While much of the current conversation around NBA expansion has been focused on Las Vegas and Seattle, league commissioner Adam Silver is already thinking several steps beyond that — even outside the U.S.

Appearing this week on NBC Sports Boston’s coverage of a Celtics-Knicks game, Silver said he’s actively thinking about a potential NBA franchise in Mexico, as well as further expansion in Canada.

“One day, I think that would be incredible if we could actually expand to a market like Mexico City,” Silver said.

The commissioner added there’s also “interest” in bringing a team to Montreal, as well as in a potential return to Vancouver, where the Grizzlies played from 1995 to 2001 before relocating to Memphis.

“It began so much as a hockey market when we first expanded there,” Silver said of Canada. “Obviously, they still love their hockey there, but there will be more opportunity over time.”

In any instance, league expansion won’t likely move forward until after the NBA completes its upcoming round of domestic media rights negotiations.

More Globetrotting

The NBA recently returned from its latest game in Mexico City and will play again in Paris in January. Silver said that while playing more international games is likely, he remains highly mindful of the impact of extended travel on players.

“It’s a balance,” Silver said. “But we are very much a global league.”

Manchester City’s record-breaking 2022-23 season keeps delivering, even months after the conclusion of its historic campaign.

In June, Man City became the first English soccer team to win the treble since their crosstown rival Manchester United in 1999. Now, just weeks after Man United set a Premier League record for annual revenue with $773 million, Man City has bested the Red Devils yet again — reporting revenue of $884.3 million for this past season

Profits came in at almost $100 million — nearly double the sum from a year ago — as commercial, broadcast, and matchday earnings all improved year-over-year.

Winning the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League came at a steep cost, though. Man City’s $525 million spent on play salaries is also a Premier League record. Previously, no other club had even topped $500 million.

Man City, which is owned by Abu Dhabi-based City Football Group, currently has a valuation of nearly $5 billion — the fifth-highest in the world among soccer clubs, according to Forbes. The club’s brand value tops all others though at $1.6 billion.

Don’t expect the success on and off the pitch to end anytime soon. Man City is currently first in the Premier League through 12 games of the season and has won all four of its Champions League group-stage matches.

The LPGA’s CME Group Tour Championship tees off on Thursday with a purse of $7 million — a season-high outside of the major championships. 

Next year, that number will be even bigger.

In 2024, the LPGA’s season-ending event will pay out $11 million, including a whopping $4 million check for the winner. The total purse matches that of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open, while the winner’s portion will double this weekend’s prize — and is on par with the $4 million awarded to winners at many of the PGA Tour’s signature events and LIV Golf’s cash-induced tournaments. 

It’s also more than any men’s major offered to its winner in 2023.

The additional funding comes from title sponsor CME Group, which has extended its deal through 2025. 

It’s not the only sponsor stepping up to support women’s golf this year. Ally is reportedly close to a deal with the U.S. Women’s Open, while KPMG and AIG both extended their respective deals with the Women’s PGA Championship and Women’s British Open this year as purses continued to increase across the board.

Not Just Golf

Women’s soccer has also seen an influx of new money this year, highlighted by new $240 million media rights deals for the NWSL that begin next season. Expansion fees for the league are trending north of $50 million.

Internationally, the Women’s FA Cup is doubling its prize money to more than $7 million, and Football Australia is boosting its women’s national team player salaries.

Despite protests and political efforts both in Oakland and Arlington, where MLB owners are meeting this week, the relocation of the A’s to Las Vegas is set to become official on Thursday.

While nearly every pro team relocation is fraught with division and hard feelings, the situation surrounding the A’s takes that dynamic to a new level. 

After nearly two decades of unsuccessful attempts to develop a successor facility to the Oakland Coliseum in the Bay Area, the club is now heading to what will be MLB’s smallest market — despite Las Vegas’ current status as a sports boomtown. 

The $380 million in public funds toward a proposed $1.5 billion ballpark project along the Las Vegas Strip also remains the subject of a potential referendum by an education advocacy group. Questions also remain on where the A’s will play during the 2025-27 seasons, and union leaders have been critical of the planned move.

Approval of the relocation requires support from at least 23 of 30 team owners, a threshold expected to be cleared easily.

Fisher Meets With Protestors

On Tuesday, typically reclusive A’s owner John Fisher made the unusual step of meeting with a trio of protestors who traveled to Oakland to plead their case for the team to stay in Oakland. 

Fisher was said to have been polite with the fans, but made it clear that the nearly two decades of unsuccessful stadium development efforts in California had to come to an end.

“It’s been a lot worse for me than you,” Fisher told the fans.