Sport & Story Daily April 5, 2024

Sport & Story Daily April 5, 2024

Stay Ahead of the Game

April 5, 2024

Good morning! Students Get Help in NIL Deals

NCAA Working to Give Colleges a More Hands-On Role in NIL Deals for Athletes
As Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports, “Colleges are growing closer to having more of a hands-on role in arranging name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for their athletes than ever before.

“The NCAA’s NIL working group has introduced a proposal that permits schools to provide ‘assistance and services’ to their athletes in pursuit of NIL opportunities, including identifying opportunities for them as well as even facilitating deals with third parties.”
sports.yahoo.com

Perfect Game Adds 20-Plus MLB Player Investors as Business Soars
“We looked at the MLB guys as very strategic investors from the standpoint of not only are they going to invest in the business, but they are going to be around events and some guys actually are working for the company,” Rick Thurman, Perfect Game chairman, said in a video interview.
sportico.com

The Athlete's Foot Proudly Announces Flau'jae Johnson as 2024 Brand Ambassador in Landmark NIL Partnership
The Athlete's Foot (TAF), renowned for its dynamic blend of athletic-inspired lifestyle and streetwear, proudly announces a significant Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) partnership with Flau'jae Johnson, an accomplished rapper and standout college basketball player for the LSU Tigers. This partnership inaugurates Flau'jae as TAF's 2024 Brand Ambassador, marking a significant milestone in TAF's athlete-brand collaborations.
prnewswire.com

WTA Finals Latest Sporting Event To Take Saudi Millions
Per FOS, The WTA Finals will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the next three years. The prize pool will increase significantly and hit a new record, going from $9 million in 2023 to $15.25 million in ’24, and the WTA says it will be even higher in the next two years.

As Margaret Fleming writes, “Former tennis stars Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova wrote a January op-ed in The Washington Post criticizing the potential partnership, saying a tournament there would be a ‘significant regression’ given the nation’s extensive record of human rights abuses. Longtime WTA head Steve Simon said Thursday that he has met with Evert and Navratilova and that he ‘shared the concerns around women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights within the Kingdom of Saudi,’ but he does not expect any players to miss the event.
frontofficesports.com

Cooper Neill/Getty Images

The NFL Paramount Deal Sweetener
As Puck’s John Ourand writes, “The NFL just wrapped the first year of its blockbuster, 11-year, $110 billion media deal package, and incredibly, it’s starting to look like those rights are undervalued. Consider, for a moment, that NBC paid $110 million for the single wild card playoff game that it aired on Peacock in January. Sources tell me that NBC actually made money off that deal. Also consider that Amazon turned around and spent a whopping $150 million on a single wild card playoff game next season. That’s a 36 percent increase year-over-year for a game that last year featured a memorable frozen mustache, cringe-inducing frostbite, and, yes, the eventual Super Bowl champion.”
puck.news

Local Influencers, Content Creators Now Necessary Part of Sports Media Ecosystem
From the JohnWallStreet blog: Seton Hall University got ahead of the trend and began building out its local influencer program this past fall. The Big East school started with Barstool Sports personality Frank ‘The Tank’ Fleming, and the results were astounding.

Blinkfire Analytics reported that Fleming’s reaction to Seton Hall’s tournament snub on The Barstool Bracket Show was viewed more than 912,000 times on Barstool's Instagram account. The earned media value from that one video alone was worth $127,700.

For context, Seton Hall Men’s basketball social channels received 1.2 million video views across the entirety of the ‘23-’24 regular season. The program posted 918 times.
johnwallstreet.com

MEDIANEWS GROUP/BAY AREA NEWS VIA GETTY IMAGES

A’S to Play in Sacramento for Three Years Ahead of Vegas Move
“We look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home through our move to Las Vegas,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement. “We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento for hosting the A’s while we work to complete our new ballpark in Las Vegas.”
frontofficesports.com

USC Names Arkansas' Eric Musselman as Next Men's Basketball Coach
As On3’s Steve Samra reports, “The USC Trojans have officially hired now-former Arkansas Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman as their new men’s basketball coach.

“An opening was created for the Trojans when Andy Enfield decided to take his talents to the SMU Mustangs earlier this offseason. Now, Musselman will take over USC, and look to build the program into a true contender as they move into the Big Ten for the 2024-2025 campaign.”
on3.com

KEN BLAZE-USA TODAY SPORTS

Women’s Game Continues to Thrive Despite NCAA’s Ongoing Troubles
As FOS’ Amanda Christovich writes, “Just look at Monday night’s Elite Eight game between Iowa and LSU, a rematch of the 2023 championship, which averaged a whopping 12.3 million viewers on ESPN platforms. It was the most-watched women’s college basketball game in recorded history; the most-watched college hoops matchup ESPN has ever broadcast, men’s or women’s; and the most-watched women’s game at any level in nearly 30 years.”
frontofficesports.com 

A Business Court in North Carolina Denied Florida State’s Motion to Dismiss the ACC’s Case Against FSU in North Carolina
As journalist David M. Hale tweeted, “So the big takeaway here is judge in Charlotte says ACC’s suit in NC will move forward. Win for ACC. But… 1) FSU certainly can appeal 2) Judge in Leon Co could also rule for FSU’s suit to proceed but… Fla law is pretty clear that 1st suit filed takes precedent. So unlikely.”
twitter.com

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