The NFL Franchise Tag Deadline has come and gone with 21 players being tagged.
All but one (Drew Brees) has the “non-exclusive” tag; meaning that if another team wants that player, and they can successfully negotiate a contract, that team needs to give up 2 first round picks.
Sorry Drew, you’re stuck in New Orleans for at least one more year.
Everyone else still has options. Some of the 20 are still in contract negotiations and may very well end up with a much preferred long term deal. Others, may not end up being so happy being tagged.
So the question is, who on this list is worth bookoo bucks AND two first round picks?
Cheetah, the chimpanzee from the Tarzan movies, lived to the amazing age of 80. Then he suddenly died. Considering most chimps don’t live much past the age of 50, both events seem, well, amazing.
Regardless of whether you believe he was who everyone said he was. The chimp that died, was said to like watching football and making people laugh. And that is OK in my book.
He was also rumored to be an ace at throwing poo. One caretaker said he could hit anybody over 30 feet away; even behind bars! That is amazing. And, according to one research article, throwing poo is a sign of higher intelligence. Of course, hitting your intended target, which I suspect would be trying to move out of the way at the same time, is an amazing feat of physical and mental prowess too!
Another sign of amazing physical and mental prowess is Drew Brees breaking Dan Marino’s record of passing yards in one season.
But, he may not be alone in the record books for very long. And no, I am not talking about chimps anymore.
Tom Brady stands a good chance of eclipsing Dan Marino’s record this weekend as well. He only needs 187 more yards himself.
In fact, both he and Drew have been on a record setting pace all year!
chart from business insider
That would make two record breaking passing events in the same season. Amazing!
And yet one more amazing event happened, or really did not happen, this week. An NFL player with an amazing streak of starting consecutive games and currently leading the entire NFL in tackles this year, did NOT make the Pro Bowl. Amazing! Now I know how this works, it is not about stats and performance both on and off the field. It is a popularity contest. I realize the Redskins are perhaps not the most popular team in the NFL right now, but to have a player of London Fletchers caliber on your team, any team!, and NOT make the Pro Bowl, is , well, simply amazing to me. So to all you folks who did not vote for London . . .
The Colts will ultimately prevail winning the actual game. After all, they have proven more than once that they only need 15 minutes to beat anybody.
I give the Saints 30 minutes of life. Tops.
The Colts, just like Gilbert Arenas, have too many weapons…
And the biggest and best is Peyton.
But, with all the hype I’ve seen and heard on the Internet about “Who Dat” and rights, and royalty, and Money, I believe that the Saints fans alone will solely responsible for setting a new revenue record.
The record for “Ad Revenue” (selling advertising slots) is approximately $206 million. Judging by the fact that the networks have had to lower their prices this year, I doubt that will happen.
However, I believe, the $125 million merchandise record is in jeopardy. You see, its not just the “Super Bowl” label, it is the aints New Orleans Saints going to the Super Bowl. Now we are not only talking, and buying, super bowl memorabilia, we are buying collector items.
A quick look on Ebay (EBAY)for “New Orleans Saints” produces over 20,000 items.
Amazon (AMZN) had nearly 14,000.
And this of course does not take count all the official NFL stores, and pop-up merchandise stands now populating the great state of Florida.
Who knows when this will happen again.
So enjoy it, buy the collector items now before the Super Bowl, because they will not be worth quite as much this coming Monday morning.
But hey, I’ve been wrong before, and if by some miraculous chance the Saints do pull this off, the prices and sales will go through the roof and all you true Saints fans better keep an extra collector item or two safely sealed inside the original wrapping.
But most importantly, turn on the game and enjoy the entertainment. If anybody can give the Colts and Peyton a run for their money, it is the defensive genius of Gregg Williams.
And don’t worry about the game being a dud, we all know that the super bowl brings out some of the more creative ads from various companies such as these two finalist clips from Doritos. So grab your drinks, food, and even some good friends, turn on the TV this Super Bowl Sunday and Enjoy!
The NFL Franchise Tag Deadline has come and gone with 21 players being tagged.
Fumbled Returns 