Sam LaPorta talks contract, cat on Pardon My Take
TLDR: Lions tight end Sam LaPorta joined the 10-21 Pardon My Take to talk about his team, his cat and a contract that has stalled with Detroit, with 2027 free agency coming.
LaPorta was the featured NFL guest on Tuesday's episode. Andy Staples took the college football segment, and PFT announced the lineup the usual way.
New @PardonMyTake w @AndyStaples and Lions TE Sam LaPorta on the team and his contract and his cat PLUS I have some thoughts on the commanders MNF disaster and almost redemption We have a World Series Jaylen Hurts reports Top 5 CFB of alltime t.co/0OjI5hVBZU
The contract talk is the part with real stakes. LaPorta is in the last year of the rookie deal he signed as a 2nd-round pick in 2023. ESPN reported on October 4 that he and the Lions had broken off extension talks after trying to get a deal done during the first few weeks of the season. The report said LaPorta wanted something close to Tucker Kraft's 4-year, $75 million deal in Green Bay, and Detroit wasn't willing to go that high. A few days later LaPorta told reporters, 'I think there's certainly a stalemate right now.'
There's history here too. LaPorta had surgery in November 2025 for a fully herniated disk and missed the final 8 games of last season. He's been productive again this year, and that's exactly why the price went up. Unless something changes, he's headed for free agency in 2027, and the Lions still have the franchise tag as a fallback.
It wasn't all business, though. PMT clipped a Lions-heavy take from the episode: a guy with a mustache, wearing a backwards Tigers cap, makes the case to the camera that Detroit's Thanksgiving game is the best time slot in the sport.
It's hard to argue with. The whole country is stuck on a couch full of turkey, and Detroit gets that audience every year. For a player trying to show he's worth top tight end money, a national stage is a nice thing to have built into the schedule.
Then the episode went where only PMT would take it: Italian representation in the NFL. The segment cuts from Big Cat's studio to the remote guest bringing up the Italian flag. The account posted it with exactly the tongue-in-cheek 'representation matters' framing you'd expect.
That's the right tone for a guy who, by the reporting, is stuck in a stalemate over his next deal. He goes on the biggest sports podcast in the country, talks about his cat, pitches Thanksgiving football and makes the case for the paisans. The Lions still haven't paid him. Nights like this make the open market look like a fun place to be.
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