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00:00What a week it has been for big money deals and contract extensions in the National Football
00:08League during the offseason.
00:10That's how things often happen.
00:12When you have a reason to be on a practice field when the guys are back together, that's
00:17what leads to deals getting done.
00:20Mandatory minicamp going around this week in the National Football League and yesterday
00:24another market is reset.
00:26Not to the tune of $35 million per year, but hey, close to $20 million for a running back,
00:32but not really just a running back.
00:34Christian McCaffrey, Mr. Do-It-All, two-year $38 million contract extension with the San
00:40Francisco 49ers.
00:42That's $19 million per year, making him once again the highest paid running back in the
00:47National Football League.
00:48In fact, the only running back in the NFL DRS that makes north of 15 mil, and that's
00:54$19 million on an annual average basis.
00:58And he absolutely is worth it and good for him.
01:00And if we go back, what, a year and a half, two years, when that trade went down between
01:04the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers, the amount of idiots out there like,
01:08oh man, best part of this trade is that Carolina got rid of a running back and they got some
01:11draft stock.
01:12What a terrible trade for the 49ers.
01:14When is it terrible to get one of the best players in football added to your team?
01:18And he's been worth his weight in gold since he got to San Francisco.
01:21Has it equated to a championship?
01:22Not necessarily.
01:24Did he fumble in the Super Bowl in a key moment early in that game where you could
01:26have taken control?
01:27Yes, he did.
01:28But he is an absolutely outrageous running back who, when you are looking in the fall
01:33for guys like, hey, who do I bet on a Sunday to score a touchdown?
01:36It's Christian McCaffrey.
01:37Who am I betting to go over a hundred yards?
01:38It's Christian McCaffrey.
01:40Take care of your best players.
01:41They will take care of you.
01:42Now, if you're looking from a like, hey, maybe that's smart, smart business and he's been
01:46hurt in the past and eventually he's going to get hurt again.
01:48If you're playing that theory, then good luck to you at this point.
01:51But those same people playing that theory out were the same ones that told you it was
01:54a terrible trade and how big Carolina won that trade over San Francisco.
01:58This guy is one of the best football players in the game, still in his prime.
02:02Pay the man, keep him happy, move it forward.
02:05It's all about value, right?
02:07You're not going to pay Christian McCaffrey quarterback numbers.
02:10He's not going to make $45 million a year.
02:12Nobody is getting to 40, at least at this current stage.
02:16That is a non-quarterback around the National Football League.
02:19And it's still only 19 mil, but for a running back, it is worth the investment into Christian
02:24McCaffrey because he's not just somebody that can run the football.
02:27He does everything with the football.
02:29Look at these numbers.
02:30I mean, truly look at the numbers in the 27 games he has played with the 49ers since being
02:36traded for midway through the 2022 NFL campaign.
02:40More than 2,200 rushing yards, more than 1,000 receiving yards, 31 total touchdowns.
02:46It included a 17-game streak of finding paydirt as well, tying a record set back in the mid-60s
02:54in the National Football League.
02:55As Donnie said, as he shared yesterday on social media, yes, he is the highest paid
03:00running back in the National Football League, but he is worth every single penny.
03:06And Christian McCaffrey gets rewarded.
03:08DRS, as we look at the running back conversation elsewhere, second highest paid RB entering
03:142024.
03:15That's Alvin Kamara at $15 million per year with New Orleans.
03:20Third highest paid, that's Jonathan Taylor with Indianapolis at about $14 million per
03:24year.
03:25We talked about Justin Jefferson resetting the wide receiver market, and who might be
03:29next?
03:30Who might be on the come up?
03:31Listen, nobody's getting close to the number Christian McCaffrey set in the running back
03:35market yesterday.
03:36No, they're not.
03:38And by the way, what a great offseason, or should I say a last calendar year for running
03:41backs, where they were so down in the dumps, where they were having phone calls between
03:44each other in the offseason to try to see how they can actually get paid.
03:48And they were considering, remember that, what happens if all the running backs strike
03:51because they want to tell how important they are to the ownership groups?
03:54It was a wild conversation, but now you're seeing the value of a lot of those running
03:57backs here coming up in the future.
03:59And they should be paid, because if you are a dominant playmaker that can separate yourself
04:03and be an improvement on the field over your backup, when it's clear that Christian McCaffrey
04:07is that improvement.
04:08Do you remember also, Kyle Shanahan, when Christian McCaffrey came and was like, you
04:11know what?
04:12I'm going to make a 50-50 backfield split between myself and maybe Eliza Mitchell out
04:15there.
04:16And we said, well, that sounds kind of crazy.
04:17And then all of a sudden, McCaffrey's getting every single play, even if it was hobbling
04:20off of the field.
04:22They're using him in the right way here.
04:23He's a phenomenal player, and you are in the strike zone to win a Super Bowl for San Francisco.
04:28That's why you're paying him now.
04:30Keep the band back together for another year or two and make a run at this thing.
04:34And we'll talk about the Niners in just a second, but just thinking of other running
04:38backs in the National Football League, Saquon Barkley, more than $12.5 million with the
04:43deal with Philadelphia.
04:44Josh Jacobs got 12 mil with the Green Bay Packers this offseason.
04:49Again, all relative, but the numbers are on the rise, at least for running back slightly
04:54in terms of agreeing to those new deals or contract extensions around the National Football
04:59League.
05:00Zach Robinson, new offensive coordinator in Atlanta from the Sean McVeigh tree.
05:04Sean McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan, of course, best friends, work together in Washington under
05:09the Mike Shanahan offensive type of system.
05:12B.
05:13Sean Robinson saying during mandatory mini camp for the Falcons that Zach Robinson is
05:17using him like Christian McCaffrey for this Dirty Birds offense that should be very, very
05:22explosive in 2024.
05:25Just a couple of things to keep in mind.
05:28Now Donnie, you talked about San Francisco.
05:30You are in that Super Bowl window and according to the odds makers, the 49ers not just in
05:34the window with a chance to contend even in front of the Kansas City Chiefs by 50 cents
05:41are the San Francisco 49ers as your Super Bowl 59 favorites plus 550.
05:48Read what the title of the graphic says.
05:51I think it's the perfect question.
05:53Is this the year the 49ers finally winning Lombardi trophy?
05:58Is Patrick Mahomes going to be healthy for 17 games in the playoffs?
06:01Then no, it's not the San Francisco 49ers.
06:03You know when was your year actually been?
06:05It was last year.
06:06That was their year and they blew it on the biggest stage yesterday.
06:08They're much more talented and better overall than the Kansas City Chiefs.
06:11We know what the Kansas City Chiefs had yet.
06:13They had Patrick Mahomes at quarterback.
06:15So I can't sit up here and say the talent on San Francisco is there to win a Super Bowl.
06:19Should they be up in the top three or four favorites?
06:22Absolutely.
06:23But until they show me in the biggest environments that they can win, I certainly can't back
06:27them at this point.
06:28Also, they do have a tough schedule.
06:29You know, Warren Sharper comes on the network quite a bit here with us.
06:32Yeah.
06:33Talks about, you know, some of those rest disadvantages that you do have and the 49ers
06:36have one of those rest disadvantage years.
06:38And also in the NFL, when you're a really good football team like the San Francisco
06:4249ers are, it's not a crapshoot next year on your schedule.
06:45They legitimately put you behind the eight ball and give you the best schedule that you
06:48can possibly get because parity is what is key in the NFL.
06:52It's hard to get back to the Super Bowl.
06:53It's even harder to get back to the Super Bowl when you lost the Super Bowl last year.
06:58And also as we talk about players like Christian McCaffrey, you will suffer injuries throughout
07:00the season, which McCaffrey had a calf injury late, but was lucky enough that the Eagles
07:04imploded where they'd have to play them down the stretch in games that would have actually
07:07meant something so they can clinch that number one overall seed.
07:10A lot went right for the Niners last year and they didn't get it done.
07:12So I'm going to bet against them this year and I'm not betting against them having a
07:15bad season like under 500.
07:17I just don't think they're going to win the Super Bowl.
07:19Eleven and a half is the win total for the 49ers.
07:22They're greater than a $3 favorite to make the playoffs.
07:25You can probably cash both of those tickets, maybe even cash them winning the NFC West
07:29as the divisional champs.
07:31Once again, it's nearly a $2 minus money price.
07:34Second best price in the NFC, by the way, to win that conference crown is Detroit at
07:39six to one.
07:40That means San Francisco is more than half of everybody else.
07:44All the other 15 clubs in the NFC.
07:47The odds makers have loved San Francisco.
07:49The 49ers were booked as a favorite in all 20 games, including Super Bowl 58 against
07:55the Chiefs last February in Las Vegas.
07:59That will be the same level of expectation for the Niners this year.
08:04And Donnie, I think you put it well, you're not maybe expecting San Francisco to not be
08:07there at the end of the race.
08:09In fact, the 49ers have played in the NFC championship game four of the past five years
08:15and it's not the same thing because they have been there a few other times.
08:19But the Niners last won a Super Bowl championship in 1994.
08:22Now three decades ago, they have reached the NFC title game eight different times since
08:281994, played in three Super Bowls and they have yet to win another Super Bowl championship.
08:36We're not, I say it's not the same thing.
08:38I was referring to the Dallas Cowboys, those superstars and power teams during the 1990s.
08:44The Cowboys haven't even been to a conference championship game since 1995.
08:48In that last Lombardi trophy.
08:50But it has been a while for this San Francisco organization from being a Super Bowl champ.
08:57And also got some other things to handle in the offseason.
08:59It's interesting that they took care of Christian McCaffrey.
09:01We weren't hearing the chirping from his camp on.
09:03I need a new deal or want a new deal because he had a pretty good deal already.
09:06They just extended him.
09:07The question is going to be Brandon Ayuk, who again is watching all of these wide receivers
09:11get paid.
09:12He's a very good wide receiver that deserves to be getting paid and he hasn't yet.
09:16Then you keep an eye on him.
09:18It's a really good point.
09:19Also some quarterbacks that might be in for a big payday.
09:23So it's the point in the offseason as we approach the summer months where NFL teams get back
09:29in the facilities first for OTAs.
09:31Now mandatory mini camp that we start to see a flurry of contract moves and contract extensions
09:38for those big names around the National Football League.
09:41We have talked wide receivers, Justin Jefferson, resetting the market earlier this week, $35
09:46million per year.
09:47Christian McCaffrey, now the highest paid running back in the National Football League
09:51once again, $19 million per year.
09:53You want numbers that are even more astronomical than that?
09:56Let's talk the quarterback position.
09:58Donnie, in my estimation, there's a group of four quarterbacks that are in line for
10:02a big payday at a point this offseason.
10:04Dak Prescott with the Dallas Cowboys.
10:07Jordan Love with the Green Bay Packers.
10:09Trevor Lawrence with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tua Tungvaluwa with the Miami Dolphins.
10:15Here is Tua at mandatory mini camp in Miami, speaking about his contract situation with
10:21the Finns.
10:22Well, I'll tell you one thing.
10:23The market is the market.
10:24If we didn't have a market, then none of that would matter.
10:28Just be an organizational thing, you know, didn't matter if that guy got paid that because
10:33it's up to the organization.
10:35So that's what I would say.
10:36The market is the market.
10:37That's it.
10:38Are you confident that a deal will get done before training camp?
10:41I'm confident that a deal will get done.
10:44But then again, it's not in my control.
10:47You know, it's really up to both sides meeting in the middle with this.
10:55I mean, that's some highbrow stuff out of Tua Tungvaluwa.
10:59The market is the market.
11:00If we didn't have a market, these things would not get done.
11:03That's Mike Tomlin-esque.
11:04The standard is the standard.
11:07But Tua is right.
11:09The market for quarterbacks is robust, and thus, because of how high-paid the quarterback
11:14position is and continues to be in the National Football League, Tua is in for a big payday.
11:22When exactly, DRS, do you expect that contract extension between the Dolphins and Tua Tungvaluwa
11:29to come this offseason?
11:30By the way, here's what I took out of that quick interview right there post-practice
11:34was.
11:35He's clearly a huge Florida Panthers fan.
11:36I mean, drop it in the organization at the right time at this point.
11:39I mean, this guy's clearly hockeyed up at this point.
11:41But having said that, and who knows, maybe Tua will be at some of those games in Sunrise.
11:45He's the trickiest contract.
11:47Because I've said this, I mean, again, we can bang on Daniel Jones all the time because
11:51it's just a lot of fun.
11:52Like, worst contract ever, never should have gotten it.
11:54You know me.
11:55I usually back the players in this situation because they're right.
11:58When everybody in the same boat as them is getting paid, they feel the right that they
12:01should be paid as well.
12:03And the going rate for a starting quarterback, the bottom is Daniel Jones right now.
12:06And if everybody's getting paid higher and higher, the sooner you sign these guys, the
12:10better because the next bar is going to be cleared by the player that didn't get signed
12:14before him.
12:15But having said that, the reason why I'm having such a tough time with Tua is, last year he
12:18did show us a lot.
12:19And I don't mean just being on the field throwing touchdown passes.
12:22Just being on the field itself.
12:24Because we didn't think he'd be able to make it through a full season with those concussion
12:27issues.
12:28And the question is typically, like, hey, if you have a surgically repaired shoulder
12:32or you tore the Achilles or you tore your ACL, sometimes you can say to yourself, well,
12:36that's just a little bit of bad luck and some of the hits I took.
12:38But a concussion can certainly appear at any time and just derail your entire season.
12:43So I understand why the Miami Dolphins basically said last year, hey, kid, you got to go through
12:47this season and show us that you can be healthy.
12:50And he did make it healthy.
12:51And like, I wonder if he can do this again.
12:53Because as he's saying, hey, I'm going to get a deal done before training camp, then
12:56he's not getting a deal.
12:57He's saying, OK, let's go one year, $22 million guaranteed and prove it.
13:00That's not going to be the case.
13:01This is going to be four years, a few hundred million dollars and a lot of guaranteed bonus
13:06money here.
13:07And that's the tough part about it.
13:08If Tua didn't have any concussion issues, absolutely, he would have already been paid
13:13already.
13:14But at this point right now, this is so tricky because I want to say, yes, pay the guy because
13:17it's going to save you money.
13:18But boy, oh, boy, if you give a quarterback long term guaranteed money and he can't stay
13:23on the field, not because his ankle hurts or he gets an Achilles injury, but because
13:27he has concussion issues, one or two more of those men, he doesn't play anymore.
13:31And you're on the hook for that for the next three to four years.
13:35So I do believe Tua Tungabailoa is going to get his deal.
13:38Right now, there are five quarterbacks in the National Football League that make more
13:42than 50 million dollars.
13:44All five of those quarterbacks have signed a contract extension either last offseason
13:49or like Gerard Doff did this offseason to the tune of being the second highest paid
13:53QB in the NFL at 53 million dollars per year.
13:57What exactly then is the investment financially into Tua Tungabailoa?
14:01There is no doubt, DRS, that Tua Tungabailoa can put up the stats in this Mike McDaniel
14:07and explosive Miami offense with Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddell, who, by the way, Waddell
14:12extended just last week as well at the wide receiver position.
14:16Health is always a concern.
14:18And you might be saying, well, what about Joe Burrow, who got paid a big contract extension
14:23last year, missed most of his rookie campaign, has dealt with injuries throughout his NFL
14:27career?
14:28You're correct.
14:29But head injury is still the biggest uncertainty that we know in all of sports, especially
14:34in the National Football League.
14:36It is an extra layer beyond like, hey, this guy's got the bum knee that we hope he can
14:42have offseason surgery and come back last year to a fully healthy and look fantastic.
14:48But I think there's also the further argument for Miami in terms of are the Dolphins a true
14:54contender to win an AFC championship, to win a Super Bowl.
14:59Last year, DRS, seven games booked as a dog for the Finns, one in six against the number
15:05not covering by an average margin of nearly 14 points per game.
15:09They beat up on the bad teams on their schedule that were at 500 or below.
15:14But against those winning teams, Miami left a lot to be desired that included Tua Tungavailoa.
15:21And also lost a lot of beef on defense coming into the season.
15:24So you're going to be over-reliant possibly on that offense.
15:27And rightfully so.
15:28They're an offensive team.
15:29Tua, Raheem Mostert, Tyreek Hill, Jalen Waddell, and also Odell Beckham Jr., who stole a lot
15:34of money from Baltimore.
15:35But he can be your third guy that's like, hey, man, you've made some big plays in the
15:38past.
15:39If you can stay healthy, he can be a productive part of that team.
15:42So they will be reliant on offense.
15:44And also, it sometimes just gets back to this, Ben.
15:47What was your B plan for the Miami Dolphins and Tua Tungavailoa?
15:50To make him upset, to make him angry, to make him maybe hold out from training camp, which
15:53typically quarterbacks don't do, even if they're the starters, because they usually get paid
15:57at that point.
15:58I think, we got Mike White, we got Skylar Thompson here.
16:01We're going to be just fine if Tua wants to hold out.
16:03He actually is in a power position right now where he should be getting paid, probably
16:06will be getting paid, and needs to get paid because the Dolphins can't play hardball at
16:10this point.
16:12The Dolphins win total for this season, nine and a half.
16:15The over has the juice.
16:16They are favored to make the postseason at minus 138 in a competitive AFC.
16:21The AFC East, with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, should be more competitive this year as well.
16:26Again, the five quarterbacks that make $50 million plus in the NFL, Joe Burrow, Jared
16:31Goff, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts.
16:34Does Tua Tungavailoa etch his name in the $50 million club?
16:38That's what we will see.