WITH JOSH ALLEN ON HIGH AND AARON RODGERS NOT HIGH, THE NFL NEVER ENDS
Imagine the Bills and Rams in Super Bowl LX, with Allen owning the largest guarantees ever while Rodgers is pursued by Pittsburgh (and pierogies) — more evidence that this league owns sports in March
America enjoyed Patrick Mahomes and his nerve, but he was slaughtered in the Super Bowl. He’s on a downturn, along with his TV commercials and trimmed curly mohawk and perhaps even Taylor Swift, who must associate with an also-ran in Travis Kelce. What we’ve learned is how the Kansas City dynasty has been replaced by Allentown.
Up next in our football fantasies: Josh Allen, who now is making the most guaranteed money contracted to an NFL player, and fiancee Hailee Steinfeld, who is “so blessed and lucky to marry the man of my dreams.” Once, she gleefully appeared in the “Bad Blood” video. “I mean, you get a call from Ms. Swift and you run to the phone,” she said.
This year, Steinfeld might call Swift to appear in her own video or show. And Allen, who threw for 32 touchdowns and scored 14 on the ground, might take his locked $250 million and $330 million deal to the NFL championship game. We are ready for new blood. Will it arrive in the AFC from the Buffalo Bills? “We're going to continue to turn every stone over and cross the T's, dot the I's and do whatever we can to try to bring a Lombardi back here to Western New York,” said Allen, who won his first MVP award.
This is the time in the calendar year when 32 franchises believe they’ll win the Vince Lombardi. That is a lie, but free agency and trades spawn wildness. In Pittsburgh, DK Metcalf signs as a deep threat with a $150 million extension but needs a quarterback — and would Mike Tomlin dare to choose a seemingly washed-up Aaron Rodgers?
I have difficulty seeing the ayahuasca chief playing in that city, where they drink beer and eat pierogies. But if Rodgers is playing at 42, wouldn’t he want an organization that wins? He wouldn’t be staying in New York to lose a dozen more games with the Giants. Or the Minnesota Vikings could attempt the same quirk with Sam Darnold headed elsewhere, likely to Seattle. Who isn’t stunned that Rodgers has options to win again?
Only the NFL can quiet rampant NBA buzz — LeBron James is hurt, ending the Curse of Luka Doncic since he was traded from Dallas — and the beginnings of March Madness. Is baseball season starting?
Base what?
Our senses were slammed in watching Philadelphia pound the Chiefs. Remember, the Los Angeles Rams almost beat the Eagles in the snow. Matthew Stafford will return with a better contract while Davante Adams replaces his friend, Cooper Kupp, and creates cool vibes with Puka Nacua at receiver and Kyren Williams at running back. Imagine the Rams playing the Bills next February in the Bay Area? The Eagles might lose two defensive linemen, Josh Sweat and Milton Williams, and it underscores why teams spend more than $1 billion in a weekend shopping spree. You think the season ended in New Orleans. Next season already is launched, with Rodgers next on the board.
His return to Minnesota would blow-gun juiced fans of the Bears, who don’t want him appearing at Soldier Field and shouting the familiar words, “I still own you!” He is 24-5 in Chicago and would provide a rude reminder that the Vikings, Lions and Packers made the playoffs. The Bears have reached the postseason — with two losses — twice since 2011. I’ve never seen fans grow so excited over offensive-line upgrades. The issue becomes whether Caleb Williams grows up and matches the improvement. If you say that too loudly in a tavern, an idiot will try to hit you, as I know, before the bartender hauls the guy out.
They’ll only head to the casinos in Las Vegas. Amazing how Pete Carroll moved from his coach seat and spoke in first class with his former general manager, John Schneider, and his successor as Seahawks coach, Mike Macdonald. An hour passed. Next thing you knew, Geno Smith was joining Carroll in Vegas via a trade, meaning the Seahawks are remaking an offense for a third time. Tom Brady and Geno are odd partners, but the Fox Sports analyst is trying to win without gambling on Shedeur Sanders in the draft. He still must deal with Mahomes, Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton in the AFC West.
“Even in coming to the Raiders, my job isn’t just the team. It extends beyond that,” Carroll said. “It extends to our fans and extends to the people that support us and fill our stadium up, make it hard to play in because we’re filling every seat and all that. They’re helping us win so we’re all in this thing together.”
At least Myles Garrett didn’t leave Cleveland. Last month, he thumbed his nose and said he wanted a trade. “While I’ve loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won’t allow me to be complacent,” Garrett said. “The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.” It will have to happen on the shores of Lake Erie, which is impossible. All he wanted was a deal that pushed him past Vegas’ Maxx Crosby as the highest-paid player among non-quarterbacks — $123 million guaranteed.
Please understand: The 2025 salary cap was raised to $279.2 million. Teams are on the full-blown attack, allowing Josh Allen to buy rounds in the Buffalo neighborhood called Allentown. His fiancee can’t stop talking about the day he proposed last November.
“We were in Malibu, which is my happy place, and it was magical. That’s the word,” Steinfeld told the WhoWhatWear site. “I thought we were going on a little date night and it just so happened to be that my dress matched the flowers in this beautiful set up. I want to make a wallpaper out of this photo and put it in my room. I blacked out completely. I don’t feel I saw anything around me for several hours. I don’t remember anything he said.
“I’m still in shock. I’m still recovering.”
They are the homecoming king and queen in the biggest of sports leagues. The season opener is six months away. Are we sure it’s not tomorrow?
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.