On Thursday, news broke that the Jacksonville Jaguars had signed former No. 1 overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence to a new long-term contract. As these things usually go, the news was broken at pretty much the same time by major NFL insiders like Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport.
Rapoport sent his tweet at 6:45 p.m. ET, even shouting out Lawrence’s agent Jay Courie and giving his X handle some love, just in case you needed a reminder that the relationship between agents and insiders has always been under scrutiny.
🚨 🚨 🚨
The #Jaguars have reached a deal with their star QB Trevor Lawrence. Sources says they are giving the former No. 1 pick a 5-year extension worth $275M — $55M a year — with $200M guaranteed and $142M fully.
Lawrence’s agent Jay Courie of @mgcsports did the deal. 💰 pic.twitter.com/C3BaDgsjEV
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 13, 2024
Schefter sent his tweet two minutes later at 6:47 p.m. ET reporting the same news.
Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence reached agreement on a five-year, $275 million extension, including $200 million guaranteed – $142 million at signing, per source. pic.twitter.com/DfBwA7TSlz
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 13, 2024
This is often how the game is played. The national insiders own 99% of the important scoops that happen in the NFL because of the relationships inside the sport and the followings they have built among fans over many years. But Schefter and Rapoport were not the first people on social media to have the story.
That honor belongs to X user @PrettyRickey213.
At 6:20 PM ET, 25 minutes before Rapoport, Pretty Rickey tweeted that the Jaguars had finalized their extension with Lawrence.
BREAKING 🚨 I’ve been told that the Jaguars have finalized an extension with Trevor Lawrence. I previously reported that the deal with be the largest QB contract in history. Hearing that it will not surpass the Burrow deal and that Jags aren’t done yet #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/IEMXM0Jqs2
— Rickey (@prettyrickey213) June 13, 2024
We’ve seen this happen before. Every now and then a random social media user will get a scoop and beat the professionals at their own game. Maybe they know someone who knows someone or saw someone at a storefront.
But a funny thing is happening this NFL offseason. Whoever @PrettyRickey213 is, and whatever @PrettyRickey213 does, Pretty Rickey seems to know what’s going on in the NFL world before anybody else. In fact, a look at some of the biggest NFL scoops of the offseason shows Rickey beating the biggest, most famous, and most notable NFL insiders by some distance and even taunting them along the way.
The account appears to have been reactivated on April 18 after going offline temporarily. Although the tweets aren’t available from before April 18, the account had made traction with scoops on Calvin Ridley and Brian Burns. Since then, Rickey has incredibly and mysteriously broken consistent NFL news before anyone else. Sometimes even by days or weeks.
Here are a few examples:
Odell Beckham Jr.
On April 18, PrettyRickey213 came back out firing, saying Odell Beckham Jr. would be signing with the Miami Dolphins after the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Dolphins have an agreement done with Odell Beckham Jr. but the team is waiting to finalize until after the draft #FinsUp #OBJ pic.twitter.com/nvMBu60nvC
— Rickey (@prettyrickey213) April 18, 2024
Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported OBJ’s signing with the Dolphins on May 3, a week after the NFL Draft.
Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown
PrettyRickey213 tweeted that Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff would be signing a new deal with the team at 8:43 a.m. ET on April 24. Later that morning, Rickey also tweeted that Amon-Ra St. Brown would become the highest-paid receiver in the league at 10:04 a.m. ET through a new extension.
Good news Lions fans. Jared Goff will be signing an extension with the Lions. His current contract was set to expire after the 2024 season. Lions aren’t done yet either. @PrideOfDetroit @WorldofIsaac @HonoluluBlues_ #OnePride #DetroitLions pic.twitter.com/6bZj3i9SRP
— Rickey (@prettyrickey213) April 24, 2024
Amon-Ra St. Brown will be signing an extension with the Lions that will make him the highest paid WR in the league. More Lions signings to come. Goff and St. Brown to be in Detroit for the foreseeable future @HonoluluBlues_ @PrideOfDetroit @WorldofIsaac #OnePride #DetroitLions pic.twitter.com/AS9xrMAFwD
— Rickey (@prettyrickey213) April 24, 2024
Ian Rapoport reported the St. Brown signing at 11:46 a.m. ET, over 90 minutes after @PrettyRickey213. Even more fascinating was that Schefter reported on that same day that there was no deal “imminent” for Goff in Detroit after St. Brown’s signing, which conflicted with the PrettyRickey story.
There is no deal “imminent” for Lions QB Jared Goff, despite the fact that WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and OT Penei Sewell now have landed new deals, per source. The Lions and Goff have spoken about a new deal this off-season, but no deal is close at this time.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 24, 2024
Schefter would break the news of Goff’s new contract with the Lions nearly a month later on May 13. Rickey celebrated by taking a victory lap over Schefter after the ESPN insider’s report.
Tyler Boyd
Rickey had former Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd moving to the Tennessee Titans on May 2. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the signing on May 7, a full five days later.
Justin Jefferson
Rickey beat Rapoport by 42 minutes when reporting that Justin Jefferson had signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings that would make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Darren Waller
Perhaps the most astounding piece of news from Rickey this offseason was nailing the retirement of Darren Waller. The New York Giants tight end announced his retirement on June 9. However, @PrettyRickey213 had Waller retiring all the way back on April 23.
It sounds like Darren Waller will be retiring. The Giants have had trouble getting in touch with him throughout the offseason but all indications are that he will retire. The expectation from the team is that he will not be playing in 2024.
— Rickey (@prettyrickey213) April 23, 2024
Rickey hasn’t batted a thousand on his scoops. They had the Patriots trading back or selecting J.J. McCarthy in this year’s draft, later owning up to the mistake and others. For what it’s worth, Rickey is currently also touting a potential McCarthy holdout with the Vikings in a signing bonus dispute that could become an interesting real-time test of their reporting prowess.
So who is @PrettyRickey213? An NFL executive burner account? One for a powerful agent? Someone with inside information in the league office? A clairvoyant Dov Kleiman? A fan that pieces things together and hopes to get lucky? Or, as the account claims to be, is it “the people’s NFL insider?”
Whoever it is has a persistent track record of getting the lead on several major stories this offseason ahead of the likes of Schefter, Rapoport, and everyone else. Sometimes it’s by an hour or so, but sometimes it’s by days or even weeks. These aren’t minor stories either; these are some of the biggest transactions and contracts in NFL history.
And they have been broken by a mysterious, anonymous X user with less than 25,000 followers whose avatar is Spuds MacKenzie, a fictional dog who was a mascot for Bud Light in the 198os. Cue the Brian Windhorst meme.