Culture

He raped a 12-year-old a decade ago. Now, he’s at the Olympics

Published

2 hours ago

July 29, 2024

He raped a 12-year-old a decade ago. Now, he’s at the Olympics

Steven van de Velde will step into a picturesque sand court near the base of the Eiffel Tower on Sunday to meet his long-held ambition of becoming an Olympian.

And to let him represent the Netherlands at the Paris Games, the Dutch Olympic Committee agreed that he should stay outside the athletes’ village and not talk with media, who would certainly ask about his prison sentence for raping a 12-year-old girl when he was 19.

Van de Velde, 29, has been competing on the volleyball tour and in international competitions for several years, yet his selection to the Dutch Olympic team has prompted backlash and new attention to his troubling past.

The Dutch Olympic Committee and Dutch Volleyball Federation declined to make Van de Velde available and to comment to The Athletic beyond a statement that said in part that Van de Velde was included on the team “after careful consideration” and that he had “consistently met” their high standards. Van de Velde, approached as he arrived in Paris this week by a reporter from the Daily Mail, declined comment beyond the statements from the federation and committee.

Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after admitting that he had taken a cheap flight from Amsterdam to a small airport north of London in 2014 and had sex with a 12-year-old girl after they had talked online frequently for several months.

He was caught after he advised his victim to get a morning-after pill. Staff at a family planning clinic alerted the girl’s family and the police because of her age.

(Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

Van de Velde served 13 months in prison, including 12 months in Britain before he was transferred to the Netherlands under a treaty between the countries. He was resentenced to a shorter term under Dutch law and was released in early 2017.

After coming out of jail, he gave an interview to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad in which he said: “I have been branded as a sex monster, as a paedophile. That I am not — really not.”

Van de Velde’s name is still on the UK’s sex offenders registry. Aylesbury Crown Court heard how he started talking to the girl on social media — on Skype, Facebook and Snapchat — and spoke to her almost every day over a few months.

Their communication started when she sent him a friend request. He initially thought she was 16 but even when she told him her real age, he did not break off contact.

On August 2, 2014, he boarded a flight to meet his victim in person. From Luton airport, he took a taxi 22 miles (35km) to Milton Keynes, the town where she lived, for their sexual encounters, including one instance of vaginal sex during which she complained he was hurting her. They also drank Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur together and slept on a cardboard box under a hotel stairway when they couldn’t get a room.

Before he returned to the Netherlands, Van de Velde advised his victim to get the morning-after pill because they had not used contraception.

Back in his home country, Van de Velde’s sporting career was taking off.

He had just won a national championship in 2015 and looked set to make the Dutch team for the following summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Then a European warrant was issued for his arrest on child sex charges.

He was extradited to the UK on January 8, 2016, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of raping a child.

In court, his lawyer Linda Strudwick argued that Van de Velde was not a “predatory young man” and that flying to the UK to meet the girl had been a “spur-of-the-moment decision”. She claimed his actions were not grooming and that he did not make the journey “for the purpose of having sex”.

She said: “There was mutual support as two angst-ridden juveniles. He’s lost a stellar sporting career and he’s being branded a rapist. In Holland, the term means violent sexual assault without consent. The headlines say it all — ‘a sex monster.’ It’s plainly a career end for him.”

When Van de Velde was sentenced, it was revealed in court that the victim felt racked with guilt following his arrest and had been self-harming. Judge Francis Sheridan told Van de Velde: “The emotional harm that has been caused to this child is enormous. As she matures, she will have to come to realise that you are not the nice man she thought you were and hoped you might be.”

Under UK law, victims of sexual offences are granted lifelong anonymity, both during the legal process and beyond.

These Olympics will be the peak of Van de Velde’s career (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

The sentence was reduced in the Netherlands because its law relating to sex with minors is less strict than the law in England.

In a TV interview one year after his release, Van de Velde attributed his crime to being a teenager and “still figuring things out”.

“I made that choice in my life when I wasn’t ready,” he told NOS. “I was sort of lost and now I have so much more life experience.”

He added: “Everyone wants to be liked, everyone wants to be respected, and with something like this on your record, it’s difficult. I can’t reverse it, so I have to carry the consequences. It’s the biggest mistake of my life.”

Since then, he has rebuilt his life and sporting career. He has competed for his country on the international stage since 2017, and in 2022 he married Kim van de Velde, a German beach volleyball player who has also trained as a police officer. They have a two-year-old son.

Marking a career high, Van de Velde will appear at the Paris Olympics alongside his playing partner Matthew Immers, 23, and the pair will hope to build on their recent success where they were runners-up at a tournament on beach volleyball’s world tour in May. Van de Velde has also competed at multiple world and European championships.

Their first group-stage match in Paris is against an Italian duo on Sunday morning.

“I know the Steven of today and I’m happy about that,” Immers said. “I feel comfortable with him, we take good care of each other. I’m 23, he’s 29. He’s a kind of a second father to me, who supports me.”

In its statement, the Dutch Olympic Committee said Van de Velde deserved a second chance as he had shown that he’d “grown and positively changed his life”.

The statement said: “We are deeply aware that the renewed publicity about Steven van de Velde is causing a lot of emotion, which we fully understand, as the events at that time were very serious. A lot has happened since then. Steven served his sentence and has completed an extensive rehabilitation programme with specialised professionals, including the probation service. Experts have concluded there is no risk of recidivism.”

“He is proving to be an exemplary professional and human being and there has been no reason to doubt him since his return,” said Michel Everaert, general director of the Dutch Volleyball Federation.

The volleyball federation added that “when Van de Velde looks in the mirror now, he sees a mature and happy man, married and father of a beautiful son.”

Pieter van den Hoogenband, chef de mission for Dutch Olympic Committee, said the moves to change his accommodations and restrict him from the media were necessary because attention on Van de Velde had magnified around the Paris Games.

“He’s not going to downplay it. We have to respect that and help him as a member of the team to be able to perform,” Van den Hoogenband said.

The IOC does not have its own rules for the selection of individual participants for games, deferring to each national olympic committee to make its own decisions.

“They (the Dutch Olympic Committee) have put out a statement, they’ve made it very clear there’s a lot of safeguarding going on, special extra safeguarding,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told a news conference in Paris on Saturday.

Some national Olympic officials have made it clear they would not have chosen an athlete to play under similar circumstances.

“If an athlete or a staff member had that conviction, they wouldn’t be allowed to be a member of our team,” said Australia’s chef de mission, Anna Meares.

Van de Velde’s appearance at the Games has prompted fury from campaign groups who said he’d shown a “chilling” lack of remorse and empathy for his victim. A petition with nearly 81,000 signatures called on the IOC to ban known sex offenders from competing.

The Survivors Trust, a UK-based group which supports victims of sexual violence, said in a statement that his inclusion was a “further endorsement of the shocking toleration we have of child sexual abuse.” It added: “The rape of a child was planned, calculated involving international travel, and will undoubtedly cause his victim lifelong trauma, irreversibly changing the course of her life. As a society, we have to start embracing a zero-tolerance approach to this heinous and costly crime.”

“An athlete convicted of child sexual abuse, no matter in what country, should not be awarded the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games,” added Julie Ann Rivers-Cochran, executive director of The Army of Survivors. “Despite Van de Velde’s justifications, there is no excuse for raping a child. Van de Velde’s statement reveals a lack of remorse and understanding of the consequences of his actions. Raping a minor is not a ‘misstep’ — it is a criminal violation that should exclude people from participation in the Olympic Games.”

When Van de Velde was sentenced in 2016, Judge Sheridan told him: “Your hopes of representing your country now lie as a shattered dream. Your actions in those two days in England have wrecked your life and you could, had you never come to England and committed these offences, have been a leader in your sport.”

Yet, eight years on, Van de Velde’s dreams are far from shattered.

(Top photo: Lucio Tavora/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Culture

Pre-training camp NFL Power Rankings: Chiefs and 49ers reign, Texans and Bears on the rise

Published

10 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

Pre-training camp NFL Power Rankings: Chiefs and 49ers reign, Texans and Bears on the rise

The longest offseason in major professional sports will be over by the end of the week. Five NFL teams have already opened training camp. Twenty-three more start on Tuesday, and the remaining four kick off Wednesday. The Hall of Fame Game between the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears is less than 10 days away.

So we can officially say the NFL is back, and the power rankings are just as happy about that as the rest of you. The preseason rankings start where last season’s rankings ended — with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers at the top — but there’s been some movement down the line. The Hall of Fame Game participants, for instance, are among the biggest risers because of one young quarterback who has already proven himself and another who everyone expects to soon.

On with the list:

Last season: 11-6 in regular season, Super Bowl champions

The last time the Chiefs failed to make the NFL’s final four, Matthew Stafford was a Lion, Ryan Tannehill was a Dolphin and Ben Roethlisberger was an active player. That was 2017. Since then, Patrick Mahomes has won 15 playoff games (more than all quarterbacks but Tom Brady and Joe Montana) and never finished a season as a starter short of the AFC Championship Game. Mahomes is 28 years old. If he plays as long as Brady, that means 17 more years to pad what could be an otherworldly stat line.

Last season: 12-5, lost Super Bowl

The 49ers are the NFL’s narrative busters. Need a top-10 quarterback to compete at the highest level? Nope. San Francisco has gone to two Super Bowls and two more NFC title games with Brock Purdy and Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback. There are consequences for missing on a top-five quarterback? Not for the Niners. This team traded three first-round picks to draft Trey Lance No. 3 in 2021 and hasn’t missed a beat despite Lance already being off the team. Kyle Shanahan, despite his near misses, might be underpaid.

GO DEEPER

One big question for all 32 NFL teams ahead of training camp: Caleb Williams’ debut and more

Last season: 12-5, lost NFC Championship Game

The Lions have won more games since Nov. 6, 2022 (22), than they did in the previous 1,769 days (18). These are giddy times in Detroit, and the Lions have responded by throwing cash around, extending quarterback Jared Goff, offensive lineman Penei Sewell and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to big-money deals this offseason. Maybe just as importantly, Detroit retained offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who led the Lions to the fifth-best offense in the league last season based on EPA (expected points added) per play, according to TruMedia.

Amon-Ra St. Brown and the Lions have fans excited about the possibilities in 2024. (Nic Antaya / Getty Images)

Last season: 10-7, lost in AFC divisional round

For most of the NFL’s history, calling a team the Lions of the AFC would have been fighting words. Not anymore. The Texans are the cross-conference counterparts of the Lions, which is to say they are their conference’s best-vibes team. After C.J. Stroud’s remarkable rookie season, Houston is going all in behind its young quarterback, re-signing tight end Dalton Schultz and adding wide receiver Stefon Diggs and running back Joe Mixon to an offense that scored 45 points against one of the league’s best defenses in Stroud’s first career playoff game. If the Texans can survive being this offseason’s hot team, it could be a special season in Houston.

Last season: 13-4, lost AFC Championship Game

The 2023 Ravens were the NFL’s best team for long stretches. The 2024 Ravens are something different. Baltimore has added Derrick Henry but lost defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, linebacker Patrick Queen, safety Geno Stone, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, three starting offensive linemen and about 10 percent of a quarterback. Reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson appears to have lost more than 20 pounds. Will he be the same player who has led Baltimore in rushing and passing each of the last five years? Probably.

GO DEEPER

In his new home with the Ravens, Derrick Henry is still competing against himself

Last season: 11-6, lost in AFC wild-card round

In the first four seasons of Deshaun Watson’s career, he had a passer rating of 104.5, a 2.4 touchdown-to-interception ratio and was off target on only 6.4 percent of his throws, according to TruMedia. It’s why the Browns sent three first-round picks, a third and two fourths to the Texans to acquire him. In two seasons in Cleveland, Watson has a passer rating of 81.7, a 1.6 TD-to-interception ratio and has been off target on 15.8 percent of his throws. Last year’s Browns still won 11 games. If Watson and running back Nick Chubb (coming off a knee injury) can return to form this year, Cleveland will be a contender.

Last season: 12-5, lost in NFC wild-card round

In the last three seasons, the Cowboys have won 36 regular-season games and one playoff game. Owner Jerry Jones is so fed up that he … did basically nothing this offseason to improve the team. Head coach Mike McCarthy is back (with a new defensive coordinator — Mike Zimmer, who replaced Dan Quinn). Linebacker Eric Kendricks and running back Royce Freeman were Dallas’ only free-agency additions. Plus, quarterback Dak Prescott will be playing with a $55 million cap hit and in the final year of his contract this season because the Cowboys don’t seem concerned about getting an extension done.

Last season: 9-8, lost in NFC divisional round

Green Bay was the fourth-youngest playoff team in NFL history last season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In the second half of the season, the Packers’ offense was eighth in the league in scoring (23.7) and fourth in yards per play (6.0), and they won seven of their last 10 games. In the playoffs, Green Bay put 48 points on the Cowboys and then lost by just three to the 49ers in the divisional round. Coach Matt LaFleur and 25-year-old quarterback Jordan Love seem to be getting along fine.

Last season: 11-6, lost in AFC divisional round

Only the Chiefs have a longer active streak of double-digit-win seasons than the Bills’ five. Whether Buffalo can continue that streak is one of the league’s most interesting questions. It lost Diggs, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Mitch Morse, Tyrel Dodson and Leonard Floyd in the offseason. That means more of the load falls on quarterback Josh Allen, who already carries plenty for the Bills. In the last five seasons, no player has averaged more fantasy points per game, according to TruMedia. It’s not an exact match for on-field value, but it’s a pretty good indicator.

GO DEEPER

Next man up to next big thing: Terrel Bernard climbs to centerpiece of Bills defense

Last season: 11-6, lost in NFC wild-card round

Questions abound in Philly. Will new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s system suit quarterback Jalen Hurts? How will the offensive line hold up without “the other Kelce,” center Jason who, like his brother Travis, is a future Hall of Famer but, unlike his brother, is not dating Taylor Swift and is now retired? But the biggest question is: What the heck happened last season? The Eagles lost six of their last seven games, and their point differential (minus-59) was the fourth worst in the league during that stretch, suggesting something more than personnel fits was amiss with the one-time juggernaut.

Can Jalen Hurts and the Eagles rebound after their late-season collapse in 2023? (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

Last season: 10-7, lost in NFC wild-card round

The Rams won seven of eight to end the regular season and dropped a one-point game to the Lions in the playoffs. In the offseason, they remade their secondary and fortified their offensive line. And just like that, 38-year-old coach Sean McVay is back in the fray in the NFC. McVay enters his eighth season already in the top 100 of all-time head-coaching wins (70). Just two years ago, he coached a five-win team and the media job offers were piling up. Now, he’s coaching a contender again.

Last season: 11-6, lost in AFC wild-card round

Through Week 15 last season, the Dolphins led the NFL with 31.5 points per game. From Week 16 through a wild-card round playoff loss, they were 30th in scoring with 15.5 points per game. Did defenses figure out the league’s fastest offense? Did injuries catch up to Miami? Was it just that they played better teams down the stretch? Yes to all three, but coach Mike McDaniel has had an entire offseason to adjust, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa should have lots of motivation playing in the final year of his contract.

Last season: 7-10, missed playoffs

Aaron Rodgers is ninth all time in the NFL in passing yards (59,055), and he realistically could pass Dan Marino and Matt Ryan this year to move to seventh. He’s fifth in passing touchdowns (475) and could pass Brett Favre to get to fourth. These numbers are provided here in case anyone forgot Rodgers actually plays football. And usually pretty well. If he can do that again this year after playing only four snaps before snapping his Achilles tendon last year, the Jets will be legitimate contenders. New York returns most of a defense that was second in the NFL in expected points added last season.

GO DEEPER

Inside the celebration of Mr. Irrelevant and Jets rookie Jaylen Key

Last season: 9-8, missed playoffs

The defense that quietly helped power Cincinnati to Super Bowl LVI completely fell apart last season. The Bengals gave up 6 yards per play, the worst number in the league. That’s going to have to be corrected if the vaunted return of Joe Burrow is going to mean much. The quarterback played only 10 games last season because of a wrist injury that everyone in Cincinnati hopes is behind him. In the last three seasons, Burrow’s passer rating (101) is the fourth best in the league, and he’s going to need to be special again this year.

The Bengals are counting on a big season from Joe Burrow, who is returning from a wrist injury. (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

Last season: 7-10, missed playoffs

A quick NFL history lesson: This team used to be referred to as the Monsters of the Midway. That’s right. The Bears were once good but have had only one winning season since 2012 and one playoff win since 2006. So why are Bears fans so giddy? No one in the NFL has added more in the offseason. The list includes No. 1 pick quarterback Caleb Williams, No. 9 pick wide receiver Rome Odunze, veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen, safety Kevin Byard and running back D’Andre Swift. They also overhauled their entire offensive coaching staff.

GO DEEPER

Always a late bloomer, Montez Sweat is living up to his star potential with the Chicago Bears

Last season: 5-12, missed playoffs

Jim Harbaugh won 11 games in his second season as the University of San Diego’s head coach. He won 12 games and an Orange Bowl in his fourth year at Stanford. He won double-digit games in each of his first three seasons as coach of the 49ers. He won 10 games in his first year at the University of Michigan and a national title seven years later. The former quarterback is an odd duck, but he can coach. And now he has quarterback Justin Herbert, who has topped 4,700 passing yards in two of his four professional seasons.

Last season: 7-10, missed playoffs

The Falcons gave 35-year-old quarterback Kirk Cousins the largest total-money free-agency deal in NFL history (four years worth up to $180 million) and then spent the No. 8 pick on University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. That’s how scarred Falcons owner Arthur Blank and his executives were after two years of alternating Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder as the starting quarterback. Cousins will be playing in the McVay offensive system thanks to Atlanta’s hiring of former Rams defensive coordinator (and before that Atlanta interim head coach) Raheem Morris as head coach.

GO DEEPER

Offseason observations from all 32 NFL teams: Chiefs’ rebuilt WR room, Kirk Cousins’ impact

Last season: 9-8, missed playoffs

Entering his second season, Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is 15th in the NFL’s MVP odds, according to BetMGM. His odds are as good or better than those of Cousins, Christian McCaffrey, Justin Jefferson and many more proven players. So it seems the betting markets are putting as much pressure on the young quarterback as the Colts, who seem to be expecting Richardson to be some sort of Superman despite playing only four games in 2024 before a shoulder injury ended his season. He averaged 144 passing yards and 36 rushing yards per game in his four starts, during which Indianapolis went 2-2.

Last season: 9-8, missed playoffs

If you allow Seattle to have a mulligan on the 2009 season, when Jim Mora went a forgettable 5-11 before being fired, the Seahawks have had only two head coaches since 1999. Mike Holmgren held the job for 10 years, and Pete Carroll just finished a 14-year stint. Now it’s Macdonald’s turn. The former Ravens defensive coordinator was a college graduate assistant just 11 seasons ago and is taking over a team that could go either direction. The hopes of Macdonald and the Seahawks rest on quarterback Geno Smith, who is on a career-redefining run in Seattle.

Last season: 10-7, lost in AFC wild-card round

After 17 almost maddeningly consistent seasons in Pittsburgh, it seems like coach Mike Tomlin is going one way or the other in a big way this year. He has two new quarterbacks who come from starting jobs — Russell Wilson and Justin Fields — and a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith. Tomlin has never had a losing season in Pittsburgh, but this offensive mix might end that. Or it might rejuvenate a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016. Wilson and Fields both bring dynamic talents to the mix, and Smith has a good history with athletic quarterbacks. It should be fun to watch either way.

The Steelers offense should be more interesting than last season with quarterbacks Russell Wilson, left, and Justin Fields playing in new coordinator Arthur Smith’s system. (Joe Sargent / Getty Images)

Last season: 9-8, missed playoffs

The Jaguars and their quarterback are the NFL’s Rorschach test — is this team the AFC South favorite led by one of the league’s best quarterbacks or is it teetering on the brink of a rebuild? It depends on how you squint. Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in 2021, has topped 4,000 passing yards in each of his two non-Urban Meyer-coached seasons, but his touchdown-to-interception ratio since joining the league (1.5) is 27th in the last three years. That’s Daniel Jones and Garoppolo territory. Meanwhile, Jacksonville went 15-5 from Week 12 of 2022 through Week 12 of 2023 and then lost five of its last six to fall out of playoff contention.

Last season: 9-8, lost in NFC divisional round

Most of the Buccaneers’ offseason work consisted of holding on to their own free agents — quarterback Baker Mayfield, wide receiver Mike Evans and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. chief among them. The status quo feels fine to the Bucs these days after four straight seasons making the playoffs. That has happened only once before in the team’s 47-year history. A fifth straight trip would set a team record but likely will require holding off a restocked Falcons team in the NFC South. Given the recent history of both teams, the Bucs probably like their chances.

Last season: 7-10, missed playoffs

Jefferson became the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league this offseason when he signed a four-year, $140 million contract extension. That raise comes with heightened workplace expectations because instead of playing with a veteran quarterback in Cousins, Jefferson will have some combination of journeyman Sam Darnold and rookie J.J. McCarthy this season. Jefferson already has 4,825 receiving yards, the most by any player in his first three seasons. He’ll have longtime Packers running back Aaron Jones to help on offense this season.

GO DEEPER

Who are the NFL’s underrated and overrated teams? Why Packers, Bengals could be dangerous

Last season: 6-11, missed playoffs

The Titans will attempt to play a football season without Henry this year. Maybe it’ll work, but it feels like a bad idea. Since being selected 45th in the 2016 draft, Henry has accounted for 24 percent of Tennessee’s yards from scrimmage. In place of the bruising Henry, new head coach Brian Callahan has added running back Tony Pollard and wide receiver Calvin Ridley to pair with DeAndre Hopkins around young quarterback Will Levis.

Last season: 9-8, missed playoffs

New Orleans’ cold war against the salary cap continues. The Saints, who are scheduled to be $88 million over the cap next year, are paying a lot of old players a lot of money this year. Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, Cameron Jordan, Derek Carr and Taysom Hill, all 29 or older, are their highest-paid players and on the back end of their peaks. If free-agency addition Chase Young can jump-start his career, it will help.

Last season: 8-9, missed playoffs

The Raiders signed defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to the third-largest free-agency contract of this offseason, so they’re not acting like a rebuilding team. Just a thought, maybe it’s time they did. Las Vegas has had only two winning seasons since 2002 and will be quarterbacked by Aidan O’Connell or Gardner Minshew this season. In defensive tackle Maxx Crosby and wide receiver Davante Adams, the Raiders have two of the most coveted trade pieces in the league. The Raiders can miss the playoffs without Crosby and Adams the same as they will with them, and they could restock with lots of high draft picks if they move them.

Is Raiders star Maxx Crosby in Las Vegas for the long haul or will he be traded this season? (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

Last season: 4-13, missed playoffs

The Commanders signed a host of second-tier free agents in March, but the big move came in April when they drafted Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 pick. It looks to be a long build behind Daniels. The Commanders were 25th in scoring (19.35 ppg) and last in points allowed (30.5 per game) last season. Former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was hired in the offseason to fix things after a long courtship with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson proved unfruitful.

GO DEEPER

Winners and losers of NFL offseason: Are Bills, Cowboys headed in wrong direction?

Last season: 6-11, missed playoffs

Giants fans should keep Oct. 19 clear on their calendar. That’s when the Georgia Bulldogs will be playing the Texas Longhorns, and chances are at least fair the Giants’ next quarterback will be on the field. With Georgia’s Carson Beck, Texas’ Quinn Ewers and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, the 2025 quarterback draft class should have plenty of options. Of course, maybe Daniel Jones (and his $41 million, soon-to-be $58 million cap hit) will be the answer. His career 22-36-1 record and career 6.6 yards-per-attempt average, which ranks 39th in the NFL in the last five years, would suggest otherwise, though.

Last season: 4-13, missed playoffs

The first Patriots season without Bill Belichick as head coach since Bill Clinton was president starts with a question at quarterback. How long can veteran Jacoby Brissett hold off No. 3 pick Drake Maye? That’ll be up to new head coach Jerod Mayo, the former New England linebacker and linebackers coach. Both Maye and Mayo should get some grace as they start their careers because New England is 29-38 in the last four seasons (yes, that’s how long Brady has been gone).

Last season: 4-13, missed playoffs

The Cardinals enter coach Jonathan Gannon’s second season with more optimism than has been earned by the team’s eight wins in the last two seasons. Quarterback Kyler Murray got some help this offseason in the form of No. 4 pick wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., but it’s the defense that really needs a boost. Arizona gave up the second-most points (455) in the NFL last season. The Cardinals have been the most generous team in the league over the last two seasons, allowing 904 points.

Last season: 8-9, missed playoffs

Sean Payton’s career post-Drew Brees hasn’t gone much better than Belichick’s did after Brady left New England. Payton is 17-17 in two seasons without Brees — one in New Orleans and last year in Denver. Payton thinks he’s found the answer in rookie quarterback Bo Nix, whom the Broncos took with the 12th pick of the first round. Not many people agree with him. Nix was widely considered a second-round prospect who padded his college numbers in a quarterback-friendly offense at Oregon. In fact, Denver’s entire quarterback room — Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson — makes it seem like Payton just wants to prove how good he is as a quarterbacks coach.

GO DEEPER

What does success look like for Sean Payton in Year 2 with the Broncos?

Last season: 2-15, missed playoffs

Maybe the Panthers really, really wanted Dave Canales as their head coach. Or, maybe more high-profile candidates were scared off by the combination of owner David Tepper and quarterback Bryce Young. Canales had a nice year as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator in 2023, but it was his only season as a coordinator. If he can reverse Young’s career track, none of that will matter. The former Alabama quarterback’s 5.5 yards per attempt in his rookie season were the fewest for any quarterback in the last eight seasons.

(Top photo of C.J. Stroud: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)

Culture

Packers, Jordan Love agree to 4-year, $220 million extension

Published

17 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

Packers, Jordan Love agree to 4-year, 0 million extension

The Green Bay Packers and quarterback Jordan Love have reached an agreement on a four-year, $220 million contract extension, league sources said Friday. The deal also includes a record $75 million signing bonus and $155 million in new full guarantees, per sources, making Love the highest-paid NFL quarterback.

Love’s new deal puts him in line with Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow, all of whom are earning $55 million per year as the top-paid quarterbacks on an annual basis. Those figures come in above quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa ($53.1 million per year), Jared Goff ($53 million per year), Justin Herbert ($52.5 million per year) and Lamar Jackson ($52 million per year).

The agreement also ends Love’s “hold-in” as the quarterback decided to skip practice until he received a new contract. Love reported to camp on time and will participate in other team activities outside of practice.

Love participated in all offseason activities even without a new contract, but the quarterback’s representation informed the Packers just before the start of training camp that he wouldn’t practice.

“I feel we’re close,” Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said at the start of training camp.

GO DEEPER

Paying Jordan Love this much is a big risk, which Packers are no strangers to with QBs

Love, 25, was set to enter the final year of his contract and is coming off a breakout first season starting in which he helped the Packers to a surprise divisional-round playoff appearance. He threw for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 17 regular-season games.

He now heads into his second season as the Packers starter after sitting four years behind current New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Packers and Love agreed on a one-year contract extension ahead of last season that only tied the quarterback to Green Bay through this coming year. That extension was worth up to $22.5 million, including $13.5 million fully guaranteed.

Why Green Bay made this deal

The Packers shocked the NFL when they traded up in the 2020 first round to draft Love with four years remaining on Rodgers’ contract. Love bided his time for three years behind Rodgers and the long game paid off for him, Gutekunst and the organization that kept faith in their new franchise quarterback.

The Packers are hoping Love can follow in the footsteps of Brett Favre and Rodgers and give them three consecutive Hall of Fame quarterbacks, though Love has plenty more to accomplish to get there after a breakout first year starting in which he was arguably the NFL’s best quarterback the second half of the regular season.

In his first three years in the NFL, Love only started one game, a Week 9 loss to the Chiefs in 2021 on short notice after Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19. Love struggled under relentless pressure from Kansas City as the Packers only scored once in a 13-7 loss, but Gutekunst was impressed with Love’s ability to persevere through adversity. In addition to three years of watching Love behind the scenes and in practice, the Packers felt confident enough to hand the reins of the offense over to an unproven 24-year-old.

Their decision paid off, and Green Bay looks to have struck gold again in the form of a player now tied for the highest-paid player in NFL history. — Matt Schneidman, Packers staff writer

Required reading

(Photo: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)

Culture

When athletes win Olympic gold medals in Paris, they'll get a piece of the Eiffel Tower

Published

24 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

When athletes win Olympic gold medals in Paris, they'll get a piece of the Eiffel Tower

Winning an Olympic gold medal is considered a crowning achievement for an athlete, so it’s only fitting that the physical medal represents the significance.

What’s on each gold medal is special for every Olympic Games, but Paris 2024 is particularly notable because, when athletes win gold, they will take home a piece of the Eiffel Tower, an iconic landmark of the host city.

The Eiffel Tower played a major role in the Paris 2024 opening ceremony. From beaming lights and the Olympic rings to the comeback performance of Celine Dion, “La Tour Eiffel” showcased its grandeur to the world. And now, it will be part of the athletes’ medal collections.

What else is unique about these gold medals and how are they connected to the Eiffel Tower? Here’s what to know.

How many Olympic medals are created?

Around 5,084 medals were developed for Paris 2024, per multiple reports, which note that approximately 2,600 medals have been created for the Olympics and 2,400 for the Paralympics.

How much do the Olympic gold medals weigh?

The gold medal weighs 1.17 pounds. The silver medal, by comparison, weighs 1.16 pounds while the bronze is one pound.

Who designed the Olympic gold medals?

Chaumet, the French luxury jewelry and watch brand, designed the Olympic medals. Founded in 1780, Chaumet is owned by LVMH (Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton).

What features are on the Olympic gold medals?

The Olympic gold medal consists of three features: the hexagon, radiance and setting.

In the middle of the medal is a hexagon. It pays homage to France’s nickname “L’hexagone” given the country’s roughly six-sided shape.

The hexagon is surrounded by several strand-like shapes. This symbolizes the radiant light, as Paris is often referred to as the “city of light.”

On the six edges of the hexagon are claw settings. The shape is similar to those found in the rivets on the Eiffel Tower.

Olympic rings were illuminated on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of 2024 Games in Paris. (Photo: Ludovic Marin – Pool / Getty)

What is the Eiffel Tower connection?

The Eiffel Tower was the defining fixture of the 1889 World Fair. The original tower was made with wrought iron.

When the Eiffel Tower underwent renovations in the 20th century, they preserved pieces of the original iron and kept them in storage. Those chunks make up the hexagon figure in the middle of the Olympic gold medal.

According to multiple reports, 0.04 pounds of iron renovation pieces from the Eiffel Tower are included in each medal.

Gold, silver and bronze medals began at the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games. It’s estimated that 1,011 medals — in terms of the Games’ medal count — will be handed out at Paris 2024 (more medals were developed to account for team events). This is the first time a piece of a city’s historic landmark is included in an Olympic medal.

How much is an Olympic gold medal worth?

According to Forbes, a Paris 2024 Olympic gold medal is worth approximately $950.

What happens at the medal ceremony?

The gold medal is placed around the winning athlete’s neck atop the podium. The athlete also receives a stuffed souvenir of the Paris 2024 mascot. Then, the national anthem of the winning athlete’s country plays — a tradition that began for gold medalists at medal ceremonies in 1932.