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đ« Micah Parsons Just Saved $250K While Breaking the Packersâ Biggest Unwritten Rule
Plus, how StreamEast (almost) got away with it...


For many people in the sports world, there are really only two seasons:
Football season
Not football season
But thereâs a reason ads during an NFL game are considered 23x more effective than any other placement, itâs because football is our last true mono-culture.
Thereâs no other piece of media in the world that you can just say, âDid you catch the game last night?â and most people will know what youâre talking about. But really, thatâs just my way of priming you for a football-heavy newsletter today. Enjoy!
In todayâs newsletter:
đ The Big Story: Micah Parsons Just Saved $250K While Breaking the Packersâ Biggest Unwritten Rule
đ Biggest Loser: How Two Guys From Egypt Cost the NFL $28 Billion and (Almost) Got Away With It
đ Winnerâs Circle: Why the Baltimore Ravens Are (Purposely) Losing Over $600,000 per Game
HR is lonely. It doesnât have to be.
The best HR advice comes from people whoâve been in the trenches.
Thatâs what this newsletter delivers.
I Hate it Here is your insiderâs guide to surviving and thriving in HR, from someone whoâs been there. Itâs not about theory or buzzwords â itâs about practical, real-world advice for navigating everything from tricky managers to messy policies.
Every newsletter is written by Hebba Youssef â a Chief People Officer whoâs seen it all and is here to share what actually works (and what doesnât). Weâre talking real talk, real strategies, and real support â all with a side of humor to keep you sane.
Because HR shouldnât feel like a thankless job. And you shouldnât feel alone in it.
đ The Big Story

Micah Parsons just broke one of the Packersâ biggest unwritten rules, but he likely saved himself a quarter of a million dollars because of it.
Micah Parsonsâ Jersey: After being traded to Green Bay last week, countless jersey swaps started popping up of Micah rocking the green and gold. The only problem was that no. 11 on the Packers is already taken.

Now, itâs not uncommon for big-time acquisitions to come to a new team and pay existing players for their number. For example, when All-Pro defensive tackle Gerald McCoy signed with the Panthers in 2019, he reportedly paid Kyle Love $250,000 for his number.
So it wouldnât have been crazy for Micah (who just became the richest non-quarterback in NFL history) to do the same, but instead, he decided to make headlines for a different reason.
Making History: Shortly after being dealt to Green Bay, Micah posted this on Twitter:
Should I go 0 or 1!
â Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11)
4:30 PM âą Aug 29, 2025
For context, no Green Bay Packer has ever worn no. 0, and a lot of fans seemed supportive of the idea. However, Micah decided to go with no. 1 instead, which hasnât been worn by a Green Bay Packer in almost 100 years, and has only ever been worn by Curly Lambeau, the man who founded the team in 1919 and the person whom the stadium is named after.
Now, according to the teamâs site, the number isnât officially retired, but ironically enough, when Jayden Reed, who currently wears no. 11, asked the team if he could wear no. 1 when he was drafted two years ago, they told him, âit wasnât available.â
But clearly, the same rules donât apply to Micah Parsons, who will now have some pretty big shoes to fill.
đ Biggest Loser

via Sportico
How did two guys in Egypt trick the NFL out of $28 billion?
Just a warning, if youâre a football fan, this story does not have a happy ending.
Background: For as long as the internet has been around, professional sports leagues have had to deal with illegal streaming sites. In fact, as recently as 2023, three leagues here in America, including the NFL, sent a joint letter to the US Patent and Trademark Office complaining that illegal streams were costing them âup to $28 billion in additional potential annual revenue.â
And no website has been a bigger culprit of this than Streameast.
According to The Athletic, Streameastâs domains have generated a combined 1.6 billion visits in the last year alone. Thatâs good enough for 136 million average monthly visits, which is more than the NFLâs own website.
So, it didnât come as much of a surprise when last year, the U.S. Federal Government seized multiple Streameastâs domains, which now all contain this message.
However, the websiteâs two owners actually planned for this.
Streameastâs Loophole: Like most illegal streaming sites, Streameast isnât based in the U.S., which makes it extremely hard for U.S.-based leagues and broadcast companies to track down the owners of the site and get them banned for good.
However, even though Streameastâs main domains were taken over, within the same month, the website launched 80 new mirror domains, and since U.S. law hasnât kept pace with the speed of piracy on the internet, Streameast continued to operate throughout the 2024 NFL season.
However, this year, things arenât looking so good.
Culpritâs Arrested: Because just this week, it was reported that two Egyptian men were arrested with the support of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (A.C.E), a coalition of 50 media companies, including:
Amazon
Apple TV+
Netflix
Paramount

Items confiscated by Egyptian authorities from the operation of Streameast
These men were found with laptops and smartphones, which were believed to be running more than 80 illegal domains, as well as $6.2 million in laundered advertising revenue they had collected since 2010.
Which means for football fans hoping to avoid paying the $750 itâs going to cost this year to watch every NFL game, you might have to look somewhere else.
đ Winnerâs Circle

The Baltimore Ravens are missing out on over half a million dollars per game (on purpose). Letâs break it all down.
NFL Game Cost: Itâs no secret that NFL games have become some of the most expensive sporting events to attend in the entire world. In fact, a new study from Bookies.com just reported that the average price for a family of four to attend an NFL game has now reached over $777:
Cost to Attend an NFL Game in 2025 (League Average)
4x Cheapest ticket: $679.53
Lot Parking: $35.22
2x Beers (16oz): $21.91
2x Sodas (20z): $13.18
4x Hot Dogs: $28.06
Total: $777.89
Thatâs an increase of about 40% in the last 10 years, even though inflation has only risen by 32% during the same time frame.
But why is that?
Concession Inflation: Iâd make the argument that concession prices have a lot to do with it. For example, in 2014, a 16-ounce beer at the Washington Commanders stadium cost just $6.55. Today, the same drink costs $16.49, a 152% increase, and theyâre not the only ones.

NFL teams with the highest beer increases since 2014 via Finance Buzz
In fact, the average NFL increase in beer prices during that time frame was 47%, again, all while inflation only rose by 32%.
Thatâs why it was so shocking to see a team make an announcement about lowering concession prices, but it doesnât come without a cost.
Ravensâ Value Menu: This week, the Baltimore Ravens released the prices for their value menu, which includes 11 items under $5, but I wanted to see just how much money the team was actually missing out on by doing this.
Our REVAMPED Flock Friendly Fare value menu!
â Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens)
1:55 PM âą Sep 2, 2025
The Math: I took the 2025 NFL average price of one beer and one hot dog, and multiplied it by 71,000 â the capacity of M&T Bank Stadium â for an average game-day concession revenue of $1.27 million.
$10.97 beer x $7.01 hot dog x 71,000 fans = $1,276,580 average game day revenue
But when you do this same calculation and swap in the new reduced prices for a hot dog and a beer, youâll see that the team is actually forgoing around $674,500 every single game day by lowering their prices.
$4.99 beer x $3.49 hot dog x 71,000 fans = $602,080 Ravenâs estiamted game day revenue
$1,276,580 - $602,080 = $674,500 âlostâ game day revenue
Regardless, every team needs to do this ASAP.
â±ïž In Other News
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đđ» Happy Friday!
May your weekend be filled with as much football as you can stomach and limited RedZone commercials.
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