March 15, 2024

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The WWE seems to be weathering the impact of the big Vince McMahon lawsuit that was filed in January, and of this week’s naming of previously unidentified corporate officers [[link removed]] who appear in the suit. … The NBA’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts bring their own set of challenges. … The Players Championship is underway, but support for the PGA Tour’s commissioner is up and down. … And the Broncos will set a financial record in 2024, just not in a good way.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Vince McMahon Lawsuit Questions Still Not Affecting WWE for Now [[link removed]]

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

With its television programs drawing strong ratings behind the return of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to the ring and a new deal with Logan Paul’s Prime Hydration, WWE has been on a business roll ahead of next month’s WrestleMania. The question lingering in the background during that time has been about the potential effect of a sex-trafficking lawsuit filed against former chair Vince McMahon in January. The fallout was hard to gauge in part because so much remained unknown about the suit, including the names of figures that it identified only as corporate officers.

The revelation [[link removed]] this week that key WWE executives Nick Khan and Brad Blum were among those names—though neither is alleged to have participated in or known about abuse of any kind—has brought back to prominence questions about whether the lawsuit will affect the company’s dominant position in sports media and sponsorship.

So far the answer appears to be “no.”

Even before the latest disclosures, there were rising calls [[link removed]] among some fans to boycott WWE. But with McMahon gone from the company, none of WWE’s current media and corporate partners have signaled any intent to exit or break their contracts. WWE’s meteoric growth in recent years has since January intersected with a series of allegations [[link removed]] that a former WWE employee was retained as a “sexual slave” of McMahon, and a set of rights-holders who are primarily made up of generally risk-averse, publicly traded companies.

Among WWE’s major media and sponsorship deals:

A newly signed 10-year deal [[link removed]] with Netflix for flagship weekly show Raw, worth more than $5 billion and beginning next year A five-year, $1 billion deal signed with Comcast-owned NBCUniversal in 2021 in which the former WWE Network was folded into Peacock, including the WrestleMania franchise (that agreement expires in two years) A further involvement with NBCUniversal through a five-year, $1.4 billion agreement [[link removed]] for the U.S. rights to SmackDown A five-year pact [[link removed]], worth more than $100 million, with The CW Network for rights to WWE NXT, the pro wrestling company’s developmental circuit A major new move [[link removed]] into mat advertising through an eight-figure agreement with Prime Hydration, representing the largest sponsorship in WWE history Will the Tide Turn?

While many athlete sponsorship agreements have morality clauses that allow brands to exit upon the emergence of damaging information—such as what happened to Tiger Woods with his personal scandals—most sports rights deals are not structured the same way. WWE has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and by clearing up a mystery about which executives were named in the suit, the latest developments may offer reassurance to WWE’s partners—and potential future ones.

Investors do not appear particularly moved by the latest news. Stock in WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings has shifted less than 1% this week, though shares are down more than 22% since hitting [[link removed]] the market in September, with a marked fall [[link removed]] later that first month on the heels of the SmackDown deal responsible for much of the overall decline.

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FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY From Kiss Cams to Culture Wars

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The life of the NBA’s lead on diversity, equity, and inclusion is a busy one these days. Lesley Slaton Brown, the league’s chief DEI officer, joins Front Office Sports Today to talk about how a globalizing league has changed her job, why the NAACP is urging Black athletes to skip public colleges in Florida, and the ways in which an election year makes her work both more fraught and more important.

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

LOUD AND CLEAR A Shot Into the Rough

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

“As a leader of an organization, I will want a person like that to take some ownership and say, ‘Hey, we made a couple of mistakes, but this is how we’re going to rectify it,’ instead of kind of sweeping it under the rug, which I felt like has been done to a certain degree.”

—Viktor Hovland, giving his current opinion of PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan during a pre-tournament interview ahead of the Players Championship. On Tuesday, Monahan admitted he could have handled things better last summer, when the Tour struck a framework agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia that has still not been completed. “I’ve taken full responsibility and accountability for that,” Monahan said. “That’s on me.” Hovland shot a 73 (+1) during the first round Thursday.

ONE BIG FIG Rocky Mountain High

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

$53 million

Amount in dead cap money the Broncos will absorb in 2024, the largest single-season hit in NFL history, according to Spotrac [[link removed]]. The charge—which accounts for 20.5% of Denver’s adjusted salary cap in ’24—is a result of quarterback Russell Wilson’s release Wednesday, the first day of the new league year. Wilson, who reportedly [[link removed]] agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.2 million with the Steelers (the veteran’s minimum), will also cost [[link removed]] Denver $32 million against the cap in ’25. The Broncos traded for Wilson in ’22 and signed him to a five-year deal worth $242.6 million.

TIME CAPSULE March 15, 1869: Pro Baseball Is Born

Will Velarde/The Enquirer

On this day 155 years ago: The Cincinnati Red Stockings organized to become the first all-professional and salaried baseball team. Advancing beyond other barnstorming clubs and a prior ban on professional teams by the National Association of Base Ball Players, the Red Stockings are the oldest clear link to what we know today as Major League Baseball. That Red Stockings team posted a perfect 57–0 season against NABBP teams that year, still the only perfect season in pro baseball history.

The modern-day Reds identify themselves with the Red Stockings, though there were other [[link removed]] pro baseball franchise foldings and rebirths in the Queen City between 1871 and the arrival of the National League’s Reds in 1890. Despite the Reds’ recent ups and downs on the field and status operating in one of MLB’s smallest media markets, the franchise has made its unrivaled lineage core to its brand and often leaned into that extensive history. Most recently, the Reds in 2019 made its sesquicentennial anniversary a yearlong affair [[link removed]], led in part by the use of 15 throwback uniforms signifying different eras for the franchise.

Conversation Starters Owen Wilson is set to headline [[link removed]] a new Apple TV+ comedy series centered on pro golf. The show will focus on Pryce Cahill, a former pro golfer who, after losing his job at an Indiana sporting goods store, pins his hopes on mentoring a troubled 17-year-old golf prodigy. Amazon Prime Video has green-lighted [[link removed]] an untitled documentary tracing the life of former NBA star Allen Iverson. Produced by Shaquille O’Neal’s Jersey Legends and Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media, the film promises an inside look into Iverson’s journey. NFL Network is set to air [[link removed]] more than 30 Arena Football League regular-season and postseason games this spring. Additionally, the network will feature Overtime’s football league, OT7, beginning in April. SPONSORED BY INVESCO QQQ

Last weekend’s women’s conference tournaments were one for the books.

The Pac-12 saw a 462% increase in viewership since last season, the Big Ten tournament sold out for the first time, and the Big 12 tournament had its best attendance for an individual session since 2013—but it doesn’t stop there.

Caitlin Clark and Iowa’s Big Ten title win Sunday was CBS’s most-watched women’s basketball game in 25 years, setting the tone for the new normal of women’s basketball as the Madness rolls out.

Check out the Business of College Athletics hub [[link removed]] to read the full article and stay up to date on all the action.

AP Survey Finds 55% of U.S. Adults Oppose College Athlete Unionization [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]But 53% are in favor of revenue sharing. NIL in the Crosshairs As Debate Takes Over D.C. [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]Nick Saban was among the guests at an NIL roundtable this week. College Football Dominance Could Shift As Anti-DEI Sentiment Grows [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The NAACP is now urging Black college athletes to reconsider playing at Florida public colleges. Women’s Basketball Conference Tourneys Set Attendance, TV Marks [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Among the milestones: Iowa broke a 25-year viewership record on CBS. DISCLAIMER

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