“Davante Adams had everything to do with that” - Stephen A. Smith credits Packers WR for Aaron Rodgers winning MVP
rodgers-record-breaking-td-ball-huge-error" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Aaron Rodgers didn't win the Super Bowl, but he won a second-consecutive MVP. The quarterback threw for 37 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2021. Of the 37 touchdowns, Davante Adams caught 11 of them. According to Stephen A. Smith on First Take, Adams was instrumental in the quarterback overcoming brady" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Tom Brady to become the league's MVP.
Stephen A. Smith backs Davante Adams over Aaron Rodgers amid money conflict
Smith essentially took the time to heap praise on the wide receiver in an offseason that has been all about the quarterback. Here's what he had to say:
“Davante Adams deserves his money just as much as Aaron Rodgers deserved his money, whatever that money may be. And I think that that's the important point, the point that I will remind everybody that we're talking about a Davante Adams here that had 1,553 receiving yards last season."
Aaron Rodgers’ new deal is three years, $150 million - but that’s including this year that he already had. So in actuality, it’s really a two-year, $124 million extension.
Smith continued, saying 2021 was not a fluke:
"We’re talking about a Davante Adams that, three of the last four years, he's had 111 receptions with 1,386 yards in 2018. He had 149... I'm sorry, 115 receptions for 1,374 yards. And then this past season, okay? He had 123 receptions for 1,553 yards. I would say that the MVP award for [the quarterback], all right, Davante Adams had everything to do with that, particularly over the last two seasons."
Smith went on to touch on how the quarterback has dominated the news:
"So Aaron Rodgers, while everyone wants to make news about Aaron Rodgers, which, by the way, was already news last week when he decided to stay in Green Bay. I don't know why it's breaking news now. But since we want to act like it's breaking news, okay, I'm not talking about the show."
If I'm Davante Adams and I see Christian Kirk's contract, I'm asking for a space ship and $35 million a year.
He continued on, challenging the quarterback to do what Brady has done in helping his team stay together while winning a Super Bowl:
"I'm not talking about the business. I'm just talking about us, the general public. Since we want to act like this is breaking news. Aaron Rodgers, can you win a Super Bowl? Can you make sure Davante Adams gets his money?"
Smith ended his rant by saying that Rodgers getting his money meant Adams didn't get his:
"Because, if Davante Adams doesn't get his money, then that very contract we’re celebrating might be perceived as having a lot to do with the fact that Davante Adams didn't get paid, and Davante Adams deserves to get paid.”
Stephen A. Smith made a living by saying the Packers quarterback was a "bad man." His original aim with the phrase was to explain how good the quarterback was at football. However, after listening to the rant, it appears that Smith is on the verge of calling the quarterback a "bad man" with a less complementary meaning behind the words.
As of this writing, Adams still has not signed his franchise tag.