More NCAA Strife For Athletes

The upcoming football season looms large, with little clarity in athlete battles to win more eligibility from the NCAA

July 29, 2025

Football Season Looms With No Clear Guidance in Athlete Battles to Win More Eligibility From NCAA
AP News’ Teresa M. Walker writes, “With fall football practice cranking up this week, players still hoping for a judge allowing them to take the field may be left waiting for a ruling that likely won’t help them compete again.

“Relief on a larger question surrounding eligibility may be a while coming, too: In cases from California to Wisconsin, judges have provided inconsistent results for players seeking legal help for another season, and it may very well be a topic settled for good by a higher court.”

“We’re at a point in the summer where I think any athlete out there is going to know that it’s probably too late to file a case and be able to get relief on it,” said Sam Ehrlich, a professor of legal studies at Boise State studying the 2021 Alston ruling’s effect on college athletics.
^{Front Office Sports}

After Bryce Harper-Rob Manfred Confrontation, Mark DeRosa Warned Phillies of Commish’s Power
The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Matt Gelb write, “Harper, one of the game’s best players and highest earners on a 13-year, $330 million contract, would have been the type of free agent hurt most by the implementation of a limit on salaries. If MLB proposes a cap, as many in the industry expect, MLB will likely advertise benefits to lower earners. But the MLBPA’s position has long been that a cap hurts all players, not just its top earners.”
^{The Athletic}

LIV Golf Upping Purses to $30M in 2026 With Eye on Team Investments
SBJ’s Josh Carpenter writes, “LIV Golf’s eye-popping purse sizes will get even bigger in 2026 as the league pumps more investment into its team operations. LIV’s current weekly purse of $25M will go to $30M in 2026, according to four sources familiar with the process, and the extra capital will go toward the league’s weekly team competition.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Scottie Scheffler’s Season Earnings Surpassed by LIV’s Niemann
FOS’ David Rumsey writes, “Scottie Scheffler may be the most dominant player in professional golf this year, but he’s not the highest paid—for now, at least. That title now belongs to Joaquin Niemann, who surpassed Scheffler’s 2025 earnings, $19.2 million so far, with his fifth victory of the season at LIV Golf’s U.K. event. Niemann has now made $21.94 million on the golf course this year, averaging $1.37 million each time he tees it up.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter
FOS’ Ellyn Briggs writes, “The Montreal Expos haven’t played a Major League Baseball game since 2004. But on X/Twitter, the long-defunct team posts with a frequency that makes it seem like they’re currently in the hunt to win the 2025 NL East. Behind the 55,000-follower account is Elias Makos, a Canadian radio host and former Expos PR coordinator. He is one of a handful of hobbyists who run very active and well-followed social media pages for “dead” professional sports teams, and have for decades.”
^{Front Office Sports}

NBCUniversal’s Potential Cable Sports Network Rebirth Confuses at Least One Major MVPD
NBCUniversal’s plan to launch (or relaunch?) a cable sports network -- first reported by the WSJ -- as early as this fall has at least one major MVPD confused about what parent company Comcast is attempting, especially after NBCU shuttered NBCSN back in 2021. Most of that sports content pivoted to distribution largely through streaming service Peacock and USA Network on cable TV.

One major cable distributor expressed confusion, with a source telling SBJ that NBCU and Comcast have not communicated yet about any new network.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Baseball’s Biggest Spenders are Stumbling, With the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees Beset by Injuries
AP News’ Ronald Blum writes, “Opening the season with a top payroll of $326 million, the New York Mets have a 1 1/2-game NL East lead but are 17-20 since mid-June.

“Just $200,000 behind them in spending, according to Major League Baseball’s figures, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are four games ahead in the NL West but are 5-13 since July 3.

“Third at $294 million, the defending AL champion New York Yankees blew a seven-game division lead and trail AL East-leading Toronto by 5 1/2 games after a 22-28 skid that started in late May.
^{AP News}

What I’m Hearing About Mario Lemieux’s Penguins Ownership Comeback Attempt
The Athletic’s Josh Yohe writes, “The secret’s out that a group led by Mario Lemieux is considering making an offer to Fenway Sports Group. We know that Lemieux, Ron Burkle and David Morehouse are involved, and their group believes Fenway will sell for the right price. Fenway purchased the Penguins from Lemieux and Burkle for $900 million in 2021. Though the Penguins have fallen on difficult times on the ice, Fenway’s price will be higher than that.”
^{The Athletic}

SURJ Invests in Pro Triathletes, Saudis Likely to Host T100 Event
Sportico’s Brendan Coffey reports: “SURJ Sports Investment, the sports arm of the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, has led a new round of funding for the Professional Triathletes Organisation, which operates professional and amateur triathlons around the globe … The size of the round is about $50 million, with SURJ the lead investor, according to a person familiar with the details who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t being publicly disclosed.

“Saudi Arabia is a growing sporting nation and has ambitions to one day host the Olympic Games and triathlon being a key Olympic sport,” SURJ CEO Danny Townsend said in a statement provided to Sportico.
^Sportico

WME Sports Names Max Eisenbud as Head of Client Representation
Max Eisenbud, longtime tennis agent and head of clients for IMG Tennis, has been elevated to WME Sports’ head of client representation. He will oversee WME Sports’ representation business across tennis, golf, action sports and sports content.
^{Sports Business Journal}

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Report: Pac-12 Commish Teresa Gould’s Contract Extension Stands as ‘Ongoing’
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould is expected to receive a contract extension “in the coming weeks,” according to sources cited by sportswriter John Canzano. However, it is “unknown” when that extension would be formalized and announced by the conference as there are “some other pressing matters’ on the table.” She previously said that the expiration of her contract “lined up with” the Pac-12’s end of the conference’s two-year NCAA grace period (July 1, 2026). She has “navigated choppy waters, engineering the survival of the Pac-12.”
^{John Canzano via Sports Business Journal}

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