Peyton Manning's nephew Arch outfoxes publishing giant Electronic Arts and gets massive NIL payday for NCAA video game



Star college quarterback Arch Manning will reportedly receive a large payment from video game publisher Electronic Arts after months of holding out from inclusion in an upcoming game.

Manning is the youngest star of the famous football family that includes his uncles, Super Bowl winners Peyton and Eli, and his grandfather, football legend Archie Manning.

For the latest NCAA football video game published by EA, thousands of student athletes accepted the average payment of $600 and a copy of the game in exchange for their name, image, and likeness.

'I'm in the game.'

However, with Manning's name holding tremendous potential value, he was one of just a few star players who declined the offer when news started surfacing of the payments in February 2024.

It appears someone in the Manning camp made the right call, as it was just announced that the Texas quarterback is set to receive between $50,000 and $60,000 to promote the game and accepted the $600 to be included in it.

Meanwhile, college sports reporter Pete Nakos told Blaze News that cover athletes for the game received payments in the low six figures.

Manning released a promotional video for the game with his uncle Eli as news broke online.

"I'm IN the game," Manning wrote, along with the signature "horns up" emoji representing Texas.

With the large payment to Manning, it is likely that many other athletes will become holdouts for larger sums in the future. Manning's NIL value is currently ranked at No. 3 in the country, at $2.8 million. Manning is outranked only by fellow football player Shedeur Sanders, son of NFL legend Deion Sanders. Sanders sits at a valuation of $4.9 million for name, image, and likeness.

At the same time, gymnast and social media star Livvy Dunne sits in the second spot at $3.9 million.

The advent of the NIL era has empowered many student athletes to demand much higher compensation for their names, something that was outright banned before.

NFL rookie Marvin Harrison Jr., another NFL legacy athlete, is still in a legal battle over his likeness. In May 2024, Harrison Jr. was sued by apparel brand Fanatics over what the company called a failure to hold up his end of the contract. It was recently revealed that Harrison Jr. was alleged to be compensated $1.05 million over two years by the company.

Harrison Jr. has been selling memorabilia on his website after declining to sign the standard agreement with the NFL Players Association to turn over his name, image, and likeness.

He did not respond to request for comment; however, the player remarked on signing the NFLPA group licensing agreement during his introductory press conference with the Arizona Cardinals.

"I'll continue to talk to my team, and we'll do what's best for me moving forward," Harrison Jr. reportedly said. "We'll just take it one day at a time. I just got drafted, so I'm trying to enjoy the moment and be happy while I can at the moment."

On3 reported that with over 14,000 players opting in to the NCAA game, EA passed its goal of having 11,000 athletes sign up in what it called possibly the biggest NIL deal ever executed.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

NBC to attach heart rate monitors to athletes' parents during 2024 Olympics — possibly with onscreen sponsors



NBCUniversal is making big changes to its 2024 Summer Olympics coverage from Paris, France. In addition to reeling in network stars, the broadcaster will have parents of Olympic athletes wearing heart rate monitors to gauge their stress levels.

With a gigantic investment into Olympic coverage, the media giant is admittedly looking to broaden its audience beyond a typical demographic for the summer games in Paris.

NBC Sports President Rick Cordella even stated that the network would be using the kind of celebrity that "wouldn't have been part of" its coverage of the past.

"We've got to be innovating, trying things differently, trying to match where the media world is in 2024," he told Variety.

Part of that innovation reportedly involves hooking up some excited parents to medical equipment. Five heart rate monitors affixed to the parents of Olympic athletes will be used at any given time, with data shown onscreen as their child competes. The network claimed that test audiences loved the idea.

The possibility of getting sponsors for the medical data has also been discussed at the network.

"We are talking about it," said NBC ad-sales executive Dan Lovinger.

It was not made clear whether the heart rate monitors would be placed on only American athletes' parents nor were the specific sports they would be used in revealed.

NBCU will use celebrity correspondents

Molly Solomon, an executive producer at NBC, said that it was important for the network to have "some new voices and some fan voices."

While sports need to be the primary focus, there's nothing wrong with "a couple of short bursts of energy," she added.

Some of those new voices will be very familiar, as NBCU has acquired the services of rapper Snoop Dogg, singer Kelly Clarkson, host Jimmy Fallon, and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.

Paris @NBCOlympics is only a few months away yall!! \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 So I called my granddaughter Cordoba to help me learn a few words \u270f\ufe0f \ud83d\udc9c
— (@)

Snoop Dogg will reportedly deliver man-on-the-street observations with his off-the-cuff reactions and reportedly said he "wants to be the biggest kid at the Olym­pics, to be silly, [and] to be sincere."

According to Solomon, Snoop wants to "celebrate love and respect."

Manning and Clarkson will cohost the opening ceremony with legendary sports broadcaster Mike Tirico.

"I love finding out how people overcome their circumstances, how they get to where they are, especially at this level," Clarkson commented.

Tirico will later be joined by Fallon for the closing ceremony at the culmination of the games.

On streaming service Peacock NBCU hopes to capitalize on its younger audience by employing Alex Cooper, host of one of the most popular female-centric podcasts of all time, "Call Her Daddy."

Cooper will host a series of live, interactive watch parties.

Alex Cooper will be at the Paris Olympic Games this summer to host Watch with Alex Cooper, a series of live interactive watch parties streaming on Peacock.
— (@)

NBCU purchased the rights to the Olympic coverage through 2032 for a reported $7.8 billion. At the same time, the network has raked in about $1.2 billion in ad revenue commitments already.

The opening ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Olympics will take place on July 26, 2024, and will air through August 11, 2024.

NFL legend Peyton Manning stars in a hilarious new promo for NBC coverage of the 2024 Olympics in Paris \u2014 and he\u2019s got some big ideas. @NBCOlympics
— (@)

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'Not a woke company': Trump backs Bud Light as beer brand drops star-studded Super Bowl commercial



Bud Light released a new Super Bowl commercial featuring its biggest spokesmen on the same day that President Donald Trump expressed his support for the brand.

Still attempting to recover from its 2023 marketing fiasco with alleged transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light received support from the 45th president.

Commenting on his platform Truth Social, Trump called Bud Light's failed promotion a "mistake of epic proportions" for which a "very big price was paid."

Indeed, Bud Light lost billions and its parent company's stock tumbled, but Trump asked if the brand deserved another chance.

"Anheuser-Busch is not a Woke company ... [it] spends $700 Million a year with our GREAT Farmers, employ 65 thousand Americans, of which 1,500 are Veterans, and is a Founding Corporate Partner of Folds of Honor, which provides Scholarships for families of fallen Servicemen & Women," Trump stated.

"Anheuser-Busch is a Great American Brand that perhaps deserves a Second Chance? What do you think? Perhaps, instead, we should be going after those companies that are looking to DESTROY AMERICA," he added.

Trump's endorsement may be tied to his reported significant investment in Anheuser-Busch InBev, however. According to data reviewed by the Independent in 2023, the former president owned between $1 and $5 million in stock under an account called "DJT Trust — Investment Account #2."

Business Insider noted the same, citing a 100-page disclosure form filed with the Federal Election Commission on April 14, 2023.

The positive words also came at the same time Anheuser-Busch lobbyist Jeff Miller was set to host a fundraiser for Trump. As reported by MSN, the beer giant paid Miller's firm $260,000 in 2023.

The fundraiser for Trump has a $10,000 ticket price and reportedly features members of Congress and Republican leaders.

The same day, Bud Light released what is most likely its most expensive commercial in recent history. Employing a galaxy of personalities, the ad featured Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning, a longtime supporter of the brand who has mentioned it in victory speeches.

As well, musician Post Malone made an appearance. The star has publicly drunk the beer for years, even on episodes of Joe Rogan's podcast.

UFC President Dana White was yet another big star in the ad. White is fresh off his public recommendation of the brand after re-signing a prominent sponsorship deal between the beer brand and the UFC.

Filthy rich? Done. One REALLY big bicep? Yes. An epic night out with Peyton Manning, @postmalone & @danawhite? The Bud Light Genie\u2019s here in our Super Bowl LVIII commercial to make it happen
— (@)

Trump's comments echoed White's from October 2023 when the fight promoter was asked how fans would react to a partnership with the recently shamed brand.

"For Anheuser-Busch it was about values, core values for me. I'm at a point in my life and I'm at a point in my career where nothing is just about money any more," White told reporters.

"Almost a billion dollars a year go to U.S. farmers for their crops, for their products; that is right up my alley, that's exactly who I am," White listed. "65,000 Americans are employed by Anheuser-Busch, and thousands of them are vets; right up my alley," he added.

Seemingly the only person missing from the Bud Light commercial was newly signed comedian Shane Gillis. Gillis too is a noted Bud Light consumer, drinking the beer on many of his podcast appearances.

Gillis became a fan favorite for his lack of censorship, knowledge of history, and of course his impression of Trump.

While Bud Light has certainly amped up its efforts to win customers back, the company still has not issued an apology that resonated. An April 2023 statement by Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth fell flat when he stated the company "never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people."

"We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer," he added.

The company did not address any of consumers' concerns surrounding the promotion of gender dysphoria.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Couch: Peyton and Eli Manning debut the future of sports broadcasting



I'm not sure exactly why the Manning brothers' Monday Night Football telecast worked so well. Peyton and Eli weren't even wearing yellow blazers! A fire alarm went off at one point. And when they had Russell Wilson on as a guest in the fourth quarter, Peyton wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise.

But they did work. There probably is some big reason for that, for why we're ready for a show like this now. There just was this feeling that you weren't being talked to, but instead were in on the whole thing with them.

They told funny stories, poked fun at each other, explained what was going on, and best of all, they gave great insight into what a quarterback is thinking during a game. Who knew that quarterbacks were so nerdy?

"Ray," Eli asked guest Ray Lewis, "would you want one of (Peyton's) helmets filled with quarters or $10,000 in cash? Which would be worth more?"

Eli liked to poke fun at the size of Peyton's forehead.

ESPN2 is going to give us 10 weeks of Peyton and Eli doing an alternative MNF broadcast. Next week is Detroit at Green Bay, and neither of them will be brutally honest about the brutal play of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

For yesterday's Baltimore-Las Vegas game, they had guests Charles Barkley, Travis Kelce, Lewis, and Wilson along the way. And there is no doubt that they should be in the main booth doing the game on ABC.

What worked for the Mannings was when they stopped trying so hard and became a cross between Beavis and Butthead and the two old Muppet guys sitting in the theater box.

Turns out, Peyton is just like he is in those Nationwide commercials with Brad Paisley, where he shows off massive Peytonville and all the tiny doll people in the city have backstories. He's just that nerdy.

"Onsides kick, onsides kick, onsides kick!" Peyton yelled in the final seconds before overtime. The Raiders beat Baltimore 33-27, and the Mannings really didn't explain the narrative about how Lamar Jackson's fumbles did the Ravens in.

"What would you do if it's third down and all of a sudden Gruden calls a play you don't like?" Eli asked Peyton at one point.

Peyton started waving his arms, "'I'm gonna call my own play. I'm gonna call my own play. I can't hear you.'"

The trick, Peyton said, is to blame it on technical problems with what he's hearing in the headset. But the backups have to go along with it and not tell the coaches that they could hear the call fine:

"Everyone has to buy in," Peyton said. "You cannot sell your starting quarterback out."

For sure, they got off to a rough start. Peyton was talking too much. When they stopped performing, they became way more entertaining. It started hokey when Peyton did a little skit where he was drawing things up on the whiteboard.

Peyton kept smirking and shaking his head all night, or yelling "horrible call" when he didn't agree with the officials. He told one story about how he cursed out an official and felt so guilty about it that he asked the league for the official's home address so he could write him an apology note.

The league wouldn't give him the address. Peyton said they must have been afraid he was going to egg the official's home.

We got to find out how deeply quarterbacks hate crowd noise. When the Raiders, the home team, failed to pick up a first down on fourth and short, because the Baltimore defense broke through the line, Peyton jumped in:

"That's crowd-noise penetration. The offensive line is not getting off on the snap because they can't freaking hear … Drink your beer, quiet down, and let (Derek) Carr play quarterback."

Eli said this about Peyton: "He had that stadium trained. The fans would get fined if they talked while the Colts were on offense. If a guy was trying to order a beer, everyone would tell him to quiet down until the defense was on the field."

I'd call this a new model for broadcasting games, or even for sports talk shows. No one was yelling at me. No one was pretending anything at all. These guys were genuine, having a running conversation for more than three hours.

But I'd be afraid to see others pretending to be genuine.

My favorite line of the night was when Lewis was the guest and Eli talked to him about what it was like being a young quarterback facing him:

"I get up there and I'm saying, 'No. 52's the mike.' You were like, 'I'm not the mike, he's the mike.' I said, 'Wait, Ray's right. The other guy is the mike.' Then Ed Reed starts saying 'Hey, I want to be the mike.'"

They messed with Eli's head, and it worked that day.

"I had a 0.0 (passer) rating," he said. "That's hard to do."

Whitlock: Peyton Manning and the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame class give me hope for men



For more than 40 years, the Pro Football Hall of Fame speeches have been my personal state of the union address. I love football. It means the world to me.

Faith, family, and football truly shape my worldview.

Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I felt better about the state of our union. Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson, Calvin Johnson, John Lynch, Alan Faneca, and Tom Flores were all deservedly inducted into the Hall on Sunday. The day before, the NFL enshrined 20 other men into Canton. The large Saturday ceremony was partly because COVID wiped out the 2020 ceremony. It was also oversized because the world has turned soft, lowered its standards, and fears offending anyone. We'd rather diminish the prestige of the Hall of Fame than fend off the complaints of entitled men.

Whatever. Saturday's circus did not stop my enjoyment of Sunday's festivities. Football's Hall of Fame speeches are my barometer for the mood of men. Based on what I heard from Manning, Johnson, Lynch, and Faneca the mood of men is moving toward responsibility, accountability, and action.

Manning talked about protecting and supporting the game of football. Johnson discussed helping men and women who live with pain. Lynch called on athletes to be leaders in promoting unity. Faneca, who suffers epilepsy, spoke about not letting your obstacles keep you from your goals.

Their speeches conveyed a message of personal responsibility. This is, generally speaking, always a theme when successful people relive what defined their success. However, in the previous two Hall ceremonies, the mood of men was heavily influenced by fraudulent social media activism and narcissism.

Wide receiver Terrell Owens skipped the 2018 ceremony entirely. Frustrated that he wasn't a first-ballot inductee, Owens held a private ceremony at his college. Fellow receiver Randy Moss wore a tie with the names of black men and women he argued were victims of racist police brutality. In 2019, defensive back Champ Bailey ended his speech calling himself an expert on blackness and scolding anyone who didn't support his narrative on racial justice.

Some of the greatest football players of all time turned the Hall of Fame ceremony into the Victimhood Olympics.

On Sunday, from the men who deserved to make it to the Hall of Fame — Manning, Woodson, Johnson, Lynch, Faneca, and Flores — I heard no cries of victimhood. I heard examples of how determined you have to be to make it in this world. That's what we need to hear right now. That's what I'm used to hearing at the Hall of Fame.

When I was a kid, before there was an ESPN or an NFL Network, we would only get to see highlights of the speeches during halftime of the Hall of Fame exhibition game. So we only saw bits and pieces of what Dick Butkus and Johnny Unitas said in 1979 or what Deacon Jones said a year later. I know I found the highlights inspiring. I would immediately make my mother listen to the speech I planned to deliver three decades later when I joined my football idols in immortality.

Now the Hall of Fame ceremony is a major TV production. Far more than the contrived ESPY Awards, football's hall induction ceremony is the Academy Awards of sports. It has become sports' greatest annual celebration. The inductees give emotional and profound speeches. To the best of their abilities, grown men express sincere gratitude to the people who helped them fulfill a lifelong dream. It's the equivalent of a dead person announcing at their funeral that they're in heaven and that they briefly returned to earth to thank the people who steered them on their journey to the pearly gates.

You smile, laugh, cry, and applaud while watching the ceremony.

Maybe this year's ceremony pivoted to substance and facts because of the time constraints placed on the speakers. They were instructed to keep their speeches to six minutes. Most of them spoke for about 10 minutes, breaking the recent tradition of inductees speaking as long as 30 and 40 minutes.

I loved every minute of Ray Lewis' passionate 30-minute speech and every second of Tony Gonzalez's composed 40-minute speech.

But brevity sparks discipline and focus. It eliminates time to virtue-signal and grandstand. It eliminates narcissism. There's only time to say what you really mean.

It feels like we're running short on time to rescue the American values that made us free and unique. It's time for men to say what they really mean.