Hour 3: Raiders’ Camp News, Bijan Contract Ripple Effect, plus Chargers WR Ladd McConkey

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1:10Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS Lou Gehrig's disease, myasthenia gravis or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. Why wait? Ask your doctor, visit BotoxChronicMigraine.com, or call 1-800-44-BOTOX to learn more. This is The Rich Eisen Show.

1:32Rich Eisen:Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of The Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney +, from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast, so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Track one. Track two. Track three. Tarek Skubal. And you knew who was going to get it. This is the Rich Eisen Show. That's baseball. The Rich Eisen Show. Earlier on the show. ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan. Hosts of ESPN Radio's The Golicks, Mike Golick Sr.

2:19Rich Eisen:and Mike Golick Jr. Coming up, Chargers wide receiver, Ladd McConkie. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hey everybody, it's hour three of the Rich Eisen Show on the air. Lad McConkie, Ladidi McConkie, the wide receiver in year three of the Los Angeles Chargers football outfit, is going to be joining us in about 20 minutes time. He's got a new offensive coordinator. You can basically say a new offensive line, too, because everybody who got hurt last year is back. And everyone who got hurt last year includes all pros like Rashawn Slater and Mr. Alt. Future all pro, Joe. Oh, I should have mentioned Alt as well.

3:05Rich Eisen:Right. With the Goliks. Because he's a Notre Dame guy. And you know, they're Notre Dame guys. I don't know if you're aware of that. They went to Notre Dame? As if this show following two Notre Dame people wasn't enough of a difficult pill for me to swallow. I find out Junior has not seen Hoosiers and refuses to see it. Yeah. The best sports movie of all time. Oh, yes, I said it. Interesting. Oh, yes. There's an argument. Oh, yes. There's an argument for that. Oh, yes. There's an argument for several. Yeah, there's several. I'll entertain a lot. Okay. I'm all ears. I'm going to say one. I think as time goes on, and plus that we know that both of those are Rudy and Hoosiers are basically made up.

3:49I like Miracle more or as time kind of passes.

3:54Rich Eisen:He's right. As the best sports movie of all time. It's pretty great. Well, sports movies, what they have to have to be great. is there has to be a story. Father-son is the one that jumps out at me. Sure. Okay. Obviously, the blind side kind of had a mother and adopted son storyline at the center. Okay. So just a family story, a parent-child story is in the middle of it. Hoosiers had that with Dennis Hopper and his kid. and then of course the coach and whatever uh fatherly advice he kind of felt he needed to give some of these players tough love and things like that a lot of tough okay it's also got to have um moments in it that you'll never forget and who you know miracle has um a speech yeah in fact with the word moments is the key word in it it also could be an iconic story the beauty of Miracle is that you know how it's going to turn out you're still on the edge of your seat and it also helps to have a major star you know in the lead role so name any Kevin Costner sports movie Gene Hackman obviously remember the Titans having Denzel and Kurt Russell I think suffices in that front.

5:27Rich Eisen:Friday Night Lights, the movie with Billy Bob. That movie kind of gets better every time I see it. Right. I mean, I know he said it's not, but most of us think Rocky is a sports movie. Well, both Sylvester Stallone and May He Rest in Peace, Carl Weathers, called it a love story. And it's not just about the love story between Rocky and Adrian, but Carl Weathers said it was a love story between romance. Well, I mean, that's the romance part of it, but a love story between Rocky and and Apollo Creed and their friendship. That's what Carl Weathers said when he joined us on the radio side of things when the draft was in Philadelphia.

6:04Rich Eisen:That actually happened on the show. It's pretty cool. 844-204-RICH, number to dial here on the show. So interesting when somebody gets signed to a massive contract that sets the market in the National Football League, that is what we call a big fat stone thrown in a rippling pond. I'm skipping it. And B 'John Robinson getting signed to a record-setting market-altering deal. Everybody looks at Detroit for Jameer Gibbs. And for me, I'm like, that one I think can actually help sign Jameer Gibbs because there's now a target on the wall. And one guy went first. so the other guy's now going to be able to say you know i'll take similar or just just to just to skosh better just give me a little bit more and um even dan campbell's like i think it you know it's not going to hurt you never know but i don't think it'll hurt with jameer gives i just want him back the contract that it might mess with more than anybody isn't somebody who's already ready to sign that next deal it's somebody who's already gotten that second deal already and now wants to redo that one based on the new market set and jonathan taylor if you recall how he got that second contract wasn't easy it wasn't easy and apparently this is the way he took the news of bjohn Robinson making 25 mil a year now hopefully I gotta go talk to my agent I gotta go talk to him and see um where things are at I've been trying to just focus on getting better making sure I'm staying in shape um so like I said I have faith so I'm gonna tap in and check in when I'm actually got broken rules well the first thing I would do if I was Jonathan Taylor before he checks in with his agent is to see if uh Carly Ursa Gordon has the family bus sitting right there in training camp because if I'm not mistaken, it was Jim, may he rest in peace, who once upon a time had Jonathan come on that bus and told him, that's right.

8:23Rich Eisen:Hey, the NFL, you know, outlives us all. And at some point in time, you know, well, you know, this doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. It was essentially the message. Take what I'm offering. That's the one that does. He says it with a smile on his face, but I believe he would call his agent today. Oh. And say, do we do something about this? He probably called him before he took his pads off in the locker room. Or before he even had that mention. Before even that press conference, right? Yeah. Oh, I would. I would call up and say, do we lob one in?

9:07To, you know, Mr.

9:08Rich Eisen:Biceps himself? the GM in Indianapolis do we lob a call in I guess that would be kind of the last call the Colts would care to take right now on the outset of the season unless it's time but that's what happens when one guy signs and it resets the market everybody else is kind of like huh what about me what about me hello yeah i'm here what about me and if i'm a running back in this day and age and you've got any sort of leverage you even have a whiff of leverage oh i i become daryl revis on the spot man you know you want to buy an island i that's no it's not that if you remember daryl revis i think he's in is he in the sports business hall of fame no doubt contract hall of fame so much paid.

10:03Rich Eisen:Oh my God. Yeah. I become Darrell Rivas on his worst day. Yeah. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial right here on the program. Let's go to Anthony in Miami. Anthony. Anthony. Here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's up, Anthony? Rich, I want to talk about baseball. Everybody keeps saying that baseball needs a salary cap. They need a salary floor. Remember, after the 2024 season, And Luis Severino had a good year at the Mets. And the A's signed him for three years,$67 million. And the only reason why the A's signed him is because baseball told the A's that if they didn't spend money that they were getting from all the rich teams that was being paid into the competitive balance fund, that they were going to be restricted from taking any of that money out for the next three years.

10:54imagine what the pirates rotation would be like if they had garrett cole and paul schemes at the top of the rotation it's the fact that these smaller market teams refuse to pay the players to keep their stars that's creating this problem because these owners are greedy they're selfish and all they want to do is hoard the money and so if you have a salary floor now you're telling all these smaller market teams. This is what you have to pay to have a roster. Because essentially then what they're trying to do is be a feeder system to the Dodgers, the Mets, the Yankees, the Red Sox. And I'm a Mets fan, so I'm with...

11:34Rich Eisen:I've been saying they've been needing a floor for the last 10 years. And I'm with you, Anthony. I totally hear exactly what you just said, but you also just made another case as to why the Dodgers are terrific, is because some of the teams that you mentioned that are feeder systems do not want to pay a certain amount for their salaries to keep up with the Dodgers because they do not want to pay a tax to the teams that they share the the uh the league with um they don't want to pay a tax to the teams that don't put it into their their uh their roster they put it into their own bank accounts as you just pointed out so they're like screw it we're not going to spend all this money on salaries to try and keep up with the Dodgers who are like screw it i'm going to pay so so so what if the the a's or whomever pocket our tax money rather than trying to stay competitive that's just one extra game we're going to win and uh and uh who are we to try and you know uh tell our fans we're not going to spend the money on another star player um like yamamoto who by the way is one of the few dodgers are like i'm not deferring a thing so you you pay me you know and so thanks for the call anthony that he he he makes a point i totally hear it but it's also how many times have you heard at least you you still probably haven't gotten your answer you're looking for as a red sox fan as to why um the deep pocketed you know john henry group doesn't spend like the dodgers okay but i'm sure you've heard like john henry's not going to put tax money on the table and in the pockets of his competitors right for them to just pocket and sit on their wallets if they're not going to put it into their rosters right but the dodgers are like okay honestly if you looked it up how many major league baseball teams went into the season with a roster combined salary of 163 million dollars how many baseball teams going into the season had their roster cost in terms of salary an aggregate of 163 million dollars 16 16 right so there's 30 teams in major league baseball 14 teams field a roster that is less than the amount of money the dodgers pay in tax the orioles are right there they're at 161 well they're less than that now with rutschman gone I imagine.

14:08Rich Eisen:Yeah. Think about it. Half of baseball entered the season with an aggregate salary for their roster less than the amount of money the Dodgers pay in tax.

14:27Rich Eisen:And the Dodgers are like, it's a cold world. And you're like, that's not fair. Okay. The Dodgers are paying the money into the kitty. I mean, they're paying the tax. Yeah. The Yankees, they still do it. It's kind of like the apron. The Yankees don't want to pay tax. Steinbrenner doesn't want to pay money so the Pirates can just sit on their wallet if that's what they're doing. I'm sorry to use them as an example. They may not be doing that. Just name any team. That's what you kept hearing. Oh, Hal's not going over the tax threshold. By the way, the Yankees have a$79 million tax this year. Right.

14:59Rich Eisen:But if the Yankees had a$163 million tax, do you think they'd be in better shape right now? Would they be in front of the Rays? Maybe. The Dodgers is now. Or that player would be hurt. It's up to 181, by the way. That's the problem. I'm not a money man, obviously, but this money that the Dodgers are deferring, they're putting this away somewhere that I'm assuming is making and earning them way more trust than I have. I'm not an expert on escrow, but I hear you. That's what I'm saying. So it's like, aren't they kind of fudging around a little bit with it? Fudging what? Well, because they're not paying these guys.

15:35Rich Eisen:They're putting this money in the trust. this trust is earning interest right so isn't it oh so you mean whatever whatever okay oh again i don't know like i said this is my lane i'm assuming the dodgers put something aside yeah that does have an interest bearing account i'm i'm just sure you know are they allowed to invest it are they allowed to put the put this money in the s &p 500 it's a record high time i have no idea i don't know all it see what you're saying is like so the money that they're putting aside it's making i don't know if they have to put the billion dollars somewhere right now i don't i don't know the answer to these questions and i know that there's somebody who's driving around los angeles listening to us on our local espn radio affiliate in los angeles probably knows the answer to this question that's why i put their radio that's why i put it out what you're saying is that if there is such a thing are they making more money in interest or in some investing it than they are in paying a tax for the 2026 Dodgers.

16:33Rich Eisen:Kind of popped up in them. Like I said, I'm not, it's not my lane. It's just, obviously you're right. All I know though is the Dodgers have a cost of doing business that is higher than anyone else because they put, they have enough of a revenue to be able to put this money into their roster and then pay a tax and then have so much money that's already, you know, spoken for in the future. And other teams are like pinching pennies who are just saying, I'm not going to take that tax money and put it into my team. I'm going to just put it in my pocket. And that's why we have Anthony from Miami or Anthony the Met fan in Miami saying there should be a floor.

17:09Rich Eisen:So from a December 2024 article, yes, the Dodgers are required by the collective bargaining agreement to fund and set aside present day value of their deferred money. So there's a billion Dodger dollars somewhere. Yeah, somewhere. Oh, that's and wherever it is, it's got to be earning something And it's the plot of Den of These Four. O'Shea's going to rob it. I was just going to say that. Whoever that is. All right. He's on it. Do we take a break? Because Ladidi is waiting. Ladidi McConkey. Can't have Ladidi. Vlad McConkey. Oh, let's take another call. All right, let's do that. Let's go to Ross in New Jersey.

17:51Rich Eisen:Ross. Your home state. DJ Mikey D. What's up, Ross? What's going on, Rich? How you doing, man? What exit? Yeah, good one. What exit? What exit? Burden County. I told you, like 10, 15 minutes. Oh, yeah. Listen, I'm sorry, Ross. I don't remember every single time you come on the show. So, Ross, what exit? What exit? 61 off 80. Okay. By the soon-to-be MLB Network Studio. They're moving at a C-clock. Is that right, Ross? Look at you. Yep. All right. Yeah, I heard you guys talking a little bit of NFL, like surprising under-the-radar teams last year. I got the cinch of the offseason for you. Cinch of the offseason.

18:30Rich Eisen:This is the sleeper team of the 2026 NFL season. Ross in New Jersey's got a cinch of the offseason. What is that, Ross? The Tennessee Titans. They're over-unders at six and a half. You talk about in this town, Rich, you know all too well if people kind of fail here the second they leave this market, they look to succeed somewhere else. So you talk about a head coach, an offensive coordinator, pretty much half of their roster, formerly Jets and Giants. Look at the running back in Philly, the quarterback in Seattle, former second and third overall picks back-to-back, but said pretty much, at least in Saquon's case, the second he left, Darnold a few stops later.

19:06And again, Cam Ward, a first overall pick from two years ago. And you talk about a division that pretty much every single year has turnarounds. Who had the Jaguars winning 13 games last year with a first-year head coach in Liam Cohen? And every single year you kind of see that team, a different team take that leap in that division. And when you've got a team full of guys with something to prove, you've got Cornell Tate as that rookie that could potentially make that year one leap that we see a lot of times, you know, rookie, offensive rookie of the year. And Cam Moore, like I said, a year removed from a first overall pick with a completely new regime in a division that has turned around every single year.

19:43So you're saying, Ross, you're saying from your position,

19:47Rich Eisen:the Titans being the cinch sleeper team of 2026 is not so much about their roster and how they've built it and how they've cultivated it and how they have playmakers there you even mentioned Jeffrey Simmons on defense as well you're saying what really puts them over the top is they hired the former Jets coach as their head coach and the former Giants coach as their offensive coordinator and the football gods like kicking the Giants and Jets fans and the Nards by having those that leave succeed elsewhere. That's what puts the Titans over the top. Is that what you're saying? You hit it right on the head, Rich.

20:24What I do for a living, Ross, thanks for the call.

20:26Rich Eisen:That's Ross in New Jersey from Bergen County. Don't forget it. Write it down.

20:34Rich Eisen:They were my number one pick on the sleeper track. Is that right? Ross has a point. It took Darnold a while. I mean, it took him a while. What a Super Bowl. yes he did it's humble by the way the first one from the 2018 draft class just to make just to make ross's point even more crystal clear for jet fans oh to see sam donald doing what he's doing and did do what he did and have the super bowl be the first time donald ever beat the patriots in his career is the ultimate nard kick That is a fact. That's true. All he did was see ghosts. He saw ghosts. And then it's time for him to be in the Super Bowl for someone else.

21:26Seeing ghosts. And he turns the Patriots into his own personal ghosts that he sees leave their bodies.

21:34Rich Eisen:This house is clean. Because he cleans the house. That's exactly. For the Seattle Seahawks. That's exactly. Go figure that. That's the truth. don't figure that ross might have a point cinch of the off season he calls it ross since of the off season don't figure that all right um lad mcconkey plays in so far right correct uh yes correct maybe maybe maybe he already knows about so five personal loans because of that i don't know how he couldn't it's here to help you achieve something you maybe you thought was impossible and that's overcoming high interest credit card debt you can just walk the tightrope of your finances right now with one low fixed rate monthly payment no fees required and as soon as the same day funding pull off your own debt defying stunt with a sofi personal loan by visiting sofi.com slash trick to learn more nmls 696891 terms and conditions apply loans originated by sofi bank and a member fdic lad mcconkey of the los angeles chargers when we come back

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24:18Rich Eisen:It consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required. And with as soon as the same day funding, You can make the right play fast. Call an audible on your debt today at SoFi.com slash debt play. Loans originated by SoFi Bank N.A. Member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891. Fast funds terms apply at SoFi.com slash debt play. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Hire right the first time with LinkedIn hiring pro people. Get started by posting a free job at LinkedIn.com slash Eisen. All right, let's bring him back in. It's been a bit since we've had him on. He is back for year three in his career, just across the street with the Chargers.

25:05Rich Eisen:Lad McConkie back on the program. How are you doing, Lad? I'm good. I'm good. How are y 'all? I'm doing fine. Let's just jump into the big news, the breaking news that we saw on Monday. Congratulations. You and your wife, Sydney, are expecting. Amazing. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. thank you i appreciate that oh look at that it's a blessing for sure um so i'm i'm so excited i can't wait to be parents with her so okay you're getting ready uh for making this announcement and you're you're getting ready for parenthood uh when's when's the due date sometime next year obviously yeah i'll see it 2027 okay let's see you you're that's good planning we timed her it's it's very good planning so uh congratulations uh how long have you been married how long are you two guys been married?

25:51I'm going on year two. So April 12th was, was a year. So we've been together since high school. We're, you know, in college, got married my rookie year and now we're expecting a baby. Okay.

26:01Rich Eisen:Well, congratulations on that front. Outside of, of that, how are you getting ready for your season? Oh man. I mean, it's obviously we just started training camp. I got, you know, got healthy this summer. We're rolling a whole new dynamic with a new offense, new coordinator, a bunch of new faces around here. And I feel like we've got off to a great start. So super excited. We're about to head down to San Diego and get in front of some of the fans down there, put the pads on. So I feel like we're rolling. We're in a good spot. Okay. So you're feeling good? You're healthy going into the season as we're talking right now?

26:35Rich Eisen:Yes, sir. Is that different from any of the previous two seasons for you? No, I think going into the seasons, into the past two seasons, I've been good. Had bumps and bruises throughout the year. But I think that's pretty common. But no, I feel like we just stay on this this path and coach Harbaugh and then the staff done a good job of ramping us up and keeping us safe. And it's our job to just, you know, take care of our bodies and be be prepared when we get out there. Now, obviously, the health factor wasn't there going into the season for you on that offensive line. And that just began everything from Rashawn Slater to all to everything that happened.

27:09Rich Eisen:Are you seeing just the first blush look of what everything looks like with that healthy offensive line up front? lad does it look different just the that alone i mean those guys yeah just having the presence of rashaun and joe back out there you can just you can feel the energy when you get in the huddle and just the way that those guys are working and you're not not just those two but all of them uh watching them in indy they're they're over there firing off the ball running something like it caught just looking over there watching them work so it's been it's been awesome to see and fired up for them and then so the you say the the energy's different just in the huddle seeing those guys.