September 9, 2023

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Man, it’s good to have football back. I couldn’t look away on Saturday as Colorado shocked the world. The College GameDay scenes in Charlotte for the battle of the Carolinas were incredible. And how about FSU-LSU delivering big for the second year in a row? The game drew huge numbers [[link removed]] for ESPN.

Now, it’s the NFL’s time to shine. Chiefs-Lions kicks off the season on Thursday, and the league may have big plans for the future of watching and streaming games.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

NFL+ Could Broadcast Exclusive Games in Future Seasons [[link removed]]

Syndication: The Record

When the Kansas City Chiefs face the Detroit Lions on Thursday, football fans will have the option of watching the game on NFL+. But in future seasons, subscribing to the league’s streaming service might be a requirement to watch select matchups.

NFL+ has raised [[link removed]] its prices for the 2023 season as it adds NFL RedZone and NFL Network to its live-content offerings. NFL+ will now cost $6.99 per month for its base tier, and $14.99 per month for NFL+ Premium.

In 2022, the newly launched service allowed fans to watch local and primetime games on mobile devices and access other features like live game audio for all 32 teams.

More Games Coming?

Over time, NFL Media GM David Jurenka told Front Office Sports that the league has “some flexibility” to put games exclusively on NFL+ — meaning fans would have to pay for the service to watch a specific game. It is uncertain whether that exclusivity would start in 2024 or later.

“If it makes sense in terms of how we maximize reach and it’s complementary to the broader media model that we have, I think we’ll look at those things,” Jurenka said.

It’s clear the league has big plans for NFL+, and fans should expect the service to continue growing. “We have been envisioning NFL+ for many years now and (have been) very intentional with what we launched with last year and then what we’re adding with NFL Network and RedZone this year,” Jurenka explained.

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🎙️ They Said What?

“[The PFL] hopes to have six international leagues by 2026. The champions of each will then fight each other … Think of it as the Champions League of MMA.”

— Professional Fighters League Founder and CEO Donn Davis on what he envisions for the future of the PFL after a $100 million investment from Saudi Arabia’s SRJ Sports Investments company. To hear more on the PFL and Saudi Arabia’s sports investments, check out the latest episode of FOS Today.

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Colorado Is Thriving On, Off Field One Game Into Coach Prime Era [[link removed]]

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

After an offseason of sensational hype and unprecedented financial boosts, the University of Colorado is just hitting the tip of the iceberg of Deion Sanders.

Saturday’s 45-42 upset of TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, has sent the already incredible Coach Prime phenomenon to another level. “Do you believe now?” Sanders asked [[link removed]] a reporter after his debut as the Buffaloes’ head football coach.

The game set an attendance record [[link removed]] for TCU — more than 53,000 fans packed into the school’s stadium, which has an official capacity of 46,000. And that just might become a trend this fall.

Ticket prices for Colorado’s home opener against Nebraska this coming Saturday were already soaring. Now, the cheapest ticket [[link removed]] on StubHub to the sold-out game is more than $400. Just last week, that was the average resale ticket price [[link removed]] for Colorado-Nebraska.

Fox, on hand to broadcast Sanders’ debut, will also show Colorado-Nebraska in its coveted “Big Noon Saturday” time slot this weekend.

Colorado Capitalizing

Two of Colorado’s biggest stars — quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way phenom Travis Hunter — have seen their odds to win this year’s Heisman trophy skyrocket [[link removed]], undoubtedly increasing their lucrative NIL potential as their national spotlight rises.

Sanders, the son of Coach Prime, currently has NIL deals [[link removed]] with big-name brands like Gatorade, Mercedes-Benz, Under Armour, and Beats by Dre. Hunter was the first athlete to sign [[link removed]] an NIL deal with the Michael Strahan Brand.

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Mountain West Appears To Be Likely Landing Spot For Oregon State, Washington State [[link removed]]

Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

As the dust finally begins to settle on conference realignment with the 2023 college football season officially underway, options for the Pac-12’s lone pair of remaining schools are dwindling.

After the ACC added [[link removed]] Stanford and California last week, Oregon State and Washington State are faced with an even more challenging task as they search for a conference home in 2024 and beyond. The most feasible scenario now seems to be joining forces with the Mountain West — expanding the conference to 14 football members.

On Saturday, Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez confirmed the conference’s interest in adding the two universities. “We’ve visited both schools, and we’ve started the conversation,” she said [[link removed]].

The American Athletic Conference said it would no longer consider adding West Coast schools, and the Big 12 has previously said it is done [[link removed]] expanding.

One possible option is partnering with the Mountain West and keeping the Pac-12 name, but it is still being determined if that is still viable with just two Pac-12 schools left.

AAC Targets Army

AAC is reportedly targeting [[link removed]] Army to replace Southern Methodist University, which decided to join the ACC.

Army is an independent school, and joining the AAC would put it in the same conference as its rival Navy. Army would like to keep its game against Navy at the same spot on the calendar — after conference championship games — meaning the matchup could remain a non-conference game.

Josh Harris’ Commanders Makeover Has Only Just Begun [[link removed]]

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The closer he gets to the start of the 2023 NFL regular season, the more new Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris is doing things his embattled predecessor, Dan Snyder, couldn’t or wouldn’t.

Capping off what has already been a reinvigorating preseason, the team said [[link removed]] it has sold out its season opener Sept. 10 at FedEx Field against Arizona. Normally, an NFL sellout would hardly be news — the league overall sells about 97% of its available tickets, and some teams have years-long waiting lists for tickets.

But since the Commanders ranked last in NFL attendance in 2022 and next-to-last in 2021 — and have had their home stadium routinely taken over by visiting fans — this is still a significant step.

More Signs Of Change

FedEx Field, one of the NFL’s most poorly regarded stadiums under Snyder, will also get a $40 million upgrade to address a long history of neglect.

Those moves are just the latest in what has been a rapid commercial rebirth [[link removed]] for the Commanders under Harris. Just since July, the team has seen resurgent momentum [[link removed]] in its long, frustrating pursuit of a new stadium, as well as heightened sponsorship sales [[link removed]] and standing-room-only crowds [[link removed]] for practices.

There has been one possible headache for Harris, however: the team’s name.

Harris said [[link removed]] upon closing the acquisition that any consideration of changing the Commanders name isn’t an immediate priority — not a surprise given the franchise’s more pressing needs. Still, speculation of another rebranding persists.

Former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann said [[link removed]] last week that he thinks a name change is forthcoming in order to further distance the franchise from the Snyder era. That change, should it happen, will definitely not be a return to the Commanders’ controversial former name, team president Jason Wright said [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters The stars came out to see one of the biggest stars in soccer. Lionel Messi made his first appearance in Los Angeles. Check out the list [[link removed]] of celebrity onlookers. It is an early college football season tradition like no other: smaller programs traveling to play much bigger programs for a large payday. Northern Illinois agreed to a $1.1M payout to play Boston College. The Huskies left with an upset victory [[link removed]] at Chestnut Hill. Colorado athletic director Rick George needed more money to pay his new head coach, Deion Sanders. He found the money and got a small return [[link removed]] on his investment on Saturday.

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Editor's Picks Expanded CFP Could Set the Stage for Next Media Rights Battle [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]ESPN and Fox are both interested in early-round CFP rights. Private Equity Eyes College Sports As Next Big Potential Opportunity [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]Largely untapped area now the subject of rising investor interest Lionel Messi Is Driving Season Ticket Sales for Other MLS Teams [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]Messi Mania is getting fans to invest in their local MLS clubs. Question Of The Day

Do you listen to Country Music?

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Friday’s Answer

36% of respondents prefer shopping online, 37% prefer in-person, and 27% have no preference.

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