00:00The Crafts have a history of being good negotiators, winning contracts, winning deals.
00:05They did with Gabe Ackes, and it's a very different situation where they had virtually all the leverage.
00:10But I think the Crafts even win contracts outside of player contracts.
00:14They win deals. They are used to winning, and they are smart,
00:17and they didn't get to where they are by leaving money on the table or just,
00:21you know what, I'll put a blank check. You just sign whatever you want. We'll move on here.
00:25You know, that's not how they built the empire that they've built.
00:28So I do think that's interesting. It also ties into what you said earlier,
00:31all the money they've been spending over the last couple of years,
00:33and that's one they know they're going to spend.
00:36We can debate A.J. Brown and Christian Gonzalez and where it's going to be.
00:40Is it going to be $70 million a year?
00:42The part about them winning the deal with Drake May is like you're just going to have to pay up,
00:45and you could pick your metric, right? Is it total value, total guarantees, average annual value?
00:50Because some of these quarterbacks, Dak Prescott being a great example, Kirk Cousins is another one,
00:54want short deals with high guarantees.
00:56And that works for them, and they accrue more money than most guys do
01:00and have that money be guaranteed.
01:02Their leverage that they can try to bake in starts now.
01:06It probably started last year.
01:07Your relationship with the player.
01:09Because Drake May is rep by CAA,
01:11which is one of the most powerful agencies in all sports and all sports media.
01:14They basically run ESPN because of all the talent that they rep there
01:18and place people in different spots.
01:20So Drake May's people know what they're doing.
01:22But what the Crafts can do and the Patriots can do, Rable included, is build a relationship
01:26to the point where you go, look, we want to pay you, we want to keep you,
01:29we want to set records, do all this different stuff.
01:32Do you remember what Tom Brady did here for 20 years?
01:34Do you want to have your own shot at doing that?
01:36The most underrated part of what we did during that time was have a quarterback
01:39who played in a below-value contract.
01:42And it's not because we're cheap.
01:43It's not because he didn't deserve it.
01:45It's because he decided to do what's best for the team.
01:47You see Jalen Brunson in the Knicks?
01:49He took less and did what's best for the team.
01:51They won a championship.
01:52You don't have those direct conversations now.
01:55I'd be flipping the bird right in their face if they told me that.
01:58Like, give me a break with that.
01:59This is more nuanced than that.
02:01But that starts to come up.
02:02What do you want to do?
02:03You want to win?
02:03Tom Brady won six Super Bowls.
02:05We had extra money to spend on guys to give you receivers.
02:07Which you didn't always spend, by the way.
02:09Right.
02:09But the thing is, you want to talk about leverage?
02:11That's it.
02:12It is a hope, a prayer, history, a pitch.
02:15That's what it is.
02:16And Drake doesn't have to listen.
02:16If I'm Drake May and they come to me with that, I say, do you want to sign on that
02:20piece of paper?
02:21You put a clause in there that says you have to spend all of that money.
02:25Like, I can leave some on the table, especially if we're talking $70 million or whatever.
02:31Like, okay, fine.
02:32I'll take $55, but you have to spend to the cap every year.
02:37Yes.
02:37Well, they do spend to the cap.
02:39The total amount of cap.
02:40Real, real cash.
02:42I don't want, you know, you're not cooking the books here and saving, you know, a couple million dollars on
02:48this guy.
02:49And we're going to, no.
02:51Pay it.
02:51Pay it all out.
Comments