January 18, 2024

Read in Browser [[link removed]]

POWERED BY

An NFL owner’s health scare revives talk of team succession plans. … Manchester United’s on-field performance is costing the club revenue. … The job description for college athletic directors keeps evolving. … The NFL’s delayed wild-card game produced huge numbers. … And Kylian Mbappe worries that load management might hit soccer.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Jim Irsay Incident Brings Up NFL Ownership Succession Questions [[link removed]]

The Indianapolis Star

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was found unresponsive in his home in December, police records [[link removed]] obtained by FOS on Wednesday show. The report classifies the 64-year-old Irsay’s incident as an “overdose,” notes that “alcohol/drugs” were used, and says he was administered Narcan. The Colts released a statement Wednesday regarding the owner’s health, which didn’t mention his past substance abuse issues.

“Mr. Irsay continues to recover from his respiratory illness. We will have no further comment on his personal health, and we continue to ask that Jim and his family’s privacy be respected,” the statement read.

The health scare, first reported by TMZ [[link removed]], brings up a bigger issue of ownership succession for the Colts and the NFL at large, a decades-long problem that can leave families fighting for control of massive properties, and that commissioner Roger Goodell has worked to rectify in recent years. The NFL formalized a loosely-enforced process to submit ownership succession plans to the league annually. Still, family feuds and aging owners have continued to jeopardize the “orderly transition” for Goodell’s franchises, a phrase he used in 2020 to describe late Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen’s [[link removed]] wishes in light of public disputes over his succession.

The latest example of succession drama: As the Houston Texans worked to keep their playoff hopes alive last week, owner Janice McNair’s son Robert Cary McNair Jr. [[link removed]] applied for permanent guardianship of his 87-year-old mother and her estate—a move opposed by both Janice McNair and her other son, Cal McNair, the Texans’ chair and CEO.

As for Irsay’s plans for the Colts: Before inheriting the team from his father, in 1997, he told The Indianapolis Star, “We’re keeping 100% of the team that I’m passing on to my children.” One of his three daughters, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, led the Colts’ business operations when her father entered a rehab facility in 2014.

Succession in Seattle

While many had anticipated a forthcoming sale of the Seattle Seahawks, especially given the lifting in May of a related fee that would be owed to the state of Washington in the event of a sale, the departure of coach Pete Carroll last week left many guessing that it’s unlikely an ownership change will come anytime soon. The logic: Ownership likely would have held onto Carroll if a transaction was imminent, sparing a new hire the drama and instability.

Jody Allen has led the Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers through her late brother Paul Allen’s estate since 2018, and she has operated under his will’s instructions to sell both teams and distribute the proceeds to charity. NBA bylaws dictate that estate-held teams must be sold in a “reasonable” time period, but commissioner Adam Silver [[link removed]] isn’t pushing Allen.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the details of a police report on the matter.

PODCAST

🎙️ They Said What?

“[The 2026 World Cup] will be the biggest sporting event in the history of the world. … MLS is working with one eye on 2024 and another on what we need to do to take advantage of this transformational moment.”

—Chris Schlosser, SVP of emerging ventures at MLS, on how the 2026 World Cup will impact American soccer. To hear more about the innovations coming to soccer in the U.S., check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

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

Premier League Clubs’ Bottom Lines Hurt By Penalties, Performance [[link removed]]

Manchester United

Manchester United’s failure to advance out of UEFA Champions League group play this season has forced the club to lower its 2024 fiscal revenue forecast by nearly $20 million.

After originally expecting to bring in between $824 million and $862 million, Manchester United is now projecting [[link removed].] $805 million to $843 million, with the additional prize funds that clubs receive for advancing to latter rounds of the Champions League no longer attainable. Reaching the knockout stage would have guaranteed at least another $10 million.

Currently sitting at seventh place in the Premier League, United will need a strong finish to crack the EPL’s top four to earn automatic UCL qualification for 2024-25. Any potential run will coincide with the finalization of incoming minority owner Jim Ratcliffe’s deal to invest in the club. The British billionaire’s $1.3 billion offer [[link removed]] was formally submitted [[link removed]] after this week’s earnings report and could be approved by the EPL in February. New SEC filings reveal [[link removed]] that Ratcliffe’s exact share percentage of the club will be 27.69%, giving him 28.71% of voting rights.

Catastrophic Penalty?

The Premier League announced that Everton and Nottingham Forest are facing sanctions for violating profitability and sustainability rules. On the table is a potential deduction of 10 points in the EPL table, which could result in both clubs being relegated—and ultimately missing out on more than $100 million in revenue next season. Everton already suffered [[link removed]] a separate 10-point penalty earlier this season.

SPONSORED BY NFLPA

The Players Make the Call: NFLPA All-Pro

The players have spoken and the results [[link removed]*&utm_campaign=Players*All*Pro*Announcement*&utm_id=1*2F18*FOS*Players*All*Pro*Team__;KysrKyslKysrKys!!ONfqSE10Kw!8iz6RwFfpQ3z3WjtvLzsKiEkxGZxli5awCXTObZzb-2c6FYFfTu4-4wZgYwjg1U8gknvCokvARucm4BNjeTpyg$] are in!

The annual NFLPA All-Pro Team [[link removed]*&utm_campaign=Players*All*Pro*Announcement*&utm_id=1*2F18*FOS*Players*All*Pro*Team__;KysrKyslKysrKys!!ONfqSE10Kw!8iz6RwFfpQ3z3WjtvLzsKiEkxGZxli5awCXTObZzb-2c6FYFfTu4-4wZgYwjg1U8gknvCokvARucm4BNjeTpyg$] presented by OneTeam Partners is the only list where players themselves determine which of their peers performed best during the 2023-24 season.

How does it work? Active players vote for the position groups they play in and line up against on the field–with the one catch being that players cannot vote for themselves or their teammates. Check out [[link removed]*&utm_campaign=Players*All*Pro*Announcement*&utm_id=1*2F18*FOS*Players*All*Pro*Team__;KysrKyslKysrKys!!ONfqSE10Kw!8iz6RwFfpQ3z3WjtvLzsKiEkxGZxli5awCXTObZzb-2c6FYFfTu4-4wZgYwjg1U8gknvCokvARucm4BNjeTpyg$] who earned first-team honors this season, and see the Top 5 at each position.

Turnover in Prime College AD Roles Signals Changing Nature of the Job [[link removed]]

The Columbus Dispatch

Two of college sports’ most prominent athletics director jobs are turning over at a time of unprecedented change.

Notre Dame disclosed that their long-planned transition [[link removed]] from Jack Swarbrick to Pete Bevacqua will become complete when Bevacqua fully takes the department reins on March 25, according to multiple reports. Separately, Ohio State has named [[link removed]] former Texas A&M athletics director Ross Bjork to the same role, succeeding the retiring Gene Smith.

The Buckeyes and Fighting Irish are two of the foremost brand names in college sports and enjoy some of the largest and most fervent fan followings of any schools. But amid that strength, Bevacqua and Bjork are stepping into their roles in a time of sharply heightened pressure and transformation in college sports.

Just since the Bevacqua transition plan was announced last June, the Big Ten and Big 12 have both expanded significantly; the Pac-12 is ceasing to exist; and name, image, and likeness rules continue to roil the industry. Notre Dame, meanwhile, is wanting to maintain its traditional football independence [[link removed]]. All that has combined to make the current athletics director role somewhat more akin to a CEO than a traditional sports administrator.

“The college athletics landscape is changing each day, and Ohio State was firmly committed to finding an athletics director who would lead us with confidence and innovative thinking into the future,” said Hiroyuki Fujita, chair of the university’s board of trustees.

To that end, Bevacqua arrives at the job with an extensive media background, an increasingly sought-after attribute [[link removed]] among colleges for their sports leadership roles, while Bjork has been actively involved [[link removed]] in the development and implementation of NIL provisions in Texas.

#️⃣ ONE BIG FIG

Holiday Mode 📺

31.05 million

Average audience, in viewers, for CBS’s Buffalo Bills-Pittsburgh Steelers wild-card game on Monday. The total made it the most-watched AFC wild-card game on any network in four years—after extreme weather forced a late shift [[link removed]] from Sunday to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, with a new slot at 4:30 p.m ET. So: ​​​​Has the NFL stumbled into yet another new TV window? The league’s advancing international ambitions have already started discussion [[link removed]] of the creation of a fourth Sunday regular season broadcast slot, and the league is now taking over [[link removed]] Christmas. We will see how the NFL views this latest potential opportunity when it releases next year’s playoff schedule.

Yellow Card: Soccer Stars Warn of Load Management Concerns [[link removed]]

Witters Sport-USA TODAY Sports

The concept of load management is becoming a more prevalent issue in soccer, expanding beyond its notable presence in basketball.

French superstar Kylian Mbappé revealed in a new interview with British GQ [[link removed]] that the bloating schedule of European soccer could result in conflict between athlete needs and fan desires. “We’re getting closer to the NBA model, with seasons of 70 games,” Mbappé said. “Personally, I’m not against playing that many matches, but we won’t be able to be good every time and give the public the spectacle they expect. In the NBA, players don’t play every game and franchises practice load management. But if I said, ‘I’m tired. I’m not playing on Saturday,’ it wouldn’t go down well.”

Mbappé’s comments arrive as European soccer indeed is mushrooming with additional cup competitions and friendlies and national team commitments supplementing core pro league seasons. The Paris Saint-Germain star and French team captain played 63 times in the 2022-23 season, up from 56 the year before. The number of games is set to expand further with the pending revival [[link removed]] of the European Super League, and competition formats are expanding for both the Champions League and the World Cup.

Back in the U.S., Inter Miami drew scrutiny [[link removed]] after late-season injuries to star Lionel Messi amid a packed schedule, while MLS Cup finalist LAFC played [[link removed]] a league-record 53 matches in 2023.

Mbappé cited the NBA in his concerns, but that league has already addressed this issue. Players must play in a minimum of 65 games to be eligible for NBA awards such as MVP, All-NBA Team, or Defensive Player of the Year. Star players must also be made available for national TV and In-Season Tournament games, and teams face a series of escalating fines [[link removed]] for violations. Additionally, the NBA has found [[link removed]] in an internal study that there’s no link between player rest and injury prevention.

📆 TIME CAPSULE Jan. 18, 1996: Interleague Innovation

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

On this date 28 years ago: MLB owners unanimously approve the introduction of interleague play starting with the 1997 season. Easily one of the most radical changes championed by then-commissioner Bud Selig, the shift breaks a 126-year tradition of MLB teams playing games only within their league during the regular season. Interleague play begins modestly, with individual teams playing at most 16 games against opponents from the other league, those contests confined to specific parts of the schedule. But it’s steadily expanded over the years as it proves to be a boon for attendance, ultimately becoming an everyday occurrence.

The strong fan reception helps set the foundation for MLB’s 2023 implementation of a balanced schedule in which each team plays every other team, as well as the National League’s adoption of the full-time designated hitter the year prior. As MLB continues to nationalize the marketing of its teams and top players, interleague play remains a critical component.

Conversation Starters New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum has officially launched [[link removed]] the McCollum Scholars Program, which will provide $80,000 scholarships to 10 New Orleans high school students. Saudi Arabia plans to build [[link removed]] a 45,000-seat stadium on a mountain, the centerpiece of a planned futuristic sports city which could host World Cup matches. The Chicago Red Stars signed [[link removed]] Mallory Swanson to a five-year deal worth $2.5 million, making it the most lucrative contract in NWSL history. Join Front Office Sports on Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. ET for a game-changing conversation as we discuss the groundbreaking innovations that AI is bringing to the world of sports and its long term impact on and off the field. Register now [[link removed]]! SURVEY

Want a chance to win $250? We want to get to know our audience better and improve our coverage. Fill out our new survey [[link removed]] for a chance to win a $250 Visa gift card or free FOS merch!

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[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 © 2024 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

80 Pine Street Suite 3202 New York, NY 10005