April 3, 2023

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Steve Apostolopoulos is “confident” in his effort to acquire [[link removed]] the Washington Commanders, a business associate of the Canadian businessman told Front Office Sports on Friday. The Toronto native hails from one of Canada’s wealthiest families and has been linked to purchasing the Commanders, Charlotte Hornets, and most recently the Ottawa Senators over the last two weeks.

Deals UFC Owner Endeavor Nears Deal to Purchase WWE [[link removed]]

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Endeavor is close to sealing a deal to acquire WWE.

The agreement could be announced in the coming days, CNBC reported [[link removed]] on Sunday. The plan is to combine WWE with UFC into one publicly traded company controlled by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel.

Endeavor [[link removed]] would own 51% of the combined WWE-UFC entity, with the rest going to WWE shareholders. The deal values WWE at $9.3 billion, according to CNBC.

While the transaction would require WWE shareholder approval, that shouldn’t be a significant hurdle. WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon is the promotion’s largest shareholder and holds about 80% [[link removed]] of WWE’s voting shares.

McMahon unexpectedly announced [[link removed]] his retirement from WWE in July amid allegations he used the company’s money to suppress sexual misconduct and infidelity allegations.

McMahon, who returned [[link removed]] in January, is expected to retain his executive chairman title. UFC President Dana White has remained in charge after Endeavor purchased a controlling interest in the leading MMA promotion for $4 billion in 2018.

“It seemed like since Vince left WWE over the summer and even before he came back, this was the inevitable outcome,“ LightShed Partners analyst Brandon Ross told Front Office Sports.

WWE CEO Nick Khan is slated to stay on as president of the wrestling side of the new company, while White will continue to run UFC.

Suitors like Netflix, Amazon, Disney, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund [[link removed]] explored a purchase of WWE. Still, a source with knowledge of the process told FOS that Endeavor had been the favorite for several weeks.

Messages left with WWE and Endeavor were not immediately returned.

College Athletics LSU’s First National Title Keeps Trophy in the SEC [[link removed]]

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS — Last week, LSU coach Kim Mulkey told reporters that the Southeastern Conference has been “disrespected all year.”

But after the Tigers took down the Iowa Hawkeyes in a decisive 102-85 win at the American Airlines Center, the SEC can now boast championship streaks in FBS football and women’s basketball.

“We’ve had the trophy in our office for a year with South Carolina’s national championship,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told Front Office Sports after the confetti fell. “So it’s nice that it’s found a home. To have multiple programs in our conference compete at this level…is really meaningful.”

The championship is the first for LSU and the fourth for Mulkey.

A Win For The Sport

LSU’s title ended a historic season for all of women’s college basketball. The Final Four semifinals were the most viewed [[link removed]]on record, and the tournament drew more aggregate fans than any other in women’s NCAA history.

Still, the women’s media rights deal and the NCAA’s sponsorship agreement must be renegotiated to reflect the tournament’s growing value, according to a 2021 NCAA equity review. [[link removed]] The next steps will be to “test the market on all this stuff,” NCAA President Charlie Baker told reporters before the game.

“One media consultant’s opinion is not validation,” Sankey said, referring to the equity review. “I think what happened this weekend is actually validation.”

SPONSORED BY CBS SPORTS HQ

CBS Sports HQ Hits Houston

The Big Dance is coming to an epic conclusion tonight and CBS Sports HQ [[link removed]] will be there with in-depth coverage leading up to tip-off, throughout the game and on the court after a champion is crowned.

If you haven’t checked out CBS Sports HQ yet, you’re missing FREE, 24/7 sports news [[link removed]], extended highlights and analysis of your favorite sports all day, every day. In addition to studio coverage, HQ will have comprehensive news coverage from the biggest moments in the sports world this spring including the Masters, PGA Tour, MLB, NBA, PGA Championship and more!

Watch [[link removed]] CBS Sports HQ live for the latest in sports, all day, every day.

College Athletics Aztecs’ Run A Financial Win For Players, School, and Conference [[link removed]]

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday night, UConn and San Diego State will face off in the men’s Final Four title game at NRG Stadium in Houston.

But no matter the final score, San Diego State — making its program debut in the Final Four — has already won off the court.

Players are capitalizing big through name, image, and likeness deals.

Matt Bradley, the team’s leading scorer during the regular season, has seen 130% growth on Instagram in the past month, according to his agent Jordan Green, founder of Glacier Marketing Group. Bradley has inked five figures worth of deals this weekend alone. He also received VIP care packages from Oakley, Sprayground, and Cuts.

“It was difficult for us to find suitable opportunities for Matt throughout the year on a national level,” Green, who just turned 20 years old, said. “Only local San Diego brands expressed interest before the tournament. … With all this national coverage, we’ve been able to talk with some of the biggest brands.”

Conference Benefits

SDSU is the conference’s first team to make it past the Sweet 16, let alone make it to the national championship game.

In the immediacy, the team has earned millions in NCAA “units,” or men’s tournament prize money. The governing body distributes $170 million [[link removed]] to conferences based on how many of their teams qualify and advance in the Big Dance.

“I’m optimistic this is an upward trend,” Commissioner Gloria Nevarez told [[link removed]] FOS when the team advanced to the Elite 8 last week.

Deals NBA, NBPA Reach Tentative Agreement on New 7-Year CBA [[link removed]]

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA and National Basketball Players Association announced [[link removed]] early Saturday morning that a tentative agreement was reached on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement.

The joint release didn’t specify any details on the deal that will require ratification by players and approval by team owners before it goes into place ahead of the 2023-24 season, the final season under the existing seven-year CBA.

The new CBA seeks to curb spending by teams like the Golden State Warriors, which is currently more than $70 million [[link removed]] over the NBA’s soft cap. The Warriors’ luxury tax is projected [[link removed]] to be around $500 million next season.

While the luxury tax system will remain, the new CBA has put a secondary cap that limits a team’s ability to sign free-agent players with the mid-level exception.

ESPN reported [[link removed]] that teams surpassing the new second salary cap apron by more than $17.5 million would be unable to add free agents via the mid-level exception. Under the existing CBA allowed teams, to sign new players via the mid-level exception no matter how much over the cap they were.

The other changes include:

Already one of the most lenient marijuana policies will effectively disappear in the new CBA. The Athletic reported [[link removed]] that marijuana had been removed from the test protocol. The in-season tournament will debut next season and will pay each player on the winning team $500,000 [[link removed]]. Players must play at least 65 games [[link removed]] to be eligible for postseason awards. Veteran contract extensions limits will increase to 140% [[link removed]] from their current contracts, up from 120%. Conversation Starters Major League Baseball is hoping the new rules will speed up games, create more action, and reverse its slide in television ratings, which were very positive in spring training. Owen Poindexter explores [[link removed]] the rules changes that could also impact the way teams are constructed, and whether we will see more parity with respect to spending and winning. The growth of the women’s Final Four has no limits — other than the ones networks, media companies, and the NCAA create for it. The question is when those barriers will be removed. Amanda Christovich writes [[link removed]] is bigger and better than ever but still being held back. “WrestleMania Goes Hollywood” last weekend as Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes headlined pro wrestling’s biggest two nights of the year live from Los Angeles. Mark Lelinwalla writes [[link removed]] despite a handful of active Indian wrestlers on the WWE roster, none were featured on the WrestleMania 39 card Saturday and Sunday — something that the likes of Jinder Mahal, Shanky, Veer and Sanga, and their fans, want to see changed for WrestleMania extravaganzas in the near future.

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Front Office Sports Today They Said What?

Courtesy of the New York Yankees

“The pitch clock is scary on one hand because it does potentially mean missing out on transactions, potentially scares people from missing out on the game … Now the onus is on us to figure out the next breakthrough in line time because who want’s to be standing in line?”

— Sodexo Live! CEO Belinda Oakley on how the new pitch clock is affecting the hospitality services around ballparks. For more on that, Opening Day, and the new rules, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

Today's Action

NHL

07:38 PM

Predators (+165) at Stars (-195)

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NCAA

02:44 PM

LSU (-4000) at Iowa (+1600)

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NHL

07:08 PM

Golden Knights (+115) at Wild (-135)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

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Question Of The Day

Do you plan to watch the Masters this year?

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Friday’s Answer

22% of respondents have bet on an off-major sport and 9% haven’t yet but would.

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