Denver's Landmark NWSL Deal

As SBJ writes, “The group’s upfront financial commitment is unparalleled in women’s sports”

January 31, 2025

NWSL Awards 16th Franchise to Denver for $110M Fee
SBJ’s Alex Silverman writes, “The NWSL has officially awarded an expansion franchise to a Denver-based investment group led by IMA Financial Chair & CEO Robert Cohen for a record-setting fee of $110M. The yet-to-be-named Denver team will begin play in 2026 alongside a Boston franchise whose owners secured their spot just 16 months ago at less than half the price ($53M). 

“Between the nine-figure expansion fee and the yet-to-be-determined cost of building a soccer-specific stadium and training facility, the group’s upfront financial commitment is unparalleled in women’s sports.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

MLS, Liga MX Announce Leagues Cup Overhaul: How New Tournament Will Work
The Athletic’s Pablo Maurer writes, “While previous editions of the tournament featured every club from both leagues, the 2025 edition of Leagues Cup features only 18 teams from each league. The MLS entrants are the 18 teams — nine from each conference — that qualified for the postseason in 2024. The two leagues are separated into regional tables and then ranked “tiers,” with group-stage matches scheduled exclusively between Liga MX and MLS sides in opposing regions.” 
^{The Athletic}

Nashville Bids for WNBA Franchise With Candace Parker and Peyton Manning Among Investors
The chairman of the NHL’s Nashville Predators and his wife want to bring the WNBA to Music City and have teamed up with a star-filled investor group including Candace Parker, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and entertainers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

The group led by Bill Haslam, a former Tennessee governor, submitted its bid to the WNBA on Thursday for a franchise that would start playing in 2028. The team also would be named the Tennessee Summitt in honor of the late Pat Summitt.
^{AP News}

Indiana’s Athletic Department Reports a Deficit Despite Bringing in a Record $173.5M in Revenue
The Indiana athletic department reported a $3.1 million deficit in the 2024 financial report it submitted to the NCAA. It’s the first non-COVID-19 related deficit the department has reported since 2004, the first year the NCAA began requiring Division I schools to file their current year-end audited financial summary. The department reported a $5.6 million surplus for the fiscal year 2023.
^{The Herald-Times}

ESPN Exercises Option Extending Media Base-Rights Agreement With the ACC Through 2035-36
ESPN has exercised its option to extend a base-rights media deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference through 2035-36, aligning the timeline with a second deal that covers their partnership for the ACC Network. The network and the ACC announced the extension Thursday in a welcome, but not unexpected, development for the league amid questions about revenue and its long-term future.
^{AP News}

Stephanie McMahon to Helm New Show on ESPN+
Former WWE exec Stephanie McMahon appeared on the "Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday to announce a new WWE-centric show in partnership with Pro Football HOFer Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, ESPN and WWE. The new show, titled “Stephanie's Places,” will be “a part of” Manning’s “Peyton Places” that currently airs on ESPN+ and will see McMahon travel around the country to “to really find out the stories behind the biggest stars in WWE.” The show will air in March and will include appearances from former and current WWE stars including Stone Cold Steve Austin, Charlotte Flair and Roman Reigns.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Owners of New Denver NWSL Team Plan Dedicated Stadium and Facilities
“We’d like to build a franchise where every player wants to play here, every coach wants to coach here, every executive wants to work here. And the way that we’re going to do that is by building first-class facilities, in terms of a dedicated stadium,” the majority owner of the team, IMA Financial Group CEO Robert Cohen, said. “We’re willing to make the investments to do that.”
^{AP News}

Commissioner Doubles Down on Mountain West’s Commitment to Remain Viable After 5 teams Leave in 2026
Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez issued a statement Wednesday reiterating the conference’s commitment to remaining viable when five members leave for a rebuilt Pac-12 next year.

Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming and Hawaii have executed a grant of rights agreement that binds the schools together through the conference via television rights from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2032.

Those seven schools also are “successfully executing a future membership strategy” that will ensure the stability of the Mountain West through June 30, 2026, and beyond, Nevarez said, and pursuing a media rights agreement that would begin July 1, 2026.
^{AP News}

Creating Havoc Everywhere' — House-NCAA Settlement Causing Crunch for Olympic Sports as Roster Limits Come into Focus
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger writes, “The new roster limits, imposed on schools that opt into the House settlement’s revenue-sharing concept, are expected to lead to the elimination of thousands of Division I roster spots, most notably impacting walk-ons and partial scholarship earners in swimming, football, track and cross country, as detailed in this October story at Yahoo Sports.

“The roster limits make up most of the formal objections that athletes are filing with the court as part of the settlement’s objection process. The deadline for objections is Friday. Already, dozens have been filed and several more dozens — perhaps more than 100 — are expected to drop on Friday.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

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