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Now, on with the show. Let's do this. Let's do this. Let's do this. This is the Rich Eisen Show.
With guest host, Andrew Ceciliano. The kick is. No go! Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles, today's guests. 49ers quarterback Mac Jones, Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins, two-time U.S.
Open champion Wyndham Clark. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Andrew Ceciliano. There is Nothing going on today. At All. Nothing going on but the rent?
Nothing going on but the rent. Yes. Yes and a foul. Hi, everybody. Energy at the top of the show because there's actually a lot of stuff to talk about.
My name is Andrew. I am happy to be here. Second time in a couple of days, you get me. Riches off for the entire week. Kirk Morrison in this chair yesterday.
Raider Legend. Kirk Morrison in this chair yesterday. And then coming up tomorrow, Tom Pellicero in this chair. And And I guarantee you, he will also wear a fantastic shirt jacket. I'm happy to be here.
Rich is back next week. I was joking that there is nothing going on. Chris Brockman is here, everybody. What is going on? I'm here.
Mike Del Tufo, Celebrity A1 in the house. How are you guys doing? Is here. Instagram star. Mike Messi sounded amazing yesterday.
Mike Del Tufo. Mixing Messi yesterday. And the fantastic. The Nordsman doing the row. Oh, amazing.
Gosh, I love those guys. Love me some Messi yesterday. I get it. He's short.
So am I. Get over it. You're short. I get it. I am.
Not short. TJ Jefferson. Good to see you. You, sir. What up, TJ?
Salute. Are you rowing like rowing like a Norwegian on that cruise line? Yeah. On the cruise line. Is that how those cruises work?
I've never been there. Oh, that's just a bunch of Norsemen in the basement in the bottom of the ship, bro. A bunch of footy fans in the hold with oars. While you're upstairs listening to some third-rate comic and eating a buffet. It's just a thousand Erling Hollands in the hull of the ship just coming up.
And we do have a big show today. Coming up. An hour from now, I do have suggestions for the World Cup. These are not These are not complaints about World Cup because I hate the World Cup. I love it.
I truly do it. I told you, last Friday, half of the show was me saying. How great my experience was the day before when I saw Switzerland beat Bosnia-Herzegovina in person at Los Angeles Stadium. It was great. Like I I love the World Cup.
I I sat on my couch which is this color. And I blended into the couch, and I watched nothing but World Cup yesterday. Loved it. I just have five suggestions for the World Cup a little bit later.
Soccer fans. Just Keep it open mind. One, two, three, four, five. Five. Coming up later this hour.
Mac Jones will be here. Quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers for now. I don't know. Does he have Zillow on his phone? Or Redfin, whichever, whichever you like.
Holmes.com. Is he looking around? We'll ask him. He is in Nashville ahead of, or maybe he's getting ready to go to Nashville ahead of tight end university. That is officially back.
It is a thing. Last year it got kind of crazy. We'll see how crazy it's going to get. Mac Jones, one of the 19 former current and former 49er quarterbacks who are down there throwing to help out George. Kiddle.
Coming up next hour. Speaking of the raiders, Kirk. cousins will be here. What is a Knight of the Town in Vegas like? For Kirk.
Cousins. Does he go check out a show? What's his favorite buffet? Where does he think the loosest slots are? We will ask.
Kirk. Cousins. And then later It's a, I don't play slot machines, but that's how they advertise them, TJ. That's how they advertise them. You don't want a tight machine.
No. No. No. Nope. Bad.
Type machine, bad. No. Good. Yeah. Not at all.
You want one that pays out. And before you tell me that he's going to say, hey, Andrew, gambling, I can't do that. It's the offseason. Yep. And you are allowed to play.
The slot machines. In the offseason, you're allowed to go in there and play blackjack. Hey. Yeah. As a league employee, and there are rules.
different rules for players than there are for league staff. Looser rules for players than there are for league staff.
So, Kirk Cousins can, if he wants to, sleep at a blackjack table. I'm not suggesting he wants. I'm not suggesting I ever have. We got to ask Kirk. Just that one time.
We got to ask Kirk. We got to make sure that he hits on a 16. Oh, that's a good one. No, I hit on a 16.
Now, are you counting? I'm looking at TJ over there.
Okay, hold on, write that one down. I don't want to figure out. Yeah, does Kirk play basic strategy at the blackjack table? Because that's a that's a big big question.
Okay, let's get to the actual news because there is real news here. Massive trade in the NBA, and the draft is this evening.
Okay.
So There's also, and we'll do this coming up in 10 minutes, the PGA Tor was turned on its head this morning. Starting in 2028, there is going to be an entirely different format for the PGA Tour. Brian Rolap, who used to be a senior executive for the NFL, head the media group for the NFL, among other things in his fiefdom, now runs the PGA Tour. And he had a press conference this morning, fronted by Tiger Woods. They turned the PGA Tour on its head beginning in 2028.
We'll break that down. But the Giannis trade is the news. The Giannis trade is massive. He is not going to Boston. He is not getting flipped for Jalen Brown.
He is going to Miami. in a package that includes multiple number one picks. And Tyler Hero. It's Hero Wear Hawquez Jakin Shunas. Jakinshunas.
Good job, Brockman. Thank you. It's a first-round pick tonight, 13, so Milwaukee has 10 and 13. A 2030 pick swap And then a 31. And 33 unprotected one.
And a 2033 Which feels like the throw-in in all of this. The 20 will, we will gladly give you a second-round pick seven years from now. Oh, that extra second? Yeah, sure. Can I throw in a two seven years from now when we'll have a franchise on Mars?
That kid is 12 years old right now, TJ. Right. That second-round pick is in middle school. Yeah, it's kind of absurd. All right.
So, on the surface, you go, all right, you got Bam and you got Giannis in Miami. That's great.
South Florida, no taxes. You got, you know. You got Giannis, you got Kachuck. Everybody wants to move to Miami. Right.
Yay.
Okay.
That's cool. Got it. And he had said, Giannis had said, intimated at least Miami was kind of the place to go. I get it. I'm not the biggest Florida fan, to be honest with you.
I prefer California. But I get it. People like Miami. I think it's the most overrated titan in America. But I get it.
People like Miami. And on the surface, if I'm a Heat fan, I am excited. Try to figure out, though, if I'm a Bucs fan. Am I excited? Tyler Hero, hometown Hero.
He's coming back. He's 26. If they don't flip him, might they flip him? Maybe. What would Detroit give to get another shooter?
Yeah. Like. Might flip 'em. On the surface, you get 10 and 13 grade. It's an eight-player trap.
Are there any players you want at 10 and 13? Oh, you could take those two picks and move up. That's a possibility.
Okay, how high can you get? Can you get to five? Do you want to get to five? Probably get the five. Would you have preferred?
If you're a Bucs fan, and look, you got a haul for the guy. He's 31, he can't stay healthy. I I hate the ish ish. Right, you got a haul for a 31-year-old player. With an injury history.
Hall of Famer. Holophon, one of the Top 20, top 25 all time. Absolute hall of famer. Yeah. If you were a Bucs fan right now, would you be happier?
With Jalen Brown. Superstar. Jalen Brown. And I don't know what else would the Celtics have thrown in? There were multiple ones in there, right?
The big deal that Choms reported was Jalen Brown and two first-round picks. Boston unwilling to add young players, whether it was Hugo Gonzalez or Baylor Scheerman, any of those younger guys.
So it seems like. That was just a straight offer. Brown and two picks, and there you go. You got a superstar. Celtics tonight picking for now 27.
So assume that pick was involved. Sure. Assume.
Okay.
Thanks, Fair. ESPN.com right now projecting COAP to 27 out of Arizona.
Okay.
If I'm Honestly. I i if I'm a Bucs fan, I want Jalen Brown. I want Jalen Brown. I like Tyler Hero. I want Jalen Brown.
I don't want a first-round pick in 30 and 31. Yeah, right. 30 and 30 in comparison right now, you cannot trade. The 2030 First round pick in the NFL. You could only trade picks three years out.
So right now, 27, 28 and 29 are the first round picks that currently can be dealt in any NFL trade if they were to happen this afternoon. If you're a Bucs fan, you just got two picks beyond that window. Different sports, different rules. I get it. Like Mikael Bridges once got traded for five number ones.
There's no player other than Mahomes. Joe Burrow. That anybody, if you were allowed, would give up five number ones for in the NFL. McHill Bridge has got five number ones.
So that just shows you the difference in the sports and the difference in the drafts. I entirely get it. But if you are, you joke that kid is 12.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. That kid is 12 who. Yeah, the 2033 pick is probably 12 right now. Maybe.
Yeah. I mean, he could be 12. Yeah. Okay.
So I see what you're saying. Seven years. If you're a. If you're a Let's see. Let me do the math here.
So 16. Do you do twenty to thirty five? If you're a sixteen year old Bucks fan, you're not going to see that thirty one first round pick until are legal to drink. That's a long way out. The long way.
I realized you could turn those assets into something else. I would just want Jalen Brown. I'd want a guy that puts butts in the seats. That's just me. Yeah.
Yannis might be retired before that pick gets made. He might be. Good chance. I kind of think the Bucs were the winners of this draft. I mean, You give up your Hall of Famer face of your franchise, which is a bummer.
You don't really want to do that. But they really probably should have done this trade last offseason or the deadline before when it started rumbling that Giannis was kind of unhappy and wanted out. But you get nine guys. You get to hard reset your franchise. You got a lot of picks now.
Again, it's 30 and 31, 31, and 33. Giannis probably won't even be on the heat. At that point. And so those could be, those are unprotected.
So those could be high draft picks in, you know, theoretically. Could be, but you're looking five years out. I mean, the idea. And if yes, let's say Giannis is retired by then. You have no idea the other moves that he could make, potentially.
No idea. No idea. No idea. So to say, oh, they're going to be bad in five years is a silly projection. I'm not saying you're silly.
No, no, I'm just saying. You get Hero back. You get a lot of assets. You can flip Hero for more picks. And you kind of sell your fan base on, we are going to go the Oklahoma City route here.
We're going to accumulate picks and picks and picks and swaps and swaps and picks and picks. And we can turn those literally into anything. Look, they want a championship. They're a perennial powerhouse now in the West. This is the model we're going to follow.
And I think that should be the sell to Bucs fans right now. They got their championship. They got the Cheeriannis. It was 10 amazing years.
Some of my close friends are Bucs fans. And yeah, they're sad today, but they got to experience quite the ride. TJ, as a Sixer fan, Clipper fan, you would have given anything for the last 10 years that the Bucs just had with this guy. And so now you kind of hard reset and you start over and you kind of live off those memories a little bit. And then you go get some players and convince them to come to Milwaukee.
The only problem is. There Giannises don't grow on trees. Like, so getting someone back They'll give you what this guy gave you over this past decade. Probably not. But he wanted out.
But Giannis was developed, man. Giannis won. He was a middle of the first-round pick. Nobody knew anything about him. He was 180 pounds, probably, when he showed up in Milwaukee, and he turned himself into one of the 20 greatest players of all time.
And again, that's possible in this league. I I don't think you're gonna see anyone Like him again, especially not in Milwaukee. He wanted out. We agree. It was the time to move him, and this was the best deal.
This was the best deal, at least in their eyes. I'm with you. You have to rebuild. You don't get rid of a Hall of Famer and And Do something other than take a step back. I just think Jalen Brown is the better piece.
But I also understand as well, and there is a Haslam thread here.
So let's make that connection here. Jimmy Haslam, not yet the official governor of the Bucks. I said the Buccaneers. Geez, NFL Brayton. The Bucks, obviously much different teams, but had a hand in this, as the entire Bucks ownership group did, recently went through the Miles Garrett trade.
And in the Miles Garrett trade, Andrew Berry, the GM of the Browns, has made it very clear they were not going to just do the deal for picks. It wasn't going to be, hey, give me a couple of twos and a couple of threes, or a couple of the ones, rather, and a couple of the twos, and we'll do the deal. Wasn't going to do that. They wanted a premium player in return, and they got that in Jared Verse. And that's why the deal went down with the Rams, because they were able to give a guy, not just at the same position, but in a premium position.
On a rookie contract, and they were able to do that. Jalen Brown would have been a guy with one year left. MVP caliber player. But a guy that would immediately sell tickets here. The difference is Between Miles Garrett, obviously.
And Giannis is that Miles Garrett didn't technically. And they've been out of it. Like, Miles didn't ask for a trade this year. You did not have to do the deal this year.
Now Was he Mildly aggravated, perhaps that Jim Schwartz wasn't there. Yeah. Absolutely. Uh-huh. He had asked for the trade.
A year ago, and the Browns are adamant. Miles did not come in and ask for Yeah. Yeah. with the Bucks deal. This deal.
Comparing that to the Miles Garrett deal, they, the Bucs, looked more to the future than they did with with the Brown steel. Browns deal, they got a premium player, a guy for the side of the marquee right now, and good picks. This is, we like Tyler Hero a lot. Tyler Hurrow is not Jalen Brown, but we are doing Brockman in what you just said, we're doing more of the reset. Yeah.
doing far more of the reset now. Then Than we did then. All right, so I have this. Let me pull it up. If you combine these two trades.
It's Giannis. Miles Garrett. Bobby Portis For Tyler Hero, where Haque is Yakishon, say it again. Yakashunas. Yakishunas.
Jared Verse. Four first-round picks, one pick swap, two second-round picks. And a third round pick. It's a good haul. Yeah, I mean, you're also the owner now that has traded a top twenty player of all time on in one sport and then maybe the best defensive player of this century in the other sport.
Okay, so on the Browns trade, you chose to do that and you realize this is the position the team is in right now. Yeah. And you're going to cash in on a premium asset. I hate to call human beings assets, but that's what it was. The other trade, the Giannis trade, Giannis won it out, guys.
Giannis wasn't going to stick around.
Okay.
So they made the deal. They got their championship. They had their run. They made the deal. Like, everyone knew it had to happen.
And I get it if you're a Bucks fan and it hurts your heart. I totally understand that part of it. Totally. Inevitably, it had to happen. Then there's the Jalen Brown part of this as well.
Because it seems also inevitable that Jalen Brown is going to move. You would think so. You would have to think so. And it isn't only because his name was a very public part of the conversation here in the Giannis deal. This isn't, oh, well, geez, we offered to move you.
Now you're offended. We have to move you. That certainly does. Play a part in this story, but Celtics fan number one over here, it goes far deeper than that.
Well, you know, this is something that's been brewing for a while. He's been dangled in trade offers before. Remember the Anthony Davis thing? He was kind of, you know, rumored out there, Kevin Durant a few years ago as well. Again, rumors, no, no, you know, anything official.
But Chom says it's Jalen Brown and two first-round picks. We take the insider, you know, at his at his word. And the thing is, if Jalen Brown is pissed that he's constantly talked about in trade options for other superstars and wants out, I don't blame him. He had a fantastic season, his best season as a professional. He's second team all NBA.
At one point, in the MVP discussion, he got a real taste of what it's like to be a true number one guy and put up some serious points, TJ, and they won a lot of games because of him this year.
So if he goes to Brad and is like, look, Brad Stevens and says, Hey, man, I'm sick of this. I want to be the league guy on my own team. Sure, I totally understand and I'm not offended at that as a fan. I never wanted to break up the Jays. It was really, you know, I had mixed feelings about the Giannis sweepstakes and the Boston's involvement in it.
Those two have proven that the ceiling for them as teammates in the last decade has been a championship. Not many teams can say that. And the floor is a second-round seven-game exit.
Okay.
Every franchise would sign up for that. And so Is he mad? Does he want out? Is he going to get flipped for the clippers for number five and whatever? Oh man, I don't know how that makes you better for next year.
You know, I if you can bring him back, they're still one of the top three teams in the East and you know, have a chance to win the NBA title. As it sits right now, they have the third best NBA title odds. They have better odds than the team that just won. They do. Yeah, Boston's third behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
The Knicks are fourth.
So, why can't we all get along here? Exactly. And I think Boston can offer him the most money.
So, if it's just about that, they can offer him a two-year, $140 million extension on what he's got right now. And they've proven that they can win a lot of games and be very successful with. Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum, and the right teammates around them.
Now, Brad said he wants to get stronger and tougher around the rim. You can't shoot 53s a game anymore. I don't think that's sustainable. We saw that this year and last.
So. I'm down to keep the keep 'em together and keep the good times rolling, but Until we hear from Jalen Brown, we don't know what he wants. On Twitch or like in front of a real microphone? Great question. I think either is a possibility.
TJ, real quick, what do you got? About the Jalen Brown.
So, what's the question, though? The question is: why can't we just all get along? You can't at this point. Just plain and simple. When feelings have already been touched as much as obviously they've been touched in this situation.
You're not going to have great chemistry. Why'd the Knicks win? Chemistry was great, Andrew. Why did the Thunder went? They had great chemistry.
Chemistry, Chris, on the Celtics is not going to be great, I don't think. There's a problem there that we don't know. But it's clearly a problem. But between who though? Again.
I don't know if there is a problem between Brown and Tatum. It might be between Brown and the front office. And that's the issue. Coming up in the 2 o'clock Eastern time hour, U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark is set to join the show.
Coming up next, however. The PGA Tour got turned on its head earlier today. There's a new format we'll tell you about it next. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Rich Eisen here.
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Don't fall away from the elbow. But I don't think he's a bad guy. I don't think he's a villain. Really? I don't know.
I mean, if LeBron goes to the heat, I'll be get ready for it. Yeah. If LeBron goes to the heat, that's a totally different conversation. All right, we're back now. Back with news about golf.
Wyndham Clark, that's the news. He will join us coming up at the 2 p.m. Eastern time hour. What kind of grape Did he drink expensive grace Sunday night? Screaming Eagle is the bar.
The first time he won the open, that's what he drank. What was the drink? Sunday Leaving Long Island. Speaking of golf. Golf got turned on its head this morning.
This had long been reported, long been rumored. Rory McElroy, among others, Jack Nicholas had come out and said, Don't like it. Don't know why we have to change anything. They are very much changing everything. Not next year.
But in 2028. They're basically going with a two-tiered system. The headline here is: it's called the Championship Series, the Big Guns, and the Challenger Series, what Rory.
Somewhat tongue-in-cheek referred to last week as what, like, just another corn fairy thing, and you're just calling it something else?
Okay, the purses in the Challenger series are like four million. The purses in the championship series, the big guns. At least 20 million. The key here is You can get relegated. Hello, EPO.
The top 90 guys are On the championship series. Keep their card. The weakest links. Goodbye. Go down to the challenger.
series and Of course, you can get bumped up, but you can get bumped up now in the PGA tour. I mean, that's not that new of an idea. The A minimum of 20 players are going to get promoted from the Challenger Series each year. There's a fast track promotion if a player wins two Challenger Series events or even a major. And yes, there will be crossover.
No sponsor exemptions. FedEx Series Cup moves to match play. That is also huge. Like that. That is very big.
Tor Championship will rotate among prestigious courses, expansion into new markets. Brian Rolap, the head of the PGA, former head NFL executive, said today, Hey, there are plenty of great courses in America here that Need need a spotlight. We'll love some major events. Speaking of Brian Rolap, here he is earlier today. I think the reason for change.
Uh has been pretty clear. If you talk to our fans, if you talk to our partners, they are all looking for improvement. And there's one thing I learned in my old job: innovation is extremely important if you want to move a sport forward. And I think the PGA Tour is different. We also exist in a really competitive sports world.
Whether you're competing for fans' attention, If you're competing for media dollars, which is the economic lifeblood of every sport in this country. you need to be constantly improving the product. And I think we looked around and we saw what we need to do to increase fans' attention and increase and create more value for our partners and felt this was necessary.
So I think we look at this more as uh not dishonoring tradition. I think that we are leaning more into the tradition. Um But for the benefit of everybody involved, I'll give you an example. Uh Gulf has an amazing tradition of meritocracy. probably the best sport in the world that I can see about you earn what you earn and you do it inside the ropes and you're rewarded for it.
And our athletes are conditioned that way. I think we got away from that. And one thing we heard consistently from fans and partners, and even members of the PGA Tor, we need to get back to the meritocracy. I think this system delivers. delivers on that promise.
Okay, so sponsors, yeah, there's more money in this potentially. Rolap was asked as well: hey, how much of this has to do with media deals? And he said, obviously.
Well, before the question was asked, he said, obviously, in the sports world, live events is the only thing that goes anymore. In the TV and the media world, live events, only thing that moves the needle anymore. And yes, this is certainly part of it. He was asked. Is this with an eye on a move towards bigger deals potentially with new partners?
And the word streamers was used. He said, I'm not necessarily there yet. We'll talk about those deals down the line. But of course, our current partners and others have already expressed interest. I get the part about meritocracy.
Certainly, I do think it's fun to have the relegation. I don't know. that the fans have been calling for innovation. To me, that's my biggest pushback from there. Golf fan, number one over here.
Have you been pushing for innovation? No. I've been pushing for the best players playing in the events against each other. He was asked about load management as well. Are you going to expect guys to play in every single event?
They said no. They don't now. They don't now. I don't know that the golf fan or those on the tour were screaming for this. I get it, it opens it up to new media deals.
It does potentially make it more exciting. And the idea that guys Can get relegated to me is where the drama comes into this. There is the hook. Tune in in 2028 to find out if Your favorite guy not only misses the cut. but gets bounced down to the minors.
Not only does your favorite player drop a touchdown pass, he's going to the UFL next week. Whoa, whoa. Yeah. I mean, we see it in baseball. It doesn't move the needle nearly as much.
Rarer is the big name veteran player to get sent down. The contracts are guaranteed. Guys don't get DFA'd very often of any significance. Younger players get sent down to the minors, but don't worry, they have options, they'll come back. They'll probably come back next week when somebody pulls a hammy.
That happens quite frequently. I'd be more interested in this type of situation. I mean, look, I'm glad the tour is doing something to kind of mix it up, keep it a little bit more exciting. I'm glad that match play is back. Like, you know, it's good, it's a good way to end the season and decide an actual champion.
The whole FedEx Cup points thing. You got to build towards something. And the way the season concludes now, not very satisfying. You know, I. I like the idea of relegation too for college football.
You know, it's something that's been thrown about. If there ends up being some type of super league and two different situations, you can play your way up and down. I think the EPL has shown that it's a pretty successful model. And it's something that fans can get behind, and it keeps you excited and engaged on if your team is on that bubble. What are we going to do?
How are we going to get out of this? We don't want to get sent back down because it's so hard to get back. And I think the PGA Tour is kind of mixing it up. And I think it's ultimately a good thing. How many times have we heard and I mean this in all seriousness how many times have we heard the snark on Twitter, oh, this NFL team should just get relegated?
Yeah, it's moving down all the time. It doesn't happen. The NFL has the best playoff turnover year for year. Of any major sport.
Now they've expanded the playoffs, and the numbers are slightly skewed now since we've gone 12 to 14, but I believe it's four or five for 30-something consecutive years, new teams in the playoffs every year.
So, no, NFL teams are not going to get relegated, but the fear of relegation moves the needle when it comes. To viewers. As for the FedEx Cup point thing, there are obviously many layers of fans for every sport. But for golf, they're the hardcore golf fans. The average golf fan, I would say, like that middle-of-the-road golf fan that has a life and a family that isn't, I'm not slamming golf fans, sitting on their couch every single weekend.
And like they'll watch the majors, they'll get excited. They'll see on Monday morning who wins the other tournaments, but it's a major sport kind of thing, a major event kind of thing. They don't follow the FedEx Cup point standings and they don't care. They just don't. I couldn't tell you who's leading right now.
And I follow golf probably more than anyone I know. Exactly. Coming up. More than anyone I know, for sure. How's Mac Jones golf game?
Mac Jones? Mac Jones. The 49ers quarterback joins us coming up next. Oh. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
And now we're back on radio here. Andrew Ciciliano sitting in for Rich today, the Rich Eyes and Show. Kirk Morrison yesterday, Tom Pellisero coming up tomorrow. Rich is back.
Next week. He is not, I am told, at tight end university. But this guy is. It is the party of the year. Joining us live from Nashville Tight End University on behalf of Reese's.
Mac Jones, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. Mac, how are you? Good. How are you doing? Appreciate the intro.
Good. How's Nashville? Because that in years past has been quite a party. Yeah, it is a great event. Tied in you, you know, with Resees is awesome.
Like, I came last year and Uh, loved it. George invited me last minute last year, but this year I got the advanced invite.
So I really appreciate it. It's a great event, and uh, football, as I say, brings people together and just a great combo between tight end you and Reese's. That's what it's all about. George being George Kittle, along with Greg Olson and Travis Kelsey, putting this thing together. Is he paying you in Reese's?
That's one way to do it. I think that's the best way to do it. I do love the candy, and I think it's a great sponsored event, and they do a great job with everybody, and it's so organized. And as a quarterback, you know, your best friends are always the tight ends because it's just a good combo.
So I'm excited to be here and throw and be around guys. Like, just meeting guys and hanging out with them has been fun. And now that I've been on three teams, I've played with a lot of different tight ends that are here.
So it's just an exciting time, honestly. And they're all there. And you're not the only quarterback there. I'm told Brock Purdy, Brandon Allen, Nick Mullins, basically anyone who's ever thrown for Kyle Shanahan or worn a 49ers helmet. is down there.
How much football is Actually, done because, like, last year I saw Brendan Bates do the Happy Gilmore thing that went viral in the golf tournament. There's allegedly classroom stuff. Is there any real football Mac? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
This is good educational football. I don't go to the classroom sessions, but all the feedback I heard from last year, and I'll hear this year has been awesome. I think people learn a lot, especially young guys hearing from Greg and everybody and the older generation of tight ends, I guess you call it. And last year, I got good work in. I was sweating, throwing routes, and they get after it.
It's a real training session, and I think it's just a great event. And like I said, your tight ends are always your guy you're always going to go find. And it's just a really good event.
So I'm excited. Mac, you said you don't go to the classroom.
So it's kind of like modern, it's like modern college football now, right? You just have to go to the classroom. Exactly. I skip class and just eat Reese's all the time. Talking to Mac Jones on the Rich Eisen Show, you said you've thrown to a lot of tight ends, three teams now.
Yep. Mac, uh, do you have a favorite tight end? Mm. It's a great question. I can't give you an exact answer because all the other ones will be really pissed at me.
No, you could, though. Yeah. Um I don't know. I think each guy brings a different thing. Like in New England, I had Hunter Henry, who's a great player, played a lot of time in this league, and obviously Jacksonville.
He got um Evan Ingram. Who's a great player? And then George, I've learned a lot from. And I mean, George is the man. He's unbelievable.
He trains really hard and shows he built the culture of San Francisco. Him and Juice, I don't count Juice as a tight end, but There's times when Juice plays that in, so we'll give him a 50-50 chance there. And then Tongas, Jake Tongis is. One of our other tight ends, he's awesome. He'll be here today too.
So we got a great group and I'm excited to be with him. How does Kittle look? What are the odds he makes it onto the pitch in Australia? Um, kiddo always looks good. He's always training hard and doing everything he can on his body.
He's a wizard when it comes to that stuff. He takes spends a lot of money on his body and takes care of it and um I think it's going along.
Well, I'm not in his body, but he knows where he's at. He knows how he feels, and I'm sure he's going to be ready at some point to go out there and rip it.
So that's Kittle's mindset. Breaking news, Mac Jones. You're not in George Kittle's body, which would be a show. Yeah, in and of itself. I'm sure George is happy that the game in Australia is, well, he's probably not thrilled it's in Australia, but it's on grass.
Mac, are you watching the World Cup at all? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Australia game will be awesome to spread football internationally. And then obviously Mexico City.
But I've been watching soccer forever. My brother played in college and So, yeah, this is what I love the sport. It's kind of one of my favorite sports: soccer, tennis, and football.
So, I've been watching it. Have you watched it? Yeah, I've been watching it, and I've been loving it. I was at SoFi for the game on Thursday, the Switzerland victory. I tell you what, the place cleans up nice with grass, man.
Like, sunshining through. It was beautiful. It's not just that building. I mean, look at MetLife. I'm sorry, New York, New Jersey Stadium, whatever the heck they're calling it.
George has been adamant, and he's not the only guy. Hey, look, we're doing this for the World Cup. You guys play on grass when you're at home, obviously, at Levi's, or I'm sorry, Bay Area Stadium. Yeah, there you go. George has been adamant: why don't we just put in grass?
What do you say to that? Um yeah, I think it's interesting to watch on T V. And it's this time of the year, which makes it easier. I love grass. I've also played on turf, so like a lot growing up too.
So my high school stadium was turf. Like I don't really have a preference, but I also don't run that much compared to these other guys. They like the grass and I I understand why. Um but I don't have a preference and I think people have definitely voiced that, and rightfully so. And if it's possible, it's possible.
As I always say, you just got to get your stuff on and go out there and play, whether it's in the parking lot or on turf, it doesn't really matter. I I get it. You're not Lamar Jackson over there, but it does feel a heck of a lot better To get tackled on grass, does it not? No, it does. It does, especially when it's cold because the turf can get pretty solid.
But yeah, it's. It's whatever. I don't really care, to be honest. No, that's fine. I mean, most guys do.
It's actually kind of refreshing to hear a guy that says, I don't care. Yeah, because most guys are going to plant their flag on this, so to speak. Right? Do you think they can do it? Do you think they can get it done?
I mean, they showed they can do it. It's an issue of maintenance, like you said. It's an issue of whether you are in, for example, New York, New Jersey Stadium. Whether or not they want to maintain that with two teams, and that one's even more difficult because you see how horrible the turf is in Pittsburgh, and they only have one team. Can they do that in the Meadowlands, MetLife Stadium, with two teams so the field is being used every single week?
And they have bad weather. It's cheaper to do it this way. And easier to maintain. Yeah, true. Hey, I'm going to go contract and trade thing here, so bear with me.
I'll just take it from this angle. I know you've talked a lot about it. Like, hey, I signed a two-year deal, not a one-year deal. Imagine if I stunk last year, like it worked out, right? I'm getting paid.
I got guaranteed money this year, and you did play well last year, obviously, when called upon. Have they, meaning John Lynch or Kyle, have they brought you At least a trade possibility. Not would you approve this, but a hey, so so-and-so reached out. Would that be of interest to you? Have they brought you any of those?
I think I'm going to let the Reese answer that one. I have no problem. I think this is my number one question that I've been asked. Look, I love I love John, I love Kyle, the York family, like it's the best organization. I feel like that I played four in terms of just top-to-bottom greatness so far.
And I don't like leaving good people, and I hope they enjoy having me there. I'm excited for this year, to be honest. A lot of that was off-season talk and anything's possible, right? I'm I mean the trade deadline is not until a little bit through the season, but I try not to keep up with it and I really just want to keep getting better. Like you said, I did.
Played decent last year. I think I can play a lot better, which is what I'm striving to do this summer: is improve on my technique and see if that helps me and elevates me to get a big deal or something in the future. But I always say be where your feet are. And my feet are in San Francisco, and I like it a lot. I respect that, man.
I tried to go at it from a different angle. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, not do you want to get traded. Yeah, of course. Sent you a text.
Look, they're all business guys and I think that's behind the scenes stuff that's handled, you know, between agents and, you know, at the combine and all sorts of things that happen.
So I've been in the loop on everything. The tr uh communication is clear and I'm that's all I care about, to be honest. Which is a good answer in and of itself. Let me ask you an even more difficult question. Are you invited to Trav and Taylor's wedding?
I didn't get the invites, but I heard it's going to be wild, so good for them. And everyone, it's cool. You get to meet a lot of people that tie into you. That's what this event is about, is bringing the bringing people together. You get to meet great couples and wives and girlfriends and everything.
So, got a lot of those around here, it seems like.
So, it's always fun to be here. Wait a minute. Is Trav's fiancée at TightNU? I don't know. I haven't seen.
Because that would be a source. I mean, she does know her way around Nashville. I think she was there at the kickoff party last night.
Okay.
Wait a minute. There you go. Brockman. Brockman reporting that she might have been there. Nice.
I don't know why I'm holding you on this interview here. I was there. It was a party. It was good. George does a good job, like, sending it all up.
And you go up for a quick minute, and everyone kind of does their own thing.
So I'm excited for tonight. They do the country concert. with uh everyone's sponsors and everything. It'll be great. But yeah, I'm excited.
Yeah, and she was there last year now, if memory serves. Mac Jones, appreciate it. Thanks for meeting a good sport here. Enjoy the rest of the offseason, wherever it takes you beyond Nashville. And we'll see you in Santa Clara and eventually in Melbourne, man.
Thanks for doing this.
Sounds good. Good to see you. Thanks. You got it. Mac Jones, everybody.
The most dangerous players on the field don't do one thing, they do both: block and catch, do the work and make the play. Tight ends are the perfect combo, just like. Reese's. Although he said Reese's. Oh.
Reese's pieces. Right. Yeah. I've heard it both ways. I forgot Taylor Swift was at the event last year, right?
She got on stage last year for a hot minute. Yep. Yeah, she was there last night. I saw some of the pictures floating around today. I just want Mac Jones to know I don't blame him for what happened in New England.
Why didn't you tell him?
Well, I don't know. It's probably a touchy part of his career. I don't know if he wants to bring up old wounds. You didn't want the whole thing to go off the rails? I think he might have been touched to hear that from you.
I don't blame him.
Okay.
It's not his fault. Was there a majority of you did? I feel like it was Robin Williams and Matt Damon and Goodwill Hunting. It's like not your fault. And then we just need to cry and hug it out.
You you could have come and hugged the monitor. Yeah. Not your fault.
Okay.
Her cousin's next hour. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.
