NFL Schedule Up For Sale

“‘I have five kids at home and you never satisfy them all. Just try and do your best…” - NBC Sports president Rick Cordella’s analogy on NFL scheduling

May 16, 2025

NFL Continues to Navigate Scheduling Puzzle With Every Game Up for Bid and More Broadcast Windows
AP News’ Joe Reedy writes, “NBC Sports president Rick Cordella put it best when summarizing what the NFL’s scheduling department goes through each year.

“‘I have five kids at home and you never satisfy them all. Just try and do your best, so I think it’s a little bit of that,” Cordella said Wednesday after he had a chance to look at the ‘Sunday Night Football’ slate for the upcoming season.”

“One would think the job has gotten somewhat easier the past couple of years as the league has come up with more broadcast windows, including making Christmas Day a permanent fixture. The trade off, though, is that this is the third year under the league’s broadcast deals that all of the games are up for bid for every network.”
^{AP News}

NFL Owners to Consider Resolution Allowing Players to Participate in Flag Football at the Olympics
The proposal would allow only one player per NFL team to be selected by a country for the Olympics in addition to each team’s designated international player. It also provides for injury protection and salary cap credit in case of any injuries and requires minimum standards for medical staffs and field surfaces.
^{AP News}

Fever Launch DTC Service With Endeavor Streaming
The Fever have launched the team’s first DTC streaming service, Fever Direct, powered by Endeavor Streaming. Fever Direct is available for fans to access across web, tablets and mobile devices starting today, with connected and Smart TVs to follow. Fever Direct subscribers will have access to up to 18 live regular season games alongside full game replays. The service is available to fans living within the Fever’s approved region across the Midwest.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Cuban Part of PE Group Targeting Pro Team Stakes
Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban, along with a “group of professional sports team insiders,” are launching a $750M private equity fund called Harbinger Sports Partners Fund that is “designed to take small stakes in US pro sports teams.” Cuban is joining Steve Cannon, former AMBSE CEO, and Rashaun Williams, a venture capitalist and Falcons limited partner, in the fund. The group said that it will “focus on acquiring stakes of as much as 5%.” It expects to invest $50M to $150M in each transaction and “use secondary offerings to exit the positions within seven to 10 years.”
^{Bloomberg via Sports Business Journal}

49ers Reportedly Valued at Record $8.5 billion Ahead of Selling 6% Stake in Franchise
The team is reportedly splitting that share between three families — the Khosla family, the Griffith family, and Deeter family. It's unclear how much of that 6% stake will be owned by each family. As part of that purchase, the 49ers were valued at more than $8.5 billion, per Sportico. If accurate, that would be the highest valuation of any sports team in a transaction.
^{Sportico, Yahoo! Sports}

Chargers Request Approval to Sell 8 Percent Stake in Club to Private Investment Firm Arctos: Sources
The Athletic’s Daniel Popper reports: “The league’s finance committee has reviewed the transaction and recommended approval by owners at the May league meetings. If the sale is approved, Chargers owner Dean Spanos and his family would retain a controlling stake in the club at approximately 61 percent. Spanos and two of his siblings would be involved in the sale.”
^{The Athletic}

Hall of Famer Charles Woodson to Buy Small Stake in Cleveland Browns: Source
The Athletic’s Zac Jackson and Dianna Russini report: “Charles Woodson plans to purchase a 0.1 percent stake in the Browns from the Haslam family … Jimmy and Dee Haslam have owned the Browns since 2012.

“Woodson, 48, has spent the last three seasons working as an analyst for Fox after an 18-year playing career that led to his induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. The sale is contingent upon Woodson agreeing to similar broadcasting restrictions to Raiders owner Tom Brady.”
^{The Athletic}

FIFA Gets Formal Complaint of Human Rights Oversight Failure With 2034 World Cup Host Saudi Arabia
A group of international lawyers filed a formal complaint to FIFA on Thursday claiming the soccer body is failing to uphold its human rights policy with 2034 World Cup host Saudi Arabia.

“‘As highlighted in this complaint, widespread human rights abuses continue to be perpetrated in Saudi Arabia, and no steps are being taken by FIFA to address these in the buildup to the World Cup,’ the lawyers state in a 30-page document.”
AP News

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Washington State Taps Playfly as New MMR Holder
SBJ’s Ben Portnoy writes, “Playfly Sports is planting its flag in the Pacific Northwest.

“The company is set to announce a new 10-year multimedia rights deal with Washington State, Sports Business Journal has learned. An official announcement is expected on Thursday. The agreement, for which financial terms were not immediately available, will include Playfly handling Washington State’s MMR, ticketing and premium businesses.

“WSU previously worked with Learfield, which partnered with the school in varying capacities for much of the past 25 years.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

College Football Playoff Nearing Consensus to Alter Seeding Process With Changes to First-Round Byes
CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello reports: “The ‘straight seeding’ proposal has gained support from the ACC and Big 12 in recent weeks, sources said. On Wednesday, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said for the first time that the format ‘may be the right thing for us to consider.’ CFP administrators must approve the proposal, which could happen within the next month, sources said. The proposal requires unanimous approval from the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame to be enacted for the 2025-26 season.”
^{CBS Sports}

Players’ Attorneys Fire Back at Objectors in House Settlement
Sportico’s Michael McCann reports: “On Tuesday, attorney objectors to the House settlement filed responses urging U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken to reject the settlement on grounds it will harm class members who lose roster spots. The day after, attorneys for the athlete plaintiffs filed a reply that counters the objectors’ arguments.

“Steve Berman, Jeffrey Kessler and other athlete attorneys insist the objectors have missed the forest for the trees by opposing a settlement that would provide ‘vast new benefits’ to Division I athletes.”
^Sportico

Ohio General Assembly Member Authors Bill to Prevent State Schools From Playing Home Football Games at Noon
Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg reports: “Under the terms of the proposal by Rep. Tex Fischer (R), games including at least one state school and games including top-10 teams would be prohibited from starting earlier than the mid-afternoon. With one exception [Michigan].

“The bill comes amidst much consternation among Ohio State fans with the Big Ten’s media rights contract with Fox. The network gets the pick of the conference’s top game every weekend in football season and places its marquee game of the week at noon ET as part of its ‘Big Noon Saturday’ programming.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

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