Betting is driving today's sports: Joe Theismann

Joe Theismann, Former NFL MVP and Medliminal Ambassador on behalf of the Washington Football Team, joins the Yahoo Finance Live panel to discuss the outlook for Super Bowl LV.

Video Transcript

ZACK GUZMAN: Of course this Sunday is a big treat for the nation. The biggest sports day, as far as I'm concerned, the Super Bowl coming up between the Bucs and the Chiefs. I'm very happy to have our friend join the show right now a former NFL MVP and Medliminal ambassador. On behalf of the Washington Football Team, Joe Theismann joins us right now.

Joe, thanks again for coming on, man. It's great to chat with you.

JOE THEISMANN: Hey, Zack. Great to be with you.

ZACK GUZMAN: We've got a lot to get into. We've got a lot to get into, but I can't help but first focus in on the Super Bowl. Who do you got? Who are you taking? What do you like?

JOE THEISMANN: I like Kansas City. I think Patrick Mahomes will once again be the MVP. He or Travis Kelce, I think one of those two will be the MVP. I just think Patrick is magical when it comes to playing the position. Even though both of their starting tackles are out, I think he has the ability to make plays, and there's so much speed on the offensive side of the ball.

Now, having said that, if Tampa Bay makes them go 10, 11, 12 play drives, on Kansas City on offense, it could be a different kind of a football game. I know these two teams played before, and Kansas City basically had their way with it, but this is an entirely different Tampa Bay football team. And can you ever really count Tom Brady out of anything? I mean really, if you look at it. But I'm going with Kansas City.

AKIKO FUJITA: That's what it comes down to, really, right? But Joe, I think we may have to have you back on Monday to see if your call holds. You know a lot has changed in the league since you were playing, and we had a guest on earlier who was talking about how younger viewers are now consuming professional sports. Ratings are down, the NFL certainly not the only one. But I wonder how you see the league right now, and the shift it needs to make to keep this traction going with a younger demographic that may not be on board with what we've seen in the NFL, traditionally.

JOE THEISMANN: Well, I think we can throw the term traditional out, because it doesn't apply anymore. It doesn't apply in society, it doesn't apply in finance, it doesn't apply in sports. The younger generation, they want to be able to do things, so you're gonna see more and more. I think what the league is gonna wind up doing is you're going to see more and more handheld devices in stadiums. On your phone, you can bet right now. If you're sitting in the stands, you can make a bet and you create the interest that way.

I mean, when you really think about sports today, is the betting has driven it. You have the avid fans, and it changes things in that particular way. So for me, I think part of it is going to be the in-stadium experience. Can you make it enjoyable? Can you make it fun? Sports has shifted completely with this generation, or these generations, and the things they want, the things they're looking for. I think the league is very conscious of that, that it's got to be more interactive, it's gotta be more almost like a video game because that seems to be the attraction of a lot of younger people.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, we saw the XFL trying to do that, too. But I know you've been active with Medliminal and in this new push here, as we've seen medical costs and the focus around COVID, as well, impact the NFL. You've been helping Washington and the league through that. I want to ask you, before we get into it, you obviously had a very nice career. As we said, NFL MVP, you played in Washington, have you been attached to maybe where that team goes with the new team name? What's your take on where we need to see Washington come to life with what they're going to do next?

JOE THEISMANN: I think first of all, I think the name is a very limited name. I believe within a year, possibly two, probably 2022, the Washington Football Team will have a new name. We can't be called the Washington Football Team. I just-- it doesn't flow, OK? We were the Redskins. Obviously, that was changed. Now we're the Washington Football Team, and I like the fact that the team is taking the time to really study what name might possibly make most people happy.

You're never gonna make everybody happy, but what name going forward would work for this football team? So I like the fact that they're taking their time. And just as an FYI for people that are in a hurry to get it done, it took the Rams two years to get their logo approved on their helmet, so it's a process that everybody has to go through.

I'm excited about the direction of the Washington Football Team. Ron Rivera is a terrific man, as well as a coach. The fact that we made the playoffs was such a breath of fresh air for what this franchise needed going forward in this particular year. It's the stories that were there-- Ron Rivera story, Alex Smith's story, all the way around-- the Washington Football Team was a very positive story when it came to the way the game was operated this particular year. So I'm excited about what the future is. Obviously there's holes to be filled like there is everywhere, but we've got a terrific young group of defensive players that I think can make a difference.

AKIKO FUJITA: Let's talk about the work that you have been doing with the team now in your role as Medliminal ambassador, really helping a lot of employees try to work through some of these medical costs as well. Walk me through why you put your name behind that role and, specifically, what you're doing.

JOE THEISMANN: Well, I'm basically a spokesman for Medliminal, and it's spelled M-E-D-L-I-M-I-N-A-L. The website is medliminal.com, and it is impossible to pronounce. It took me three weeks to figure out how to do it, but I finally got it down. What it is-- Medliminal basically it serves as a social service, the way I look at it. What we do is we examine employee medical bills.

Look at it like you're a self-insured employer, look at it as a health savings plan. What we do is we look at bills and make sure they're in compliance. We have a H-CAT system it's called, where after the bills go through the process of the system, they're reviewed by nurses and health care experts to make sure that you're being charged properly.

I promise you, no matter how old you are, how young you are, how old you are, or, as your parents get older, you get these medical bills you have no idea what they say. You have no idea what the charge is for. So what we want to do at Medliminal is we want to make that process easier for you. We want to be an advocate for the employees, to make sure that they're getting an opportunity to be able to be billed for what the services are, or is there something in there that may be a little different than what it should be.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah.

JOE THEISMANN: Give us the chance to be able to examine them and save a business money. I mean, look at, business is how can you save money today? It's like we were talking about the cannabis industry. I love-- I trade equities as a hobby, and if you look at it--

ZACK GUZMAN: Oh, I wanted to ask you--

JOE THEISMANN: Go ahead, Nick-- Zack, I'm sorry.

ZACK GUZMAN: I wanted to ask you about that. I wanted to ask you about that too, though, because it seemed like you were pretty excited about that, and that's obviously a big piece of why we could potentially see health care costs rising is that people can't get access to alternative treatments. One of those things though, too, when we talk about the cannabis space, what has your most bullish on it? Because I know a lot of NFL players out there, and retired NFL players, believe in the medicine or the health side of cannabis, but when you look at the space as a whole, why are you so excited about it?

JOE THEISMANN: I think, well, I've been really in this space for a number of years now. I just felt like it was imminent that it was coming. This administration will get behind it, and promote it, and give it a chance to be able to do it. Obviously, the banking industry has to get involved in it for it to be able to have the money be deposited in places. Right now, that's a hurdle that they have to go through.

But I think legalizing it-- and I'm not a proponent of legalized marijuana. I've never done it. I don't do it. I'm not promoting it. But from a medicinal standpoint, from a medical standpoint, it has great value. And you look at the numbers today. Look at what the stocks are doing today-- Tilray, Aphria, you look at those around it, as far as the support aspects of it-- it's a space that not a lot of people talk about.

I think the fuel cell industry is another one that's in a very similar situation. AI is another place where-- everybody's gonna look at these spaces now, and you're going to see more and more growth in them as we go forward. And so the cannabis space, right now, has come to the forefront. I mean you know with Robinhood and Reddit, you just don't know who's going to wind up being the next group that's going to have an unbelievable run. But what we always talk about with our financial guys is be careful of the parabolic nature of a stock. You know--

AKIKO FUJITA: Well Joe, I have to say, we didn't expect to get stock tips from you this time around, but we're gonna have to have you back on the show--

JOE THEISMANN: I love it.

AKIKO FUJITA: --so you can walk us through your investment thesis. NFL great Joe Theismann and of course, Medliminal ambassador. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that is struggling to pronounce that. Joe, thanks so much for that.