Taylor Swift shares some NFL knowledge, plus 2025 season goes off the rails in our Madden simulation

Here's everything you need to know about the NFL for Aug. 14

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

I have no idea how it happened, but the 2025 NFL season is just 21 days away. That's right, it will be kicking off exactly three weeks from today. To celebrate that fact, we decided to simulate the entire 2025 season on Madden, and let me just say, things got kind of crazy. 

In today's newsletter, we'll also be breaking down Taylor Swift's visit to the "New Heights" podcast. 

As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let's get to the rundown. 

1. 2025 NFL season goes off the rails in our Madden simulation 

The 2025 season hasn't even started yet, but we already know who's going to win the Super Bowl. Well, kind of. Tyler Sullivan decided to simulate the entire NFL season on Madden to see who would come out on top and let me just say, this thing went off the rails: There was surprise after surprise after surprise. As a matter of fact, there were so many surprises that I won't be surprised by anything this year. 

First, let's take a look at several of the award winners: 

MVP: Patrick Mahomes
Coach of the Year: Jim Harbaugh

Now, let's check out the playoff teams: 

AFC
1. Chiefs
2. Bills
3. Ravens
4. Titans
5. Chargers
6. Steelers
7. Bengals

NFC 
1. Packers
2. Rams
3. Commanders
4. Buccaneers
5. Seahawks
6. Lions
7. Giants

Playoff notes: This is pretty much where things went off the rails with the Titans and Giants BOTH getting into the postseason. Go home, Madden game, you're drunk. The NFL is an unpredictable league, but I'm pretty sure this is one prediction that won't pan out. I will print out this newsletter, put it in my air fryer until its crispy and then eat it with Chick-Fil-A sauce if BOTH teams end up in the postseason. 

Although the Giants and Titans both ended up making it to the postseason in our simulation, they didn't get to the Super Bowl. 

Super Bowl LX result: Packers 14-7 over Ravens
Super Bowl note: The same team that won the first Super Bowl also wins the 60th Super Bowl. The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

If you want to see how your favorite team fared in our full Madden Sim of the 2025 season, you can check out Tyler's story here.  

2. Taylor Swift on the 'New Heights' podcast: Here's what we learned

In what might go down as the biggest episode of any podcast ever, Taylor Swift was the special guest on this week's episode of "New Heights" with Travis and Jason Kelce. Did I listen to the podcast? Of course, because how could I not. However, I am not a Swiftie, so I'm going to turn things over to our official Taylor Swift correspondent Shanna McCarriston, who made a list of seven things we learned from the episode. 

Let's check out three things that made her list: 

• Taylor unveiled her new album cover. At the end of the episode, Swift revealed the cover and track listing for her new album, "The Life of a Showgirl," which she wrote while on tour in Europe (You can see the unveiling here). Travis was astonished that she was able to write and record an entire new project while on the road. He gave it a rave review, saying it is "just awesome."
• Swift is now a huge football fan. "I fell in love with [football], I became obsessed with it," Swift said. "I became like a person who was running through the halls of my house screaming 'WE DRAFTED XAVIER WORTHY' and my friends are like … 'what do you mean?'"
• Swift gave her thoughts on Andy Reid. The Chiefs coach has been friends with Swift's father, Scott, for awhile and even put in a good word for Travis when he first showed interest in Swift. Swift said Reid has been coming to shows for years, but she "didn't really know what the sports were that he was doing ... I now know that he is literally the most iconic, legendary coach of all time." Swift also noted that Reid is "funny and cheeky." 

If you want to read all seven of Shanna's takeaways from the podcast, we've got those here

3. Checking in on the NFL's three hold-ins: McLaurin, Parsons and Hendrickson still not practicing

Imagn Images

Now that James Cook has gotten a new deal from the Bills, that leaves Trey Hendrickson, Micah Parsons and Terry McLaurin as the last three remaining hold-ins in the NFL. Although Parsons and McLaurin both made some headlines during training camp with each guy requesting a trade, it's been pretty quiet since then. 

With that in mind, I thought we should take an up-to-date look at each situation today: 

Micah Parsons

• The Cowboys star pass rusher has decided he's done talking about the situation. Parsons was asked on Wednesday how things are going and he gave a four-word answer, "My mouth is closed." That's not necessarily a good or a bad thing. Parsons likely doesn't want to be a distraction and he knows that anything he says will make headlines
• Cowboys have no deadline for getting a deal done. You'd think the Cowboys would want to get a deal done as soon as possible to get Parsons on the practice field, but apparently, that's not the case. On Wednesday, Jerry Jones said there's no deadline for getting a deal done. "You don't have deadlines when you're playing under a contract." Jones clearly feels like he has some leverage since Parsons is under contract for the 2025 season. 

Parsons is expected to the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history when he gets his new deal, so the contract will almost certainly be paying him more than $41 million per year. As things currently stand, Parsons is set to make $24 million in 2025 under the final season of his rookie deal. 

Terry McLaurin

• McLaurin spotted chatting with Adam Peters. There hasn't been much movement in the McLaurin situation, but the receiver was spotted chatting with Commanders general manager Adam Peters at practice on Tuesday. That's the first time McLaurin has been publicly spotted talking with the Commanders GM, so it at least seems possible that the bad blood is thawing and that a deal could get done in the near future. 

McLaurin is apparently looking for a new deal that will pay him at least $33 million per year, according to Adam Schefter. According to ESPN, the Commanders might be willing to go up to $28 million per yer, but it doesn't seem like they really want to go above that, which is why they're now in a stalemate. McLaurin is headed into the final year of his current deal, which is scheduled to pay him just $15.5 million in 2025. 

Trey Hendrickson

• Hendrickson has turned into an assistant coach. Not only has the 2024 NFL sack leader been at every practice, but he's been watching closely when the defensive linemen go through drills and he's been regularly offering tips to anyone who will listen, including first-round pick Shemar Stewart (You can see video of that here). If he wants a raise, he might want to ask the Bengals to toss an assistant coach's salary on top of his player salary. 

Hendrickson has been at training camp for two weeks now, and on Tuesday, I asked him if he felt more or less optimistic about getting a deal done now that he's been in Cincinnati for two weeks. His response: he said he was going to keep his thoughts on that to himself. Hendrickson has made it clear that he doesn't want to be a distraction, so not talking about the situation definitely makes sense. That being said, the two sides haven't been able to agree on how much guaranteed money should be in the contract and it feels like they're still far apart.  

I wrote a full breakdown on Hendrickson's situation this week and you can check that out here. 

4. Odell Beckham Jr. not retiring: Looking at possible landing spots for the veteran receiver

Earlier this week, a fake Adam Schefter account reported that Odell Beckham Jr. was retiring and the report was so convincing that Beckham actually responded to it by letting everyone know that he's NOT retiring. Not only is he planning to play, but he's drawing interest from several teams, according to NFL Media. 

With that in mind, Cody Benjamin decided to take a look at a few possible landing spots: 

• Vikings: Even if star No. 1 receiver Justin Jefferson returns from a hamstring injury that's kept him sidelined from practice for weeks, fellow starter Jordan Addison will miss the first three games due to suspension.
• 49ers: There might not be a team more desperate for proven receiver help than the 49ers. ... George Kittle is still a stud, but out wide, Jauan Jennings is in the midst of an injury/contract situation, Brandon Aiyuk is recovering from injury and second-year veteran Ricky Pearsall has also battled his own fair share of bumps and bruises.
• Steelers: The Steelers have DK Metcalf as a bona fide No. 1 wideout for Aaron Rodgers, but all indications are they're open to as many additional weapons as they can lure in, even after stockpiling tight end with Jonnu Smith.

Cody has several other landing spots and you can check those out here. 

5. Breaking down the most valuable franchises in the NFL 

Getty Images

The Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl in nearly 30 years, but that lack of success definitely isn't hurting Jerry Jones' pocketbook. Sportico broke down the valuations of each NFL team this week, and not surprisingly, the Cowboys were on top. According to the publication, the Cowboys are worth a total of $12.8 billion, which is notable, because it's makes them the first pro sports team ever to crack the $12 billion mark.

Here's a look at the list of the NFL's 10 most valuable franchises (via Sportico).

1. Cowboys ($12.8 billion)
2. Rams ($10.43 billion)
3. Giants ($10.25 billion) 
4. Patriots (8.76 billion)
5. 49ers ($8.6 billion) 
6. Eagles ($8.43 billion)
7. Dolphins ($8.25 billion)
8. Jets ($8.11 billion)
9. Raiders ($7.9 billion)
10. Commanders ($7.47 billion)

The Bengals were the least valuable franchise with a valuation of $5.5 billion. If you want to see the full breakdown of most valuable teams, we've got that here. 

6. Extra points: Shedeur Sanders could miss Browns' second preseason game

It was a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. 

• Shedeur Sanders oblique injury likely to sideline him this week. In Wednesday's newsletter, we mentioned that Sanders had suffered an oblique injury in practice. The injury isn't serious, but Sanders is expected to be held out of practice today and is unlikely to play on Saturday against the Eagles. We've got more details on the injury here. 
• Jerry Jones says he was diagnosed with cancer in 2010. The Cowboys owner was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma back in June 2010. Jones revealed that information on his new Netflix documentary "America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys," which will be released on Aug. 19. "I was saved by a fabulous treatment and great doctors and a real miracle [drug] called PD-1 [therapy]," Jones said this week, via The Dallas Morning News.
• Brian Flores wins key legal battle. The Vikings defensive coordinator filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL in 2022 where he made allegations that several teams used racial discrimination in their hiring practices. That case appeared to be headed to the NFL's arbitration system, but that won't be the case any more. According to PFT, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that the case should be heard in open court. Combined with the recent ruling on Jon Gruden's case, that's two big losses for the NFL in less than a week. 
• Bears will play their starters on Saturday. After keeping his starters on the bench for the first week of the preseason, new Bears coach Ben Johnson has decided that he WILL be playing his starters this week when Chicago hosts Buffalo on Sunday. You can check out Johnson's full comments here. 
• Cam Little's cleats headed to the Hall of Fame. It's not often that a kicker gets his cleats in the Hall of Fame for hitting a preseason field goal, but that's what will be happening with Cam Little, who hit a historic 70-yard field goal in Jacksonville's first preseason game. The Hall has asked Little to send both his cleats and his jersey from the game. 
• Rashee Rice not expected to be suspended to start season. The Chiefs receiver, who recently pleaded guilty for the role he played in a multi-car crash in Dallas, is likely going to be suspended at some point, but it looks like he'll be on the field to start the season. According to ESPN, Rice's disciplinary hearing is scheduled fro Sept. 30, which means Rice will almost certainly be on the field for Kansas City's first four games (at Chargers in Brazil, Eagles, at Giants, Ravens).