Fifty years ago, Billie Jean King risked her career to advance her sport. 

“In ‘72 at the media conference [following her third U.S. Open title], I said we’re not coming back unless we get equal prize money,” King recounted on the Front Office Sports Today podcast. “I hadn’t planned it. I just did it.”

That decision — with support from other female players, men like former Open director Bill Talbert, and a corporate sponsor in pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers — led the U.S. Open to grant equal prize money to men and women in 1973. The other tennis Grand Slams would eventually follow, albeit several decades later.

On Tuesday, the Billie Jean King Cup Finals start in Spain with a record total purse of $9.6 million, which is on par with the competition earnings at its men’s equivalent, the Davis Cup. Champions at the 12-team BJK Cup Finals will pocket $2.4 million.

The development comes at a time when we’re increasingly seeing the potential of King’s dreams from the 1970s being realized, across more sports than tennis.

U.S. Soccer announced new collective bargaining agreements in 2022 with identical pay structures for men and women players. In August, more than 92,000 fans attended a Nebraska volleyball match at the university’s Memorial Stadium, setting a world record in the process.

The ANNIKA, hosted by Annika Sörenstam — the winningest and highest-earning golfer in LPGA history — recently became the first LPGA event named after a former player and revealed a $3.25 million purse. It’s the league’s largest prize money total outside of the majors.

“There’s a lot on stake this year because it’s the final event before the Tour Championships,” Sörenstam told Front Office Sports. “There’s a lot up for grabs: money list, Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, you name it.”

Fifty years after her landmark U.S. Open moment, King continues to fight for opportunities in women’s sports, particularly through personal investments. She’s launching the Professional Women’s Hockey League this January with Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter, and has stakes in the NWSL’s Angel City FC as well as League One Volleyball.

“The money’s where the media rights are,” said King, referencing the NCAA’s extension of March Madness branding to women’s college basketball and subsequent growth in viewership, an evolution she’s found inspiring. “This is just the beginning.”

There will be at least a momentary pause in the rights chaos surrounding Diamond Sports Group. 

The bankrupt company said Monday that it intends to retain its remaining NBA and NHL team rights through the 2023-24 season as it continues its reorganization.

After the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, and Arizona Coyotes pursued their own local broadcast strategies and numerous other teams developed contingency plans amid DSG’s ongoing issues, the company told a U.S. bankruptcy court in Texas on Monday that it intends to keep its remaining 15 NBA teams and 11 NHL teams through the current season. 

The stance is part of a newly filed cooperation agreement DSG has filed with the court, one intended to be an important interim step in completing a Chapter 11 reorganization. The agreement follows court-ordered mediation and involves several of DSG’s key lenders.

But there is a big condition: All the NBA team local rights in question will revert back to the league and those teams following the 2023-24 season. This subsequently opens up the possibility for an unprecedented co-selling of national and local rights in that league’s next set of domestic media rights. A similar deal is in development with the NHL.

The agreement remains subject to court approval.

An additional and notable condition in the agreement involves DSG selling its minority equity stakes in the New York Yankees’ YES Network and Chicago Cubs’ Marquee Network, with proceeds going to unsecured creditors.

Baseball Clues

The latest filing also provides new clues regarding DSG’s plans for the 2024 MLB season. After league commissioner Rob Manfred recently renewed his call for clarity on the matter, DSG said it has “determined which MLB team agreements the debtors may retain, subject to further discussions with the applicable teams, and recently have identified these teams to MLB.”

Those teams have not yet been publicly disclosed, but during a Monday status conference in the bankruptcy proceedings, DSG said it intends to keep 10 of the 12 teams in question and is working on solidifying plans with the other two. 

After taking over the production and distribution of the San Diego Padres’ and Arizona Diamondbacks’ broadcasts in 2023, Manfred said the league could assume a similar role for as many as 16 teams next year. But if this DSG plan comes to fruition, nothing close to that will be required. 

NASCAR has never held a points-paying Cup Series race outside the United States — but that might be changing soon.

Ryan Blaney won the 2023 Cup Series championship on Sunday — his first title and Team Penske’s second consecutive — taking NASCAR into its three-month offseason with plenty to sort out away from the track.

The 2024 schedule is already set, but sentiment is growing that NASCAR’s top circuit will race internationally in 2025. Over the weekend at Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell confirmed there was interest in adding a race in Montreal in 2024, reiterating the desire to capitalize on the Canadian market.

And as Formula 1, which is racing in 20 countries this season, continues its expansion in the United States, NASCAR will even look to take its top product to a new continent. “Absolutely,” O’Donnell said during a conversation with Front Office Sports when asked about the idea. “We’re exploring a number of different options.”

NASCAR has international series in Canada, Mexico, and Europe, and held full-points races in its second-tier Xfinity Series in Canada and Mexico, but believes any of its events could thrive internationally. “We want to bring that experience outside of North America as well,” O’Donnell said.

Media Deals Nearly Done

By the time NASCAR gets back on the track in February, it could very well have completed its next set of media rights deals. The CW has acquired rights to the Xfinity Series, but the Cup and truck series remain up for grabs.

Contracts with Fox Sports and NBC Sports expire after the 2024 season, but both partners are widely expected to renew in some capacity. NASCAR president Steve Phelps confirmed that a streaming partner will likely be involved in the next package of deals, which have generated higher-than-anticipated interest.

The push for greater scale in the athlete representation business is intensifying with Excel Sports Management’s acquisition of REP 1 Football — a move that expands the agency’s presence among NFL players. 

Before the long-rumored deal, Excel had been active in promotion and sponsorships with NFL players such as Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, as well as former stars such as Peyton and Eli Manning and Joe Montana, but hadn’t been negotiating on-field player contracts.

Now, with Rep 1 Football in the fold, it will gain the latter’s entire roster of NFL clients, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp.

“REP 1 Football has a reputation as an agency for achieving unparalleled results for draft selections and negotiating record-breaking contracts, which fills out the work we do in football across our agency and firmly establishes Excel as a major player in the most popular sport in America,” said Jeff Schwartz, Excel president and founder. 

Financial terms were not disclosed. REP 1 Sports co-founder and CEO Ryan Tollner and president of football Chase Callahan will become co-heads of football at Excel. 

Ongoing Trend

The Excel pact extends a general trend among many agencies pursuing greater scale and breadth. 

In September, French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault acquired CAA, which itself purchased ICM Partners, last year in a $7 billion deal with aspirations to enlarge its business. Nearly eight months after overseeing WME’s purchase of basketball powerhouse BDA Sports Management, IMG and WME parent Endeavor could go private amid lagging stock prices.

Wasserman, another heavyweight in the sports agency space, completed its acquisition of U.K.-based CSM Sport & Entertainment, while in June, Octagon bought Prosport International’s rugby division to expand its presence in that sport.