May 25, 2023
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On the latest Front Office Sports Today, FOS senior writer Michael McCarthy discusses the most recent round of layoffs at ESPN, the troubles around its business model, and its role in the upcoming NBA media rights negotiations.
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ACC Revenue Shift Will Reward Schools That Win More [[link removed]]
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Top ACC schools are hopeful that a newly approved revenue distribution model will help them keep pace with counterparts in the much richer SEC and Big Ten conferences.
Beginning in Fall 2024, schools qualifying for revenue-generating postseason competitions — like the College Football Playoff, other bowl games, and March Madness — will receive more [[link removed]] of the ACC’s postseason payouts.
The conference currently shares its money equally and will continue to do so for all other revenue. Last year, the ACC generated [[link removed]] $617 million in revenue, compared with the SEC’s $802 million and the Big Ten’s $845.6 million.
The shift was important for football powerhouses like Clemson and Florida State as well as basketball heavyweights North Carolina and Duke — especially as the CFP expands to 12 teams in the 2024-25 season and offers even more revenue.
This season, the CFP will pay [[link removed]] conferences $6 million for a team making a semifinal game and $4 million for a non-playoff New Year’s Six matchup.
While no ACC team made the CFP last year, Clemson made the Orange Bowl (a New Year’s Six game), while Pitt, NC State, and FSU appeared in bowl games that paid [[link removed]] the conference nearly $8 million total. However, schools like Boston College received an equal portion of that money despite finishing 3-9.
Miami’s run to this year’s Final Four helped earn [[link removed]] the ACC about $24 million, but the Hurricanes will earn the same amount as Louisville, which missed postseason play with a 2-18 conference record.
MLB Pressures Brewers to Make $448M In Repairs To Ballpark [[link removed]]
Mike De Sisti / USA TODAY NETWORK
Major League Baseball’s smallest market is facing new pressure to upgrade its home ballpark.
The Wisconsin legislature needs to approve a plan to finance $448 million in long-term renovations to the Milwaukee Brewers’ American Family Field, according [[link removed]] to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — or risk losing the club to another city.
Earlier this year, the Brewers detailed [[link removed]] the extensive upgrades needed, but league and team sources told Front Office Sports that conversations remain ongoing between the club, league, and local officials — and that such brinkmanship is overblown, especially in contrast with the far more troubled situation [[link removed]] between Oakland and the A’s.
But efforts by Wisconsin’s Democrat Gov. Tony Evers to secure $290 million in funding have run into resistance thus far from the state’s Republican-controlled legislature.
Despite Milwaukee’s smaller size, the Brewers have routinely ranked as a strong mid-tier club in league attendance. The publicly owned ballpark, which opened in 2001, hosted the 2002 MLB All-Star Game and numerous Brewers playoff games, but its original funding and construction were also sources [[link removed]] of significant controversy.
The Brewers’ lease runs through the end of 2030, and terms dictate the state’s Southeast Wisconsin Professional Park District is responsible for “all major capital repairs.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will be in Milwaukee on Thursday, meeting with both Brewers and Giants players.
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Premier Lacrosse League Assigning Designated Home Markets [[link removed]]
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The Premier Lacrosse League is hitting another milestone with the formation of a new competition structure.
In one of the PLL’s largest developments since its 2019 debut — a plan that will begin next year and evolve from PLL’s existing, tour-based model — each of its eight teams will be assigned to specific geographic markets.
The PLL will continue to operate as a single-entity property and still own and operate all eight franchises — but will now more closely resemble other major sports leagues.
The new format is only the latest evolution for the league.
It signed [[link removed]] a media rights deal in 2022 with Disney’s ESPN and ABC reportedly worth eight figures, brought [[link removed]] in additional top-tier investors in a Series D funding round, completed [[link removed]] a large-scale deal with Ticketmaster, posted [[link removed]] other gains in fan engagement, and merged with the former Major League Lacrosse to become the only significant entity in outdoor pro lacrosse.
That last funding reportedly doubled the league’s undisclosed valuation compared to 2021. Burke Magnus, ESPN’s president of content, called the market-based plan “a smart progression at the perfect time.”
Fans can vote on potential team locations starting June 3. Their input will inform internal analysis and various business considerations to produce the final selections, which will be announced in Q4 2023.
“This move will unlock deeper, more connected relationships between our fans, teams, and players,” said Paul Rabil, PLL co-founder and president. “We’re giving the PLL local love and global awareness.”
The 2023 PLL season will start June 3-4 in Albany, New York.
Conversation Starters Brooks Koepka is having a week [[link removed]]. The South Florida native’s major win earned him $3 million, and his beloved Florida Panthers are in the Stanley Cup Final, and the Miami Heat are a win away from competing for a championship. Formula 1 released a five-minute driver POV of the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit using “F1 23” gameplay. Watch [[link removed]] the first minute. Michael Jordan bought a custom [[link removed]] Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster — which retails for $3.5 million. The Roadster can top 300 mph and is one of just 30 in existence.
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Editor's Picks NHL to Reportedly Play Games at MetLife Stadium in 2024 [[link removed]]by Andrew Cohen [[link removed]]The NHL Stadium Series will continue in 2024 at MetLife Stadium. New Racing League to Start Amid Recent Horse Deaths [[link removed]]by Andrew Cohen [[link removed]]Baron Davis, Nelly, and Rick Ross will own teams in the NTL. What to Watch
The Miami Heat take on the Boston Celtics on Thursday in Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden.
How to watch: 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Gambling odds: Heat +8 || ML +250 || O/U 215
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