March 30, 2023
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Opening Day is here! Eno Sarris, national writer for The Athletic, joins FOS senior writer Owen Poindexter to preview the first day of the new MLB season, run down the best teams in each division, and break down the new rule changes on the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.
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Deals Minor League Players to Get Big Salary Bump in Historic CBA [[link removed]]
THOMAS BENDER/ USA TODAY NETWORK
Minor league baseball players are on the cusp of the first collective bargaining agreement in their history.
The deal provides significant salary raises at each level, according [[link removed]] to The Athletic.
Minimum annual salaries at the complex league and rookie ball will rise from $4,800 to $19,800. At Single-A, they will jump from $11,000 to $26,200. Double-A players’ minimum salaries rise from $13,800 to $30,250. Triple-A players will go from $17,500 to $35,800.
MLB will also make improvements to minor league players’ housing situations.
Double-A and Triple-A players will have their own bedrooms, while players at lower levels will either receive housing or a stipend. Spouses and children will be included in club housing plans.
Other details in the agreement — which is expected to be ratified soon by minor league players and MLB owners — include NIL rights, new drug and domestic violence policies, the creation of a nutrition committee, and the use of a third-party arbiter to resolve disputes between teams and players.
In all, the changes are expected to cost MLB $90 million annually — a figure that could top $100 million, factoring in all benefits.
The MLBPA, which represents minor league players as of last September, was seeking to reach an agreement with MLB by Opening Day. No lockout or strike was planned in the event that the two sides didn’t arrive at a deal by that time.
Teams Manchester United Turns Profit Ahead of Potential Sale [[link removed]]
Manchester United
Manchester United is out of debt as it continues the process of potentially selling the team.
Manchester United PLC reported its earnings for the fiscal second quarter of 2023, revealing that the club turned $7.8 million net profit for the three-month period ending Dec. 31, 2022 — a noticeable improvement from a $1.7 million loss for the same period in 2021.
The iconic club reported a 22.2% year-over-year increase in commercial revenue to $97.5 million — but posted $72.7 million in broadcasting revenue and $37 million in matchday revenue, a 32.1% and 13.6% year-over-year decrease, respectively.
It was able to turn a profit, however, from decreased costs due to lower wages: $207.6 million in operating expenses compared to $222.6 million the year prior.
Much of the revenue was driven by strong ticket sales, as the 2.3 million Man United has sold cumulatively in the 2022-23 season has surpassed its previous record set in 2016-17.
It helps that the club has been competitive this season: It won the Carabao Cup in February, will face Brighton in the FA Cup semi-finals in April, and currently sits third in the Premier League table.
Meanwhile, the Glazer family is in the process of selling the club.
The most recent bids [[link removed]] from finalists Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, and Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus reportedly fell short of the Glazers’ asking price — but there is still optimism for an eventual deal.
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Baseball is Something Else
Every bit of baseball [[link removed]] is something else.
Green grass, dirt, and the belief this could be the year — something else.
Wearing pants in the summer — something else.
Celebrating a dinger with a gold chain or a cowboy hat — all wonderful something elses.
The bottom of the 9th, man on 2nd, crowd on its feet. A rookie who got called up 12 hours ago laces one to shallow left. The runner rounds third, throw comes in and PAUSE.
That moment. That’s something else.
The unbelievable ecstasy of everything going just right or the total heartbreak of everything going just wrong — something else you’ll hold onto forever.
It’s a beer, a dog, and a few hours to sit in the sun. That, right there, is baseball.
And baseball is something else.
Media DAZN Wants to Stream All EFL Matches Live [[link removed]]
Premier League
Global media company DAZN is vying to stream all English Football League matches.
The streaming platform, according to The Times [[link removed]], is bidding for the U.K. and global rights against Sky Sports and Viaplay — and if it wins, it wants to stream all 1,656 matches live.
Streaming all matches live would eliminate England’s longstanding Saturday 3 p.m. blackout rule [[link removed]] designed to protect attendance at lower-league grounds.
Comcast-owned Sky’s current deal [[link removed]] with the EFL — which pays $147 million annually — ends following the 2023-24 season. The EFL is reportedly [[link removed]] seeking a new rights deal [[link removed]] worth more than $247 million.
“DAZN’s entrance into the market has the potential to transform the broadcast landscape in the U.K. Although EFL clubs have been able to sell streaming passes for games played in midweek or on Bank Holidays this season, teaming up with DAZN would enable supporters to legally watch every game from 2024-25,” according [[link removed]] to The Athletic.
“A hybrid model, combining a traditional broadcaster with a streaming provider, is not being discounted after an Invitation to Tender reached its deadline last week.”
The move would also put DAZN at odds with the Premier League, whose chief executive Richard Masters remains in favor of the 3 p.m. blackout, according [[link removed]] to The Athletic.
Conversation Starters MLB player salaries rose [[link removed]] 14.8% on aggregate in 2022 to $4.2 million, reversing a four-year trend of declining player salaries. The Yankees, Mets, Angels, and Rangers will each pay three players at least $25 million this season. ESPN reports that Steph Curry has signed a “lifetime” contract [[link removed]] with Under Armour and been named President of Curry Brand. It could be one of the “richest-ever” endorsement deals in sports. UConn’s basketball team flew to the men’s Final Four in Houston compliments of the New England Patriots’ team jet [[link removed]].
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