March 29, 2024

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Good morning, and apologies to anyone who had No. 1 seed North Carolina, or No. 2 seeds Arizona or Iowa State going beyond the Sweet 16 in their bracket. Thursday night was full of upsets, including No. 4 Alabama and No. 6 Clemson both reaching just the second Elite 8 in their programs’ history. And the madness of March continues tonight.

On today’s docket: The NFL has been making noise all week for rule changes. Spring football, which begins this weekend, could bring even more. … A staple NFL Network show is mysteriously signing off the air for a few months. … The NBA sees dollar signs from foreign investors and broadcasters alike. … The Jazz say their team-owned streaming service has been an unprecedented hit. … And we go back in time to one of the most-watched NCAA title games ever.

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

Spring Football’s Big Bet: An Unlikely TV Marriage, and Crazy Rules [[link removed]]

The Commercial Appeal

Spring football returns this weekend, and NFL fans may have a few more reasons than normal to tune in. NFL owners this week just approved a major revamp [[link removed]] of the league’s kickoff format, which was first used in the old XFL—one half of the new United Football League that was born out of a merger [[link removed]] with the USFL.

Interestingly enough, that kickoff format won’t be used this season in the UFL, which opted for a more traditional-looking setup as it decided which of the two leagues’ old rules to use for that play and others. However, the UFL will still deploy several ideas that go against the grain of traditional football—and could ultimately end up being adopted by the NFL.

Most notably, during the fourth quarter of UFL games, if a team is trailing (or tied) after scoring in the fourth quarter, it will have an alternate option to an onside kick by electing to retain possession with a fourth-and-12 play from its own 28-yard line (both the XFL and USFL had similar rules). Just this week, NFL owners voted against [[link removed]] adopting a similar rule that would have been a fourth-and-20 play from a team’s own 20-yard line. Will the NFL be watching the UFL’s implementation? “There will be another date and time for that discussion,” Falcons executive and competition committee chairman Rich McKay said of onside kick alternatives. “There’s no question the traditionalists don’t like that discussion.”

Other interesting wrinkles for viewers to keep an eye on include:

Punts that go out of bounds inside the 25-yard line will be considered a touchback in an effort to encourage more fourth-down attempts. No extra-point kicks will be allowed after scoring touchdowns. Instead, teams will conduct one offensive play for one, two, or three points from varying distances. Teams can attempt two forward passes in a single play, as long as the first one isn’t caught past the line of scrimmage.

Additionally, the UFL is counting on technology—not the human eye—to accurately spot balls. The NFL has said [[link removed]] it is testing an electronic system to measure first downs, which could be utilized as early as 2025. Optical tracking company Bolt6, which was used in the USFL, is the partner for the UFL.

ESPN, Fox Join Forces

In 2023, the XFL’s regular season averaged 622,000 viewers across ABC, ESPN, and other Disney platforms, narrowly beating out [[link removed]] the USFL’s 601,000 average audience across Fox, FS1, NBC, and USA Network. (Both leagues had 10-week regular seasons.) But now NBC Sports is out, and longtime rivals ESPN and Fox, the latter of which owns half of the UFL, are hoping the new synergy leads to viewership success all around. This weekend, Fox is carrying Saturday’s doubleheader while ESPN has Sunday’s, and the broadcasters will show games each week for the rest of the season.

Fox and ESPN work together around plenty of other sports like the NFL, MLB, and college football, but it will be particularly interesting to see how the UFL partnership plays out given Fox’s 50% ownership and, of course, the continued controversy [[link removed]] around the broadcasters’ joint sports streaming venture with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Cashing Checks

In 2024, the minimum NFL player salary will be $825,000. For spring football players, that would be like winning the lottery. This year, active UFL players will earn $5,500 per week, or $55,000 if they end up playing the entire season (plus small stipends for training camp and housing, as well as potential playoff bonuses). That’s pretty similar to recent iterations of other spring leagues:

USFL, 2022–23: $5,750 per week ($57,500 per season) XFL, 2023: $5,000 per week, $1,000 bonus for each win (up to $60,000 per season) XFL, 2020: Up to $4,749 per week (season canceled after five games due to COVID-19 pandemic) Alliance of American Football, 2019: $7,000 per week (league folded after eight weeks) ‘Good Morning Football’ Beginning Mysterious Timeout Before L.A. Move [[link removed]]

Courtesy of Good Morning Football

Friday marks the final episode of Good Morning Football before NFL Network’s flagship show goes on a spring and summer hiatus ahead of relocating from New York City to NFL Media’s headquarters in Los Angeles.

The announcement of GMFB’s changes several weeks ago sparked confusion and uncertainty about its future, particularly for its tight-knit cast of Jamie Erdahl, Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt, and Jason McCourty. The future format of the show—and all talent minus Erdahl—remains unknown, two sources tell Front Office Sports. “I will see you from L.A.,” Erdahl said last week during her final broadcast before going on maternity leave.

There have been personnel cuts at NFL Media related to the relocation of the show, the two sources say. And the changes for GMFB also coincide with a reported 60 NFL employees accepting a buyout offered to 200 people, per Sports Business Journal [[link removed]]. Erdahl Erdahl was visibly emotional in her three-minute goodbye-for-now monologue, saying, “This is a very hard time for many people affected by this decision to move the show. And all I can hope is, for the people making these decisions, our executives at the NFL, our coaches, to not make these changes lightly and to do so with the best intention.”

Similarly, Schrager’s final broadcast also came last week, but he was more coy. “We’re going to be taking the show elsewhere and we’ll see what happens,” he said. “But I just wanted to appreciate my time in New York and the crew and the people—a lot of those folks won’t be making the trip—but we do love them.” Schrager lives in Brooklyn but travels to L.A. weekly for the Fox NFL Sunday pregame studio show, so perhaps a part-time role on GMFB would be more feasible than a full-blown relocation. “It’s not the last that you’ll be seeing me talking football, or the last that we’ll be talking football together. It’s just the end of an era,” he said.

Brandt and McCourty have still been heading up GMFB alongside guest hosts. And while Brandt was bullish [[link removed]?] about the show’s future the day after news of the move broke, he has not specifically said he will move to L.A. full-time. McCourty is the newest member of the cast, joining last summer. NFL Media said GMFB would be expanded as part of the move to include a two-hour syndication of the show. But things will likely look very different for the program that has started at 7 a.m. ET each weekday and is now moving to the West Coast.

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NBA Wants to Cash in With Foreign Investors in More Ways Than One [[link removed]]

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

As international stakeholders look to attract [[link removed]] the NBA beyond North America, foreign money has been pouring into the league in new ways, too. Last year, the Qatar Investment Authority purchased [[link removed]] a 5% stake in Wizards parent company Monumental Sports & Entertainment worth about $200 million.

Monumental CEO Ted Leonsis has predicted [[link removed]] more teams will embrace sovereign wealth funds, among other alternative investment entities, and Tatum agrees. “There’s no doubt that those conversations are happening with our clubs and potential investors around the world,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum (above) tells Front Office Sports.

After the first edition of the league’s In-Season Tournament, the competition was rebranded [[link removed]] as the Emirates NBA Cup, as part of a deal (financial terms unknown) with the state-owned airline controlled by the Investment Corporation of Dubai. Tatum says the NBA had its pick of potential sponsors, though: “There were several partners who were willing to invest significant amounts of money to associate with that property.”

Watch List

The NBA is also hoping its worldwide growth helps it cash in on new media-rights deals, with 75% of the league’s viewership coming from outside the U.S.

“We lined up all of our international deals to be able to go to market for a streaming platform, with a truly global proposition to be able to offer up NBA basketball,” says Tatum, who hinted at some big changes on the horizon. “I think you’re going to see, in our new partnerships coming out of our discussions that we’re having now, a new way of presenting the NBA property on a digital basis.”

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY All That Streaming Jazz

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Not all cord-cutters are the same. At the start of the NBA season, the Jazz launched its own streaming platform called Jazz+. The service offers games, sure, but also exclusive content. To hear team president Jim Olson tell it, the venture has been so successful, other teams have come calling to find out how Utah did it. Olson joins the pod today to reveal just that—and to tell us how the product has changed the way the team connects with its fans.

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

TIME CAPSULE March 29, 1982: The Legend Begins

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

On this day 42 years ago: North Carolina defeated Georgetown, 63–62, to win the NCAA men’s Division I basketball title. Far from an ordinary title game, this was the introduction for many across the U.S. to Michael Jordan (above, right), then a Tar Heel freshman who hit the game-winning shot and would, of course, go on to legendary success in both college and the NBA.

This game, however, was also steeped with other major figures and significant business impacts. Four other Basketball Hall of Famers—Patrick Ewing (above, left), Dean Smith, John Thompson, and James Worthy—were part of the game. The game was the second-highest-rated college basketball game played to date, trailing only the marquee 1979 title game clash involving Magic Johnson’s Michigan State and Larry Bird’s Indiana State. That ’82 game, held at the Superdome in New Orleans, was just the second to be held in a domed football stadium and helped usher in what would ultimately become a regular placement of the Final Four in such venues. The game is also a focal point for sports memorabilia collectors, with tickets signed by Jordan in particularly high demand.

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Game-Changing Deals in the Wendy’s App

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We know March is full of madness and we’re here to keep you fueled up and game-day ready.

Deals like this are rare. As rare as a game-winning buzzer beater. So get moving and download [[link removed]] the Wendy’s app and get the best deals on the best beef in the game.

Conversation Starters Legendary SportsCenter anchor John Anderson announced [[link removed]] he will retire from ESPN at the end of June, after 25 years with the network. The Orioles have officially welcomed a new ownership group. And after paying $1.725 billion for the MLB team, some of its new investors were out in Baltimore buying beers for fans on Opening Day. Check it out [[link removed]]. Speaking of new money in baseball, a $20 million renovation at the Padres’ stadium, Petco Park, includes a mini ballpark for kids. Take a look [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Jets Owner Blasts ‘False’ Reporting From League-Owned Outlet [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]League owners and NFL Media rarely criticize each other. Leonsis Makes Stunning Turn Back to D.C., Will Renovate Capital One Arena [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]D.C. to spend $515 million on venue renovations as the Virginia plan is now dead. Kim Mulkey Finds Herself in Hole, Digs [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]The LSU coach’s in-your-face approach ‘backfired,’ said a crisis PR expert. NFL to Auction Media Rights to Two Christmas Day Games [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Bidding is likely to start at $50 million, say sources, but analysts expect the games to go for far more. 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]], A.J. Perez [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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