August 2, 2023

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I’ve always enjoyed Colin Cowherd’s perspective on the sports industry, even if I don’t always agree with his takes. My colleague Michael McCarthy has a great look inside [[link removed]] his upcoming contract negotiations with Fox Sports — including a potential shocking play by his former employer.

Today, we’re analyzing Tiger Woods’ decision to get more involved in the PGA Tour’s uncertain future, Under Armour’s back-to-basics business strategy, growing pains in the Las Vegas sports scene, and the wild conclusion to yesterday’s MLB trade deadline.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Tiger Woods Gives PGA Tour Players The Backing Needed In Saudi Talks [[link removed]]

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Tiger Woods still hasn’t spoken publicly since professional golf’s bombshell merger agreement was announced on June 6.

But the most popular golfer in the world is still pledging his full support to PGA Tour players as they adapt to the merger with LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Woods is joining [[link removed]] the PGA Tour policy board for the first time, a move signifying an even stronger power shift [[link removed]] in favor of Tour players after many lost trust in commissioner Jay Monahan.

Woods made a statement in the move’s official announcement, but other than a tweet [[link removed]?] to deny a faulty report about his previous role in the saga, he hasn’t voiced his opinion on the situation.

Forty-one players gave their support for the addition of Woods, who will help determine a board replacement for Randall Stephenson — the former AT&T CEO who resigned over the Saudi deal. Woods’ presence at future meetings can only boost morale and increase Tour players’ leverage.

During practice rounds at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, multiple players from two-time major champion Justin Thomas to veterans like Charley Hoffman voiced their excitement for Woods’ new role. “He wants to continue to see the PGA Tour grow and succeed,” Thomas said.

The Tour is set to release its 2024 schedule on Aug. 8 and has set a Dec. 31 deadline to finalize a definitive agreement with the PIF.

PODCAST

🎙️ They Said What?

“You have got to pay the bills. I don’t care how much desire you have — if you are unable to make your monthly nut, that’s a problem.”

— Former USWNT goalkeeper Briana Scurry on needing to pay all professional women soccer players a living wage. To hear more from Scurry about women’s soccer, download the latest episode of FOS Today.

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

Under Armour Pushes Comeback From Recent Woes With Notre Dame Deal [[link removed]]

MATTIE NERETIN / USA TODAY NETWORK

One of the most prominent sports footwear and apparel companies is perhaps starting to get its groove back.

The recently embattled Under Armour has completed [[link removed]] a $100 million licensing extension with Notre Dame believed to be the richest such deal in college sports.

The pact is also the latest move in an ongoing corporate retooling that has brought a new sense of stability to the company, which first rose to fame as a high-flying, upstart challenger to established market leaders such as Nike and Adidas.

In the last year, Under Armour has:

Brought in [[link removed]] former Marriott president Stephanie Linnartz as its new president and CEO Beat [[link removed]] Wall Street estimates in its last quarter earnings Struck [[link removed]] a long-term, $75 million deal with NBA superstar Stephen Curry Began [[link removed]] a heightened effort to target women’s product sales

The developments have helped to reverse a highly turbulent period [[link removed]] in which Under Armour posted declining earnings, faced a series of embarrassing revelations [[link removed]] over a toxic work culture, ended [[link removed]] an on-field licensing deal with the NFL, paid UCLA a $67.5 million settlement [[link removed]] following a bitter contract breach dispute, cut short several other major licensing college deals in similarly ugly fashion, backed off a MLB on-field uniform deal to save $50 million, and saw company founder and former CEO Kevin Plank transition to an executive chairman role.

The recent efforts, however, have yet to resonate with investors. Under Armour stock is down by 14% over the last year and now hovers around $8 per share. At the company’s high point in 2015, its stock neared $53 a share.

The company reports its next quarterly earnings on Aug. 8.

The Notre Dame deal is the first major piece of new business for the school since its recently announced athletics leadership transition [[link removed]] from Jack Swarbrick to former NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua.

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Ex-Mets Making More Than Current Mets After Trades [[link removed]]

Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports

Now that the MLB trade deadline has passed, the New York Mets have more 2023 payroll tied up in offloaded players as they do in their current active roster.

On Tuesday, the Mets sent star pitcher Justin Verlander — tied with former teammate Max Scherzer for MLB’s highest salary at $43.3 million — to Houston, three days after Scherzer approved [[link removed]] a trade from New York to Texas.

With those deals and the trades of closer David Robertson and outfielders Mark Canha and Tommy Pham, the Mets now have $156.5 million in retained salaries involving players traded, released, or bought out, according to Spotrac [[link removed]]. That surpasses the $149.4 million the Mets have committed in 2023 for active players.

The Mets — who still sit below .500 and are well out of playoff position — now have MLB’s 11th-highest active payroll, a dramatic turnaround from a $344 million Opening Day payroll that had surpassed all prior league records by more than $50 million.

Mets GM Billy Eppler previously tried to cast the sell-off as “not a fire sale” and “not a liquidation,” but the deals now leave the team in a historically unique position: Its departed players collectively earn more than the entire payrolls of 15 other MLB teams.

The Mets are reportedly [[link removed]] retooling for on-field contention in 2025 or 2026 after a “transitory” year in 2024 — despite owner Steve Cohen’s stated intent upon his 2020 purchase of the team to win the World Series in “three-to-five years.”

The club still has nearly $175 million in salary commitments for next year at a time when past links between player spending and on-field success have been inverted [[link removed]].

Las Vegas’ Epic Sports Push Comes With Growing Pains [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

There’s no hotter sports town than Las Vegas these days. Home to the defending WNBA and NHL champions, Sin City is set to add Formula 1 and MLB franchises — and could even lure the NBA to join the NFL in the desert.

But locals and visitors alike are now finding that sports expansion comes with plenty of growing pains.

Construction and road repaving on the famous Las Vegas Strip for the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix is snarling [[link removed]] local traffic and creating frustration more than three months before the November race. The forthcoming MSG Sphere [[link removed]] adds to the growing Las Vegas transportation issues.

The design for the Oakland A’s ballpark — now being redrawn after initial renderings were dismissed [[link removed]] as garbage — includes an emerging plan [[link removed]] to link the new facility into an recently approved expansion of the Vegas Loop, an underground transportation system projected to ultimately include 81 stations and 68 miles of tunnels.

That transit system is being built by the Boring Company led by Elon Musk, also the controversial owner of X, formerly known as Twitter. The Vegas Loop, however, consists of riders in human-driven Teslas instead of traditional mass transit trains or buses, and early [[link removed]] reviews [[link removed]] haven’t been good.

“We believe that anything can bring fans to the site without having to drive their cars, [and] making it more convenient for people is a real positive,” Brad Schrock, the A’s director of design, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

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Editor's Picks Iowa State’s Hunter Dekkers Charged in Gambling Investigation [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]Dekkers, a redshirt junior, started all 12 games for the Cyclones last season. Fox’s Next Problem: Can It Keep Colin Cowherd From Free Agency? [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]With Shannon Sharpe a free agent, Fox Sports is facing another challenge. Welcome to ESPN: Pat McAfee Now Judged By Stricter Standard [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]McAfee will have to adjust from answering to himself to answering to the Mouse. Question Of The Day

Do you consider yourself health conscious when it comes to food and/or drink selection?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Tuesday’s Answer

58% of respondents plan to watch this year’s U.S. Open tennis tournament.

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