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Sports Biz: MNF Sets ESPN Record

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The “Monday Night Football” game between the visiting Buffalo Bills and New York Jets drew more than 22.6 million viewers, the most since ESPN began airing the NFL broadcast in 2006.

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The game featured the much-anticipated Jets debut of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who exited after tearing his left Achilles tendon on his fourth snap.

Despite Rodgers’ early departure, the Jets beat the Bills 22-16 in overtime on Xavier Gipson’s 65-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Jets announced on Tuesday that Rodgers would miss the rest of the season.

The game, which aired on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+, and ESPN Deportes, broke the network’s record that was set in 2009, when the Green Bay Packers faced their former quarterback Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. That game drew 21.8 million viewers.

The viewership total for this year’s season opener of “Monday Night Football” was up 14 percent from last year’s opener (Denver Broncos vs. Seattle Seahawks) that drew a then-record 19.8 million viewers for a Week 1 Monday night contest.

The breakdown for the Monday viewership included 11.7 million watching on ABC, 9.4 million on ESPN and 1.52 million on ESPN2, which aired the “ManningCast” alternate feed featuring Peyton Manning and Eli Manning.

Sports Business Journal noted that the total MNF viewership this week topped the most recent totals for the College Football Playoff final, the men’s NCAA Tournament final, the Kentucky Derby, the Oscars and the Grammy Awards.

–Field Level Media

Trotter Sues NFL

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NEW YORK – (Wire Service Report) – Longtime NFL journalist Jim Trotter filed a lawsuit against the National Football League Tuesday, alleging his departure from NFL Media was retaliatory and racially motivated.

Trotter, who is Black, claimed his employment at NFL Media ended earlier this year after he “challenged Commissioner Roger Goodell … regarding the NFL’s record of race discrimination and lack of diversity” at Goodell’s pre-Super Bowl press conference. NFL Media is owned and operated by the league.

NFL Network also is named as a defendant in the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The league has claimed Trotter’s contract was not renewed due to economic decisions.

“We share Jim Trotter’s passion for quality journalism created in and supported by a diverse and inclusive environment,” the league said in a statement. “We take his concerns seriously, but strongly dispute his specific allegations, particularly those made against his dedicated colleagues at NFL Media.”

While not named as a defendant, Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula is alleged in the lawsuit to have made racist comments about Black NFL players.

Trotter relayed a conversation with a fellow NFL Media reporter, who was not identified. That reporter was speaking with Pegula in 2020 about the Black Lives Matter movement and the NFL’s social justice programs, and Pegula said, “If the Black players don’t like it here, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is.”

Pegula denied making the comment in a statement Tuesday.

“The statement attributed to me in Mr. Trotter’s complaint is absolutely false,” Pegula said. “I am horrified that anyone would connect me to an allegation of this kind. Racism has no place in our society and I am personally disgusted that my name is associated with this complaint.”

Trotter’s lawsuit said that he took a complaint to NFL Media executives, who told him that the league office was investigating it.

Trotter also alleged that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told him in 2020 that, “If Blacks feel some kind of way, they should buy their own team and hire who they want to hire.” Neither Jones nor the Cowboys have commented.

Trotter, who now works for The Athletic, is seeking unspecified damages as well as an investigation into “discriminatory and/or retaliatory animus of all persons in position of power within the NFL,” per the lawsuit.

“The NFL has claimed it wants to be held accountable regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. I tried to do so and it cost me my job,” Trotter wrote on social media Tuesday. “I’m filing this lawsuit because I can’t complain about things that are wrong if I’m unwilling to fight for what is right.”

–Field Level Media

NBA Finals Rivals Enter Hall Together

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SPRINGFIELD –  (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After going head-to-head in the NBA Finals in 2006 and 2011, Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki found themselves on the same side for once on Saturday night.

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Wade and Nowitzki were among those enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., part of a loaded 2023 class that featured a total of 12 new inductees.

Wade led the Heat to a title in 2006, being named Finals MVP after averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists as Miami toppled the Mavericks in six games.

Dallas got its revenge five years later, though, beating the Heat in six games for its only championship in franchise history. This time it was Nowitzki’s turn to secure Finals MVP honors, as he went for 26.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Twelve years removed from their latest clash on the NBA’s biggest stage, the two have gotten to know each other as people as opposed to competitors.

“For Dirk and me, it’s been therapy,” Wade said about his post-career journey with Nowitzki and some of the other inductees. “Who would have thought that we would be on the same team after all of our battles, but here we are, and it’s one of the greatest teams I’ve ever been on.”

Wade, 41, went on to win two more titles by the time his 16-year NBA career was all said and done. He was a 13-time All-Star and posted career averages of 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists, spending most of his time with Miami, where he spent 15 seasons.

After coming up short in the Finals in 2006, Nowitzki, 45, was named league MVP following the 2006-07 campaign. A 14-time All-Star, Nowitzki was a beacon of loyalty for over two decades, spending his entire 21-year career with the Mavericks. He averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists across 1,522 games (1,460 starts).

If Wade and Nowitzki weren’t battling each other, they were often trying to fend off the Spurs. San Antonio was well-represented on Saturday night, as guard Tony Parker and longtime coach Gregg Popovich were also part of the Class of 2023.

Parker, 41, won four titles during his 17 seasons with the Spurs. Popovich, 74, was at the helm for all four of those championships, plus a fifth in 1999. Next season will be his 29th as San Antonio’s coach, and he heads into it with 1,366 regular-season wins along with 170 in the playoffs.

One of Popovich’s disciples, Becky Hammon, was also inducted to the Hall of Fame on Saturday. Following a successful playing career in the WNBA and overseas, the 46-year-old Hammon worked as an assistant on the Spurs’ staff from 2014-22. She is now head coach of the Las Vegas Aces, who currently own the best record in the WNBA at 26-3.

In her first season as coach of the Aces, Hammon led Las Vegas to its first title in franchise history.

“You’re a man of principle and excellence,” Hammon said to Popovich. “I know you weren’t trying to be courageous when you hired me, but you did do something nobody else in professional sports has ever done.

USA Basketball, Fox Sports Cut TV Deal

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COLORADO SPRINGS – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – USA Basketball and FOX Sports signed a multi-year agreement that will tip off Aug. 7 when the USA Basketball Men’s National Team faces the Puerto Rican National Team live from Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena at 10 p.m. ET on FS1. Play-by-play announcer Adam Amin will be on the call alongside Emmy Award-winning analyst Bill Raftery.

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FOX Sports will distribute the 2023 USA Basketball Showcase, which includes five USA Basketball Men’s National Team exhibitions in advance of the 2023 FIBA Men’s World Cup, as part of a larger agreement that includes the 2024 USA Basketball Showcase and 2024 Nike Hoop Summit.

The USA Basketball Showcase features a series of events that help the USA Basketball Men’s and Women’s National Teams prepare for major competitions, including the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup (men) and 2024 Olympic Summer Games.

“The USA Basketball Showcase features our national teams preparing for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Games in 2024,” said said Jim Tooley, CEO, USA Basketball. “In addition, the Nike Hoop Summit annually brings together our top young basketball talent for both men and women to compete against international all-star teams comprised of athletes from all over the world.”

USA vs. Puerto Rico caps a weeklong training camp that sees the USA begin its march to the 2023 FIBA World Cup, set for Aug. 25-Sept. 10 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. Led by head coach Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), the USA Men’s National Team features several NBA award winners and honorees.

The USA Basketball Showcase continues in Malaga, Spain, when the United States faces the national teams of Slovenia and Spain in friendlies on Aug. 12 and Aug. 13, respectively. Both games will tip off at 3:30 p.m. ET with USA vs. Slovenia airing on FS1 and USA vs. Spain on FOX with Raftery providing analysis alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Kugler.

Finally, the USA travels to Abu Dhabi for a final training stop before arriving in Manila for the World Cup. The USA will host the national teams of Greece on Aug. 18 on FS1 followed by Germany on Aug. 20 on FOX, with both tipping off at noon ET. Additionally, FS1 will broadcast the game between Germany and Greece on Aug. 19 at noon ET. Play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti pairs with Raftery for both games.

Nets, Cavs Will Always Have Paris

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NEW YORK – The Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers will play a regular season game in Paris next season. The game, which will be the NBA’s third regular season game in the French capital, will be played at Accor Arena on Jan. 11, 2024. The Nets previously have played in Paris, having done so in a preseason game in 2008.

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“Our players and coaches will benefit greatly from the experience of immersing themselves in Paris’s rich culture off the court,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement.

The Cavaliers will be playing their third game overseas and first in Europe. They played in China in 2007 and Brazil during the preseason in 2015.

“We are honored as an organization to showcase the Cleveland Cavaliers in Paris,” said Koby Altman, Cavs president of basketball operations. “This opportunity will provide our players, coaches, staff and families an experience into a different culture, all while creating memories both on and off the court that will last a lifetime.

“We also recognize the universal appeal basketball inspires and we take great pride in our stewardship of the game,” he said.

–Field Level Media

SlamBall Addresses Health and Safety

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IN CASE THEY GET SLAMMED: SlamBall is coming! SlamBall is coming! The teams have been stocked with big-time athletes and bruisers and they are going to be risking life and limb. No joke. To that end, the league has worked diligently on its health and safety protocol program for the coming 2023 SlamBall League: Series Six season, which begins July 21 at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. … The protocols are designed to make sure all athletes are receiving the best proactive health and wellness care and prevention without sacrificing any of their elite skills.

“We are a legitimate sport first and foremost, and the health and safety of our exemplary athletes is priority one,” said Mason Gordon, SlamBall co-founder. “Having been in and around SlamBall since its inception, our leadership team knows the risks and the challenges these athletes are dealing with every minute they are on the court.e are proud to have been able to address the concerns and challenges of such a high flying, action packed sport by making sure we have the right protocols and best practices in place. This makes sure that our sport is beyond reproach for anyone participating or watching as we head toward the launch on July 21.”

  • All players protective equipment include: Elbow pads, knee pads, padded combat shirt, ankleroll guards/ankle braces, and custom padded and fitted head gear.
  • In the event of a blow to the head SlamBall’s on-site certified athletic training team will put players through an extensive concussion evaluation protocol. Without exception, players must be medically cleared before returning to play or practice.
  • Players must undergo daily health and safety screenings with trained medical personnel. Injury status is updated daily and shared with coaches and executives.
  • Timeouts for any injury during play will be at the discretion of the medical staff once the officials have stopped play. Players can return only when cleared by the SlamBall medical team.
  • In addition to the 7-man roster, there are four players on a taxi squad who are available to any team needing to add a player due to injury. A coach may also elect to keep a player from the taxi squad in this situation and assign a different player to IR as he rehabs and returns to health. The safety of active players remains the priority, with the rosters adjusting for athletes that are cleared and able to play.
  • No athletes will be able to participate in practice or games unless cleared by the medical team.
  • Updates on injuries will be provided to fans/media during the regular season as needed and as approved by medical personnel and in accordance with HIPAA rules.

SLAM TV: Opening Night for the return of SlamBall is Friday, July 21, at 7pm ET and it will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN. The broadcast will include three games, beginning with Rumble vs. Mob and continuing with Slashers vs. Lava, and concluding with a showdown between the winners of each match. ESPN+ will air the entire season of games beyond those on ESPN and ESPN2. The season culminates with the SlamBall Championship Game on Thursday, August 17, at 11pm ET on ESPN2.

PGA Tour Officials Testify Before Senate

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No Merger Deal is Done, According to PGA Tour Officials

WASH DC – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – PGA Tour officials painted a bleak outlook during a contentious Senate hearing Tuesday, sharing they felt no other choice was left but to merge with Saudi-backed LIV Golf in order for the tour to survive.

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“The PGA Tour is not that big in terms of players,” PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne said during sworn testimony Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in Washington, D.C. “If (LIV) takes five players a year, in five years they can gut us. They’ve got a management team that wants to destroy the Tour. And even though (LIV) could take five or six players a year, they have an unlimited horizon and an unlimited amount of money.

“So it isn’t like the (LIV) product is better. It’s just that there’s a lot more money that will make people move.”

Several Senators cited accusations of Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses as reason to question the May 30 framework agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

“Today’s hearing is about much more than the game of golf,” Senator Richard Blumenthal said. “It’s about how a brutal, repressive regime can buy influence, and indeed even take over a cherished American institution to cleanse its public image.”

Dunne and Ron Price, the chief operating officer of the PGA Tour, testified on behalf of the tour with CEO Jay Monahan on medical leave. They said the framework of the planned merger is the best opportunity to allow the PGA Tour to continue to have some degree of control over the sport despite the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia’s involvement.

When pressed on the details of the financial involvement of the Saudis, Price said, “There’s been discussions. It would be a significant amount. North of $1 billion.”

Along with other Senators, Blumenthal offered harsh criticism of the financial aspects of the decision to merge.

“There is something that stinks about this path that you’re on right now,” Blumenthal said, “because it is a surrender, and it is all about the money and that’s the reason for the backlash that you see.”

Blumenthal asked Price what his options are if the PGA Tour doesn’t execute the merger with LIV Golf.

“We would still be facing a real threat that LIV Golf would continue to recruit our top players,” Price said.

Blumenthal responded, “These players that stood by you are heroes.”

Dunne testified that he shares some of the concerns Blumenthal raised in the hearing.

“I really understand Sen. Blumenthal’s concern about having them take over,” Dunne said. “…I’m concerned with what the senator is worried about. But I’m concerned if we do nothing, we’re going to end up there, they’re going to end up owning golf. They can do it.”

The proposed merger could face blockage from the Justice Department, which has been investigating the PGA Tour for its attempt to keep its players from leaving for LIV, as well as a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a Treasury-led committee that assesses mergers for national security purposes.

Price and Dunne stressed during Tuesday’s hearing that final details of the merger are undetermined.

NBA: Silver Opines on Wealth Funds

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LAS VEGAS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – With sovereign wealth funds starting to shovel money into sports teams and leagues across the country, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Monday that he does not see any state-owned investment groups becoming the controlling owner of an NBA franchise anytime soon.

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Per the NBA’s investment rules, the controlling owner of an NBA franchise must own at least 15 percent of the franchise.

If a sovereign wealth fund wants to get involved, it must have a passive investment in the organization that is worth no more than five percent. A prime example of this is the Qatar sovereign wealth fund, which last month agreed to purchase a five-percent stake in Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the controlling owner of the Washington Wizards, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics and the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

Silver wants to make sure that individuals are the ones that are primarily governing teams, though.

“I don’t want to say what could ever happen, but there’s no contemplation right now,” Silver said in Las Vegas. “I mean, it’s very important to us, putting aside sovereign wealth funds that individuals are in a position to control our teams, be responsible to the fans, be responsible to their partners and to the players.

“It’s very important to us that there be a person (in charge), and this is independent of sovereign wealth funds. I think that in terms of the connection with the community, the connection with the players and their other partners in the league.”

One of the most notable sovereign wealth funds as it relates to the sports is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which funds LIV Golf. The PGA Tour created shockwaves across the golf world last month when it announced it planned to enter a merger with LIV.

–Field Level Media

Brady Lost $30 Million in FTX Collapse

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady lost millions in the collapse of cryptocurrency company FTX, for which he served as an ambassador, The New York Times reported Friday. Under an agreement the retired NFL quarterback made with FTX in 2021, he received $30 million in now-worthless stock for his work pitching the company in television ads and at its conference. In step with him at the time was his then-wife, Gisele Bundchen, who received $18 million in stock, per the report.

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FTX filed for bankruptcy last November. Its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, is facing federal fraud-related charges.

And Brady, who won seven Super Bowl titles in his career, also faces legal peril on top of the financial losses. Both Brady and Bundchen, who officially divorced last October, are being sued by FTX investors who want repayment from celebrity endorsers. Basketball Hall of Fame member Shaquille O’Neal also has been sued in the FTX case, as have Larry David of “Seinfeld” fame, tennis player Naomi Osaka and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.

“None of these defendants performed any due diligence prior to marketing these FTX products to the public,” according to the lawsuit, obtained by the Times. It was filed in federal court in Florida.

Before the collapse of FTX, it was valued at $32 billion, including $48 million in shares held by Brady and Bundchen, per the Times. Now, it has no value.

Brady, 45, ranked No. 50 on Forbes’ 2023 list of the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes with earnings of $45.2 million in football salary and endorsements.