Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 1518 Spending a Lot of Money

The air paused for a brief moment. All the noise and bustle were paused. Everything spread out with Levi and Kroenke as the center. Everything became blurred, quiet, and disappeared, leaving only the two of them.

Annual salary: 40 million US dollars.

Simple and plain words, lightly throwing out a bombshell of the level of an atomic bomb, instantly pull out the entire time and space, enter a black hole, and quietly be drawn into endless surges and ups and downs, and silent roars stir up wave after wave in the depths of the soul.

This annual salary figure will not only make it into the highest salary level in the league, but also break the shackles of running backs and truly be on par with quarterbacks.

In the hard-salary-cap NFL, these numbers are more than just subversive.

It can be said that this is a blatant violation of the interests of other teams and a complete disruption of the salary structure. The salary comparison between running backs and quarterbacks may completely collapse, and all teams will be caught in the storm.

No one is exempt. No one.

At that point, the Los Angeles Rams will truly be the public enemy.

What’s truly striking, however, is how nonchalantly Kroenke dropped the big news, as if it were an easy dinner menu option.

Shock, doubled.

Even Levi was shocked.

This is the gap.

Levi is just an ordinary player, but Kroenke is a super rich man who can be ranked among the top in the world.

Kroenke can casually throw out a number that shocks Levi, but in Kroenke's eyes, it is really just a series of numbers.

So, Levi didn't hide it.

He did not pretend to be calm and indifferent, nor did he pretend that he did not understand the meaning of these numbers. Instead, he took a deep breath.

"I need some quiet time."

Such a genuine reaction made Kroenke reveal a smile in his eyes, and even a faint laugh could be heard deep in his throat. It turned out that Levi was just like the legend, with a wise sense of humor.

Then, taking another deep breath, Levi managed to control himself.

"Mr. Kroenke, people always tell me how great I am and how much history I have made, so much so that I really think I am standing on the top of Mount Everest."

"But thank you, thank you for reminding me that there are always people better than you, and I should never be complacent and become a frog in a well, thinking that what I see is the whole world."

"Obviously, when I was complacent and satisfied with the status quo, the outside world was still spinning at high speed, and if I wasn't careful, I would have been left behind."

“Phew, this is a wake-up call.”

He was frank, straightforward, and simple, yet revealed wisdom and alertness in life. He even wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead as a joke.

Levi's reaction once again made Kroenke's eyes full of ridicule -

Sure enough, reaching such heights as a running back is no small feat, and what people see in the news media is just the tip of the iceberg.

Before Kronk could continue speaking, Levi had already pulled the heart floating in the air back to the ground.

"Unfortunately, I can't accept it."

Kroenke was stunned.

He expected Levi to refuse, but he didn't expect it to be so straightforward.

This actually aroused some interest in Kroenke. He originally thought that Levi would question his conditions:

Is $40 million a year a real offer? Are there any conditions attached to the transfer? What interests does he need to sacrifice in exchange?
And so on and so forth, but no. Nothing. A flat rejection.

Kroenke raised his chin slightly, "Fifty million dollars a year."

Levi laughed out loud, "Haha, Mr. Kroenke, now it's just a joke."

Kroenke admitted frankly, "Indeed, you rejected the $40 million annual salary without hesitation. I admit that you angered me and humiliated my self-esteem and pride. In my opinion, everything in this world can be traded. So, $55 million."

Levi didn't hesitate or feel moved, his smile became even brighter, "Mr. Kroenke, there's no need to continue slapping me in the face with the checkbook. Didn't you notice that my cheeks are already red?"

Kroenke actually paused and looked at Levi carefully, then said, "But obviously, this is not enough. Sixty million dollars."

puff.

Levi laughed and his mood became cheerful. The scene before him was becoming a comedy, and Kroenke was also showing another unknown side of him.

Now it seems that "Silent Stan" is not as silent as imagined.

Levi, "Mr. Kroenke, don't you want to hear the reason? Or should we just stand here and watch a series of numbers fly up endlessly? To be honest, I am also looking forward to seeing how high the upper limit of the numbers can be."

In a word, he turned the tables, his bright eyes flickered slightly, as if challenging Kroenke——

Sir, how about an annual salary of $100 million?

This gesture made Kroenke raise his chin slightly. He was neither angry nor annoyed, and the admiration in his eyes became more and more intense because he realized that Levi was trying to take the initiative.

Kroenke: "I'm a businessman, not a coach. Honestly, you could put the Kansas City Chiefs football playbook in front of me and I wouldn't change anything."

"I'm good at numbers, all I see are numbers, so naturally I tend to discuss numbers, and unless you want to discuss numbers with me, I don't think I need to hear your reasons."

"Or... do you have a number in mind?"

After a slight pause, Kronk's eyes fell on Levi.

Levi, “What I want to say is numbers.”

Kroenke showed some interest, "Oh?"

Levi, "Mr. Kroenke owns more than one professional team. Everything is a numbers game, but football is slightly different because the NFL has a hard salary cap, which means that each team must arrange its salary structure reasonably. It is impossible to pile up superstars like Real Madrid without thinking."

"If the Los Angeles Rams are going to spend $40 million a year on me, that means they're going to have to cut costs elsewhere."

"Ultimately, the team has to sacrifice something and it's hard to maintain balance and integrity."

So, the higher the check amount, the more disadvantageous it is for Kroenke to spend money here.

"I hope to join a team that can compete for the Super Bowl championship. Indeed, personal salary is very important, and I will never deny my pursuit; but if the personal salary is the highest in the league, but the team still can't win the championship or even make the playoffs, these salaries are just a set of numbers after all."

"What's more, to be honest, the team can only remain attractive to advertising sponsors if it can continue to maintain its championship competitiveness. The salary figure is completely insignificant compared to my off-court income."

"I can figure out such a simple truth, even though I am a liberal arts student."

Calm, rational, sober.

Although Levi was tempted when he heard the annual salary of 40 million US dollars, it was only for a brief moment and his eyes quickly regained clarity.

Kroenke saw it clearly and couldn't help but wonder, "Is this why you only asked for $20 million a year? For the Vince Lombardi Trophy?"

(End of this chapter)