November 20, 2023

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Holiday shopping starts in earnest this week, but the biggest purchases won’t be in the stores or online. MLB’s free-agent season is beginning to heat up with Philadelphia’s re-signing of star pitcher Aaron Nola on a seven-year, $172 million contract. The biggest star in the market remains Shohei Ohtani, who’s still poised to sign what could be the largest-ever player contract in U.S. pro team sports — and many teams are waiting on the two-way phenom’s decision before making their own deals.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Tiger and Rory’s New Golf League Delays Launch Until 2025 [[link removed]]

Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The highly-anticipated launch of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new golf league has been delayed until 2025.

TGL, the virtual competition originally announced [[link removed]] last year, was scheduled to debut on Jan. 9 with primetime matches on ESPN and ESPN 2 throughout the winter and early spring. But last week, the league’s new South Florida venue — SoFi Center — had a power failure that resulted in the collapse [[link removed]] of its air-supported dome.

After assessing the damage, TGL has decided to push back its launch by at least a year — likely to the same January-March time frame in 2025.

The league’s media rights deal [[link removed]] with ESPN — which was set to deliver the new-age golf competition to a different audience than most of the sport’s broadcasts — appears to be a key factor in the decision to delay the launch a full year, rather than by weeks or months. ESPN had carved out primetime broadcasts windows for TGL that likely wouldn’t be as widely available later this year.

The network expressed its full support for the new 2025 launch date.

Body Blow

The unfortunate news for TGL temporarily kills what had been some serious momentum for the new golf league.

Beyond the support of co-founders Woods and McIlroy, TGL had signed up many top PGA Tour pros like Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, and Collin Morikawa. Jon Rahm, the No. 3-ranked golfer in the world, initially committed to TGL’s first season before pulling out. It remains to be seen how the year-long delay will impact TGL’s roster.

A superstar-packed list [[link removed]] of team owners also gave TGL mainstream credibility. Representatives from all six groups have expressed their support for the league’s launch in 2025.

Gonzaga-To-Big 12 Talks Reportedly Heating Up Again [[link removed]]

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been over a year since news broke [[link removed]] that leaders from the Big 12 and Gonzaga met in person to discuss the potential of the Bulldogs joining the conference.

Rumors have persisted during the ensuing months without confirmation either way — but now there could finally be some movement.

The Houston Chronicle reported [[link removed]] that Big 12 school presidents are expected to meet this week to discuss expansion, and could even vote on adding Gonzaga. A source familiar with the situation confirmed to Front Office Sports that there has been some positive momentum around Gonzaga’s potential move to the Big 12, but noted it isn’t a slam dunk.

Previously, FOS reported [[link removed]] that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark had “overwhelming support” from conference presidents in his quest to add Gonzaga and was tasked with exploring it further.

Adding Gonzaga would need 75% approval from conference members. Right now, that means nine out of the 12 schools — aside from Texas and Oklahoma, which are leaving to join the SEC next year. Once the conference expands to 16 teams next summer, a vote would require 12 schools to sign off.

If Gonzaga joins and becomes the 17th member, speculation could ramp up around UConn or another basketball powerhouse as candidates to take the conference to 18 teams.

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Leeds United Sells Stake To Kraken Co-Owner In Push For EPL Return [[link removed]]

Leeds United

Newly relegated Leeds United is pushing hard for a return to the Premier League — and turning to some unexpected American help to do it.

Now competing in the EFL Championship, Leeds has sold a minority stake in the club to Ackerley Partners, a Seattle-based holding company and venture capital firm that also owns a minority stake in the NHL’s Kraken, according [[link removed]] to Bloomberg.

The new capital will be used to boost both the commercial and football operations of the club.

The move extends the growing Americanization of the English club. 49ers Enterprises, the strategic investment arm of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, completed [[link removed]] its long-planned takeover of the club in July. Since then, 49ers Enterprises has been on a push to overhaul club functions, quickly remaking [[link removed]] the club’s board of directors, and is also reportedly considering whether to bring in another new investor.

Ackerley Partners is led in part by brothers Ted and Chris Ackerley. Their father, the late Barry Ackerley, owned the Seattle SuperSonics from 1983-2001 and co-founded the WNBA’s Seattle Storm.

Leeds’ hopes for promotion are thus far holding firm — it sits in third place in the EFL Championship, one point above the cut line, with wins in six of its last seven matches. A promotion back to the Premier League would bring much more sponsorship and broadcast income, with annual media revenue projected to be more than $125 million per club.

The club is also one of three recently relegated clubs preparing to sue [[link removed]] Everton, which faces unprecedented Premier League penalties for violations of profitability and financial sustainability rules.

Conversation Starters The Green Bay Packers became the first NFL team to travel [[link removed]] to a road game by airplane 83 years ago this week. After taking the bus to Chicago, the team boarded two United Airlines Douglas DC-3s to fly to New York to face the Giants. NFL coaches are able to communicate with players through their headsets until 15 seconds are left on the play clock. NBC’s broadcast showed what they can hear after time’s up. Take a listen [[link removed]]. The Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix is officially in the books. Take one last look [[link removed]] at the Vegas Strip circuit — from 20,000 feet up. SPONSORED BY INVESCO QQQ Between unprecedented conference realignments, historic media rights deals, the wild world of NIL, and high-stakes competition, this space couldn’t be more exciting right now, but you need someone to help you make sense of it all. That’s where we come in. Notre Dame and NBC Extend Media Rights Agreement To 2029 [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]] and Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]The Irish will receive about double their current payouts, sources said. [[link removed]] Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Investing $65M in Stadium Renovation [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]It’s the biggest renovation since the venue opened in 1971. Washington State Supreme Court Puts ‘Pac-2’ Control On Hold [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The 'Pac-2' won't be able to control the board just yet. College Football Playoff Moves Closer to Format Change [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]The CFP is poised to move to a five-and-seven format. Careers in Sports

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