- Sport & Story Daily
- Posts
- Player Retention is Top Priority
Player Retention is Top Priority
Sport & Story Daily July 31, 2025: In an era where revenue sharing and NIL opportunities can swiftly steer athletes toward the transfer portal, programs across the country are racing to master the art of player retention.

AP News writes: “In an era where revenue sharing and NIL opportunities can swiftly steer athletes toward the transfer portal, programs across the country are racing to master the art of player retention.”
July 31, 2025

AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File
Coaches Race to Master Art of Retention Amid NIL, Revenue Sharing and Transfer Portal Challenges
AP News’ Maura Carey writes, “Whether it was an ACC, SEC, Big Ten or Big 12 coach taking the podium at media days, one theme remained consistent: In an era where revenue sharing and NIL opportunities can swiftly steer athletes toward the transfer portal, programs across the country are racing to master the art of player retention.
“Its importance is clear to Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, who has seen all but five players from his 2023 recruiting class leave for different programs.”
“Here’s what it’s not because of: the way they’re treated, because of the way they’re developed, because of the way they’re taught,” he said. “That’s not the reason. It could be playing time. It could be finances. Probably the majority of it is finances, but you’d have to ask those guys.”
AP News


Getty Images
Aston Martin F1 Valued at $3.2B in Latest Sale Amid Surging Investor Interest
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc, the listed carmaker, said today that it has “agreed to sell its minority stake” in the racing team for about $146M. Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark said that a binding letter of intent “has been signed with a buyer” at a $3.2B valuation.
Bloomberg News via Sports Business Journal


ESPN Cuts Ties With Shannon Sharpe Following Settlement of Sexual Assault Lawsuit, AP Source Says
AP News’ Joe Reedy writes, “The decision comes less than two weeks after Sharpe resolved a lawsuit that accused him of sexually assaulting a woman during their relationship. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced.
“The 57-year-old Sharpe called the accusations ‘false and disruptive’ at the time they were levied and hoped to return in time for the NFL season. Instead, ESPN opted to move on from the brash four-time All-Pro tight end who won three Super Bowls during his 14-year career.”
AP News
Amazon, TNT Post Near-Identical NASCAR Ratings in Debut Season
NASCAR’s two new media-rights partners drew nearly equal average race viewership figures this season. The rest of the Cup Series’s regular season and playoffs will air on NBC Sports platforms, following 10 races split between Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports platforms.
Front Office Sports
Tiki Barber Out in CBS NFL Shakeup as He Joins Giants’ Radio Team for Season
The New York Post’s Jenna Lemoncelli writes, “Tiki Barber’s NFL game days will look mighty different this year. The former Giants running back is joining the team’s radio broadcast, the franchise announced Wednesday, the same day Barber, 50, noticeably was left off CBS’s broadcast roster for the upcoming season. The three-time Pro Bowler had served as an ‘NFL on CBS’ game analyst since 2019.”
The New York Post


Screen-Shot-2016-12-16-at-6_21_58-AM
Former Trail Blazers, Oregon Industry Leaders Form Group Vying to Keep Team in Portland
A group that cuts across Oregon’s captains of industry and former Trail Blazers is pushing Gov. Tina Kotek and Mayor Keith Wilson to “heed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver when he says Rip City ‘likely needs a new arena’ to keep the team here,” according to Jonathan Bach of the Portland OREGONIAN. The newly formed group called Rip City Forever said that it will “bankroll a group of subject matter experts to examine the cost, size and location of a new venue.”
The Portland Oregonian via Sports Business Journal
Buffalo Sabres Home Arena to Remain KeyBank Center After Reaching 10-Year Naming Rights Extension
AP News’ John Wawrow reports: “The new deal will kick in next year and run through 2035-36. The Cleveland-based bank has a large regional presence in Buffalo, and took over the downtown arena’s naming rights after acquiring First Niagara Bank in 2016. As part of the extension, the bank’s name will be featured on the Sabres’ helmets for away games starting this season.”
AP News
Mayor Calls Commanders RFK Stadium Deal ‘a BFD’ for D.C.’s Future
FOS’ Eric Fisher writes, “Though not one of the key teams in the NFL’s still-legal Tush Push, the Commanders are looking to move their proposed $3.8 billion stadium project over the goal line with a sweetened offer to District of Columbia officials. As team officials, including team president Mark Clouse, testified before the council Wednesday in a five-hour, sometimes contentious hearing, the club detailed in writing an enhanced proposal for the planned project at the site of RFK Stadium.”
Front Office Sports
Mexico City is Out for NASCAR’s 2026 Schedule; Chicagoland Likely In: Sources
The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi writes, “Not going back to Mexico City leaves NASCAR without an international Cup race in 2026, as the logistics of getting the series to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit in Mexico’s capital, along with finding a date that works for NASCAR, the teams and the track, proved challenging.”
The Athletic

South Carolina Gets New Deputy AD
Breaking news via CollegeAD Sources: UC Riverside AD Wesley Mallette to join South Carolina in Deputy AD role.
CollegeAD, X/Twitter
Sources: Georgia Tech is Hiring Troy AD Brent Jones as the School's New Executive Deputy Athletic Director
Jones is a veteran administrator who has worked at Ole Miss, Southern Miss and Georgia Southern. He's been the Troy AD since 2019.
ESPN, X/Twitter, D1 Ticker

![]() | St. Louis Blues. Creative Director |
![]() | Portland Trail Blazers @ the Rose Quarter. Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Campaigns |
![]() | NBA. Broadcasting Partnerships Lead |
![]() | Los Angeles Lakers. Executive Director, Corporate Partnerships |
Looking to fill an open position with top talent in the sports media industry? Advertise in the Sport & Story Daily to reach over 25,000 senior-level executives and professionals—and connect your job opportunity with the right audience.


Illustration by Lorenzo Gordon, photo by Getty Images
NCAA Trying to Block 24-Year-Old Rutgers Transfer From Playing
Sportico’s Michael McCann writes, “The NCAA contends the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit should avoid becoming “the first appellate court in the nation to invalidate sensible limits on how long student-athletes can play college sports” and thus should reverse a trial court’s preliminary injunction allowing 24-year-old Rutgers transfer Jett Elad to play for the Scarlet Knights this fall.
“The argument was featured in a brief filed by the NCAA last Friday. The brief disputed testimony by Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano, whose remarks about Elad’s NIL opportunities and potential NFL career were dismissed as reliant on ‘self-interested, non-expert [and] subjective beliefs.’”
Sportico
Thanks for reading!
Sport & Story Daily is the sports industry’s daily resource for business news. In addition to serving up exclusive trends, Q&As, and columns, the newsletter connects readers to top platforms and stories from across the sports landscape.
Place your brand in front of the Sport & Story Daily audience and connect with the most influential people in sports.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here!
Feel free to read our Privacy Policy
Reply