FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 22nd, 2020

GREG SANKEY ON THE SEC FOOTBALL SEASON; ROGER BENNETT ON CHRISTIAN PULISIC — QUOTES FROM TODAY’S EPISODE OF THE RICH EISEN SHOW ON NBCSN

“The realities around this virus, economy, and culture will guide us in the decision-making process. I view this as a bit of a marathon where I don’t know exactly where the finish line has been placed, but I have to go mile-by-mile” – Greg Sankey on the possibility of a college football season

“It’s good news for America and a remarkable moment to feel good about something, even if it’s just for a minute.” – Roger Bennett on Christian Pulisic’s goal-scoring return yesterday for Chelsea

“If the league tries to get money back from the players and the players dig in and say no, that could create an impasse. I don’t think it’s going to get to that point though.” – Mike Florio on salary cap discussions between the NFL and NFLPA

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 22, 2020 – Host Rich Eisen was joined on today’s episode of The Rich Eisen Show on NBCSN by:

    • SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey
    • Men in Blazers’ Roger Bennett
    • Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio

 

Following are highlights from The Rich Eisen Show on NBCSN:

Greg Sankey on the 2020 SEC Football season: “I’m focused on the preparation because the realities around this virus, economy, and culture will guide us in the decision-making process. I view this as a bit of a marathon where I don’t know exactly where the finish line has been placed, but I have to go mile-by-mile…We now have reports last week of quarantines and positive tests as soon as young people came back from the three-plus months away. We’ve had plans established on how we handle those realities. We want to treat people well and find them the right kind of health care.”

Sankey on financial implications of the college football season: “My focus has been communicated on playing football as scheduled, but the real answer to that question is the circumstances around the virus are going to guide us. The background of the observations made is the financial issues…We stopped our Spring which has an economic reality, but we made the decision around the health of the participants. We are going to have to learn how to live with COVID, if you will. That doesn’t mean we are going to make rash or inappropriate decisions…The reality, and we’re seeing it in our economy every day, is that when you disrupt the activity on which an enterprise is based, that has implications, and all of us have a responsibility to think through those hypotheticals. But at the end of the day, we want to play football. I believe our participants want to play football.”

Sankey on the timeline of mandatory football training for the SEC: “I think that’s probably a late-July time period. My thinking has shifted a bit…We’ll have three-to-four weeks on the 14th of July when a little bit of practice can begin and (we) deserve to see how that progresses. Before we get into full-blown practice, you are going to be in that decision-making process on how it relates to Labor Day weekend and the schedule for the start of the season.”

Sankey on the difficulties of interconference play: “That’s one of the complexities ahead for college football that’s different than the professional conversation. The best example I can give is to go back at March where we made independent decisions to stop our basketball tournaments, but came to the same conclusions. The results of what’s happened among the autonomy of the conferences is those of us in the Power Five…we talk every day and have medical committees that talk every week, which will be a big part in guiding us forward.”

Sankey on minimizing recruiting during the Summer: “All of us (Power Five Commissioners) came to the conclusion pretty quickly that the less recruiting during this summer time period, the better. The idea that the coaches are traveling around and we’re flying people into campuses right now, (it’s) not exactly the right approach. We may be able to do it now, but let’s slow it down to keep people healthy.”

Roger Bennett on the Premier League resuming without any fans in the stadium: “Every single commissioner of every sports league in America is watching to see if it would be enough with this new fan-less reality. It was different to watch the players trot around an empty stadium. It was definitely, from an American perspective, less theatrics certainly with no crowds to play for.”

Bennett, an Everton fan, on the Liverpool-Everton rivalry: “Everton is a bit like Auburn to Liverpool’s Alabama. Liverpool is a mighty team that, when I grew up, would win titles by right. My whole childhood would be watching (Liverpool) bring trophy after trophy back to the city. Everton has had their moments, but not so much. What’s remarkable is that Liverpool hasn’t won a title in 30 years.”

Bennett on Christian Pulisic return from injury and scoring Chelsea’s first goal in their win against Aston Villa: “He’s been injured and hasn’t played since January 1. What’s remarkable is he didn’t start and (he) came into the game when his team was one  down…in the 55th minute. Within four minutes, he made a run to the far post, jabbed the ball home — his seventh (goal) of the season. From an American football perspective, he’s our lord and savior. From a world football perspective, he’s just another good player fighting for minutes.”

Bennett on Pulisic’s return: “It’s good news for America and a remarkable moment to feel good about something, even if it’s just for a minute. Christian Pulisic, a 21-year-old from Hershey, Pa. who moved to Chelsea Football Club…He started poorly, struggled, and then out of nowhere started scoring.”

Bennett on Christian Pulisic’s playing style: “When you watch him play, he plays a little bit like a point guard in the NBA. Just finding slivers of space, changing pace, incredible bursts of speed, and really hurt opponents.”

Mike Florio on reports of Cowboys QB Dak Prescott planning to sign his franchise tag today: “It’s kind of a surprise because he was so dug in and the impression we got is that he wants his long-term contract by July 15 and if they don’t give it to him, he’s potentially going to stay away from training camp and preseason. Bottom line is the quarterback has to be ready to go. In his mind, this is a contract year just like last year was. Last year was a contract for $2 million, this year is a contract for $31.4 million, but it’s still a contract year. He needs to have a good year. He has a new coach, a new approach and new everything.”

Florio on salary cap discussions between the NFL and the NFLPA potentially impacting the 2020 season: “If the league tries to get money back from the players and the players dig in and say no, that could create an impasse. I don’t think it’s going to get to that point though. At the end of the day, they will work out the money…Next year is where the conversation gets interesting as to what the salary cap will be in light of what the impact on the cap is as a result to this year’s reduced revenue.”

Florio on NFL training camp reporting dates and participation: “I think we will know shortly after the Fourth of July. It’s time for some agreements to be reached by the league and the union. I have heard talk about the possibility of letting players opt out if they are just not comfortable for whatever reason. If they are not comfortable being in that environment and don’t want to potentially affect family members, or they have prior health conditions like Patrick Peterson with diabetes or James Conner, who fought cancer. I think there’s going to be an allowance for those people that aren’t comfortable going forward in this climate.”

Florio on extension talks between the Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson: “After July 15, the next guy to watch is Deshaun Watson. I’m told that he wants a two-year extension on the two years he has left with the Texans, and that he is likely to get it. Usually teams don’t do extensions that short.”

Florio on extensions for NFL quarterbacks: “I think the dominoes will go (Dak) Prescott, then (Deshaun) Watson, and then (Patrick) Mahomes. Even if Prescott doesn’t do a deal, Watson wants to see what Prescott does because I think he’s going to take Prescott’s deal and say, ‘Give me that plus X on top of it.’ Then Mahomes will be the one that just blows everyone out of the water, and I think that’s coming before the season starts.”

–NBC SPORTS–