Philip Otele has described his first appearance for the Nigeria national football team as the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.

The Hamburger SV winger, currently on loan from FC Basel, made his senior debut on Tuesday in Nigeria’s 2-2 draw with Jordan national football team in Antalya. He came on late in the match, replacing Frank Onyeka.

Otele’s call up had come as a surprise after he was initially included in Éric Chelle’s provisional squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations but missed out on the final list earlier in the year.

“I am very happy to be here; it’s a pleasure for my family and me, and I want to say a huge thank you to God first,” he said. “For me, it was a dream come true. We always play football to represent the national team, so I always wanted to play for Nigeria, and it was a big moment for my family and me.”

The forward added that his long time support for the team made the moment even more special. “I am proud of this moment. As a player, playing for your national team gives you that extra boost. Being here is a huge thing for me because I am a patriotic fan, and I have been following the team for a long time.”

Otele is among several new players being integrated into the squad during the Antalya training camp, alongside Emmanuel Fernandez and Yira Sor, as Chelle continues to expand his options ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

There’s been some angst in Vikingsland regarding Jonathan Greenard’s desire for a revised contract as his $19 million per year deal—with two years remaining—lags behind the NFL’s top edge rushers (led by Micah Parsons at $42 million per year, including the final year of his rookie deal in 2025.

Greenard is not in a great bargaining position after he missed five games last season, and his sack total fell from 12 in 2024 to three, although his pressure rate remained among the top edge rushers. I expect the Vikings to give him some incentives based on again reaching double-digit sacks (which won’t count against the cap this year since he didn’t achieve that level last year) and then consider an extension next year if he plays more games and performs at an elite level to help the team return to the playoffs.

Jefferson’s Contract Outlook Stays the Same

Greenard falls somewhat into the category of recent big deals far surpassing a two-year-old contract, as the salary cap has boomed in recent years. Vikings fans can rest assured this is not the case with Justin Jefferson, who signed his four-year, $140 million extension ($35 million per year in new money) in the same year (2024) that Greenard joined the Vikings.

When Seattle superstar receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was signed last week to a four-year, $168.6 million extension ($42.15 million per year), the possibility emerged that Jefferson—with three years left on his deal—would ask the Vikings to renegotiate his contract, which, on first glance, appears to be about $7 million per year less than Smith-Njigba.

Here’s a lesson in NFL caponomics that shows why Jefferson shouldn’t have a beef with his contract vis-à-vis JSN’s deal.

When Jefferson signed his extension, he had one year left on his rookie contract, with a fifth-year option worth approximately $20 million. Therefore, his total compensation over the five years from 2024 to 2028 is $160 million, which equates to $32 million per year.

Whereas Jefferson had to wait until after his fourth season to get his extension, Smith-Njigba’s new deal was negotiated after his third season (the earliest that a player under a rookie contract can be extended). He has two years left on his rookie deal, worth a total of $26.6 million, bringing his total compensation to $195.2 million over six years (2026-2031). That is an average of $32.53 million.

So the reality is Smith-Njigba’s deal is only $530,000 per year more than Jefferson’s over the next three years, and if Jefferson stays at an elite level, he’ll surely receive an extension that begins in 2029 and surpasses Smith-Njigba’s current deal.

The true leader in average wide receiver salary per year is still Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase, who is making $36.4 million per season. He signed a four-year, $161 million extension after his fourth season, when he had one more year left on his rookie deal at $21 million, bringing his total contract to $182 million over five years.

Agents love to trumpet the new money in these top-of-the-market extensions, which I certainly understand since I now work in the agent business. But caponomics tells us we have to fully examine the deals, including the years and dollars remaining on the old contract, to get the true value of the contracts.

So don’t expect to hear Jefferson complain about his contract after the Smith-Njigba extension.

Reactions to Kevin O’Connell’s Media Session at League Meeting

1. On Greenard: O’Connell emphasized how much he and the team value Greenard as an impact player when healthy and as a team leader (he was a captain last season). O’Connell said he expects Greenard to be with the Vikings in the 2026 season, but he didn’t go so far as to label him untouchable. I think the team needs to keep the 28-year-old Greenard for at least one more season, and probably much longer, if he stays healthy and productive in the season ahead.

2. O’Connell said Blake Brandel will “more than likely” be the first-team center in the offseason OTAs and minicamp after playing the position for the first time last season in several games due to Ryan Kelly’s injuries. O’Connell is encouraged by the development of backup center Michael Jurgens, who appeared a bit shaky in his limited play last season. I expect the Vikings to draft a center in the first three rounds of next month’s draft and have an open competition for the starting spot.

3. On joining the prestigious NFL Competition Committee: O’Connell is excited about the opportunity to help with new rules and procedures that the committee presents to the NFL owners for votes. His addition to this committee is a nice tribute to the League office’s view of him as one of the NFL’s top coaches.

Addison’s Fifth-Year Option

The Vikings wisely exercised the fifth-year option in Jordan Addison’s rookie contract, which is now guaranteed for a projected $18 million in 2027.

Addison is an excellent second receiver to Jefferson and would be a No. 1 WR on many teams. He’s had too many off-field incidents in his three seasons and too many drops last season, but he’s been very productive overall, with 2,396 receiving yards and 22 TDs thus far in his career. The Vikings hope he matures off the field as he continues to improve and make an impact on the field.

Jeff Diamond is a former Vikings GM, former Tennessee Titans President and was selected NFL Executive of the Year … More about Jeff Diamond

The NIT’s semifinals tip off tonight at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and I want to look at the first game of No. 1 seed New Mexico vs. No. 1 Tulsa at 7 ET on ESPN because that should be more competitive than the nightcap featuring No. 4 Illinois State against No. 1 Auburn. The winners face off in Sunday’s championship game, which moves to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indy, and I expect that to be the Lobos and Tigers.

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New Mexico (26-10, 21-14 ATS) of the Mountain West, which had a case for an NCAA Tournament spot before a late-season fade, was the winner of the Albuquerque Region of the NIT, and is clearly the best team in it. The Lobos beat Sam Houston, George Washington and Saint Joseph’s, all by at least 15 points at the Pit. I previewed that Hawks game last Tuesday here at CBS Sports and recommended SJU alt +16.5 and alt Under 161.5 at a parlay price of -125. We sweated a tad, but it cashed with UNM prevailing 84-69. Didn’t seem to be an ATS worry at the half with Saint Joseph’s up 39-37.

Tomislav Buljan led New Mexico in that one with a career-high 27 points to go with 11 rebounds, his 17th double-double of the season. Star freshman Jake Hall added 24 points. Those two freshmen carry coach Eric Olen’s club … and will be very expensive to keep in the offseason. Frankly, I doubt either will still be with the program.

Hall had his 11th 20-point game and became the all-time leading freshman scorer in Mountain West history with 585 points, breaking the previous record of 564 by UNLV‘s Anthony Bennett in 2012-13. Bennett of course was then the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft by Cleveland. Hall, the Mountain West Freshman of the Year, has made a school-record 116 3-pointers, fourth-most by a freshman in Division I history.  

Buljan had his third 25/10 game of the season, trailing only Duke superstar Cameron Boozer (six) for the most  by a freshman nationally.  Among players who played three games in this year’s NIT, Buljan (21.0 ppg) and Hall (19.0 ppg) are the tournament’s top two scorers. Another freshman in Uriah Tenette is leading the NIT in assist/turnover ratio at 13.0.

The Lobos have trailed for just 6:29 of 120:00. Their +21.33 average scoring margin over the first three rounds is the largest in the event since 2008. UNM is the first team since San Diego State in 2016 to advance to the NIT semifinals with three wins by at least 15 points and has reached this round for the third time overall and first since 1990.

I generally prefer to lean Under an alternate total but chose to go Over an alt here because the Lobos are averaging a whopping 92.3 points in this tournament, most over the event’s first three rounds since Oklahoma (94.3 PPG) in 1991. That team lost in the final. Tonight will be New Mexico’s first-ever game in April. 

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Tulsa (27-9, 17-17 ATS) of the American Athletic Conference is having its first winning season since 2019-20 and hosted the Tulsa Region in the first three rounds. The Golden Hurricane haven’t had it nearly as easy as New Mexico did, with two of their three wins in the NIT by five points or fewer (one in OT). They knocked off conference rival Wichita State last Tuesday to get here.

The primary starting five of David Green, Tylen Riley, Miles Barnstable, Ade Popoola and Tyler Behrend leads the American Conference with a rating of plus-172. That ranks them third in the country as a group. Tulsa’s 381 made 3-pointers have not just shattered the school record but broke the 2018-19 Houston squad’s AAC record of 337.

The Golden Hurricane are one of 10 schools nationally to have at least 25 games this season scoring 80-plus points and are 24-1 in those games. Only NCAA Tournament Final Four foes Arizona (26-0) and Michigan (25-1) have a better record in such games.

The program is in the semifinals of the NIT for the third time in history and won it the previous two times (1981 and 2001). Head coach Eric Konkol was a student assistant at Tulsa on that 2001 team that beat Alabama, 79-60, in the NIT title game.

New Mexico leads the all-time series 2-1, but they haven’t played since 1998. The Lobos are +210 second favorites to win the NIT behind Auburn (+110) – they were the two favorites when the event tipped off. Tulsa is +380, a nice jump from an open of +1000. As of this writing, Auburn is taking the most Yes shares to win it at Kalshi with 44%.

DraftKings single-game parlay (-115)

• New Mexico ML
• Alt Over 149.5

The SportsLine Projection model has UNM 81-77, Torvik has it 84-82 and Haslem 81-76. KenPom ranks the Lobos at No. 44 nationally and the Golden Hurricane 58th. Tulsa is 1-5 ATS in its past six games, while New Mexico is 5-0-1 ATS in its past six. Check out NIT and other expert picks in the daily newsletter.

NEW DELHI: Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has raised doubts over Rishabh Pant’s decision to promote himself to the top order, suggesting the Lucknow Super Giants skipper may have “gone a little too far ahead” in his batting position.Pant, who was run out for 7 off 9 balls in LSG’s IPL 2026 opener against Delhi Capitals, later indicated he intends to bat in the top order this season. However, Pietersen believes the move could backfire.