Tom Pelissero#5 of 87 NFL pundits · Nov 13, 2026
Pelissero picked the Jaguars as the AFC team to like most, said Lamar Jackson will not be cut or traded by Baltimore, and argued C.J. Stroud is heading for a contract that would make him the league's highest-paid quarterback at around $65 million per year.
Said on air, transcribed by us · The Bill Simmons Podcast (podcast)Hear the original
What Tom Pelissero said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromI don't know how you don't make him the highest paid quarterback based on where he is on his contract.
- Where it was said
- The Bill Simmons Podcast (podcast)
- The episode
- Cousins the Savior, Sleeper Teams, a Mega-Mega-Mailbag and NFL Picks With Tom Pelissero, Danny Kelly, and Joe House
- The original
- Hear the original
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- 1C.J. Stroud: “if he just finishes like this, 65,000,000 a year and the highest paid quarterback”“if the season ended today and you're doing a CJ Stroud contract, it's fucking 65,000,000 a year... But if he just finishes like this... I don't know how you don't make him the highest paid quarterback based on where he is on his contract.”
- 2Jacksonville Jaguars to reach the Super Bowl“Who do you like the most in the AFC? Is it the Jags? I think the Jags.”
- 3Lamar Jackson to stay with Baltimore Ravens“If you were to trade him or cut him, which you're not gonna cut him... Trading them in my mind doesn't make a whole lot of sense going into it”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.J. Stroud: “if he just finishes like this, 65,000,000 a year and the highest paid quarterback”1 | Contract Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Jacksonville Jaguars to reach the Super Bowl2 | Conference Champions | — | — | — | — | |
| Lamar Jackson to stay with Baltimore Ravens3 | Trade and Signing Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 calls · 3 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
3 checkable claims — 1 conference champion, 1 contract call and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
1Contract CallsC.J. StroudHouston Texans
C.J. Stroud: “if he just finishes like this, 65,000,000 a year and the highest paid quarterback”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
2Conference ChampionsJacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars to reach the Super Bowl
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Trade and Signing CallsLamar JacksonBaltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson to stay with Baltimore Ravens
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Bobby Skinner · Trade and Signing Calls · Stefon Diggs · Miss 0
Skinner predicted Daniel Jones signs with and wins the starting job in Indianapolis, Milton Williams to New England, Lavonte David back to Tampa, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams to the Giants, DJ Reid to Arizona, Hassan Reddick to Washington and Justin Fields staying in Pittsburgh, plus alternates they had listed.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · Houston Texans · Hit 81
Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said they wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game.Connor Rogers · Game Outcome Picks · Houston Texans · Hit 100
Rogers picked straight-up winners in every Week 9 game, agreeing with Simms on all of them, and gave a 24-20 Bills score over the Vikings on Monday night.Nick Wright · Score Predictions · Houston Texans · Hit 83
Wright made several outright game calls for Week 9 alongside their spread picks: Kansas City beating the Jets 31-20, Detroit winning at Miami, New England edging Green Bay by a field goal or so, Carolina winning outright over Denver, and Houston blowing out the Chargers 27-12.
More conference champions
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Damonza Byrd · Conference Champions · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
The co-host picks the Seahawks to beat the Rams in the NFC Championship game, and says they believe New England will win in Denver even though they are taking the Broncos with the points.Nick Wright · Conference Champions · New England Patriots · Hit 100
The host picks the Rams to beat the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game and believes the winner of that game wins the Super Bowl, i.e. that this is the Rams' year; they also pick New England to win in Denver despite taking the Broncos with the points, and says Stafford is winning MVP. They call Sean McVay the second-best coach in the NFL.Nick Wright · Conference Champions · Denver Broncos · Close 50
Wright picked the Broncos to beat the Patriots in a low-scoring AFC Championship game (17-16), said Sean Payton would coach Denver to the Super Bowl, picked the Rams to win outright in Seattle 31-20, believes the winner of the NFC game wins the Super Bowl with the Rams the better team, and expects Matt Stafford to be named league MVP.AJ Hawk · Conference Champions · Los Angeles Rams · Close 50
Hawk picked the Patriots to win in Denver despite liking Stidham and the Broncos defense, and in the NFC they stuck with the Rams, saying Stafford gets to the Super Bowl.Derek Murphy · Conference Champions · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
Bone said after watching film that Seattle will handle the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, and that the Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl.