Sport & Story Daily June 25, 2024

Stay Ahead of the Game

June 25, 2024

Good morning! The Dawn of a New Golf Era?

Is This the Dawn of a New Golf Era?
With his win at Travelers, Scottie Scheffler joins Tiger Woods as the only players with six PGA Tour wins as World No. 1 in a single season. Is Tiger still the GOAT?
^Twitter

NFL Sunday Ticket Trial Nears End: Latest on $21 Billion Antitrust Battle
FOS’ David Rumsey reports: “The ongoing NFL Sunday Ticket trial in Los Angeles may be drawing closer to a conclusion entering its fourth week, as the league continues its efforts to fend off an antitrust lawsuit that could ultimately cost $21 billion and, perhaps more important, put a major wrench in a longtime, lucrative media-rights strategy.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Brazil’s Failed Soccer League Cedes an Own Goal For the Sport
Ricardo Fort writes via Sportico, “Fast forward 18 months, and the ambitious plan to create the new league has evaporated entirely. The reasons behind Brazilian soccer squandering a once-in-a-generation opportunity to revolutionize domestic soccer are complex, petty and myopic. First, to no one’s surprise, there was a disagreement on the revenue distribution criteria.”
^Sportico

Oilers Stanley Cup Rally Fuels $12 Million Ad Boost for Disney
Sportico’s Anthony Crupi writes, “In forcing a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night, the Edmonton Oilers not only put themselves in a position to make NHL history, but they also did Disney a solid on the ad sales front.”
^Sportico

TMRW Sports Valued at $500M in Funding Round
TMRW Sports has "secured backing" from Dynasty Equity Partners, the investment firm co-founded by K. Don Cornwell and Jonathan Nelson, in a funding round that values TMRW at about $500M. The capital injection will fuel "expansion into new formats, leagues, territories and media properties," said Michael Blank, head of consumer investments at Connect Ventures.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Marlins to Pay For Fans’ Access to Bally Sports Plus
With "no end in sight" to the contract impasse between Comcast and Diamond Sports Group, which saw Bally Sports pulled from the cable provider's channel lineup and "has left thousands of South Floridians unable to watch Marlins games on television," the team "will now pay for fans to receive two months of games on Bally Sports Plus." That "would typically cost viewers at least $40."
^{Sports Business Journal}

Longhorn Network to Get Rebrand Amid Texas’ Move to SEC
SBJ’s Ben Portnoy writes, “The idea of this version of Longhorn Network, which will launch officially on July 1, percolated amid the process of Texas shifting from the Big 12 to the SEC. LHN was a novel concept at inception in 2011, but the SEC’s television deal with ESPN entailed it be phased out amid the conference change since SEC Network will broadcast the live games while LHN will house original content, live coaches shows and other historic footage and content.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Why Field Conditions at Copa America are Causing Concern: ‘It’s Not Normal Grass’
As The Athletic’s Greg O’Keeffe writes, “If TripAdvisor covered Copa America playing surfaces, the reviews would be alarming. A ‘disaster’, ‘frustrating’ and ‘bad for the spectacle’ have been just some of the complaints from players and managers alike.”
^{The Athletic}

Charlotte Set to Discuss BofA Reno, New Stadium
The Charlotte City Council today is set to discuss the plan to spend $650M in public money renovating Bank of America Stadium, but "for the first time publicly, Charlotte officials say in the terms that the city would agree to begin negotiating for a new stadium by 2037."
^{Sports Business Journal}

Fired AD Chris Pezman: Six Years at UH Was 'True Honor and Privilege'
"It has been a true honor and privilege to serve my alma mater during a transformational period in college athletics," Pezman wrote via Twitter. "Together, we achieved unprecedented growth and success that has laid the foundation for a bright future for Houston athletics. The incredible commitment to comprehensive excellence exhibited by our student-athletes, coaches, and staff is made possible by the support of our university, donors, season-ticket holders, and fans.”
^{Twitter via Houston Chronicle}

With House Settlement, is Clock Ticking on College Football Walk-Ons?
Per On3: “No college football program has a more celebrated walk-on program than Nebraska, which for decades has seen some unexpectedly develop into NFL players while the vast majority were just grateful to be part of the team, even if they never played a down.

“As part of the settlement in the landmark House case, scholarship increases are coming to college sports, but so are roster size limits – including in college football. If U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken certifies the settlement, many fear this will spell the end of walk-ons, an integral part of the tapestry of college football.”
^On3

UTSA Athletic Director Lisa Campos Planning for New Staff as Focus on NIL Grows
The day NIL became legal in July 2021, UTSA athletics director Lisa Campos put out a statement in support of the Runners Go Bold program, which initially served as an educational platform for UTSA athletes and has since expanded into an NIL marketplace.  

As The San Antonio Express-News’ Greg Luck writes, “Even as NIL started challenging longtime tentpoles like facilities, operations and scholarships as a top fundraising priority, Campos faced an ever-evolving dilemma in determining how far she could reach on endorsements and involvement in the NIL process without running afoul of NCAA guidelines or state laws.” 
^{San Antonio Express News}

Lane Kiffin Benefits From College Football’s ‘Horrible System.’ He Wants to Change it Anyway
“That’s how bad I’m telling you this is,” Kiffin said. “The current system probably benefits us as much as any school in America. And I’m telling you it’s a horrible system, so what does that tell you?”
^{The Athletic}

Thanks for reading!

Sport & Story Daily is the sports industry’s daily resource for business news. In addition to serving up exclusive trends, Q&As, and columns, the newsletter connects readers to top platforms and stories from across the sports landscape.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here!

Feel free to read our Privacy Policy