December 5, 2023

Read in Browser [[link removed]]

POWERED BY

Of the 14 host venues announced for the 2024 Copa America, 11 are NFL stadiums. next summer will offer the first taste of a long run of international soccer competitions played in the U.S. — and mostly at American football stadia — to be followed by the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 men’s World Cup.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Are Tiger Woods and Nike Splitting Up? The Move Would Change Golf [[link removed]]

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Tiger Woods is not only the face of Nike’s golf business, but he has been synonymous with the brand through every major moment of his career, from his triumphs at Augusta to his unprecedented dominance at St. Andrews and beyond.

That could all be changing soon.

While specific contract details have never been made public, Nike is believed [[link removed]] to have paid Woods hundreds of millions of dollars since signing the superstar in 1996, when he was just 20 years old. But now, as the 47-year-old Woods approaches the twilight of his playing career, a surprising report is suggesting that he could split with Nike as early as this month.

On Monday, the “No Laying Up” golf podcast – which in the past has provided early insight into major shake-ups in pro golf, such as defections from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf – reported that next week’s PNC Championship could be Woods’s last tournament wearing the Swoosh.

NLU also reported similar rumblings about other Nike golf athletes — a roster that includes Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, and Scottie Scheffler — based on the idea that an existing golf equipment manufacturer is potentially creating an apparel brand. Since Nike stopped manufacturing clubs in 2016, Wood has used clubs from TaylorMade, which sells some golf apparel but doesn’t have as vast a collection as Nike.

Since returning from ankle surgery in 2022, Woods has notably played golf tournaments wearing FootJoy shoes.

Rare Territory

Woods leaving Nike would be a major brand shift – but we’re not in uncharted territory. A few massive movements of the past:

Messi leaving [[link removed]] Nike for Adidas in 2005 Kobe Bryant switching [[link removed]] from Adidas to have his own like with Nike Simone Biles moving [[link removed]] from Nike to new-age brand Athleta

Woods will likely be made available to the media during next week’s PNC Championship, a father/son event on the PGA Tour, where he is almost certain to be asked about his future with Nike, given the report.

PODCAST

🎙️ Front Office Sports Today

In today’s episode, we look at the Premier League’s record-setting media rights deals, more fallout from Florida State missing the cut for the College Football Playoff, the Arizona Coyotes’ quest for a new arena, ESPN’s embrace of split-screen football viewing, and more.

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

Inter Miami Scores Record Revenue with Messi. How Much Bigger Can It Get? [[link removed]]

Alan Poizner-USA TODAY Sports

Inter Miami won’t be competing for this weekend’s MLS Cup, but the team very well might end up the league’s top-earning club this season, despite not making the playoffs.

Thanks to the arrival of Lionel Messi in July, Miami’s 2023 total revenue will land upwards of $120 million, the club’s chief business officer, Xavier Asensi, told [[link removed]] Sports Business Journal. In 2022, MLS champions LAFC — which faces the Columbus Crew in Saturday’s final — reportedly [[link removed]] brought in a league-high $116 million.

Inter Miami’s number falls in line with early projections [[link removed]] this summer from club managing owner Jorge Mas, who expected revenue to double over the next year from last season’s $50 million. Asensi reiterated the club’s expectation [[link removed]] to hit the $200 million revenue mark in 2024. Season tickets for next year have, unsurprisingly, already sold out [[link removed]].

The club’s financial success continues despite a failed [[link removed]] attempt to travel to China for a two-game tour this fall during a portion of the MLS Cup playoffs. The tour could have brought in more than $20 million in ticket revenue [[link removed]] alone.

Even with record goals for 2024, Inter Miami’s revenue could soar still higher in 2025, when a new $350 million soccer-specific stadium is scheduled to open. The club is racing [[link removed]] to finish that venue, and the $1 billion development around it, in time for the 2025 season — the last under Messi’s current contract.

SPONSORED BY TICKETMASTER

Gifts for Every Fan in Your Life

Gift the unforgettable this holiday season with Ticketmaster’s 2023 Holiday Gift Guide.

Through December 31, Ticketmaster is offering a variety of holiday events and gifts for everyone on your list.

Whether you’re looking for tickets to a can’t miss-game or concert, the hottest shows on Broadway or fun events for the whole family, they’ve got it all.

Explore [[link removed]] their Gift Guide and find the perfect present for every sports, music and entertainment fan in your life.

Get your tickets today [[link removed]]!

Olympic Hosts Paris and Brisbane Grapple With Security Concerns, Soaring Costs [[link removed]]

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Two of the next three cities hosting the Summer Olympics are grappling with more and more issues, showing the strains the massive event can place on municipal resources.

Already dealing [[link removed]] with an extended series of organizational and local issues that have hampered Olympics preparations, the Paris 2024 organizing committee was rocked on Saturday by the stabbing death [[link removed]] of a German-Filipino tourist near the Eiffel Tower, by an assailant French authorities described as an Islamist radical.

The city’s opening ceremony next summer is built around [[link removed]] a water parade along the River Seine involving several hundred thousand spectators, a plan unprecedented in scope in Olympics history – and one requiring an ambitious security protocol.

In the wake of the alleged terrorist attack, French authorities said there has been no thought of changing those festivities before next year’s Games.

“We have no Plan B. We have a plan in which there are several sub-plans with a certain number of adjustment variables,” said [[link removed]] Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, French sports minister, on France Inter radio.

Other concerns surrounding Paris 2024 have included local rioting [[link removed]], budget worries [[link removed]], bed-bug infestations [[link removed]], serious corruption allegations [[link removed]], and controversy over alcohol restrictions [[link removed]] — plus issues [[link removed]] surrounding high ticket prices, ambitious event logistics, and the city’s planned treatment of its homeless during the Games.

Australian Angst

Meanwhile, soaring facility costs are fueling rising dissension within the leadership of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

Days after a $1.8 billion plan [[link removed]] emerged to replace the 128-year-old Brisbane Cricket Ground – at public expense — with one of the most expensive sports facility projects in the world, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner resigned [[link removed]] from an intergovernmental committee charged with organizing the Games. Schrinner argued that the committee had lost control of the financial management of the event, and that planning had devolved into a “pointless talkfest.”

“We don’t need overpriced stadiums, we need better transport,” Schrinner said. “This week, it became very apparent that the Intergovernmental Leaders’ Forum is a dysfunctional farce.”

Diamond Baseball Holdings Flexes Further With WooSox Deal [[link removed]]

Alan Arsenault / USA TODAY NETWORK

One of the most underexposed but influential sports ownership entities is accelerating its already extensive efforts in Minor League Baseball.

Diamond Baseball Holdings, which owns 26 teams spanning all levels of MiLB, is nearing a deal to acquire the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, the top affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The pact, estimated at about $70 million, would help reset the market for MiLB team sales, which typically go for low-to-mid eight figures.

The Worcester deal also represents one of the most prominent acquisitions in Diamond’s history. The WooSox are one of the top-drawing teams in Triple-A baseball and play in Polar Park, which opened in 2021 and is widely seen as one of MiLB’s best stadiums.

“It’s time to sell this team and to move on,” [[link removed]]WooSox chairman and co-owner Larry Lucchino recently said [[link removed]] on the “UnAnchored Boston” podcast.

Times Of Transition

The soon-to-be 27 teams in Diamond’s portfolio represent nearly a quarter of MiLB’s 120. But the company reportedly has ambitions [[link removed]] to own perhaps 50 teams and has acquired four others in just the last two months.

Diamond began operations in 2021, soon after MLB completed a historic overhaul of the affiliated minor leagues. It was originally owned by Endeavor — an arrangement that soon ran into issues, as the MLB Players Association claimed it presented a conflict of interest because Endeavor also owns talent agencies IMG and WME.

Private equity giant Silver Lake, also the lead backer [[link removed]] of Endeavor, ultimately purchased [[link removed]] Diamond.

Conversation Starters The Houston Rockets have a luxury suite dedicated to basketball sneaker culture. Take a tour [[link removed]]. Alabama quarterback Tyler Buchner has entered [[link removed]] the transfer portal… for men’s lacrosse. The former Notre Dame QB originally committed to play lacrosse at Michigan, in eighth grade, before focusing exclusively on football. In Nike’s new ad, Deion Sanders appears to reference [[link removed]] his much-hyped but ultimately disappointing first season as Colorado’s football coach, saying: “Dreams don’t happen overnight.” 📬 We Asked, You Answered

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Newsletter co-author Eric Fisher asked FOS readers whether they thought the College Football Playoff committee got it right by picking a 12-1 Alabama team or wrong by leaving out Florida State. Here are some of your responses:

“Yes, the Committee got it right. Injuries and player availability are factors for the Committee’s consideration. FSU played the 55th-strongest schedule, Bama the fifth. Alabama has the best win of the season, defeating No. 1 Georgia. And [to] those who point to Bama’s miracle win over arch-rival Auburn: FSU had a miracle win over Clemson when [head coach] Dabo [Swinney] trotted out a new kicker just on campus that week who blew a gimme field goal that would have won the game. And not for nothing, but the ACC voted against starting the 12-team playoff this year, a cut-off-nose-to-spite-face move.” — Bart S. “It is ridiculous that Florida State was passed over. Alabama should have lost the prior week against Auburn, so in most people’s opinion, they are not better this year. Why is it the SEC gets every possible break with these opportunities? It would be great to see four new teams that deserved it get a chance. I’ve had enough of that character Paul Finebaum just preaching the SEC.” — Barry M. “An undefeated team should ALWAYS make a playoff appearance, unless [in] the rare case of all other teams in their conference being undefeated. I don’t keep up with CFB often, but any student-athlete that is part of an undefeated organization deserves a chance to extend that streak and go for a title shot.” — Stefan J. “Here’s the reality: A one-loss SEC team is better than an undefeated ACC team. No other conference has dominated college football like the SEC has — in fact, SEC football is the most dominant force in sports history. However, it’s a miscarriage of justice having a playoff with only four teams.” — Todd F. Editor's Picks Amazon Bounces Back With Record Viewership [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]The Dallas Cowboys’ win over the Seattle Seahawks averaged 15.26 million viewers. Babe Ruth Rookie Card Sets Player Record at $7.2M [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]It’s the most expensive piece of Babe Ruth memorabilia ever sold. ManningCast Mayhem: Peyton and Eli to Juggle Simultaneous MNF Games in One Epic Show [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Peyton and Eli Manning will call two “Monday Night Football” games at the same time on Dec. 11 as ManningCast expands across ESPN. James Madison, the FCS Team That Spent Like an FBS Team To Become One [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The Dukes have been spending like a Sun Belt program for years. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]

Copyright © 2023 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

80 Pine Street Suite 3202 New York, NY 10005