5-at-10: Black national anthem, Mahomes gets half a billion and Chiefs got better deal, True or false Tuesday, Rushmore of 7s

FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2020, file photo, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 54 football game in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Chiefs made sure they will have Super Bowl MVP Mahomes around as long as possible. Mahomes agreed to a 10-year extension worth $503 million, according to his agency, Steinberg Sports. The deal is worth $477 million in guarantee mechanisms and includes a no-trade clause and opt-out clauses if guarantee mechanisms are not met. It is the richest contract in professional sports history, surpassing Mike Trout's $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2020, file photo, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 54 football game in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Chiefs made sure they will have Super Bowl MVP Mahomes around as long as possible. Mahomes agreed to a 10-year extension worth $503 million, according to his agency, Steinberg Sports. The deal is worth $477 million in guarantee mechanisms and includes a no-trade clause and opt-out clauses if guarantee mechanisms are not met. It is the richest contract in professional sports history, surpassing Mike Trout's $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

By Jay Greeson July 7, 2020 7 min read

Black national anthem

I was remiss in not having this report on Monday. That’s on me.

In some ways, maybe I thought it was an internet hoax, until I saw it originally linked from USA Today.

According to this story, the NFL is going to play “Lift Every Voice” before playing the “Star-Spangled Banner” prior to kickoff for each game. “Lift Every Voice,” you see, is viewed as the Black national anthem.

My questions are multi-faceted about this decision.

First, the hypocrisy that the guy who turned our actions during anthem into the only thing over the last two decades that can derail the NFL’s monolithic ratings still does not have a job in the league before the league went complete 180 and now will play the Black national anthem is difficult to understand.

It almost makes you wonder if Colin Kaepernick really ever wanted to get back on the field to begin with. Considering the big-dollar deals Keep got with Nike and the news that ESPN and Disney have now partnered with Kaepernick’s production company for several, multi-million-dollar projects, well, he’s making a whole lot of money being a former football player/martyr these days.