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MyKayla Skinner Firestorm Vaults SafeSport Back Into Scrutiny
The firestorm created by former Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner’s YouTube diatribe last week has once again placed the U.S. Center for SafeSport into the spotlight of controversy.NCAA, USA Gymnastics Discussing Overhaul of Men's Championship In Skinner’s since-deleted video, the 2020 vault silver medalist criticized the work ethic of the current generation of Team USA gymnasts and blamed SafeSport–a supervisory organization authorized by Congress that was created in the wake of the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal–for making coaches too frightened to effectively train world-class athletes. “Because of SafeSport,” Skinner said, “coaches can’t get on athletes. They have to be really careful about...
LeBron Deal Unties Lakers From Second Apron’s Strings
LeBron James has reportedly agreed to a marginally discounted two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers that will keep the team from reaching the most onerous upper-echelon of the NBA luxury tax.How Do NBA Contracts and the Salary Cap Work? As first reported by ESPN, which cited anonymous sources, James signed a new deal Saturday that was worth $101.355 million, which was around $2.7 million less than he was entitled to receive under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. According to ESPN, this is the first time in a decade that James has accepted less than the max to play. Thanks to James’...
Popular NFL Podcast Overhauled as Hosts Depart
One of the NFL’s most popular podcasts has been reworked ahead of the 2024 season.Fitch Eyes NFL Credit Rating in Wake of Sunday Ticket Case What was formerly known as Around the NFL will relaunch as NFL Daily beginning on Tuesday, with shows coming out five days a week. Gregg Rosenthal will anchor the program, joined by other NFL Media talent and experts from outside the company. His former Around the NFL co-hosts—Dan Hanzus and Marc Sessler—are no longer working for the league in the latest changes to the NFL’s lineup. “We are excited about the new direction of ‘NFL Daily’ and our entire podcast lineup, and look...
Players’ Lawyers Slam Houston School’s NCAA Settlement Protest
The multibillion, but still unfinished and unfiled, proposed settlement to convert big-time college sports into a pro model was recently challenged by Houston Christian University, but attorneys for players in the House, Carter and Hubbard antitrust litigations told Judge Claudia Wilken Friday to reject HCU’s bid. Grambling State Athlete Seeks HBCU Class Status in NCAA Bias Suit In a seven-page opposition motion submitted by Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler, the plaintiffs argue HCU’s motion to intervene is “premature and meritless.” As detailed by Sportico, HCU last month became the first, and thus far only, Division I school to legally object to the proposed settlement. HCU, which like other NCAA schools is not...
Stars’ Local TV Deal Goes Supernova as Team and RSN Agree to Split
The Dallas Stars are about to become the latest NHL team to cut ties with its local TV partner, as the company that owns a majority interest in the club’s hometown RSN has asked a Houston bankruptcy court to approve a split.In a motion filed late Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Diamond Sports Group requested permission to dissolve its rights deal with the Stars in advance of the 2024-25 NHL season. In the course of ongoing discussions between the Stars and the principal owner of Bally Sports Southwest—Diamond controls 90% of the network,...
Sportico Transactions: Moves and Mergers Roundup for July 5
Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry.Sportico Transactions: Moves and Mergers Roundup for June 28 PERSONNEL Portland Trail Blazers Name Galen Davies Chief Revenue Officer The Portland Trail Blazers have hired Galen Davies as the organization’s next executive vice president and chief revenue officer. Davies will be responsible for leading strategic planning, ticketing and commercial partnerships, emphasizing increasing revenue streams and diversifying customer segments. He will lead a group made up of the organization’s ticket sales and service, premium sales and service and commercial partnership teams. Davies joins the organization after 15...
How Do NBA Contracts and the Salary Cap Work?
The NBA offseason is marked by drama, excitement and Woj bombs, but it is also defined by a flurry of confusing terms such as “non-taxpayer mid-level exception” and “designated veteran player extension.” There’s also a lot of discussion of aprons, even though there is no cooking involved.NBA TV Suitors' Fireworks on Hold as TNT Hopes Fade So, if you’re confused about why your favorite team can’t sign your favorite player or why certain players are earning more than others, we’ve got you covered. Here’s an explainer of how NBA contracts work. What is the NBA salary cap? The salary cap is a set...
NBA TV Suitors’ Fireworks on Hold as TNT Hopes Fade
This story appears in Sportico’s Morning Lead newsletter. Click here to sign up and get it delivered straight to your inbox.How Do NBA Contracts and the Salary Cap Work? If you’ve managed to make it through Independence Day with the same number of fingers you had on July 3, it’s entirely possible you may be using those intact digits to scratch your head over the state of the NBA rights deals. With apologies to anyone who’s been relieved of a couple of extremities, the league’s slow-moving process of mapping out the next decade-plus of its media partnerships has been a real stumper [facepalm emoji], as...
Patrick Bertoletti Wins Nathan’s Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest
Patrick Bertoletti has won the 2024 Men’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, while Miki Sudo defended her 2023 win with her 10th title in the women’s competition, per The Hollywood Reporter.Joey Chestnut Will Eat Hot Dogs July 4, but Not on Coney Island Bertoletti of Chicago consumed 58 hot dogs in a tight race, where the leader varied among the 13 competitors around the world. He surpassed his personal best of 55 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Sudo, on the other hand, ate 51 hot dogs, setting a new world record for women. She ate 39 1/2 hot dogs last year. The...
NWSL’s Wave Deny Allegations of Abusive Workplace Under Jill Ellis
Former employees of the NWSL’s San Diego Wave have accused the team and its president, two-time World Cup-winning U.S. Women’s National Team soccer coach Jill Ellis, of fostering an abusive environment within the club—allegations the club denied.Sporticast 359: Celtics Sale Sets Stage for Record NBA Transaction In a social media post Wednesday, former club videographer Brittany Alvarado wrote that “over 30 employees have been fired or quit” since the team’s inception ahead of the 2022 NWSL season, “with 75% of them being women.” Alvarado’s post went on to allege that the NWSL, which was the focus of investigations alleging abusive workplaces in...
Why Sports Tickets Are More Expensive Than Ever
Attending sporting events has gotten complicated—and expensive. Between 1999 and 2020, the price of a seat rose roughly twice as fast as overall consumer prices. The situation has only gotten worse post-pandemic.Sporticast 350: Connor McDavid's Stanley Cup, Kylian Mbappé's Pay Cut According to government data, average sports ticket pricing rose more than 25% between October 2022 and October 2023. Between May 2023 and this year, they rose another 21.7%, the biggest jump of any category tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Younger adults have shown more interest in live events while a post-pandemic mindset has continued to drive spending on here-and-now experiences, economists...
Sporticast 359: Celtics Sale Sets Stage for Record NBA Transaction
On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the looming multibillion-dollar sale of the Boston Celtics. NWSL's Wave Deny Allegations of Abusive Workplace Under Jill Ellis Less than two weeks after winning the franchise’s NBA-record 18th title, the Celtics ownership group (led by Irv Grousbeck and his son Wyc) said it would sell all of its shares citing estate and family planning purposes. Sportico values the team at $5.12 billion, making it the fourth-most valuable team in the NBA. The Celtics don’t own their arena, which...
Grambling State Athlete Seeks HBCU Class Status in NCAA Bias Suit
A federal lawsuit filed by Grambling women’s basketball player Brenda McKinney against the NCAA seeks to certify a class of Black Division I athletes who competed for HBCU schools last year, alleging that they were victims of racial discrimination by the NCAA’s system of academic enforcement.Mario Chalmers NCAA Suit Seeks NIL Cash for Non-House Athletes In her motion for class certification filed this week, McKinney presents data showing that HBCU schools are far more likely than non-HBCU institutions to receive postseason bans related to the NCAA’s Academic Performance Program (APP). In previous court filings, the NCAA has forcefully objected to the theory...
LeBron James Returning to Lakers on 2-Year Deal With Player Option
As expected, LeBron James will return to the Los Angeles Lakers next season. As reported by ESPN, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer will sign a two-year, $104 million deal that includes a no-trade clause and a player option for the second season.Celtics Sale Price Will Come Down to Brand vs. Business This comes a week after his eldest son, Bronny, was selected in the second round of the NBA Draft with the 55th pick. The Lakers have signed him to his rookie contract, which will pay him $7.9 million over four years, a league source told ESPN. The Jameses will be...
Who Is Jessica Berman and How Did She Help NWSL Valuations Soar?
Early in her career, Jessica Berman often found herself as the only woman in the room, first at the NHL and later as the deputy commissioner of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). But everything shifted two years ago when she became commissioner for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).NWSL's Wave Deny Allegations of Abusive Workplace Under Jill Ellis During her inaugural Zoom call with the league office staff, Berman was struck by the room’s diversity—”a beautiful mosaic of men, women and people of color,” she told Sportico during the 2022 SXSW panel in which she participated. Still, there were other reasons Berman...
Women’s Lacrosse Has Its Moment Coming Too
Today’s guest columnist is Vanessa Budd, the senior director for lax.com and a three-time lacrosse all American coach. NCAA, USA Gymnastics Discussing Overhaul of Men's Championship It is an extremely exciting time to be a part of women’s sports. In March, 18.9 million people tuned in to watch the NCAA women’s basketball championship, making it the most-watched women’s college game ever. Networks are filling programming hours with women’s sports and leagues like Athletes Unlimited continue to expand. Women are starting to play a larger role in the world of sports, and lacrosse is no different. Each year, we continue to see the...
MLB Private Equity Ownership Rules: Can PE Have Stakes in Teams?
Private equity is as American as baseball and apple pie. PE as we know it developed stateside after the end of WWII and has grown to a global phenomenon with more than $3.2 trillion in assets under management, according to Bain & Co.New York Mets Introduce $5 Food and Beverage Promotion It’s only been in recent years that PE has developed an interest in investing into sports franchises, with the first transaction occurring in 2006 when three private equity funds bought French soccer team Paris Saint-Germain. In the year since, the industry has increasingly sought to buy into trophy sports assets, to...
Willow Bay Nearing Deal to Buy NWSL’s Angel City FC
Willow Bay, dean of USC’s journalism school and wife of Disney CEO Bob Iger, is nearing a deal to purchase NWSL club Angel City FC, according to someone familiar with the details.NWSL's Wave Deny Allegations of Abusive Workplace Under Jill Ellis Puck was first to report the news. Semafor reported that the deal, which also involves Iger, would value the NWSL team at $250 million. The deal is not final, said the person, who was granted anonymity because the details are private. If Angel City sells at that price, it would be by far the highest ever paid for a women’s sports...
Fitch Eyes NFL Credit Rating in Wake of Sunday Ticket Case
The NFL is the world’s richest sports league with revenue of $20 billion per year and franchises worth $5.1 billion on average. But a potential $14.4 billion liability has a credit agency keeping tabs on the situation.NFL Private Equity Ownership Rules: Will PE Soon Own Stakes in Teams? Fitch Ratings issued a note Tuesday that said it will “closely monitor the outcomes” on last week’s decision by a federal jury that found the NFL liable in the Sunday Ticket class action and awarded the plaintiffs more than $4 billion in damages. Under federal antitrust law, damages can be tripled, pushing the...
Mario Chalmers NCAA Suit Seeks NIL Cash for Non-House Athletes
A new putative class action lawsuit filed in federal court by Mario Chalmers and more than a dozen other former college basketball stars accuses the NCAA and its media partner Turner Sports Interactive (TSI) of unfairly profiting from the “continuing use” of the athletes’ NIL.Grambling State Athlete Seeks HBCU Class Status in NCAA Bias Suit The plaintiffs are represented by some of the same lawyers who last month filed suit on behalf of former Utah Jazz forward Thurl Bailey and nine teammates from North Carolina State’s 1983 national title team. Bailey et al. v. NCAA & CLC similarly accuses the NCAA...
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