Sport & Story Daily June 28, 2024

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June 28, 2024

Good morning! NFL Had No-Good, Very Bad Day

Jury Orders NFL to Pay Nearly $4.8 Billion in ‘Sunday Ticket’ Case for Violating Antitrust Laws
A jury in the U.S. District Court ordered the NFL to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages Thursday after ruling that the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.

The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.

The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV.
^{AP News}

Bronny James’ Marketing Cloud Could Boost Round 2 Draft Value
As Sportico notes, NIL valuations are an imperfect science, On3 most recently valued Bronny’s NIL ventures at $3.2 million, which is less than half of what the number was last July when the firm placed the valuation at $7 million thanks to deals with Google, Beats by Dre and Nike. However, one absolute is Bronny’s significant social media audience, with 8 million followers on Instagram and 5.4 million followers on TikTok.
^Sportico

Wilson Extends NFL Ball Rights, Opens New Factory
Today in Ada, Ohio, where Wilson has manufactured NFL footballs for more than 80 years, the league’s oldest licensee is commemorating both the opening of a $15M factory and the extension of its longtime rights to make NFL game balls.

The 80,000-square-foot factory, next to Wilson’s legacy Ada manufacturing facility, will allow the company to increase annual production of NFL balls from 400,000 to 500,000, with hopes of eventually growing capacity to as many as 700,000.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Big East Unveils Media Deal Details, Including Early Peacock Start, Women’s Sports Boost
The Big East today is formally unveiling its new six-year media-rights pacts with Fox Sports, TNT Sports and NBC Sports, which was approved by school presidents. Allen & Co. and Proskauer were advisers on the deal for the Big East. Sources noted earlier in the week that the conference will see a moderate rights fee uptick. The existing pact was a 12-year, $500M deal with the Big East (an average annual value of around $41.67M).
^{Sports Business Journal}

Jags Owner Khan Calls 2023 Collapse an ‘Organizational Failure’ and Says It Can’t Happen Again
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan called last year’s late-season collapse an “organizational failure.”

Speaking after he and Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan signed a proclamation Wednesday that formally sealed a $1.4 billion “stadium of the future” proposal passed by the city a night earlier, Khan opened up about a variety of football-related topics.
^{AP News}

Seth Waugh is Stepping Aside After 6 Years Leading the PGA of America
Seth Waugh is leaving the PGA of America after six years as CEO, a period marked by a sharp boost in golf participation and PGA membership and moving headquarters from Florida to a massive complex in Texas.

Waugh was the CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas when he joined the PGA of America board as an independent director and then was hired to lead the 30,000-plus members in 2018.

His contract was up for renewal on June 30, and Waugh decided not to renew.
^{AP News}

Oilers GM Ken Holland Not Returning Next Season After Contract Expires
As Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic writes, “One of the worst-kept secrets in the NHL was confirmed Thursday when the Edmonton Oilers announced Hockey Hall of Fame GM Ken Holland will not return for a sixth season with the team.

“Holland leaving Edmonton has seemed apparent for months. The Oilers reaching the Stanley Cup Final and losing in Game 7 by one goal was immaterial.”
^{The Atlantic}

NCAA Paid Mark Emmert $4.3M in Severance in ‘23
Former NCAA President Mark Emmert received a nearly $4.3M "severance payment" from the association when he departed in 2023, new federal tax records show. The documents state that Emmert "received $4,281,279 during the NCAA’s 2023 fiscal year," which ended Aug. 31, 2023. Emmert’s pay from the association for the 2022 calendar year was "just over" $3.3M.

Sportico also reported, “The NCAA spent $61.5 million in legal fees in the year that ended in August 2023, according to the organization’s most recent 990 tax filing, as it continued to defend its business model in the face of multiple antitrust lawsuits.”   
^{Sports Business Journal and Sportico}

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