Rumors

Breakfast Ball: "If we were going into a Super Bowl and it was Packers vs. Steelers you guys would celebrate that. People wouldn't talk about Pittsburgh being a small market. It's been intentional to create a CBA that allows more teams to compete." — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Thunder vs. Pacers in the #NBAFinals

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New York still hates Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback was loudly booed when shown from celebrity row during the Knicks’ game against the Nets on the jumbotron at the Garden. Brady also signed a football and tossed it to a fan in attendance for what will undoubtedly be a very expensive souvenir. Brady is scheduled to be on the call for a game between the Packers and Bears this week for Fox.

New York Post

Clutch Points: Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, and Jarred Vanderbilt in the house for Packers vs. 49ers 🙌 (via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/hn2a8VrzY1

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Sky Cave Retreats gained notoriety earlier this year when Aaron Rodgers participated in a darkness retreat before deciding the next step in his career, which led the quarterback to force a trade from the Packers to the Jets. Rudy Gobert, who meditates frequently on his own, wanted the chance to experience this for himself. In May, in one of the company's hobbit-like holes, he entered a small door that led to a room underground, where he spent the next 64 hours: three nights and two days.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune

When three veterans of legendary NFL agent Leigh Steinberg’s firm broke away in 2001 to launch their own talent agency, Athletes First, their plan, as the name suggests, was to put the needs of players over those of agents and teams. In the next two decades, it grew from a three-person shop in a Southern California living room to the largest talent agency in pro football, with a staff if 55 and sprawling offices in the posh Los Angeles suburb of Laguna Hills. Its 20 agents represent 300-plus players, including Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Los Angeles Rams All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Athletes First has negotiated more than $11 billion in contracts since its founding, including the richest guaranteed-money deal in league history: $230 million over five years for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. Today, the founders are set to announce that venture capital firms Mastry Ventures and General Catalyst are buying a majority stake. The new owners plan to bring a VC mindset to the agent business, says Mastry co-founder Rudy Cline-Thomas, helping players set up off-field ventures in addition to representing them in negotiations with teams. “We think we can build formidable businesses with these athletes, individually and as an aggregate, across industries,” says Cline-Thomas. “We’re turning them from players to owners.”

Bloomberg

Devin Funchess was the 41st overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers after a stellar college career for the Michigan Wolverines. The 28-year-old spent four seasons with the Panthers (and also had brief stints with the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions). Right now, he is an NFL free agent, and in a recent interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson of Bally Sports, he revealed his love for basketball. Funchess: "I know I have to go overseas and play and get some film, but then after that, my dream growing up was to play in the NBA, so that's my main goal, and that's what I'm gonna make happen"

Sports Illustrated

So what might The King look as an owner? Will he be a controlling figure, harkening back to his much-memed days as “LeGM”? Or will he be willing to step aside and delegate the work to members of his front office? As usual, the answer lies somewhere in between. During the inaugural “TNF in The Shop”, which broadcast the Tennessee Titans and the Green Bay Packers’ Thursday night clash involving guests such as Maverick Carter, Paul Rivera, Jamie Foxx, Jalen Ramsey, Rob Lowe, and Dez Bryant, LeBron James gave fans an insight as to how he might operate as a team owner. “I don’t wanna pick the players but I wanna be a part of the process. I wanna be part of the process because I know players and I watch them all. But I don’t wanna do their job. But I’m hiring you to do a job and giving you a timeline to do your job. If you do not do your job, you know, it’s probably time,” James said.

Clutch Points

During the press conference, Davis revealed that watching the Packers’ 31-28 overtime comeback win against the Dallas Cowboys hyped him up to “dominate” the Nets. “I was watching the Green Bay Packers game (against the Cowboys) and Aaron Rodgers threw a slant to Allen Lazard for 40 yards,” Davis said. “And he started (screaming) and flexing and it got me some motivation before the game. … Knowing that we had to get this win. Knowing that a lot of guys – especially with (LeBron James) out – lean on me to try to get the job done.”

The Athletic

Amazon has made it clear it wants an NBA package along with the NFL, said one source.  Amazon just signed a deal to stream 87 live games, including playoff games, in Brazil during the 2022-2023 season. LeBron James, the league’s biggest star, will co-host an alternate stream of TNF for Amazon during the Green Bay Packers-Tennessee Titans game on Nov. 17 “Amazon is locked and loaded for a shot at the NBA,” said a source.

Front Office Sports

Tell me your basketball opinion. After three games in 2015, it felt like you guys were in serious trouble. LeBron needed to be slowed down, even if it was just a little bit. You know the story. How do you reflect on it? Andre Iguodala: I don’t reflect on it. It just bothers me that you’ve got a guy of this caliber (in Curry) and they continue to take shots at him. There’s no reason to take a shot at him. Great athletes, that doesn’t happen as often. People tend to appreciate our great athletes more but now that you’re so close to them, you’re just looking for ways to take shots. Like in football, anybody can win MVP of the Super Bowl. You can be a kick returner. Desmond Howard won it, right? (He did indeed, becoming the first and only kick returner to win the award for the Packers in 1997).

The Athletic

Andre Iguodala: But no one takes anything away from (then-Packers quarterback) Brett Favre (who won one Super Bowl and lost another but was never MVP). I just don’t like the way they try to take shots at (Curry). They don’t understand. It’s hard to go to the NBA Finals six times. It’s not normal, and it’s almost as if there’s so much money in sports that people just say outlandish things for the sake of saying outlandish things just to have a conversation about it. And so for me, it’s not even about protecting him. I still think he deserves one. But I don’t know (which one). Pick one. And if I have to be the one that they take, I’m cool with that. But that’s not me saying I don’t deserve it, and that’s not me saying that I don’t think I deserved it.

The Athletic

Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers are two of the most notable people in the world that have yet to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Both stars have received much criticism from those who support the vaccine while also receiving lots of support from those who are against the vaccine. One such person who has now come out in staunch support of the duo is former NBA star John Stockton. The Hall of Famer recently stated that he has a list of “hundreds” of vaccinated athletes that have “dropped dead on the field.”

ahnfiredigital.com

Former Green Bay Packers receiver Donald Driver bought a $3 million Brewer's Hill loft from former Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker. The 6,800-square-foot residence on Palmer Street was an empty warehouse before Parker revitalized it into a spacious loft. Driver purchased the home on Feb. 21, according to real estate records.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

George Karl: Sacramento is the Green Bay of the NBA. They deserve an ownership structure and team that connects to their unique fan base properly.

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