Sport & Story Daily January 17, 2024

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January 17, 2024

Good morning! Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce retiring the latest in a host of NFL shakeups

Eagles OL Jason Kelce to Retire
As Sports Illustrated’s Thomas Neumann writes, “The stalwart offensive lineman revealed the decision to teammates after Monday night’s wild-card playoff loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to multiple reports.

The news was broken Tuesday morning by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and confirmed minutes later by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Kelce was named first-team All-Pro six times and received seven Pro Bowl selections during a 13-year NFL career spent entirely with the Eagles. He played in 193 of a possible 211 regular-season games during that span, all starts, after being selected in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft out of Cincinnati.”
^{sportsillustrated.com}

NFL Grows Viewership, Attendance in Strong Year
The NFL drove both attendance and TV audience growth in 2023 by pushing at the margins, and the result was to make strong numbers even better. The league saw a 7% year-over-year gain in TV viewing audience and a slight — but notable — gain in live attendance despite less inventory…
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Ross Bjork Named Athletics Director at Ohio State
It’s now official—Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. today announced that Ross Bjork will become the university’s next senior vice president and Wolfe Foundation-Eugene Smith Endowed Athletics Director, pending approval by the Board of Trustees. Bjork, who has more than 30 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics, will begin his tenure as athletics director at Ohio State on July 1, 2024.
^news.osu.edu

Despite Human Rights Issues, Saudi Arabia’s Sports Profile Shows No Signs of Slowing
As Front Office Sports’ Eric Fisher reports, “Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing power as a sports market is now even more evident, as the country has formed a relationship with one of tennis’s all-time greats and could get an improved UFC event later this year.

Rafael Nadal, a 22-time major tournament winner, has signed on as an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation. Nadal will promote tennis in the country and plans to build an academy there. The move arrives as Saudi Arabia continues to face widespread scrutiny for its widely rebuked human rights record and accusations of sportswashing.”
^{frontofficesports.com}

Jedd Fisch’s Washington Deal Puts Him in Top Half of Big Ten Coaches
At present, Jedd Fisch's pay for the 2024 season and the deal's average annual value are set to put him among the top half of Big Ten coaches. He was making $3.25 million this past season at Arizona but appeared headed for a significant increase. According to USA Today Sports’ Steve Berkowitz via Twitter, the “term sheet between Washington and new FB coach Jedd Fisch: 7-year deal, starting at $7.5 million and increasing by $75,000 annually (basic total of $54.075 million, avg of $7.725 million). He also gets $200,000 relocation allowance. Fisch also will be eligible for up to $1.55 million in bonuses annually, and Washington will cover $5.5 million buyout that he owes Arizona.”
^twitter.com

Jim Harbaugh Remains Engaged in Contract Talks With Michigan Amid NFL Swirl
Yahoo Sports! has reported that sources have said that “Harbaugh is also seeking a delay in the start date of the new contract to maintain a lower buyout that NFL teams would have to pay Michigan to hire him away. The buyout in his current contract dropped from $2.25 million to $1.5 million on Jan. 11. Michigan is seeking that to increase to about $4 million in a new deal. Harbaugh has sought to have the new deal not start until Feb. 15, thus maintaining the lower and more favorable buyout number until after the NFL hiring cycle has concluded.”
^{sports.yahoo.com}

Show Them the Money: Record NWSL Media Deals Fueling Record Player Contracts
First came the big-time media money for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Now, here come the record-setting player contracts. Not long after the league signed $240 million worth of rights contracts with four networks—the most lucrative set of media deals in women’s sports history—NWSL players are now seeing unprecedented deals of their own.
^{frontofficesports.com}

Packers-Cowboys Marks Fox’s Best Wild Card Since 2015
Packers-Cowboys on Sunday peaked at 43.4 million viewers in the 6:45pm ET window. Fox drew its best NFL Wild Card audience since 2015 on Sunday, as the Packers’ blowout win over the Cowboys in the 4:30pm ET window drew around 40 million viewers, per fast-national figures…”
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

FirstBank Stadium Premium Seating Experiences Launch
Vanderbilt today launched requests for new premium seating experiences in the expanded north end zone. Season ticket holders have the opportunity to opt in to either of two north end zone experiences when football season ticket renewals launch this week. The new seats bring fans closer to the action than ever before and deliver enhanced amenities and comfortable spaces where Commodore Nation can come together over college football. The introduction of north end zone premium seating marks another important milestone in Vandy United’s ongoing commitment to an unforgettable game day experience.
^{vucommodores.com}

Toledo Athletics Partners With Vu Technologies to Unveil Cutting Edge Virtual Production Studio
The studio is equipped with Vu One LED display technology and powered by the Virtual Studio suite of generative creative tools. This innovative all-in-one space redefines the Rockets' storytelling possibilities, offering a dynamic platform for content creation and film-making, a tool for recruiting and retaining student-athletes, an accessible location for NIL sponsorship activations, an interactive display for special events, and a captivating visual centerpiece in the Savage Arena lobby offering an immersive experience for student-athletes, fans and sponsors alike.
^{utrockets.com}

Brent Brennan Hired as Arizona Head Football Coach
Sources indicate to WildcatAuthority.com that San Jose State Head Coach Brent Brennan has accepted the head coaching job and is expected to arrive in Tucson Tuesday afternoon.
^{247sports.com}

Sources: Mike Tomlin Tells Steelers He'll be Coach in '24
Mike Tomlin told Pittsburgh Steelers players and coaches Tuesday that he plans to coach the team in 2024, a day after he walked out of a news conference when asked about his contract, sources told ESPN.

"I'll just say this about Mike T, why are we so concerned with somebody who has a year on their contract, has been locked in and has wanted to just play, coach football?" Heyward said. "We don't ask anybody else if they need to come back for another year or anything else. I just think it's doing him a disservice. This guy's been locked in from the very get-go, but yet we're worried about if he's coming back or not.”
^espn.com

Why It's Time to Move NCAA Men's Hockey Regionals to Home Sites
As Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Fork Herald writes,” The NCAA has locked in neutral-site regionals through 2026. It has opened a portal for bidding for 2027 and 2028. The bidding portal closes next month, and if the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Committee doesn't make a change this spring, they'll award them in the early fall, and we'll be stuck with neutral sites for two more years.”
^{grandforksherald.com}

Penn State Athletics Reports All-Time High Revenues and Expenses
Penn State athletics operated with roughly $202.2 million in revenues and $202.07 million in expenses for the most recently completed 2022-23 fiscal year, according to the department’s annual fiscal report released on Tuesday. Revenues rose by nearly $21 million, while expenses ballooned by $31.5 million.

The fiscal year — which runs from July 1 to June 30 — largely coincided with new Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft’s first year at Penn State.
^{statecollege.com}

NIL Hearing/Bill Seeks to Severely Regulate Collectives and Deals Viewed as Inducements
Mit Winter writes on Twitter, “Information on this week’s federal NIL hearing has been released. It’s titled “NIL Playbook: Proposal to Protect Student Athletes' Dealmaking Rights.” But this hearing/bill is not about protecting NIL rights. Its goal is to restrict college athletes and keep them ‘amateurs.’”
^twitter.com

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