Dwayne Johnson makes unconventional pick for Lamar Jackson-Patrick Mahomes’ first AFC Championship duel
Dwayne Johnson, or "The Rock" as he is so well-known, may not have made a career in the NFL, but he is still a big fan of the league. On Tuesday morning, he made an appearance on ESPN's "First Take" and made his prediction for the playoffs going forward.
While pondering his options and knowing that some fan bases would get mad at him, he chose Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens as his pick for the title game this weekend.
"It's tough. I'm going to go with Baltimore. OK. I'm going to go with Baltimore," The Rock said. "I think Lamar Jackson is doing incredible things. And I think much like with Detroit, sometimes you could just, and I mean this respectfully. Now I know people in KC are going to get hot people in San Fran.
"I was born in that area, a Bay Area kid. But something starts to happen with this mentality where you are grinding, and people are telling you, yeah, I don't know if you got that. They're not saying it now, but before and what they're doing, in Baltimore with Lamar, what they're certainly doing in Detroit.
"It's a thing that happens. You could start to feel mana swinging in that way."
[Timestamp - 00:13:46]
Dwayne Johnson did give credit to the Detroit Lions and the progress they have made with the organization. However, he appears to be all-in when it comes to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.
While this is Patrick Mahomes' sixth straight AFC championship appearance, it's the first time he will matchup against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in the title game.
Does Dwayne Johnson own the UFL?
Dwayne Johnson and his business partner, Dany Garcia, re-launched the spring football league, the XFL, in 2023. This was after the league's second attempt closed in 2020 after COVID-19 shortened the season. The newest re-launch was a success as stadiums sold out and fans flocked with excitement to get game tickets.
Simultaneously, the USFL also played its spring schedule in 2023. Now, the two leagues have merged to create the UFL, the United Football League. The UFL will kick off on March 20 and play a ten-game schedule.
With the merger of the two leagues, Dwayne Johnson and Garcia remain co-owners of the newly minted United Football League. Johnson, who went undrafted out of the University of Miami, has made it clear that he believes a spring football league is necessary to help players get a chance at an NFL career.