NFL Kickoff Numbers Soar

NBC drew the second-best NFL Kickoff audience ever on Thursday night, and had it not been for a weather delay, the game was on pace to break the record

September 9, 2025

Eagles-Cowboys Just Misses NFL Kickoff Record
NBC drew the second-best NFL Kickoff audience ever on Thursday night, and had it not been for a weather delay lasting over an hour, the game was pacing toward a record for the annual event. Cowboys-Eagles averaged 28.3 million viewers, behind only last year’s 29.2 million for Ravens-Chiefs in terms of top NFL Kickoff audiences on record. The measured audience for the Cowboys-Eagles game was 8:23-10:15pm ET and then 11:24pm-12:18am (a typical NBC primetime NFL game is over by around 11:24pm). The Cowboys have only appeared in three NFL Kickoff games.
^Sportico

Unrivaled Women’s Basketball League Now Valued at $340M Million After Landing More Celebrity Funding
AP News’ Alanis Thames reports: “Serena Williams’ venture capital firm Serena Ventures came on as an investor, along with Atlanta Hawks star guard Trae Young, Franz and Moritz Wagner of the Orlando Magic, University of Maryland president Darryll J. Pines and his wife Sylvia, and prominent sports executive Sam Rapoport. Alex Morgan’s Trybe Ventures and Warner Bros. Discovery also built on their previous investments in the league.”
_{AP News}

Stu Sternberg is Selling the Rays, But He’ll Remain a Minority Owner — For a Time
Sternberg agreed to sell the Rays to a group led by developer Patrick Zalupski for roughly $1.7 billion, but the new-look ownership group will give Sternberg and other current partners in the team a roughly 10 percent share of the club at the outset, two people briefed on the transaction who were not authorized to speak publicly told The Athletic.
^{The Athletic}

StubHub Seeking $9.2B IPO Valuation
StubHub is “targeting a valuation of up to” $9.2B in its U.S. initial public offering, becoming the latest company to resume listing plans delayed in April due to “tariff uncertainty,” according to REUTERS. The firm is looking to “sell about 34 million shares, priced between” $22 and $25 each, to raise up to $851M. In an IPO market led by crypto and other tech-heavy companies, StubHub’s debut “could be a barometer of investor appetite for consumer-focused firms.”
^{Reuters via Sports Business Journal}

17.3M Watch Chiefs-Chargers on YouTube—Below Lofty Hopes
FOS’ Eric Fisher writes, “The figure, including an average-minute audience of 16.2 million in the U.S. and 1.1 million elsewhere, does represent a 14% improvement in domestic viewership from the 14.2 million in the U.S. who tuned in last year on Peacock for the league’s initial game in São Paulo between the Eagles and Packers. The NBCUniversal-owned Peacock, however, is a subscription-based service, while the game on Google’s YouTube was available for free to a worldwide audience.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Tony Parker: NBA Europe Imminent, in Talks to Include His French Club ASVEL
“At the end of the day, we are talking, and we are trying to go in the right direction,” former NBAer Tony Parker told China Daily during a promotional visit to Chengdu. “... NBA Europe league for me is just a matter of time. They are coming, and it’s going to happen.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Erie County Stadium Corp. Takes Step Toward Taking Over New Bills Stadium
The Erie County Stadium Corp. on Monday “approved a contract with Azar Design Co. for code compliance and enforcement services,” a step forward “toward taking over” the new Bills stadium, according to Lian Bunny of BUFFALO BUSINESS FIRST via SBJ.
^{Buffalo Business First via Sports Business Journal}

As Other NFL Teams Build New Stadiums, the Bears Will Soon Release Plans for a New Dome in Arlington Heights
Bears President Kevin Warren and other officials are meeting regularly to refine their plan with Arlington Heights village officials. Sometime in September, October or November, the team will make a public presentation and answer questions about the 326-acre site, according to Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia. Then the village planning, design and housing commissions will review the proposal before it goes to a Village Board vote. The whole process could take a few months.
^{Chicago Tribune}

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EA, Spotify Ink Deal for College Football 26 Promo
SBJ’s Jason Wilson reports: “EA Sports is working with Spotify for “Campus Pregame,” a series of events on four campuses to promote the College Football 26 video game and programming on the music-streaming platform. No agencies were involved in this deal.

“In addition to a curated playlist on Spotify (which will change to fit the schools and participating celebrities and streamers each week), Campus Pregame features stop at three SEC games and one Big Ten matchup:

“Thursday-Sunday: Georgia at Tennessee

Oct. 2-4: Texas at Florida

Oct. 30-Nov. 1: Penn State at Ohio State

Nov. 13-15: Oklahoma at Alabama”
^{Sports Business Journal}

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