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While You Were Sleeping: The Giants! The Titans!
What a night. Two games we expected to be easy romps for the favored teams turned into remarkable upset wins:
- The 5-8 Tennessee Titans stunned the 9-4 Miami Dolphins on the road, coming back from a 14-point deficit in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter to win, 28-27. The Dolphins, for all their flash, look shaky in the light with a tough schedule ahead. (Their best win came against the Broncos, and that happened before the Broncos figured themselves out.) Let’s go to Will Levis for his thoughts on the Dolphins’ collapse:
WILL LEVIS IS FIRED UP.
📺: #TENvsMIA on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/0LeBKvPPxF pic.twitter.com/umN1i1WQ66— NFL (@NFL) December 12, 2023
- The New York Giants edged the Packers, 24-22, on a game-winning 37-yard field goal as time expired. It was a great game, and it gave the 5-8 Giants — and rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito — their third win in a row. The Packers were the hottest team in the NFL coming into this, and now they’re 6-7. Yikes. New York is somehow one game out of a wild card spot. Chicken cutlets for everyone.
Funny Money: Making sense of the Ohtani deferrals
Somehow, the $700 million contract Shohei Ohtani signed has gotten even more interesting: The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and Evan Drellich reported yesterday afternoon that Ohtani will defer the large majority of his $70 million annual salary. Let’s crunch:
- Ohtani agreed to take just a $2 million salary per year over the entire length of the 10-year contract. After that, the Dodgers will pay him $68 million per year — with no interest accrued on that amount — for the following 10 years.
The Dodgers save money threefold:
- First, in the immediate term, by saving $68 million per year to spend on other players.
- Then there are the luxury tax savings, as Ohtani’s official average annual value will be $46 million, which is many millions less than $70 million. That helps the bottom line, and makes me wonder if any other executives might raise an issue with the whole thing.
- Long term, due to inflation, paying him $68 million in 2043 will mean less than paying him $68 million in 2024 would’ve. The proverbial can is far, far down the road.
For Ohtani, it may come out in the wash:
- Yes, that $68 million per year will be worth less in a decade, but he can establish his residence anywhere and, according to the AP, theoretically avoid California’s higher tax rate on that $68 million. He has a long time to figure that out.
- Ohtani also makes an estimated $50 million per year in endorsement deals. That likely won’t slow anytime soon, so it gives him plenty of flexibility to accept less now.
Whew. Math homework is done. I hope Bobby Bonilla is somewhere smiling/asking for royalties on the deferral idea.
See the rest of the deferral details here. Also, the Dodgers’ anime announcement for Ohtani yesterday was pretty sweet.
News to Know
Big blow for Knicks
New York center Mitchell Robinson will miss at least eight weeks after undergoing surgery on his left ankle, the team announced yesterday. It’s a major setback for the 13-9 Knicks, as Mitchell is a menace in the paint on both ends of the floor. Read how the Knicks will adjust here.
The Raptors’ ‘game of chicken’
The Athletic’s Shams Charania posted a new Inside Pass yesterday, which is full of meaningful updates on situations throughout the NBA, but the entire league is focused on the possible trade market in Toronto. As the 9-14 Raptors fade, speculation is rampant about Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, both longtime rumored trade targets. The Hawks, Kings and Pacers all have interest. More details on that, plus other updates, here.
More news
- Nebraska is back in play for five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, the No. 6 overall recruit and current Georgia commit.
- Jets coach Robert Saleh declined comment on a report that the team would trade Zach Wilson after the season. Sounds plausible to me.
- Yes, the Lakers are hanging an IST banner, but just one. They’ll simply add to it if they win more.
- Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman opted out of the Irish’s upcoming bowl game against Oregon State. Next stop: NFL.
Swindlers: How did $22 million disappear?
Shockwaves rippled through NFL front offices after The Athletic broke news last week that a mid-level finance executive for the Jacksonville Jaguars allegedly stole over $22 million from the franchise. How did this guy do this? How did a multi-billion-dollar franchise let this slip?
Kalyn Kahler and Katie Strang did some deeper reporting on the story and found some head-shaking stuff. A few incredible excerpts:
- There was nothing complex about this. Understaffing in the finance department opened a simple loophole for Patel to exploit. A condo, some cars and a fancy watch later, $22 million was gone.
- Patel was well-liked and, other than the whole alleged thievery bit, good at his job. He had responsibilities with multiple departments across the corporation and, by all accounts, worked long hours, picking up slack due to the aforementioned understaffing.
- Patel is now driving for Uber, and the authors caught up with one of his riders, who said Patel told them he left the Jaguars after a “restructuring.”
Make sure to read the whole story for input from front-office executives across the pro sports spectrum (all of them dumbfounded by this, too) and for some particular insight into how Patel might’ve actually pulled this off.
Watch This Game
Champions League: Bayern Munich at Manchester United
3 p.m. ET on Paramount+
Bayern is coming off a rare blowout defeat in Bundesliga play, which actually could be bad news for Man Utd in this group finale.
NBA: Warriors at Suns
10 p.m. ET on TNT
Bradley Beal should return tonight, bringing 12-10 Phoenix to full strength for the first time this season.
Pulse Picks
Sure, they’re hanging an IST banner, but John Hollinger wonders: Are these Lakers actually good?
I always enjoy Mike Sando’s Pick Six, and this week is a prescient look at another facet of Patrick Mahomes’ meltdown — it’s a sign the Chiefs are really vulnerable.
Toronto fans are justifiably in their feelings after Shohei Ohtani’s snub, as Eric Koreen writes, and it puts the Raptors’ star-chasing efforts in stark relief.
Stephen Nesbitt has a hilarious story about Flight N616RH, which marked the exact point Ohtani’s contract saga got absurd.
Speaking of Toronto: Ken Rosenthal emptied his notebook, which includes some insights on the Blue Jays’ tough offseason and how the Angels may attempt to replace Ohtani. Always worth a read.
Is Brock Purdy the MVP? Trent Williams made a compelling case to Marcus Thompson III.
Three big hits, three different punishments, one big problem: The NHL has another consistency problem on its hands, and as Ian Mendes writes, we could have another Moore-Bertuzzi event if nothing changes.
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(Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
