April 10, 2024

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Before the Masters tees off Thursday morning, PGA Tour and LIV Golf rivals have been mixing it up together around Augusta National. … The WNBA is ready for its Caitlin Clark boost. … Masters champion Dustin Johnson has some bright ideas for LIV Golf. … The owner of the New York Jets dishes on Aaron Rodgers’s political aspirations. … And we look back on the opening of two key baseball venues.

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

Masters Making Way for PGA Tour, LIV Stakeholders to Discuss Future [[link removed]]

Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Network

The Masters arrives this week with plenty of lingering questions about the future of professional golf, which has been fractured for the past two years. The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are not merged, and there is no timetable for when the divide could be resolved. But as players have been getting ready for the first major championship of the year, Augusta National has proved to be a pivotal meeting place for key figures from both sides.

During a press conference Tuesday morning, defending Masters champion Jon Rahm (above, left) said he had hoped his move to LIV would expedite negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, but he admitted his influence is minimal. “Unfortunately, it’s not up to me,” he said. But later in the day Rahm spoke one-on-one with Rory McIlroy (above, right)—perhaps the Tour’s biggest supporter in the battle with LIV—for several minutes on the driving range. He also made nice with Tour members Tony Finau and Tom Kim before heading out to a practice round with European Ryder Cup teammate Nicolai Højgaard.

Also seen chatting near the driving range was 2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson, LIV’s first big catch in ’22, and the green-jacket-wearing Jimmy Dunne, the powerful Augusta National and PGA Tour policy board member who helped broker [[link removed]] last summer’s controversial framework agreement with the PIF. What were Rahm, McIlroy, Johnson, Dunne, and others talking about? If only we knew. One thing we can be certain of: It would be a surprise if the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were not brought up in those conversations.

Playing Nice

Out on the course, Brooks Koepka and Adrian Meronk were among the LIV golfers to play practice rounds with PGA Tour players, in addition to Cam Smith, who hit the links with fellow Australians Jason Day, Adam Scott, and Min Woo Lee. But the sight of players repping LIV league and team logos at Augusta National (which also happened last year) is still hard for many fans to believe. As Smith and Day shared a laugh walking down the No. 10 fairway, several patrons could be heard joking about the Ripper GC branding on Smith’s bag.

New-Look Tiger Still a Main Draw

As five-time champion Tiger Woods looks to break a Masters record by making a 24th consecutive cut this week, he still has yet another green jacket on his mind. “If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” he said.

Woods played nine-hole practice rounds Monday and Tuesday, unsurprisingly drawing the biggest crowds of anyone at Augusta National. But an unfamiliar style in his recently launched Sun Day Red brand [[link removed]] was a strange sight to some fans. “It’s so weird seeing him without a Nike hat on,” one man said to his group of friends. “I think they really missed the mark on that logo,” another quipped about the brand’s flagship striped tiger drawing.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Dustin Johnson Wants a ‘Trade Deadline’ for Golf Teams

Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Two weeks ago, 2020 Masters winner Dustin Johnson (above, left) hired a new GM to lead his LIV Golf team, 4Aces. Ahead of tomorrow’s Masters start, Johnson and his GM, golf apparel industry vet Chris Rosaasen, join the show to tell us how the collaboration is working out so far, where they see opportunities for growth, and why a “trade deadline” for LIV teams might not be a bad idea.

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

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In the last decade, emerging technologies [[link removed]] have transformed the sports media landscape, driving teams, leagues, and sports media organizations to continually evolve.

Front Office Sports and WSC Sports have joined forces to honor the remarkable work of video content and product teams shaping the future of sports fan engagement with the 2024 Tech Playmakers Award [[link removed]]. Here’s how it works:

Every month from now through September, we’ll gather nominations and recognize one winner per month. In October, the grand winner of the 2024 Tech Playmakers Award will be selected from the pool of monthly winners.

Check out last month’s winner, the NFL Channel [[link removed]], and nominate [[link removed]] your team today.

Bottom Line: WNBA Already Feeling the Impact of Incoming Stars [[link removed]]

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

After a season-long, Caitlin Clark–fueled bonanza across women’s college basketball that redefined [[link removed]] the sport, the WNBA literally has next—and is poised to cash in on multiple fronts.

Recalling the league’s original marketing slogan [[link removed]], the WNBA is now starting to see some of the initial benefits from the incoming influx of Clark (above, left), as well as other stars such as LSU’s Angel Reese (above, right). Among the latest data points:

Even before Clark is a member of the Fever—she’s expected to be selected first by Indiana in the WNBA draft Monday—resale prices for the team’s home opener May 16 in some cases have surpassed $500 per ticket, before fees, and even is reaching $100 for upper-deck seats. Those ticket resale prices for the game in Indianapolis arrive on the heels of rising marketing [[link removed]] by several other WNBA teams of Clark’s expected arrival as a visiting player to their towns. Fueled in part by that road-market promotion, resale ticket pricing is ballooning [[link removed]] across the league to see Clark and the Fever. The two-time defending league champion Aces have moved a July 2 home game against the Fever from the 12,000-seat Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay to the 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena due to expected demand. Aces season tickets are already sold out [[link removed]] in what is claimed to be a WNBA first. League commissioner Cathy Engelbert aims to double [[link removed]] its media rights, in part because of the momentum of the incoming stars, and could break off [[link removed]] from joint negotiations with the NBA in pursuit of that boost.

The rising expectations follow what was already a breakthrough 2023 season for the league with big increases posted [[link removed]] in attendance, television viewership, and digital media consumption during the regular season, and further audience growth [[link removed]] in the playoffs.

“When you’re given an opportunity, women’s sports just kind of thrives,” Clark said. “It just continues to get better and better and better. That’s never going to stop.”

For Clark’s last college game, a title game loss to undefeated South Carolina, there was a final exclamation point Tuesday as a record-setting television audience, originally pegged [[link removed]] at an average of 18.7 million in fast national metrics, was revised upward in final figures to 18.9 million. The event was the most-watched college basketball game—men’s or women’s—in ESPN’s history.

TIME CAPSULE April 10, 1962 and 1973: Two Iconic Ballparks Open

Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

On this day 62 and 51 years ago: Dodger Stadium and what is now Kauffman Stadium, respectively, opened, adding two of baseball’s most picturesque ballparks to MLB’s roster of venues. The Dodgers’ facility at Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles offers sweeping views of both downtown and the San Gabriel Mountains, and at 56,000 seats is MLB’s largest stadium. Kansas City’s venue (above), originally known as Royals Stadium, features a distinctive fountain and waterfall display, in keeping with the “City of Fountains” nickname. Both facilities have also stood the test of time, now standing as the third- and sixth-oldest venues in the league.

But there is some current tension surrounding both ballparks. A bill under consideration in the California legislature would provide reparations to families, mostly Mexican-American, who were displaced from their homes on land that ultimately became the site of Dodger Stadium. The Royals, meanwhile, were just rejected [[link removed]] by Jackson County, Mo., in a bid to obtain taxpayer funding for a new ballpark near downtown, and are now reviewing [[link removed]] alternate options, likely out of its longtime home county.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS AWARDS

Rising 25 Nominations Are Here!

Rising 25 is back and it’s time to nominate an up-and-coming young professional changing the game in the business of sports!

The Front Office Sports Rising 25 Award [[link removed]] celebrates the careers of the brightest young stars in the business of sports. To date, we’ve honored 175 individuals and we’re looking for our next group of young stars.

Nominations are open now through Friday, May 17. Winners will be announced in June.

Nominate [[link removed]] today.

Conversation Starters The Chicago Red Stars have decided to relocate their match against Bay FC on June 8 to Wrigley Field, marking the stadium’s inaugural hosting [[link removed]] of a pro women’s soccer game. The Masters is debuting [[link removed]] Map & Flag, its first and only off-site hospitality venue, featuring $17,000 weeklong tickets that include tournament access, premium dining, an outdoor garden, and a merchandise shop—all of which have sold out for the current year. For a mere $66, you can purchase one of every concession item being offered at the Masters. Take a look [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Women’s March Madness Championship Tops Men’s for First Time [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Iowa–South Carolina drew 18.9 million viewers to 14.8 million for UConn-Purdue. John Calipari’s Kentucky Exit Is As Slow and Awkward As a Dog in a Stroller [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Calipari steps away from Kentucky with the Arkansas deal still unofficial. Sports Media Game-Changer? Skydance Eyes CBS Parent in $5B Deal [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The two sides have agreed to a month of exclusive talks. 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]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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