The NFL Could Be in Hot Water

A federal appeals court ruled that the NFL and three teams can be put on trial as part of Brian Flores' racial discrimination lawsuit

August 15, 2025

Court Rules NFL, Three Teams Can Be Put on Trial as Part of Brian Flores' Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the NFL can be put on trial as part of Brian Flores' racial-discrimination lawsuit against the league and three of its teams, according to the Associated Press via Yahoo Sports.

In a ruling Thursday, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Circuit Judge Jose A. Cabranes allowed Flores to move forward with claims against the NFL, Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Houston Texans.
^{AP via Yahoo! Sports}

Why Paramount Deliberately Overpaid for UFC Media Rights
FOS’ Ben Horney writes, “Paramount’s seven-year, $7.7 billion deal for the U.S. media rights to UFC represents a purposeful overpay with the aim of finding a foothold in the world of live sports. The landmark agreement runs through 2032 and represents a huge jump from UFC’s previous media-rights deal with ESPN, reached in 2018 and worth $1.5 billion over five years.”
^{Front Office Sports}

LA Olympics to Sell Naming Rights to Some Venues in Game-Changing Deal for 2028
AP News’ Eddie Pells reports: “The organizing committee announced the landmark deal Thursday, saying contracts were already in place with two of its founding partners — Honda, which already has naming rights for the arena in Anaheim that will host volleyball, and Comcast, which will have its name on the temporary venue hosting squash. LA28 chairman and CEO Casey Wasserman said revenue from the deals goes above what’s in LA’s current $6.9 billion budget.”
^Sportico

Wrexham Not Slowing Down With $27 Million Transfer Spree
FOS’ Margaret Fleming writes, “On Thursday, the club announced it had signed forward Nathan Broadhead from Ipswich City. Reports indicate the transfer fee for the former Wrexham youth player reached £7.5 million ($10.2 million) up front, plus potentially an extra £2.5 million ($3.4 million) in performance-related add-ons. That more than doubles the club’s transfer fee record set earlier this summer at around £3 million ($4 million) for Lewis O’Brien. Broadhead is the ninth player Wrexham has signed this summer, bringing the club’s total spending past £20 million, or roughly $27 million.

“The summer spending spree proves that Wrexham, coming off a historic three straight promotions, has no intention of slowing down, and their spending is competitive with their rivals for a Premier League promotion.”
^{Front Office Sports}

NBA Embraces Streaming, Adds 75 National Games to 2025–26 Schedule
The 2025–26 NBA regular-season schedule is out, officially solidifying the league’s embrace of streaming services. The NBA announced 247 national games for the upcoming season, up from 172 last year (a 43.6% increase) as the league begins its 11-year, $77 billion media deal with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video. The national games are those that air to all customers on either linear television (ABC, ESPN, NBC) or streaming services (Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN).
^{Front Office Sports}

SportsBubble Alleges ‘Product Theft’ in Lawsuit Against ESPN, Disney
SBJ’s Rob Schaefer reports: “SportsBubble has filed a lawsuit against ESPN and Disney that alleges ESPN misled the seven-year-old tech startup into sharing confidential information about a software application it was developing, then released a “copycat” version of the product.

“In a 61-page complaint filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, SportsBubble wrote it is seeking a jury trial and damages in the hundreds of millions of dollars ($200M+ in compensatory damages; punitive damages of three times that amount; and profits earned from the ‘copycat’ product and value of ‘all other benefits that ESPN and Disney wrongfully received from SportsBubble’).”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Discoverability Key for NBA With New Rights Deals
SBJ’s Austin Karp writes, “Discoverability is among the biggest hurdles in any new media rights deal, and the NBA will have that in spades this season as it moves into fresh pacts with ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock and Prime Video. And with added national windows, the impact is wide, with every NBA team playing in at least two national TV games. That’s a total of 247 national games, up from 172 last season.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

MLB Negotiating With Netflix, ESPN, NBC, Apple for Possible Broadcast Packages: Sources
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand writes, “Major League Baseball executives are in negotiations that could result in new broadcast packages and relationships with Netflix, ESPN, NBC and Apple, according to officials briefed on the discussions.

“NBC/Peacock and Apple TV+ are considered the top contenders for ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ and first-round playoff games, while ESPN could add weekday games and a bigger daily digital presence, the officials said. Netflix has emerged as the potential Home Run Derby destination.”
^{The Athletic}

Fox Unlikely to Let ESPN Use Big Ten Games for College Football ‘RedZone’
FOS’ Amanda Christovich and Ryan Glasspiegel report: “ESPN’s ambitions to launch a college football RedZone could be missing a major piece of the puzzle. Fox Sports is unlikely to license its Big Ten or Big 12 games to ESPN for the potential package as it would cannibalize its own offerings, multiple industry sources told Front Office Sports. Fox would require significant ownership in the venture to have any willingness to participate, a source said.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Bill Belichick Won’t Headline North Carolina’s Weekly Coach’s Radio Show
The Athletic’s Chris Vannini writes, “Bill Belichick coaches in college football, but it appears he won’t be a regular in one college football tradition: The coach’s weekly radio show. North Carolina announced Thursday that Belichick will be on the first episode of the Tar Heels’ weekly radio show on Aug. 27 at Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery, but general manager Michael Lombardi will be the show’s headliner each week.”
^{The Athletic}

IndyCar Faces Roadblocks in Mexico City Talks, Rising Costs
Some people within IndyCar have “begun to question whether Penske Entertainment’s nearly year-long quest to land a race” in Mexico City will “ultimately come to fruition,” but series ownership said that it is “’very confident’ a deal will ultimately come together for next year,” according to Nathan Brown of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR.
^{Indianapolis Star via Sports Business Journal}

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SEC Tries to Regain Its Championship Form Following 2 Years Without a National Title
AP News’ Mark Long writes, “Southeastern Conference football is experiencing a championship drought. The powerhouse league hasn’t won or even played for a national title since the 2022 season. It’s a skid that just means more given the SEC’s nearly two decades of gridiron dominance, which included 13 championships over a 17-year span beginning in 2006. But the conference has dipped since — even with the addition of Big 12 heavyweights Oklahoma and Texas — and finds itself trying to regain its stronghold in 2025.”
^{AP News}

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