Keyshawn Johnson has been working in sports media longer than he played in the NFL and college combined. This past fall, the former No. 1 overall pick and Super Bowl-winning wide receiver joined Fox Sports after reaching a settlement with ESPN, where he had worked since retiring in 2007. Now, having spent several months as a regular adversary for Skip Bayless on FS1’s Undisputed, Johnson is getting his own conversation-based digital show-podcast combo, Undisputed Presents: All Facts No Brakes With Keyshawn Johnson. “I have fun, but also I’m an honest person and tell the truth,” says Johnson. “I’m not into trying to create headlines and gotcha moments and all that.” We caught up with Johnson to talk about his new venture, the state of sports media, and the differences between Fox and ESPN.

How can you differentiate your new show with so many others out there?

I’m unique and different than everybody else. I’ve been that way ever since I came into sports and entertainment. When I retired, I went straight to Sunday and Monday Night Countdown … over at ESPN. My personality is different. What comes out of my mouth is probably going to be the truth and probably very matter-of-fact and direct.

What do you make of recent controversies involving sports media personalities and their guests?

As a player, I understand how people will take things and try to make it bigger than what it is and create firestorms to get clicks. … I’m not trying to get somebody on [my show] to say something wild and crazy and put themselves in hot water, nor do I subscribe to that type of behavior [when I’m interviewed]. … You’re not going to get famous off of me. If you try to get famous off of me, you’re wasting your time.

Do you consider yourself a journalist?

I don’t consider myself a journalist. I just consider myself an entertainer who played a sport, who knows sports, who is authentic. I didn’t go to school for journalism. They have their way of doing things, and I kind of have my way of doing things.

What are the biggest differences between working at Fox Sports and ESPN?

Fox, I think, is a little more intimate, in terms of: I can see all the executives at the FS1 level in, like, 20 minutes. ESPN is such a big company that you don’t see everybody every single day. They’re busy. They got a million different things that they’re doing. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You can skin a cat many different ways.

First came the big-time media money for the NWSL. Now, here come the record-setting player contracts. Not long after the league signed $240 million worth of rights contracts with four networks—the most lucrative set of media deals in women’s sports history—NWSL players are now seeing unprecedented deals of their own.

The Chicago Red Stars on Tuesday signed striker and U.S. national team star Mallory Swanson to a reported $2 million contract spanning four guaranteed years and a fifth-year option, setting a new league record. The pact, a major move for new Red Stars owner Laura Ricketts, arrives less than a month after the Houston Dash inked a $1.5 million contract with forward María Sánchez, covering three years and an option for 2027. The Red Stars did not confirm the total in the Swanson contract, but they did say the deal was the “most lucrative agreement in the history of the NWSL.” (Swanson’s husband is Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson.  That MLB team is led by Laura Ricketts’s brother Tom.)

The NWSL salary cap this season is doubling to $2.75 million, and commissioner Jessica Berman has said that funneling increased revenue to players is a key priority. The current free agency cycle is the league’s second after reaching a labor deal with the NWSL Players Association in early 2022. 

“We are really seeing the investment flow, not just into the infrastructure of the league and facilities and staffing, but also to the players, and we’re really proud of that,” Berman said prior to last week’s NWSL Draft.

The league’s upward momentum in player salaries exceeds what is happening in the WNBA, which saw its salary cap rise 3% to $1.42 million in 2023. 

Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing power as a sports market is now even more evident, as the country has formed a relationship with one of tennis’s all-time greats and could get an improved UFC event later this year.

Rafael Nadal, a 22-time major tournament winner, has signed on as an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation. Nadal will promote tennis in the country and plans to build an academy there. The move arrives as Saudi Arabia continues to face widespread scrutiny for its widely rebuked human rights record and accusations of sportswashing.

“Everywhere you look in Saudi Arabia, you can see growth and progress, and I’m excited to be part of that,” Nadal said. “I want to help the sport grow far and wide across the world, and in Saudi [sic] there is real potential.”

Through 2027, Saudi Arabia will host the ATP’s Next Gen Finals for under-21 players, an advancement beyond prior exhibitions held in the Gulf state. The WTA also is rumored to be considering moving its season-ending Finals to the country, but such a deal could raise further issues given the limitations on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.

“It’s hard. Everything that’s going on in the sport is not black-and-white,” said women’s World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

Prior to the start of the Australian Open, Nadal withdrew with a hip injury, a setback after missing nearly a year of competition due to related maladies. 

UFC Shift

Staying in the region: UFC is reportedly shifting a previously announced March 2 event in Riyadh, its first-ever card in Saudi Arabia, perhaps to June. Neither UFC nor Saudi officials have commented, and the date move is unconfirmed. But MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reported the change is due in part to Saudi demands, writing: “I was told the reason for the postponement is that the powers that be in Saudi Arabia want … a more entertaining fight card, a deeper fight card with bigger names on it.”