Local NFL agent and former Terps football player Chad Wiestling tells Nestor about his passion for sports, his players at heart of his work and why he loves the Baltimore Orioles so much on the Maryland Crab Cake Tour at Kooperโs Tavern in Fells Point at Oyster Fest.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
players, nfl, years, kids, gambling, orioles, pearl jam, league, agent, week, chad, game, baseball, win, quarterback, people, team, pete rose, reporter, represent
SPEAKERS
Chad Wiestling, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:00
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T, toss of Baltimore, Baltimore, positive. We are positively down here in beautiful Fells Point. Sunโs trying to come out. We got rock and roll bands everywhere. Springsteenโs in town. Sticks is in town. Lake Street dives in town. Pearl Jam still hung over. I thought Iโd be hung over today, but just a little rock and roll hung over. Great set list with Pearl Jam on Thursday night, ravens taking on Raiders. If you listening to this on the other end of that, we will not be talking about that game in its entirety. We had Dave shining here for about two hours talking Olympics, baseball, football, rock and roll. Chad was links here. He is a Black Label sports, which he is an NFL agent to the stars. Give me your current roster and name the players that people would know, other than Josh Jacobs. Youโre kind of famous for him, but who are the other players you represent
Chad Wiestling 00:46
right now? I have Anthony ever heโs with Pittsburgh Steelers, okay? Anthony Jennings, linebacker for the New England Patriots, all right. Mitch for brony with the Denver Broncos. Long snapper extraordinaire, so and then yadney could just, he just got, heโs on injured reserve right now. Get a bunch of guys that are injured, you know. So, you know, Josh Jacobs right now, currently is my biggest one. I had Mohamed Wilkerson, obviously, a few years ago, another franchise player with the New York Jets. So, you know, he just, sometimes I gotta remember who else,
Nestor Aparicio 01:24
why ask you, you know, you 1012, players, 15 players, like thereโs a stable that you have is a really small boutique agent, and then thereโs the Jerry Maguire. And then, you know, Iโve been privy to Lee Steinbergโs operation in Dawn and back in the day, where it felt like they had the quarterbacks, or they had a bigger stable, 2000 players in the league, 1800 players
Chad Wiestling 01:47
in the league. How many like that? Yeah. I
Nestor Aparicio 01:49
know Lamar famously went up represented, but 98% of them represented by a guy like you. 99 oh yeah, 100% and like a lot of guys like you just said, after all these years with silver hair, like, Iโm just going to take on 10 guys at a time, not an agency where Iโm trying to get 60 and having 15 representatives, because at the end of the day, when you meet these kids and their mommies and their daddies and their wives and their families, they want to have you on the back that Jerry Maguire thingโs important, and you can only be Jerry Maguire for so many People, right 100% and, you
Chad Wiestling 02:22
know, being in this business, as long as I have itโs Iโve had the luxury of kind of learning, going through ups and downs, and figuring out, okay, getting to a point, Iโve had some big players, obviously have done pretty well. So Iโve had the luxury of being able, now, at this point in my 50s, to be able to say, what do I really want to deal with, you know, do I want to, you know, everybody is, you know, thereโs good people out there, obviously, good players that want to play football, and thatโs important to them. And then, of course, then thereโs the players that, you know, want to do the other stuff off the field, and theyโre more interested in, you know, maybe some of the partying and all the other stuff, the social aspect, social aspect of it, and not really, you know. And I
Nestor Aparicio 03:02
havenโt said theyโre interested in being a player, not in playing. Yeah,
Chad Wiestling 03:06
I just had to sit for this discussion last night with a family in person here in Baltimore, where it was like, you know, a lot of these players are always listen. Theyโre in the NFL there, or have a chance that the big man on campus in college, theyโve always been the superstar. They theyโve always, everythingโs always been given to them, you know, as far as not just, you know, the opportunity, but whether itโs free food, free whatever, because everythingโs been given to them. Now, they get to the NFL and they think they can still cruise like that. Theyโre still, you know, going to get everything for free and, and now youโre playing with some men, you know, you get up in the NFL, and thereโs some men up there, and, you know, thatโs why the mental aspect of it is very important for players. Because, you know, if youโre, if you got to change this level, you got the physical ability, you know, you got the athletic the God given athletic ability. Itโs the one, the mental toughness that, hey, are the guy who the guyโs going to fight, who the guyโs going to keep, you know, want to be there. Want to, you know, want to do the extra to stay healthy, stay stay in the league as long as possible. And you see, some of the guys are just, you know, theyโre, theyโre drafted or high or whatever, just because of their ability. But then, you know, they canโt handle it mentally. You know, they want to get knocked down. And theyโre like, oh, you know, this is a little bit too tough for me. Or, you know, you know what theyโre thinking. So the point of that is, is, you know, Iโve, Iโve tried to kind of be more selective on who you know, I work with, because not Iโm not for everybody, and everybodyโs not for me, you know. And thatโs Iโve learned that Exactly, exactly, exactly. So, you know, you kind of do your best youโre not, you know, do your best to kind of weed out, you know, the ones that arenโt right for me, and vice versa, and, and be more selective, and who I work with, and, and, you know, listen, like, as I said earlier, if I had one superstar quarterback, thatโs all, you know, thatโs all I need, right? Well, I mean, like Josh, especially, especially with, with the money theyโre making nowadays, when
Nestor Aparicio 04:58
the Packers are playing on a. One day you got three, four kids playing at various times. I mean, thereโs a piece of your soul involved in this, right? I mean, when, when your kid gets hurt, itโs the worst. Itโs, this is your brother,
Chad Wiestling 05:10
literally, right? 100% Yeah. These are, yeah. These are, this is my family, right? Yeah. You know weโve been through. You know when you, you know when youโre recruiting them since college now, nowadays, I mean, as you were talking about NHL stuff, I mean, thatโs changed the whole game. So, I mean, now people are, you know, you can represent high school kids. Now, if you want to,
Nestor Aparicio 05:28
what, what? How has it changed and how are, how could you make money on it? How could you dive into it if you wanted to deal with 16 and 17 year old kids transfer? I mean, it seems to me to be even a greasier, more difficult business than ever, even the AAU money bag part of the basketball side of it. I donโt understand the football side of how Alabama and these big programs would handle young players, but it freaked me out a little bit during preseason, they were trying to help the Terp sell tickets. Your Terps Loxley was on the pregame with Sandusky, whatever. Heโs like, weโre paying these kids straight cash now, homie, weโre paying him straight cash. And Iโm thinking, thatโs just weird, right? Heโs there in a turtle outfit with kids in Under Armor gear on the field in an NFL game, saying weโre paying these kids cash, cash money for the it was like a wrestling shoot to me, like, I look like, literally, and Iโm like, and I like Loxley and whatever, and I used comments last week and all that. No, you, you got a turf part and all that. But Iโm thinking, I donโt even know, as a journalist, I donโt understand it, and Iโm trying to, so maybe you could bring me up, yeah, I
Chad Wiestling 06:35
mean, itโs basically, thatโs exactly what I was gonna say. Itโs the Wild Wild West, soon as it got passed. And I, you know, everyone kind of knew it was coming, but not necessarily how it was going to work. And as soon as got passed, itโs like, hey, you know the you know, thatโs why all these schools that are starting their own initiatives and raise fundraisers and getting all this money, because so they have to get the top players. And with the transfer portal, way it is, youโre buying these, but also
Nestor Aparicio 06:58
put putting some railings in to say, whose money where? Whatโs the expectation this sub shops giving this kid five grand and heโs flunking out of class? I mean, like, thereโs just the unintended consequences. I donโt even know what they are. Where to even begin. The unintended consequences is, everybody in this bar, including you, who loves the Terps, is like, Whoโs that kid? Whoโs that kid? Whatโs the transfer portal? How do I latch on to anybody? How long is this kid gonna be here? Whether itโs football, basketball, lacrosse, boys, girls, menโs, women, whatever. Like, Iโm blown away by the fact that itโs unmarketable to me, unless you just love Alabama, like trying to market the young people, when thereโs no promise theyโre going to be here tomorrow, and then they got to go to class too. Theyโre serving a lot of masters, dude, you know, 17 year old, 18 year old kids. Itโs,
Chad Wiestling 07:50
well, these, these college sports. Now itโs professional because, I mean, it used to be, you know, just you had the eight coaches, or whatever it is. Now you have a recruiting coordinator, transfer guy. You have a whole scouting department with all these, you know universities, the bag man on campus, right, right? So you know theyโre following the transfer portal and theyโre reaching out. You know, whether theyโre supposed to or not, I donโt know, but you know theyโre reaching out these others, you know, these other schools or these players, because the train, itโs free agency every year. Itโs free agency every year in college, you
Nestor Aparicio 08:20
know. But if youโre a kid, whoโs your agent, your parents, or do they find a guy like you? Well, you
Chad Wiestling 08:25
know, I havenโt, I donโt know if theyโre, I mean, we can work with them, and I l only so we can, I mean, we can actually sign players in college, high school, and itโs n, i l only that weโre supposed to be able to work with them. But come on, you know, itโs, you know, you know thatโs kind of the wild wild west. Well,
Nestor Aparicio 08:41
the same Josh Jacobs is the same kid that itโs 16 or 17 was going to be Josh Jacobs this time around, heโs going to Alabama, and Alabamaโs willing to pay him, right? Literally, yeah, yeah. And thatโs happened in a minute, yeah, yeah. Just think, from a financial standpoint, being youโre in the space of representing players, thereโs an opportunity there for you. If you see it, youโre already saying, like, Iโm having a hard enough time with 2122 23 year old adults trying to keep them healthy, get them to work, identify them. Doing that for 16 or 70 year olds, feels like a whole different level of a guy like you or a gal like you that would want to represent those
Chad Wiestling 09:17
people, right? Oh, yeah, no. Itโs, itโs, you know, itโs always been a part of the game, you know, like, when you the top players, you know, Iโm talking about being the agent here, getting, you know, recruiting the college players. Itโs always been a part of the game. Or, you know, you had in the back of your mind the top players, okay, whether they were, there was stuff going on, you know, beforehand. Or, you know, once they signed, then you have to, like, said, You have to train them, you know, once you sign, if youโre fortunate enough to sign the players, you have to basically support them for up until the draft, and sometimes more than that. And you know, so you have to have be able to, okay, is this the right player? Are you we sure? You know, are
Nestor Aparicio 09:51
you sure heโs going to make youโre making a true financial investment. Yeah,
Chad Wiestling 09:55
Iโm investing. You know, 50, 6070, may sometimes depend more than that. 100. $1,000 into one guy, you know, hoping that heโs gonna first off. You gotta hope he stays with you, right? He could fire you, you know. And then, you know, thatโs why thereโs, thereโs protections, but you know, then you gotta take him to court. Thatโs more, you know, thatโs all that other stuff. So you gotta be really selective and and do the best you can to, like I said, you know, learn the family. Learn the kid, you know. See, what you know, what you know, what they really need, and really they donโt need anything. I mean, I mean, itโs other than the training and stuff. But, you know, I always tell them, like, listen, youโve made it this far, you know, Iโm gonna, Iโm gonna help you. You know, youโre gonna be, youโre gonna be fine, you know. But you know, but you know, nowadays, these kids are like, Oh, I gotta go to this academy. Oh, yeah. And it used to be, you know, this, back in the day, it used to be just a few, you know, few spots throughout the country, and, you know, where the top players went to train. And it was pretty, you know, Atlanta, Scottsdale, they went to this basically, you know, now, of course, thereโs these big, mega complexes, and you gotta have the juice bar, you gotta have the massage therapist, you gotta have the acupuncturist. You got, you got to have all this stuff, and whoโs paying for it? The agents, yeah, so itโs, you know, you had, like I said, thatโs why I wonder he
Nestor Aparicio 11:09
likes baseball, and you just take your mind off. I mean, while this aggravation you you guys deal with Chad I, I hope the Orioles win for you, yeah, or Iron Maiden shows up.
Chad Wiestling 11:19
I saw there, got me. Iโll be there. Iโll be there.
Nestor Aparicio 11:21
What shows you seen lately? Your music? Man, yeah, Iโm
Chad Wiestling 11:24
trying to say lately Iโve been going a lot of
Nestor Aparicio 11:27
shows this summer. Man, yeah, see Brian Adamson. Who do the blowfish? Iโve seen it just I saw the stones this summer, right? I know Iโve seen, saw Bruce last week, saw Pearl Jam last night. I saw Pearl Jam earlier in the summer. So Iโll be getting out a little. I
Chad Wiestling 11:39
mean, I saw all, I went, I did a, I did a guyโs trip with some executives in the NFL, actually, because I know Steven Piercy. So, okay, yeah, so we went out to Tulsa, out of all places in May, it was like, hey, you know, was like, Hey, letโs
Nestor Aparicio 11:53
go rat fest. Yeah,
Chad Wiestling 11:54
what was it? Was heโs playing, you know, itโs like, the 4/30, 35th, year of the seller. So heโs playing so,
Nestor Aparicio 12:01
loving journey job.
Chad Wiestling 12:03
So him saw Pantera when he when they were in town here, all right, you know, itโs, Iโm trying to, I
Nestor Aparicio 12:10
peg you on Pantera. I had that, yeah, yeah, you know, Green Day, no, 311 youโre not, youโre not young. I can, I
Chad Wiestling 12:17
can. I can deal with it. I can deal with it. But Iโm, you know, more of a, you know, kind of the old school, heavier stuff. You know that thatโs, thatโs me. I mean, I, you know, Iโll travel to go see Guns and Roses, of course, and Metallica that, you know, the usuals, which I have. I went to Montana a couple years ago, out of the blue, just to see Guns and Roses. I was like, Guys, go to Montana. I
Nestor Aparicio 12:37
saw him in her, she canโt sing, dude. I know I left, I like, it felt like Axel was killing. He was murdering, you know, Guns and Roses music to me, like I said to my wife, I we gotta go. Yeah, itโs just, this is, and thatโs the only time Iโve ever really left the show early,
Chad Wiestling 12:54
right? Yeah, no, itโs, itโs, itโs, itโs tough, you know, I give him credit because heโs still out there, but, you know, trying. But then again, itโs like some of their songs, or some of those notes, like, yeah, you know,
Nestor Aparicio 13:06
itโs just not good enough, yeah, yeah.
Chad Wiestling 13:08
Then you look like, like, Bon Jovi, what do you think about that situation? Like, you know, thereโs
Nestor Aparicio 13:12
a document he canโt, yeah, he
Chad Wiestling 13:14
canโt sing anymore. I mean, hit those notes like, we had to have, you know, throat surgery. So itโs kind of, you know, itโs not the same. Well, I
Nestor Aparicio 13:21
was talking to shining about this, like, because I called Pearl Jam the greatest rock band in the world today, and so thatโs the stones. Iโm like, no, no, no. That would be like saying Cal Ripken stole the great, you know, like, thereโs a time, but Pearl Jamโs still in their prime to me, you know, like, if you saw the glass, that theyโre young enough and vibrant enough that youโre getting their best version. No offense, that knows Lofgren or little Steven or Bruce, it was better 20 years ago. Theyโre 80 years old, you know? I mean, it just is what it is. Itโs not not good, but theyโve learned a different way to do it right. And itโs, itโs great. I mean, itโs worth going to. I went and saw it last week, but, but guns, no, dude, no, no. I just I like, I love slash. I love Chad wastelings. Here, he is an NFL agent to the stars. But more importantly, weโre gonna move from our NFL portion of the programming to the baseball side, because he wants talk Orio baseball. All
Chad Wiestling 14:13
right, can we do it?
Nestor Aparicio 14:14
Well, do you ask me this? Of course, they can do it. I Iโm confident that theyโre gonna get some semblance of health, right? I think Rodriguez could pitch a little bit. I think cologne will pitch a little bit. Webbโs already throwing. He might be back by the time people hear this next week. So Iโm feeling like, however the Yankee thing goes next week, weโll judge that, and there might be a brawl for all I know, right? Iโm sure. But boys
Chad Wiestling 14:39
will be boys, the first inside pitch is gonna come. You missed my
Nestor Aparicio 14:44
status after the bench is clear. Two months ago, I wrote the boys of dumber. I thought that was good, because you are pretty dumb if youโre trying to get hurt before the playoffs, over your fifis. You know what I mean? Like, same thing with you in the NFL. You donโt punch the guy. Youโre out next week, you lose. To check. Donโt do that. You know, we donโt hurt the team. Donโt do that. Right for me, with the Orioles, youโre hitting a
Chad Wiestling 15:05
guy with a helmet. I
Nestor Aparicio 15:05
donโt care what right with your hand. I donโt care what happens the next three weeks. I mean, they can be five and 12 down the stretch. Game one burns goes out, gives you six innings. Henderson, itโs a home run. They donโt kick the ball, but kicking the ball around and swinging the bad pitches in general, not getting on base over the last 60 days. Itโs just a different team than it was in May. You know, when Kobe mayo and Jackson holiday are out there, itโs not what it was in May. Itโs a different cast of characters, yeah? And I think youโve given me this with your energy, you have a different expectation. You thought they were winning the World Series June 1. Now all of a sudden, youโre like, itโll be a miracle if they win, because theyโve been so injured, right? Well, yeah,
Chad Wiestling 15:54
itโs, you know, the injuries, the injuries are brutal. Obviously, itโs part of the game and, and thatโs what baffles me, is like, how are all these, you know, with all these analytics now and Nestor, itโs like, you know, the spin rate, you know, they would measure how hard every pitch, like, how hard, how hard the ball comes off the bat, the angle, itโs crazy, but something like, how, why are all these pitchers tearing you know, theyโre
Nestor Aparicio 16:17
not doing the science of the physiology, of what A human body can and canโt do, right? And what? Torque? Spin rate, spin rate, spin rate. Theyโre not, theyโre not doing what itโs doing to arms and elbows. And there are people that are really smart that arenโt changing this. You know, we put seat belts on in cars because people were dying. You change the technique, right? You know? Yeah, you have to change something to slow down the speed limit, especially for kids. I mean, my wifeโs got a friend whose kids, 16 years old, got Tommy John surgery, and when youโre 16, apparently itโs like, like a sissy test, like being a rock star and having long hair. So it was like, well, everybody gets it. So now Iโm a real pitcher, if Iโve had time, oh yeah. What? Youโre 16,
Chad Wiestling 16:57
right? Right? Yeah. Well, Iโve actually, unfortunately, you know, I just had shoulder replacement four weeks ago, and that my doctor, Iโve always picked his brain about it, but you were football player, yeah, this is football injury, football Yeah, yeah. Itโs, Iโm getting surgeries now to fix the surgeries I had 35 years ago, okay, but theyโre less invasive, right? Oh, yeah, great. Itโs great, right? I donโt know why I waited so long, but anyhow, he told me. Heโs like, I wonโt do it unless itโs a legitimate, like, you know, draftable guy thatโs going, you know, in the being drafted, going into minors and have a chance. He said he wonโt. He wonโt do Tommy John surgery on high school kids. Heโs like, itโs ridiculous. Because every kid, every parent, now wants, hey, you know, how about you
Nestor Aparicio 17:36
stop throwing the ball? How about we do that for a year? How about you get healthy? How about you fix your arm? Yeah, because youโre going to want to pick it up over your you over your head when youโre 40, right?
Chad Wiestling 17:44
Oh, yeah. 100% Yeah. And itโs just like, you know, like, thatโs why I brought the analytics. Like, you know, got to get the spin rate and throw the sweeper and all these new pitchers and stuff. Itโs like, I donโt know, you know, I just like going to game watching. What
Nestor Aparicio 17:56
do you love about baseball, man? Because youโre in the business of football. Youโre in the business of these players. And you really are emotional about the base,
Chad Wiestling 18:08
you know, itโs one of those, you know, listen, thereโs, itโs such a long season. But just, you know, was, and Iโll speak for the Orioles man, itโs been being a lifelong fan, been up and down and down and down, and then, you know, kind of start climbing up, climbing up. So, you know, you stick with them. You know, at least I have you just, you know, wherever Iโve lived, whether Iโve lived, I lived in Chicago, I lived in, you know, Houston, and when the bad years and Iโd be wearing
Nestor Aparicio 18:31
my ownership, I mean, youโre really smart guy. You know what awful leadership looks like. I mean, youโve had players sign with bad teams in the NFL where youโre like, look, thatโs a thatโs an ish show. Itโs terrible, but this is where youโre gonna make 600 grand this year. Youโre gonna go play football there, right? Be it backup safety or whatever you represent. The baseball sign for me is, as a thinking, sentient human, I canโt process things like Donald Trump that donโt make any sense to me, but things like the Orioles and Peter Angeloโs over 30 years, and how the community was treated, and how not just me. I mean, I go and not just Mike Flanagan. Iโm just talking like players, agents, people, businesses. I mean, the Angelos thing was just so awful for the city, for in every way that I Iโve detached myself from that part of it as a journalist, and I have a closet full of Orioles stuff, and I want him to win. I need him to win. Good for everybody. Terrell Sugg said to me a couple years ago, you know, you like when we lose, Iโm like, Dude, you clearly you have a lousy PR director, and I would tell him that if he were here, because they shouldnโt be telling you that your agent shouldnโt be the Baltimore media does not in any way ever root against the Orioles of the rave. Iโm almost not allowed to, even though they squatted on me. But thereโs a point for you being smart about it in realizing they werenโt even trying for a long time. You know what? I mean? Like being that frustrating part of being a fan is one thing. Youโre on a different level, where you know payroll, you know personnel, you know intentions, you know good leadership, quality leadership. The Orioles really lacked all of that in many, many ways, for
Chad Wiestling 20:13
most of our Oh, yeah, yeah, itโs hard, you know, itโs hard, usually, like, from the NFL standpoint, you know, it can go it all starts from the top. You know, that, you know. And so thatโs why the teams that always have the turnover every two, three years. I mean, theyโre the, itโs the same usual suspects. Itโs the same teams, you know. And theyโre the, you know, theyโre not. Theyโre the ones that are donโt have the good organization. So the good friend, he
Nestor Aparicio 20:35
canโt say heโs talking about the browns, but I canโt. But anyway, right? You
Chad Wiestling 20:38
know. But you know, when itโs the owner, you know, like, fix that. You canโt fix it. So, you know, Iโll speak for myself, it was just like, you know, hey, you just take it. They just taking shots to the face every year. Like, ah, here comes another year. Like, because, you know, theyโre not spending money, or theyโre making bad decisions, or, you know, just putting a bad product out on the field and treating the fans or whatever, like crap. Itโs like, man, but itโs coming from the owner, you know. So, you know, thatโs tough, you know.
Nestor Aparicio 21:05
So weโre trying to figure who this guy is, right now, right? And I think heโs such a slippery chameleon of a human that I think youโll be able to be whatever you want him to be, right? You know, if you like the guy throwing the hats out and the Mr. Magoo look, and that whole, you know, Steve Martin thing, thatโs good. I think for most fans, you just want to see him win. And part of that when they raised the ticket price a couple weeks ago, that that that got to my doorstep, that they were cutting rewards off of people and stuff. And not everybodyโs an NFL agent, you just write the check and you say, okay, Iโm good. I have friends that are hard pressed to make 13 game plans in Dundalk, and they love the Orioles more than you, right? And theyโve been going long. But longer than youโve been going. And theyโre getting priced, you know what I mean? And theyโre gonna get, they already know they canโt go to the playoff games, right? So they already know theyโre not gonna drink
Chad Wiestling 21:50
the wine. Same thing with the, as we said earlier, about, like, the NFL, like, how about the prices of those games? You know, Iโll go to games, and Iโm just going by myself and use my tickets for free for my player. And Iโll be, Iโll be watching, you know, kids, you know, like parents walking in with their three, four kids, $1,200 night. Yeah, Iโm just like, you got to pay 100 you know, 50 bucks for parking, and, you know, all, and Iโve said it for years,
Nestor Aparicio 22:11
Iโm like, How does, whereโs the end? Where is it, right? And then not now, I
Chad Wiestling 22:16
got to pay, you know, now we got to pay an extra, you know, whatever, eight bucks a month to watch a game, you know, on each each platform, you know, whatever, whether itโs YouTube, prime, Amazon Prime, whatever, peacock, peacock, yeah, whatever it is. Iโm like, I mean, not gonna pay some more to watch a game. I mean, itโs like, well, thatโs
Nestor Aparicio 22:33
where itโs going, because the media modelโs gone away. So the fans, right this last couple of weeks are getting that first taste of, yeah, you want the game on television, you can almost have to pay, like you used to pay to go, right? Itโs going to be $500 a year just to have NFL games, right, you know. And then theyโre going to charge 1999 for the Super Bowl too, you know, yeah?
Chad Wiestling 22:52
Like, the good thing about baseball is thereโs so many games. Itโs like, yeah, you know, you can, sometimes you can get some
Nestor Aparicio 22:58
cheap tickets to see the ALI fight was go to the closed circuit, right? You know, they restricted all that. And the only way to get the mike tyson fight was to pay HBO and to buy the 5999 Wrestlemania. Get everybody over to the house. We all chip in 10 bucks, right? Get a kegger. Like, I donโt know how that model is going to work, because, to my point, earlier, the NFL went away from me on Thursday night. I forgot they were playing because I had $212 because I had $212 into a Pearl Jam ticket. And I just really didnโt care about the dolphins and the bills. And I saw Bills fan back here. I gave a lottery ticket to a couple minutes ago, and Iโm like, didnโt even know it was happening, because, like, my schedule, my cadence, isnโt on Friday night football or Thursday night football. And you know, Sundays is a thereโs a lot of investment in Sundays for people to take the whole day. Iโm down. I love the league. I love the game. Iโm an expert on the game. Iโm historian. All of that Iโm watching, but I am wondering, like, where, where does it jump the shark? Where does it get too much that, and the gambling part of it is just, yeah, how about that? Thatโs a whole new thing for Yeah, yeah. I see your frustration on that, right? But it
Chad Wiestling 24:02
says, well, itโs just kind of, you know, the league is, they always are hypocritical, and a lot of stuff, itโs like, for so long, it was taboo. Weโre never going to be in Vegas all the legs, all the legs. And now itโs like, oh, okay, it got passed. And now they, you know, welcome it. And you know, itโs just a free for all out there. And then, you know, then now they got worried about players, you know, gambling and all. I always joked
Nestor Aparicio 24:22
that if I was gambling on sports all those years, they would have taken my press pass. But they did anyway, and I never get that would have been the ultimate if Chad Steele would have caught me running numbers in the locker room. That would have been a scar. That would have been a reason to throw me, yeah, would have been a reason to throw me out. Is if I was trying to figure out if Joe Flacco was hurt or not, so I could bet on it. And the notion that anything like that chicanery would have been going on would have been a death knell to my it would have been like being Bub wiser sponsored to get into DUI. Just would have been the end of my career. Oh, yeah, like literally and now. All time they have literally players in on it. I mean, Iโm seeing LeBron James doing gambling ads. Iโm like, is he still playing right? Like, Iโm like, remember, you couldnโt do beer ads, smoking, they couldnโt do anything. Cannabis is another thing, right? Yeah,
Chad Wiestling 25:12
yeah, thatโll be next right now. I mean, at least for the NFL, they canโt promote CBD or like or cannabis, but
Nestor Aparicio 25:21
what else, canโt they do that? I mean, youโre an agent. I mean, they canโt gamble on the games, obviously, right? Well, they
Chad Wiestling 25:26
know that, you know, they canโt gamble anywhere, like on, you know, on, on the grounds at the facility, so, but they can, they can gamble
Nestor Aparicio 25:35
off the, you know, they can be a horseshoe tonight, a good Hollywood casino, okay, right? Yeah, they
Chad Wiestling 25:39
just, they canโt the guys that are, and they
Nestor Aparicio 25:40
could own basketball, baseball, right? Yeah, just not on the National Football. Heโs better college football, if
Chad Wiestling 25:45
they want, right? Yeah. But not on, not on the NFL. And thatโs the guys that have gotten caught, you know, made the mistake of doing it from the locker room, you know, so that you know theyโre following all that stuff and tracking all that stuff.
Nestor Aparicio 25:56
I hope none of those are your, your I mean, I just just the general, and Iโve met these players my whole life. 23 year old kids that you represent. Some have scruples and some right. And to your point, most of the players have been coddled enough that theyโve had a special set of rules in most places in life, right to be able to work the edge of that. You know that the gambling things just right? Horrif,
Chad Wiestling 26:21
let me ask you, if you donโt mind me, could I ask you about Pete Rose? Whatโs your whatโs your thoughts on that with the whole now that get you know gambling. I watched that thing on HBO about Charlie hustle, pretty good as a dog. I
Nestor Aparicio 26:32
havenโt seen it yet. I
Chad Wiestling 26:33
heard a good Yeah, so that kind of I just saw maybe a week ago. And Iโm not a guy
Nestor Aparicio 26:37
whoโs Auntie Pete. Iโm a guy that was a reporter that couldnโt gamble on sports. When I was there, there was rules everywhere about bribery and gambling on baseball and payola and all that stuff that went on. I think itโs very obviously cheated. I think they kept him out of the hall of fame because he lied. I think heโs made it was the greatest thing that ever happened to him, not being in the Hall of Fame. Itโs I have people saying to me, and you might be one. Iโm saying youโve been martyred by Greg Bader and Chad Steele. Youโre never getting back in and having a press pass. You should use that to your advantage. You know, me, you should be the guy Pete Rose has signed autographs and Cooperstown has been everywhere. Has made so much more money not being in right than if you were Steve Carlton and they just put him in, put him in right? Or, you know, or Joe Morgan, and they just put him in, or Johnny Bench, and they just put him in, or any of his teammates who all went in, right? I mean, he was kept out for being a scumbag, which is the same reason theyโve kept McGuire and Sosa and bonds and Schilling and Clemens that there is a moral part of that that doesnโt apply to big Poppy like the Hall of Fameโs a freaking joke. Itโs a joke. The Football Hall of Fame is a joke. The Oriole Hall of Fame is a joke. I mean, Larry Latinos not in the oral Hall of Fame because Peter hated it. Janet Marie Smithโs not New York Hall of Fame. She built Camden yarn because they like so itโs now in politics or whatever. But how do I feel about Pete Rose if I took over the Hall of Fame, I put the best players in and put that they cheated, right, right? I put a scarlet baseball on their plaque, just say, Yeah, this guy was a great player, but he cheated, right? And we know he cheated. He went to jail. He went to the jail of cheating, and theyโd have a better Hall of Fame. Like I donโt my cousinโs in the Hall of Fame, other than it being a museum that I would drive through thatโs in the middle of nowhere, and Iโve been there a handful. I have no intention of going back to Cooperstown ever in my life, because I just donโt think itโs an honorable institution, right? Not because of Pete Rose, because all of it, just all of it. I mean, make a set of rules. Honor the best players and do it with Donโt be Kay Fabe, your wrestling guy. I mean, why could be Kay Fabe about this is in, this is out. Heโs been a bad boy, and weโre gonna let this guy in and just let in the right people. And, you know, put up the markings. I mean, literally,
Chad Wiestling 29:13
yeah, yeah, no. I was just curious because we were talking about gambling, and I just saw that documentary not that long ago. Like, thatโs the always, the long debate is, should he be in? Should he not be in? But I agree with you, and they document that. They show it, that heโs done. Heโs more valuable not being in than he is being in. Oh, you guys making a kill it,
Nestor Aparicio 29:31
yeah. I mean, like for him, for his life, it, you know, better to be out. I mean, maybe thereโs an example that youโve given me about being because theyโre Iโm never getting. I mean, Iโve been mistreated by these people, and I donโt deserve it, you know? I mean, Iโve done nothing to David Rubenstein or any of his people, for his people to call me and scream at me and tell me to shut up and treat me like trash. Iโm 55 years old. Iโm not gonna be treated like that, right? Iโm not. Iโm just not, you know? Iโm a Cooperโs eating crab cakes. Have an oyster so that being. Said I will analyze them at the expert level that you know Iโm capable. Iโve watched more baseball and football than anybody, so I but there is a point where all of it is a work, right? Like a K Fabe work, whether itโs Colin Kaepernick, he wasnโt one of the best 64 quarterbacks. No, you blackballed him. You blackballed thatโs what you did. You can run any ads you want, talk about whatever you wanted. You wrecked that manโs life, yeah, and thatโs what you sought to do, and thatโs what you did on purpose. So, and you know, 100%
Chad Wiestling 30:30
there was a guy that didnโt deserve that, thatโs for sure, you know, and still, just still with, what, where, whatโs going on. Now itโs like
Nestor Aparicio 30:38
they blackballed him in the middle of the room, yeah, I asked Goodell that. Goodell visited the stadium during a preseason game. I want to say it was, it was an evening game, and he was in the back of the press box. He was in with Steve Bisciotti. He did like a little press conference. I remember, it was years ago, and I got him in the back of the press and I said, Hey, is the league blackballing. He gave me that Roger Goodell look. It was a scrum. It wasnโt like there werenโt cameras. It was a media scrum in the back of the press box. And I found it fascinating how quickly they wanted to move off of that, but not let it back in the league, right?
Chad Wiestling 31:15
You know, hereโs a guy that lost his career because he took a knee for something. And then you have, weโll keep it the same position. You have a quarterback in Cleveland, yeah. I mean, come on, one one after another, another lawsuit just came out, and you know, you know, the other day, as we all know, and itโs like, and this guyโs got the, you know, most guaranteed in NFL history to start, you know, heโs playing in the league. And this other guy got, not Well, no, yeah, not well at all, but you know another and then you know Colin got blackballed from the league for taking the knee. So you
Nestor Aparicio 31:46
need to know about the NFL, they blackballed a Super Bowl quarterback in front of you in plain sight over the last 10 years. What else are they capable of? Yeah. So my question Eric DECOs and John Harbaugh, if you can look at me and say, Iโm not a media member, you can say that to anybody. Oh, yeah. Then youโre just, itโs K Fabe, now, now, now, now, youโre just gaslighting me. You know, as to what the qualifications are to be a quarterback in the league, or to be a media member in the league, or to be an agent in the league, I, I donโt know, so Iโm just going to divorce myself and eat oysters and crab cakes and talk about it from over here. Yeah, they werenโt answering my questions anyway, right? Yeah, yeah, horrible Monday. Iโm paying a reporter to go out there, spend the whole day out there on Monday, the quarterbackโs not on the field. You ask a question, you canโt even get a straight answer about nothing, but literally, about being difficult, just to be difficult, not not for any strategic purpose at all, but the injury thing for you as an agent, when your players are injured, how sensitive to that are you from a HIPAA and from uh, yeah, vulnerability standpoint, from an information standpoint, yeah. I
Chad Wiestling 32:54
mean, just with what you said. I mean, if the, if the if the organization is not going to disclose what the issue is to the reporters. Guess whoโs who the reporters are calling next. Theyโre calling the agent, right? Sure, those times more than none. I donโt even know if my guy is hurt, but Iโm getting calls, you know, that, from from a reporter or something. Sound like, Hey, how come your player, your player, didnโt practice today? Is he okay? Iโm like, Hey, I have nothing. No idea. I donโt know whatโs going on. You know, unless I talk to my player, or Iโll get a call from the you know, or more
Nestor Aparicio 33:24
than that, if your players got a back eight, whatever, whatever, whatever. If the coach is Belichick or hardball or one of those guys, they donโt want it out. No matter what they theyโre gonna get pissed at the player. Theyโre gonna punish your player, oh yeah, for theyโre gonna call them and say your back shirt. We donโt want the Raiders knowing that this week. So why, you know, why is your agent got a big match? Why do you have like, oh, theyโll
Chad Wiestling 33:47
tell you. I mean, these teams, and not one specific, but the teams will tell you, like, Hey, make sure the player doesnโt tweet anything, or, actually, whatever you call it nowadays, or put it out there, or make sure you that put it out there.
Nestor Aparicio 34:00
Yeah, tell him, if you could let him know that donโt put that out there. Yeah, so though literally tell Iโm a reporter, you many times Iโve heard, donโt put that out there. You know, like literally and from a strategic advantage, I get it youโre in a season, but, but may being difficult just for the sake of being difficult, itโs sort of a hardball tradition of late, right? That people should know about that and me being here instead of a practice today, that that should be very clear, but it becomes clear with the signs, weโre on a Monday, he doesnโt practice, and the coach canโt even just come out, so heโs fine, like a day off, yeah. I mean, as the agent, you would want that, the player should want that. Come on, coach, donโt. Donโt make people think I might be
Chad Wiestling 34:40
right, that when that player has to face the media on Wednesday or whatever, heโs got to answer these questions. So you didnโt practice on Monday. You know what youโre youโre a good Western
Nestor Aparicio 34:49
Maryland, Pennsylvania, boy, I know you had good mother, because I didnโt know your mother, but you had a good mother. Your mother would just say, Just tell the truth. Just tell the truth, thatโs all. Yeah, heโs just tell the truth. And we figure. Yeah, right. Thatโs the journalist in me is figuring out, well, you know, is it raining outside or not? Whatever you say, I gotta go check, right? I gotta go look and say, Is it raining or is it not? Thatโs my job. Well, how
Chad Wiestling 35:10
about the other night with the running back for San Francisco, you know? So you know that he was told, come on. He was told on Friday that McCaffrey wasnโt playing, that he was going to start. So he did, you donโt keep going? Yeah. So, so after the game, he said, I guess the reporter asked him, Hey, when did you know you want to start? Oh, the coach told me, on Friday, which, thatโs a big no no, because they didnโt disclose it to the gambling. Yeah, right. So the gambling McCaffrey is going to play. Then someone must have grabbed him, you know, the PR person,
Nestor Aparicio 35:39
but she canโt say that, yeah.
Chad Wiestling 35:40
So then when he was up at the podium, because he had a great game, when heโs up at the podium, like I get mad, you know, you guys are asking me, put me in bad you know? And he denied, put me in a
Nestor Aparicio 35:47
bad situation, because my organizationโs been lying right, right, right. So now I have to keep the lie right. Thatโs the case. Yeah, thatโs what Iโm talking about. And thatโs, I guess, having a real NFL agent here, it falls to you too, and the kids family and the teammates and the gamblers, when you start to be dishonest, they set all these rules up so that Belichick and Harbaugh canโt be dishonest, and yet they still find a way to try to out of paranoia or whatever they believe is to be a competitive advantage. Want to then dupe the gamblers. Youโre duping the public. Youโre duping the gamblers, right? Youโre duping the line. And I And to your point, itโs also new. Whoโs policing this Congress, right? Iโll leave you with this, because weโll take a break, and I think James Bond here, yet I think heโs coming by. I just wanna make sure Iโm not making my guess. Wait, at 115 but if you and I, right now on the radio, said weโre gonna create a new game, weโre gonna create a new sport, break dancing with balls, I donโt know. Okay, weโre gonna have a sport, and weโre gonna create it, you and I are gonna be the commissioner of the league, and then weโre gonna put the sport out there. Weโre gonna sign players, weโre gonna have agents, weโre gonna put it on TV, and the game is going to get popular pickleball. There you go, pickleball. So TV now, like, what the gameโs going to get popular pickleball, and weโre going to have a league, and weโre going to be the commissioner, and weโre just going to set up rules, and weโre going to open a gambling line for it, and youโre going to say, well, who adjudicates, who wins the bets? Well, we do that starts to sound like a dice game down a little Italy in the 40s, right? Weโre going to start a game in the alley. Weโre going to hold the dice, weโre going to blow on the dice, weโre going to decide who wins and loses, and cut the money up. Thatโs what the referees do in the NFL. This is a sanctioned game thatโs not like casino gambling or like the lottery, where this ticketโs a winner and this ticketโs a loser and itโs predetermined. This is like picking winners and losers. Who wins and loses a bet is a guy in a white shirt that says flag on pass interference or not. I canโt fathom anywhere else in the world where theyโre running a game, running a dice game, saying weโre gonna pick the winners and losers bet handle it. Must have won the lottery there. Iโm getting pats on the back. Itโs really amazing how theyโve institutionalized the gambling part of this over the last three or four years, and theyโre deciding who wins and loses bets, right, right? Thatโs crazy, you know? And
Chad Wiestling 38:16
one of the things weโre talking football here, speaking of referees, you know, when are we going to hold the referees accountable? You know, they can, as you said, they can determine games and blown calls, whatever, and they just move on. You know, they just move on. And no, like, itโs just even with, with player fines, okay, player fines, which, that just drives me nuts. You know, thereโll be a person you know, like rough in the pass or something. You know, how ridiculous that has become, you know, so rough. And if you even touch the, you know, touch the quarterback, itโs a flag. Well, that player is getting fined, you know, 40 grand, you know, for the first offense. And it keeps going up, you know, up and 40
Nestor Aparicio 38:53
grand for a player that might be making 600 grand,
Chad Wiestling 38:55
right? Yeah. Oh, absolutely, absolutely. So itโs like, you know, itโs kind of a catch 22 because itโs like, well, the thatโs a horrible call. Now we have, well, you have the right to appeal it, yeah, yeah, we appeal it. But itโs, I call the I call them the keystone cops, the NFL, because itโs like, you know, you can appeal. You can have proof of that the playโs hard, you know, it wasnโt a personal foul or whatever, and theyโre gonna make a decision. I
Nestor Aparicio 39:16
have proof that. Iโm a media member, but not today, right? I mean, literally. I mean, you know, they, thatโs who they are, right? Thatโs, thatโs the case. Thatโs the gaslighting that you have to be cafe to get in on it. To your point, like you were talking to shine and like reporters get the information, the team decides the reporter they and they give the information.
Chad Wiestling 39:35
Yeah, theyโre leaking the team. No matter who, what team it is, theyโre, you know, itโs just tough. I heard you guys talking about how tough it is nowadays to be, you know, to be a reporter and cover teams. And Iโm speaking for the NFL, you know, the each team has a if you donโt, if youโre not on, you know, on on side with them, if youโre not, if youโre not favorable to them, if you write anything bad about them, theyโll cut you off, you know. And. Yeah, yeah, you know. So you know. Then youโll see the, itโs obvious. Then youโll see, you know, the one, the one reporter that gets all the information itโs leaking. Itโs all pro team, you know, pro organization. And from you know, Iโll just speak from my experience, so from the age standpoint, itโs like, I know, you know, but the teams will call us be like, donโt put anything out there. We keep this between us or whatever. And Iโm like, well, youโre leaking, you know, yeah, right, you know, you know. And then players will tell me, I mean, I have stories, you know, like players
Nestor Aparicio 40:30
sensitivity to all thatโs amazing. You know, I wrote in that Eric Decosta letter that I hope you read, Dick Cass got pissed at me 15 years ago for having the schedule I got. Iโm a reporter. I mean, where did I get it? I got it I got it. I mean, itโs, you know, and itโs always right. And I would text it out to the whole world, and they, they hated that because they, they wanted, the more, you know, the the moratorium on that till six oโclock for Bal. And I would, and when they threw me out, Iโm sure it was like, Well, you know, thatโs more retaliation, you know, saying for doing your job well, you do your job well, as reporter, you will be retaliated against, right? And it never used to be that way, right? It never, yeah, if itโs, if itโs yeah, if youโre doing, theyโre never doing your job that wasnโt considered to be good business, good,
Chad Wiestling 41:13
bad, right? And good, bad, whatever, right? In the truth, you know, yeah, theyโre gonna, theyโre gonna kick you, just
Nestor Aparicio 41:18
like your mom and I told you we had good motherโs mother said, Just tell the truth. Tell the truth. Chad weasleyโs here. Heโs black label agency. He is here in Canton, Baltimore, Maryland. He represents Josh Jacobs and a handful of other NFL players. Terps. You got any Terps? I didnโt even know they played Michigan State.
Chad Wiestling 41:39
I did. I did. I watched the Michigan State game. So I know we got Villanova. Iโm sorry we got going over this week. So hopefully we bounce right. Yeah, good point, but we should, yeah, should bounce back. Hopefully bounce back and get back on the winning, winning road. So alright, yeah, heโs Chad. Iโm
Nestor Aparicio 41:57
Nestor. Weโre here courtesy the Maryland lottery. I have scratch. All these beautiful ladies behind me are getting in the getting them. They donโt know it yet, wanting under clean water. Get you Liberty pure solutions. They keep your water clean, my water clean. They are well water specialists as well as good plumbers. And the oysters in the bay keep the bay clean. Weโre having an oyster a day every day this month, 26 days for 26 years at wnst gonna have my new logo out soon with the oyster and the crab. I donโt know if Iโm signing off here. I think James Piper bonds gonna come by. Weโre gonna do some maritime magic and living classrooms, but Iโm gonna let you get back to take care of your players. Iron this jersey. Get this jersey ready for the game in Detroit tonight. You go up to Yankee Stadium next
Chad Wiestling 42:37
week. Thinking about it, arguing about it. Iโm thinking about taking the train I may and depending where weโre at, Iโm already planning on going to Minnesota for the last, if itโs comes down to the last, have
Nestor Aparicio 42:47
you been to Target Field yet? Itโs great, great ballpark.
Chad Wiestling 42:50
Love that city.
Nestor Aparicio 42:51
Yeah, only ballpark I havenโt been to the new Atlanta ballpark because it happened after my tour, right? Yeah, I did the 30 ballparks in 15 Yes, itโs been nine years since I did that crazy tour, right? So, yeah,
Chad Wiestling 43:01
yeah. So Iโm thinking about going to New York. Obviously, training up would be surprised by just spur of a moment ago. But if weโre, if we have a chance to win at the end, Iโm definitely going to Minnesota for the whole, the whole weekend. Love NFL weekend. I should be working, you know, NFL, but Iโll be
Nestor Aparicio 43:17
stuck with a playoff ticket, you know. Iโll come down and buy you some beers, you know? I will have a letter to David Rubenstein as well as Chad Steele. Is a great letter to Eric DaCosta I put out, as well as my declaration of independence, which really is not playing K faith anymore. Iโm just like, Iโm just, Iโm too old to hide behind lockers. This is a Lou Baker once said Major League, you know. So Chadโs out in front. If you see a guy looks like him at the ballpark, ask him about his football players. Iโm Nestor. Weโre Coopers. Weโre down here in Fells Point for the Fells Point oyster festival, slurping and shucking just the way I like it. Weโre Baltimore positive. Stay with us. You.