Sports
Reports: Myles Garrett's revised deal includes $37M guaranteed in '26
Jun 6, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive end Myles Garrett looks on prior to throwing out the honorary first pitch before a game between the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images Defensive end Myles Garrett’s revised deal with the Los Angeles Rams includes a $5.5 million raise for this season, according to numbers reported by multiple outlets Wednesday.
The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year was acquired by the Rams in a June 1 trade that sent Pro Bowl pass rusher Jared Verse and three draft picks, including a first-round selection in 2027, to the Cleveland Browns.
Garrett’s restructured five-year, $208.2 million deal includes $37 million fully guaranteed in 2026 and $99 million guaranteed through the 2028 season along with a signing bonus and multiple option bonuses, according to Spotrac.
Garrett’s revised cap numbers include $8.8 million in 2026, $15.0 million in 2027, $27.6 million in 2028, $39.9 million in 2029 and $48.2 million in 2030, with another $39.9 million not scheduled to count against the cap until after the contract voids in February 2031, according to NFL Network.
His salary for the upcoming season climbs from $31.5 million to $37 million, per the reports.
The Rams have become a heavy favorite to win Super Bowl LXI, which will be played in their own stadium in February 2027. The last time the Rams won a Super Bowl after the 2021 season, it was also in their stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Garrett, 30, had an NFL-record 23 sacks for the Browns last season. His 125.5 career sacks equate to an average of 15.9 per season. He also led the league with 33 tackles for loss last season.
The five-time All-Pro selection was the first overall draft pick of the Browns in 2017 and had 412 tackles, 149 tackles for loss and 239 quarterback hits in 134 games (131 starts) with Cleveland.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kawhi Leonard Era Drifting Toward Uncertain End With Clippers
Like a sailboat on the water without any wind, the Los Angeles Clippers are afloat, although seemingly unable to go anywhere.
Kawhi Leonard had been paired with Paul George on the roster to no avail and another partnership between Leonard and James Harden proved fruitless. The 2019 George deal, in particular, is putting heavy stress on the franchise to this day.
George is long gone, having already played two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers.
It’s easy to see now that trading four first round draft picks, as well as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire George was about as foolish as it can get. It didn’t seem all that bright at the time, either.
But the Clippers were desperate to get Kawhi Leonard a wing man and in theory, it actually should have come closer to bringing a title to their side of Los Angeles than it did.
The Clippers were the No. 2 seed in the 2020 Western Conference playoffs but the squad hardly looked comfortable in the sequestered setting of that year’s postseason, held exclusively in the Orlando, Fla., area because of the pandemic.
Among the betting favorites when the playoffs began, the Clippers failed to win the franchise’s first title when they couldn’t even get out of the second round. Making the collapse even worse was that the title did come back to Los Angeles, only with the LeBron James-led Lakers.
Signing Leonard in 2019 was supposed to be the Clippers’ counter move to the Lakers bringing aboard James in 2018. But injuries and disappointments have kept the Clippers adrift in the Leonard era, and issues continue to mount.
At 34, Leonard had the best offensive season of his career in 2025-26, was one of the highlights of the revamped All-Star Game in his own arena this past February, and yet not much of that production is being remembered now.
Leonard and the Clippers are embroiled in controversy, with the NBA about to decide soon if punishments will be handed out for possibly circumventing the salary cap through alleged payments Leonard received from a now shuttered banking company.
A $28 million endorsement deal Leonard had with the company Aspiration, is nearing the end of a league-wide investigation.
The harshest of punishments could see the league void Leonard’s Clippers’ contract that runs through next season and is set to pay the shooting forward just over $50 million.
It would be an awkward end to a rocky era, that so far has included Leonard playing 331 of a possible 574 regular-season games with the team. He missed the entire 2021-22 season with a chronic knee injury.
The Clippers have reached the playoffs a respectable five times since Leonard has joined the organization, but the two-time NBA champion has been limited in the postseason as well.
These were supposed to be better days for the Clippers and billionaire owner Steve Ballmer. Two seasons ago, the team moved into a new $2 billion arena south of L.A. in Inglewood. The state-of-the art venue makes the Lakers’ former arena, sitting nearby, look like a relic.
Yet, it figures to be a long time before the Clippers can even come close to replicating what the Lakers accomplished in the city during the 1980s when they won five titles in nine seasons.
The first four games the Clippers ever played in the building two seasons ago they lost. This past season, they opened with a 6-21 overall record as Leonard missed 10 of those games with yet another injury.
Once Leonard was shed of his minutes restriction upon his return, he leaned into the role as offensive leader as never before. He averaged 32.7 points over a 13-game stretch from Dec. 20- Jan. 14, including a career-best 55-point game. He finished the campaign scoring 27.9 points.
The team surged just enough to earn a spot in the play-in tournament but lost to the Golden State Warriors. Along the way, Harden and longtime big man Ivica Zubac were traded.
Is an influx of trade talent in Bennedict Mathurin and Darius Garland, not to mention 2006 and 2009 first-round draft picks, enough to put a winner around Leonard? The pick in the upcoming draft is No. 5 overall.
Those odds, as well as the chances that the NBA forces the Clippers to split from Leonard this offseason, seem slim. But maybe the parties eventually part in a trade.
At this point, setting sail on the partnership seems as if it would be in the best interest of all.
Sports
Three World Cup Futures Bets Worth Making Before Kickoff
Jun 3, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; A general view of the FIFA World Cup Trophy on display during the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour at American Dream. Mandatory Credit: Caean Couto-Imagn Images Crunch all the numbers you like.
But with the wild variability of international play, smart handicapping of international soccer events like the World Cup often defies the data.
The good news for bettors is that you can often find more value than you might in the more controlled pro club environment, where there are much larger samples and far fewer secrets.
With that in mind, let’s look at three futures wagers you should be making right now as we set to open up the 2026 World Cup on Thursday.
Confederation to win The World Cup
World Cup winners have historically correlated to World Cup host location.
European sides have won 10 of the 11 tournaments played on European soil. South American sides have won nine of the 11 tournaments played elsewhere, and seven of eight played in the Americas.
Further, all of this year’s South American entrants have very recent experience managing the travel and playing conditions in the United States from the 2024 Copa America that was hosted in many current World Cup venues.
Only two South American teams rank in the top 10 (Argentina, Brazil) in overall squad value, but trans-Atlantic economic disparities often drive down valuation of South American talent relative to Europe. Colombia, Uruguay and Ecuador all have considerable quality, enough that a deep run from any of the trio is not out of the question.
None of this is a guarantee that a South American side will win. But it’s almost certainly more likely than the implied probability 23.8% of a +320 wager.
Confederation to Win The World Cup Best Bet: Conmebol (+320, FanDuel)
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Most Assists for Colombia
There are plenty of questions about the fitness of James Rodriguez, who barely saw the field in half a season with Minnesota United in MLS and last played in a World Cup in 2018.
But he has always been the best version of himself when playing for his national team. And that best version at age 34 is the guy providing the final ball rather than finishing it.
Rodriguez led all of Conmebol in World Cup Qualifying with seven assists and was also the top assist man at the 2024 Copa America. And his first two opponents should provide plenty of opportunity for creating chances from corner kicks and free kicks, as World Cup debutants Uzbekistan and last-gasp qualifiers DR Congo are likely to be quite cagey and conservative.
That Rodriguze is not favored over Luis Diaz in this market is a blatant oversight. Take advantage by backing him to lead his team in goals assisted at +450 odds and an implied 22.2% probability.
Most Assists for Colombia Best Bet: James Rodriguez (+450, Caesars)
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Ivory Coast Phase of Elimination
The Elephants have plenty of talent playing, but their tournament itinerary feels like a recipe for disaster.
They open against Ecuador, a nation overshadowed on their continent by the likes of Argentina and Brazil, but one that has now gone unbeaten in 19 matches.
If they lose that encounter — and they’ll be slight underdogs — they enter a second match against Germany as a must-draw, a bad place to be against a Julian Nagelsmann-managed squad that excels on punishing mistakes of desperate opponents.
So there’s a very real chance the Elephants could enter the final matchday without points, knowing they only have a faint chance to advance as a third-place side. And they’d face a Curacao side that has more talent than you might think under manager Dick Advocaat, and one that might smell a chance of their first-ever World Cup win.
Maybe it’s not the most likely scenario. But it’s plausible, and one worth betting on at +450 odds and an implied 22.2% probability.
Ivory Coast Phase of Elimination: Group stage (+450, Fanatics)
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Sports
Brendan Sorsby Ruling Shows NCAA Has Lost Control of College Sports
Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby looks on during the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby shocked everyone this week by winning his injunction, and getting a temporary restraining order against the NCAA allowing him to play for Texas Tech in 2026.
It’s hard to say anything is surprising in college football anymore, but this decision was shocking. Ignoring the morality of betting on your own football team, it also seems illegal to have other people place bets on your behalf, which Sorsby admitted to doing. Sorsby and Texas Tech have continued to claim that the issue at hand was a mental health crisis, but I couldn’t imagine the university going through all this trouble if he was a back up kicker.
The NCAA has lost control of college sports. If you don’t like their decision, you take your case to a favorable judge, and you’re allowed to do whatever you want. I am completely against Sorsby ever getting a second chance like most fans of college football, and I wish there was something the NCAA could do to prevent him from playing in 2026 and beyond.
We’ve seen the governing board of the NCAA doesn’t have a backbone, but other universities are fighting against this injustice.
Per Pete Thamel, the Big Ten will be meeting to discuss whether they will continue to schedule regular season games against Texas Tech. Nebraska’s AD, Troy Dannen, and many other AD’s have announced they will no longer be scheduling games against Tech as well.
I applaud these schools for taking a bold stance, and hoping to keep any integrity left in college sports. Hopefully other universities will follow suit and remove any future matchups against Texas Tech.
However, where I am most intrigued to see the fallout from this decision is in the Big 12. Many schools have already come out to voice their displeasure on this ruling, fighting to keep the game safe from further malfeasance.
At the end of the day, this should have been a cut and dry case. Sorsby bet on his team, he did not play, but had insider information about game plans that can lead to advantage in gambling. He’s not nearly as bad as former Cleveland Guardians pitchers, Emanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, but those athletes will never come near the MLB ever again.
A terrible precedent has been set by the NCAA, and now it’s up to the other universities to stand up against Texas Tech, and prevent something like this from ever happening again.
Kawhi Leonard Era Drifting Toward Uncertain End With Clippers
Three World Cup Futures Bets Worth Making Before Kickoff
