Stafford Rumors Heat Up (Hour 3)

At number three of our radio program it is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. So earlier in the show we gave you Daniel Jeremiah's latest mock draft. And the latest mock draft, he had Abdul Carter going one to Tennessee, Cam Ward going two to Cleveland, and then the Giants passing on a quarterback and taking Travis Hunter when Chadore Sanders is on the board. So that was his latest mock draft. In his first mock draft, he had Abdul Carter going one, Travis Hunter going two, and then the Giants taking a quarterback at three, and that was Cam Ward. So when he posted this latest mock draft, someone said to him, what changed with now the Giants no longer taking a quarterback? And right, you could easily say, oh well, you know, I moved Cam Ward up from three to two and Cam Ward's not there, so maybe, right, he doesn't like Chadore Sanders for the Giants, right?

Could that be a possibility? Well, Daniel Jeremiah's response to the person that asked him about this, and it was on Twitter, was a gif. And the gif was Matthew Stafford after winning the Super Bowl, doing the little wave. So that's Daniel Jeremiah, who's a plugged in guy, right? It's not as if it's with the draft, he's like the Schefter of the draft. But just because you're predicting things in the mock draft doesn't mean that it's always going to be right. But that has to mean something.

So whether that's him just buying the smoke that's out there, or if someone kind of told him something, hey, monitor this. Now, Jordan Rodriguez, who covers the Rams for the athletic, she does a great job. She had this in her latest article. It's not a given that Stafford will remain with the Rams despite both sides' initial openness to work out a deal. The Rams have to recognize that the most competitive path forward is for Stafford to return for another year, and one more run while he continues to play at a high level. But the fact that coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead didn't overly commit to Stafford in the season-ending news conference basically signaled their open phone lines for a potential trade. Overall, the Rams will not spend big money or trade draft capital on a quarterback unless they believe he is their present and their future. The latter component is one of the reasons Stafford's status even remains in question. My sense is that many within the organization want to get something done with Stafford, but are also thinking about the ascending young group of players, including some with early contract extensions coming due over the next two years. There's a financial point and or term limit. The Rams are unlikely to cross, even if Stafford undoubtedly gives them their best chance to make a run in 2025.

You know what that sounds like? That sounds like the Rams are saying, Matt, we'll rework your contract, but we're not adding on any years. So we'll give you more money.

That's the way that I took it, but we're not giving you any more years. So right now, Matthew Stafford has two years left on the contract. His cap hit for this upcoming season is $49.6 million. Next year, it's $53.6 million. So the base salary with the signing bonus comes down to right now, $35 million in 2025, just the base in the signing, and that's $38 million, right? Per year, those next two years. How much more is he looking to get? That's the question.

I don't know the answer to that. Now, Matthew Stafford right now, I think, is the seventh best quarterback in football. We've talked about this. One, in my rankings, Patrick Mahomes, two, Josh Allen, three, Lamar Jackson, four, Joe Burrow, five, Jalen Hurts, six, Jayden Daniels, and then seventh, Matthew Stafford. Now, he's anywhere between six to eight in the NFL, I think, Matthew Stafford's low as a quarterback. So in that report from The Athletic, they are not willing to spend big money or trade draft capital on a quarterback unless they believe he is their present and their future. So does Lesnead and Sean McVay, do they view Shadore Sanders or Cam Ward a part of their future?

I would probably say not. And then also for the Rams to get up and move up from where they are currently right now, where the Rams sit at the 26 pick to get into the top three, or even if Shadore starts to fall the top five or the top six, that's going to cost too much. So I think we could take off the table with the Rams, them in the first round getting a quarterback.

That's name is Shadore Sanders or Cam Ward. You know, if they're sitting there at 26 and they're like a quarterback, I don't think there's a third quarterback that should go in the first round. But hey, Sean McVay sees the position differently than I do. So if you're not willing to get a deal done with Stafford, who else are you willing to give money to? Sam Darnold's a potential option. Personally, I'm keeping Stafford over Sam Darnold.

That's me. I know Sam Darnold's younger. I know Sean McVay's a whiz kid. We just saw Sam Darnold in a situation in Minnesota where he was with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockinson. You had Aaron Jones. You had a good offensive minded coach.

You know, it doesn't get much better than that. And at the end of the year, Sam Darnold was dog crap up against the Lions and then dog crap up against the Rams. So why would the Rams go give a three or four year deal to Sam Darnold when they could just find a way to readjust this contract with Matthew Stafford? Now, if Stafford wants more years, you know, I'd be willing to give him more years. You know, if he wants another year, two years, you know, he needs another year. OK, I'm fine with that. But after that, you know, you know, he's 37. And right, he's he's talked about retirement. If you want to lock him up there through 40 for three total years, right.

Thirty seven, thirty eight, thirty nine, let's just say. Yeah, I'm good with that. But I might extend it more than probably a year. So that like how much does he want?

I'll I'll boost up your salary these next two years. That's the easiest thing, I think. Right. Keep the contract. You know, like remember what Tyree Kill happened with the Dolphins? He got a new deal, sort of.

Wasn't more years, but they just boosted up the money on the years that were there now. So that's what you could do here. But is Stafford willing to do that? But if it comes down to giving maybe Stafford an extra year or two that you don't want to or paying Sam Darnold, I'm doing that with Stafford. That's number one.

Here's the other one. What about Aaron Rodgers? Now, I know Aaron Rodgers, right, two years ago, Achilles injury.

This past year, slow start, fine finish. Rodgers probably only looking for it to play another year. Do you just get rid of Stafford, get some capital back for him and you go to Rodgers for a year? Now, I don't think that's the worst thing in the world, but I think right now Stafford's the better quarterback. And that means that you're putting all your chips in for one year to go in a Super Bowl. When Aaron Rodgers, when he was with the Green Bay Packers at the end, had multiple opportunities to get to the Super Bowl with the good team and couldn't get the job done. So I would prefer paying Stafford, but the like Stu Rodgers for a year, it does make you pause for a second and it makes you at least think about it.

Right, doesn't it? What would you do there? I mean, I'd rather have Stafford at this point. Same.

I would too. But if not, it's probably the best. It's probably the best of the options for them, because like you said, I don't think they're going to get high enough in the draft to get one of these two quarterbacks. Yeah. So if Stafford's not willing to play a decently fair game with the a decently fair game with the contract, I'm not paying Darnold, you know, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, stop, Kirk Cousins, stop. If it means that you just got to go stop gap for a year that you could still win with, you know, I don't think you win a Super Bowl with Rodgers, but that only gives you one year. Like Stafford go play for another two to three years. You know, I was talking to Herm Edwards over the weekend and I was talking to him when I was hosted on WFAM. And I asked Herm about Stafford and he goes, I don't get why the Rams would trade him. But he goes, if they do, and we were talking about the Giants, right, talking to New York audience then, you know, send the jet for him. And I go, even at 37?

And he goes, yeah, I get it. 37's up there in age, but we've seen quarterbacks play into their mid to late thirties and even early forties. So if you're bringing in Stafford, you at least get in two years. You could get a third year from him. Because I think if Stafford gets traded, the new team is at least going to tack on another year to that contract.

But once again, I go back to this. The Rams should want to bring them back and Stafford should want to come back. Because if you're Matthew Stafford and you say, hey, the Rams aren't giving me what I want. Screw them. I won them a championship.

I'm out. Where are you going? Where are you going where you have a chance to win another Super Bowl? Giants, you're not winning a Super Bowl. The Jets, you're not winning a Super Bowl. Even if you got traded to Pittsburgh, you're not winning a Super Bowl. So when you look for Matthew Stafford and the Rams, the Rams and Matthew Stafford have to get in a room and they have to iron this out. Whether it's just giving him more money on these final two years of his contract or even if it's giving him an extra year or two on that deal that he has right now where you may regret it. But in this next two years, you got a chance to go win another Super Bowl.

You do. And think about what happens when you get a second Super Bowl. Like we all love McVeigh. McVeigh gets a second Super Bowl. It takes you to a different level. Matthew Stafford, you get a second Super Bowl.

It takes you to a different level. And that Rams team is right there at the end up against Philadelphia in the snow. So why would the Rams move on from Stafford over money? And why would Stafford leave the Rams? And if it's about money, you could find the way to meet in the middle. You could find a way to make both parties happy.

Because the alternative for both is a messy one. For Stafford, you're not going to a better team. And the Rams, you're not finding a better quarterback right now than Matthew Stafford to go take advantage of whatever window this group has left, which I still think is a Super Bowl window. And you could find a way.

And you never know if you get that quarterback again if he walks out the door. So I think they got to get a deal done here. Both parties. All right. Zach Gelb Show, Infinity Sports Network. So Ross Dellinger had this article out yesterday. And he talked about, right, the SEC and the Big Ten are hunkering down to expand the college football playoff.

All right. You need to have that new deal for 2026, where you had the expiration date. And we already saw last year the expansion to 12 teams. So you saw expansion to 12 teams.

For the regular season, I think it worked because everyone stubbed their toe. The actual college football playoff this year, I didn't think it was that great. The buildup to it was fun. But the first round game stunk. The second round game, you had that good one between Texas and Arizona State at the end.

You know, outside of that, the games weren't good. And then the semifinals. Semifinals, you had a good game between Texas and Ohio State. Notre Dame, Penn State was good. And the national championship game, it looked like it was going to be a blowout. And then Notre Dame made a little bit of a comeback. And then Jeremiah Smith in single coverage down the right sideline, ballgame, dunzo, good night, national championship for Will Howard, Jeremiah Smith, and also Ryan Day.

So really, right, I don't think there was another game. You had four good games. Texas-Arizona State, which that was really fun. Then you had the two semifinal games, and then the national championship game, slow start, but it gave you a reason to watch at the end.

And that was my biggest thing. Because even when we only had a four-team playoff, the semifinal games sucked then. And I never really felt, or rarely did I feel, that we needed more teams in the college football playoff. But I knew inevitably it would expand. And I said if I was expanding, I would only go to six or eight teams. And I knew they would go more because they're greedy. And the first jump was from four to 12. So when you go from four to 12, you know eventually they'll add on a few more teams.

So here are the two formats that they're discussing. And both would behoove the SEC and the Big Ten, because right, they're the big players in college football. Fourteen team format. Four SEC teams, automatic bids. Four Big Ten teams, automatic bids. Two ACC teams, automatic bids. Two Big 12 teams, automatic bid. And then one automatic bid to a non-Power Five conference champ. And basically that last spot to get to 12 would usually be reserved for Notre Dame. And then if Notre Dame isn't up to par, then it would just go to someone else at large. In a 16 team format, well before we get to 16, in a 14 team format, you have two buys.

In a 16 team format, four SEC spots, four Big Ten spots, two ACC, two Big 12, one non-Power Five, and then three at large spots. No buys. I don't like that format.

I don't. I think you at least have to have a buy somewhere, and you have two buys here in the 14. You know, four could be too many in the 12, but then you're adding two more teams, which I don't love. But in a 14, I don't want to take away really much from the regular season. If you don't even have the SEC and the Big Ten, and hey you could say, well whoever wins the SEC and the Big Ten, they're going to get the buys anyway. But you at least got to give me more incentive in the regular season.

If you just go to 16 and it's a free-for-all, you know, everyone gets in and there's no buys. I don't love that. And then also the note in this article, Conference Championship Weekend for the Big Ten, and then also for the SEC. Since one and two are going to be in, because you get four spots guaranteed, they would then do a play-in. Potentially three plays six and four plays five in the Big Ten and the SEC to determine who gets those final two spots.

Not a fan of that. You play an entire regular season. At the end of the regular season, if you're six or five in that conference, you don't deserve to go.

You don't. The one thing I liked about this, in the article it says you could potentially see the SEC and the Big Ten play each other annually. So Ross wrote a ninth SEC conference game, right, that would be added in this because there's more, you could have a little bit more flexibility with the schedule. You could play most of the SEC where they stay at 18 years past is because it's like, oh, you don't want to go up against our own and then you end up harming SEC schools trying to get into the playoff. But if they add a ninth conference game, a ninth SEC conference game would then set in motion a scheduling agreement with the Big Ten, which itself already plays nine league games. The scheduling agreement, though, still in the discussion stages, would pit SEC and Big Ten teams against one another in an annual games, in annual games to be sold as separate television packets.

Clearly TV money right there. If you give me SEC up against Big Ten, like I know this year, right, you always get like a match up here or there. You know, this upcoming year we're going to see Texas play, Texas up against Ohio State. If we get something like that on a yearly basis. Now, I don't know how it will work out, but you're giving me at least a formula of SEC schools playing Big Ten schools annually. I'm all for that.

Now, how they devise that, how they determine who plays who, that's up to them. But here's what I would do. I would not go to 14. I would not go to 60.

Now we know they're going to go to 14 or 60. It's all about the money, right? That's what it is.

It's all about greed. I think you're watering down the regular season. Now, I would say go to eight. That's what I would do.

But I know once you've already got the toothpaste out of the tube, you're not going to be able to put it back in. So I would just keep it at 12. And the two things I would suggest, one's possible, the other one's not.

So let's get to the one that's unrealistic first. In the first two rounds, you get a home game. First round you get a home game, but the bi schools get a home game. Now they won't do that because of all the affiliations with the major bowls.

They won't do that. So here's what I would do because clearly it's going to be the SEC and the Big Ten and everybody else. I don't need to guarantee spots, but I know the Big Ten and the SEC won't be willing to do that. So I would keep it at 12 and write, can't you guarantee three to the SEC, three to the Big Ten. So that's six spots right there. The two other conference champions. So that makes it eight. Then you get your non power five conference champion.

That makes a 10. And then you get two more spots out there for Notre Dame, whoever, like that's what you could do right now. Now it's clear the SEC and the Big Ten, they want to get four schools in each and every year. That's what they want to do. Because in this current format that you have right now, it could, you may not always get that as, as we just seen this past year, but then the ACC and the Big 12, they're gonna be like, hey, what about us?

You know, we're the little big guys here. They're going to want another school added. And even though, right, you saw the ACC get two in this year and the Big 12 only get one. So that's why you're going to see it go to 14 or 16. If it goes to 16, it just becomes an SEC and Big Ten slobber fest. And I love to slobber over the SEC and the Big Ten, don't get me wrong, but you already guarantee in four spots in the 14 or 16 team format. So then if you tell me on the 16, there's four SEC, four Big Ten, two ACC, two Big 12, one non-power five, and three at large spots.

So what is it always going to be? Notre Dame. And then the other two spots will be one SEC, one Big Ten. I don't need to see five SEC and five Big Ten teams.

And I don't. So if I was running this, I would keep it at 12. And then I wouldn't guarantee a buy to your four highest ranked conference champions. But if you're one of those five schools that get in because you won your conference championship, you just get to be a top eight seed. That's the only thing I'll put in. So therefore, you may not get a buy, but at least you got a home game if you don't get a buy. So that's what I would do. But I think they're going to go to either 14 or 16, according to this reporting.

And if that's the case, I'm hoping for the smaller number of 14, but it's just watering down the product, in my opinion. Zach Gelb's show, Infinity Sports Network. We'll talk some quarterbacks next. Alrighty, Zach Gelb's show, Infinity Sports Network.

Fun show so far. Appreciated Evante Maddox from the Philadelphia Eagles joining us at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Coming up tomorrow, Cooper Dejean is going to join us from the Philadelphia Eagles. So we're looking forward to that conversation with Cooper Dejean, who had the big pick six for the Eagles.

Made it 17-0 in the game. So we will have Cooper on tomorrow. And good stuff with Evante Maddox from earlier today. If you missed any of it, you can use the rewind function on the free Odyssey app. And you can just go back to today's episode from 4 p.m. Eastern Time, or you can catch it on our YouTube page as well, where we'll have the entire interview uploaded. Or if you need another option, you go to my Twitter page, at Zach Gelb, Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. And I have a link right in my bio. Make sure you're following you there, obviously.

Twitter, Instagram. But I got a link in my bio that goes directly to our podcast feed. You can find all of our segments that we do have for you right here on the Infinity Sports Network for our show. Alrighty, without further ado, Stu, give me some NFL music. And Stu has put together a list of a bunch of quarterbacks. And he's going to have me pick which quarterback would I rather have for this upcoming season of 2025. What do we got? Alright, first up, Trevor Lawrence or Kyler Murray?

It's a good one. Because both have kind of been defined by injury so far. Up and down play. I'm going to say Trevor Lawrence. I just think he's the better player. And I look at him the last two years, it's been disappointing. But he hasn't fully been healthy. I know the same could be said for Kyler Murray. But I just think the ceiling is higher for Trevor Lawrence. And he's a bigger quarterback.

I just wonder if Kyler Murray is a little bit too fragile to play in this league. Alright, what about Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen? That's the most controversial one I think these days.

It's a very heated conversation. I go, even though, I'm going to say Josh. And the difference for me is two things. One, Josh has now defeated Lamar twice in the postseason. And then number two, I know that Lamar had 40 something touchdown passes this year. But I just think Josh is more valuable to his team than Lamar.

And it's slightly in this tiebreaker. I have Lamar as the third best quarterback in the league and Josh is the second best quarterback in the league. Josh Allen has a lot less around him. That's good offensive line, don't get me wrong.

But you got James Cook as your best offensive weapon. Lamar Jackson, I know this hasn't always been the case, but he has Derrick Henry. So I just think there is more asked of Josh Allen. And I think that gives Josh Allen being the edge slightly the better player. So I will go Josh Allen over Lamar Jackson and Josh and Lamar too. They both haven't got the job done in the postseason, but when the Bills lose, it's never because of Josh Allen. You look at the Ravens, I know this year not because of Lamar Jackson, but in previous years it has been because of LJ. All right, next one.

All right, you touched on just a little last segment. Matt Stafford or Aaron Rodgers? I'd go Stafford. I think Stafford's the better player right now. The better career clearly has been Aaron Rodgers. But Matthew Stafford right now is the seventh best quarterback in football. I don't even know where you would rank Rodgers right now because Rodgers didn't play two years ago because of the injury.

And this past year, a slow start could finish. Like right now, if you're telling me quarterback's in the NFL going into 2025, Mahomes 1, Allen 2, Lamar Jackson 3, Joe Burrow 4, Jalen Hurts 5, Jayden Daniels 6, Matthew Stafford 7, then the conversation opens. If you ask me tomorrow would I rather have CJ Stroud or Aaron Rodgers for the first game of 2025? I'd rather have CJ Stroud.

And I'll throw one. You know what, Stu? I just gave you eight names. Mahomes, Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels, Matthew Stafford, CJ Stroud. I started to do a draft today, that's what I'm looking down on my screen, of my top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL.

I left the 10th spot open, but I did put a ninth name in there. Who do you think the ninth name is if I'm telling you it's not Aaron Rodgers? Jordan Love? It is not Jordan Love. Is it Justin Herbert? It is not Justin Herbert. I considered Herbert. I considered Love. I considered Rodgers and a few others.

But who do you think that other guy is? It's an underrated name. Guy had a wonderful season though. He's been really good the last two years.

Got anything? Really good the last two years. I don't think people realized how many touchdown passes he threw this year. Oh, Baker Mayfield. Right? Baker Mayfield threw for 4,500 yards this past year, completed almost 72% of his passes and threw four, 41 touchdowns.

Right? Going into next year, would you rather have Baker Mayfield or Aaron Rodgers? Baker Mayfield.

And then the 10th spot, I think it's up for debate. Like you could talk about Dak. You could talk about Tua. You could talk about Justin Herbert. You could talk about Aaron Rodgers.

Right? There's a lot of guys there that you could talk about, but I think it's obvious that right now, Matthew Stafford is the better quarterback for next season than Aaron Rodgers. So I go Stafford over Rodgers.

All right. What about Jayden Daniels or Jalen Hurts? I'm going to go Jalen Hurts. Now, Jayden Daniels had an unbelievable season. Maybe before Jalen Hurts won the Super Bowl MVP, you would say that it is Jayden Daniels. Right? And Jayden Daniels is an electrifying stupendous player.

I just got to see more. And I've been a huge fan, a huge fan of Jayden Daniels. I wanted my team to be able to get him in the draft.

Now I'm okay with them. Ends up getting Drake may more than okay with them getting Drake may, but I wanted them to go get Jayden Daniels and it ended up. That was not the case with Jay Daniels going to, and then Drake may go in three. But with that being said, Daniels or Hurts, I just got to see what happens from year one to year two with Jayden Daniels, because last year, right? We were talking about CJ shroud as a top five quarterback in the league. And CJ shroud was fine this year, but he wasn't as great as what he was the year before. And Jalen Hurts now has been the two Super Bowls that outplayed Mahomes twice in the big game.

So I will go Jalen Hurts over Jayden Daniels. What is the next thing? What happened to the music by the way? Yeah, the computer kind of malfunctioned. Oh, so we had to malfunction? Yeah. It just, the program just closed. We're like the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

We're a no-show on this radio program. Put on the flip side. Yeah.

It's all right. You know, we have been a technical disaster, I feel like, for the last month. There we go. Yeah, we're back.

Someone's trying to sabotage my show. I think so. That's gotta be it. Yeah.

That's what it is. I think Ack's playing games. I think Ack, he's playing games.

You have to know good. You got a mischievous look on your face. Ack's playing with the computer. Yeah. It's not my fault.

It's always Ack someone else's fault. Oh, hi. Oh, hi. Oh, hi. Oh, hi. Oh, hi. Next one. Go ahead.

All right. What about between the two rookies, Drake May or Caleb Williams? Uh, Drake May. Drake May was the better football player last year over Caleb Williams. Caleb Williams in a solid situation.

We'll see what happens with Ben Johnson. Uh, but Drake May did more with less. So I will go with Drake Man. I think he's a better leader.

All right. What about Dak Prescott or Tuatunga Vailoa? This is the toughest one. Because Tuah showed his value this year when he missed games because the Dolphins sucked without him. And also you can say the same with Dak Prescott, right? Getting hurt too.

Oh, that's so tough. I'm going to go to it just because he's younger. And I know it's like a cop-out answer, but I think we've seen the best version of Dak Prescott already. I don't think that Tuah gets that much better than we've already seen, but maybe with a little bit more time. And if he could stay healthy, there's a higher gear, but I think they're very similar quarterbacks.

Both are highly paid. Both are good, but I don't think either are great. I would slightly, slightly go Tuah over Dak. But if you asked me that question tomorrow, I could say potentially Dak over Tuah. Next one. All right. What about Russell Wilson or Justin Fields?

Easy. Justin Fields. And I know that the Steelers had this decision this year and they ended up going back to Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson, he's a fine quarterback in this league. I would rather take the gamble on a younger Justin Fields and then see what Justin Fields can become for an entirety of the season.

So that's the way that I, that I answer that younger. And I still don't know what he could be as a quarterback where I know Russ is going to be fine. He's not a top 10 quarterback anymore in this league, but you're not going to end up winning anything of significance with Russell Wilson anymore. What about Jordan Love or CJ Stroud? Besides Dak or Tuah, that could then be the next toughest one.

I'm going to say Stroud. I just think there's been a more consistent product the last two years compared to Jordan Love. Jordan Love, the first half of that first year as a starter, he wasn't good. Then he was sensational down the stretch with 20 touchdowns, one interception.

This past year, I think that the Packers learned they need to go get a bonafide number one wide receiver because this by committee, it could work, but it doesn't work to the level that you need to go win a championship. But I would go CJ Stroud because CJ Stroud, similarly to Love, like didn't play his best in year two. CJ Stroud though, still won a playoff game when Jordan Love did go home in the first round. So take CJ Stroud over Jordan Love.

All right. Last one, Justin Herbert or Brock Purdy? I go Herbert. I just think he's the more talented quarterback. Brock Purdy's won more games in this league. Brock Purdy has won more playoff games. Justin Herbert's never won one. But if you put Justin, if you asked the Niners, you said for one season, would you rather have Brock Purdy, would you rather have Justin Herbert? You know Kyle Shanahan would rather have Justin Herbert. So I will go Herbert on that one.

All right, Zach Gelb Show, Infinity Sports Network. We'll take our final break of the day when we come on back. The franchise tag window is officially open and it goes until March 4th.

You have the decision if you're going to tag someone. There's a lot of speculation on what the Vikings will do. I'll tell you what they'll do next.

Update time first. Here's Zach. So remember those two dingbats on Bourbon Street?

What a way to come back from break, by the way. It is Zach Gelb Show, the Infinity Sports Network. Yeah, I'm talking about Patrick Mahomes Sr. and John Rocker. Remember we saw that bizarre video and it looked like they were about to throw down, but you knew they actually weren't going to throw down because this is what I hate. If you're going to get into an altercation, at least get into the fight. Don't do the, oh, I'll kick your ass and then one person's in between you and you start to get all big with your chest and, and all like all puffy and hold me back and all that stuff.

But it just was such a weird video and I'll give credit down the hall. Evan Roberts said to me, that's gotta be stage. And then we found out that Dave Portnoy, who I love, right? Barstool Sports.

I love Barstool's content. Well, Dave Portnoy, then a few days after that goes, oh, I signed John Rocker and Pat Mahomes Sr. to a Ruff and Rowdy, which Ruff and Rowdy, they have like this, it's basically boxing that Barstool has a piece set and they do all these events. So they've had like Jose Conseco do this before Conseco was so lame. And I think he like faked an injury or something like that.

He just did a money grab, you know, maybe the syringe fell out of his back pocket and, and that's what happened. So Pat Mahomes Sr. and John Rocker are going to do a Ruff and Rowdy. So right when that happened, some people go, oh, it was stage, oh, it was rigged. Or the altercation back at the Super Bowl, maybe post that kind of sparked it.

And then it came rather quickly, but then quickly you had a fight agreed to. Not kind of like believe this fight's going to happen when it does, but you know, John Rocker is probably desperate and Pat Mahomes Sr., you know, if I'm Patrick Mahomes, I'm telling my family, shut the hell up. The brother shut the hell up and the father shut the hell up. Because Pat Mahomes is such a likable guy until you meet his father and you meet his brother, if we're just being honest. So Pat Mahomes Sr. has had his fair share of issues, obviously.

A lot of drinking and driving. So this article's out today in the New York Post. Pat Mahomes Sr. and John Rocker had a barstool sports paycheck in their eyes long before getting into a viral video. Mahomes, the father of Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, and a former Met pitcher got into a scuffle with Rocker, the controversial x-rays reliever while in New Orleans during Super Bowl week.

And it was all for show. Mahomes admitted in court. It was a stage altercation to get publicity for a celebrity boxing match that was set to take place in April of 2025. Mahomes Sr. said when he was questioned about his trip to New Orleans by officials on February 13th, according to TMZ Sports. So there you go. So Mahomes Sr. is on probation, but received permission to travel to Louisiana to watch his son and take on the Eagles on February 9th.

The trip caused him to miss a urine test, leading to his meeting with officials. A copy of Ruffin Rowdy's contract was attached to the court document showing Mahomes Sr. has signed on to fight at the barstool sports event on January 17th is when he signed on weeks before the viral altercation with Rocker. You know what, Dave Portnoy's a genius, right? It's easy once you see that altercation happen. Oh, let's get them into a ring and do Ruffin Rowdy. But how the heck did not only he come up with that idea of John Rocker up against Pat Mahomes Sr. like and agree onto it on January 17th. That's the mind blowing part to me.

Not that it was stage that they had this agreed to and they got both of these guys to agree. I would, you know what? It's funny. If you have Pat Mahomes on the show, you don't think if you said it, you can only get one question to him. But I think the one question would be at this point, like, how do you defend your dad?

I get it. It's his dad. He's always going to love his dad. But you have your father going into a celebrity or whatever. There's a charity boxing match, you know, for Ruffin Rowdy or whatever it is.

It's like, you know, and that's what you're doing. Pat Mahomes is worth all this money. If Pop really needs the money, I like you could give it to him. But maybe maybe they've had to disassociate in terms of those things.

You see your dad, but you can't give him anything because he keeps on screwing everything up. So if you had to gather here, Stu, how much do you think Pat Mahomes Sr., if I'm reading this article right, is going to make from this fight for Ruffin Rowdy? Yeah, take a guess.

Oh, let's see. Let's say a hundred thousand. He's making eighty five thousand dollars. That's Trump change to Pat Mahomes. Pat Mahomes Sr. had a lot of money.

Stu and I had a lot of money. If I'm Pat Mahomes and maybe just can't trust your father anymore because God forbid, right, you cut him a check, then he goes to a bar, gets in a car and then kills someone like that would be the worst thing. But eighty five thousand, it's it's embarrassing for Pat Mahomes Sr. But I'll tell you, I will watch. I will watch John Rocker up against Pat Mahomes Sr. But like, I don't know about you, Samter, knowing that this was stage.

And I don't think this is really up your alley anyway to begin with. But knowing this is stage, does this take away from this fight now that's going to occur? Of course.

Of course. It's all about the money. It seemed like at the very least, like Rocker has this reputation that he's developed over years being a jerk, being a jerk. And like it was nice to see some kind of stand up to him.

And I mean, listen, Pat Mahomes looked kind of scrawny compared to him to look like he gets anyway. But it was still kind of cool to like see someone stand up to this guy who ripped my city, you know, a decade and a half ago talking about the people going to the Mets games and everything. John Rocker is going to kick his ass.

Yeah, I can't stand John Rocker. So I want to see someone kick his ass. And so now that I know this is stage, it's nonsense. The actual fight's going to happen.

And I don't know what you can expect from the fight, but that's an actual fight that's going to occur. But it's funny that you're at the Super Bowl, right? You are the father of one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. And you're a former professional athlete yourself. So you go to the Super Bowl while on probation. This is one of the all time great stories. He's on probation and you go there knowing you got a fight in your back pocket already agreed to on January 17th.

Nobody knows about it. So Pat Mahomes is probably sitting in his hotel room getting ready for the Super Bowl. He sees his dad like a jackass because that's what his father is in the streets with another jackass in John Rocker. And they're about like two bowls going up against each other, right?

And the next thing you know, oh, a few days later, ta-da! They have this fight that was already agreed to. So like, I don't think Pat Mahomes knew about his dad agreeing to this.

And for $85,000, like, hey, Pat Mahomes can write that check in a second. What a bleep show. Seriously.

What a bleep show. I feel bad for Pat Mahomes. Not senior. I'm talking about Pat Mahomes, the quarterback of the Chiefs. I feel bad for him because his dad is a knucklehead. Seriously. He is a knucklehead. There's no other way to say it.

Oh, my. He can't prevent himself from making news during Super Bowl week. And it's never for something good.

Never for something good. And the Eagles were actually annoyed. They used that as, remember a few years ago after the parade?

Do you have a right to do this? He's like, oh, I'm smoking on that Philly pack. Gilly at the championship parade, who's a barstool employee. Gilly at the after party for the Eagles when Big X, the plug was playing, he goes, I've been waiting two years to say this. Hey, Patrick Mahomes, senior, you said you're smoking on that Philly pack. Now we're smoking on you. Oh, it was wonderful.

And the Eagles like use that as motivation. My, oh, my. How about that? Really something.

I guess I'll watch that fight, though. We love to be entertained by stupidity. That's stupid.

Portnoy looks like a genius in all this. Now, the franchise tag window opened up about an hour, 50 minutes ago. Adam Schefter said starting today through Tuesday, March 14th, teams can designate franchise tags or transitional tags for transitional players. It is expected to be a quiet tag cycle with minimal tag options.

These are the three he puts out there. T Higgins, I expect that to happen unless they get a new deal done by March 4th. The Vikings, Byron Murphy Jr. or Sam Darnold, the Chiefs guard, Trey Smith. I don't think the Vikings are tagging Sam Darnold. Now I know, right, we saw Matt Castle once get tagged and then eventually traded for a second round pick. And Matt Castle was sent to Kansas City along with Mike Vrabel. But I think the, I think the Vikings are going to let Sam Darnold walk.

I do. I think they're going to let him walk. You get back a compensatory third pick, right? Third round pick. And they drafted J.J. McCarthy in the top 10.

They traded up one spot to get J.J. McCarthy. So we've seen Kevin O'Connor work with Kirk Cousins, let him walk. We've seen him also work with Sam Darnold. I believe he's going to let him walk. So if he's been able to make it work with those two, someone that he drafted in the top 10, you're telling me they're going to bring back Sam Darnold for a year? You know, could they tag him and trade him? I guess that's possible, but I don't think you need to get much, much back for him. So I really do believe they'll just let Darnold walk and they'll go, okay, we'll figure out the compensatory value and get probably a third round pick back for him.

That's what I think ends up happening. But I would be surprised if they end up tagging Sam Darnold. And I do believe that the Vikings are going to hand the baton over to J.J. McCarthy.

Alrighty, that will do it for the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network on a Tuesday. Coming up tomorrow from the Super Bowl champion, Philadelphia Eagles, had a pick six in the Super Bowl. Cooper Dejean is going to join us. An exciting white, right?

That's what they call them, the exciting whites with Cooper Dejean and Reed Blankenship of the Eagles. So very excited to talk to a man who had a pick six in the Super Bowl. And good show today. Big thanks to Avante Maddox for stopping by. We also did a bunch of that Ross Ellinger College Football playoff expansion story.

It looks like it's going either 14 or 16 teams with a big 10 in the SEC getting a guaranteed four teams each each and every year. We reviewed Daniel Jeremiah's latest mock draft and also did a little QB exercise a few moments ago. So that will do it for us today. Big thanks to Stu. Big thanks to Sam. You can always give me a follow on social media, Twitter, Instagram at Zach Gelb, ZACH, GELB. And we appreciate you listening to us right here on the Infinity Sports Network across all great local Infinity Sports Network affiliates.

Sirius XM, Channel 375, the free Odyssey app and always streaming live on YouTube. We'll talk to you tomorrow, everybody, at 3 p.m. Eastern, noon Pacific time. We out. Bye bye. Peace.