July 15, 2026 • 19 mins
Mike Florio from PFT and NBC joins Dick Fain and Hugh Millen to talk about the wild World Cup game today between England and Argentina, plus the prevent-defense comparison with today’s game, plus the Seahawks’ new ownership family, unknowns and nerves involved with a change, plus Aaron Donald’s potential return for the Rams.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's time for a weekly conversation with Pro Football Talks
Mike Florio, brought to you by Simply Seattle. Tired of
buying and repping the same old Seattle sports gear everyone else,
asked for the best Storm, Seahawks, Mariners, Kraken, Rainiers, Sounders,
and not to mention, the largest Sonics collection in the world.
Check out simply Seattle dot com. Now with Mike Florio,
(00:21):
here's SOFTI and Dick.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Well.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
I know Mike Florio has been keeping track of what's
going on in the World Cup. He's been writing about it,
and that was something what we just witnessed.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Mike, Well, this usually.
Speaker 5 (00:37):
I've been able to watch when the games begin. Today
was one of those days where I had some stuff
going on, and I knew that I wasn't going to
be able to start watching it until five o'clock Easter
and that was an hour and ten minutes ago.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
So I had to.
Speaker 5 (00:56):
Fifteen seconds at a time, little click click click on
the TV to get myself through it. And I knew
when to slow down and when to watch it. And
I just saw the end of it, and I can't
believe it. I thought England was going to hold on
I didn't think Argentina could pull a rabbit out of
the hat.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Again, it was amazing, just amazing.
Speaker 6 (01:18):
Yeah, And we're kind of trying to make football comparisons,
bringing up things like prevent defense, and I guess England's
going to be their coach is going to be under
fire for some time about the conservative nature, the substitutions
and what have you. You know, you get up one nothing
and then you think that that's going to be enough.
You play to that one nothing. We've seen it in football, Mike,
(01:40):
you know, you play not to lose. And it's like
the sports gods they tend to front on that more
often than not. And I think that they might have
intervened today.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
Well they say two nothing is the most dangerous lead
in soccer, but if you're up one nothing to nothing
sounds pretty good.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
If you can go and get it. There's the problem is.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
And look, I bring a lifetime of experience watching other
sports to this discovery I've had of the World Cup
this year. But it's got to be hard when you
have morphed into let's hang on for dear life to
our one nothing lead and then all of a sudden
it's one one one team is still in go score mode.
(02:22):
The other team is in save our butts mode, and
you got to flip that switch back hard in the
remaining time. And I think at that point, the team
that blew the lead is tighter and trying to just
get to extra time, and the team that just scored,
they're looser because they're thinking, we were supposed to lose.
(02:44):
Let's just go out and play our game for the
rest of this time that we have before we get
to the thirty extra minutes. And look, there's a lot
more that goes into it, but I think it's just
a basic human emotion level when you're out there and
you're in the middle of it. I think those those
factors can play into the collective minds of the players
who are out there trying to do it.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Mike Fleurio, joniis Mike.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
The biggest story locally since the last time we talked
to you, and one of the biggest stories nationally in
the NFL was the sale of the Seahawks nine point
six billion. Before we talk about Coosto a little bit,
maybe evaluate the job that Jody Allen did as a
caretaker of the franchise and can you separate what Jody
(03:28):
did versus what her brother did previous.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
Well, kind of think either of them particularly got involved
in meddling, stirring the pot, pulling the strings.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
A lot of owners are very involved, and we know it.
A lot of owners are very involved.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
And we don't know it because they don't want the
scrutiny that goes along with people believing that they are
really in the mix of making decisions, and most big
decisions by an NFL team or at least run by
the owner. And it doesn't take much for an owner
to put a thumb on the scale because the people
who want to continue to ran employed by the multi
(04:10):
billionaire who owns the.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Team will tend to pick up on the cues. You
never have to say, go do this.
Speaker 5 (04:16):
The right or wrong word at the right or wrong
time is going to send a message that your employees
will act upon. And I've always had the impression Jody
Allen has just stayed out of the way, and I
think that's the key.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
You've got to hire people who know what they're doing,
people that you trust.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
And just be a fan and every once in a
while they're going to need you for something big, but
for the most part, just let this thing go out
and perform under the guidance of the people that you've
hired to do it. And I think that from the
perspective of new ownership coming in, the best outcome for
everyone who's currently employed by the Seahawks, the best outcome
(04:52):
for all Seahawks fans is if the Node Coast and
his family will allow this thing to continue.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But then there's
the reality.
Speaker 5 (05:03):
If we're going to pay nine point sixty one to
two billion for this thing and we own it, we
can do whatever we want.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
But that's the challenge.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
And if you get too involved and things start going
the other way, you're going to find out. As a
wise man once told me, the only thing better than
being rich and famous is being rich, And you're going
to find out what it means to be famous and
notorious in a community and in a fan base that
is upset that you had something that was in very
good shape and you found a way to screw it up.
(05:29):
So I don't have any reason to think that that'll happen,
But if I was a Seahawks fan, I'd be worried
that it could.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
And we don't know anything about these people. That's the reality.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
When someone comes in and buys an NFL team, It's like, Okay,
who are these people?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
What are they going to do?
Speaker 5 (05:44):
Is there any way to draw any dotted line from
other businesses they've operated to this? I don't think there is.
We have to just sit back and wait and see
what plays out.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
Mike Florio with this, Mike, I think you articulated that
exactly how I feel like if you put yourself in
a position of an art and Seahawk fan, you would
be worried because it's the unknown, and really all the
things that can happen, you know, most of them are
wrong or merely as good as what they were. But
I also want to ask you that the specter of here,
(06:15):
they spend nearly ten billion dollars and their net worth
is you know, fourteen fifteen billion. In the past, through
different sports, including football, whether it's Mike Brown, or whether
it's model's or what have you. Those where the NFL
team is the family business, there's been a checkered past
(06:40):
with that. There's been good, you know, you know, the
Jerry Jones is, yeah, he brought a lot of hardware,
But then there's also been some others where the lack
of financial a wherewithal hurt the team. So should a
Seahawk fan be concerned about that kind of equity ratio
that we bring forth with the Coast here?
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Well, these are all family businesses.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
That's one of the amazing and frustrating depending upon which
team you follow realities of sports ownership and NFL ownership. Now,
for decades it was just the families of the people
who got the league going. But when we got into
the eighties and the Jerry Joneses of the world showed up,
people who made a ton of money elsewhere and came
(07:23):
in and bought these teams.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
It's still ultimately as a family owned business. But you
hit the nail on the head.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
What kind of resources do you have not just to
show up and write the check for thirty percent of
the equity, which is what Venode COASTLA needs.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
To have in order to buy the team. You've got
to be able.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
To transfer without debt the funds to pay for thirty
percent of the nine point sixty one to two billion.
Beyond that, you've got an investment group. But when the
time comes to make expenditures, where's that.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Money coming from?
Speaker 5 (07:56):
Or the other partners going to be kicking it in
and the best com Harrison is the family that bought
the Broncos for only four point sixty five billion, less
than half four years ago of what the Coastals are
paying the Walton Penner group. They've got unlimited funds, they've
got all those different family members of the Sam Walton
(08:16):
Walmart Empire, and they are in a position to spare
no expense.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Before they came in, I think the wealthiest.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
Owner was David Tepper in the vicinity of eighteen nineteen
billion net worth based upon without their reported who knows how.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Accurate and it is.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
But then here come the Waltons at seventy billion, so
they can do exactly whatever they want to do in
order to reinvest in the team and make it as
competitive as it can be. So I think that really
is a question that will need to be monitored going forward.
Is the net worth of the Coastals is that high enough?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Now?
Speaker 5 (08:51):
I think that there are other owners who are worth less,
but they also didn't have to carve off thirty percent
of their net worth by the team.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
They've owned it for some period of time.
Speaker 5 (09:02):
So I think that's a real question when it comes
down to discretionary decisions that result in expenses that could.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Make the team better.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
Are those expenses going to be incurred can they be
incurred by? And I hate to say only thirteen billion,
But as the prices go up, I think the money
you need to have behind it in order to make
it work, especially as you're paying off this team that
you've purchased, I think it becomes a factor that at
least needs to be monitored.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Mike, a whole lot of smoke surrounding the RAMS facility
in Aaron Donald's potential return, is it fade a complete
at this point? And if it is, how concerned should
Seahawk fans be that he can still play at a
really high level.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
I don't think it's a done deal yet, but they're
not doing anything to push back against the perception that
it's moving in that direction. Aaron Donald goes on to
social media and stirs the pot. Then he goes and
works out at the team's facilities, supposedly to see what
it feels like to work out in pads, what's his
body gonna feel like afterward? It's not done until he
(10:06):
signs the paper and shows up, and even then he
may decide after the first couple of games that things
are different than.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
They used to be. But I feel like at some
level they're milking this count.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
I think they're trying to make it dramatic and cinematic.
I mean, they are in Hollywood, after all, so I
think that's part of it. I also think whether they're
considering this factor or not. If and when on Aaron
Donald makes it clear he's coming back, the bar is
going to be.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Even higher for the Rams than it already is.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
And they're already the favorite to go to the Super
Bowl and win it, the odds will swing even harder
in their favor.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
It becomes a huge burden for the Rams to carry.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Why not get to that point at a time when
all the camps are open so it's less of a
dominant theme on all of the talk shows, all of
the TV shows, how the Rams are the team that
we should just hand the trophy to and cancel the season.
I think it becomes a challenge for any coach to
try to motivate a team that so many people believe
(11:07):
will just come out and be the wire to wire
best team, and the reality is every game they play,
they're going to be going against a highly motivated opponent,
and you're going to have people who are rooting against them.
And again, if you're going to start that process, I
think it's better to let it happen when we're distracted
by everything else that's going on, and not do it
(11:28):
in a quiet time where it becomes this dominant story
that everyone talks about for.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Multiple interest days leading up to the opening of camps.
Speaker 6 (11:36):
Mike, real quick, you cover the league without prejudice, and
so curious your take. ESPN has come out with their
top ten in each position, and naturally we're going to
focus most on the quarterbacks. What is your impartial view
of where Sam Darnold should be on that list? Should
he be in the top ten? If not, about what
(11:58):
numbers should he be? What was your reaction to.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, something I said years ago that is still true.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
We can say, as to a given quarterback, yes or no,
he's a top ten guy.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
And if you do that with every quarterback in the league,
you will find out you have twenty top ten quarterbacks.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
So that's why the rankings are a useful way to
just understand there are a lot of great quarterbacks in
the NFL. Now, the problem is we get caught up
in the moment, just like the players who voted last
year on the top one hundred in the NFL Lamar
Jackson falling sixty seven spots number sixty nine.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
It just shows you how short term the focus can be.
I don't know where Sam Donald. This is hard with
Aaron Donald and Sam Donald in the same segment. I mean,
I'm trying to say vote name right, but I don't
know where Sam Donald should fall.
Speaker 5 (12:49):
It's easy to say top ten, but it isn't all
that hard to identify ten other quarterbacks where you would
ask yourself the basic question, which one would you rather
have on your team? And I think you can identify
ten quarterbacks where if you look at it objectively, Yeah,
if we had the choice right now, if we could
swap out Sam Donald for that guy, there's probably ten
(13:09):
of them that you would say, yeah, let's go ahead
and do it. And it leads to an interesting point
moving forward, because they had no hesitation about trading Geno
Smith and signing Sam Donald to a contract that allowed
them to escape it after one year.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
If things hadn't worked.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
Out, if things don't go great this year, if there's
a regression with a new offensive coordinator if the league
figures him out or whatever the case may be, and
there are other options next year. I had somebody asked
me an excellent question last week. If Baker Mayfield's available
as a free agent, would.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
The Seahawks be interested?
Speaker 5 (13:37):
And when you consider what Mayfield did in Seattle last
year and that thirty eight thirty five win, you know
what Donald did for the Vikings in twenty twenty four
late in the regular season, when the Vikings went in
there and won.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
That had an impression on the Seahawks. So we've already seen.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
That they're not afraid to unplug from a starting quarterback
and move on to another one.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
They're not afraid.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
I had left the starting running back who was the
Super Bowl MVP walk away.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
In free agency. So it's a year to year league
right now. And I think as of right now, yes.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
They won the Super Bowl, but it wasn't because Sam
Donald threw from four hundred yards four touchdowns and no interceptions,
And so last last year, last year's forgotten. And I
don't think he's currently a top ten guy because there
are at least ten other guys that if you looked
at it fairly, you'd say we can get this guy.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Yeah, we'll take it.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Mike. Always a pleasure. We'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Thanks guys, you beat Mike.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
A lot to chew on there that Mike just talked about.
We'll do that coming up next on ninety three point
three KJRFM.
Speaker 7 (14:37):
Now back, just Suffie and Dick. Brought to you by
Emerald Queen Casino, bringing you the best in live music, entertainment, dining,
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Speaker 3 (14:59):
Well, Mike Florio threw a flurry out of there at
the end. Hugh I thought that his take on the
RAMS was a pretty good one. That if the RAMS
are going to bring Aaron Donald in, it does make
a lot more sense for them to do it when
thirty two training camps are being covered by the national
media instead of at a time where there's nothing going
(15:21):
on in the NFL. And now does that translate you're
the NFL player, I mean, does that translate? Does that
help the RAMS be more motivated to take the slings
and arrows from the other competitors in the NFL. If
they're not, if the story isn't it covered as much
versus if it is, does that matter?
Speaker 6 (15:41):
That's a stretch that didn't really pass my sniff test.
I think that the Rams are high profile enough. They
obviously play in a high profile city. Aaron Donald is
a lock Hall of Famer, you know that has a
Super Bowl ring in his own right. I mean, he's
He's going to be a big story no matter what. Okay,
so yes, I will grant him that it'll be a
(16:05):
it will be less of a story if he signs
in ten days, But I don't know that that materially
changes anything from a motivation standpoint for either team. I mean,
if you have to contend with Aaron Donald, you're gonna
have to contend with him. And let's see what version
of Aaron Donald is he? Is Heney?
Speaker 2 (16:27):
You know?
Speaker 6 (16:27):
Is he ninety five percent? Is he ninety nine percent?
Is he seventy nine percent? You know, we're just gonna
have to watch the tape see how he plays. I
would assume that they would have less reps for him,
that they kind of specialize, pace him throughout the game
and let him be involved in the most impactful plays
if he's you know, deserving of those reps. So until
(16:48):
we see what kind of shape and stature he's in,
I think we're all just kind of waiting. It would
all be conjecture.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Jackson and I were debating this the other day because
Jackson was talking about what he was, like lift up
his wife or his girlfriend with one arm or something
like that out here like all the like there's all
these you know, the workout warrior videos out there, and.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
I'm like, cool, he's really strong. He's still really strong.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Can he still be an elite defensive tackle in the
NFL two years after not taking a snap?
Speaker 4 (17:20):
I have a tough time believing that. But that's just me.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
I mean, how two years off in your thirties, how
likely is it that he can even be closed? It
can be ninety percent.
Speaker 6 (17:32):
Of Aaron don I don't know if it's the two
years off, it's just the natural aging part.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Right.
Speaker 6 (17:39):
Is he as quick as he is explosive?
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Right?
Speaker 6 (17:42):
I think I think his his in game, you know,
instincts where the ball is and what have you. The
speed of the game. His mind will probably catch up earlier.
It's just okay, just that as I said, the quickness,
the explosiveness that marked his game, because remember now he
he's a short guy. He was still you know, in
(18:03):
the twenty eight drafts that we've done, I kicked myself
on three drafts, and the one that I kicked the most,
myself the most that I was just asleep at the wheel,
flat out of sleep at the wheel. As Aaron Donald.
I remember him. He was about the twelfth or thirteenth pick.
Rams were still in Saint Louis, if I remember, and
(18:23):
you know I studied for him. He played a pitt,
you know, prepared the draft. I remember doing, you know,
commenting on him. I just I just did not see
it coming that he would be that great. And we're
talking about in the discussion.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
It is going to be that great or he would
have been the number one pick of the draft.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
No, that well, well I would just say I didn't
even see a shadow of that company, right, you know,
you know when he got drafted in thirteenth, I remember thinking, yeah,
that's about right. I'm not surprised either way on that.
And then he just blew the top off of all
of it.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
We got a plethora of fun with audio. So we're
going to break right now and get back to it.
We got a lot to get to a softy in
Dick without the soft one. Hue is here, Jackson is
here on ninety three point three KJRFM
It's time for a weekly conversation with Pro Football Talks
Mike Florio, brought to you by Simply Seattle. Tired of
buying and repping the same old Seattle sports gear everyone else,
asked for the best Storm, Seahawks, Mariners, Kraken, Rainiers, Sounders,
and not to mention, the largest Sonics collection in the world.
Check out simply Seattle dot com. Now with Mike Florio,
(00:21):
here's SOFTI and Dick.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Well.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
I know Mike Florio has been keeping track of what's
going on in the World Cup. He's been writing about it,
and that was something what we just witnessed.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Mike, Well, this usually.
Speaker 5 (00:37):
I've been able to watch when the games begin. Today
was one of those days where I had some stuff
going on, and I knew that I wasn't going to
be able to start watching it until five o'clock Easter
and that was an hour and ten minutes ago.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
So I had to.
Speaker 5 (00:56):
Fifteen seconds at a time, little click click click on
the TV to get myself through it. And I knew
when to slow down and when to watch it. And
I just saw the end of it, and I can't
believe it. I thought England was going to hold on
I didn't think Argentina could pull a rabbit out of
the hat.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Again, it was amazing, just amazing.
Speaker 6 (01:18):
Yeah, And we're kind of trying to make football comparisons,
bringing up things like prevent defense, and I guess England's
going to be their coach is going to be under
fire for some time about the conservative nature, the substitutions
and what have you. You know, you get up one nothing
and then you think that that's going to be enough.
You play to that one nothing. We've seen it in football, Mike,
(01:40):
you know, you play not to lose. And it's like
the sports gods they tend to front on that more
often than not. And I think that they might have
intervened today.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
Well they say two nothing is the most dangerous lead
in soccer, but if you're up one nothing to nothing
sounds pretty good.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
If you can go and get it. There's the problem is.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
And look, I bring a lifetime of experience watching other
sports to this discovery I've had of the World Cup
this year. But it's got to be hard when you
have morphed into let's hang on for dear life to
our one nothing lead and then all of a sudden
it's one one one team is still in go score mode.
(02:22):
The other team is in save our butts mode, and
you got to flip that switch back hard in the
remaining time. And I think at that point, the team
that blew the lead is tighter and trying to just
get to extra time, and the team that just scored,
they're looser because they're thinking, we were supposed to lose.
(02:44):
Let's just go out and play our game for the
rest of this time that we have before we get
to the thirty extra minutes. And look, there's a lot
more that goes into it, but I think it's just
a basic human emotion level when you're out there and
you're in the middle of it. I think those those
factors can play into the collective minds of the players
who are out there trying to do it.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Mike Fleurio, joniis Mike.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
The biggest story locally since the last time we talked
to you, and one of the biggest stories nationally in
the NFL was the sale of the Seahawks nine point
six billion. Before we talk about Coosto a little bit,
maybe evaluate the job that Jody Allen did as a
caretaker of the franchise and can you separate what Jody
(03:28):
did versus what her brother did previous.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
Well, kind of think either of them particularly got involved
in meddling, stirring the pot, pulling the strings.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
A lot of owners are very involved, and we know it.
A lot of owners are very involved.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
And we don't know it because they don't want the
scrutiny that goes along with people believing that they are
really in the mix of making decisions, and most big
decisions by an NFL team or at least run by
the owner. And it doesn't take much for an owner
to put a thumb on the scale because the people
who want to continue to ran employed by the multi
(04:10):
billionaire who owns the.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Team will tend to pick up on the cues. You
never have to say, go do this.
Speaker 5 (04:16):
The right or wrong word at the right or wrong
time is going to send a message that your employees
will act upon. And I've always had the impression Jody
Allen has just stayed out of the way, and I
think that's the key.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
You've got to hire people who know what they're doing,
people that you trust.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
And just be a fan and every once in a
while they're going to need you for something big, but
for the most part, just let this thing go out
and perform under the guidance of the people that you've
hired to do it. And I think that from the
perspective of new ownership coming in, the best outcome for
everyone who's currently employed by the Seahawks, the best outcome
(04:52):
for all Seahawks fans is if the Node Coast and
his family will allow this thing to continue.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But then there's
the reality.
Speaker 5 (05:03):
If we're going to pay nine point sixty one to
two billion for this thing and we own it, we
can do whatever we want.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
But that's the challenge.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
And if you get too involved and things start going
the other way, you're going to find out. As a
wise man once told me, the only thing better than
being rich and famous is being rich, And you're going
to find out what it means to be famous and
notorious in a community and in a fan base that
is upset that you had something that was in very
good shape and you found a way to screw it up.
(05:29):
So I don't have any reason to think that that'll happen,
But if I was a Seahawks fan, I'd be worried
that it could.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
And we don't know anything about these people. That's the reality.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
When someone comes in and buys an NFL team, It's like, Okay,
who are these people?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
What are they going to do?
Speaker 5 (05:44):
Is there any way to draw any dotted line from
other businesses they've operated to this? I don't think there is.
We have to just sit back and wait and see
what plays out.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
Mike Florio with this, Mike, I think you articulated that
exactly how I feel like if you put yourself in
a position of an art and Seahawk fan, you would
be worried because it's the unknown, and really all the
things that can happen, you know, most of them are
wrong or merely as good as what they were. But
I also want to ask you that the specter of here,
(06:15):
they spend nearly ten billion dollars and their net worth
is you know, fourteen fifteen billion. In the past, through
different sports, including football, whether it's Mike Brown, or whether
it's model's or what have you. Those where the NFL
team is the family business, there's been a checkered past
(06:40):
with that. There's been good, you know, you know, the
Jerry Jones is, yeah, he brought a lot of hardware,
But then there's also been some others where the lack
of financial a wherewithal hurt the team. So should a
Seahawk fan be concerned about that kind of equity ratio
that we bring forth with the Coast here?
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Well, these are all family businesses.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
That's one of the amazing and frustrating depending upon which
team you follow realities of sports ownership and NFL ownership. Now,
for decades it was just the families of the people
who got the league going. But when we got into
the eighties and the Jerry Joneses of the world showed up,
people who made a ton of money elsewhere and came
(07:23):
in and bought these teams.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
It's still ultimately as a family owned business. But you
hit the nail on the head.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
What kind of resources do you have not just to
show up and write the check for thirty percent of
the equity, which is what Venode COASTLA needs.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
To have in order to buy the team. You've got
to be able.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
To transfer without debt the funds to pay for thirty
percent of the nine point sixty one to two billion.
Beyond that, you've got an investment group. But when the
time comes to make expenditures, where's that.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Money coming from?
Speaker 5 (07:56):
Or the other partners going to be kicking it in
and the best com Harrison is the family that bought
the Broncos for only four point sixty five billion, less
than half four years ago of what the Coastals are
paying the Walton Penner group. They've got unlimited funds, they've
got all those different family members of the Sam Walton
(08:16):
Walmart Empire, and they are in a position to spare
no expense.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Before they came in, I think the wealthiest.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
Owner was David Tepper in the vicinity of eighteen nineteen
billion net worth based upon without their reported who knows how.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Accurate and it is.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
But then here come the Waltons at seventy billion, so
they can do exactly whatever they want to do in
order to reinvest in the team and make it as
competitive as it can be. So I think that really
is a question that will need to be monitored going forward.
Is the net worth of the Coastals is that high enough?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Now?
Speaker 5 (08:51):
I think that there are other owners who are worth less,
but they also didn't have to carve off thirty percent
of their net worth by the team.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
They've owned it for some period of time.
Speaker 5 (09:02):
So I think that's a real question when it comes
down to discretionary decisions that result in expenses that could.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Make the team better.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
Are those expenses going to be incurred can they be
incurred by? And I hate to say only thirteen billion,
But as the prices go up, I think the money
you need to have behind it in order to make
it work, especially as you're paying off this team that
you've purchased, I think it becomes a factor that at
least needs to be monitored.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Mike, a whole lot of smoke surrounding the RAMS facility
in Aaron Donald's potential return, is it fade a complete
at this point? And if it is, how concerned should
Seahawk fans be that he can still play at a
really high level.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
I don't think it's a done deal yet, but they're
not doing anything to push back against the perception that
it's moving in that direction. Aaron Donald goes on to
social media and stirs the pot. Then he goes and
works out at the team's facilities, supposedly to see what
it feels like to work out in pads, what's his
body gonna feel like afterward? It's not done until he
(10:06):
signs the paper and shows up, and even then he
may decide after the first couple of games that things
are different than.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
They used to be. But I feel like at some
level they're milking this count.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
I think they're trying to make it dramatic and cinematic.
I mean, they are in Hollywood, after all, so I
think that's part of it. I also think whether they're
considering this factor or not. If and when on Aaron
Donald makes it clear he's coming back, the bar is
going to be.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Even higher for the Rams than it already is.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
And they're already the favorite to go to the Super
Bowl and win it, the odds will swing even harder
in their favor.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
It becomes a huge burden for the Rams to carry.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Why not get to that point at a time when
all the camps are open so it's less of a
dominant theme on all of the talk shows, all of
the TV shows, how the Rams are the team that
we should just hand the trophy to and cancel the season.
I think it becomes a challenge for any coach to
try to motivate a team that so many people believe
(11:07):
will just come out and be the wire to wire
best team, and the reality is every game they play,
they're going to be going against a highly motivated opponent,
and you're going to have people who are rooting against them.
And again, if you're going to start that process, I
think it's better to let it happen when we're distracted
by everything else that's going on, and not do it
(11:28):
in a quiet time where it becomes this dominant story
that everyone talks about for.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Multiple interest days leading up to the opening of camps.
Speaker 6 (11:36):
Mike, real quick, you cover the league without prejudice, and
so curious your take. ESPN has come out with their
top ten in each position, and naturally we're going to
focus most on the quarterbacks. What is your impartial view
of where Sam Darnold should be on that list? Should
he be in the top ten? If not, about what
(11:58):
numbers should he be? What was your reaction to.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, something I said years ago that is still true.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
We can say, as to a given quarterback, yes or no,
he's a top ten guy.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
And if you do that with every quarterback in the league,
you will find out you have twenty top ten quarterbacks.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
So that's why the rankings are a useful way to
just understand there are a lot of great quarterbacks in
the NFL. Now, the problem is we get caught up
in the moment, just like the players who voted last
year on the top one hundred in the NFL Lamar
Jackson falling sixty seven spots number sixty nine.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
It just shows you how short term the focus can be.
I don't know where Sam Donald. This is hard with
Aaron Donald and Sam Donald in the same segment. I mean,
I'm trying to say vote name right, but I don't
know where Sam Donald should fall.
Speaker 5 (12:49):
It's easy to say top ten, but it isn't all
that hard to identify ten other quarterbacks where you would
ask yourself the basic question, which one would you rather
have on your team? And I think you can identify
ten quarterbacks where if you look at it objectively, Yeah,
if we had the choice right now, if we could
swap out Sam Donald for that guy, there's probably ten
(13:09):
of them that you would say, yeah, let's go ahead
and do it. And it leads to an interesting point
moving forward, because they had no hesitation about trading Geno
Smith and signing Sam Donald to a contract that allowed
them to escape it after one year.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
If things hadn't worked.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
Out, if things don't go great this year, if there's
a regression with a new offensive coordinator if the league
figures him out or whatever the case may be, and
there are other options next year. I had somebody asked
me an excellent question last week. If Baker Mayfield's available
as a free agent, would.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
The Seahawks be interested?
Speaker 5 (13:37):
And when you consider what Mayfield did in Seattle last
year and that thirty eight thirty five win, you know
what Donald did for the Vikings in twenty twenty four
late in the regular season, when the Vikings went in
there and won.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
That had an impression on the Seahawks. So we've already seen.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
That they're not afraid to unplug from a starting quarterback
and move on to another one.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
They're not afraid.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
I had left the starting running back who was the
Super Bowl MVP walk away.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
In free agency. So it's a year to year league
right now. And I think as of right now, yes.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
They won the Super Bowl, but it wasn't because Sam
Donald threw from four hundred yards four touchdowns and no interceptions,
And so last last year, last year's forgotten. And I
don't think he's currently a top ten guy because there
are at least ten other guys that if you looked
at it fairly, you'd say we can get this guy.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Yeah, we'll take it.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Mike. Always a pleasure. We'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Thanks guys, you beat Mike.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
A lot to chew on there that Mike just talked about.
We'll do that coming up next on ninety three point
three KJRFM.
Speaker 7 (14:37):
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Speaker 3 (14:59):
Well, Mike Florio threw a flurry out of there at
the end. Hugh I thought that his take on the
RAMS was a pretty good one. That if the RAMS
are going to bring Aaron Donald in, it does make
a lot more sense for them to do it when
thirty two training camps are being covered by the national
media instead of at a time where there's nothing going
(15:21):
on in the NFL. And now does that translate you're
the NFL player, I mean, does that translate? Does that
help the RAMS be more motivated to take the slings
and arrows from the other competitors in the NFL. If
they're not, if the story isn't it covered as much
versus if it is, does that matter?
Speaker 6 (15:41):
That's a stretch that didn't really pass my sniff test.
I think that the Rams are high profile enough. They
obviously play in a high profile city. Aaron Donald is
a lock Hall of Famer, you know that has a
Super Bowl ring in his own right. I mean, he's
He's going to be a big story no matter what. Okay,
so yes, I will grant him that it'll be a
(16:05):
it will be less of a story if he signs
in ten days, But I don't know that that materially
changes anything from a motivation standpoint for either team. I mean,
if you have to contend with Aaron Donald, you're gonna
have to contend with him. And let's see what version
of Aaron Donald is he? Is Heney?
Speaker 2 (16:27):
You know?
Speaker 6 (16:27):
Is he ninety five percent? Is he ninety nine percent?
Is he seventy nine percent? You know, we're just gonna
have to watch the tape see how he plays. I
would assume that they would have less reps for him,
that they kind of specialize, pace him throughout the game
and let him be involved in the most impactful plays
if he's you know, deserving of those reps. So until
(16:48):
we see what kind of shape and stature he's in,
I think we're all just kind of waiting. It would
all be conjecture.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Jackson and I were debating this the other day because
Jackson was talking about what he was, like lift up
his wife or his girlfriend with one arm or something
like that out here like all the like there's all
these you know, the workout warrior videos out there, and.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
I'm like, cool, he's really strong. He's still really strong.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Can he still be an elite defensive tackle in the
NFL two years after not taking a snap?
Speaker 4 (17:20):
I have a tough time believing that. But that's just me.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
I mean, how two years off in your thirties, how
likely is it that he can even be closed? It
can be ninety percent.
Speaker 6 (17:32):
Of Aaron don I don't know if it's the two
years off, it's just the natural aging part.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Right.
Speaker 6 (17:39):
Is he as quick as he is explosive?
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Right?
Speaker 6 (17:42):
I think I think his his in game, you know,
instincts where the ball is and what have you. The
speed of the game. His mind will probably catch up earlier.
It's just okay, just that as I said, the quickness,
the explosiveness that marked his game, because remember now he
he's a short guy. He was still you know, in
(18:03):
the twenty eight drafts that we've done, I kicked myself
on three drafts, and the one that I kicked the most,
myself the most that I was just asleep at the wheel,
flat out of sleep at the wheel. As Aaron Donald.
I remember him. He was about the twelfth or thirteenth pick.
Rams were still in Saint Louis, if I remember, and
(18:23):
you know I studied for him. He played a pitt,
you know, prepared the draft. I remember doing, you know,
commenting on him. I just I just did not see
it coming that he would be that great. And we're
talking about in the discussion.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
It is going to be that great or he would
have been the number one pick of the draft.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
No, that well, well I would just say I didn't
even see a shadow of that company, right, you know,
you know when he got drafted in thirteenth, I remember thinking, yeah,
that's about right. I'm not surprised either way on that.
And then he just blew the top off of all
of it.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
We got a plethora of fun with audio. So we're
going to break right now and get back to it.
We got a lot to get to a softy in
Dick without the soft one. Hue is here, Jackson is
here on ninety three point three KJRFM
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