NFL - NEWS & NOTES

That makes perfect sense too me, but is a player like him worth the cash to make him the highest paid, non-QB player in the League? I understand a player is worth what he can get, I just think offensive talent may be or should be at the upper echelon of pay scales.

 

Bears CEO Kevin Warren seeks support for new stadium from Chicago business community

The Bears face an uphill climb when it comes to getting taxpayer money for a new stadium. In a keynote speech at the 120th annual meeting of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Bears CEO Kevin Warren tried to encourage the city’s business community to support the effort.

Via Crain’s Chicago Business, Warren tied the new stadium to the city’s future. After the session, Warren told reporters that “‘Chicago is our focus’ and ‘at some point in time we’ll get something worked out.’”

According to the Chicago Tribune, Warren “questioned the city’s outlook” without the stadium. He pointed out that Chicago has slipped in a ranking of the world’s best cities, with “high commercial vacancy and few cranes in the sky.”

There has been resistance from politicians about public funding for a new stadium. It’s not a new dynamic. Plenty of cities and states don’t want to pay for sports venues. Especially not NFL stadiums, given the ongoing explosion in franchise values.

The teams best positioned to get what they want are the ones with real leverage. In Jacksonville, for example, it was obvious that the Jaguars had a viable Plan B in London. In contrast, it’s nearly impossible to imagine the Bears moving out of Chicago.

At most, they’d build in the suburbs. And those options apparently have been exhausted.

So if the Bears can’t get free money to help pay for the stadium, the choices become build it themselves or don’t build it at all.

PFT

 

Browns sign Andrew Berry, Kevin Stefanski to contract extensions

The Browns have locked up their leaders for the foreseeable future.

Cleveland announced on Wednesday that executive vice president of football operations/G.M. Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski have both signed contract extensions.

Berry and Stefanski were both hired in 2020. The length of their extensions was not disclosed.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry leading the Cleveland Browns,” Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement. “Since the day they were hired, each has worked tirelessly to help the Cleveland Browns win. We are proud of what they and the team have achieved, but Kevin and Andrew would be the first to say that Browns fans deserve even more. Their leadership, collaborative approach, and ability to overcome obstacles bode well for the future of this franchise.

“Last season was a prime example. Despite facing multiple player injuries and using five different starting quarterbacks, Andrew and his staff built a roster that adapted well, while Kevin and his staff led the team to its second playoff appearance in four years, earning Coach of the Year honors for the second time in that period. They are two of the brightest people we know, and selfless people who only care about what is best for the Cleveland Browns. We are thrilled that Kevin and Andrew will remain with the team for the future.”

Berry and Stefanski have presided over what’s easily been the team’s best four-year stretch since re-entering the league in 1999. The Browns have gone 37-30 since the pair was hired in 2020, reaching the postseason twice and earning the team’s first playoff victory since the 1994 season.

Stefanski has twice been named AP coach of the year — in 2020 and 2023. He will be the first Browns head coach to have a fifth season since Bill Belichick in 1995, before Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore in early 1996 and fired Belichick prior to the new team officially being named.

Coming off an 11-6 record last season, the Browns are expected to be in a position to contend in 2024.

PFT
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I believe, Tim said they'd run with these guys and they are.

 

Will Dolphins adjust Tyreek Hill’s contract?

It’s now crystal clear that Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill wants a new contract. It’s not clear, at this point, whether the Dolphins will do anything about it.

It’s easy to assume they will. Why wouldn’t they? He’s the best player on the team. He’s still one of the best players in the NFL.

At $25 million per year, he’s underpaid. He’s due to make only $19.765 million in 2024.

He’s saying all the right things publicly. Privately, the message is surely being sent. “Pay me.”

Will they? He’s 30. He’s under contract for three more years. What’s he going to do, hold out? Retire?

The decision to give receiver Jaylen Waddle an extension that pays $28.25 million per year in new money was regarded as a precursor to fixing Hill’s contract. What if the deal is about commencing the transition for Waddle from No. 2 to No. 1?

The Dolphins don’t need to re-do Hill’s deal this year. They could do it next year, if they want. Or they could keep him for two more years and then re-do the deal or cut him in lieu of paying him $45 million in 2026.

Regardless, the Dolphins aren’t required to do anything. If they won’t, what Hill will do about it becomes very interesting.

The Chiefs traded him two years ago in lieu of paying him. Why wouldn’t Hill try that again, if the Dolphins won’t give him what he wants?

PFT

 

LOL, imho, no... This league is built around offense, I think their resources will continue to go more towards that side of the ball. Right now, it's wide receivers. I would be surprised if Lamb doesn't get a higher contract than Parsons... and I will also be surprised if Parsons doesn't leave via free agency. He's willing to play out the contract for maximum value, I think he will want to see what his street value worth is.

 

They would franchise him before he hit FA.

 

Mecole Hardman re-signs with Chiefs

After a few months as a free agent, wide receiver Mecole Hardman is heading back to Kansas City.

The Chiefs and Hardman have reached an agreement on a new contract, according to multiple reports.

Hardman was drafted by the Chiefs in the second round in 2019 and has played all but five games of his career with the Chiefs. He had a brief five-game stint with the Jets last season in which he caught just one pass.

Hardman, who caught the game-winning touchdown for the Chiefs in overtime of the Super Bowl, re-joins a receiving corps that has added first-round pick Xavier Worthy and free agent acquisition Hollywood Brown.

PFT

 

Buccaneers agree to terms with ex-Giants WR Sterling Shepard on one-year deal

Sterling Shepard appears to have found his perfect situation.

The veteran receiver has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported Thursday, per a source.

Shepard's move to Tampa reunites him with his former University of Oklahoma teammate Baker Mayfield, who was the last quarterback to throw Shepard passes in college before the receiver graduated to the NFL in 2016. The 2015 collegiate season was nearly a decade ago, but given the adversity Shepard has faced in recent years -- including a torn Achilles in 2021 and a torn ACL in 2022 -- if he were to return at 31 years old, doing so with a familiar face makes the most sense.

Shepard expressed uncertainty regarding his NFL outlook after the 2023 season -- his first healthy campaign since 2020, in which he played just 142 snaps and caught 10 total passes -- explaining he'd need a dream scenario to convince him to give it another go.

"I feel like it's too early to get into that right now," Shepard said during a January appearance on FS1's *The Carton Show*. "But it's gotta be a perfect situation for me to come back to the game, to be completely honest."

Considering how difficult the last three seasons have been for him, it would make plenty of sense for Shepard to retire, or at least take a break from the game. But at 31 years old, the time to strike is now. It doesn't take more than a couple of banged-up seasons for the rest of the league to suddenly turn its nose up at a veteran receiver with juice still left in the tank (just ask Jarvis Landry).

Shepard is giving it another go by joining a roster that should be good enough to win its division and seriously contend for more in 2024. It likely helps, too, that Mayfield is coming off a career year and returning with the security of a contract extension. Stability seems to be better in Tampa than it was in New York for much of Shepard's career.

All that's left is for Shepard to prove he can still play well enough to make an NFL roster.

NFL.com

 

Sunday Ticket trial, with up to $21 billion at issue, gets started

The trial has gotten started. The final bill could be an amount the NFL would have to dig deep to pay.

Via the Associated Press, opening statements happened Thursday in the massive antitrust class action against the NFL over the Sunday Ticket package.

The plaintiffs contend that the NFL, DirecTV, CBS, and Fox worked together to make Sunday Ticket more expensive than it had to be. The NFL, represented by Beth Wilkinson (whose investigation of the Commanders greased the skids for Dan Snyder’s exit) claims it’s all about consumers having full access to content.

“The case is about choice,” Wilkinson told the jury. “This is a valuable, premium product. Think about all the choices available to fans. We want as many people as possible to watch the free broadcasts.”

That’s the issue, in a nutshell. The NFL wants Sunday Ticket to carry a price point that strikes the balance between generating significant revenue for its “premium product” while not diluting the audiences who would otherwise watch the Sunday afternoon games on their local network affiliates.

During opening statements, attorney Amanda Bonn showed jurors a 2020 term sheet from Fox, in which the company asked the NFL to ensure that Sunday Ticket would be priced above $293.96 (the Sunday Ticket fee in 2020) during the 11-year term that began in 2023.

Steve Bornstein, the former head of NFL Network, testified on Thursday that Sunday Ticket was always intended to not impact the ratings of networks that paid handsomely for over-the-air broadcast rights in the various markets.

The Wall Street Journal recently took a closer look at what this case could mean. With up to $7 billion in damages, and given that the antitrust law requires damages to be tripled, the league could be looking at a $21 billion judgment, or $656.25 million per team.

The case started in 2015, when the San Francisco pub known as the Mucky Duck filed a legal challenge to the league’s out-of-market broadcast arrangements. It has morphed into an ambitious assault on the way business is done, with millions of fans in the class and with the NFL forced to defend its practice of keeping Sunday Ticket priced at a certain level.

The case tests the limits of the NFL’s broadcast antitrust exemption. Ultimately, out-of-market rights could be sold on a team-by-team basis. Which could create a potentially massive revenue disparity, unless the teams agree to share that money.

The evidence in the ongoing trial includes documents showing that the NFL rejected bids that would have made Sunday Ticket available at a lower rate, with the league choosing the company that would agree to the restrictions that boost CBS and Fox ratings.

The NFL, predictably, contends it has done nothing wrong.

But something has always felt wrong about Sunday Ticket. They market it as a way for fans to watch the games of their favorite teams, if their favorite teams don’t play in the local market. The NFL nevertheless requires fans to buy the entire package, forcing them to purchase the ability to see games they don’t care to see, including weeks when their favorite team has a prime-time game.

Why? Because if it was cheaper for, say, Vikings fans in the Pittsburgh market to watch Vikings games at 1:00 p.m. ET and not the Steelers game on the local CBS or Fox affiliate, more would buy that package — and fewer would watch the Steelers game on CBS or Fox.

The NFL loves to point out that it makes all local games available on free TV. Which is fine. The question is whether that “choice” to which Wilkinson referred is available at a reasonable price, or whether it’s artificially inflated to force a Vikings fan in Pittsburgh to watch Steelers game instead.

Fans, frankly, should be on #TeamMuckyDuck. If the NFL loses, Sunday Ticket will become cheaper. And you’ll likely be able to buy it one team at a time, and possibly one week or one game at a time.

If the NFL is truly committed to choice, that’s what the NFL should want. Give all fans the ability to watch any game they want — and only the games they want — without artificially driving up price to ensure that CBS and Fox will get a sufficient return on their investment by forcing fans who can’t afford to watch the game they want to see to watch the one that has been served up to them by their local CBS or Fox affiliates.

Bottom line? The NFL will only change its ways if litigation dramatically affects its bottom line. A $21 billion judgment would be more than enough to do just that.

PFT/

 

I would love to be able to buy only the Steelers games. Then just watch whatever else they show for free

 

FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY

 

This is my favorite version...

 

Jaylen Warren contract situation: Steelers RB provides update with free agency looming in 2025



While Najee Harris' contract situation has garnered a lot of attention, the Pittsburgh Steelers' other running back is also facing an uncertain future.

Jaylen Warren, who amassed 1,154 all-purpose yards last season while complementing Harris in Pittsburgh's backfield, is also entering his final year under contract. Warren was asked on Friday if he has had any talks with the Steelers about a possible extension.

"No," Warren said, via Yardbarker. "And to be honest, I'm not really worried about that. I'm worried about winning a Super Bowl."

Warren, a former undrafted rookie, is slated to receive a base salary of $985,000 this season. Combined, Warren and Harris represent just a $5 million hit in 2024. That's an absolute bargain for the Steelers, who expect to once again lean on both players this season.

Along with saving money this season, the Steelers are likely waiting to see how this season plays out before figuring out their long-term plan at running back. Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan basically said as much when explaining why the team elected not to pick up Harris' fifth-year option.

At this point, it's expected that the Steelers will try to keep Warren, who has averaged a team-high 5.1 yards per carry over the past two years. Last season, despite not getting a single start, Warren had two 100-yard rushing performances. His 74-yard touchdown jaunt against the Browns in Week 11 was the Steelers' longest run since Willie Parker's 75-yard touchdown run in Super Bowl XL.

Both Warren and Harris are in line to have big seasons in 2024, largely because of the investments the Steelers have put into their offensive line. Pittsburgh's O-line, a unit that was considered a weakness during Harris' rookie season back in 2021, now includes first-round picks Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu, rookie second-round pick Zach Frazier and veterans Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels.

CBS

 

Im checking out this UFL game... winner goes to the Championship vs Birmingham. My question is, whats a Brahmas? Is it the Hindu god or a cow, lol?

 

Wade Phillips leads Brahmas to UFL title game, with a win over the Battlehawks in St. Louis

76-year-old Wade Phillips is getting it done in the UFL.

Phillips, who coached the Bills, Broncos, and Cowboys in the NFL, has taken the San Antonio Brahmas to the UFL Championship game.

The Brahmas upended the St. Louis Battlehawks, 25-15, before more than 30,000 in St. Louis for the XFL Conference title.

It wasn’t as close as the score would suggest. The Brahams outgained the Battlehawks, 410 yards to 239. San Antonio churned up 213 on the ground, led by running back Anthony McFarland Jr., who 11 carries for 115 yards, and a 69-yard touchdown. John Lovett added 83 yards on 18 carries.

Down 10 but with the fourth-and-12 onside kick alternative available, the Battlehawks had a chance to force overtime or win it late. They ran out of time to score a touchdown, opting not to try for a field goal before attempting the fourth-and-12 play en route to a potential game-winning touchdown.

After the clock struck zero, Brahmas players dumped a bucket of Gatorade on Wade. A hot mic caught his reaction: “Oh, shit!”

Phillips coached the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in 2023. After the league merged with the USFL, Phillips replaced Hines Ward as coach of the Brahmas. (CJ Johnson, who had coached the Houston Gamblers of the USFL, took over the Roughnecks.)

Next Sunday, the Brahmas, who lost to the Battlehawks in St. Louis last weekend to cap the regular season, will return to St. Louis for a championship showdown against the Birmingham Stallions.

The Stallions have lost only one game in the past two seasons. That loss came against the Brahmas on May 25.

 

Here's a little tid-bit about Darren Waller who recently retired...

Darren Waller said good-bye to the game he loves Sunday night.

The tight end announced his retirement in a YouTube video, revealing a medical emergency that left him hospitalized played a part in his decision to call it quits.

Waller, whose overdose in 2017 scared him into sobriety, said he called 911 from his North Jersey apartment last November because of difficulty breathing. He feared for his life . . . again.

Symptoms began when he was driving home from shooting a video for his music career, and he believed he had contracted COVID for a third time. But once back to his apartment he began “shaking uncontrollably” and “losing consciousness.”

“I kept nodding [off] and couldn’t breathe, so I ended up calling 911,” Waller said, via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. “I think I’m talking clearly on the phone, but they can’t make out much of what I’m saying.”

While waiting for first responders, Waller said he stumbled to the couch.

“I’m there breathing deeply, and in between each breath, I’m yelling out, ‘Help!’ ” Waller said. “So maybe I could wake the neighbors up. I don’t know how long the time was — it felt like forever — and I’m like, ‘Damn, I’m dying on this couch and nobody knows.’ It was kind of similar to my overdose — like the power plug being pulled out and I couldn’t breathe anymore.”

Waller missed five games from Nov. 5 to his return to the field Dec. 17, going on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

His explanation of his near-death experience left questions, but it helps explain why he is walking away from $35 million left in the final three years of his contract.

“I’m doing something [football] that I found a lot of joy in . . . but the passion has slowly been fading,” Waller said. “I feel like I spent most of my life doing what I should be doing. I’ve been a people-pleaser my whole life — somebody that has struggled with worth, confidence, feeling valuable.”

PFT

 

The Steelers have renewed their commitment to head coach Mike Tomlin.

Tomlin has signed a three-year contract extension through the 2027 season, the Steelers announced today.

That doesn’t automatically guarantee Tomlin job security, but it’s a strong sign that the Rooney family has no interest in finding a new head coach. Tomlin is one of only three head coaches the Steelers have had since before the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, and Pittsburgh likes that kind of continuity.

The 52-year-old Tomlin has been the Steelers’ head coach since 2007, and if he coaches the length of this contract he’ll have been the head coach in Pittsburgh for 21 seasons. Bill Cowher was the Steelers’ head coach for 15 years before Tomlin, and Chuck Noll was the Steelers’ head coach for 23 seasons before Cowher. Noll was hired in 1969 as the Steelers began their extraordinary run of coaching continuity.

“Mike Tomlin’s leadership and commitment to the Steelers have been pivotal to our success during his first 17 years as head coach,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a statement. “Extending his contract for three more years reflects our confidence in his ability to guide the team back to winning playoff games and championships, while continuing our tradition of success.”

Heading into his 18th season with the Steelers, Tomlin has been with his team longer than any other active NFL head coach.

“I am appreciative for this contract extension and thankful for Art Rooney II for his support during my first 17 years in Pittsburgh,” said Tomlin. “We are continuing to work diligently to get back to where we belong – sustained playoff success with the ultimate goal of winning the franchise’s seventh Lombardi Trophy. I am very excited to get the 2024 season underway and provide our fans with a memorable year.”

Tomlin has a 173-100-2 regular-season record, seven AFC North titles and a Super Bowl win. The Steelers have never had a losing record with Tomlin as their coach.

PFT

 

Bears announce return of Marcedes Lewis

Marcedes Lewis is officially back in the NFL, at the age of 40.

The Bears announced today that Lewis has re-signed with the team. He played in all 17 games in Chicago last season and has spent the last three months weighing his future options in free agency.

One option would have been retiring. Lewis will be the oldest tight end in NFL history at the age of 40.

But Lewis still thinks he has something to offer, and the Bears agree. Chicago has a young team, but Lewis will provide a veteran presence.

PFT
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At the local sports bar, Lewis was heard saying; 'please pass the Geritol please and make it a double!

 

The one that got away...