April 12, 2023

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The NBA Play-In Tournament is meant to discourage teams from tanking — but why are some tanking even harder than before? We delve into the logistics of the relatively new playoff format on the latest Front Office Sports Today. Plus: Editor in Chief Ernest Baker talks to eBay VP of Global Collectibles Gene Cook about the site’s role in the skyrocketing collectibles industry.

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

Deals Jeff Bezos Won’t Bid on Washington Commanders [[link removed]]

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will not bid on the Washington Commanders, a source with knowledge of the situation told Front Office Sports.

Bezos hired [[link removed]] the sports banking firm Allen & Company to explore a bid for the team in February, and reps for the firm have monitored the bidding process in the weeks since. Ultimately, the world’s third-richest person decided not to bid on the Commanders.

The revelation leaves the group headed by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris as the only current contender for the team.

FOS previously reported that Harris — who counts billionaire industrial firm co-founder Mitchell Rales and NBA legend Magic Johnson as part of his group — is the “only” legitimate bidder for the Commanders, with an offer between $5.5 billion and $6 billion.

Amid multiple investigations and pressure applied by fellow NFL owners, Commanders owner Dan Snyder announced [[link removed]] in November that the team was “exploring all options,” including a full franchise sale. Snyder purchased the Commanders for $800 million in 1999.

There’s a feeling within Bezos’ camp that he has been used to push the bidding by others in the franchise to a higher level, the source said.

Allen & Company declined comment when reached by FOS on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Puck News reported [[link removed]] that Bezos wasn’t “currently” expected to bid, but a source was more adamant to FOS: “Bezos is not bidding.”

AWARDS

Rising 25 is back, and it’s time to nominate an up-and-coming young professional changing the game in the business of sports!

The Front Office Sports Rising 25 Award [[link removed]], presented by Anheuser-Busch, celebrates the careers of the brightest young stars in the business of sports. To date, we’ve honored 150 individuals and we’re looking for our next group of young stars.

Nominations are open NOW through Tuesday, May 2. Winners will be announced in June.

Nominate [[link removed]] today!

Leagues NBA Makes Budget Cuts, Stops Hiring Amid Economic Headwinds [[link removed]]

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Economic conditions have caused the NBA to implement a hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures around the league office.

In a memo obtained [[link removed]] by The New York Times sent to NBA staff members Tuesday, the league said it was “facing a very different economic reality than just one year ago,” and added, “We are seeing significant challenges to achieving our revenue budget with additional downside risk still in front of us.”

NBA employees were told to cancel some off-site meetings or host them virtually, while other expenses related to travel and entertainment are being cut.

Commissioner Adam Silver said last year that the NBA expected to make about $10 billion in revenue for its 2021-22 season.

The budget cuts come just days after the NBA announced it sold the most tickets [[link removed]] for a regular season in league history in 2022-23 and set new records for all-time attendance and sellouts.

The NBA’s current media rights package expires after the 2024-25 season, and the league is seeking [[link removed]] between $75 billion and $100 billion in its next wave of broadcast and streaming deals.

Industry Trend

Other leagues have also begun reducing costs amid macroeconomic concerns.

Front Office Sports reported last month that the NFL is laying off staff [[link removed]] from its media division. ESPN is also expecting [[link removed]] to undergo layoffs amid widespread job cuts from parent company Walt Disney.

The NBA’s last round of layoffs occurred in 2020, ahead of the league’s restart during the pandemic.

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College Athletics Big Ten Is Latest Conference to Make Major Non-Traditional Hire [[link removed]]

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The Big Ten has chosen media executive Tony Petitti as its next commissioner, the conference announced on Wednesday.

He will succeed Kevin Warren, who will official step down [[link removed]] on Friday as he moves into an executive role with the Chicago Bears. Petitti’s official start date is May 15.

The hire follows a recent trend in the upper echelon of college sports in which new executives are plucked from other industries. As college conferences look less like educational institutions and more like billion-dollar pro-sports businesses, hiring former media and business executives — even politicians — has become the norm.

The Pac-12’s George Kliavkoff and Big 12’s Brett Yormark both came from outside the industry. Even NCAA president Charlie Baker, a former Massachusetts governor, never worked in college sports.

Petitti has worked primarily in the media rights space — he’s a former executive at ABC, CBS Sports, and Major League Baseball, where he helped launch MLB Network and then served as league COO. He’s had plenty of experience with college sports media rights, however. He was an architect of the BCS and oversaw the NCAA Division I men’s tournament while at CBS. He also had a short stint as the president of Activision Blizzard but stepped down in June of 2021 after less than a year in the role.

Petitti will take the reins of the richest conference in all of college sports. Last year, Warren struck [[link removed]] a mid-$7 billion media rights deal with CBS, NBC, and FOX.

The incoming commissioner will also oversee the arrival of UCLA and USC in 2024.

Conversation Starters The WNBA Draft drew 572,000 viewers — the second-largest [[link removed]] audience in league history and the most in 19 years. Washington Commanders star Chase Young has signed with Klutch Athletics by New Balance, making him the first ambassador [[link removed]] for Rich Paul’s new sportswear brand. Young is also New Balance’s first NFL player and will help the company develop its first football cleat. Logan Paul and KSI’s energy drink brand Prime Hydration have signed [[link removed]] a new six-figure deal with Base Sports Group to expand the drink’s presence in youth sports.

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How Technology is Shaping the Future of Sports

In today’s modern media age, consumers demand content 24/7. Sports fans want — and expect — engaging content from their favorite teams, leagues, brands and players across platforms all year long.

In our latest virtual summit [[link removed]], we took an inside look at how teams, leagues, conferences and broadcasters utilize technology to create compelling content that attracts new viewers, reaches younger audiences and increases fan engagement.

The event includes discussion with representatives from organizations across the sports industry, including the NBA, San Francisco 49ers, New Jersey Devils, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, ACC and the University of Miami.

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What to Watch

The Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

How to watch: 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

Gambling odds: Thunder +5.5 || ML Thunder +176 || O/U 226.5

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