NBA Europe Up For Discussion

Adam Silver’s Ambitions For NBA Europe League Reportedly Unconnected to Maverick Carter’s Proposal For “Rival” League

January 17, 2025

Sources: NBA Execs Discussing NBA Europe League
Sources familiar with the potential league told SBJ that the conversations -- which will include Commissioner Adam Silver -- were scheduled long before news emerged today that Lakers’ LeBron James’ business partner Maverick Carter is part of group of investors trying to raise $5B to start an international basketball league to "rival" the NBA.

Silver’s interest in starting an NBA Europe goes back years and would be in concert with FIBA, capitalizing specifically on the commercial opportunities overseas and the uneven financial performance of the current EuroLeague. Although a launch is not imminent, indications are discussions are going to be ramped up in Paris next week.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Wayfair Scores Naming Rights to Unrivaled Arena
SBJ’s Tom Friend writes, “Unrivaled’s 850-seat venue in Miami -- a production studio-turned basketball court that league President Alex Bazzell describes as ‘Broadway on steroids’ -- will be called Wayfair Arena as part of a multiyear naming-rights deal announced Thursday that also makes Wayfair the league’s official home furnishing partner.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

LIV Golf’s New TV Deal to Air Some Rounds on Fox Business Network
LIV Golf and Fox Sports formally announced their multi-year media rights deal, which had been anticipated since late last year, Thursday morning. And there’s an interesting wrinkle.

While the majority of LIV action will air on Fox or FS1, select rounds will be broadcast on FS2 and even Fox Business Network. The financial news channel claims to be available in nearly 80 million U.S. homes, but it obviously is not a staple for sports viewing.
^{Front Office Sports}

Don Yee: Tom Brady Staying Put at Fox
Tom Brady has nine seasons left on his contract with Fox Sports, and he isn’t going anywhere, his agent told SBJ exclusively today.
 
Yee’s remarks come as commentary around Brady’s dual roles as broadcaster and 5% limited partner in the Raiders reaches a fever pitch during the coaching carousel/playoff season. He sits on the team’s coaching search committee, which has reportedly targeted Lions OC Ben Johnson as a top candidate, and is preparing to call the Lions-Commanders playoff game Saturday.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Why Two Relatively Unheralded NFL Assistants Are Drawing Head Coaching Buzz
SI’s Conor Orr writes, “Adam Stenavich and Arthur Smith didn’t oversee top-five scoring offenses this season (and they aren’t connected to Sean McVay). But they still exhibit traits teams look for in head coaches.”
^{Sports Illustrated}

Sources: Belichick to Add Priefer, Friend to North Carolina Staff
Longtime NFL special teams coach Mike Priefer and veteran SEC offensive line coach Will Friend are expected to finalize deals to join Belichick's staff, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

After coaching for nearly a decade in college, Priefer moved to the NFL in 2002 and was a special teams coordinator from 2006 to 2022. He is noted in Cleveland Browns history as serving as the head coach in a January 2021 wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is the franchise's only postseason win since the 1994 season.
^{Sports Illustrated}

Cowboys Add Familiar Name to List in Coaching Search With Kellen Moore, AP Source Says
The Dallas Cowboys have requested permission to interview Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in their search to replace Mike McCarthy, a person with knowledge of the team’s plans said Thursday.

Moore has a long history with the Cowboys, including four seasons as Dak Prescott’s play-caller. Three of those were after McCarthy was hired in 2020. The Cowboys and McCarthy parted ways this week after five seasons.
^{AP News}

Caitlin Clark Effect Fuels Fever’s New $78M Downtown Training Center
FOS’ Eric Fisher writes, “The Caitlin Clark Effect is now extending to the Fever’s plans to develop a $78 million training center in downtown Indianapolis. 

“The forthcoming Indiana Fever Sports Performance Center, slated to open before the 2027 WNBA season, will feature two full-size courts, strength and conditioning facilities, a range of additional recovery and wellness rooms including those with infrared light therapy and hydrotherapy pools, and even podcast and content production studio space. Fever owner Pacers Sports & Entertainment will privately fund the development of the three-story, 108,000-square-foot facility.”
^{Front Office Sports}

PGA Tour Will Move Los Angeles Event to New Venue
Due to the wildfires in Southern California, the PGA Tour is moving next month’s Genesis Invitational to a to-be-determined location the week of February 10. Riviera Country Club, the longtime home to the event in greater Los Angeles, has been spared damage by the fires but the club itself is closed and the surrounding area has suffered significant hardship.
^{Sports Illustrated}

NCAA Athlete NIL Pay Must Be Title IX Compliant, Dept. of Education Says
Sportico’s Daniel Libit reports: “In a nine-page ‘fact sheet’ released Thursday, OCR clarified that, under Title IX, NIL money paid to college athletes should be held to the same gender-equity standards as athletic scholarships. Specifically, it stated that the amounts paid to athletes through NIL deals should be considered part of a school’s athletic financial assistance, just as grants-in-aid and cost-of-attendance funds are.
^Sportico

How Far Will Power 4 Conferences Push for Control That Threatens Ruining March Madness?
SI’s Pat Forde writes, “There is a new proposal to the evolving governance of college sports, and it involves potentially wresting away control of the NCAA’s postseason championships, including men’s and women’s March Madness. A working document circulated by the SEC prior to the ongoing NCAA Convention in Nashville would grant the autonomous four conferences—the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC—rights to, among other things, manage the postseason tournaments. Along with that could come changes to tournament formats, revenue distribution and the makeup of selection committees.”
^{Sports Illustrated}

Transfer Portal Got You Down? One College AD Suggests an ‘Acquisition Fee’ Could Fix Some Problems
AP News’ Eddie Pells writes, “The athletic director at a mid-sized school that’s making a splash this season has a modest proposal for taming what many say is a transfer-portal system run amok in college sports.

“Sean Frazier, the AD at Northern Illinois — remember, the team that beat national finalist Notre Dame earlier this season — is talking about a ‘talent acquisition fee.’

“When schools sign players from other teams, they would pay those teams a fee in exchange for the player. It’s not that different from the way transactions go down with what are known as ‘transfer fees’ in European soccer.”
^{AP News}

Ohio State and Notre Dame Built Rosters the Old-Fashioned way, Mixing in a Few High-Impact Transfers
AP’s Eric Olson reports: “According to Associated Press research using 247Sports data, the Buckeyes and Irish both have signed 26 scholarship players from the portal since 2022, Marcus Freeman’s first year as Notre Dame head coach. That’s an average of 6.5 per year, among the lowest in the Bowl Subdivision.

“The Buckeyes and Irish can be selective when dipping into the portal, and they’ve predictably had a high success rate with the few players they’ve taken. Five of the 22 Ohio State starters in its semifinal win over Texas were transfers, and all have played major roles.”
^{AP News}

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