Robert Smith
Appearances
Consider This from NPR
Farming is uncertain — a trade war makes it more so
Part of that is tariffs. Tariffs were mentioned 49 times in the Beige Book, by the way. The president has been slapping tariffs on and then unslapping those same tariffs and then delaying the slap and then doing that thing where you sort of fake a slap and then point and laugh. Ha, ha, ha.
Consider This from NPR
Farming is uncertain — a trade war makes it more so
Quote, a contact in Memphis noted that the current agriculture market was in a worse spot than the same time last year. Contacts noted that tariffs, policy uncertainty, and a lack of clarity regarding farm bill safety nets were negatively impacting the sector. Some farmers also reported having no expectation of profits in the 2025 crop year, and others have gone out of business.
Consider This from NPR
Farming is uncertain — a trade war makes it more so
Zarlan told us that a lot of the farms do a winter wheat that they sell around the world through USAID, the same USAID that's been essentially cut by the Trump administration. So there's a lot of extra grain sitting around.
Consider This from NPR
Farming is uncertain — a trade war makes it more so
In fact, Zarlin is changing his plans right now based on the tariffs. Rice, the crop rice, apparently takes a lot of fertilizer to grow. So he's switching to soybeans, which requires a lot less fertilizer. But soybean prices are low.
Consider This from NPR
Farming is uncertain — a trade war makes it more so
But Sarlon isn't dwelling on it. When we left him, he was staring at soy prices on his phone again, trying to figure out if he should lock in a price now or gamble on it going up later. Robert Smith.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
Big opening for Tony Dorsett. Look out, he's got great speed. Tony Dorsett was my favorite player. I had the uniform, the helmet. The running backs were bigger stars during my childhood than the quarterbacks.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
The average fan doesn't fully appreciate that the NFL is a huge business.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
It was always kind of a badge of honor to play the position because it is a very physical position. And there are times when you have to block players that outweigh you by a large amount. It's not for the faint of heart.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
Only the quarterback has the ball in their hands more. And so you have, I think, one of the greatest opportunities to impact the outcome of a game. On every running play, 11 guys are trying to hit the same person, and that's the guy who has the ball. It's the challenging part, but it's also the rewarding part. that you were able to get by them.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
I hold the NFL record for the longest average per touchdown run at more than 26 yards. And I got to tell you, it's a feeling that I wish everybody could experience when you break into the open and you know you're going to score a touchdown. It's like when you're leaning back in a chair and and you almost tip and fall, and you get this rush of adrenaline.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
It's like this sudden burst of excitement that I'm about to score a touchdown.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
I tore my ACL my rookie season, but in that injury, I also broke the bottom of my femur. and did some damage to the articular cartilage, which is the smooth cartilage that's on the tip of the bone. And I needed to have a microfracture. It's a procedure where they tap on the exposed surface of the bone. And then I needed to have that again after my last season in the league.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
So there I was a couple of months shy of my 29th birthday. It was the only season I didn't miss any games. And I still needed to have knee surgery after the year. And the thing that I said was, you know, if you would pay any amount of money to get your health back if you lost it, then what amount of money is worth the very real chance that you'll lose it?
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
It was the calculation that was going on in my head. That's why I left the game when I did. I'm thinking quite literally, it's better to walk way early than to limp away late.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
Jeffrey Whitney. I am one of the founders and presidents at the Sports and Entertainment Group, a full-service sports agency in Washington, D.C. Been doing it for 20-plus years.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
We represent about 40 NFL players at any given time. So we're one of the larger agencies.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
We're involved in every aspect of our clients' lives on a daily basis. We spend probably the least amount of time actually negotiating contracts. I'm a family therapist, a relationship therapist, some type of preacher or pastor when need be. Financial advisor? Financial advisor, just day-to-day counselor. And that's what I love doing. No day is the same.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
I got up today and I get a call from a player who's injured. And so I have to deal with that. I get a call from a player who's moving and he needs to be guiding in the right direction. Young players, they'll call me and ask me what TV they should purchase. We're in many ways with these young people involved with them in a very intimate and deep fashion.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
In the past, we were actually known as the running back agency. We've represented more running backs over the last 20 years than any other agency.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
Maurice Jones Drew, Matt Forte, Tevin Coleman, Jordan Howard, James White, Sweet Feet from New England, Kendall Hunter, Le'Veon Bell, Michael Carter. We have Cody Schrader this year, who's now with the Rams.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
We have pared down. The market has spoken. And over the last few years, we got into the receiver, cornerback, that kind of market. We never got out of the business of representing running backs, but we did start shaping our roster a little bit.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
That's exactly what you saw. There were agents during the last few years who just didn't represent running backs at all. And there literally were running backs in the market looking for representation. There's a supply and demand issue. There are more running backs than positions. It is a position where you can find really good players all across the draft and after the draft.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
There also is this, the running quarterback position. You can look at the total number of yards that a team has. Now, a lot of that yardage is coming not from the running backs, but it's coming from the quarterback. So now probably half the league has quarterbacks who can run as well as the running back.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
The average fan sometimes doesn't fully appreciate that the NFL is a huge business. It is a business at the highest level. It's $20 billion. It'll go to $25 billion, the ultimate goal. I'm hearing it's going to be a $50 billion industry in the next 10 years. I think we've seen over the last 10 years kind of a cultural shift, not just in the NFL, but across sports.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
As fans, we simply see the outcome of the game, and we don't really understand that at the end of the day, these are corporations that are going to be responsive to their shareholders and consumers. And the NFL is no different. People like to see the ball in the air, the acrobatic catches and the leaps. The fans want to see long balls. They want to see passing.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
I still can watch a 10 to 7 game, a defensive battle. The best player is the middle linebacker and the running back. And I'm happy with that. But for the younger generation, absolutely boring. We can talk supply and demand. We can talk the running quarterback and those all things. do have some influence in the devaluation for the running back position.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
Ultimately, if we really dig down and look at root causes, it's really the corporation, the actual NFL, responding to their consumer base and what their consumer base wants to see.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
You've seen a ton of rule changes, obviously, to make it a higher scoring game with more offense. The defenses have been handicapped. The pass interference rules. You can't hit the quarterback. Some of the rules are good for the safety of the players. But certainly the root of the reason it's to increase the scoring and the way you do that is through passing.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
Make no mistake about it. The running back is the most violent position in the most violent sport on the planet. Running backs are getting hit on every play. In pass protection, they're getting hit. You've got a running back who's 5'10", 215 pounds, and he's blocking a 325-pound defensive lineman. The defensive players are getting bigger and faster every year.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
That physicality for the running back is real. The likelihood of a running back getting through the season unscathed, no injuries, is slim to none. And so a lot of teams, because of that, they go with running backs by committee.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
Well, as you guys have talked about in countless episodes on Freakonomics, you have to be very careful about trying to change one variable in a system without impacting the system in a way that you haven't anticipated. And ultimately, the market is going to decide where they value players the most and where that money is going to make the most sense for that team.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
The last couple of years, you're seeing a little bit of resurgence in the running game. Everything is cyclical, right? If you keep those bell bottoms long enough, they'll come back. That, again, is the sports agent Jeffrey Whitney. You ask a running back what's the most important duty that they have, the vast majority will be like running the football. And it's not.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
It's pass protection and catching the ball and running as part of it. I think we're seeing some young running backs, again, who can do it all, can catch it, can run it, good in pass protection.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
I tell them to become a specialist, a long snapper or a kicker. You play forever. You don't get touched. That's what I would advise them to do. If you're not going to be the quarterback, be the long snapper or be the kicker.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
I'd be interested to see the breakdown. Number one, is it running backs? Is it quarterbacks? You have more quarterbacks that can run the football and they're extremely difficult to stop. Whether it's Lamar Jackson, even a Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, you're going to have some guys that may distort those numbers.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
I mean, some of it's selection bias because the better teams are constructed in a way where they can run the football better. in the red zone the way they want to. And then they have the lead. And so they're going to get more runs that way.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
I don't think so. It goes back to the point of what it takes on a running play. A lot of people would point to Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry, and those guys are outliers. Look at what Saquon Barkley did with the Giants last year. Look what Derrick Henry did with Tennessee last year. Look what they're doing with their new teams this year with Philadelphia and the Ravens.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
The offensive lines are just that much better. So it almost proves the point the other way that, yeah, well, of course, you put these guys behind the great offensive lines. Saquon Barkley in particular, he set a record for number of yards before first contact this year.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
So when you look at the performance of running backs, there's no way that it would be significant enough where everybody would say, well, all we got to do is go get a Saquon Barkley. All we got to do is go get a Derek Henry. Oh, and by the way, It didn't work for those guys behind those other offensive lines.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
So you're still going to have to spend the money to get the offensive line in place that's going to allow those guys to have Saquon Barkley-like numbers or Derrick Henry-like numbers.
Freakonomics Radio
620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?
The running back is the most violent position in the most violent sport on the planet.