Is This a Fever Dream?

Caitlin ‘N’ Crew
SBJ’s Tom Friend writes, “The Fever are a can’t-get-enough global brand arguably on par with the Lakers.”

April 29, 2025

WNBA Season Preview: Fever Focused on Building ‘a 365-Day Brand’
SBJ’s Tom Friend writes, “Gifted a generational asset from Iowa who turned a last-place WNBA team into the Rolling Stones, the Fever have managed to shrink the world in just one calendar year. On paper, Indianapolis is only the 25th-largest media market in the U.S., but DMA means nothing in the 21st century age of Instagram, TikTok and X. With a prodigious in-house social media group that lurks behind every crevice of the Fever team office — and sometimes needs to be politely shooed away from top-secret meetings — the Fever are a can’t-get-enough global brand arguably on par with the Lakers.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

AP News/Sports was all over Caitlin-Mania today… 👇🏼

• Stronger Caitlin Clark Gears Up for 2nd WNBA Season With a Revamped and Upgraded Fever Roster

• Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese’s return to college for WNBA preseason games to be shown on national TV

• WNBA Training Camps Set to Open This Weekend With Caitlin Clark Preparing for Year 2

Quinn Ewers Bet on NFL Over NIL—and Left Millions on the Table
FOS’ David Rumsey reports: “The Dolphins selected the former Texas quarterback in the seventh round of the NFL Draft on Saturday, slotting Ewers, the 231st pick, into a contract worth roughly $4.33 million. That four-year deal is most likely worth less than the NIL (name, image, and likeness) money Ewers could have in 2025 alone by transferring to another school and by playing out his final year of NCAA eligibility.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Shedeur Sanders Effect? 2025 NFL Draft Day 2 Sees Big Increase in Viewership
USA Today’s Jordan Mendoza writes, “There's no definitive reason as to why viewership rose during the 2025 edition, but it can likely be pointed to the drama surrounding Sanders and his fall. He was projected to be a first-round pick, and possibly a top three selection by some experts. Instead, Sanders didn't see his name get called in the first round as it was the biggest story of day one.”
^{USA Today}

GameChanger Debuts First National Brand Campaign
Youth sports platform GameChanger has announced its “For the Sport of Love” brand campaign, its first national spot. GameChanger, a Dick’s Sporting Goods company, will air the campaign across Meta, YouTube, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, ESPN, Conde Nast, Hearst and social media platforms starting today. The spot was directed by WOLVVS production company founder Curt Morgan and was filmed across the greater Los Angeles area shortly after the wildfires. Ken Strnad, GameChanger VP of brand marketing, oversaw the campaign.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Penguins Fire Head Coach Mike Sullivan, Who Led Team to Two Stanley Cup Championships
Yahoo Sports’ Chris Cwik writes, “The decision ends a fantastic run by Sullivan, who was hired by the franchise during the 2015-16 season after it fired Mike Johnston. In Sullivan's first year with the team, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. They did it again the following year, giving Sullivan two championships in his first two seasons with the franchise.

“The Penguins continued to excel over the next five seasons. During that period, the team went 214-119, making the playoffs every year. Despite the club's success, the Penguins faltered in the playoffs, reaching the second round just once.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

Commanders and Washington Agree to a Deal to Build at RFK Stadium Site, a Nearly $4 Billion Project
“This has been a vision of ours since we bought the team,” controlling owner Josh Harris said. “We all experienced the rumbling of RFK (and) the fact that we grew up here gave us that vision to not look at the crumbling concrete that was there but remember in our minds the vivid nature of what Washington football is all about.”

The new stadium would open in 2030, with groundbreaking expected next year, pending approval of the Council of the District of Columbia.
^{AP News}

Sadiq Khan Backs London Bid for 2040 Olympics
A new report that will be published by the Mayor of London’s office on Monday says that the staging of six events last year, including the Champions League final at Wembley and the London Athletics Meet, as well as regular-season NFL and Major League Baseball games, generated £230million for the capital. It also attracted almost 500,000 sports fans to the city, with more than 200 million viewers tuning in across the globe.
^{The Times}

Denver Council Members Push Back on $70M for Women's Soccer Stadium
The Gazette’s Deborah Grigsby reports: “Supporters argue that the proposed stadium would serve as a major economic “jolt” to the South Broadway area, while council members are worried about shrinking revenues and redirecting interest money originally slated for projects funded by a bond voters approved a few years ago.”
^{The Gazette}

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College Sports Leaders Adamant House Settlement’s Roster Limit Issues Will Be Resolved
Judge Claudia Wilken issued an order last week stating that if the settlement parties cannot revise terms in a way that will prevent college athletes from losing roster spots due to the implementation of new roster limits, the $2.8 billion agreement, which resolves three antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and power conferences, will be denied approval. The judge gave the parties two weeks to respond.
^{The Athletic}

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