< Back First Round of 2024 NFL Draft Averages 12.1M Viewers Apr 27, 2024 The NFL and TV partners ESPN and NFL Network know quarterback-driven NFL drafts spell TV ratings gold. That dynamic played out again Thursday night as a record six quarterbacks were selected in the first 12 picks of the 2024 NFL draft. With NFL franchises going QB-crazy, Thursday’s first-round coverage drew an average audience of 12.1 million across ABC, ESPN, and the NFL’s linear and digital platforms. That’s higher than the average viewership for the 2023 NBA Finals, World Series, and Stanley Cup Final, and up 6% for the comparable 11.4 million during the ‘23 draft. The total unduplicated audience of 34.3 million viewers was the highest since 2021. Meanwhile, over 275,000 fans showed up during day one in Detroit to support their teams, shattering the previous record of 200,000 for the 2019 draft in Nashville. Source: Front Office Sports https://frontofficesports.com/first-round-of-2024-nfl-draft-averages-12-1m-viewers/ Previous Next

< Back Cardinals fans can't buy Mavin Harrison Jr jersey just yet because of licensing issue Apr 26, 2024 Arizona Cardinals fans won’t be able to purchase a Mavin Harrison Jr. jersey anytime soon. The Cardinals drafted the Ohio State star with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night, but just hours before his name was called on stage, it was reported that Harrison had not signed a preliminary NFLPA licensing agreement. According to ESPN, the agreement allows his name and likeness to be monetized after getting drafted and before formally signing an NFL contract. The most immediate impact of this was fans’ ability to purchase Harrison’s jersey on Thursday. Source: Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/sports/cardinals-fans-cant-buy-mavin-harrison-jr-jersey-just-yet-because-licensing-issue Previous Next

< Back Reggie Bush celebrates return of Heisman Trophy, calls out NCAA with defamation suit still pending: 'I never once cheated' Apr 26, 2024 Flanked by his family and legal team, Reggie Bush celebrated the return of his Heisman Trophy Thursday during a news conference at the location where he earned it — the Los Angeles Coliseum. The USC great and longtime NFL running back spoke with reporters for the first time since the Heisman Trust reinstated the 2005 award he earned while helping lead the Trojans to a Pac-10 championship and the national championship game. His Heisman Trophy was back by his side. "I never believed in any of the lies that were being told about me, spread about me, things that were being said about me," Bush said. "I never believed it for a single day." Source: Yahoo Sports https://sports.yahoo.com/reggie-bush-celebrates-return-of-heisman-trophy-calls-out-ncaa-with-defamation-suit-still-pending-i-never-once-cheated-232856648.html Previous Next

< Back ‘Jaw-Dropping’ Noncompete Ban Could Shake Up Pro Coaching, Experts Say Apr 26, 2024 The Federal Trade Commission issued a final ruling Tuesday banning noncompetes, saying companies can, in many cases, no longer prevent their employees from leaving for a competitor. The FTC said current noncompetes for “senior executives” can stay in place, but no new ones may be enforced. An estimated 30 million Americans have noncompetes, according to the FTC, and the clauses are littered all over the sports world. They stop coaches from leaving to do their same job for their team’s rivals. They’re in big contracts at retailers like Nike. They’re present in name, image, and likeness deals for college athletes. In February, DraftKings sued a former exec whom it alleges stole company secrets and took them to Fanatics as part of a “secret plan,” which the employee denied by calling the accusations “completely false and fabricated.” Three sports lawyers tell Front Office Sports they found the FTC’s decision surprising and say it will have ramifications throughout the sports ecosystem, including pushback from both employers and employees that could wind up in court. Source: Front Office Sports https://frontofficesports.com/ftc-noncompete-ban-pro-sports/ Previous Next

< Back Iowa Athletes Sue State, Citing ‘Unconstitutional’ Tracking of Gambling Apr 26, 2024 More than two dozen college athletes are suing the state of Iowa, multiple of its agencies, and several state workers following a sports betting scandal that ended many of their careers. Last spring, state investigators announced investigations into wagering by 26 athletes at Iowa and 15 at Iowa State. Most of the athletes pleaded guilty to underage gambling and paid a fine to dismiss counts of identity theft. But a few who didn’t accept a plea deal had all charges against them dropped in March due to misuse of tracking software by investigators. The lawsuit, filed Friday by attorneys Van Plumb and Matthew Boles, comes 10 days after the publication of a Washington Post investigation that detailed how investigators uncovered the gambling activity, using tracking software to put a “digital fence” around athletic facilities without obtaining a warrant and interviewing athletes without telling them they were under investigation. Source: Front Office Sports https://frontofficesports.com/iowa-athletes-sue-state-citing-unconstitutional-tracking-of-gambling/ Previous Next

< Back Amazon Nears NBA Rights Deal, Eyes Sweep of U.S. Sports Leagues Apr 26, 2024 After picking up two separate pieces of NHL media rights, Amazon is inching closer to a highly rare sweep of the four major men’s U.S. pro sports leagues. The online retail and streaming giant has completed a two-year pact with the NHL to stream games on Mondays in Canada, starting with the 2024–25 season, creating a new Prime Monday Night Hockey showcase. Amazon has also struck an additional deal with the Kraken for regional rights to show the NHL team’s games on Prime Video to fans in Washington state, Oregon, and Alaska. The company, meanwhile, is separately closing in on a landmark deal to acquire a portion of the NBA’s national rights, according to The Athletic. Source: Front Office Sports https://frontofficesports.com/amazon-nears-nba-rights-deal-eyes-sweep-of-u-s-sports-leagues/ Previous Next

< Back Brewers pitcher Jakob Junis hospitalized after being hit in the neck with a ball during batting practice Apr 22, 2024 Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jakob Junis is alert and conscious at a local hospital in Pittsburgh after he was hit in the neck by a ball during batting practice on Monday, the team announced. Junis was taken off the field at PNC Park by an ambulance after he was hit by a batted ball while jogging in the outfield. The Pirates were taking batting practice at the time. Junis, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, was loosening up near the warning track when the ball hit him in the neck. He remained on the field near the warning track for about 15 minutes while being attended to. Junis was then lifted into an ambulance and taken to a local hospital. Source: Yahoo Sports https://sports.yahoo.com/brewers-pitcher-jakob-junis-hospitalized-after-being-hit-in-the-neck-with-a-ball-during-batting-practice-215334956.html Previous Next

< Back Chinese Government Says Swimming Doping Story Is ‘Fake News’ Apr 22, 2024 After the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD uncovered the positive drug tests of 23 Chinese swimmers before the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, the country is firing back. A spokesperson for its foreign ministry said Monday that “The relevant reports are fake news and not factual.” China has held that the athletes were accidentally exposed to small levels of trimetazidine, a substance banned because it can help blood flow and reduce recovery time. It’s the same drug that disrupted the figure skating world until a January ruling banned the Russian skater Kamila Valieva and redistributed the medals. Both China and Russia said their athletes unknowingly injected the heart medication through contaminated food. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ultimately rejected Valieva’s excuse—that some of her grandfather’s medication ended up in her strawberry dessert—and banned her for four years. The World Anti-Doping Agency has stood by its decision to not punish the Chinese swimmers or publicize the initial case, saying strict COVID-19 restrictions in China made it difficult to investigate the cases and China’s explanation. Source: Front Office Sports https://frontofficesports.com/china-swimming-doping-fake-news/ Previous Next

< Back Everything You Need To Know About the Legal Attempts To Kill the ACC Apr 22, 2024 Last month, during the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips sat beside Clemson athletic director Graham Neff. In a normal year, this situation would be standard operating procedure: The pair, likely assigned to this seating arrangement by the NCAA, might be sharing small talk and celebration as the Tigers beat New Mexico 77-56. After all, their first win—in what would become an Elite Eight run—was good for both the conference’s image and its finances, thanks to the tournament prize money system referred to as “units.” But, nearly a year removed from last summer’s major wave of realignment, the vibe was decidedly icy. The two did little more than acknowledge each other’s presence when Neff sat down midway through the first half; otherwise, they “weren’t particularly chatty,” according to one reporter on the ground. Another reporter likened the scene to a botched wedding seating chart. Neff got up at halftime and never returned. Source: Front Office Sports https://frontofficesports.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-legal-attempts-to-kill-the-acc/ Previous Next

< Back Caitlin Clark and the Fever to Receive Even More TV Coverage Apr 22, 2024 Caitin Clark is showing once more that the WNBA economy developing around here holds few limits. One week after the Iowa superstar was drafted by the Fever with the No. 1 pick—fueling record ratings for the WNBA draft and meteoric rises in ticket sales—the team struck a deal Monday with Tegna to place 17 of the team’s games on the media company’s over-the-air stations in Indianapolis. Those games, beginning with a May 16 contest against the 2023 league runner-up Liberty, will be shown on either WTHR, the NBC affiliate, or WALV, the MeTV affiliate. Source: Front Office Sports https://frontofficesports.com/caitlin-clark-and-the-fever-to-receive-even-more-tv-coverage/ Previous Next

< Back Apple Reportedly Close To Winning Broadcast Rights for Club World Cup Apr 22, 2024 Apple’s latest foray into soccer could be historic. Two years after Apple agreed to a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal for Major League Soccer’s global streaming rights, The New York Times reported the technology company is nearing a deal with FIFA for the worldwide television rights for its new Club World Cup, which will debut in the summer of 2025. The United States will host the tournament. The tournament itself has been years in the making and faced a rash of delays, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented it from being played in China in 2021. The value of the broadcast deal “might be as little as a quarter of the $4 billion FIFA had first estimated,” the Times reported; it’s unclear if the games will be behind an Apple+ paywall. Apple has an MLS Season Pass fans could purchase for $14.99 per month in-season or $99 for the entire season. Apple+ subscribers get a slight monthly ($12.99) and yearly ($79.99) discount. Source: Front Office Sports https://frontofficesports.com/apple-fifa-world-cup-rights/ Previous Next

< Back Meet the man responsible for bringing disorder to college athletics ... and who could shape its future Apr 20, 2024 WASHINGTON — On Thursday, within a matter of a few hours, the current unruly state of college athletics was on full display. The NCAA’s transfer portal buzzed to life with dozens of new additions who’ve been lured away by financial inducements from booster-led collectives. The state of Virginia passed legislation that defies NCAA rules by permitting its schools to directly compensate athletes starting July 1. And finally, a national association filed a third complaint with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to make athletes employees. Meanwhile, within an auditorium on the campus of Howard University, the man who at least partially controls any future college athletics model — the guy perhaps responsible for both bringing disorder to the landscape as well as determining a more stable future — took the stage for a 90-minute panel discussion. Source: Yahoo Sports https://sports.yahoo.com/meet-the-man-responsible-for-bringing-disorder-to-college-athletics--and-who-could-shape-its-future-140412574.html Previous Next