Welcome to our weekly column where we look at all things NFL from our regular NFL tipster and Rugby League raconteur Nick Tedeschi. He will look at the good, the bad and the ugly of the NFL, holding back no punches.
When Going for Two Is Moronic
Buffalo had played completely busted football against Philadelphia for three quarters yet somehow managed to get back within a point with five seconds to play when Sean McDermott made the utterly moronic decision to go for two. Josh Allen had made some horrific plays all night. He was clearly playing hurt. Buffalo had all the momentum. They were at home. They were favourites. Going for two made absolutely no sense and has cost the Bills any hope of a division win and has surely increased the chances of McDermott losing the gig as Bills boss.
The Best Incentives To Bet in Week 18
Nothing incentives like cold hard cash and as we enter Week 18 here are five players to bet on:
Stefon Diggs – 8-plus receptions: Needs 8 to get to the next level of his bonus
Dawson Knox – TD: Need a TD and seven yards to earn $300k.
Hunter Henry – 5-plus receptions: Needs 5 to get a $250k bonus.
Sam Darnold – 3-plus TD passes: Needs 28 for the season to earn $500k
Deebo Samuel – 2-plus TDs: Needs 8 for $250k
The History of Franchise Purchase Costs
Today all 32 NFL franchises are valued at $4.7 billion dollars or more. Some franchises remain in the hands of the family that originally purchased them. Others have been sold this century with 12 sales since 2000. Here is what your owner purchased your team for:
Paid A Pittance
Green Bay – $50 in 1923 by Packers, Inc
Chicago – $100 by George Halas/McCaskey family in 1920
New York Giants – $500 by Mara family in 1925
Pittsburgh – $2500 by Rooney family in 1933
Arizona – $5000 by Bidwill family n 1933
AFL Bargains
Kansas City – $25,000 by Hunt family in 1960
Tennessee – $25,000 by Adams family in 1960
Las Vegas – $180,000 by Davis family in 1966
Got in Early
Detroit – $4.5m by Ford family in 1964
Cincinnati – $7.5m by Brown family in 1967
Indianapolis – $15m by Irsay family in 1972
San Francisco – $13m by DeBartolo/York family in 1977
Late Last Century: The First Boom
LA Chargers – $70m by Spanos family in 1984
New Orleans – $70m by Benson family in 1985
Dallas – $140m by Jerry Jones in 1989
New England – $172m by Robert Kraft in 1994
Philadelphia – $185m by Jeffrey Lurie in 1994
Tampa Bay – $192m by Glazer family in 1995
Seattle – $194m by Allen Trust in 1997
The Era of the Uber-Rich
Houston – $700m in 1999 by McNair family
NY Jets – $635m in 2000 by Woody Johnson
Atlanta – $545m in 2002 by Arthur Blank
Baltimore – $600m in 2004 by Steve Bisciotti
Minnesota – $600m in 2005 by Zygi Wilf
LA Rams – $750m in 2010 by Stan Kroenke
Jacksonville – $770m in 2012 by Shahid Khan
Cleveland – $987m in 2012 by Jimmy Haslam
The Billionaires Club
Miami – $1.1b by Stephen Ross in 2009
Buffalo – $1.4b by Terry Pegula in 2014
Carolina – $2.27b by David Tepper in 2018
Denver- $4.65b by Walton-Penner Group in 2022
Washington – $6.05b by Josh Harris in 2023
Week 17 Bad Beat Power Rankings
No sport lends itself to cruel beats more than American football. Here are the worst for Week 17:
2. Tennessee +3.5: The Titans led 26-20 with seven minutes to play getting 3.5 points but moronically conceded two touchdown to lose 34-26 and not cover.
1. Indianapolis +5.5: The Colts led most of the game against their division rivals Jacksonville and led by three inside the final 30 seconds when Cam Little kicked a 53-yard field goal to get the minus home.
Punter Stat of the Week
Minnesota Vikings punter Ryan Wright has the longest punt of the season with 77 yards.
Fun Fact #1
Wan’dale Robinson is poised to become the first receiver 5’8” or shorter to catch for 1000 yards. The average height of an adult American male in 1958 was 5’8”. It is 5’10” in 2025.
Fun Fact #2
The LA Rams are the shortest team in the NFL this season. The Washington Commanders are the tallest.
Fun Fact #3
The tallest player in the NFL this year is Detroit Lion Dan Skipper. The shortest player is Dallas Cowboy Deuce Vaughn.
Read It
Mike Holmgren was one of the great teachers in NFL history, an iconic coach who won a Super Bowl at Green Bay and then took Seattle to the big dance. Here is a wonderful piece from Greg Bishop of the Seattle Times about how he went from the classroom to one of the great football teachers. Read it here.https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/the-classroom-history-of-mr-holmgren/
Watch It
Of all the players John Madden loved, there was no player he had more affection for than Brett Favre. Here is the unquestioned king of Madden impersonators Frank Caliendo paying homage to Favre. Watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXGVzNPruzU