February 28, 2024

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A legendary NFL media personality sits down with Front Office Sports to talk about the state of the league as he calls it a career. … The UFC-WWE merger is already showing its value with a strong earnings reports. … Steph Curry is trying to mimic Michael Jordan’s brand-building skills. … And we look back on the birth of March Madness.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Peter King Opens Up at the End of His Iconic Career [[link removed]]

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

NFL journalist Peter King announced his retirement earlier this week, bringing to a close an iconic career lasting more than four decades. In addition to becoming a preeminent voice in the NFL, particularly over the last two decades as the league grew into a cultural and business colossus, King has been deeply influential in reshaping how fans and media organizations think about digital-age storytelling.

King’s columns—first “The MMQB” at Sports Illustrated and more recently NBC Sports’ “Football Morning in America”—helped set the model for insider views, mixing deeply reported news and in-depth analysis with personal narratives and perspectives on numerous other topics including the traveling life of an NFL writer, coffee, and craft beer.

King spoke with Front Office Sports to discuss the changing states of the media business and the NFL. Below are excerpts from the conversation, some of which have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity. The full conversation with King can be heard on Wednesday’s episode of Front Office Sports Today [[link removed]].

You’ve been a trailblazer in online insider content, both in form and function. You’ve never made it about you, but we’ll put you on the spot and ask you what you see as the lasting legacy of “The MMQB” and “Football Morning in America”?

Well, I hope it’s that young people, when presented with an option of what to do with their lives, choose a diverse menu of things to do, a diverse menu of ways to tell stories. In the environment we’re in now, we have no idea five or 10 years from now how stories will be told, how information will be gotten. And there is still a really important part of that, that is in sort of gumshoe reporting.

But my point is don’t limit yourself. Basically put yourself out there in today’s parlance, learn the podcast, learn how to diversify yourself, learn how to do TV, do radio, do everything. And so I would hope that that plus the fact that look, what I’m best known for, I’m sure, is this column that became this 11,000-word-a-week behemoth. And look, that’s just me. I’ve always been a writing nerd. And I thought that I really wanted to be the next Peter Gammons when I read him in high school in Connecticut. And so it’s always good to have sort of heroes and people to aim for. And maybe there’s a kid out there somewhere who’s aiming for me, and that would be an honor if it were true.

You came up in newspapers, and that’s now just one part of a massive media disruption we’re all living through. What do you see as the end point there?

I think we probably will segue a little bit to NFL stuff now. In my opinion, I think chief media and business officer Brian Rolapp has really been smart in how he has basically sort of … let the market dictate what we’re going to do. l think it’s all going to start with streaming. If everyone is cutting the cord, if there are half the number of people who have cable as their main form of television access right now, if that has been cut in half, in the last seven or eight years, what do you keep doing? Keep plowing into over-the-air and cable TV? Of course not. You make deals with streamers.

You have had a front-row seat to a massive increase in the economic scale and power of the NFL. Where do you see that going in the future?

I think there are two bogeymen in the immediate future for the NFL. One is the continued trouble over head trauma. A lot of things that the NFL is doing now, the NFL wasn’t doing 15 or 20 years ago. I’m not saying it’s a game-changer. It’s a game-improver. That’s number one.

But the other thing I believe right now is that the NFL is going to regret some of its decisions on gambling and sports betting. I believe that 10 years from now, we’re going to have a huge number of people in this country who are hopelessly addicted to sports gambling. And part of the reason is that they’re being told every five minutes on every NFL telecast, bet, bet, bet, bet, and then bet some more.

I just don’t think it’s healthy. And I just simply don’t think that just because gambling is allowed and gambling is illegal, you ought to embrace it to the point that the NFL is. I think they’ve gone way overboard on it.

There’s also been a big rise in the internationalization of the NFL. Are you pro or con on that?

Oh, absolutely unequivocally pro. Moving four or five games a year, how does that harm the product? Really? How does it? It helps. I have been to two games in Germany and I will just say this: Germany loves the NFL almost as much as Green Bay loves the NFL.

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ONE BIG FIG Heavyweights

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

$614 million

Amount of revenue reported by TKO Group Holdings in its first full quarter incorporating the $21 billion merger of the UFC and WWE. The breakdown for Q4 in 2023, which ended Dec. 31, was $282.8 million of revenue for UFC and $331.2 million for WWE.

For 2024, TKO is targeting revenue of at least $2.575 billion. Last month, Netflix signed a 10-year, $5 billion media rights deal [[link removed]] for WWE’s Raw. This year, UFC will be shopping for its next broadcast pact, as its current contract with ESPN expires in ’25.

LOUD AND CLEAR The Battle for Sneakerheads

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

“You look at examples like the Jordan brand … I’m trying to build my version of that.”

—Stephen Curry, in an interview with Bloomberg [[link removed]], on his ongoing efforts to elevate the Under Armour brand to a level that resonates with sneakerheads like Michael Jordan, Ja Morant, and LaMelo Ball, all of whose shoes outsell Curry’s. The Warriors’ star agreed to a contract extension [[link removed]] with Under Armour last March that included $75 million in stock and made the 35-year-old the president of the Curry Brand. Under Armour doesn’t provide Curry-specific numbers, but Bloomberg noted [[link removed]] that TD Cowen estimated the brand generated up to $250 million in annual sales. The entire footwear segment accounted for $1.5 billion of Under Armour’s annual revenue last year, but, as the report noted, it still trails Nike and Adidas.

TIME CAPSULE Feb. 28, 1940: Let the Madness Begin

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

On this day 84 years ago: College basketball was broadcast on TV for the first time. NBC’s New York City affiliate W2XBS (now known as WNBC) aired a doubleheader from Madison Square Garden, with Pitt defeating Fordham and NYU beating Georgetown. An estimated 400 to 1,000 viewers tuned in [[link removed]] to the first game.

It wasn’t until 1969 when NBC began airing the men’s NCAA basketball tournament, doing so through ’81. In ’82, CBS took over tournament rights with a winning bid [[link removed]] of $48 million over four years. In 2010, CBS partnered with Turner Sports (now TNT Sports) in a $10.8 billion deal and in ’16 agreed to a further $8.8 billion extension for March Madness rights through ’32.

Conversation Starters The Commanders have announced new upgrades [[link removed]] to FedEx Field, bringing stadium investments by new ownership to more than $75 million. Some of the new features include a VIP field tunnel club, new suites, and improvements to elevators and escalators as well as water and mechanical systems. Winthrop University has offered scholarships [[link removed]] to two cornhole national champions in what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind for a Division I school. Join Front Office Sports and the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM) at Temple University on March 6 at 1 p.m. ET for The Future of Fan Interaction [[link removed]]—a thought-provoking discussion about the transformative impact virtual reality and the metaverse will have on how we watch and interact with sports.* Editors’ Picks Iowa–Ohio State Is the Most Expensive Women’s Basketball Game Ever [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The average purchased ticket is $577, while the get-in is $491. A’s Will Meet With Oakland Business Group to Discuss Selling Stake in Coliseum [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The group made a $115 million offer for the 50% stake in September. Tuned In: Ryan Clark Finalizing New Deal With ESPN [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]A pending contract could put him over $2 million per year, say sources. DISCLAIMER

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