06-20-25 Hour 1 of Broncos Country Tonight

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Everybody, Welcome into it. Broncos Country Tonight short show post
Rockies edition. Happy Friday to you all. Benjamin all right
here with you five six six nine zero is the
text line. Well, I'm have some issues with the text
line right now, So if I don't get back to you,
I don't read it on the air, I apologize. Do
know that I see everything you guys do send in

(00:22):
to us. Got a quick short show tonight, obviously, so
we're post Rockies edition. Hope you all are enjoying your
about to be weekend or at this point, I guess
you can call it the weekend since we're we're off
work looking forward to a hot one as it continues
to be warm out there in Denver, so we sunscreen.

(00:42):
Let's get to it. Losing notes Longhorns legend Ricky Williams
is bringing a little Texas fight to the effort to
ban thchcs. Explained by WFAA dot com, the Texas House
and Senate have passed a bill that would ban all
consumable hemp derived products containing. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has

(01:03):
the measure on his desk co waiting signature. Ricky Williams
wants Greg Abbot to veto the bill. This plant helped
me stay balanced and healthy through the grind of professional football,
Williams said in a press release from Project Champion. Now
it's helping veterans manage PTSD and families manage pain. These
changes in the law don't protect Texans, it punishes them.
The people of Texas deserve freedom of choice. You don't

(01:25):
need the government telling them what they can or can't
put in their body. We've learned anything from the past decade.
It's been that Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick led the effort
to push the bill through the Texas legislature, and now
only Abbot stands in the way the bill becoming the
law of the lone Star state. Williams, in a video
post on social media, said quote, I'm calling on my
friend Greg Abbott to please veto this bill and stand

(01:47):
with the veterans, farmers, and families who know there is
a better way forward. National reviews on marijuana and THHC
you've dramatically shifted over the last twenty years. Many states
have relaxed their laws in this regard. Fabbot signs the bill,
Texas will be taking a giant step backwards. Regardless of
how you feel about marijuana personally. And for me, you know,

(02:08):
I'm known to use gummies. I don't smoke just because
I don't like to smoke my lungs and all that,
but I have been known to use gummies now and again,
my stance on it is, you know, who am I
to tell you what you can and can't do? Whose
government tell you what you can and can't do? And oh,
by the way, if you know, we raise some tax
revenue office as less I got to pay and an
income taxes, So you know, I am very much for

(02:33):
allowing the legalization of these kinds of things. Obviously, you know,
you gotta have safeguards in place and all that kind
of stuff. But I am I have always been a
proponent of that, and I've always been a proponent of
the government not telling me what I can or can't
do with my money or my body, and this would
fall right in line with that. I don't I've never

(02:54):
understood the idea that a government tells me that I
can't ingest the the the parts of a plant, you know,
I just I've just never never understood that conceptually, and
so I you know, I don't understand what the argument
in Texas is against I don't really understand what what
banning this would do other than have people in that

(03:17):
state just go to surrounding states for it and pay
their taxes there. So that's one of those things that
for me, I guess I struggle with conceptually. But I'd
love to love to hear you guys' thoughts on that.
Everybody knows about Ricky Williams and you know, the suspensions
he got from the League because at the time, marijuana
was frown upon, and you know, he was He was

(03:40):
suspended a couple of times, chose to temporary attire, came back,
all that kind of stuff, and you know, I think, Uh,
for me, again, I just don't like the idea of
somebody else being able to tell me what I can
or can't do, and I think that runs sort of
antithetical to the American spirit. You know, this country was

(04:01):
founded on the idea that you would have freedom, life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. If that's what makes you happy,
go for it. So that's my two cents on it. Anyway,
we do have some updated news. On Sunday, ticket YouTube
came out and said that there's like an aging down

(04:21):
so that demographics are shifting with regards to the NFL
audience and YouTube CEO Neo Mohansa the company actually aged
down the NFL's audience on its platform, allowing the company
to actually allow that content now live alongside all this,
he was on a podcast with Ankler Media founder and

(04:45):
CEO Jennis men from can and he said that was
sort of the fly we were betting on that I
was betting on and we've seen happen in Sunday ticket
gave me conviction then to sort of double down and
do this for live games as well. It's back to
the point around the main event, which is the NFL
game and all the fandom creator even fandom living in
sort of like combination. Mohead added to his son is

(05:08):
a seventeen year old sports nut and everything he watches
is through the lens of his favorite YouTubers and sports creators,
and the NFL recognize that. So the YouTube is going
to stream the Chiefs Chargers game in Salpower, Brazil for free.

(05:29):
So that will be the first in front of a
play roll open aperture to you know about two billion
users that go to YouTube every day. And their claim
is that they are driving down the median age on
NFL content consumption. So they're saying that Sunday ticket, which

(05:51):
is an expensive subscription, a few people buy it without
already being an NFL fan. But Mohan said when YouTube
shows the Week one Chiefs game Chiefs Chargers game in
Brazil on September fifth for free to the whole world,
they're thinking it will be a major step toward helping
the league attract a significant new audience, which is that
much younger. The data mixed in sort of backing that up.

(06:17):
You definitely have a younger median age of YouTube consumer
than you do just traditional NFL consumer, But there's not
a whole lot of data this and you know, sort
of gibberish that shows that YouTube is actually driving that
down other than the anecdotal claims from people over there YouTube.

(06:41):
Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson came into the twenty twenty
four season off a strong second year in the NFL,
but wasn't really able to build on it. Posted seventy
one catches for seven hundred and sixty one yards and
five touchdowns. In twenty twenty three, Ferguson managed only fifty
nine catches in four hundred and ninety four yards without
reaching the end zone at all. In twenty twenty four,
Dak Prescott's injury probably impacted the passing game and Ferguson

(07:03):
and who dealt with some health issues of his own,
but none of those things changed the way that Ferguson
felt about the year. Ferguson, speaking with the Fort Worth
Star Telegram and Nick Harris, said, I definitely wasn't satisfied
with how I played last year. My knee hurt, for sure.
The concussion was weird, But I've said this before, I
follow on the field. I should be able to give
my all. I don't think I've ever played a full

(07:24):
season and not scored a touchdown. That was something that
I came into this offseason really working on, just trying
to really dial in on those things. Hey coach Brian
Schottenheimer chalked it up to a fluke season and said
that Ferguson's physical condition and determination had been noticeably different
in a good way this offseason, and keeping that up
throughout the summer while avoiding injury should put the tight
end autopath for a rebound. In twenty twenty five, been

(07:48):
numerous mini camp gimmicks. Over the years, we've seen coaches
do all kinds of things. The Rams made the unusual
decision yeah this week's medatory mini camp in Maui, and
coach Sean McVay said the trip was as much about
togetherness as it was about football. Players were encouraged bring
their families with them for Hawaiian vacation. McVeigh said that

(08:10):
meant a lot for the team's bonding. McVay also said
that Los Angeles and Maui have in common is that
to both rebuilding from wildfires, and the Rams wanted to
bring some goodwill to the area. McVeigh, speaking with Sarah
bar Shop of ESPN, said, it's about connection and being
able to get some time. It's cool to be able
to really, for me, meet a lot of these guys'
families that maybe I haven't quite met yet, or see

(08:32):
their wives or girlfriends or kids, and so that's been
a really cool thing so far. It's about being able
to get some good quality time with each other and
then being able to use the platform that we're blessed
with to be able to get back to a community
that went through some of the similar things that we
can all understand and kind of empathize with and you
see how excited they are to see our players. It's fun.
There was a time when summer practices in the NFL

(08:55):
were brutal, coaches were task masters, practices were twice a day.
Those those are certainly the practices of yesteryear, as McVeigh
represents a new generation of coaches who see the summer
as the time to build camaraderie and make sure players
are taking care of the bodies so they're healthy when
the season starts. And I'm sure that you know, probably

(09:15):
buys him plenty of goodwill with his players. New Rams
wide receiver DeVante Adams has spoken positively about the Rams
since joining the club and the two year deal of
this offseason, say he feels quote rejuvenated with the La Rams.
Herry Adams say that landed well with coach McVeigh saying, quote,
it's so cool and that's what you want. This was

(09:37):
an interview with JB. Long of the Rams team website. Say, quote,
I think we talk about it as coaches all the time.
How do we make sure these guys leave excited about
coming back the next day? How do we cultivate an
atmosphere and an environment that you know, hey, it's hard
work and to be able to do special things that
are worthwhile, but it doesn't mean that it's always easy,
but it can be enjoyable in the midst of that.
So we're always trying to strike that balance of urgency enjoyment.

(10:00):
And for DeVante to say that means a world in me,
because I respect an admiration I have for him as
a person and player. Really glad he's in our locker room.
He's made a tremendous impact already, and I think he
feels appreciated, and I know the guys feel appreciated by
the way he moves, the way he's pouring into guys,
and just being a great teammate himself. Adams, Who's thirty
two split last season between the Raiders and Jets, finishing

(10:21):
with eighty five receptions for one thousand, sixty three yards
and eight touchdowns in fourteen games. He's reached at least
one thousand yards in every season since twenty twenty and
six of the last seven, narrowly missing out on eclipsing
the mark in twenty nineteen with nine hundred and ninety
seven total yards. Rams aren't the only team in the
NFC West that's got things going on. George Kittle was

(10:45):
recently on The Rich Eisen Show. He doesn't play defense,
but Robert Sala's return of the Niners has him fired up. Sala,
who built a strong defense when he was a team's
coordinator from twenty seventeen to twenty twenty, and turned that
success into a job as head coach of the Jets.
Sala couldn't reach the same heights in that role and
was fired during the twenty twenty four season, which left
him available for a second stint with the NFC West

(11:06):
club this year. During that appears in appearance on The
Eisen Show, Kittle shared a message for the rest of
the league about what Sola's return will me to the team.
It'll said violence is coming, is what I would say.
End quote. The Titan expanded on his thoughts about what
Salah brings to the table. He's really good at his job,
and I'm really excited that we somehow convinced him to

(11:26):
be our defensive coordinator again. He knows what he's talking about.
He's inspiring, he gets the boy fired up, and he
just happens to also be really, really smart. So I'm
pumped to have him back in the building, just hanging
out with him a little bit talking about stuff, you
could just tell he's ready to roll this year and
he's got to get the boys fired up. Forty nine
Ers select the defensive players with their first five picks
in this year's draft, and new Blood's got to be

(11:47):
needed after a slew of departures on that side of
the ball this offseason. If Sala can mold him into
a similar unit to the one he built in his
first forty nine Ers run, a rebound from last year's
disappointing season in Northern California could be in the arts.
Before Aaron Rodgers signed with the Steelers, rookie quarterback Will

(12:08):
Howard said he was looking forward to learning for the
four time MVP. Rodgers is now officially a member of
the team, and Howard got his chance to work with
his new teammate at the team's three day mini camp.
Man it's been everything that the rookie hope it would
be so far. Howard told Brian mack coove the Pittsburgh
Post Gazette this week that Rogers came to him on
the first day of the mini camp to clarify some

(12:30):
things about the offense, but most of the information has
been flowing in the other direction. Howard said, he's been
awesome to me so far. Obviously we've only got to
be together for about three days, but I got a
really good feeling about him and about this whole QB room.
I think we already in the past week meshed really
well hit it off. I think we've got a good vibe,
good group. Aaron has been so early to help me.
He's like, literally, as much or little as you want

(12:52):
me to help you, I will. I'll be there. He's
already given me tips, little things here and there in
the meeting room, on the field, in my drops, different
little things. Obviously I can't do the things he can
do mechanically, so I don't want to replicate that too
much because that's pretty unique. But for the most part,
everything I could learn from that guy's invaluable. So I'm like,
as much as you want to pour into me. End quote.
Steelers signed Rogers to lead the offense this year, and

(13:14):
if some of what he passes down to Howard leads
to future success, his impact on that organization be felt.
For quite some time. There's nixt sentiment about what Aaron
Rodgers brings to the table and specifically what he brings
to the table in an offense that he's never participated
in that Arthur Smith will be running. Steelers obviously had
Russell Wilson for large portion of the year Last year,

(13:35):
Justin Fields was benched for Russ when he returned from injury.
Fields now with the New York Jets, Russell Wilson now
with the New York Giants, both anticipated to be starters
to start the season. Former Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson isn't
the only player with connections to former Louisville cornerback Jay

(13:56):
r Alexander. The aforementioned Rogers does as well. Obviously from
the Packers, the Steelers and Ravens cross paths and week
fourteen and eighteen. Alexander Rodgers spent five years together in
Green Bay, and he surely picked up a thing or
two about the other during their time on the practice field.
Alexander will also cross pass with the four teams he
knows best, the Packers and his former NFC North rivals,

(14:20):
including the Vikings and receiver Justin Jefferson. Of course, all
these hinges on Alexander staying healthy, which he hasn't done
over the last two years, resulting in Gyre missing twenty
total regular season games. And that's gonna be an interesting
addition there. You know how much he has left to
the tank and how much the body can recover from
the injury toll over the last couple of years. Patriots

(14:45):
rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams says he treats the football
like a bag of money. Patriots rookie Kyle Williams knows
what wide receivers get paid to do in the NFL,
and he don't want to drop the bag. We have
told we I that he've used the football as a
bag of money. His livelihood depends on catching it, saying, quote,
my mindset is, don't drop the money. Every time the
ball is there, it's just a bag of money. Can't

(15:07):
let that hit the floor because that's somebody else's just
being able to make those plays, Just showing I can
compete against those top tier guys in this league. Williams,
who was the third round draft pick, ninety four year,
six point seven million dollar contract with the Patriots. Contract
was set obviously by the rookie pay scale and the CBA,
but any future bags of money he'd get will likely
be determined by how well he catches these bags of

(15:29):
money while playing on his rookie deal. I liked Kyle Williams.
I liked he was one of those guys that was
kind of my guys in the lead up, the run
up to the draft. I think, you go back, you
look at the tape on him. I think he's a
phenomenal receiver. I think he's a guy that's got a
lot of promise. The Patriots got a couple of players

(15:49):
like that, some of the Chargers, you know, getting Ronda
Gadsten and no more Enhampton, guys like that, I think,
you know, I think at the end of the day,
it's gonna be fun to see all these guys and
how their careers pan out and all that kind of stuff.
Of course, you hope the Broncos wind up with the

(16:10):
guys that you like, but I always like to keep
an eye on them, you know, the guys that are
that are quotes my guys as I as I look
around in the league, and Williams is gonna be one
of those guys. They also got Trevion Henderson, so they
got a couple of them there as well as knowing
it looks to build the offense around Drake May and
are hoping that that that will transform him. And you

(16:35):
know they've already got a good defense there in New England.
But the idea is you really just you know, you've
got to put the pieces around the quarterback to be
successful on the offensive side of the ball. We know
all about that certainly. Here in Denver we come back.
New video from the Shador Sanders traffic stop. We'll get
it to that stuff. You guys listen to Broncos Country
to night right here on ka welcome back to it
Broncos Country Tonight. Ben's beIN all right here with you

(16:57):
short show abbreviated show post Rockies edition again myself Nick
Ferguson will be live tomorrow night, full show. So you
guys want to join us for that. We always love
having you. I mean, we appreciate all you guys listening
on the podcast as well, Don't get me wrong, but
we love when you guys get a chance to interact
with us live as we're doing the show. That's one
of the things I think we love about this format

(17:18):
about live radio, you know, versus podcasting. And it's again
not to take anything away from the podcast listeners. But
there's an element of you know, it's dudes sitting around
at the bar talk at sports, you know kind of thing.
There's an element of that sort of live conversation that
we really enjoy, and so we enjoy the text us
even if we don't read them all. We enjoy getting

(17:39):
the opportunity to read those messages, your reactions in real time,
that kind of stuff, and and so we always appreciate that.
So five six six nine zero is where you would
where you would leave those messages. Tampa Bay Rays principal
owner Stu Steinberg Sternberg excuse me, is in is closing

(18:02):
in on a one point seven billion dollar deal to
sell the Tampa Bay Rays. Agreement's not quite done yet,
but it does have a signed letter of intent from
a group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Salapuski. Zalapuski is
a home builder in Jacksonville. He's been identified as a
potential lead buyer in a deal that values the team

(18:24):
at one point seven billion. He's already executed a letter
of intent to purchase the team, and that's per Sportico,
who first reported the talks. Sternberg bought the Rays in
two thousand and four for two hundred million dollars. The
team acknowledged the discussions in a statement saying the Tampa
Bay Rays announced that the team has recently commenced exclusive
discussions with a group led by Patrick Zealipuski, Bill Cosgrove, KEM. Babby,

(18:47):
and prominent Tampa Bay investors concerning a possible sale of
the team. Neither the Rays nor the group left further
comment during the discussions. A year ago, Sternberg had a
deal in place to build a new stadium in the
historic gas Plant District, a reimagined recreational, retail and residential
district in Saint Petersburg, to replace Tropiccata Field. However, after

(19:10):
Hurricane Milton shredded the roof of the stadium last October,
forcing the Rays into temporary quarters, Sternberg's commitment has been
less than resolute, saying the team would have to bear
excess costs or not in the budget. In March, Major
League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and some other owners began
to privately push Sternberg to sell the franchise. Zalapuski is

(19:32):
the president and CEO of Dream Finders' Homes which was
founded December two thousand and eight. Its member of the
board of Trustees at the University of Florida. It's unclear
what his group, if it ultimately goes through with this
purchase and is approved, would do for a permanent stadium.
At this time, the Rays are currently playing at George M.
Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, located at the site of the

(19:53):
New York Yankee spring training facility and the home of
their single A Tampa Tarponds. One point seven billion dollars
for a Major League baseball team is an interesting valuation
when you juxtapose that with NFL franchises. For instance, you
know the Broncos in their sale for Walton Penna Group

(20:14):
for around six billion dollars. The contracts in Major League
Baseball are guaranteed versus Pro Football word or not. But
you know, it takes a little bit more operational capital
to run a baseball team. You travel more there or
more games that there's more opportunity to make money, but
there's you know, with concessions and stadium and tickets and whatnot.

(20:38):
But you know it could be tough because your cash
outlay is a little bit more for a product that
doesn't generate as much revenue as the NFL. We juxtaposed
that with perhaps the biggest story of the day, and
that is that the Bus family is entering into an

(21:00):
agreement to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers
to Mark Walter for a franchise valuation of approximately ten
billion dollars, the most ever for a US professional sports franchise.
The Bus family would keep a minority share of the
team just over fifteen percent for a period of time.

(21:20):
In addition, Genie Bus would remain the Lakers governor and
continue to run the team for at least quote a
number of years. Sources with knowledge of the deal told
ESPN's Promote Shelburne it was guaranteed as part of the
agreement that Genie Bus would remain in charge for the
foreseeable future, and Walter fully endorsed this plan. According to
multiple sources, Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding

(21:44):
company TWG Global, has interested in multiple professional sports organizations,
including the LA Dodgers, the LA Sparks, the Billy Gene Cup,
Cadillac Formula One team, and the Professional Women's Hockey League.
The Lakers have been owned by the Bus family since
nineteen seventy nine, when Jerry Buss purchased the franchise from
Jack Kent Cook in a sixty five excuse me, sixty

(22:06):
seven point five million dollar transaction that also included the
La Kings and the Forum. Since nineteen eighty, the Lakers
have won eleven championships, the most by any NBA team
during that span. The Lakers passed to Bus's children when
he passed in twenty thirteen, and his daughter Genie has
served as the Lakers governor since. Walter has been a

(22:26):
stakeholder in the Lakers since twenty twenty one, when he
purchased Phil Anshoot's shares of twenty six percent of the team.
That was also when Walter received a rite of first
refusal of the majority share of the team. Lakers franchise
legend Magic Johnson, who is a business partner of Walters
and somewhat extremely close to Gene Buss, endorsed the moves

(22:48):
in a series of social media posts noting the Lakers
fans should be ecstatic, saying quote, Mark Walter is the
best choice and will be the best caretaker of the
Laker brand. The proof is in the pudding somebody's been
able to accomplish. With the Dodgers, Mark has been nothing
short of a winner, notching two World Series and on
eleven NL West Divisional titles in the last twelve years.
Johnson said he has certain Geni Bus made the deal

(23:08):
only after being convinced that Walter will do right by
the Lakers. Walter has been the controlling over of the
Dodgers since twenty twelve, when his investment group purchased the
franchise for two billion. He has interests in multiple sports organizations.
What we already said, Sparks, Formula one PBHL. Johnson went
on to say a few things I can tell you

(23:28):
about Mark. He's driven by winning, excellence and doing everything
the right way, and emphasis added he will put in
the resources needed to win. I can understand why Genie
sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike.
Their competitive people, have big hearts, love to get back,
and both prefer to be behind the scenes. This makes
all the sense in the world. Walter is known for

(23:50):
shunning the spotlight. He's the CEO of financial services firm
Guggenheim Partners, which is estimated to have more than three
hundred and twenty five billion dollars in Assis. Johnson is
among Guggenheim's investors. The Lakers have been in the control
of the Bus family for forty six years. It's the
longest of any current NBA franchise Herb Simon, but the

(24:14):
Indiana Pacers, currently in the NBA Finals in nineteen eighty three,
that would be the second longest current ownership of an
NBA club. Burchase agreement was preceded by two of Genie
Bus's closest confidence in the NBA governor's community, agreeing to
sales for their team the last two years. Mark Cuban
sold a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks for three

(24:34):
point five billion in twenty twenty three, and what Grausbeck
sold the Boston Celtics for six point one billion about
three months ago. The Celtics selling for six point one
and the Lakers selling for evaluation of ten billion dollars
is astronomical, And I think that for me, it's it's

(25:02):
sort of interesting because people can't conceptualize how much money
a billion dollars really is, right, a million dollars, We
can kind of conceptualize that, right, if you make fifty
thousand dollars a year. In twenty years, you'll have made
a million dollars. And you can you can sort of,
you can conceptualize that, but people can't wrap their heads

(25:24):
around how much money a billion dollars really is. Most
people will not make a billion dollars in their lifetime,
overwhelming majority, ninety nine percent of people will not make
a billion dollars in their lifetime. They just won't. And
to illustrate the difference between a million and a billion
in a way that people can understand, I always use

(25:45):
a function of time, and that is to say that
if you had one million seconds, right, hours, minute seconds,
if you had a one million seconds, how long would
that be? Well, the answer is it's about a little
over eleven days. It's almost two weeks, right, And a
million seconds it's almost two weeks. How long do you

(26:08):
think a billion seconds are? Think about that in your head,
just just spitfall yourself a guess, because I'm gonna tell
you without looking, how long do you think a billion
seconds are? Because a million seconds at just over eleven days,
about two weeks, right, a billion seconds is thirty three years.
That's the difference between a million and a billion. That's

(26:32):
the that's the staggering difference between a million dollars and
a billion dollars. And so when you when you have
a sports franchise selling for ten billion dollars, what that
What that says is, Okay, this person obviously has and
I say disposable income, but it's not really disposable, but

(26:55):
it has the uh has the ability to be able to,
you know, come up with that amount of money to
be able to pay for it. Now, Mark Walter, interestingly,
in February his net worth was listed a six point
one billion. But what I imagine is is that that's

(27:16):
more of a liquidity and he will have to probably
make a few sales in terms of maybe letting go
of his stakes in F one or whatever else in
order to sort of make ends on these things. You know.
It's it's that is that is an astronomical amount of money.

(27:41):
But to put that in perspective right now, keep in
mind we were talking about one billion and one million
being you know, two weeks and thirty three years, and
Walter is supposedly worth six point one billion, although I
think it's a little more than them. In May of
this year, Forbes estimated Rob Walton, primary owner of the

(28:02):
Denver Broncos to be worth one hundred and twelve and
a half billion dollars between one twelve and one to
fifteen is really you know where they put him, which
makes him the thirteenth wealthiest person in the world. But
that is still an obscene amount of money. He I mean,

(28:28):
having having that much money, I like, I can't even
most people count wrap their head around. It's the same
way when you talk about billions of stars in the
sky or whatever. You know, people think they have an
idea of what a billion is. But again, one hundred billion.
To put that again as a function of time, just

(28:50):
one hundred billion, not even the extra thirteen to fifteen billion,
just one hundred billion. We talked about one billion being
thirty three years, right, would be three thousand, three hundred years,
and to put that in perspective, that would be thirteen
hundred years before the alleged birth of Jesus. That that's

(29:18):
how much money. If you put you know, you put
dollars to seconds and you start to work it that
way and you start to wrap your head around exactly
how much money. That is an absolutely just massive amount.
And then having the Lakers sell for ten billion, which
is a US sports record. You know, the Celtics at

(29:40):
six point one was was kind of eye opening because
that's an and that's an NFL number. Right we saw
the Tampa Rays, you know, one point seven billion. That
that's that's more in line with some of these other leagues.
The Celtics at six point one and the Lakers having
a valuation of ten billion dollars is just I mean,

(30:05):
like I'm struggling to wrap my head around it. That is,
that is an obscene amount of money. One more story
I want to get to here, and while we normally
don't talk about cheerleaders, shout out to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.
Shout out to our good friend Mario Vitanzi, whose cousin

(30:25):
is one of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. The Cowboys cheerleaders
are getting a serious increase in pay. One of the
cheerleaders said during the second season of Netflix's America Sweethearts
Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders that the members are getting a four
hundred percent boost in pay. Cheerleaders have been pushing for
pay increases for years, and twenty nineteen, the Cowboys settle

(30:45):
a lawsuit with the Forward cheerleader that led to the squad,
doubling the per game pay from two hundred four hundred dollars.
The latest raise is now four times that our efforts
were heard and they wanted to give us a raise,
four year veteran Megan Malaney said on the show, well,
we ended up getting a four hundred percent increase, which
can be life changing. According to ESPN, the Cowboys agreed

(31:08):
to pay four cheerleaders a total of two point four
million nine years ago to settle claims by the women
that team's longtime public relations chief Rich Dalrymple filmed them
in the dressing room. Dalrymple denied the claim, so the
club said its investigation found no wrongdoing. Durrymber retired not
long before the settlement became public in twenty twenty two.

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The Cowboys had been the most valuable pro sports team
in the world for almost a decade. According to Forbes,
the number put on them late last year was ten
point one billion, which, again, in juxtaposing that with what
the Lakers just valued at, it's probably higher. Happy isn't
even the right word for it. Former cheerleader Jada MacLean

(31:52):
said on the show, I think it was just kind
of felt like a relief, like everything had paid off.
It was, you know, finally we were done and fighting.
And for those that didn't know, now you do. As
of twenty nineteen, Cowboys cheerleaders were making two hundred dollars
a game. They doubled that to four hundred at the time,
and now they are going to be making about eighteen
hundred dollars a game. So they don't travel with the

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team obviously, they don't get paid on those days. The
only days they get paid on is that and then
they get paid for appearances, just like the Broncos cheerleaders.
You get paid for game day and you get paid
for your appearances, but it's not not much money. You know.
That's one of those things that we'll probably ask our
good friend really Being about when we get a chance
at some point. I wanted to get her comment on
this story and what that means for those who have

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who have cheerled last year. I want to get to
us the Giants and Elik Neighbors. Neighbors has had a
nagging toe injury, but he's expected to be ready for
the start of training camp on July twenty second. He
did not participate in any of the practices open to
the media during OTAs or mandatory mini camp. Did how
I ever take part in some walk through periods and

(33:01):
was seen jogging without a limp. He coach Brian Daboles
said earlier this offseason. The Neighbors injured his toe last
season and has been an issue for him since his
days at LSU. They quote, every person's at a different
part in call it rehab if you will, or prehab,
and we just did what we thought was best for
Elak to try to get it as healthy as we can. Neighbors,

(33:22):
the six overall selection in last year's draft, finished his
rookie season with one hundred nine catches twelve hundred and
four yards, seven touchdowns and participated in the Pro Bowl.
Giants decided to play it safe the spring. Quote has
had some issues, like I said in the past in
college with it, and Dabell said, and again that was
the plan that we came up with for him and
for our football team. Neighbors was hardly the only Giants

(33:43):
starter limited the spring. Left tackle Andrew Thomas didn't participate
in practice as he comes back from this frank surgery.
Had in October. All Pro defensive tackle Dester Lawrence participate
only in individual drills throughout the spring. That one practice
earlier this month, the Giants had eight starters, five on defense,
not participate in team drills. The Giants are obviously going

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to need a healthy neighbors to fix a troubled offense
to finish thirty first last season in points per game
sport to get some work this summer with new starting
quarterback Russell Wilson, who has yet to throw to neighbors
in live drills. Neighbors average is four point three yards
after the catch per reception last season. That was eighty
second among all receivers. So you wanted the one to

(34:23):
get him up to speed and what he's able to
do with Russell Wilson's the starter there. You've paid attention
to the news coming out of mandatory midikiv at OTAs
there's a pretty firm order there with Russ at the
top for the New York Giants, Jackson darts struggle a
little bit and Jamis has kind of been hit or
miss so we'll see how that works out. Guys, listening
to Broncos Country tonight right here on Koait's a fifty

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am ninety four one FM News Talk Sports