April 29, 2024

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MLB and Nike are finally changing the league’s oft-criticized new uniforms, a move that essentially had to happen. … The Chiefs and Royals are going their own way when it comes to pursuing new stadiums. … Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel is getting paid handsomely—again. … Former Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro has strong feelings on the company’s Caitlin Clark deal. … Plus: More on Wrexham’s owners, Arizona Cardinals fans, the Arena Football League, and Peacock.

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

Nike’s Failed Attempt at ‘Innovating’ MLB Uniforms Leads to an About-Face [[link removed]]

Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

A change is going to come—again—to MLB uniforms, and this time it was all but inevitable.

The MLB Players Association has informed its membership that a series of modifications will be made to the uniforms, no later than the start of the 2025 season, according to a memo originally obtained by ESPN [[link removed]]. Changes will include a return to a larger letter on the backs of jerseys, fixing mismatched jerseys and pants on teams’ gray uniforms, and returning to the prior tailoring options for pants.

“This has been entirely a Nike issue,” the union’s memo read in part. “At its core, what has happened here is that Nike was innovating something that didn’t need to be innovated.”

The abrupt about-face follows more than two months of turmoil [[link removed]] that had dogged the league since the much-debated introduction of Nike’s Vapor Premier jerseys in spring training, as well as pants with fewer customization options for players. Since that initial rollout, problems have included the see-through nature of the pants, a pooling of sweat on some players’ uniforms during games, names that are more difficult to read, and pants that have more easily ripped after sliding on the base paths.

“We cautioned Nike against various changes when they previewed them in 2022, particularly regarding pants. MLB had been, and has been, aware of our concerns as well. Unfortunately, until recently, Nike’s position has essentially boiled down to: ‘Nothing to see here. Players will need to adjust,’” the MLBPA wrote.

Over the past 10 weeks, MLB and Nike have repeatedly appealed for patience from both players and the public. But ultimately, the status quo was almost certainly not sustainable, in part as social media outcry continued both on the look [[link removed]] and composition [[link removed]] of the uniforms.

“We recognize that, for players, this has taken too long, and was entirely avoidable,” the memo said.

League sources tell Front Office Sports there is not yet a more precise timetable on the implementation of the uniform fixes, as the adjustments must be finalized and then produced at scale. While those steps are taken, several MLB teams are continuing a rollout of long-planned City Connect alternate uniforms, with the Rays becoming [[link removed]] the latest to do so Monday.

Bigger Issues

The placement of blame squarely on Nike for these problems is not surprising, as the company was the one that designed the new uniforms, with Fanatics essentially acting as a subcontractor in the production of the jerseys of pants. But the MLBPA also has a far larger business relationship with Fanatics.

The union has a minority equity stake in Fanatics, as does the league, and the company was the MLBPA’s second-largest licensee in 2023, paying [[link removed]] $44 million.

The MLB uniform issue is just the latest hit for Nike, with the sports footwear and apparel giant also grappling with a $2 billion cost-cutting program [[link removed]] that includes multiple rounds [[link removed]] of layoffs, criticism [[link removed]] about a separate set of uniforms of the U.S. Olympic team, and a broader malaise [[link removed]] across the entire category.

Chiefs, Royals Changing Course: From Neighbors to … Different States? [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Royals and Chiefs have been neighbors in Kansas City’s Truman Sports Complex for 51 years, and particularly close allies over those decades on a wide range of operational and scheduling fronts. But after a stinging political defeat earlier this month, the franchises are now pursuing separate paths for their respective facility futures.

The two teams received a decisive rejection [[link removed]] from Jackson County, Mo., voters in a collective bid to create a new ⅜-cent sales tax mechanism over 40 years to generate as much as $2 billion for a new Royals ballpark and renovations to the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium. After that vote nearly four weeks ago, a growing realization has emerged that both teams will probably now best be served by working on new stadium deals alone.

“The Chiefs and Royals will be working on separate plans for funding their new stadiums,” said Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt in a weekend press conference. “I really think at this point it makes sense for both of us to work independently.”

In addition to the local kinship, the prior alliance between the Chiefs and Royals was predicated on drawing from the same public funding source. But with that financial option now off the table, both teams will now look at all alternatives, and likely across the entire Kansas City area. Even before Hunt’s most recent comments, Marny Sherman, the wife of Royals owner John Sherman, suggested [[link removed]] both teams will be looking to leave Jackson County following the early 2031 completion of their current stadium leases.

Along similar lines, Hunt said he will be looking at a variety of facility possibilities, and, after the prior plan was based on renovating Arrowhead Stadium, he gave increased voice to pursuing a new facility.

“Arrowhead is a special place for our family and our fan base,” Hunt said. “Going forward, it may make more sense for us to be in a new stadium,” adding that the facility could either be open-air or domed.

Despite this separation between the Royals and Chiefs in stadium development efforts, Hunt added “there’s nothing to preclude us from coming back and doing something together.” It is also essentially a given that neither team would want to compete with the other for the same pot of public money. But the likelihood of the two teams ending up in different counties—and perhaps even in different states if Kansas ultimately gets involved in this matter—is now much higher.

“I do feel very much a sense of urgency, and we will approach it from a broader perspective going forward, because time is short at this point, and so we need to see what other options are out there for us,” Hunt said.

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ONE BIG FIG That’s Quite a Jump

NYSE

$83.9 million

Amount of money in the 2023 compensation package for Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, more than four times the comparable total for the year before. The figure includes $4.91 million in base salary, a $34.65 million bonus, $43.47 million in stock awards, and $847,045 in other compensation. Though the executive has an expansive role overseeing the company’s interests in entities such as WME, IMG, and On Location, the vast majority of Emanuel’s compensation last year came from his position as CEO of WWE and UFC parent company TKO Group, of which Endeavor holds a controlling stake. Endeavor is in the midst of becoming [[link removed]] a private company once again in a deal with private equity giant Silver Lake, a transaction that will provide [[link removed]] Emanuel a $25 million “asset sale bonus” and royalty payments equal to 2.5% from the quarterly net cash profits for WME.

LOUD AND CLEAR Be Like Mike?

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

“She should have gotten a piece of everything, just like Michael Jordan.”

—Sonny Vaccaro, in an interview with TMZ Sports [[link removed]], on Caitlin Clark’s reported eight-year, $28 million contract with Nike—the most lucrative shoe deal [[link removed]] a women’s basketball player has ever signed (plus her own signature shoe). Vaccaro, a former executive who was instrumental in signing Jordan to Nike [[link removed]] and Kobe Bryant to Adidas, said Clark’s representatives should have negotiated for more. “They messed up. They should have negotiated until the very end,” he said. “Caitlin Clark was in the best position to maximize her value immediately.”

STATUS REPORT One Up, Three Down

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Wrexham’s owners ⬆ Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have acquired [[link removed]] a minority stake in Club Necaxa, a Liga MX side that is based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. That puts the majority owners of the Welsh soccer team on the path to building a multiclub portfolio.

Arizona Cardinals fans ⬇ Incoming rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (above), selected with the No. 4 pick in the NFL draft, has yet to sign the NFL Players Association’s licensing deal, so his official jersey is not available [[link removed]] to be sold right now.

Arena Football League ⬇ A reboot of the indoor competition that launched Saturday was mired by mistreatment of players, unpaid motel bills, and confusion around media rights, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer [[link removed]].

Peacock subscribers ⬇ The Comcast-owned streaming service is raising its prices this summer, with the premium-level version increasing by $2 to $7.99 per month, and the premium plus tier going up by the same amount to $13.99 per month. Though strategically similar to price hikes imposed by nearly all of its major competitors—and its own a year ago—the Peacock shift raises the question of whether the jumps will blunt recent subscriber growth [[link removed]] going into the Paris Olympics and 2024 football season.

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Conversation Starters The Orioles hosted Autism Acceptance Night at Camden Yards over the weekend, and aspiring broadcaster Will Ashbaugh had the chance to join the radio booth—and even call a Cedric Mullins home run, describing it as a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Watch here [[link removed]]. Mark Daigneault began his career as a student manager at UConn, then served as an assistant at Holy Cross and Florida under Billy Donovan. After coaching OKC’s G League team, he took over the Thunder during a rebuilding phase and has now been named [[link removed]] NBA Coach of the Year. EA’s College Football 25 will feature multiple cover athletes, according to Matt Brown of “Extra Points [[link removed]],” and include current players from different positions, each representing a different power conference. Editors’ Picks Why Both Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason Are Out at CBS Sports [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Matt Ryan, 38, is joining ‘The NFL Today,’ pushing out two mainstays. Candace Parker Leaves Basketball to Go All In on Business [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]She announced intentions of owning both an NBA and WNBA team. Former Eagles Center Jason Kelce Joining ESPN [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The recently retired center was pursued by several networks. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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