Sport & Story Daily May 22, 2024

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May 22, 2024

Good morning! Playoffs + NBA’s Future Youth

Analysis: When the 2024 NBA Champion is Crowned, a Young Star Will Likely Lead the Way
As AP News’ Tim Reynolds writes, “The youngsters from Indiana – along with the young stars from Boston, Dallas and Minnesota — have crashed the party. In fact, they have taken over the whole party. One of those clubs will be the newly crowned NBA champions, the sixth different one in the last six years, matching the longest run of parity in league history.

“The old guard of the NBA isn’t done yet. But the new class sure seems like it’s ready for prime time.”
^{AP News}

Report: PGA Tour, PIF Talks 'Still Very Much Alive'
SBJ reports that negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi PIF are “still very much alive,” according to sources cited by Lauren Hirsch of the N.Y. TIMES. The PIF, which bankrolls LIV Golf, and the PGA Tour “exchanged term sheets in recent days for a potential deal in which the Saudis would inject” $1.5B into the tour’s for-profit arm.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Caitlin Clark Teams With Wilson to Launch First Signature Basketball Collection Since Michael Jordan’s
Per Yahoo! Sports, Clark will also become a Wilson brand ambassador and test and provide feedback on a wide range of Wilson basketball gear. A collection of three laser-engraved basketballs, each with a signature Clark moment, is already available on the Wilson website: Threes Up, Record Breaker, and Crowd Maestro.
^{Yahoo! Sports}

Big Ten Reclaims Revenue Lead After Earning $880 Million in FY23
Sportico’s Daniel Libit reports: “The Big Ten Conference took in $880 million in the fiscal year stretching from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023—the period that immediately preceded the league’s rich new television deal—according to tax returns obtained by Sportico.

“Nevertheless, that haul earned the Big Ten the top spot in college conference revenue, usurping the $853 million the Big Ten’s fellow super league, the SEC, took in in FY23.”
^Sportico

Blank Gets Approval for Falcon Limited Partners
Falcons owner Arthur Blank has gotten approval this afternoon from fellow NFL owners to add four new limited partners to his ownership group, transactions that bring the first two women investors to the team.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Don’t Count Out TNT For NBA Rights Just Yet
Michael McCarthy of FOS writes, “Yes, rivals NBC and Amazon Prime Video are trying to elbow Turner Sports out of the league. Yes, Inside the NBA could be history after next season if those two get their way, likely making Barkley the richest sports TV free agent in history. Yes, TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery is faced with the unenviable position of having to pay more money for worse NBA rights than it already has, especially if NBC parent Comcast is serious about paying $2.5 billion a year, as reported by The Wall Street Journal…But sources with direct knowledge of the talks tell me WBD is still very much alive at the negotiating table to try to retain its NBA rights.
^{Front Office Sports}

Sports World’s Ground Zero: Dallas to Host NBA and NHL Conference Finals
As FOS’ Eric Fisher reports, “The NHL’s Stars and NBA’s Mavericks, who share the 23-year-old arena, have each reached the conference finals in their respective leagues. That’s the first time that’s happened in the same year with NHL and NBA teams that share a building since 2003, when the Devils and Nets each advanced to the league finals, and New Jersey winning the Stanley Cup, while playing at the now closed Meadowlands Arena (then known as Continental Airlines Arena). 
^{Front Office Sports}

New York Knicks 2024 NBA Offseason Preview: Staying the Course Should Be the Focus
As Yahoo! Sports’ Morten Stigg Jensen writes, “Injury prevention strategy aside, the Knicks could stand to find a new power forward, as they proved to function just fine, even deep into the playoffs, without Randle, who for years has been playing outside the flow of the offense. If they can pivot off his contract and replace him with someone who fits the structure of this roster better, that would be an attractive option.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

OKC Approves Development For New $950M Thunder Arena
Per SBJ, Oklahoma City and the Thunder have a development agreement in place to build a new $950M arena for the team after their proposal was approved by a 7-2 vote during a Tuesday morning city council meeting. The bulk of the venue financing—$772M—will stem from the special sales tax that was approved by voters in late 2023.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Mauricio Pochettino Leaves Chelsea After 1 Season in Charge
Per ESPN. Mauricio Pochettino has left his role as Chelsea manager by mutual consent after less than 11 months in charge despite qualifying for European football next season. Pochettino's exit means Chelsea's owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, are looking for their fourth manager since taking over the club in May 2022.
^ESPN

Georgia QB Jaden Rashada Sues Florida Coach Billy Napier and Booster Over NIL Deal That Fell Apart in 2022
“Sadly, unethical and illegal tactics like this are more and more commonplace in the Wild West that is today’s college football landscape,” the lawsuit states. “As the first scholar-athlete to take a stand against such egregious behavior by adults who should know better, Jaden seeks to hold Defendants accountable for their actions and to expose the unchecked abuse of power that they shamelessly wield.”
^{ESPN via Yahoo! Sports}

The Unusual Public-Facing Push to Settle House vs. NCAA
Sportico’s Michael McCann writes, “The settlement would cost the NCAA and its members billions of dollars to be paid out over about a decade. According to the leaks, the cost of not settling House—set to go to trial next January—would be even higher. A loss could allegedly cost the NCAA and members $20 billion, even though damages for House project to be about $4 billion and the math for it morphing into $20 billion remains mysterious.”
^Sportico

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