Sport & Story Daily February 19, 2024

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February 19, 2024

Good morning! Michael Jordan, $7B Media Deals & a new Netflix show—the new NASCAR is wild

Celebrity Owners, International Ambitions, and $7B Media Deals: Welcome to the New NASCAR
As Front Office Sports’ David Rumsey writes, “Full Speed, the NASCAR equivalent of Formula One’s Drive to Survive, wastes no time highlighting perhaps the biggest star in the sport: Michael Jordan. The first half of the first episode features a segment on 23XI, the NASCAR team that the NBA Hall of Famer launched in 2021 with Denny Hamlin, who still drives for Joe Gibbs Racing. Last year, both 23XI drivers, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace (above), made the playoffs, and Reddick won two races (one regular-season and one postseason).

Released Jan. 30, the Netflix show, which documents the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, came just in time to get fans both new and old ready for Sunday’s Daytona 500, which officially begins the ’24 season.”
^{frontofficesports.com}

Adam Silver: NBA to Reassess G League Ignite in Wake of NIL
"I think given that that's happened, I think we are in the process of reassessing Team Ignite," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday night as part of his annual All-Star Weekend news conference here at Lucas Oil Stadium. "Because now some of those same players who didn't want to be one-and-done players because they felt it was unfair and they wanted the ability not just to earn a living playing basketball but to do commercial deals that weren't available to them at college, to hire professional agents, an opportunity that wasn't available to them at college, they now -- all of those same opportunities have become available to them.
^espn.com

Sabrina-Steph Wasn’t the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ — But It Was Part of the Bigger War
As Front Office Sports’ Margaret Fleming writes, “Fans love watching female athletes compete on a level playing field with male competitors. Take former Vanderbilt football kicker Sarah Fuller, Brown baseball player Olivia Pichardo, or former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick. When King faced Riggs in 1973, more than 30,000 people attended the match, while another 90 million viewers tuned in worldwide.

‘There’s clearly something,’ says Caroline Fitzgerald, founder of the women’s sports marketing and consulting firm Goals. ‘People like to see this kind of competition.’

The matchup is a perfect storm for brands, Fitzgerald says, between the story lines, competition, values of gender equity, and passionate women’s basketball viewers. WNBA fans are a great return for advertisers—ads running during the 2023 WNBA Finals were 30% more effective than they were the year before, according to data from the TV ad-tracking platform EDO, while the ’23 NBA Finals were 29% less effective than they were in ’22.”
^{frontofficesports.com}

Texas Longhorns' Coordinators Kwiatkowski, Flood and Banks Receiving Contract Extensions
As 247Sports.com’s Chip Brown reports, “Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, offensive coordinator/O-line coach Kyle Flood and special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jeff Banks are getting contract extensions through the 2026 season, according to the agenda for an upcoming meeting of the Texas System Board of Regents.

Kwiatkowski, who was paid $1.7 million in each of his first three years at Texas, is getting a guaranteed, three-year extension that will pay him $1.8 million in 2024; $1.9 million in 2025; and $2 million in 2026.

Flood, who was already contracted to earn $1.325 million in 2024 and $1.4 million in 2025, is getting a guaranteed, one-year extension that will pay him $1.475 million in 2026.”
^{247sports.com}

Texas Football Coach Steve Sarkisian's Salary to Significantly Increase Under New Contract
As the Austin American-Statesman’s Danny Davis reports, “This upcoming week, the Texas Board of Regents is set to approve a significant increase to UT football coach Steve Sarkisian's salary.

Last month, Texas announced that Sarkisian had agreed to a four-year extension that will keep him with the Longhorns through the 2030 football season. If approved, Sarkisian will now make $10.3 million during the 2024 season. He was previously slated to have a salary of $5.8 million.

Sarkisian is also scheduled to now receive annual increases of $100,000 through the end of the contract. That would put him at $10.9 million in 2030.”
^{statesman.com}

CBS Reaps Additional $60 Million on Super Bowl Overtime Commercials
As SI.com’s Madison Williams writes, “Super Bowl LVIII resulted in only the second overtime game in the history of the Big Game.

The extra period translated into newfound revenue for CBS, the network which aired the Super Bowl this year. Ten additional advertisements were featured during overtime, producing approximately $60 million in additional revenue, per Sportico.

With the additional revenue, CBS is expected to have broken the Super Bowl record for most ad sales. The network accumulated approximately $635 million during the four quarters of regulation time. When that figure is combined with the overtime windfall, CBS’s total ad revenue for the game approaches $700 million.”
^si.com

Blue Jackets, Red Wings to Play 2025 Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium
As NHL Senior Write Dan Rosen writes, “A new chapter in the legendary Ohio State-Michigan college football rivalry will be written next year. This time, it will be NHL-style.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will host the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on March 1, 2025, the League announced Saturday.

The 102,780-seat stadium, known as the "Horseshoe" because of its shape, opened officially Oct. 7, 1922, with an Ohio State football game against Wesleyan University. It is the 12th-oldest college football stadium in the United States.

The rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State dates to 1897. Commonly referred to as "The Game," it was played annually between the schools from 1918-2019 before it was interrupted in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic…”
^nhl.com

Here's how Kansas Football Will Play in TWO Home Stadiums Next Year
As Extra Points’ Matt Brown reports, “David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, the home of Jayhawk Football, is in the middle of a massive renovation plan. Once completed, not only will fans have improved seating options, but the stadium will sit in a new entertainment district that will also include a hotel and conference center.

That could all be very cool, but as you can see, the stadium doesn’t look ready to host actual football games any time soon. Kansas plans to welcome Jayhawk football back to the stadium for the 2025 season.

So this year, Kansas will play two home games at Children’s Mercy Park, home of Sporting Kansas City of the MLS, and four home games at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

This unconventional situation presents both some significant challenges for Kansas…and an uncommon opportunity.”
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Ohio State Shocks No. 2 Purdue Four Days After Firing Men’s Basketball Coach
As USA Today’s Adam Jardy Ohio State shocks No. 2 Purdue four days after firing men's basketball coachreports, “Sunday afternoon, practice made perfect. Four days after athletic director Gene Smith fired coach Chris Holtmann, interim coach Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes notched their most impressive win of the season by taking down the Boilermakers, 73-69, inside an arena that was nearly packed.”
^usatoday.com

Purdue, UConn L Men’s NCAA Tournament Top 16 Seed Reveal: Surprises, Snubs and Full Rankings
Purdue, UConn lead men’s NCAA Tournament top 16 seed reveal: Surprises, snubs and full rankings
As The Athletic’s Brian Bennett reports, “Purdue, UConn, Houston and Arizona were ranked as No. 1 seeds Saturday by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee in its top 16 preview, three weeks ahead of Selection Sunday.

The top four seeds were voted in that order on every member’s ballot for the first time in selection committee history, chairman Charles McClelland said.

The No. 2 seeds were North Carolina, Tennessee, Marquette and Kansas. The No. 3s were Alabama, Baylor, Iowa State and Duke, while the No. 4s were Auburn, San Diego State, Illinois and Wisconsin.
^{theathletic.com}

UA President Robert Robbins Should Prioritize NIL Flexibility in Athletic Director Hire
“We’ve got to get the right leader in our athletic department,” University of Arizona President Robert Robbins said Friday, speaking to The Arizona Republic’s Editorial Board. “Someone who has experience, preferably a national figure who’s going to be a leader, who can come in and solve these problems and navigate our change from, sadly, the demise of the Pac-12 into the Big 12.”
^{azcentral.com}

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