“I’ll Be Representing Myself”

Harrison Butker, the top-tier NFL kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs (and something of a Christian celebrity), has just secured a record-breaking 4-year contract extension worth $25.6 million, making him the highest-paid kicker in history.

Yet that isn’t what is most amazing about the story.

Harrison Butker represented himself in the negotiations. He had no agent negotiate the contract for him, and he will be paying no agent fees.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that Harisson Butker still has a booking agent for speaking engagements, and it seems that he also has an agent who handles brand endorsements - something sports agents in particular often do. But with his historic salary agreement, Butker decided to go it alone.

Far from being suckered, Butker secured an enviable deal. 70% of the salary is guaranteed, under the terms of the contract, and he’s saved himself a good deal of money by forgoing the agent.

But it isn’t just football, it seems. Across industries, some are questioning the formerly unquestioned value of using an agent, which is having real-world effects as we speak. But is it wise to do away with your agent?

Read on…

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Last week, the stock market fell 5% over 5 days, including a 1,000 point drop on August 5th alone. Though numerous forces are in play, the immediate cause is understood to be the increase in interest rates from the Japanese central bank, triggering a selloff from traders that have come to rely on the yen-carry trade. This was compounded by a weak economic report in the U.S. as well, as markets tumbled last Monday. The Dow was fairly quick to recover much of the losses, but for some analysts, fears remain that this may be the first shock of a coming global recession. Others disagree, citing freight demand and possible future rate cuts. Nevertheless, the Sahm rule indicates that we are already in a recession, though some analysts maintain that the rule may not be accurate in the current economic climate…

The average 30-year fixed mortgage fell below 6.5% for the first time in over a year, amidst a weak jobs report and volatility in the stock market, with many investors renewing expectations for a Fed rate cut. Nevertheless, the housing market remains at a record-high valuation, climbing ever-nearer to $50 trillion in value as prices continue their upward trajectory. Though rates have come down some, they remain significantly higher than they were just a few years ago, which locks many homeowners into their properties, which shrinks the available supply, driving prices up. There are competing narratives on real wage growth, but however you slice it, growth has either been very slow or negative…

We’ve featured Christian influencer Coffeezilla in Sent to Win on more than one occasion, and now, the popular YouTuber is facing a defamation lawsuit for his (truthful) reporting. Logan Paul, an online personality/WWE performer recently filed a lawsuit against Stephen Findeisen, A.K.A. Coffeezilla, for his reporting on Paul’s “Crypto Zoo” scam that fleeced his fans of millions of dollars, and gave them nearly nothing in return. The lawsuit comes on the heels of Coffeezilla beginning to look into another one of Paul’s companies, “Liquid Marketplace,” a fractional asset ownership platform, that has recently been the subject of a fraud investigation by the Ontario Securities Commission…

Your weekly chance to test your Bible knowledge! The answer to today’s question may surprise you:

Q: Where does the first “Song of Moses” appear in the Bible?

Answer at the bottom

TIPS & TRICKS

Are the Shepherds for Sale or Not? New Book Creates Conflict Among Christians

Megan Basham, a contributor for the Daily Wire and a former contributor to World, released a book last week, which quickly became a whirlwind of controversy. The book, titled Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda, purports to show widespread corruption among evangelical elites at the hands of ideological capture and, allegedly, bribery.

Conservative Christian influencers have tended to celebrate the book, calling it a much-needed tell-all and a balance against the slew of left-leaning critiques of evangelicalism that have come out in recent years. The book, according to Clear Truth Media, “[chronicles] the growing chasm between many evangelical leaders and those they are supposed to shepherd.” Others, such as Ministry Watch’s Warren Cole Smith, write that Megan Basham has it all wrong. He says, in his review at The Dispatch, “Corrupting money is not on the evangelical left… but on the populist right.”

On X (formerly Twitter), Christian personalities have been arguing incessantly over whether the book is accurate or not. Pro-life activist Seth Gruber writes, “The fight happening over Meg Basham is far more important than anything happening in the GOP right now. Her book explains why we shouldn’t be surprised that a party launched to end slavery has become so weak and stupid. It’s because many [of] our evangelical bettors are hirelings.”

Others, such as Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales, refer to Megan Basham being called “a bad journalist” and says her book has “a host of factual issues.” Christian investigative journalist Julie Roys has also been highly critical of the book. She says that Megan Basham “knows how to throw red meat to rile up her base. But she does so at the expense of truth.” Roys adds to her comments that objecting to dishonesty does not make her woke.

For her part, Megan Basham says all of the backlash is a circling of the wagons of the corrupt elite that have been able to keep what’s really going on under wraps, until now…

• Sony will no longer seek to acquire Paramount Pictures, according to CNBC.

• Christianity Today highlights the top moments of Paris 2024 where Christian athletes were able to share their faith.

• Disney posted a small profit from streaming and films last quarter, but parks profitability wanes.

• Shopify outperforms Q2 expectations and looks to continue growth.

• A Chik-fil-A in Virginia is now open on Sundays… for church services to accommodate a displaced congregation. They are not, however, serving food, and drinks, or operating the restaurant on Sundays, as the fast food chain remains firmly committed to a six-day workweek. 

• Starbucks swaps out its CEO for Chipotle’s top exec, Brian Niccol.