April 14, 2023

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Dan Snyder has tentatively agreed on a deal to sell the Washington Commanders to private equity investor Josh Harris. On the latest Front Office Sports Today, FOS senior reporter A.J. Perez joins us to break down the details — plus, Doris Burke gives us her takes on the upcoming NBA postseason.

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

Commerce The Sacramento Kings Have One of the Priciest NBA Playoff Tickets Ever [[link removed]]

Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

There isn’t just one reason why the Sacramento Kings’ Game 1 showdown is one of the hottest tickets in NBA playoff history.

“It is kinda the perfect storm, as far as why this game is so expensive,” TickPick content strategy lead Kyle Zorn told Front Office Sports.

With an average purchase price of $668, Game 1 of the first-round showdown in Sacramento between the Kings and Golden State Warriors is the priciest NBA playoff ticket the online marketplace has ever tracked, excluding the NBA Finals.

It’s also the most expensive Kings home game on record and 603% pricier than the average purchase price of a Kings home ticket during the regular season ($95), per data provided to FOS.

The current get-in price stands at $379, and the most expensive purchase thus far is a whopping $2,496 for two tickets in the 100 level.

Zorn attributes the huge spike to several key factors.

The most obvious is the “pent-up demand” from the Sacramento faithful, who haven’t seen their team in the playoffs since 2006 — the longest playoff drought in NBA history.

The second is the matchup itself. The Warriors had the most expensive home ticket in the league this season, averaging $256 in the average purchase price, while the Kings ranked 13th.

With the two teams’ home arenas less than a two-hour drive from each other, the ease of access for fans is also increasing demand.

Saturday’s Warriors-Kings game tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET and will air on ABC.

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!

Teams Rays Turn Tiny Payroll Into Historic Start [[link removed]]

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The 13-0 Tampa Bay Rays are chasing the best start in MLB history — while paying their team less than what the New York Mets are paying for two pitchers.

With the fourth-lowest payroll [[link removed]] in MLB at $77 million, the Rays have maximized the bang for their buck by taking advantage of MLB salary rules regarding young players. Players in their first three years generally make league-minimum salaries, followed by three years of arbitration.

The Rays have ample star power at very low prices:

Cy Young hopeful Shane McClanahan and the quietly excellent Drew Rasmussen make league minimum salaries under $800,000. Emerging star Wander Franco signed an 11-year, $182 million extension but is making $2.5 million this year. The Rays were able to leverage the fact that he would have been making the league minimum. Star outfielder Randy Arozarena is making $4.2 million in his first year of arbitration.

The team tends to do little in the free-agent market, where players can offer their services to any team with no restrictions. The Rays’ signing of Zach Eflin to a three-year, $40 million contract last offseason was the largest free-agent signing in the team’s history.

There were 20 larger deals in the most recent offseason alone.

With a win tonight in Toronto, the Rays can secure the longest season-opening streak since 1884, when the St. Louis Maroons began the season 20-0.

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Teams OL Reign Becomes Third NWSL Club Currently For Sale [[link removed]]

Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle-based NWSL club OL Reign is up for sale.

OL Groupe has hired The Raine Group — which is also involved in the ongoing sale process [[link removed]] of Manchester United — to find a buyer.

French newspaper L’Équipe [[link removed]] reported [[link removed]] Wednesday that OL Groupe agreed to sell a majority stake in its French women’s soccer team Olympique Lyonnais to American businesswoman Michele Kang, who also owns the NWSL’s Washington Spirit.

OL Groupe responded with a statement [[link removed]] noting that the report held “inaccurate information” and no such agreement was in place to sell Olympique Lyonnais. In the same statement, OL Groupe announced its attempt to sell OL Reign.

An NWSL spokesperson said the league is aware of OL Groupe’s interest in selling the Reign and will “work closely with them to ensure any potential owner(s) are aligned with our league’s vision and values,” according [[link removed]] to The Athletic.

The club joins the Chicago Red Stars and Portland Timbers as NWSL clubs on the market. Upward of 10 suitors are interested in bidding for the Red Stars, with a deal aimed at being finalized [[link removed]] this spring, while a group led by former [[link removed]] Nike executive Melanie Strong has expressed interest in buying the Thorns and their Portland Timbers MLS affiliate.

Both the Red Stars and Thorns are seeking new buyers after their incumbent owners dealt with investigations into team coaches abusing NWSL players.

Conversation Starters This summer, Fenway Park and Oracle Park will temporarily transform [[link removed]] into 12 pickleball courts. During a break in the Red Sox’s and Giants’ respective schedules, their outfields will host Pickleball4America’s inaugural Ballpark Festival Series. For the first time, TaylorMade is allowing golfers to swap out [[link removed]] numbers on their golf balls for personalized “MySymbol” designs at a price point of $54.99 per dozen. Buffalo Bills athletic trainer and Oklahoma State grad Denny Kellington — who administered CPR on Damar Hamlin during a game in January, helping to save his life [[link removed]] — will be the school’s spring commencement speaker next month.

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SPONSORED BY SLING TVWhat To Watch

The Chicago Bulls will take on the Miami Heat on Friday night at Kaseya Center in Miami.

How to watch: 7 p.m. ET, TNT with Sling TV [[link removed]]

Betting odds: Bulls +5.5 || ML Bulls +180 || O/U 209

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