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Morning Edition

January 19, 2026

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The NFL conference championships are set—and, except for the Rams’ Matthew Stafford, the quarterback pool is notably unproven. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold had a playoff appearance last season, while this is Drake Maye’s first postseason. Jarrett Stidham, who will fill in for Bo Nix on the Broncos, started just four games in his career, and none in the playoffs.

Also, a note to FOS readers: There will be no afternoon edition of The Memo on Monday, but check your inboxes on Tuesday for our regularly scheduled morning newsletter.

— Colin Salao [[link removed]] and Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]

NFL Conference Championships Have 3 Unproven QBs [[link removed]]

David Butler II-Imagn Images

The final four NFL teams are set—and the quarterback pool is conspicuously unproven.

The four remaining quarterbacks are Sam Darnold (Seahawks), Drake Maye (Patriots), Matthew Stafford (Rams), and Jarrett Stidham (Broncos), who will be replacing Bo Nix after he injured his ankle in the divisional round.

Stafford, who is in his seventh postseason, is the only QB who has won a Super Bowl. Darnold, 28, is the only other one who made the playoffs before this year, but his lone playoff appearance came last season when he went one-and-done with the Vikings.

Maye, 23, is in his first postseason after being drafted No. 3 in the 2024 draft. Nix was also drafted last year (No. 12), while the 29-year-old Stidham has started just four games in his career, and none in the playoffs.

The youth and lack of playoff experience of the three remaining quarterbacks make this a relatively underpaid final four. The six highest-paid quarterbacks who qualified for this postseason have already been eliminated.

Stafford, who makes $40 million a year, was seventh among postseason QBs and 16th overall. Darnold’s $33.5 million per year is 18th among all NFL QBs.

The four quarterbacks’ average annual salary is $22.2 million, about 60% of the AAV of last year’s final four [[link removed]] ($37.1 million average for Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, and Jayden Daniels). Maye and Stidham make less than $10 million a year, and little would change in this scenario if Nix were the Denver starter as he actually makes less annually than Stidham ($4.7 million).

Whichever quarterback wins Super Bowl LX will almost certainly secure a massive raise once they’re able to sign an extension—unless Stafford calls it a career sometime soon.

Stafford, who turns 38 the day before the Super Bowl, has a year remaining on his deal after this year. He can sign an extension in the offseason, one that can still be lucrative following a second Super Bowl win and a potential MVP season.

Maye has two more years on his rookie deal, but he can sign an extension in the 2027 offseason. Darnold has two years remaining though Seattle can extend his deal as early as this offseason.

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Stidham, 29, whose deal is up after next year, could also get a new contract if he miraculously leads Denver to a Super Bowl. He could mirror the Eagles after they won Super Bowl LII with backup Nick Foles leading the way.

Foles signed a four-year, $88 million deal with Jacksonville in 2019. His previous deal with Philadelphia was two years, $11 million [[link removed]].

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Curt Cignetti Is One of the Only CFP Coaches Without a GM [[link removed]]

The Indianapolis Star

MIAMI — In the era of revenue-sharing and unlimited transfers, the general manager position has become ubiquitous—and arguably indispensable—in college football. Unless you’re Curt Cignetti.

The Indiana coach, who signed an eight-year, $93 million extension midseason [[link removed]], made it very clear before this season began: “I’m the GM and head coach,” he said at Big Ten media days in July. His approach has brought the team all the way to the College Football Playoff national championship.

Some schools began hiring general managers early in the NIL (name, image, and likeness) era, but the position evolved to a requirement in the wake of the House v. NCAA settlement [[link removed]]. The settlement allowed schools to share revenue with players up to $20.5 million per athletic department. This year, for the first time, schools could pay players directly. Between the rev-share era and the transfer portal, which allows players to transfer every year, the need for salary cap managers has never been higher. Hence the need for GMs.

In 2025, former Ohio State senior compliance administrator Paia LaPalombara told Front Office Sports [[link removed]] that GMs “have become the central clearinghouse for football roster construction, evaluations, and recruitment, NIL strategy, and rev-share cap budgeting, allowing for head coaches to recenter their focus on football.”

Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson told Front Office Sports on Saturday that Cignetti made his position clear in his interview process with the Hoosiers in 2023. “There’s not one recruiting decision that happens that he ultimately doesn’t give his thumbs up or thumbs down,” Dolson said. “That’s how he builds his roster.”

Dolson did explain, however, that “we have all the aspects of a general manager divided up into multiple positions.” Deputy athletic director and COO Stephen Harper and his team, for example, work “on the aspects of talent acquisition…and recruiting to make certain whether it’s on the academic side, whether it’s on the rev-share side, all the things that come into that.”

While Cignetti isn’t the only coach without a GM (Georgia coach Kirby Smart doesn’t have one either), he’s an outlier. But one thing is clear: His unorthodox approach is working.

College Football Playoff Meetings End Without Expansion Decision [[link removed]]

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

MIAMI — Meetings of College Football Playoff executives Sunday ended without a decision on whether to expand the postseason for the 2026-27 season.

The CFP Management Committee, composed of a group of 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, has the authority to choose to expand. However, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey have the ultimate signoff and must agree in order for a new format to go forward. They still have not reached a consensus—Petitti has pushed for a 24-team model, while Sankey has pushed for a 16-team model, according to multiple reports. [[link removed]]

“That’s up to two people in the room,” American conference commissioner Tim Pernetti told reporters, referring to the SEC and Big Ten. “There’s obviously a lot to discuss.”

Of those discussions, Petitti said: “Still more work to do. Not done working.” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey did not address reporters Sunday.

Expansion appears imminent in general. Fans appear in favor of expansion—-especially those with top teams left out of the Playoff. Administrators are in favor of it too, including [[link removed]] both Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson and Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich. Plus, there’s millions to be made; the 12-team Playoff television contract alone is already worth $7.8 billion.

But at this point, it’s unclear if the CFP will be able to expand next season. To do so, ESPN has given the CFP a deadline of Jan. 23; CFP executive director Rich Clark told reporters Sunday that ESPN will not provide another extension.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said “we have time” to make a decision as he rode down an elevator away from reporters. But multiple conference commissioners said they did not have another official meeting for this week set.

If the commissioners can’t agree on an expansion plan by Jan. 23, their next deadline [[link removed]] would be Dec. 1, 2026, according to Clark, who added that the ESPN contract includes an annual deadline of Dec. 1 to decide on a new format before the following year.

Trump Weighs In

As commissioners continue to discuss formats, there’s another person weighing in: President Donald Trump. On Saturday night—hours before the CFP meetings—Trump announced he would sign an executive order that would “protect” the Army-Navy game [[link removed]] amid potential CFP expansion. The order would block out a four-hour window to broadcast the game annually on the second Saturday in December without any other FBS games—including CFP matchups—played during that window.

The historic annual matchup of the two military academies is played in early December on a Saturday when no other FBS football games are played. But if the CFP expands, certain models could require CFP games on the same day as the Army-Navy game.

Matters could get even more complicated if either program makes the CFP and would be torn away from the rivalry game in an expanded format. However, it would be possible to allow the programs a bye in the first round of the CFP to play the rivalry game instead.

Clark, who served for 38 years in the Air Force with the rank of Lieutenant General, told reporters Saturday that he wasn’t told in advance that Trump would post about the Army-Navy game. The president will be in attendance at the CFP national championship Monday night.

Status Report Three Up, One Push

Mike Frey-Imagn Images

Australian Open ⬆ The Grand Slam drew 100,763 fans Sunday, the first day of its main draw, which set a single-day attendance record. The previous record was Day 6 of last year’s tournament (97,132). The Day 1 attendance numbers come on the heels of Tennis Australia announcing that 217,999 fans attended the Grand Slam’s qualifying week [[link removed]], nearly twice as many as the previous Week 1 record for the tournament set last year (116,528).

Venus Williams ⬆⬇ The 45-year-old became the oldest woman to compete in an Australian Open singles main draw—and fell just short of advancing. The seven-time Grand Slam champion was up 4–0 in the deciding third set before 24-year-old Olga Danilovic rallied to advance to the second round. Williams’s elimination ended the chances of a battle between American greats of two different generations as she was poised to face-off with Coco Gauff [[link removed]] in the Round of 64.

Steph Curry ⬆ A game-worn jersey of the Warriors star from Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals was sold for $2.45 million, according to ESPN [[link removed]]. The Warriors clinched the championship in that game, which is also when Curry unveiled his iconic “Night, Night” celebration. It’s a record price for a Curry jersey, smashing the previous $1.76 million worn in his second career game, when he made his first NBA three-pointer.

Sam Darnold ⬆ The Seahawks quarterback will receive a $1 million bonus for leading Seattle to the Conference championship, up from $500,000 for qualifying for the playoffs. That figure will increase to $1.5 million if Seattle wins in the Conference championship and $2.5 million if it wins the Super Bowl. Darnold already racked up $2 million worth of incentives [[link removed]] during the regular season.

Editors’ Picks Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss Sues NCAA to Stay in College [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The Rebels star quarterback has taken his eligibility fight to court. Giants Get Their Coach: Land John Harbaugh With 5-Year, $100M Deal [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The struggling team lands the most-coveted figure on the coaching market. Battle for Bears Stadium Heats Up With Gary, Indiana, Proposal [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]Illinois and Indiana each amplify their efforts to land the NFL team. Question of the Day

With star QBs like Mahomes and Josh Allen eliminated from the Playoffs, will Super Bowl ratings take a hit?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Friday’s result: 43% of respondents plan to watch the Australian Open this year.

Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Games [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Shop [[link removed]] Written by Colin Salao [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]] Edited by Lisa Scherzer [[link removed]]

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