VITO'S VIEWS

For the last four years a quarterback has been selected with the first pick in the draft.

Fernando Mendoza was the first pick this year and from 2023 to 2025, the first picks were Bryce Young of Carolina, Caleb Willilams of Chicago and Cam Ward of Tennessee. All three started as rookies and struggled at times.

But the Raiders are going a different route with Mendoza. He will start the season on the bench while Kirk Cousins begins the year as the starter.

It can be debated whether it is better to let a rookie sit for a year like Tom Brady did or even three years like Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love did. Or whether it is best for a rookie to be thrown into the fire.

Mendoza has accepted his role as a backup.

“I am just trying to do my part and focus on the next rep and do everything I possibly can  to prepare myself to b the best asset I can be for the team,” he said.

In his preseason debut against the Cardinals, he came in to replace Cousins in the fourth quarter and did well, completing 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards and one touchdown, but struggled in his follow-up against the Texans (including throwing an 80-yard Pick Six).

Mendoza knows he is not competing for a starting job now. The task for him is to learn on the bench and be ready when he gets chance.

These are the best of times for the NFL.

The money keeps rolling in: The Packers, a community-owned team and the only one to issue a public financial report, had a record total revenue of $753 million last year while reporting a net income of $132.5 million. They took in $453.2 million in national revenue before they sold a ticket. They did have a $1.1 million operating loss because of some new contracts along with paying the “dead” money of the contracts of departing players. But with a salary cap, it is almost impossible to lose money in the NFL. And franchise values keep going up. The Seahawks — hardly a marquee franchise despite their recent Super Bowl crown — recently sold for more than $9 billion. And revenue should keep going up because the league still gets the highest ratings of anything on TV.

Despite all that success, in the recent book called Football by Chuck Klosterman, he argues there is no guarantee the NFL will remain on top and noted that in the 1930s, the three top sports were baseball, horse racing and boxing. Obviously, they no longer are.

And Klosterman sees some red flags that could lead to a decline for the NFL. He starts with the fact that far fewer boys are playing high school football and as a result may not grow up to be big NFL fans. And then there is the violence coupled with players getting CTE, ALS and dementia that can turn off some fans.

And Klosterman asks what happens if advertisers decide it is just too expensive to buy advertising during NFL games, especially since there is no definite evidence that TV advertising still works except for introducing new products. If advertisers don’t keep paying, the NFL will have no leverage in future TV negotiations.

As a result, Klosterman argues that there could be a time — unthinkable as it seems at the moment — when “no one cares” about the NFL.

It seems hard to believe this scenario, but the football audience isn’t growing. The Sunday TV ratings haven’t increased since 1989, when the league averaged 19 million viewers. Last year it was at 18.7 million. And the NFL’s ratings are only the best in TV because — in an era of numerous TV channels, streaming and iPhones — no one drama or sitcom gets huge ratings like many did in the past, while the NFL ratings remain steady.

For now, the good times keep rolling for the NFL. Only future generations will know how long those good times last.

The annual Hall of Fame game in Canton is usually more about honoring the new inductees than watching the actual game since the starters rarely play.

But Caroline’s 33-30 victory over Arizona last Friday night turned out to be an exciting game featuring two third-string quarterbacks that was decided on the final play.

Undrafted rookie Haynes King scrambled five yards for the game-winning touchdown. He completed 21 of 34 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Fourth-string quarterback Kedon Slovis threw a one-yard TD pass to Bryson Green with 1:55 left to put Arizona ahead, then King led the game-winning drive.

King said it was a “dream come true” to play in front of so many Hall of Famers. King replaced backup Kenny Pickett in the second quarter and played the rest of the game.  

Carson Beck, the Cardinals’ third-round pick, started and completed 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown. He’s behind Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew on the depth chart, while King is behind Bryce Young and Pickett with the Panthers.

Nobody knows what the future holds for Beck and King. Beck as a third rounder is likely to have a brighter future, while the future for King is uncertain because he wasn’t drafted. But for one night on the Hall of Fame stage, both quarterbacks made the most of their opportunities.

Baker Mayfield is betting on himself.

The Buccaneers quarterback turned down a two-year, $100 million deal to play out the final year of his current contract at $40 million–$10 million in base salary and a $30 million bonus. He wanted the Bucs to commit to him for at least four years to give him security, but they declined probably because he suffered injuries last year and his play fell off.

Mayfield said in advance he would only negotiate until training camp started. When they didn’t reach a deal before camp opened, he said he felt “disrespected” and wouldn’t talk contract with the Bucs or with reporters until the season ended.

So now his future depends on how he plays this year. If Mayfield plays well, he will have leverage for the kind of contract he wants because he will be a free agent and can test the market. He said he feels like he is a franchise quarterback.

The Bucs are the fourth team Mayfield has played for. After being the first pick of the draft by the Browns in 2018, he spent four years there but didn’t live up to expectations. After the Browns made the ill-fated trade for Deshaun Watson, he was traded to Carolina, where he went 1-5 before being put on waivers. When Matthew Stafford was injured, the Rams then claimed him, and Mayfield went 1-3 as a starter.

The Bucs then needed a starter because Tom Brady retired in 2023 and signed him to a one year “prove it” deal. He played well enough to get a three-year, $100 million deal. He played ever better in 2024, but then struggled last year and Tampa Bay decided not to give him the long-term deal he wanted. The Bucs haven’t commented but ESPN reported they are unhappy he turned down their offer.

So everything is on the line for Mayfield this year.

As teams begin training camp, these are troubling times for the close-knit NFL coaching fraternity.

Two of the most well-known members of the fraternity, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, are dealing with serious personal issues.

First on July 14, Shanahan suffered serious injuries in a car accident, although the team didn’t announce it until July 25. He suffered a severe concussion, three broken ribs, broken left hand, broken nose and more than 40 stitches in his face. Although Shanahan came to practice for 30 minutes on July 26, it’s uncertain when he will return. The assistant coaches are running the team in his absence.

Chris Simms of PFT was the first to reveal details about the injury. Shanahan’s wife texted him and sent pictures soon after it happened  because he is friends with Shanahan, although Simms did not reveal anything about the accident until the team announced it. Simms said Shanahan came close to losing an eye when he suffered a gash under it and said his injuries could have been much worse. Simms called it “jarring, jarring” to see the pictures. 

Even after a week, Shanahan told him,  “I am not functioning at a high level.”

Simms didn’t give any details about how it happened and the police only said there were no drugs and alcohol involved and that the other driver was not injured. It is difficult to know how long it will take Shanahan to overcome the concussion and for all his injuries to heal. So the 49ers can only be patient and give him time to recover. 

Meanwhile, Bieniemy’s wife, Mia, suffered what police in Loudoun County, Va. said were multiple gunshot wounds on July 26. ESPN said she was shot in her chest and arm. She was listed as being in stable condition. Their son, Elijah Zion Bieniemy, 27, was arrested and charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and discharge of a firearm inside of a dwelling. He is being held without bond.

Bieniemy left training camp in St. Joseph Mo.  and there is no timetable for his return.

“Our hearts go out to Eric Bieniemy,” coach Andy Reid said.

Most NFL players don’t really retire when they leave the game.

They usually leave because injuries have ended their career or age has caught up with them or their teams cut them.

Aaron Donald is the exception. 

He retired two years ago in 2024 after a 10-year career during which he was such a dominant player that he is destined to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer even though he still seemed to have something left in the tank at age 33.

But things changed when the Rams traded for the best pass rusher in the game during the offseason, Myles Garrett. After two years in retirement, Donald got the itch again at the thought of playing in the line with Garrett and taking another shot at a Super Bowl ring at age 35.

Although he has started working out and even made a visit to the Rams facility, it doesn’t appear to be an easy decision for Donald. According  to ESPN, he won’t be at the opening of training camps as he thinks about his decision and decides if he can get in football shape after a two-year absence from the game.

The Rams, of course, will be patient. They know what he could mean for them, and they should be able to work out the contract details.

So what will Donald decide? Yes or No? It is one of the biggest questions in the league as teams open camp.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is obviously still committed to playing 16 regular season international games.

In a recent video posted by Sportico filmed at a Fanatic Fest In New York, Goodell said he has about 10 more countries in mind to host regular season games, including Japan. The league is playing 10 international games this year. He wants 16 international games so each team would have an international game and 16 would give up a home game.

When he was asked about a home game in Italy, he said, “A lot of people want to see that. That would be fun.”

Well, the players and the fans who lose a home game might not think it would be fun.

And to play 16 international games, the league would have to go to 18 games.

With the players already concerned about injuries, they are against adding an 18th game. 

Now the question is whether the league can offer the players enough money for an 18th game or lock them out until the players cave. 

The only certain thing is that the next negotiations with the players are likely to be long and contentious.

We should start calling NFL owners “the Billionaires Club,” because you have to be a billionaire to join the club now. 

Just four years ago, the Walton-Penner group bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion. That now seems like a bargain.

Just three years ago, the ownership group led by Josh Harris bought the Washington Commanders for $6.05 billion.  

And now a group led  by 49ers minority owner Vinod Khosla has purchased the Seahawks for a staggering sum of $9.6 billion, a 50 percent increase. 

He is the founder of Khosla Ventures, a venture capital firm, although his wife Neeru will be the controlling owner and their son Neal will play a major role in running the team. Vinod was born in India and came to the United States at age 21 and got his MBA at Stanford.  

To illustrate how values have skyrocketed, the late Paul Allen bought the team for $194 million in 1997. All the profits will go to charity, according to Allen’s will.

Now the question is how high franchise values will go from here.

Just a year ago, CNBC valued the Dallas Cowboys at $12.5 billion and 10 other teams valued at more than $8 billion. Those figures are now obsolete. The Seahawks deal will raise the value of all the teams. 

Now the question is what the negotiations will be like when the NFL next negotiates with the players. With the teams worth so much, the players are likely to want a better deal because they don’t get a share when franchise values go up. The owners, of course, will want to hold the line or get an even better deal.

It could be a long, tough negotiation. In the NFL now, it’s all about the money.

It was 87 years ago this week – July 4, 1939 – that Lou Gehrig spoke probably the most famous sentence in the history of Yankee Stadium.

“I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth,” Gehrig said when he was being honored after he had been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (“ALS”), a disease that now is known by his name.

He died less than two years later on June 2, 1941, at age 37. And one thing hasn’t changed. Doctors don’t know what causes it and have no cure although they have some treatment that sometimes extends that lifespan of its victims. The lifespan after diagnosis is often three to five years.  Steve Gleason, a former NFL player, has been living with it for 15 years.

But one thing they have learned is that former NFL players are four times more likely than non-players to be diagnosed with the disease. That strongly indicates head trauma may be a factor since NFL players take a lot of blows to the head.  

Former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson is the latest former player to be diagnosed with the disease.  He revealed it in an interview with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America. Although he no longer can talk and uses his eyes to work a computer, he said, “I want people to know I am still me.” He also said he has had strong support from his family.

He has what is called sporadic ALS, which means that no one else in his family has had the disease.

The NFL has been working to make the game safer and has now has given the players the green light to wear Guardian Caps during game.

In a statement, NFL executive Jeff Miller said use of the helmets has reduced concussions in practice. And he said new helmets provide as much – if not more – protection than a different helmet paired with the Guardian Cap.

Of course, the NFL also has a problem with players getting CTE, and that can’t be diagnosed before their deaths.

It is obvious the NFL has to keep working on keeping the game safer for the players. They probably need stiffer fines and suspensions to try to take helmet hits out of the game.

When the Buffalo Bills announced recently that they weren’t going to honor O.J. Simpson in their new stadium, it created quite a controversy.

Many fans said the best player in the team’s history and the first to have his name and number on the team’s Wall of Honor should still be honored at the new stadium even though he was found responsible in a civil trial for murdering his wife and a waiter who came to her home to give her a pair of glasses she left behind. He later served nine years in prison in an unrelated armed robbery and kidnapping case in Las Vegas. The Bills did not take his name down in the old stadium, and he remains honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

I can see both sides of the argument, but I do think the Bills mishandled the situation. First, I think they should have had a vote of the season ticket holders to see if the fans wanted him honored.   

I also was surprised that they are not going to honor the players on a new Wall of Honor in the new stadium. Instead, they will have plaques in front of the stadium near three statues of bison on what they are calling the Family Circle.

I think this is the wrong way to do it. When they designed the stadium, they should have created room for some kind of team history museum.  

They could have had plaques of the other players currently on the Wall of Honor and then some sort of the history of the team. Maybe a history of each decade. That way they could mention O.J. in the 1970s without erasing him from their history.

Or they could have two sets of plaques. One for Bills enshrined in Hall of Fame and one for Bills honored by the team. Then they could just say they are acknowledging he is in the Hall of Fame.

The Bills could have found a better way to decide whether to mention O.J. and how to do it.