Takeaways From 2025 Masters

One thing Front Office Sports noted after a week in Augusta is that “the Tiger Woods effect persists.”

April 15, 2025

What We Heard in Augusta: Tiger Effect, State of LIV Talks
FOS’ David Rumsey writes, “The Masters Tournament is not only the first and most popular major championship of the men’s golf season. It’s also the place where the most business in the sport gets done in one week.

“After spending the week in Augusta, Front Office Sports has three big takeaways from the scene about the state of professional golf, and what might lie ahead.” 👇🏼

1. The Masters wants the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to figure it out.

2. LIV’s new leader doesn’t sound concerned about his tour’s existence.

3. The Tiger Woods effect persists.
   ^{Front Office Sports}

Paige Bueckers Reportedly Signs 3-Year Deal With Unrivaled With Big Annual Salary
Yahoo News’ Kari Anderson reports: “Although the exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the salary is reportedly a big number — much bigger than Bueckers' projected WNBA salary. In fact, per reports, Bueckers' first-year salary in Unrivaled is larger than the guard would make in her first four years in the WNBA.”
^{Yahoo! News}

Masterful Coverage: Silence From CBS Sports’ Nantz for McIlroy’s Win Captures Pure Emotion
The whole scene “played out to a backdrop of silence from Nantz in the booth.” Nantz’s “call and the silence that followed truly showcased the 65-year-old’s veteran savviness as he let the pictures and emotion do the talking,” said Andrew Gamble of Irish Star via SBJ.
^{Irish Star via Sports Business Journal}

Serena Williams Executive Producing ‘Carrie Soto Is Back’ Tennis Drama Series In Works At Netflix
Netflix has taken in for development Carrie Soto is Back, a series adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling tennis-themed novel, Deadline has learned. Fittingly, tennis great Serena Williams is set to executive produce the project from Fifth Season and Picturestart.
^Deadline

ESPN Giving Boost to LaLiga Deal, Placing FC Barcelona-Real Madrid on ESPN for First Time
ESPN is looking to give a boost to the FC Barcelona-Real Madrid match on May 11, with the regular-season LaLiga matchup getting its ESPN debut (the first time a regula-reaso El Clásico has aired on any English-language TV network). ESPN is in the fourth season of an eight-year, $1.4B media-rights deal with LaLiga, and this is the seventh El Clásico as part of that pact.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Phoenix Suns Fire Coach Mike Budenholzer After One Dismal Season With High-Priced Roster
AP News’ David Brandt writes, “The 55-year-old Budenholzer was hired in May, replacing Frank Vogel, who also had a one-year tenure that ended in disappointment. Coach Bud — an Arizona native — won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, beating the Suns in six games in the Finals, and the hope was he could finally bring a championship to the desert.”
^{AP News}

Pelicans Fire Basketball Operations Chief David Griffin After an Injury-Plagued 21-61 Season
AP News’ Brett Martel writes, “The New Orleans Pelicans fired basketball operations chief David Griffin on Monday, ending a six-year chapter during which the club drafted former Duke superstar Zion Williamson but still struggled to win consistently with three different coaches.

“Griffin, whose title was executive vice president of basketball operations, leaves his post one day after a 115-100 loss to Oklahoma City that extended the injury-plagued club’s season-ending skid to seven games.”
^{AP News}

LIV Golf Hires Toscani Weems For Media Relations
LIV Golf has hired longtime sports communications executive Lara Toscani Weems as its new SVP/Media Relations. Toscani Weems has been the SVP/Global Communications for Elevate for the last three years and before that was a longtime VP/Corporate Communications for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. Toscani Weems joins LIV and her former boss at HBSE, Scott O’Neil, who took on LIV’s CEO role earlier this year.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Cavs Rewards Paying Off, Demonstrating New Sports Loyalty Program Model
SBJ’s Bret McCormick writes, “Cavs Rewards is novel for using Uptop’s credit/debit card-linking tech to expand the program’s reach beyond the geographical barriers that have limited these programs in the past. Fans add their preferred plastic to their Cavs Rewards profile and accumulate rewards points from any spending on that credit or debit card inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse or at Cavs Rewards partner locations out in the world. Additionally, if Cavs Rewards members buy a team partner product, like a Michelob Ultra at a random bar, for example, they can upload their purchase receipt and still get rewards points.
^{Sports Business Journal}

St. Louis Again Named UFL Championship Game Host
The city of St. Louis “was awarded the United Football League championship game” during an on-field announcement by league co-owner Dany Garcia during halftime of a game between the St. Louis Battlehawks and the D.C. Defenders Sunday. The contest will be held at 7pm ET on June 14, and for the second year in a row, the championship will be played at The Dome at America’s Center.
^{St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Sports Business Journal}

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