Sport & Story Daily February 23, 2024

Stay Ahead of the Game

February 23, 2024

Good morning! The evolving college sports landscape + NIL seem to be the lead story in perpetuity

Learfield’s College Deals Prep For Dispruption, Plague and NIL
As Sportico’s Daniel Libit, Eben Novy-Williams, and Michael McCann report, “Third-party businesses built on acquiring the multimedia rights to university athletic departments have had a tough go of it in recent years.

Just ask Learfield. The rightsholder for over 200 schools has spent the post-COVID era trying to extricate itself from a number of its financial entanglements with top-tier programs, such as UCLA and Florida State, while staring down a billion-dollar debt payment to its lenders. 

Having cleared some of those obligations last summer through a restructuring of the company, Learfield is once again on the prowl.

But its new business offensive has plenty of built-in defense, as revealed in the company’s fifth amendment to its multimedia rights (MMR) deal with Colorado, which was signed last summer but only made public last month. The deal commits Learfield to paying Deion Sanders’ employer at least $46.8 million, and possibly a lot more under shared revenue, for the next ten years through 2035. 

‘Given the unprecedented changes in college athletics over that period and the uncertainty of future events,’ Raleigh continued, ‘Learfield and our school partners have agreed on the usefulness of contractual clarity and flexibility in connection with continued changes in the business. We have found that our current contract language works well to efficiently, fairly and collaboratively address industry changes that impact the business.’”
^sportico.com

Middle Eastern Sports Cash Doesn’t Faze Young Americans: Harris Poll
As Sportico’s Lev Akabas writes, “The recent influx of Middle Eastern money into sports has touched most major leagues and governing bodies. In 2023, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), bought a minority stake in Washington Wizards and Capitals parent Monumental Sports & Entertainment, marking the first time a sovereign fund invested in major U.S. team sports. The NBA also recently renamed its in-season tournament the Emirates Cup after the government-owned airline that operates out of the United Arab Emirates. Sportico’s list of highest-paid athletes of 2023 is littered with names who scored huge paydays from Saudi Arabia, including soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and golfer Jon Rahm in the top two spots. 

These deals are controversial because of the well-documented human rights violations that have taken place in these nations. Qatar received criticism when it hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2022, based on the treatment of migrant workers in the country. The term ‘sportswashing’ has been used to imply that countries are spending on sports teams and events to improve their public images.”

While the older set have expressed disapproval, “Younger generations are also far more likely to approve of their favorite sports team making a deal with a particular Middle Eastern country, such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia. In reference to business agreements with these specific nations, the approval percentages among younger Americans are 59%, 57% and 57%, respectively. Conversely, only 30%, 28% and 25% of older Americans express approval.”
^sportico.com

Sources: Koch Family in Talks to Acquire Stake in Nets
BSE Global is the Nets holding company that also owns Barclays Center. Members of the billionaire Koch family are “in talks to acquire a stake” in the Nets, according to sources cited by Tse, Tan, Gould, & Turner of BLOOMBERG NEWS.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

EA Sports Reveals College Football 25 Announcers Including Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit
As Awful Announcing reported, “On Thursday, we learned one more important fact about the game as the announcer team revealed themselves. The top ESPN duo of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that they have an agreement to be featured as the commentary team for College Football 25.”
^{awfulannouncing.com}

Tuned In: Hulu Turning Glen Powell Into Eli Manning With ‘Chad Powers’ Comedy
As Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy writes, “Well over a year ago, I asked whether Eli Manning’s ‘Chad Powers’ character could become the next Ted Lasso. The answer: Yes. 

Hulu is greenlighting a new half-hour comedy series built around the comedic quarterback character created by Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions for ESPN+. Even better for Omaha’s scripted ambitions, one of the hottest names in Hollywood is leading the project.”
^{frontofficesports.com}

D-Backs' Bames Will Fall Under MLB’s TV Umbrella Again for 2024
The D-backs will maintain the same broadcast setup they had for the majority of last season, with MLB producing and distributing games after taking over the club’s rights last year following Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Source: Seahawks Restructure Geno Smith's Contract for Cap Space
Per ESPN, the Seattle Seahawks have restructured the contract of quarterback Geno Smith, converting his $9.6 million roster bonus into a signing bonus and creating $4.8 million in 2024 salary cap space, a source told ESPN's Field Yates on Thursday.

The restructure will spread the $9.6 million evenly over the next two seasons, while his cap hit this season will drop from $31.2 million to $26.4 million. His 2025 cap hit escalates to $38.5 million, however.
^espn.com

Jac Collinsworth Out as NBC’s Notre Dame Play-by-Play voice: Sources
As The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports, “After two years as NBC’s Notre Dame play-by-play voice, Jac Collinsworth is out, officials briefed on the decision told The Athletic.

NBC veteran Dan Hicks will replace Collinsworth and team up with analyst Jason Garrett. Hicks previously called Notre Dame games a decade ago. He is best known for his PGA Tour duties.

Starting next fall, NBC plans to have Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge as the No. 1 broadcast team on all of its college football coverage. Eagle, 27, and Blackledge, 62, earned strong reviews on the Big Ten and the NFL games they called.
^{theathletic.com}

Report: Former NBA Player Matt Barnes out as Sacramento Kings Television Analyst
As USA Today’s Steve Gardner reports, “Former NBA player Matt Barnes will no longer be part of Sacramento Kings television broadcasts as the team opens the second half of the season on Thursday night.

A spokesman for NBC Sports California told the Sacramento Bee that Barnes won't be part of the team's pregame and postgame shows, on which he's served as an analyst for three seasons.

The move comes several weeks after Barnes was seen yelling at referees and confronting a student play-by-play announcer at a high school basketball game in Los Angeles.
^usatoday.com

St. John’s Receiving Seven-Figure NIL Lifeline From Billionaire Alum Mike Repole: ‘Whatever it Takes’
As New York Post’s Mike Repole Zach Braziller writes, “The billionaire St. John’s alum who has gotten involved again over the past year helping his former school, was following the coverage of Rick Pitino’s comments like everyone else.

And he chose Wednesday afternoon as the time to divert from all the negativity that had enveloped the fan base, breaking his own news on X that he planned to donate seven figures for the Johnnies’ Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) deals for next season.

‘I’m going to commit whatever it takes,’ Repole told The Post in a phone interview Wednesday night.”
^{newyorkpost.com}

Teel: ACC Coaches Frustrated by NET and Big 12's High Rankings
“I don’t understand it,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said of the anti-ACC narrative. “For the life of me, I don’t. Our league is really good; the teams in this league are really good, the players, the coaches. It’s way more than North Carolina and Duke.”
^richmond.com

EA Sports is Sending out Player NIL Contracts Today. Here's What I Know:
As Extra Points’ Matt Brown reports, “Multiple sources with direct knowledge of EA’s plans tell Extra Points that starting today, the company will send proposed NIL contracts to over 11,000 FBS football players to pay them for their participation in the video game.

EA believes that this contract will be one of the largest, if not the largest, NIL brand activations in history, with over 6 million dollars committed to pay for athlete likenesses.

Sources familiar with the proposed contract tell Extra Points that the base contract will pay athletes $600 for usage of their digital name, image and likeness in the video game, along with a copy of EA Sports College Football 25 on a system of their choosing. This contract offer will be sent to all 85 scholarship football players on all 134 FBS programs for next season.”
^{extrapointsmb.com}

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