July 11, 2024

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The NFL is inching closer to making its long-awaited move to allow private equity into team ownership. … U.S. Soccer will likely need to reach deep into its pocket to find a successor to fired coach Gregg Berhalter. … It’s bottoms up for the Pac-12 in Las Vegas. … Plus: More on Colorado, Bruin Capital, Clemson, and Real Madrid.

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

NFL Will Dip Its Toes in Private Equity by Year’s End [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL is continuing its slow road to introducing private equity into team ownership—but only to a point.

Speaking Thursday on CNBC [[link removed]] while attending the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, commissioner Roger Goodell (above) said the league is still on track to formally approve PE investment by the end of the year, as has been long expected [[link removed]]. But Goodell said NFL owners will likely cap that investment at 10% of a team’s equity, a figure that also has been frequently discussed.

“We believe that would be something that could make sense for us in a limited fashion,” Goodell said. “That would be something we think could complement our ownership and support our ownership policies.”

The 10% threshold remains below those in other leagues—such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB—that go as high as 30% for private equity involvement, and could ultimately prove insufficient to help address franchise values that are now soaring beyond $6 billion in some cases. But Goodell said it’s critical to not just mirror what other properties are doing in this space.

“We’re not other leagues. We’re going to do what’s right for the National Football League,” he said. “We like our ownership policies and think this is a complement.”

Key Issues

Goodell also addressed a range of other pressing league issues in the CNBC interview. Among them:

NFL Sunday Ticket: The league is seeking [[link removed]] to overturn the $4.7 billion verdict against it that could be tripled to more than $14 billion, and Goodell said the NFL remains steadfast in its position. “We obviously disagree with the jury verdict, and we are committed to following the legal process. It’s a long process. We’re aware of that, but we feel very strongly about our position, our policies, particularly in media.” Netflix: Goodell said the league’s new, three-year pact [[link removed]] with the streaming platform for Christmas games does not signal an abandonment of a foundational priority of placing games on free, over-the-air television. “I think we’re going where the fans are,” he said. “Netflix has close to 300 million subscribers on a global basis, which was really attractive for us in being able to reach that global fan. International is a huge initiative of ours.” Paramount: The commissioner was noncommittal about how the NFL would respond to the Paramount Global–Skydance Media merger deal [[link removed]], worth more than $8 billion and involving longtime league media partner CBS Sports. The league has an option to renegotiate its rights deal with CBS Sports in the event of a change in ownership. Goodell called the network a “great partner,” and declined to say whether the option would be exercised.

“We’re obviously paying close attention to the process,” he said. “We know Skydance. They’ve done a terrific job with our relationship. So we’ll look at the structure of the deal. We’ll see how it impacts us. We’ll see how it impacts our business, and we’ll make the best decision for the NFL at that point.”

Goodell added that reach is just as much a key driver in that situation as economics, even as the NBA is helping reset the market for live-sports rights with its developing national-rights deals [[link removed]].

“We want to be paid fairly, but for us, it’s about reaching fans, and being on a free platform like we are [on CBS] allows our fans to see that,” he said. “I think that’s what led to not only the popularity of the league, but obviously the great ratings [[link removed]].”

U.S. Soccer May Go Big-Game Hunting for Its Next Men’s Head Coach [[link removed]]

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

U.S. Soccer is officially looking for a new men’s national team head coach after firing Gregg Berhalter (above), and it could come at a steep price.

Berhalter’s exit was formally announced Wednesday, nine days after the U.S. lost to Uruguay in its final Copa América group-stage match and failed to advance to the knockout round on home soil. The coach’s current salary isn’t publicly available yet, but his total compensation in 2022—when the U.S. made the knockout round at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar—was $2.29 million, according to the federation’s most recent financial report. That included a $900,000 performance bonus for advancing out of the group stage.

Opening Up the Wallet?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America begins in 23 months, so making a swift coaching hire will be imperative. Rumors are flying about potential candidates, but one name that makes the most noise is Jürgen Klopp, who stepped down as Liverpool’s manager after the 2023–24 Premier League season.

According to The Athletic [[link removed]], contact has been established between the two parties. While Klopp “reiterated” that he wants a break from soccer, the “interest remains” from the USSF. Klopp’s salary at Liverpool was said to be roughly $20 million, at least, according to soccer outlet Goal [[link removed]].

So, would the U.S. be able to afford a coach of that caliber? “I know it’s a really competitive market out there salary-wise,” U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker told [[link removed]?] reporters after Berhalter’s firing. “And we have to be competitive to get the level of coach that I believe can take the program forward in terms of achieving the results that we need to do on the field.” At the end of the 2023 fiscal year, U.S. Soccer reported $68.87 million in net assets on hand after operating at a roughly $38 million loss.

Equal Pay Top of Mind

Men’s and women’s national team players receive equal pay under the most recent collective bargaining agreement, but that doesn’t include coaches. Still, the federation last year hired English coach Emma Hayes to lead the U.S. women’s national team, giving her a record $1.6 million salary that put her on par with Berhalter, according to multiple reports [[link removed]].

So, any increase in pay for the next men’s coach would either give Hayes a salary bump, as well, or create renewed criticisms [[link removed]] of inequity. Former U.S. women’s national team coach Vlatko Andonovski made $411,000 in 2022.

“I’m also really conscious that we need to continue to drive for higher standards and equality,” Crocker said. “I don’t think that’s going to be a stumbling block in terms of our investment; our national team is a priority. It’s something we’re prepared to invest in and something that we will be investing in.”

Crocker said the goal is to hire a coach by September, so answers to these questions could be coming soon.

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LOUD AND CLEAR Bottoms Up

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

“We are drinking tonight. If anyone has earned the right to drink, it is the Pac-12.”

—Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould (above), during her opening comments at the two-team conference’s scaled-down football media day in Las Vegas on Wednesday evening. The event was a cocktail party [[link removed]] at a ballroom in the Bellagio casino, just up the Strip from Allegiant Stadium, where the Big 12 finished its media days earlier Wednesday. “Tonight is a celebration,” Gould added [[link removed]]. “Tonight is the start of a new chapter.” Coaches, players, and athletic directors from Oregon State and Washington State were also in attendance to give their takes on both schools’ uncertain future.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado ⬆ The university was given a $2.5 million signing bonus to join the Big 12, according to USA Today [[link removed]]. Was that a Prime Effect, thanks to star football coach Deion Sanders (above)? The other three schools that joined the Buffaloes in departing the Pac-12—Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah—didn’t get any such financial reward.

Bruin Capital ⬆ The investment company is significantly expanding its presence in the fast-growing business of virtual advertising with the purchase of London-based technology firm Supponor. The deal—worth about $108 million and made through the tech-focused sports media agency TGI Sport that Bruin co-owns—brings into the fold the company that has played a key role in the development [[link removed]] of the NHL’s virtual dasherboard ads. Supponor will add to TGI Sport’s existing activity in virtual advertising that includes work with MLS, LaLiga, the Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1, among others.

Clemson ⬇ A judge in North Carolina has denied [[link removed]] the school’s motion to dismiss the ACC’s countersuit in the ongoing feud [[link removed]] over the conference’s Grant of Rights. Clemson’s lawsuit against the ACC and the conference’s suit against the school will now proceed in separate jurisdictions.

Real Madrid ⬇ The Spanish soccer club announced that fans purchasing jerseys of new signee Kylian Mbappé will have to wait an additional six weeks to receive the apparel due to high demand and manufacturing delays.

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Conversation Starters After Colombia won Wednesday night’s Copa América semifinal in Charlotte, a fight broke out [[link removed]] at midfield, and several players from Uruguay ended up in the stands at Bank of America Stadium to brawl with fans of the winning side. Iowa has revealed its new $31 million wrestling facility for its powerhouse men’s and women’s teams. Check it out [[link removed]]. The Rangers unveiled a robot bartender that will make its debut at Globe Life Field during next week’s MLB All-Star festivities. Take a look [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Everything You Need to Know About the Jaylen Brown–Nike-Olympic Beef [[link removed]]by Dennis Young [[link removed]]It starts, as it often does, with a carefully parsed emoji. Criminal Charges Mean No Pay for Wander Franco [[link removed]]by Dennis Young [[link removed]]Franco had been receiving half of his $2 million base salary. Will They or Won’t They? TNT Must Match Bids or Say Goodbye to NBA [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]A spurned media partner has sued the league before. 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 Peter Richman [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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