REShow: Kevin Clark/Mike Florio - Hour 2

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That schedule frightens the hell out of me though. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. We are thrilled, and that is, you know what, that's the royal week. Could not be more happy to have the head coach, the New York Jets. It's been too long since I've spoken to Robert Sala.

We've got to win more games to get on the show. Earlier on the show, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah. Coming up, Senior Writer at the Ringer, Kevin Clark. Plus, co-host of Top Gear America, actor Rob Corddry. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Oh yes, our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air live from Los Angeles, California.

I've already received a couple of tweets. Should I button this top button here? Because it is open. No, I think it looks good, don't you think?

It's not that significant, is it? I think you should unbutton another button. Well, I mean, I'm not going to go, Jerry, it's not winning time. Yeah, that's what we wanted last week for you.

Keep going, let your freak flag flap. Should I come in with like a Jerry Buss wig one day? And just do the show? I think you should do that for Halloween. You want to go with Jerry Buss?

What do you think? You've got to grow the mustache out. Oh God, I don't know if I could do that. I still have a job, don't I? Every day?

Or every Sunday? I mean... It's only a couple weeks. It's fine. Who's going to explain to Roger Goodell why I look like Jerry Buss on Game Day Morning? You can.

Ah, that's correct. Just invite him on. R.G.1, pay R.G.1.

R.G.1's got a lot of things to worry about, Rich. Just send him a selfie. The mustache is high on that list. I can sneak that one past the goalie. Mayor Rogers grew his hair out the whole year for that John Wick look. What do you think? He's the face of the Packers.

You're the face of the NFL now? Understood. And then after that, we diverge.

I think the Roger would understand if you're doing it for Halloween. It shows a commitment. Great conversation to kick off our two. Mike Florio is going to join us in about 18 minutes time because Deshaun Watson has settled 20 of his 24 civil lawsuits.

What does that mean? We'll get the man who knows the NFL and the legal world in one brain on this program in 18 minutes time. The funny, brilliant Rob Corddry will be here in hour number three in person in studio. He's got a new second season of Motor Trend Plus' Top Gear America. It's on Motor Trend Plus, the Motor Trend Amazon Prime video channel. And it's going to be neat stuff once again from him. And Dax Shepard and Jethro Bulvington are on that program once again. But joining us here on the Mercedes-Benz phone line is a man who's been in some compelling material on this Live Tour v PGA Tour kerfuffle that has broken out in the world of golf.

That has now taken even more steam out of the PGA Tour and into the Live Tour with word that Brooks Koepka is about to join the Live. Joining us from the ringer is our friend Kevin Clark once again. How are you, sir? I'm good. I support all buttons being unbuttoned.

Just to get on the record. Okay. I appreciate that. Brockman, it's interesting that you have your golf shirt all the way up. I go full. You go full like you're in Rain Man.

You've got the Rain Man logo right there. I'm going to play after the show so I'm just getting ready. So we're right down the middle, if you will.

Center cup. So what did you make of the news that Brooks Koepka is about to tap out of the PGA Tour and join the Live? What do you think? Wasn't surprised because last week Brooks came out and said you guys asking about this and putting a dark cloud over the U.S. Open. And I think there's been two types of reactions when every player has been asked about this in press conferences. Guys saying I'm not leaving. I'm staying here.

Or saying hey, we'll see what happens and we tend to at this point know what that means. Colin Morakawa came out today. There were all sorts of rumors that he was going to be the next guy. He said I'm staying. Victor Hopland, another example of a guy who were rumored about, he told the local Norwegian press last week that he stayed.

So we kind of know where the battle lines are being drawn. For Brooks in particular, Rich, I'm not surprised in that he's another one of these guys. I put Brighton in this bucket.

I certainly put Phil in this bucket. Where we don't know what their earning capacity is going for. Brooks has been injured for a long time. He was I think 55th last week in the U.S. Open. It's not like he's dominating right now.

Obviously Brighton's been hurt the last year or so. So I think kind of the morality angle aside. That is the angle. But when you talk about the fact that these guys can make nine figures guaranteed in golf. Yeah, they fit the profile of a person who's going to jump to live right now. So where does it go from here in your estimation? Like I said, you've written quite a bit of copy on the subject matter.

You no doubt thought a lot about it and reporting about it as well. What do you got on that front? What do you think? The best case is it transitions to old school wrestling and becomes like NWO, WCW and four times a year. These guys get together. That's if the majors don't ban them. It has to be all four majors have to not ban them.

In order for this to actually get off the ground. And then it's the live guys and it's the PGA guys. That will already hurt golf as a sport because people will get out of the rhythm of just watching it weekly. I love the players. I love the Memorial.

I love Harbor Town. I love seeing the week to week kind of traditional tour style. It would be a real shame if the live guys were never able to participate. And I would find myself liking it less. I think the future is two AAA tours rolling around in the mud with each other.

And not on a week to week basis. Not having a lot of buzz. It gets to be, I'm a huge boxing fan Rich. Guess what happens when the best don't go against the best regularly? People tune out. People are saying the intrigue of who's going to go to live is the best, most buzzed golf hat in years. Well yeah, that only lasts a couple of weeks and a couple of months. It's going to wear off and what happens next year if Brooks has a huge year?

And DJ has a huge year. And we don't get to see them in the final pairing with the Jon Rahm or Roy McIlroy because of money in politics. That's boxing and that's why I don't get to talk boxing a lot because nobody cares anymore. That's pretty bleak bro.

It's a pretty bleak situation. Because I guess Liv is banking on that if Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson and so on and so forth. And they add more names, big names, huge names. And half the Liv Field can send out a release that we've got six green jackets and these many claret jugs going today. And you need to tune in to see it because they find some iconic golf course to have them on and they can gimmick it up like that. Maybe you'll find it. Is there any possibility that they do get a television partner? You know, like the Fox Business Channel or something like that?

No, laugh all you want man. Because you just described, Kevin, you just described these two entities going at it. Instead of a Ryder Cup, it's the world versus Saudi Arabia.

That's what you basically just described for a golf competition. Right, so they had talks with Fox early on, months before and years before any of the names were announced. I think at some point they got Arlo White who used to call the Premier League on NBC. So to kind of legitimize the broadcast, I think we have to see where this goes. I think we have to see if the PR hit dies down. One of the things Liv is banking on, quite frankly, is the idea that by Tournament 5, and I think it will probably be a heightened pause for the next event, but by Tournament 5, 6 or 7, people stop asking questions about where the money is coming from. People stop asking Lee Westwood in press conferences if he wins. Whether or not, I mean the questions asked last week, whether or not he plays a golf tournament for Vladimir Putin.

I mean those were the questions, do they continue or do they die down? I think once that happens, that's when you might see more legitimate broadcasters say, okay, you know what, you have DJ and Brooks and Bryson, yeah, we'll pay millions of dollars to broadcast that. Or we'll do some sort of revenue sharing thing. But I don't know necessarily what the future of the legitimizing of it is.

And I also think that how compelling is the product going to be? What happens Rich? There's no cut to this. What happens if the reason that Brooks and Bryson and Phil and DJ have joined is because they've played their best golf? Does anyone, you know, Phil was 10 over in the first tournament. Does anybody really want to see these guys labor around? So it's a bet not only on the personality, but that these guys are going to play really, really, really good golf.

If Abraham Anser goes out there and destroys all these big names, I think that they have a bit of a problem. Well, I don't think Kevin Clark and the Ringer here on the Rich Eisen Show, I don't think we'll ever forget where the money's coming from. I mean, because, you know, it's all about the money, why these guys are joining, right?

It's not like Brooks Koepka really loves the idea of a shotgun start, you know? I mean, or, you know, Dustin Johnson really wanted to screw the PGA Tour. I mean, honestly, it's because there's a bottomless pit of appearance fee money for a league and a, you know, an entity that does not care about turning a profit. So it's all about the money and it's about a bottomless pit of money that, you know, if, like, let's just put it this way. If the XFL or USFL had $2 billion to blow, right, then there might be an issue with them competing against the NFL. You know what I'm saying? I mean, like, that's a fact. I totally agree.

Or any league. I had a discussion last week with a friend and I said, if your business model can be disrupted in a week like this, did you have a bad business model? Is that evidence you had a bad business model?

And they said, well, let me push back on that. What sport couldn't be completely disrupted by this sort of thing, by the Saudi PIF investing? And you think about the NFL, Rich. You could, in theory, the analogy, Justin Johnson's making about 60% more than he's ever made in his career, career earnings over the next four years. The analogy there, math-wise, is if Aaron Rodgers were signed to a four-year, $436 million contract. That's the equivalent of what Justin Johnson is getting relative to his career earnings, okay? But what I think is, okay, in theory, in two years when Aaron Rodgers is ready to wind things down, in theory you could get Aaron Rodgers.

In theory, you could get Matt Leflore. But what you can't get is Lambeau Field, Matt Leflore, and Aaron Rodgers all working a concert together in the traditions that we know every Sunday. That's why you get 50 million people watching a playoff game, 40 million people watching a playoff game. And that, to me, I think that the cap of a new sort of league is always going to be sort of triple-A, double-A in some cases.

Because we just have things that we're used to seeing, and it's really hard to disrupt sports in that way and really take over. But to answer your question about what now we're going to forget, there was a guy, Jimmy Weir, on the No Laying Up podcast last week talking about Newcastle United. This fund also owns the soccer team, Newcastle United. And for two months everybody said, okay, you know, they're going to sign these guys with Saudi money and whatever.

And then it kind of defaulted to, oh, you know, this guy looks pretty good, the manager's doing a good job. I do think that there can be an element of fatigue, and that's why I don't think we're ever going to figure out where the money comes from. But the more sports it's played, it's literally called sports washing, and the Saudis have admitted to wanting to do what they say on their own website.

Not that term, but what they're trying to do. And they think the more sports it's played, the less we talk about it, and typically that's how it works before, Rich. Kevin Clark of The Ringer here on The Rich Eisen Show. Before I let you go, last year you gave us the nod during July. Hey, don't sleep on the Bengals. You gave us that little heads up because you went on, you know, your annual training camp tour. Where are you planning on going this year? Where are you putting your markers down for your visits coming up in just a few weeks, Kevin?

So I'm going to try to do what I always do, which is 20 spins. But here's one thing I've staked my claim in already. Jacksonville at the Hall of Fame game, okay? I don't think Jacksonville is going to make the playoffs this year, but I think Trevor Lawrence was the legitimate NFL coach. That's my first stop in training camp. I haven't told the Jaguars that, but Jaguars, you're listening, I'm coming. Doug Peterson, Trevor Lawrence, Trent Balke overspent pre-agency, but that doesn't mean they didn't get better players.

That's a much improved team and that's a quarterback that, if you watched the tape last year, still was much better than what the numbers say. And I think he's still on the superstar track. I'm staking my claim in Trevor Lawrence. He's my first stop in the training camp tour.

He's going to have a big year relative to last year. You know what? You're touching on something about the Jaguars or Doug Peterson is they essentially hired two coaches and one. They hired Super Bowl winning head coach Doug Peterson and they hired Nader Vermaier. That's who they hired. That's right.

Maybe one of the biggest examples of addition by subtraction in the history of the modern iPhone. No question. By the way, and I know every single time I go in on Urban Meyer, it's just like, well, you're a Michigan guy and you're bitter about him beating Michigan. It sucked. I hated losing to Urban Meyer, no question about that, but then I worked with him at the draft on NFL Network.

He called in one time prior to a Michigan-Ohio State game. I mean, this is nothing personal. It's got to do with seeing somebody face plant so spectacularly and also go ahead and denigrate the hard work of some long time NFL people and also bring that entire profession a slap in the face based on all of that. And then seeming no responsibility taken other than saying it was all on me. You know, like that doesn't cover the transgressions that we saw.

But that said, now that I feel better of trying to quit myself of an argument that you're not making. But it just so it's it's it's Peterson and also the fact that he's not the other guy that I think is going to be significant in Jacksonville, for sure. I completely agree. It's going to be it's not going to be a huge Joe Boro type year, but it's going to be a big, big leap forward. So who else are you going to go visit?

Who else you're interested in seeing? I mean, I really want to do go to I really want to go to Cincinnati again. Buffalo has become one of my favorite stops because that's such a compelling team. And also the one thing I'll say about Buffalo and training campers, I don't know if you've been there, but man, do they show up on July 28th? Might as well be it's like October in some cities.

I got I had a meeting with people last year, last July, and I thought I could just most come up to the stadium on a scrimmage day. And I got stuck in one of the most brutal traffic jams in Orchard Park, New York, rich July. And it was Bill's training camp traffic.

Well, there's no training camp traffic anywhere else in America. I love it. You also mentioned Dayball, Kevin.

Nobody's really talking about the New York Giants because of how putrid their last five years have been truly one of the worst stretches in the history of a very proud franchise. What do you think he's bringing to that equation and can actually turn around? What do you think? What do you think of the quarterback better instantly? You know, the thing I'm worried about a little bit, Rich, is that once you make Daniel Jones look so good that they think he's the guy and they kind of talk themselves into it. I don't think they're doing the long term plan, but I think he's going to be much better than we think this year because of the Dayball bump, because some of those players is a little more legitimate legitimacy. GM, I really like.

I met him briefly down at the owner's meetings in March. I think it's going to be a step forward. There's almost no talent on that roster. Dave Gellman was, you know, a fine guy, but just a remarkably bad general manager, missed on some first round picks. I mean, he's an actual just washout guy who, you know, who were out of the league within 18 months in some cases that were premium picks.

So I think that there's a lot of work to be done there. But the thing is, a guy like Brian Dayball, who made one of the best coaching jobs in modern football with Josh Allen, I don't see Josh's work ethic and talent has a lot to do with that. That's something that I've talked to both of those guys about quite a bit, but it just raises the floor and brings some legitimacy.

I don't think there's any scenario in which they're a tire fire this year or kind of in the brakes on sweepstakes because I just think Brian Dayball is going to win because he knows his way around offense. Well, look for my call during your training camp tour. We'd love to get your thoughts in real time what you're seeing. Thanks for the call, Kevin. Great stuff, as always, by you and the ringer. Much appreciated. That's Kevin Clark of the ringer at by Kevin Clark on Twitter. I follow him.

You should as well. Let's take a break here on the Rich Eisen Show. Mike Florio, what does it mean that Deshaun Watson has settled 20 of his 24 lawsuits? He will give us his two considerable cents.

Counselor Mike Florio paging him to the bar when we come back. Does your antiperspirant keep you dry all day? Dove Men Plus Care Dry Spray goes on instantly dry for a cleaner feel and offers 48 hours sweat and odor protection.

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Find your Rogue ST Driver at CallawayGolf.com slash go Rogue. Good stuff. No question about it from Kevin Clark from the ringer. Just an honest assessment. He called it two AAA tours. And I'm sure the live tour, I mean, there's still enough top notch players to go around.

One would think, one would hope. The live tour is probably like, last year they created the match between Koepcke and DeChambeau. That's what they got now. They're going to have both of them. I guess it just dilutes if they could all be on one tour, like always. I mean, DJ is ranked 16th in the world right now.

Everyone ahead of him is playing on the PGA Tour, so the best players are still in one spot. 844-204 Rich. Number to dial here on the show. He's the man who starts every single day here when Pro Football PFT Live is on the air. Man, kind enough while that show's on hiatus, and if I'm not mistaken, he just tweeted out, he just came back from his physical, so we say Moon River to Mike Florio joining us here on the Rich Eisen Show, Mercedes-Benz Vans phone line. How you doing, Mike? Good.

You know, there is a debate within the medical community about the necessity and the effectiveness of that specific test, and they are in the process of phasing it out, but not yet. Very good. Glad to hear you hearty in hell, Mike Florio.

Glad to see you hearty in hell. That Pro Football Talk is where we follow this man all the time. Okay, Mike, so I reached out to you, and you were kind enough to say yes on short notice, because this happened 10 minutes before we even went on the air today. Well, you know, I think we're going to have to wait and see.

I think we're going to have to wait and see, because we're going to have to wait and see. Well, they say that wisdom often never arrives at all. It's better if it comes late, and this was long overdue. It was something that needed to be done from the get-go. Before the first loss, it was filed. It was mishandled by Deshaun Watson's representative today. Watson not only failed to seize upon an opportunity to settle the Ashby Coley case for somewhere in the neighborhood, I believe, at $50,000, $75,000, because the opener was $100,000 and it's always negotiable downward.

They pissed off Tony Busby. He started rounding up more plaintiffs. He began to realize what he had here, and next thing you know, there's 22 cases, and they almost settled in April of last year. So, what he wants confidentiality is to be amount. Watson and Rusty Harden, who's involved at that point, want no confidentiality, basically, so they could brag everybody about how little they paid these plaintiffs to make them go away.

It falls apart then. They tried last October to pay everybody $100,000. All but four were willing to take it. Deshaun didn't want to do some most. Almost all. He wanted all or nothing.

It falls apart then. So, now he realizes, let's just knock out the cases that we can get, and whether it's $100,000, whether it's another $0,000, whether it's somewhere in between, who knows? But $20,000 to $24,000, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out it's the same four holdouts. I don't know that yet.

That hasn't been disclosed. The only person that we know did not settle is Ashby Coley, the very first plaintiff, plus three others. But this is an effort to end this, and this is what Deshaun Watson needed to do.

Take his reckoning, find a way to achieve an amount that constitutes justice from the perspective of the individuals who are accepting it, and move on. And this greatly streamlines the process going forward. Trying four cases takes a hell of a lot less time than trying 24 cases. So, this is a good development overall for Deshaun Watson. Doesn't mean he won't be suspended. Doesn't mean he'll be suspended any less than what he was going to be suspended. It just clears away 20 cases that would have had to have been dealt with in a court of law, start to finish, and it would have caused this thing to linger probably into 2024, if you only have the offseason to do these trials. So, this is the first huge step toward Deshaun Watson putting this behind him.

Well, Brian McCarthy, NFL spokesman, saying, quote, today's development has no impact on the collectively bargained disciplinary process. Read between lines for me on that one, if there are lines to be read between. Yeah, there are no lines to read.

It's absolutely 100% accurate. It has no impact. It has no effect. It's a separate branch of the justice system. You've got the criminal, you've got the civil, and then you've got this in-house, NFL-created justice system aimed at matching the expectation that the public with whatever consequence is ultimately imposed on Deshaun Watson. And I was told last week the NFLPA, breaking for an unprecedented suspension, Mark Matthew, the Washington Post, said that that probably means one year, and that the proposal, where it ends up through the disciplinary process, remains to be seen.

So, that's still coming. And if anything, look, settling a case doesn't mean that you're conceding that you did anything wrong, but there are a lot of people out there who will look at a settlement and say, if you really didn't do anything wrong, why are you settling? And there are many reasons to settle something even if you did nothing wrong. In some cases, the settlement amount is less than what it will cost you to pay for your legal fees from now until the end of the case.

So, it becomes a business decision that is made without passion and with pure objectivity. But people don't want to hear that. They're going to assume that he paid, therefore he must have done something, and Rich, something I just posted, one thing I had a chance to start to get my brain around this. With one plaintiff and a confidentiality provision, pretty difficult for that information to ever come out, because they put some language in the agreement that gives it real teeth. Typically, there's a liquidated damages clause that says if you blab, we can come get all the money back. So, people shut up. When you have 20, somebody's going to blab, because that person can hide among the other 19 and say, I didn't do it.

How are you going to prove I did it? So, you find a reporter that you trust, and you tell the reporter the amount or show the settlement agreement, whatever the case may be, I think it's going to get out. I think it's inevitable that we'll know what Deshaun Watson paid.

Mike Florio here on the Rich Eisen Show. What do you think the Browns are thinking about this news, about the settling of lawsuits? Oh, I think this is great news for them, because it dramatically reduces the headaches, the distractions, the diversions that are swirling around the franchise. And now they're not looking at the possibility of all of the 2023 off-season devoted to however many cases they can try then, then all of the 2024 off-season devoted to however many more cases they try then.

And then whatever's left over, who knows? This shrinks it down to something far more manageable, and hopefully it's a step toward, from Watson's perspective, a step toward getting the other four cases resolved, finding an acceptable bottom line. Maybe these other four just simply want more money. Maybe they are holding out for more, but they think that their rights were violated to a greater degree.

They want to see him dig deeper than what he's digging for the first 20. So there's a chance that this is step one toward all 24 being gone. And I think, I know from my experience when I practice law, once you get a defendant who has multiple lawsuits, whatever it is, corporate, individual, whatever, once the wallet's out, it becomes a lot easier to just be done with it. You just want to be done with it. What if somebody doesn't want to be done with it? What if Ashley Solis, who is the first and clearly has been the leader of this pack, it appears just by reading and seeing and how she might be inspiring, have inspired others to come forward. What if she just wants to take this to trial?

What would mean? Well, then it goes. And it'll go next year at some point between March 1 and August 1 of 2023. And it will be a protracted fight. And one of the big issues will be how much of the evidence regarding other claims made against Deshaun Watson will even be allowed to come into evidence. And there will be a verdict at some point.

Barring a settlement, this thing goes to trial and there's a verdict rendered by a jury. And it's a crapshoot at that point. It's like flipping a coin.

I mean, it really is. And Deshaun Watson could have won all 24 of these cases, but the reality is it's like flipping a coin and having to come up heads 24 straight times because you have a different jury in every case. But does that get televised, Mike, though? Like, that's what I'm saying is just because— Well, I don't know what the law or the rule would be in the courtroom.

You know, every court has its own laws. Some will only do the Tom Brady melted face sketch and others will park the cameras there and let the whole thing be televised. Yeah, you're referring to the worst sketch drawing in the history of sketch drawings that occurred.

His own personal Dorian Gray portrait. Deflate date from back in the day. Again, the only reason why I ask that is the protractedness of it is what can continue to make whatever penalty the league levies less effective or seem less toothy, right? Because you're learning more and you're hearing more and the court of public opinion can get more sour on the player and the handling of all of this. That's the only reason why I ask, so what do you— And it's a good point, Rich, and here's the reality. The NFL could impose a punishment now and then come back to it later based upon what happened as the case unfolds, however many are left.

One, two, three, four, or more. There could still be others who file a lawsuit. That's a different wrinkle altogether, and Tony Busby as a practical matter may now be less inclined to try to file other cases. It may be kind of a wink-nod between him and Rusty Hardin that he's out of the Deshaun Watson business.

You can't put that in writing for ethical reasons, but there could be an understanding that Tony Busby isn't going to file anymore of these lawsuits. But as related to the NFL, the problem is with this third party who's now involved, you better truly have something new. It can't just be, well, we thought we understood the evidence and we thought that it was going to be no verdict or a small verdict and it ended up being $10 million, so we feel compelled to impose a greater punishment on him based on the facts we already knew. That's not going to fly.

It would have to be truly something new that they didn't know, couldn't have known, shouldn't have known if they want to swing back around later. If the verdict in any of these remaining cases make the punishment seem like it was too lenient, that's the big risk they take by punishing now with one or more cases going forward. There could be a statement from a jury that creates the impression that the NFL failed to go far enough. But the fact that he settled doesn't mean that the legal or the person who is looking into all of this goes more lenient.

I don't think it will at all. I think it makes it more likely there's going to be a suspension, not that there wasn't going to be. I heard last year that the Dolphins believed that there was going to be, it was either six or eight games, if he had settled all of the cases, because remember the Dolphins, they had the right idea. We want all the cases settled before we're going to do the trade, but the Browns should have insisted on that in March. And the Dolphins, whether they, and they may not have even had any basis for this, they may have been wrong in their assessment of it somewhere in the neighborhood of six or eight games if he had settled them all back then. But you know, in recent weeks it feels like it's taken more of a negative turn against Deshaun Watson, so it's going to be compelling to see what happens. They could propose a year and the disciplinary officer could knock it down to half a year and then Roger Goodell maybe picks a midpoint between the two as the end result on appeal and he misses 12 games.

Who knows? It's all to be determined, but they need to determine it pretty soon because you've got multiple steps that need to play out before the season starts. Before I let you go, Mike Florio, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about Lamar Jackson's press conference last week where he finally spoke publicly about his contract and the conversations and whether he thought he was worthy of it. Maybe that was the reason that was posited by the owner of Steve Bishotti that he didn't, he hasn't engaged or accepted a generationally enriching contract is because he hasn't won a Super Bowl yet. He refuted that notion, didn't guarantee he'd show up for training camp, but said he'll be a raven for life and kind of like letting it all roll off his back. There's no frame of reference in terms of, you know, previous quarterbacks to have taken this tack.

I wonder what you thought and what is going on based your knowledge. This is a prime example, Rich, of how different the media accounts of what he said seem in comparison to actually watching him and listening to his words. And the one thing that really resonated for me when he was asked about Deshaun Watson's contract and the relevance that contract has to him and he says, I'm my own man, it doesn't matter to me. I was already 100% convinced he needed an agent, so I can't be any more convinced, but it didn't make me any less convinced he needed an agent. He needs an agent desperately because Deshaun Watson's contract is relevant to him.

The Josh Allen's contract is relevant to him. You don't walk into it saying, I'm my own guy, I do my own deal. You build on the efforts of those who have come before you. That's how it works and then somebody else who comes after you builds on that.

You go out and get the best contract that you can. There are people who think he's just trying to avoid paying the 1%, 2%, 3% because it's a big check to write every year. It doesn't come out of your pay. It's a big check.

A lot of players don't like to write it and that's fine. But look, you make more net than the 100% that you get to keep if you do it without assistance. And something I publicly suggested last week, the Ravens just say to them, if this is about paying the fee, go hire an agent. And 1%, 2%, 3%, whatever the fee is, we'll just gross up this deal and we'll pay the fee for you if the issue is the fee. And I think it would be money well spent by the Ravens because then they could have a traditional and normal negotiation where they just get to a fair deal for everybody and at the end of the day they have to gross it up. It's not an insubstantial amount of money, but it would be money well spent by the Ravens to offer something like that if Lamar Jackson would do it. That would make it even more unprecedented, a team saying, hey, hire an agent, we'll pay for her.

Oh, hey, then Jimmy Havin could do a press conference complaining about Steve Bishotti's contract. Didn't tell me how that tastes because like I said, there is no frame of reference. That's why I said when I'm my own man, it's like, you sure are.

I've never seen anything like it. Is it possible? Because everybody keeps reading into what he's saying as, well, he's going to hold out. Or he wants to eventually be the Dolphins quarterback. He's trying to work his way.

He's got like some LeBron type plan he's hatching right now. Or he's just some kid who just loves playing ball and just goes about his business and thinks everything is just going to fall into place anyway. You know, I don't know what to make of it.

Really do not. A few weeks ago, I offered three potential explanations. And I would like to believe based upon people that I know who are connected to the situation that these are indeed the three possibilities.

And we just don't know at this point what the truth is. One, he wants out. Two, he doesn't know what he wants. Three, he expects the Ravens to show up with a no negotiation. Here's the offer. We're not going to haggle.

We're not going to talk. We're going to make you the highest-paid player in the NFL. And you don't have to do anything other than recognize, yes, this is the best contract they've been given to anyone.

Where do I sign? It's one of those three. And time will tell what it really is.

But, hey, Rich, you know, it's funny. We see guys say things. We take them at their word. And when it's coaches, players, whoever, it happens all the time. They say it. We take them at their word. And then they do something diametrically opposed later. And we never really learn the lesson that maybe we should sometimes be skeptical about what guys are saying when the microphones are capturing their words. Because maybe what they really want to do is something different altogether. I mean, it's possible for everybody.

We don't always bear our souls when we're in a setting like that. So it is possible he's trying to finagle something to Miami or he just definitely doesn't know what he wants to do. That's very possible. Mike Florio, thanks on such quick notice. Really appreciate it. Thank you, man. You be well. See you, pal.

You got it. That's Mike Florio, everybody. Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk. So, OK, let's take a break. Phone calls before hour number three.

T.J. Jefferson has his list of best players in the history of every team in the NFC South and cannot wait to hear him say the words Tom and Brady for the Buccaneers. That'll be fun to see if he says that. Coming up. 844-204 Rich, number to dial. John in Louisville, Kentucky.

Let's take some phone calls here on the Rich Eisen Show before Rob Corddry joins us next hour. What's up, John? Hey, Rich, how you doing today, sir? I am well yourself.

I'm doing well. I just want you to know how much I'm a big fan. I hope you understand how much you do for a lot of sports fans. And I think I speak for a lot of them saying how much we appreciate everything you do. So thank you for that.

First of all, thank you. And I've been a Browns fan for over 30 years. And I mean, I live and die. Cleveland football. That's always been the thing that I love that Ohio State football being a kid that grew up in Ohio. And I'm just really disappointed in the NFL. I'm really disappointed in my team. I don't know how anybody with any common sense can see all the things coming out about Deshaun Watson and saying he doesn't have a serious problem. I just, where's the morality at anymore? I mean, I'm just a normal guy that punches a clock 9 to 5 every day, goes to work, takes care of my family.

But I spend a lot of money on the NFL, a lot of money on Sunday ticket buying Browns merchandise. And I just can't do it anymore. Like. I just don't see how anybody can root for a guy who has the morality that he has. I mean, I can understand that people make mistakes. They got something wrong with them.

At least admit you have that problem and try to get better. He's taking no responsibility, no accountability. And as a brown saying, I just can't root for him.

I just can't do it, Rich. Well, I appreciate you calling and kind of pouring your heart out like that, man. You know, I hear you and, you know, a suspension, I truly believe and thanks for the call, John, is coming. And if it arrives, those are the words I need to hear Deshaun Watson say. I take responsibility for what happened and I need to go somewhere and work on myself and really dive into what's going on. But like I said, so far, he has not at all said a single syllable into a microphone to date, whether it was his introductory press conference or the press conference held last week, to say anything remotely close to satisfactory and helping me understand what's going on in his mind and his world and his life and how he conducted himself. And one of the lawsuits that still is outstanding was filed, the first one filed, and she was left crying by the experience.

There's something up when that happens. And so I don't know what else to make of it, other than the fact that Browns fans who tweeted us whenever this is happening, the conversations that we've had, and we've gone all in on the subject matter. I find it very important to discuss and I'm not going to duck it. So a lot of Browns fans have been defending him in that regard and I think it's indefensible. I don't know how anybody, and I know that you want to root for him and you're hoping he scores a bunch of touchdowns and he's going to. I mean, he's going to serve a suspension. He's going to come back.

It's going to happen unless he's criminally charged, then that would be a totally different ball of wax, wouldn't it? You're about to say something, TJ? Well, you know, not to put the Watson stuff aside, just getting back to what the caller said. And I understand having issues with Watson, but also I think, you know, sometimes it's human nature.

We kind of look at the negative of things. You got to remember the NFL. There were a lot of great men in the NFL who do a lot of great things for the community, for, you know, and just look at the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, how that's taken over pretty much from the MVP. So I'm saying I realize that this is a is a red mark, so to speak, on the NFL. But there are so many other people in this league that are doing amazing and great things. And I know right now we're concentrating on this bad thing and it is bad, but I wouldn't allow myself to. And I get what he's saying.

But like I said, there's a lot of good going on in this league. Well, I'm glad you you said that. If I said it, I might be prone to hear that I'm an NFL guy, that I'm that I'm an employee. I'm a stooge or anything like that.

And I'm very, you know, obviously sensitive to being called such. Absolutely. Yeah. So because I have taken in next year is going to be 20 years for me on NFL Network.

Twenty. And ever since I started in that job, I have. Been moved by the players that I've met and I've taken it as a responsibility in my job to make sure that their.

Activities in the community to show what a pillar they are within the community and what good fathers and husbands and and community minded people they are. And make sure that that is out there when an outlier occurs. That. We don't hear a statement like the one that we just said, where I'm so sick of Deshaun Watson, I'm going to I'm tapping out of the entire NFL.

And it is it is my pleasure and honor to talk about that. And that's why I'm so mystified when I hear people who have been involved in the NFL, whether in coaching or in the media. Who, despite being around players and seeing who they are and what they're about and also the plights that many of them have fought through and still feel today. Based on who they are, their upbringing, the color of their skin.

Say things that betrays how they haven't picked up a single thing from covering the players or coaching the players. Haven't picked up a single aspect of their upbringing, their world, their beliefs. And it just it's just like, how have you not picked up on it? How have you not learned from it?

How have you not become empathetic or sympathetic to it? So kind of does touch on a nerve right there. And again, I know the Players Association needs to be there and defend all of their members of the union. But when you're reading about this and you're seeing about this, that, hey, if the suspension comes in significant, we're going to start talking about the owners and what you've done for them. And that's that is a that is a viable statement, I understand, from their point of view.

But based on everything that I've read, there should be a significant suspension coming. And hopefully that will take give a cue to a listener and a viewer like. Our friend, I believe, John just called in with right there. To to not tap out, not give up. I mean. Dak is a perfect example of being a shining, guiding light, Kaleis Campbell, Andrew Whitworth.

We could go on and on and on. Yeah. And and many of the players who do have that. Standing in the community should feel outraged when they see.

Behavior like this on display. And support a punishment, quite frankly, that I think is due and should be coming. Eight, four, four, two or four rich number to dial here on the program. Rob Corddry's coming up also next hour, your NFC South best player in the history of the Saints. Best player in the history of the Falcons.

These are these these are these are these are good. Best player in the history of the Panthers. Yeah.

Falcons one is easy. Moos and Mohamed left. He's on the left. OK, OK. You know, Jake Dohami. Jake Doham Super Bowl.

Best player in the history of the Panthers. I think there's a number one in your program that might be that guy. A number one, not a number eighty nine. Number eighty nine, too. Yeah. One of them was the MVP of the league.

This is tough, man. Number eighty nine. One of them is going to the Hall of Fame. That's correct. That's one's going to the Hall of Fame. Then the best player in the history of the Bucks. Tom Brady is going to name it.

It's coming up next. The Bucks one is actually really hard. I mean, I don't feel as though Mike Alstott would appreciate that. You could go old school. You could go old school. You can go Leroy Selmon. You can go Derrick Brooks. You can go ninety nine.

You can absolutely do all of that. Look, I'm thinking about the greatest trick shot participant in sports. Brad Johnson. Steve Smith for the Panthers. Cam Newton. Just stop naming names, man.

Getting too close to home? Maybe. Now you know how Brockford feels when I start mentioning news items in his news update that's coming up. Archie Manning, right? For the Saints? I mean, you know, there's a list and he's on it.

Number nine. You know, someone's already in the Hall of Fame. Sam Hill.

Oh, and I think you guys stop it. Let's let's let's focus on something else that T.J. is ready for his close up. T.J. is ready for his close up.

If you think that T.J. looks particularly better than usual today, it's because he did something he swore he would never do. Makeup from Rich Eisen show makeup artist Sarah Jackson. I knew the second I closed my eyes, I knew I knew what was happening.

Here you go. Who took that picture? Brockman. Did you take it, Chris, or did J. Feli snap it? I mean, you see the angle. I'm just saying I gave J. Feli a pair of sneakers today and he made me like that. Did you get makeup today? I brought my own, which is exactly like we got a lead pipe wielding professional here. A long time ago told me what to get.

And I I have my own little. But she's here today. You didn't get it. Did you get any today? Yes, of course. Absolutely. I've never gotten makeup before.

So that was that was a first. How do you feel? Bottom line is I don't have a close up, so you can't really tell. What are you talking about? You're right there.

Yeah, but you can't really. We can't tell because you have glasses on and you got your headband and you got your beard and a beard. You know, you should have a close up, but you would prefer everyone see your toy. Well, you remember when John Salley said last Monday I had the most Afrocentric corner in television.

So I there's so much happening. Like people are focused on the chair and not your face. Half of that stuff he got through Ashton as well. Not like an Ashton shrine. Not even true.

Not even remotely true. For the real story behind some of wrestling's biggest moments, it's something to wrestle with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson to all time Hogan opponents. Macho Man's got to be in the conversation. Where's Andre for you? I've always said Andre was number one.

Wow. Because even going back before, you know, Hulk Hogan was a babyface. Hulk and Andre were able to go in and headline at the New Orleans Superdome at Shea Stadium in Japan. Wherever they went, that was an attraction. Something to wrestle with Bruce Prichard. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.