The Lakers wasted no time in doing exactly what we knew they were doing: Signing Bronny James to a contract. It just so happened that he became the first second round pick to sign, a four-year deal, and with the new CBA people saw the announcement and began to lose it.
Bronny James has agreed to a four-year, $7.9 million deal with the Lakers, a league source told ESPN. Team option on the fourth year.
On the surface this seems beyond ludicrous. To be fair, it is the largest contract of all time given to a second round rookie pick — but it has nothing to do with LeBron or nepotism; it’s just the new normal of the 2023 CBA. The minimum annual salary for a 4-year deal is exactly what Bronny received, which means the total money side of this had nothing to do with who his dad is. The truth is that revenues are rising, the salary cap is expanding — and that’s why we keep seeing new records for contracts, with the trickle down effect being that rookies are getting more money as a result.
Pelle Larsson, the first second-rounder to sign this year got a three-year, $5.4 million deal from the Miami Heat — and had they added a fourth year he would have been on the exact same contract as Bronny James.
Now, we can certainly argue about the nature of this deal. A second round pick with as many questions as Bronny getting a contract before Summer League is definitely a perk of being LeBron’s son — but in the grand scheme of things it’s really a minor issue. He’s the No. 55 pick, who probably won’t contribute much, and earning just under $2M a year is relative chump change, commensurate with what the majority of deep rotation guys will make this season.
In the end this is all no harm, no foul. LeBron is going to ride out his career in Los Angeles, play with his son, continue with business ventures in the city — and sail off into the sunset.
A Dodgers ball boy made the play of a lifetime on Wednesday when he made a bare-handed catch of a ball that was rocketing towards the bullpen — or perhaps more accurately, rocketing towards Shohei Ohtani’s head.
Ohtani hit the deck immediately, realizing that the errant ball was on a collision course with his face, a move that a majority of other players around him did as well. On this day the bat boy became a bat man, casually plucking it out of thin air and protecting the Dodgers’ $700M investment.
“Protecting the most important player in baseball” is right up there in the pantheon of amazing things a bat boy could achieve. If the team didn’t give this dude a bonus of a lifetime then what are we even doing here? It’s not outside the realm of possibility to think that if that ball actually made contact with Ohtani he would have missed signifiant time, but now we don’t need to worry about that.
In an announcement ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix the team made it clear: Lance Stroll was not going anywhere. While there was every expectation that Stroll would be back for 2025, and the driver himself hinted at a new deal recently, the announcement came Thursday that Stroll would be back for 2025 “and beyond” on a new multi-year extension.
The news means Aston Martin’s lineup for 2025 will be unchanged, given the previous announcement of an extension for Fernando Alonso.
“I’m super happy to have committed to staying with the team for 2025 and beyond,” said Stroll in the announcement. “It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come in the last five years; we’ve grown so much as a team and there’s still so much more to look forward to.”
“We are delighted to confirm Lance’s future with Aston Martin Aramco. He has played a key role in building this team. His technical feedback, alongside his committed simulator work, has helped contribute to the continuous development of the car each season,” added Team Principal Mike Krack.
“The consistency and stability of both Lance and Fernando remaining with our team is a great platform to continue to realise our ambitions. We look forward to creating some more incredible memories and achieving further success together.”
The news comes as Aston Martin is looking to improve their form following a slow start to the 2024 Formula 1 season. While they were the darlings of the paddock as the year began in 2023, providing an early threat to Red Bull, Aston Martin is currently fifth in the Constructors’ Championship standings, 93 points adrift of fourth-place Mercedes.
Fifth is where they finished last season, after their promising start.
Two months ago, 15-year-old Miles Russell set an incredible record, becoming the youngest player to make a cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event. He eventually finished in a tie for 20th at the LECOM Suncoast Classic, which earned him a spot in next week’s tournament.
He missed the cut despite posting a 4-under par score through 36 holes. But Russell made a lasting impression—so much so that the Rocket Mortgage Classic offered him a sponsor’s exemption to compete in this week’s event at the Detroit Golf Club.
“I was pretty much speechless at the time,” Russell said when he received the call that he would make his PGA Tour debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
“It’s always been a dream to play at the highest level and compete with the best players in the world, and I get to do that this week. I am really looking forward to it.”
Russell has quite a resume. He broke par for the first time at the age of six and then finished second in the Drive, Chip, and Putt finals at Augusta National in 2018 at nine years old.
Since then, Russell has racked up numerous junior titles. He won the Junior PGA Championship last August by seven strokes and then added a Junior Players Championship title at TPC Sawgrass, where he won by three. As such, Russell won the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Player of the Year Award, becoming the youngest player ever to do so—besting Tiger Woods in the process. Speaking of Woods, Russell will join Charlie Woods at next month’s U.S. Junior Amateur, which will also take place in Michigan at Oakland Hills Country Club.
“I don’t know how to describe it other than just a rollercoaster, and it’s just been a rollercoaster of just fun,” Russell said.
“It all happened a little faster than I thought it might, but it’s just what happens when you have good play.”
Russell will undoubtedly continue to have fun this week at Detroit Golf Club, the host of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, regardless of the result. He said he will have to rely on his short game—his strong suit—to get around this tight golf course, but he also noted that staying disciplined will be critical.
“My goal is just to come out here and have fun,” Russell said.
“That’s my main goal: have fun, maybe learn something, and take something to my next event.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
The Kansas City Chiefs should already be considered a dynasty, as the only other teams in NFL history to win at least three Super Bowls in a five-year span or less are the 1974-1979 Steelers, the 1992-1995 Cowboys, the 2001-2004 Patriots, and the 2014-2018 Patriots.
Not only is that exclusive company; the Chiefs also reached the Super Bowl in 2020, losing to Tom Brady’s only “non-dynasty” team, and Patrick Mahomes has played in six straight AFC Championships for Andy Reid.
Now comes the crazy part: Is this only the beginning?
In part one of a two-part series ranking all 32 teams based on their chances of winning the Super Bowl in either of the next two seasons—2024 or 2025—the Chiefs come in first place by an absolute landslide. Who is the closest challenger to stop Kansas City from winning their fourth championship in a six or seven-year span?
First, you have to understand the 7 categories that all teams are being judged by:
The 7 categories
HC/Stability – Ranking not only the quality of the head coach, but also how STABLE is he in the job? Mike McCarthy could be a really good head coach, however he’s also on the hot seat.
Recent History – What have you done for me lately?
Non-QB Roster, 2024-2025: Accounting for all the non-QBs on the roster, how much talent is there and how likely is it that the good players will be good and on the team for each of the next two years?
QB/Passing Success – Ranking not only the quarterbacks, but also the passing game; so it’s not just “Geno Smith” in a bubble, it’s Geno plus DK Metcalf, plus the offensive line, plus the offensive coordinator, all culminating in answering “How good is the entire passing offense?”
DEF/Passing Un-Success – So the opposite of the QB/Passing Success question, looking at the defenses and defensive coordinators
Division Hierarchy Situation, also known as DHS – Teams were ranked on a combination of Overall Division Quality + Their place in the Hierarchy. So the Browns are a good team, but they’re fourth in the hierarchy of the toughest division in the NFL.
Dealer’s Choice – For all variables that didn’t get a category, like salary cap situation, and ownership, and probability of injury regression, etc., this is my own personal stamp on the rankings.
Every team was ranked 1-32 in each category and then we split it up into AFC and NFC. You get 1 point for being ranked 1st, 32 points for being ranked 32nd, and just like golf the lower your score, the better.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (Points: 17)
Overall ranking: 1 Best ranking: HC (1), Recent (1), QB (1), Dealer’s Choice (1) Worst ranking: Non-QB Roster (8)
It was practically a clean sweep for the Chiefs, as they had the top ranking in recent history (obviously), coaching/stability, quarterback/passing success, and dealer’s choice. That gave the Chiefs less than half the point total of the second place team, so if you’re betting on a team to win either of the next two Super Bowls, it has to be Kansas City. Andy Reid recently signed an extension, but even if he retired after 2024, there are several experienced veteran coaches already in place to carry the torch with a solid infrastructure built for Patrick Mahomes.
As for Mahomes’ increasing salary, with a cap hit of $66 million in 2025, the Chiefs can restructure or re-negotiate the deal to bring that down and they probably will in order to keep free agents like Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. Keeping players or surviving without them hasn’t proven to be an issue for Reid yet, and the Chiefs remain the last team anybody wants to see in a playoff situation.
The biggest loss, defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, had a rising star waiting in the wings behind him named Zach Orr, so perhaps we will find out that the Ravens aren’t much worse off on that side of the ball. The one thing holding back the Ravens on this list was their DHS (Division Hierarchy Situation). Though Baltimore sits atop the AFC North, it still appears to be the toughest division in the NFL, and look what happened to the Bengals last year, as they went from AFC Championship game losers in 2022 to out of the playoffs.
Say what you want about the receivers room: I don’t think it matters as much when you have Josh Allen, the second-to-last QB I’d want to see in the playoffs. The Bills have won four straight division titles, and parting ways with Stefon Diggs and Tre’Davious White might end up making the Bills a stronger team overall because it increases the odds that the team will spend the offseason, the season, and the 2025 season with the same players.
This seems early for the Texans, but look at this way: Which teams have the best odds of winning their division in EACH of the next two seasons? The Texans seem to have the all-important triumvirate of a successful NFL team: DeMeco Ryans, C.J. Stroud, and a really good defense. But they also have a top-10 offensive line, a deep group of supporting skill players, and they just put Danielle Hunter opposite of Will Anderson. The AFC South could be the best division in a couple of years depending on the development of the four quarterbacks, but right now it belongs to Houston. Look at this way: Would you rather be the second-best team in the AFC North or the best team in the AFC South? I’d rather have that guaranteed playoff home game.
5. Cincinnati Bengals (Points: 74)
Overall ranking: 8 Best ranking: HC (6), Recent (6), Dealer’s Choice (6) Worst ranking: Def/Pass (24)
If we were only ranking quarterback/passing offense and recent success, the Bengals would be in the top 3. There are numerous obstacles to overcome in the next two years, however, including how competitive it is in the AFC North, Joe Burrow’s health, the contract situation for Tee Higgins, and a defense that couldn’t get the job done last season, ranking 32nd in yards per pass attempt and 30th in yards per carry allowed. But they do score high in those other things.
Have you tried ranking the quarterbacks lately? It gets very hard to do outside of the top 10, if not the top 5. Try it. I put Deshaun Watson and company 19th, which seems high given how bad he’s been the past two seasons in Cleveland, but there aren’t a lot of attractive options behind him either and there is a strong supporting cast of coaches, offensive linemen, and skill players around him. By the way, the strongest correlation of any two categories is between “recent success” and “QB/passing play” so take that as you will. I don’t think saying that better quarterbacks win more games than average or bad quarterbacks will make your head explode.
In his previous stint as an NFL head coach, Jim Harbaugh took over a 6-10 team from Mike Singletary and went 13-3 in his first season. These Chargers are more talented than those 49ers, but Harbaugh didn’t have to worry about Patrick Mahomes back then. Still, look at the talent around Justin Herbert after adding Joe Alt, Ladd McConkey, Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, Will Dissly, D.J. Chark, and Hayden Hurst to an offense that wasn’t lacking in talent and you can see how L.A. might be a legitimate Super Bowl contender in 2025.
t7. Jacksonville Jaguars (Points: 97)
Overall ranking: t13 Best ranking: QB/Pass (8), DHS (8) Worst ranking: HC (19), Non-QB Roster (19)
The Jaguars are in a division they can win, with a head coach who has won a Super Bowl, and a defense that has two under-27 pass rushers who posted double-digit sacks in 2023. Can you believe the Jaguars have been to an AFC Championship game more recently than the Steelers?
The Dolphins are definitely more talented than some teams ranked ahead of them here, and Mike McDaniel is one of, if not the best, offensive play callers in the NFL. But Miami has to figure out how they can pay Tua Tagovailoa while keeping everyone else happy, as well as whether they even should pay Tua, plus many of their stars are either over 30 or will be soon. Are Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey going to be playing at the same high level next year, and can players like Terron Armstead, Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and Tua stay healthy? They have as much talent as they do uncertainty.
Yes, they have made the playoffs in three of the last four years and went 10-7 last season. They also haven’t won a playoff game since 2016 and they haven’t had a “really good” playoff win since beating the Ravens in the Divisional Round in 2010. Unless Russell Wilson is to the Steelers what Kurt Warner was to the Cardinals, Pittsburgh could have their first losing season since 2003 and they’re a fourth place team if Deshaun Watson is halfway decent for the Browns. But they got top-10 grades in coaching, non-QB roster, and defense.
If Aaron Rodgers is healthy and not on vacation during the regular season, the Jets roster is as good as it’s ever going to get. The offense gets four new offensive linemen (Tyron Smith, Olu Fashanu, Morgan Moses, John Simpson), two recent early draft picks to round the line out (Alijah Vera-Tucker, Joe Tippmann at center), plus the addition of Mike Williams as the No. 2 receiver.
That’s for 2024. So are they all-in? No, because even if Rodgers is slowing down next year, the Jets are projected to be sixth in cap space in 2025 and owner Woody Johnson has proven that he’s willing to overspend whatever it takes. Keep in mind, the Jets are only tied for 17th so this isn’t like predicting they’ll make it to the Super Bowl, they’re just higher on the list than Baker Mayfield and Kirk Cousins.
Between the Colts and the Saints, two teams I’ve got ranked third in their respective weak South divisions, I prefer head coach Shane Steichen to Dennis Allen. And though I’m far from sold on Anthony Richardson, he’s got plenty of upside while Derek Carr has none. I also wouldn’t be shocked if first-round edge rusher Laiatu Latu wastes no time in having an impact.
If firing Mike Vrabel was a bad decision, then why do I feel more optimistic about the Titans because of Brian Callahan? Probably because head coaches who call offensive plays are more in style than those who don’t. Is that fair or unfair? I’m not here to judge. The Titans might have the most room between their QB’s head and the ceiling though: Will Levis was too inconsistent as a rookie to be a starter, so Tennessee brought in Callahan to call the offense and signed Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd to catch passes, and also drafted a new tackle in J.C. Latham in the top 10.
The Broncos had the second-highest ranked head coach situation of any team in the bottom half of the list (I have Kevin O’Connell one spot ahead of Sean Payton), which tells you just how bad Denver looks on paper. I’m not going to criticize drafting Bo Nix, because it’s not that uncommon for a quarterback picked outside of the top 5 at the position to have success, but it would seem that a lot does hinge on that decision. However, the Broncos’ ranking isn’t really low because of Nix. They have a lot of projected starters “with something to prove” because they failed to gain or retain starting jobs on their previous teams, and it’s hard to imagine Denver finishing higher than third in either of the next two seasons.
After the Broncos fired Josh McDaniels in 2010, they reached five straight Divisional Round playoff games and two Super Bowls. Could Antonio Pierce provide a similar rebound in Las Vegas? Maybe only if Peyton Manning comes out of retirement and brings a time machine. (Those Broncos did win a playoff game with Tim Tebow, but this isn’t the 2011 AFC West.) It seems like the Raiders want to do as well as they can this season, then wait to see if Dak Prescott or Tua Tagovailoa becomes available next year. Teams won’t be going the draft route this time, tanking has no endgame, and I think the Raiders anticipate being the most aggressive team on the market in 2025 and that it’s highly probable that a big-name quarterback will change teams.
Left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor will be protecting quarterback Jacoby Brissett (pre-Drake Maye), throwing to Kendrick Bourne and Ja’Lynn Polk, with plays called by Alex Van Pelt, who was fired by the Browns in January. Even giving Maye a chance to prove he’s good in 2025, New England could be the worst offense in the NFL right now. Even if the Jets and Dolphins both collapse, will the Patriots beat the Bills or win an AFC Wild Card? Not likely before 2026.
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