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Matt Phillips

Injured Jets QB earns ridiculous performance payout

ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter spotlights the downright silly matter of Aaron Rodgers’ performance pay stemming from his tragicomic stint as starting quarterback for the Jets last year. (He injured his left Achilles tendon four plays into his debut, and was out for the season.)

Schefter explains that the performance pay system “rewards all NFL players based on their play time and base salary. If a player has a low base salary but plays a significant number of snaps, he earns more through the system.”

The situation with Rodgers, who was injured a few minutes into a two-year deal for a guaranteed $75 million, is the inverse. He’s a highly compensated player who barely played. The result is a performance payout of $81.14.

That's good for cab fare to the Meadowlands, maybe?

The situation with Rodgers, who was injured a few minutes into a two-year deal for a guaranteed $75 million, is the inverse. He’s a highly compensated player who barely played. The result is a performance payout of $81.14.

That's good for cab fare to the Meadowlands, maybe?

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Luke Kawa

Thieves are targeting “Pokémon” cards in robberies since they’ve skyrocketed in value

A real-life mishmash of different Team Rocket wannabes is having a lot more success thieving “Pokémon” cards than Jessie and James ever did in their attempts to pilfer Pikachu throughout the anime series.

The Washington Post reports on a string of DC-area heists of “Pokémon” cards, with CGC Cards Vice President Matt Quinn quoted as saying, “Any time you’re carrying around collectibles that are worth money, whether it be gold bars, Pokémon cards, coins, toy trains, or whatever it might be, you have to be vigilant with knowing that you’re carrying collectibles that can be easily stolen from you,” adding that these episodes are happening across the country.

Gotta thieve ’em all is an outgrowth of the massive boom in the value of “Pokémon” cards, with The Wall Street Journal reporting on 3,000% returns earlier this year. Their meteoric rise has been a big boon to GameStop, whose collectibles business has played a critical role in the stabilization and nascent turnaround of its operations.

Both individual cards and unopened packs have been targeted in robberies of stores and personal residences, per the Post report.

Stealing unopened packs of “Pokémon” cards is effectively thieving and buying call options at the same time: an individual pack might not be worth much on its own, but the most valuable cards in the recently released Mega Evolutions set are going for over $1,000. And at about 23 grams per pack and relative differences in security, the logistics seem a lot less onerous than trying to rob a gold dealer.

(Note: I don’t know for sure. I’m not a thief, besides that Klondike bar one time in high school.)

culture
Max Knoblauch

iHeartMedia surges on report Netflix, competing with YouTube, wants its video podcasts

Video podcasts are becoming a key part of Netflix’s efforts to keep pace closely behind YouTube in the streaming wars.

According to reporting by Bloomberg, the streamer is in talks to exclusively license video pods from iHeartMedia. Shares of IHRT surged on Tuesday morning.

Under the deal, iHeartMedia, which produces shows like “Las Culturistas,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Jay Shetty Podcast,” would reportedly stop posting full episodes on YouTube — the site that more than a billion people use to watch podcasts every month.

Netflix made a similar deal with Spotify last month and will begin streaming 16 video podcasts produced by Spotify Studios early next year.

According to the Nielsen Gauge, YouTube pulled in 12.6% of all TV viewership in September, compared to 8.3% for Netflix.

Netflix Is in Talks to License Video Podcasts From iHeartMedia

Netflix Is in Talks to License Video Podcasts From iHeartMedia

Under the deal, iHeartMedia, which produces shows like “Las Culturistas,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Jay Shetty Podcast,” would reportedly stop posting full episodes on YouTube — the site that more than a billion people use to watch podcasts every month.

Netflix made a similar deal with Spotify last month and will begin streaming 16 video podcasts produced by Spotify Studios early next year.

According to the Nielsen Gauge, YouTube pulled in 12.6% of all TV viewership in September, compared to 8.3% for Netflix.

Millie Giles
PERSONNEL BEST
11/3/25
The 2025 New York City Marathon saw a record number of runners

Almost 60,000 people took part in the NYC Marathon this year — as celebrities, influencers, and hordes of routine-starved young people keep long distance races on trend.

2025 New York City Marathon
Millie Giles
FIT CHECK
10/31/25
“KPop Demon Hunters” costumes will probably be everywhere this Halloween

Again, Google Trends data shows one of the year’s buzziest movies is inspiring Halloween heads across the country.

"KPop Demon Hunters" Themed Zone Opens In Everland
Millie Giles
THE GLUTIDE HAS TURNED
10/29/25
The US obesity rate keeps declining, but diabetes cases have hit a new high

New findings from a long-running Gallup study also showed a rapid increase in the number of Americans using GLP-1s.

Blue Ozempic pens with yellow measuring tape on pink background.

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