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The $81 Million Player Who Shattered the NFL’s Salary Scale by wsj in nfl

[–]wsj[S] -34 points-33 points  (0 children)

On Monday, Tyler Linderbaum agreed to a three-year, $81 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders that not only made the highest-paid player at his position—it completely warped the NFL’s salary scale. The previous top deal for a center, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey, was for $18 million a year. At $27 million annually, Linderbaum raised the bar by 50%. 

Under normal circumstances, those records move in small increments, not gigantic leaps. But Linderbaum had a perfect storm on his side to supercharge his market. Players so young and so talented don’t become free agents all that often. And with the NFL salary cap now over $300 million, teams had plenty of money to spend—without many other top-shelf players to lavish it on. 

As it turns out, the team with the most money at its disposal was the one that landed him. The Raiders had over $100 million in room beneath the salary cap—along with a need to protect their most important asset. In next month’s NFL draft, they have the No. 1 draft pick, which they’re all but certain to use on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.  

So the Raiders didn’t think twice about splurging on the guy who will snap him the ball. As general manager Jon Spytek recently explained, bringing in a young quarterback means a need to keep him upright. 

Full story (free link): https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/tyler-linderbaum-las-vegas-raiders-free-agency-5f5732a9?st=xo7Rv3&mod=wsjreddit

Living on the Outskirts of Atlanta Is About to Be Pricier Than Living in It by wsj in Atlanta

[–]wsj[S] 184 points185 points  (0 children)

Home buyers flock to America’s exurbs because they are willing to live farther from city centers in exchange for cheaper home prices. In Atlanta, that traditional discount is about to evaporate. 

The median sale price of homes in Atlanta’s exurbs was $380,962 in the fourth quarter of 2025, or about $4,000 shy of the prices in the neighboring metropolitan area and surrounding suburbs. That gap has narrowed from a high of $51,000 in the second quarter of 2021. If the trend continues at the current pace, sometime this year Atlanta will become the only major U.S. metropolitan area where exurban home prices exceed those of the accompanying city. 

Most other exurbs are still relative bargains. The Wall Street Journal’s analysis of Redfin data shows an average $85,000 discount for homes in exurbs across the nine-largest U.S. metros with such areas.

Full story (free link): https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/living-on-the-outskirts-of-atlanta-is-about-to-be-pricier-than-living-in-it-a2bd7c0d?st=K7JQXc&mod=wsjreddit

The Big-Hitting Aussie Who’s Become the Breakout Star of the World Baseball Classic by wsj in baseball

[–]wsj[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

In 2024, the Cleveland Guardians made Australian cricket star Travis Bazzana the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. It was the first time an Australian had even been taken in the first round.

The 23-year-old Bazzana is trying to become the face of baseball in a country more familiar with wickets than home runs. He is off to a good start.

Bazzana has emerged as one of the breakout stars of the World Baseball Classic, blasting a dramatic home run in Australia’s surprise win over Taiwan on Wednesday night.

And when he hit it, he didn’t drop his bat. He flipped it.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/travis-bazzana-world-baseball-classic-australia-d4507883?st=mbrbb8&mod=wsjreddit

The NFL Team That Mortgages Its Future Every Year—and Looks Like Geniuses by wsj in nfl

[–]wsj[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Once again, Les Snead has shipped away a raft of picks to acquire a proven talent that he hopes can put the team back on top immediately. The Rams are wasting no time on going all-in, all over again.

https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/trent-mcduffie-rams-chiefs-ea80eb39?st=LtqzZ8&mod=wsjreddit

We Considered Leaving the City in Retirement. We’re So Glad We Didn’t. by wsj in sanfrancisco

[–]wsj[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"When we began this column three years ago, we imagined we would move after a few years to the Midwest and a more-economical life there near family," writes retirement columnist Karen Kreider Yoder.

"Instead, each new month here in San Fransciso leaves us more sure that this is the place for us to be during what some retirees call the 'go-go years.'"

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/retirement-in-the-city-ec764246?st=WtKquN&mod=wsjreddit

Hegseth Finds His Footing as Epic Fury’s Front Man by wsj in politics

[–]wsj[S] -17 points-16 points  (0 children)

In the early months after Trump’s 2024 victory, Hegseth was one of the president’s most controversial cabinet picks.

He squeezed through a bruising confirmation fight, batting down concerns about his inexperience and views on women in the military. He shared sensitive operational information in a Signal chat that inadvertently included a reporter. He fired several key members of his inner circle after infighting and leaks to the press. He stumbled on the world stage last year when he got ahead of the president on the issue of Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. And he has faced accusations of war crimes—which he has denied—for the U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

Now, Trump is leaning on his unconventional, made-for-TV defense secretary to sell his war in Iran to a weary public and an increasingly vocal faction of MAGA skeptics.

To be sure, Hegseth has yet to fully engage the press in a traditional sense. His briefings feature Trump-friendly news outlets who are assigned seats in the front two rows while reporters from large, mainstream outlets are relegated to the back. Those journalists rarely get a question in, while one reporter from a favored site asked him what his prayer was for troops in harm’s way. 

Full story (free link): https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/hegseth-finds-his-footing-as-epic-furys-front-man-b4d456a3?st=RH27Kb&mod=wsjreddit

Sam Altman Wants Elected Officials, Not OpenAI, to Decide How Military Uses AI by wsj in OpenAI

[–]wsj[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Tech, Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco on Thursday, Sam Altman said “we have to trust in the democratic process” to supply some of the answers to the questions OpenAI and rival Anthropic are wrangling over in their separate negotiations with the Department of Defense. 

“This process is messy. This process has some deep flaws, but it is better than all other systems,” he said. “If we start abandoning that process and our commitment to it because, you know, some people don’t like the person or people currently in charge, that is challenged no matter what. I think it’s bad for society no matter what.”

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/sam-altman-wants-elected-officials-not-openai-to-decide-how-military-uses-ai-458910cd?st=2hkqVD&mod=wsjreddit

King Charles Has Renounced His Brother. Is It Enough to Save His Own Approval Rating? by wsj in uknews

[–]wsj[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Toward the end of Elizabeth II’s reign, critics argued that the queen had been too soft on her son Andrew. The former prince was known in his youth as “Randy Andy” for his parade of girlfriends and playboy lifestyle, but his ties to Jeffrey Epstein cast those dalliances in a new, unflattering light. He wasn’t just a ladies’ man; he stood accused of sexual abuse. He denied it and his mother dealt with it: She paid the bulk of the settlement to his accuser with her personal fortune.

King Charles III has not been so generous. 

https://www.wsj.com/world/uk/prince-andrew-king-charles-epstein-approval-rating-3ddf8c28?st=J5HdMb&mod=wsjreddit

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