because they gave up a lot in a trade for Aaron Rodgers. So he's going to the hall of fame. He's one of. But he has to. He's got pressure to justify his contract. The trade to the jets this year, the bomb. The coach is going to be gone. In fact, Rogers getting injured last year kind of saved the coach's job because it was an excuse that the team was, was inept. I mean, last year. But they have some talent, you know, breeze hall and the wide receiver. I'm forgetting his name. Who's. Who's excellent.
And then, you know, moving on, you have an aging Derek Carr at 37 and a half. Yeah, I don't, you know, whatever. And then, and then you got Baker Mayfield, who, you know, I got to give props before we get out of here to Baker Mayfield.
He was. I don't want to say falling out of the NFL, but he was, you know, he didn't work out. It was early. He played well with Cleveland, then it didn't work out.
Excuse me. And then they let him go, and he was with.
He was with the Panthers. That didn't work out. He was with the Rams. And then suddenly he just found life with the Bucks. And he had a really good year. And not about the salary, but I think when you're on the verge of, like, playing your way out of the NFL, to turn it around and get a big contract, it's hard to stem that tide when you're playing bad football. Like, you're like, Daniel Jones might be on that out. You know what I'm saying? If he flails, he'll get another shot somewhere. But I commend Baker Mayfield. And I actually sort of root for Baker Mayfield because he had a major valley in his career.
[00:17:41] Speaker B: He did. He did. He was one of those. I want to call him an underdog. He really.
Yeah. Number one pick as an underdog. The only person that. That could have rivaled that had he of been able to stay in the NFL, and that's Ryan Leaf. But with that being said, kudos to Baker Mayfield and what he did with, with the Rams, what he did with the Panthers, what he did when he was drafted first overall.
And I think about this in the sense of, man, this guy has fought every obstacle and set of adversities that have been thrown his way, and he's done nothing but paid dividends. Some ill advised.
[00:18:21] Speaker A: You imagine you play in the NFL, most people's jobs, broadcasters a little bit, but you're not in the public. You're not screwing up, effing up, and an entire stadium sees you throw a pick six.
Baker Mayfield had to take it for two years where you're a bum, you're a bust. You're a bust. You want number one, you're a bust. And for him to dig deep and salvage his career and take Tampa to the playoffs and get them a playoff win last year versus Philadelphia, I thought that was impressive because I thought I, you know, he was just done. And so I think everybody thought he was done.
[00:19:08] Speaker B: Everybody thought he was done.
[00:19:09] Speaker A: So at 33 million, I'm definitely okay with, with Baker Mayfield. You know, we've gone through this list. It seems like, you know, between, there are some sore spots in there, including at the top with Trevor Lawrence. You got Daniel Jones in there.
But let's just say it, that you look and you break down positions. The NFL, it's different than fantasy football, where you need running backs in the first couple of rounds because running backs are not valued in the NFL. They're just not. I mean, Saquon, I went to more money for Philadelphia, but the Giants of Devon Singletary, I mean, that's the bad starting running back. That's not a, you know, low ceiling. I mean, I worry about the Giants, but the point I'm making is that running backs, it's just not a high valued position.
Wide receiver is more valued, but quarterback pays the highest because you're basically, they look at it and probably it's true, if you don't have a good quarterback in the NFL, you think about Brad Johnson with Tampa 20 something years ago, and you think about Trent Dilfer with the Ravens, but rarely do you not have a, you know, I don't know what you want to say about Brock Purdy, but he's a good, he's good quarterback. You know, is he great? No, he's not in the homes, but rarely do you have a quarterback, which is why they're paid the most.
It's like they're the point guard of the team. Do you know what I'm saying? They're the brain trust. They're the coach on the field. So that's why I. That position is valued the most. And it's absurd how much they get paid, but I think it's pretty conclusive what the most important position to NFL teams is in the NFL.
[00:21:09] Speaker B: Yeah. No, it's clearly obvious. You look at the running back position. I think the reason for the devaluation of running backs in a variety of ways. I think it can all be surmised by one thing only. In that when you start handing out contracts like you do pink slips to employees, you're handing out horrible contracts that are one sided, one direction vet minimum. That's it. Or you stay on the other side of the coin and now you start giving them 12 million, 13 million, 14 million, signing bonuses, opt in bonuses, player options. Once you start swinging that pot for a running back, now you're overblowing that position. I'm not saying they're not worth it because, well, they are. The problem is, is that you cannot have an NFL offense without a running back. You cannot have one without a halfback. You can't run one without a scat back. You know, there are so many different reasons why you still need a running back in the NFL. It's like saying we don't need a punter anymore. I'll just have the quarterback do it.
[00:22:10] Speaker A: No, but the Saquon Barkley annual 12 million versus 15 is not the same as Kirk Cousins.
[00:22:19] Speaker B: No, not at all.
[00:22:20] Speaker A: Not in my position is just more valued, period. Even. And also they think you can.
I mean, a running back pretty much is. QB's take hits, don't get me wrong. But a running back, unless he scores a touchdown standing up, he's going to get hit on every play. And I think there's just more wear and tear. But rude dog, I think that's going to wrap things up for this episode of the issues of sports. So we got a couple beefs with the list and the pay. It's going to be certainly going to be interesting this year. Which quarterbacks play up to their deals.
Everyone's inflated. But I mean, look, I'm not saying if I'm Trevor Lawrence, I'm not having my agent sign for the most money. It's not necessarily Trevor Lawrence's fault. It's just, it makes a universal eye roll around the NFL that Trevor Lawrence is getting $10 million more than Patrick Mahomes. And you hit on why? Because Mahomes is taking less money or whatever. But, you know, I don't know. It just, it didn't, it didn't sit with me for his production last year that they're going to make him the highest paid to be for the rude dog who's working nine jobs right now. This one is actually number nine. He's working nine jobs. I am Emac Evan Mikovsky. This is the issues of sports, and we will see you on the next episode.
