November 29, 2022 • 25 mins
This week on The Bag it's all about football and futbol! Lindsay & Rashad dive into TV ratings comparisons of the Michigan v OSU, and Team USA v England games to assess whether American sports fans are finally ready for some fútbol. They also discuss the business merits of NFL Sunday Ticket, YouTube, and Apple TV+. Also, some hot takes on controversies and potential big moves in the soccer world. Messi to Miami and Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia? Liverpool and Manchester United for sale? And how will the impact of World Cup human rights violations reverberate throughout the sports world?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Good, Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Sports Illustrated.
My heart Radio is the Bag with me Lindy McCormick
and my amazing co host or Sean Jennings, who is
(00:22):
back after the holidays. And I really wanted to thank you.
We're finally in one place, but I wanted to thank
you for for holding down the fort while I was
gone sick on my honeymoon. And I loved the episodes
you did with Dave. I just thought they were fantastic
and I enjoyed listening to them even while I was sick.
(00:43):
So thank you. Try I tried to hold a fort
now and it won't easy without you. That was a
honeymoon your Thanksgiving. It was nice. I got to see
a lot of places in the world that I had
never seen before, from Milano to uh like Homo. Where
else did we go? Switzerland? Uh, Florence. We kind of
(01:05):
had a worldwide tour because it had been years since
we had been out of the the country, and I got
to see a lot of beautiful places. Um where do
we start? O? Germany we went to and we happened
to be in Germany about an hour away from where
they had the NFL game, So it was it was
neat to see how excited a lot of the Germans
were to have NFL there finally, and I saw where, uh,
(01:28):
the NFL had renewed a contract to have four more
games in Germany. So it's cool to see. And I'm
sure you've you've seen this. Did you ever play outside
the United States one of your games? Yeah? I played.
I played in London And what was funny when I
played in London is, um, you know when you when
I played there, there's the teams, uh support it all
(01:50):
over in the stadium. So I saw Jaguars jerseys, saw
Patriots jerseys and mind you it is the New York
Giants versus the Rams, right, And so I knew they
quite didn't understand fully American football when I saw this.
I walked in the stadium and I'm playing with Odell Beckham,
I'm playing with Eli Manning, I'm playing with Victor Cruz, right,
(02:11):
big big names, and they had me plastered all over
the stadium like I was the show. So I was like,
kind of like it in London. But I don't think
they understand how the money works yet with football. But
they didn't pick they pick, they picked the best one
to put up. I love that they I mean, you're
(02:32):
so multifaceted though you had your hands in so many things,
and from dancing with the Stars, I mean you have
a personality that people all across the world are just
strawn too. So I can actually understand why why the
fans were excited to see you in person. Yeah, that
was a good time though. It was a good time.
(02:52):
Uh did you watch any of the football games on
Thanksgiving Day? I did. Unfortunately, every game went high and
not wanted it to end. My Giants took an l unfortunately.
But hey, listen, it's all right. We're still in the
hunt and no matter what, Like we were scrappy right
(03:13):
this second, everybody already canceled us out before the season
even started. Um, we're already exceeded expectations from outside the building,
so I think we're going to up and up. We
still got a shot to get in that wild card.
We still got shot at one of the visions, so
it's open. I'm curious your take on this. So the
Cowboys versus Giants game was the single season record of
(03:33):
most viewers at forty two million, which is astounding to me.
Then you've got the Michigan versus Ohio State game at
seventeen million viewers, and then you had the USA versus
England World Cup game at fifteen point four million viewers.
So I kind of have a theory on this, but
I'm curious to your thoughts. First, Why do you think
(03:53):
so many people are watching sports right now? I would
assume to that covid has as a nation has kind
of I'm careful with my words here, right but I
would think overall it has subside to the point where
people are getting back to whatever quote unquote normal is,
and it's an expression of, you know, I want to
(04:16):
be around people. I think if concerts would have the
highest ratings right now, anything that's a formal gathering would
be highest ratings right now. And so family, food and football,
um is still part of American culture. It's you and
I are on the same page with that one. It's
odd because you would have thought that the ratings for
football games in terms of the people watching from their
(04:39):
homes on TV would have been astronomical during the pandemic.
Because people are sitting at home, you think they would
be worth the people are working from home, you think
they want to watch sports. But the numbers were record
low during the pandemic, and now it seems like people
are starting to return to some sort of normalcy and
(05:02):
that as a result, people are going to their jobs
and they want to come home and have that leisurely,
relaxing time watching football on Sundays again. And whereas when
you're at home all day every day, it's it doesn't
seem like such a luxury to turn on the TV
(05:24):
and to watch football and people, i mean, people have
so many things going on during the pandemic, and kids
were home from school and people were home schooling, and
it seems like now we're back to some sort of
normalcy for the most part, and people are enjoying the
luxury of watching sports again when they are absolutely yeah.
(05:47):
It's listen, you want to be around friends, you want
to be around family, and you know, that entertainment of
the sport itself just you know, a big part of
why people like football, you know, if you really watch it,
is every thing that's surrounding it. It's the entertainment around
the game of football because you've got time out, is
between plays, it's the commentary area that people like. It's
(06:09):
the ambiance, is the camera editings that people like. Everything
that goes into the game of football is what's appreciated.
And having that on an ambiance in the background with
food and people could talk trash about who's gonna win
and who's not quarterback couching. Uh, she was a quarterback
coaching from the couch. They love doing it. I do too,
So it's just a fun family event. So have you
(06:32):
watched any football because when we were we were traveling
around to Milan and different parts of Italy, you could
tell that football or soccer was king there. So have
you had a chance to watch any of the World
Cup games? I have not. Actually, don't say I had
(06:52):
a chance. I have not because I'm busy working on
so many projects. But it is it is, Uh, it
is a phenomenon. And I mean everybody loves football, right,
It's the original football, um, and it's it's worldwide. Is
well known across the globe, not not just in one
particular country, where as America's predominantly um, you know loved
(07:13):
and watchton viewed by the US. This is now we're
talking about global. So it's uh, the one thing I
can appreciate. I had one of my friends from Nigeria
was kind of explaining, like soccer in other countries, sometimes
when you hit, when somebody scores a goal in that country,
the entire country will yell, you know, in cheer interruption.
(07:36):
So it's kind of I'm jealous. I wish we had
an American team like that that you know, you just
every time they score touchdown, you hear the whole neighborhood
of screaming, right, But we understanding that don't work like that,
so we may actually at some point if if I
don't know if you saw this news, but Messi his
contract is up with Paris Saint Germain in June two
(07:58):
thousand and twenty three, and he's got the option to
either play another year with Paris Saint Germain or the
rumors are that he will work up a deal with Miami,
in which case he would be the richest footballer on
American soil and history. So do you think that if
(08:19):
Messi comes to play in Miami that will start to
have obviously not the same culture that they have in Barcelona,
Um or Paris Saint Germain or other parts of the world,
but do you think that we'll start to see more
fans get excited about about soccer because it's it's it's
(08:41):
mind blowing to me that you had fifteen point four
million views for the US versus England, and I'm curious
to see now that the United States has to win
this game against Iran tomorrow. They can't tie in order
to advance, they have to win. If you'll start to
(09:01):
see more people take interest in in soccer, I think
you can. Um will it personal preference, and I think
it comes from the advertisement dollars pouring out and investing
in trying to make football in American iconic sport over
(09:21):
American football. I think the dollars go into UM the NBA,
I think the dollars going to the NFL. What I
mean by that is if you go to local high schools,
if you go to even a grocery store and you
look on the bag of freed alas, what do you see?
You see a football player, You see a NBA player,
(09:42):
You look at wheaties in an NBA players, you look
at the commercials, who do you see? You see NFL players,
NBA players, you see Chris Paul everywhere. You're seeing Aaron
Rodgers all over the place. So it's not gonna happen
whereas the phenomenon of football right soccer is predominantly watched
in the US over top of any other sport. It's
(10:04):
not going to happen until you put the dollars behind it.
It's also hard for me the more I keep diving
into the FIFA and the organization and the decisions they've
made in the past. It's hard for me to tune
in and watch and support FIFA an organization that has
(10:26):
been so corrupt and has made choices where they're holding
the World Cup and guitar where you have a lot
of human rights issues and workers who died building that stadium.
It's it's it's very conflicting for me to want to
support that. I know, if I'm tuning in to watch this, yeah,
I'm supporting America by watching the US men's team. But
(10:48):
I also I feel like I'm supporting FIFA. And I'm
really torn about it because this is a massive issue,
and I know people are starting to talk about it.
Media Alice are starting to talk about it more and
deeper in The New York Times has done several pieces.
But it's I don't know, I don't know, I don't
know how. Yeah, I don't think any nobody wants to
(11:09):
support anything. Well, I can't say. I don't want to
speak for everybody. You know, we have unique individuals on
this land right so, but all in all, most people
don't want to support something that they know is corrupt.
And with that being said, I can understand your reluctantness
(11:31):
to support it. But with the corruptness, do you think
that do you think that it will it will be
something that can be uh fixed? Is this something that
actually will be handled or is this a corruptness that
is just understood. I mean, it's been going on for years.
FIFA has been getting away with a lot of stuff
and the bribery and it hasn't changed yet. So in
(11:55):
their current decisions are I mean, I'm not saying they
were bribed by guitar, but they were bribed by guitar
and to to hold the World Cup. There their current is.
I do believe that people and organizations can change, but
their past record and their current record is showing that
that's not going to happen. So we'll see. We have
(12:20):
I have my fingers crossed. I have a question for you.
So Cris Cristiano Ronaldo UH received an offer for two
hundred and twenty five million over three years to live
and play in Saudi Arabia. Do you think he should
take it? Would you take it? Well, I'm not. I'm
(12:40):
not gonna first I'm not gonna tell him what he
should do because I just don't move like that. But
what I would do if I was offered that, which
obviously i'm not, I wouldn't take it. I know, if
I'm getting offered to twenty by a club that somebody
else is gonna offer the same or any up more so,
then it just becomes to where do you want to
live at? And for me, Um, I'm the type of
(13:05):
person that I can't really think how much that I
could do with two hundred million that I couldn't that
I could do with two hundred and twenty million that
I couldn't do with two hundred million. That's just me.
So I would pick based upon my family, you know,
based upon my kids and wife and everything else. I
wouldn't pick and chase the money. Yeah, Saudi Arabia is
a little too far from my family and friends. Yeah,
(13:28):
so so what would you do? Um? Well, I agree
with you. It's not like if he were to give
that up You've got a lot of athletes right now,
You've got a lot of golfers that are going over
there because of large contracts. And you're right, it's not like, oh,
he'd be giving up two million, it would be like
(13:48):
that or nothing. He's going to get a large, large
contract in a different place that may or may not
be more enjoyable to live for him, for his personal preference.
And I mean, if it were me, I would see
what all my options are. He's definitely going to get
a large contract. It's just a matter of what what
(14:10):
are his other options? And two hundred and twenty million
dollar contract, Like, we're talking about leaving a country. We're
not talking about what Russell Wilson took at a two
hundred and some million dollar contract just to go from
Seattle to Denver. We're leaving countries, so that's it's a
different take. Yeah, what do you what do you think
about Russell Wilson now that we're more than halfway through
(14:32):
the season, what do you what do you think about
that deal? Because originally I thought he took a pay cut,
but now seeing his quality of play, it's evaluating now.
It's I didn't want to say anything because you know,
you always want to give people to benefit of the
doubt that's earned it, right, Russell Wilson is a phenomenon athlete,
(14:54):
and we understand, especially at the QB position, what he's
been able to do with a little to nothing on
his team at various times throughout his career in Seattle,
so they wanted to give him some time. But here's
some stats for you for Russell Wilson and Geno Smith
in comparison as today, Russell Wilson is seventeen overall in
(15:17):
passing yards, Gino Smith sixth td s. Russell Wilson is right,
Geno Smith is fifth interceptions, They're both tied at ninth
and QBR rating. The math ain't math in on where
the money went to and how are being productive. And
this is a lot of the reasons why NFL owners
(15:39):
are always arguing it's hard to you can't pay a
player for what they do in the future. You're only
paying the player for what they've done, right, and owners
hate that. But as a player, I can appreciate that.
I mean, if you would have asked if you would
have read those stats to me five years ago, I
would have laughed. There's no way you can tell me
(15:59):
that Geno Smith is going to be better in the
year two thousand twenty two than Russell Wilson. Yeah, he's
definitely better. I got gen Geno Smith m v P.
That's been my m v P for the for for
the last four four weeks. I've stuck with them. If
I had, if I had a crowned m VP of
the league. All right, well, we'll see how the rest
(16:22):
of the season pans out. So one more, one more
headline for Sports Business News this week. You've got the
NFL Sunday ticket which Apple is currently the favorite for it,
but predictions are that YouTube TV could snag the victory
in the last few seconds. Also, the NFL is asking
(16:44):
for two point five billion annual, which is a billion
more than the current contract. That's a lot of money.
Where do you think this will the rifle land? Well, Leslie,
I think UM one is gonna land somewhere where the
futures on cable is constantly in a fight to stay
(17:04):
afloat with all the streaming platforms. And once you decide
to sell one of the obviously largest sports in America
to be viewed, and you're looking to possibly have that
be bought out by another large streaming platform and YouTube,
Apple et cetera. Is trying to send a message where
(17:24):
the bigger companies are seeing the writing on the wall
and want to get ahead of the curb. One two.
I think between YouTube and YouTube and Apple, for sure,
that's where everybody's at. I think YouTube probably leads that
uh leaves that cattle more than anybody, so I wouldn't
be shocked if they land there for YouTube. But two
point five billion when you start to think about that number,
(17:48):
the licensing right is two point five billion in the
ownership of a team, well, the commanders are being sold
for eight roughly eight billion. The uncles were sold around
four billion. So the licensing rights annually or two point
five billion. So I'm wondering and where where how's this
(18:09):
money actually flow into? To make sense? Right? Like, how
much money can you bring in annually by streaming by
holding the licensing rights at two point five billion minimum? Right,
We're not sure the exact number, but let's say you
bought the license, are right? Just say three billion bought
the license? Right boom, you're streaming it. How much money
(18:29):
are you anticipating to receive based upon that? Is what
I'm really curious about. So we'll have to let everything
play out, but I would my lead would be probably YouTube.
That's where we watch. The majority of our sports is
on YouTube TV and our family, so I I would
love to see that too. But it sounds like Apple
(18:52):
and Tim Cook are kind of in the the the
running to get there. I like it. I think the
NFL s just just not sell it. The edition even
lizes it. The NFL wants to control everything anyways, and
to give their stamp of approval on everything, so it
(19:14):
it would make it easier to micromanage everything. The only
issue though, is that it has to be I think
the NFL has a list of criteria people have to
meet in order to sell their rights and see it
has to be an existing network that's proven itself. I
mean you see some of these networks. You see Amazon
(19:37):
buying the Thursday Night Game to prove to the NFL,
look how great our broadcasts are, look at what a
good job we do. Sell it to us. And it
has to be something that's in existence. So if you
want to start your own network and your own platform now,
then in a few years, the NFL will come to
(19:57):
you and they'll say Hey, we'll sell you this for shot. Obviously,
there's a lot going on in the soccer world right now,
but one thing I want to bring up is these
major teams that are currently for sale in Liverpool. That's
entertaining offers to menu that's for sale, and these are
especially attractive to overseas buyers because the pound is down
(20:22):
and some of the names that have come up that
are interested in Liverpool are l A Clippers owner Steve Balmer,
lebron James and even Connor McGregor. To to go back
to some of the history on Liverpool f s G.
Then New England Sports Ventures bought Liverpool for three hundred
million pounds and two thousand ten and Forbes now values
(20:44):
the club at around three point six eight billions, so
definitely not within Connor McGregor's range, but it's fun to
see that he's he's interested in the team um and again,
like I said, the weak pound makes the Premier League
club even more attractive to some of these overseas investors.
You had Chelsea who was purchased for two point five
(21:08):
billion pounds, which is three point zero two billion in
American dollars, and the Denver Broncos ironically, which sold earlier
this year for four point six five billion American dollars.
So it's crazy to me that Chelsea, which is such
a huge, huge team, would sell for less than the
(21:32):
Denver Broncos. But what why do you think that? Is rashan? Well,
I think, uh, I mean, if you just look at
sports in general, you have a lot of teams are
selling their franchises right now. They're up for ourselves and
there's always a reason for us. So I think when
you really look at when you look at soccer and
(21:52):
you look at the pound, it's it's the time to
cash out. You know, this is exactly what you went
into business for. You either love it or there's an
opportunity to make money, and for you know, all things
being equal, hopefully you have both. You love something in
there's an opportunity to make money, and I think that's
what they're doing, is the time to cash out. Um,
(22:13):
And that's what you're just saying. If I'm a perspective buyer,
to be them like the NFL seems a little more
appealing just because the teams, even when they're bad, even
when you've got Russell Wilson at quarterback, you're still making
money as opposed to these soccer teams. When these soccer teams,
(22:37):
when you're bad, they don't make money. Also, there's no
salary cap for some of these soccer teams, and if
you're an owner, that's definitely a negative. So what what
I think I would go for for an NFL team
if I had to purchase one of these teams? Do
you have you have a preference if you had to pick, Well,
(22:59):
abally we go for an NFL team just simply because
the thing is the greatest sport. However, um, they're they're
they're they're they're posing console it. You know, if you
don't have a cap um, if you're coming in with
a healthy pocket, you can recruit and still players and
pay the best players to come. Be a Dona stamp.
And that's what that's what the Yankees did for so
(23:20):
long in baseball, right, Like you actually can buy championships
out right essentially, So that's the Gues's cool part of it.
But the other part of it being in the NFL
is having a salary cap, so there's a limitation on
money that can be spent, which means more money actually
be in your pocket. So I don't know from an
owners standpoint, Um, you know, I see both. But so
(23:44):
when we're talking about billions of dollars, um, you know,
just so people can get a perspective. If you if
you can buy a team which is a toy for
billions of dollars, trust me, you got room to lose money. Um,
So I think that I'll be good. But if I'm
in that position, definitely, for multiple reasons, we'll pick an
(24:05):
NFL team. It's going to be interesting to see Messi's
contract too, since it's up in two thousand three, and
to see if he goes to America and becomes the
richest footballer on American soil and history. I mean, it's
crazy the dollar sign or the amount of dollars that
(24:25):
are being thrown around when it comes to some of
these big names, which as an owner, if I was
an owner of a team, right like, there's pros and
cons to it. Cons you're spending a ton of money,
and the pros you're getting one of the best players
in the world and a huge fan base that comes
along with that. So we'll see. This will be interesting
(24:47):
to see with so many teams up for sale, who
ends up buying buying some of these. Thank you for
listening to Sports Illustrated and iHeart Radio is the Bag.
For more podcast in My Heart Radio, visit the I
heart Radio app, Apple pod Us, or wherever you get
your podcasts. I'm so excited Rashad that you're back, and
then I'm back, and we've got the whole crew here
now for the Bag, and we hope you guys will
(25:09):
tune in next week for a new episode of Sports
Illustrated and I Heart Radio is the Bag. You can
follow us on Instagram at at Rashad Jennings and at
Lindsay McCormick Sports and we'll see you guys next Tuesdays.
You got to go to
Good, Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Sports Illustrated.
My heart Radio is the Bag with me Lindy McCormick
and my amazing co host or Sean Jennings, who is
(00:22):
back after the holidays. And I really wanted to thank you.
We're finally in one place, but I wanted to thank
you for for holding down the fort while I was
gone sick on my honeymoon. And I loved the episodes
you did with Dave. I just thought they were fantastic
and I enjoyed listening to them even while I was sick.
(00:43):
So thank you. Try I tried to hold a fort
now and it won't easy without you. That was a
honeymoon your Thanksgiving. It was nice. I got to see
a lot of places in the world that I had
never seen before, from Milano to uh like Homo. Where
else did we go? Switzerland? Uh, Florence. We kind of
(01:05):
had a worldwide tour because it had been years since
we had been out of the the country, and I got
to see a lot of beautiful places. Um where do
we start? O? Germany we went to and we happened
to be in Germany about an hour away from where
they had the NFL game, So it was it was
neat to see how excited a lot of the Germans
were to have NFL there finally, and I saw where, uh,
(01:28):
the NFL had renewed a contract to have four more
games in Germany. So it's cool to see. And I'm
sure you've you've seen this. Did you ever play outside
the United States one of your games? Yeah? I played.
I played in London And what was funny when I
played in London is, um, you know when you when
I played there, there's the teams, uh support it all
(01:50):
over in the stadium. So I saw Jaguars jerseys, saw
Patriots jerseys and mind you it is the New York
Giants versus the Rams, right, And so I knew they
quite didn't understand fully American football when I saw this.
I walked in the stadium and I'm playing with Odell Beckham,
I'm playing with Eli Manning, I'm playing with Victor Cruz, right,
(02:11):
big big names, and they had me plastered all over
the stadium like I was the show. So I was like,
kind of like it in London. But I don't think
they understand how the money works yet with football. But
they didn't pick they pick, they picked the best one
to put up. I love that they I mean, you're
(02:32):
so multifaceted though you had your hands in so many things,
and from dancing with the Stars, I mean you have
a personality that people all across the world are just
strawn too. So I can actually understand why why the
fans were excited to see you in person. Yeah, that
was a good time though. It was a good time.
(02:52):
Uh did you watch any of the football games on
Thanksgiving Day? I did. Unfortunately, every game went high and
not wanted it to end. My Giants took an l unfortunately.
But hey, listen, it's all right. We're still in the
hunt and no matter what, Like we were scrappy right
(03:13):
this second, everybody already canceled us out before the season
even started. Um, we're already exceeded expectations from outside the building,
so I think we're going to up and up. We
still got a shot to get in that wild card.
We still got shot at one of the visions, so
it's open. I'm curious your take on this. So the
Cowboys versus Giants game was the single season record of
(03:33):
most viewers at forty two million, which is astounding to me.
Then you've got the Michigan versus Ohio State game at
seventeen million viewers, and then you had the USA versus
England World Cup game at fifteen point four million viewers.
So I kind of have a theory on this, but
I'm curious to your thoughts. First, Why do you think
(03:53):
so many people are watching sports right now? I would
assume to that covid has as a nation has kind
of I'm careful with my words here, right but I
would think overall it has subside to the point where
people are getting back to whatever quote unquote normal is,
and it's an expression of, you know, I want to
(04:16):
be around people. I think if concerts would have the
highest ratings right now, anything that's a formal gathering would
be highest ratings right now. And so family, food and football,
um is still part of American culture. It's you and
I are on the same page with that one. It's
odd because you would have thought that the ratings for
football games in terms of the people watching from their
(04:39):
homes on TV would have been astronomical during the pandemic.
Because people are sitting at home, you think they would
be worth the people are working from home, you think
they want to watch sports. But the numbers were record
low during the pandemic, and now it seems like people
are starting to return to some sort of normalcy and
(05:02):
that as a result, people are going to their jobs
and they want to come home and have that leisurely,
relaxing time watching football on Sundays again. And whereas when
you're at home all day every day, it's it doesn't
seem like such a luxury to turn on the TV
(05:24):
and to watch football and people, i mean, people have
so many things going on during the pandemic, and kids
were home from school and people were home schooling, and
it seems like now we're back to some sort of
normalcy for the most part, and people are enjoying the
luxury of watching sports again when they are absolutely yeah.
(05:47):
It's listen, you want to be around friends, you want
to be around family, and you know, that entertainment of
the sport itself just you know, a big part of
why people like football, you know, if you really watch it,
is every thing that's surrounding it. It's the entertainment around
the game of football because you've got time out, is
between plays, it's the commentary area that people like. It's
(06:09):
the ambiance, is the camera editings that people like. Everything
that goes into the game of football is what's appreciated.
And having that on an ambiance in the background with
food and people could talk trash about who's gonna win
and who's not quarterback couching. Uh, she was a quarterback
coaching from the couch. They love doing it. I do too,
So it's just a fun family event. So have you
(06:32):
watched any football because when we were we were traveling
around to Milan and different parts of Italy, you could
tell that football or soccer was king there. So have
you had a chance to watch any of the World
Cup games? I have not. Actually, don't say I had
(06:52):
a chance. I have not because I'm busy working on
so many projects. But it is it is, Uh, it
is a phenomenon. And I mean everybody loves football, right,
It's the original football, um, and it's it's worldwide. Is
well known across the globe, not not just in one
particular country, where as America's predominantly um, you know loved
(07:13):
and watchton viewed by the US. This is now we're
talking about global. So it's uh, the one thing I
can appreciate. I had one of my friends from Nigeria
was kind of explaining, like soccer in other countries, sometimes
when you hit, when somebody scores a goal in that country,
the entire country will yell, you know, in cheer interruption.
(07:36):
So it's kind of I'm jealous. I wish we had
an American team like that that you know, you just
every time they score touchdown, you hear the whole neighborhood
of screaming, right, But we understanding that don't work like that,
so we may actually at some point if if I
don't know if you saw this news, but Messi his
contract is up with Paris Saint Germain in June two
(07:58):
thousand and twenty three, and he's got the option to
either play another year with Paris Saint Germain or the
rumors are that he will work up a deal with Miami,
in which case he would be the richest footballer on
American soil and history. So do you think that if
(08:19):
Messi comes to play in Miami that will start to
have obviously not the same culture that they have in Barcelona,
Um or Paris Saint Germain or other parts of the world,
but do you think that we'll start to see more
fans get excited about about soccer because it's it's it's
(08:41):
mind blowing to me that you had fifteen point four
million views for the US versus England, and I'm curious
to see now that the United States has to win
this game against Iran tomorrow. They can't tie in order
to advance, they have to win. If you'll start to
(09:01):
see more people take interest in in soccer, I think
you can. Um will it personal preference, and I think
it comes from the advertisement dollars pouring out and investing
in trying to make football in American iconic sport over
(09:21):
American football. I think the dollars go into UM the NBA,
I think the dollars going to the NFL. What I
mean by that is if you go to local high schools,
if you go to even a grocery store and you
look on the bag of freed alas, what do you see?
You see a football player, You see a NBA player,
(09:42):
You look at wheaties in an NBA players, you look
at the commercials, who do you see? You see NFL players,
NBA players, you see Chris Paul everywhere. You're seeing Aaron
Rodgers all over the place. So it's not gonna happen
whereas the phenomenon of football right soccer is predominantly watched
in the US over top of any other sport. It's
(10:04):
not going to happen until you put the dollars behind it.
It's also hard for me the more I keep diving
into the FIFA and the organization and the decisions they've
made in the past. It's hard for me to tune
in and watch and support FIFA an organization that has
(10:26):
been so corrupt and has made choices where they're holding
the World Cup and guitar where you have a lot
of human rights issues and workers who died building that stadium.
It's it's it's very conflicting for me to want to
support that. I know, if I'm tuning in to watch this, yeah,
I'm supporting America by watching the US men's team. But
(10:48):
I also I feel like I'm supporting FIFA. And I'm
really torn about it because this is a massive issue,
and I know people are starting to talk about it.
Media Alice are starting to talk about it more and
deeper in The New York Times has done several pieces.
But it's I don't know, I don't know, I don't
know how. Yeah, I don't think any nobody wants to
(11:09):
support anything. Well, I can't say. I don't want to
speak for everybody. You know, we have unique individuals on
this land right so, but all in all, most people
don't want to support something that they know is corrupt.
And with that being said, I can understand your reluctantness
(11:31):
to support it. But with the corruptness, do you think
that do you think that it will it will be
something that can be uh fixed? Is this something that
actually will be handled or is this a corruptness that
is just understood. I mean, it's been going on for years.
FIFA has been getting away with a lot of stuff
and the bribery and it hasn't changed yet. So in
(11:55):
their current decisions are I mean, I'm not saying they
were bribed by guitar, but they were bribed by guitar
and to to hold the World Cup. There their current is.
I do believe that people and organizations can change, but
their past record and their current record is showing that
that's not going to happen. So we'll see. We have
(12:20):
I have my fingers crossed. I have a question for you.
So Cris Cristiano Ronaldo UH received an offer for two
hundred and twenty five million over three years to live
and play in Saudi Arabia. Do you think he should
take it? Would you take it? Well, I'm not. I'm
(12:40):
not gonna first I'm not gonna tell him what he
should do because I just don't move like that. But
what I would do if I was offered that, which
obviously i'm not, I wouldn't take it. I know, if
I'm getting offered to twenty by a club that somebody
else is gonna offer the same or any up more so,
then it just becomes to where do you want to
live at? And for me, Um, I'm the type of
(13:05):
person that I can't really think how much that I
could do with two hundred million that I couldn't that
I could do with two hundred and twenty million that
I couldn't do with two hundred million. That's just me.
So I would pick based upon my family, you know,
based upon my kids and wife and everything else. I
wouldn't pick and chase the money. Yeah, Saudi Arabia is
a little too far from my family and friends. Yeah,
(13:28):
so so what would you do? Um? Well, I agree
with you. It's not like if he were to give
that up You've got a lot of athletes right now,
You've got a lot of golfers that are going over
there because of large contracts. And you're right, it's not like, oh,
he'd be giving up two million, it would be like
(13:48):
that or nothing. He's going to get a large, large
contract in a different place that may or may not
be more enjoyable to live for him, for his personal preference.
And I mean, if it were me, I would see
what all my options are. He's definitely going to get
a large contract. It's just a matter of what what
(14:10):
are his other options? And two hundred and twenty million
dollar contract, Like, we're talking about leaving a country. We're
not talking about what Russell Wilson took at a two
hundred and some million dollar contract just to go from
Seattle to Denver. We're leaving countries, so that's it's a
different take. Yeah, what do you what do you think
about Russell Wilson now that we're more than halfway through
(14:32):
the season, what do you what do you think about
that deal? Because originally I thought he took a pay cut,
but now seeing his quality of play, it's evaluating now.
It's I didn't want to say anything because you know,
you always want to give people to benefit of the
doubt that's earned it, right, Russell Wilson is a phenomenon athlete,
(14:54):
and we understand, especially at the QB position, what he's
been able to do with a little to nothing on
his team at various times throughout his career in Seattle,
so they wanted to give him some time. But here's
some stats for you for Russell Wilson and Geno Smith
in comparison as today, Russell Wilson is seventeen overall in
(15:17):
passing yards, Gino Smith sixth td s. Russell Wilson is right,
Geno Smith is fifth interceptions, They're both tied at ninth
and QBR rating. The math ain't math in on where
the money went to and how are being productive. And
this is a lot of the reasons why NFL owners
(15:39):
are always arguing it's hard to you can't pay a
player for what they do in the future. You're only
paying the player for what they've done, right, and owners
hate that. But as a player, I can appreciate that.
I mean, if you would have asked if you would
have read those stats to me five years ago, I
would have laughed. There's no way you can tell me
(15:59):
that Geno Smith is going to be better in the
year two thousand twenty two than Russell Wilson. Yeah, he's
definitely better. I got gen Geno Smith m v P.
That's been my m v P for the for for
the last four four weeks. I've stuck with them. If
I had, if I had a crowned m VP of
the league. All right, well, we'll see how the rest
(16:22):
of the season pans out. So one more, one more
headline for Sports Business News this week. You've got the
NFL Sunday ticket which Apple is currently the favorite for it,
but predictions are that YouTube TV could snag the victory
in the last few seconds. Also, the NFL is asking
(16:44):
for two point five billion annual, which is a billion
more than the current contract. That's a lot of money.
Where do you think this will the rifle land? Well, Leslie,
I think UM one is gonna land somewhere where the
futures on cable is constantly in a fight to stay
(17:04):
afloat with all the streaming platforms. And once you decide
to sell one of the obviously largest sports in America
to be viewed, and you're looking to possibly have that
be bought out by another large streaming platform and YouTube,
Apple et cetera. Is trying to send a message where
(17:24):
the bigger companies are seeing the writing on the wall
and want to get ahead of the curb. One two.
I think between YouTube and YouTube and Apple, for sure,
that's where everybody's at. I think YouTube probably leads that
uh leaves that cattle more than anybody, so I wouldn't
be shocked if they land there for YouTube. But two
point five billion when you start to think about that number,
(17:48):
the licensing right is two point five billion in the
ownership of a team, well, the commanders are being sold
for eight roughly eight billion. The uncles were sold around
four billion. So the licensing rights annually or two point
five billion. So I'm wondering and where where how's this
(18:09):
money actually flow into? To make sense? Right? Like, how
much money can you bring in annually by streaming by
holding the licensing rights at two point five billion minimum? Right,
We're not sure the exact number, but let's say you
bought the license, are right? Just say three billion bought
the license? Right boom, you're streaming it. How much money
(18:29):
are you anticipating to receive based upon that? Is what
I'm really curious about. So we'll have to let everything
play out, but I would my lead would be probably YouTube.
That's where we watch. The majority of our sports is
on YouTube TV and our family, so I I would
love to see that too. But it sounds like Apple
(18:52):
and Tim Cook are kind of in the the the
running to get there. I like it. I think the
NFL s just just not sell it. The edition even
lizes it. The NFL wants to control everything anyways, and
to give their stamp of approval on everything, so it
(19:14):
it would make it easier to micromanage everything. The only
issue though, is that it has to be I think
the NFL has a list of criteria people have to
meet in order to sell their rights and see it
has to be an existing network that's proven itself. I
mean you see some of these networks. You see Amazon
(19:37):
buying the Thursday Night Game to prove to the NFL,
look how great our broadcasts are, look at what a
good job we do. Sell it to us. And it
has to be something that's in existence. So if you
want to start your own network and your own platform now,
then in a few years, the NFL will come to
(19:57):
you and they'll say Hey, we'll sell you this for shot. Obviously,
there's a lot going on in the soccer world right now,
but one thing I want to bring up is these
major teams that are currently for sale in Liverpool. That's
entertaining offers to menu that's for sale, and these are
especially attractive to overseas buyers because the pound is down
(20:22):
and some of the names that have come up that
are interested in Liverpool are l A Clippers owner Steve Balmer,
lebron James and even Connor McGregor. To to go back
to some of the history on Liverpool f s G.
Then New England Sports Ventures bought Liverpool for three hundred
million pounds and two thousand ten and Forbes now values
(20:44):
the club at around three point six eight billions, so
definitely not within Connor McGregor's range, but it's fun to
see that he's he's interested in the team um and again,
like I said, the weak pound makes the Premier League
club even more attractive to some of these overseas investors.
You had Chelsea who was purchased for two point five
(21:08):
billion pounds, which is three point zero two billion in
American dollars, and the Denver Broncos ironically, which sold earlier
this year for four point six five billion American dollars.
So it's crazy to me that Chelsea, which is such
a huge, huge team, would sell for less than the
(21:32):
Denver Broncos. But what why do you think that? Is rashan? Well,
I think, uh, I mean, if you just look at
sports in general, you have a lot of teams are
selling their franchises right now. They're up for ourselves and
there's always a reason for us. So I think when
you really look at when you look at soccer and
(21:52):
you look at the pound, it's it's the time to
cash out. You know, this is exactly what you went
into business for. You either love it or there's an
opportunity to make money, and for you know, all things
being equal, hopefully you have both. You love something in
there's an opportunity to make money, and I think that's
what they're doing, is the time to cash out. Um,
(22:13):
And that's what you're just saying. If I'm a perspective buyer,
to be them like the NFL seems a little more
appealing just because the teams, even when they're bad, even
when you've got Russell Wilson at quarterback, you're still making
money as opposed to these soccer teams. When these soccer teams,
(22:37):
when you're bad, they don't make money. Also, there's no
salary cap for some of these soccer teams, and if
you're an owner, that's definitely a negative. So what what
I think I would go for for an NFL team
if I had to purchase one of these teams? Do
you have you have a preference if you had to pick, Well,
(22:59):
abally we go for an NFL team just simply because
the thing is the greatest sport. However, um, they're they're
they're they're they're posing console it. You know, if you
don't have a cap um, if you're coming in with
a healthy pocket, you can recruit and still players and
pay the best players to come. Be a Dona stamp.
And that's what that's what the Yankees did for so
(23:20):
long in baseball, right, Like you actually can buy championships
out right essentially, So that's the Gues's cool part of it.
But the other part of it being in the NFL
is having a salary cap, so there's a limitation on
money that can be spent, which means more money actually
be in your pocket. So I don't know from an
owners standpoint, Um, you know, I see both. But so
(23:44):
when we're talking about billions of dollars, um, you know,
just so people can get a perspective. If you if
you can buy a team which is a toy for
billions of dollars, trust me, you got room to lose money. Um,
So I think that I'll be good. But if I'm
in that position, definitely, for multiple reasons, we'll pick an
(24:05):
NFL team. It's going to be interesting to see Messi's
contract too, since it's up in two thousand three, and
to see if he goes to America and becomes the
richest footballer on American soil and history. I mean, it's
crazy the dollar sign or the amount of dollars that
(24:25):
are being thrown around when it comes to some of
these big names, which as an owner, if I was
an owner of a team, right like, there's pros and
cons to it. Cons you're spending a ton of money,
and the pros you're getting one of the best players
in the world and a huge fan base that comes
along with that. So we'll see. This will be interesting
(24:47):
to see with so many teams up for sale, who
ends up buying buying some of these. Thank you for
listening to Sports Illustrated and iHeart Radio is the Bag.
For more podcast in My Heart Radio, visit the I
heart Radio app, Apple pod Us, or wherever you get
your podcasts. I'm so excited Rashad that you're back, and
then I'm back, and we've got the whole crew here
now for the Bag, and we hope you guys will
(25:09):
tune in next week for a new episode of Sports
Illustrated and I Heart Radio is the Bag. You can
follow us on Instagram at at Rashad Jennings and at
Lindsay McCormick Sports and we'll see you guys next Tuesdays.
You got to go to
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com