In just 48 hours, the answer to TNT Sports and parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has arrived from the NBA: thanks, but no thanks. 

The league has rejected Monday’s attempt from TNT Sports to exercise its matching rights and supplant a rival bid from Amazon for a piece of the league’s national media rights. In conveying its decision, the NBA said TNT Sports and WBD failed to meet the terms of the rival bid from the online streaming and retail giant. 

“Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon,” the league said. “Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans. Our new arrangements with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming package that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements.

“All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience,” the NBA said.

The league’s statement was part of an official, and expected, announcement of the 11-year, $76 billion set of rights deals with Disney, NBC Sports, and Amazon. The NBA had intended to make that statement before Friday’s start of the Paris Olympics, and NBC Sports parent Comcast essentially jumped the gun Tuesday with its quarterly earnings. NBC Sports on Wednesday confirmed that is bringing back the celebrated “Roundball Rock” theme song that was part of its NBA coverage in the 1990s.

TNT Sports Showdown

The league’s moves now set up a high-stakes battle between the NBA and TNT Sports that could ultimately reach a courtroom, and the saga is still far from over. Industry sources said it’s expected that the parties will now move to mediation in an attempt to resolve the issue. 

But as has been the case since the NBA completed its agreements with Disney, NBC Sports, and Amazon, the TNT Sports situation is premised on WBD pushing to stay in business with a league partner clearly looking to take its games elsewhere. 

TNT Sports has been targeting Amazon’s “C” package with the NBA, a set of rights estimated at $1.8 billion per year and including a conference final every other season, early-round playoffs in line with what is currently on NBA TV, weekly regular-season broadcasts, the Emirates NBA Cup, and WNBA rights, among other assets.

“We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it,” TNT Sports said. “In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage. … We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action.”

Over at the WNBA

The announcements, meanwhile, present further confirmation of the NBA reaching a transformative set of WNBA agreements expected to be worth $200 million per year, or $2.2 billion over the term. Notably, the pacts end an exclusive Disney hold on the WNBA Finals. The event will now be shared between Disney (five times during the term), and Amazon and NBC Sports (three each), and notably gives Amazon a major league championship in its fast-growing sports portfolio.

“Partnering with Disney, Amazon and NBCU marks a monumental chapter in WNBA history and clearly demonstrates the significant rise in value and the historic level of interest in women’s basketball,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

Despite the big financial boost, representing a landmark event for the development of women’s pro sports, it remains a fraction of the overall NBA pacts, and given the soaring popularity of the WNBA, is seen in some corners as improperly small.

Brett Favre’s business partner in a drug company pleaded guilty in a Mississippi federal court Wednesday for his role in a welfare scandal. The drug company had illegally received more than $2 million of federal welfare funds.

Prevacus founder Jake VanLandingham pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud, a charge that carries up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. VanLandingham was released on a $10,000 bond as he awaits sentencing. 

Favre has denied any wrongdoing as his ties to the misappropriation of funds and he has not been charged criminally. 

“Favre is the next to be indicted,” Matt Tympanick, a federal criminal defense attorney who is not involved in the case but has closely observed it, tells Front Office Sports. “The feds now have someone who can tie Favre to the News and can articulate the alleged scheme.”

“The News” are Nancy and Zach New, the heads of a nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center where the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds were funneled through to Favre and others. John Davis, the head of Mississippi Department of Human Services when the TANF money was illegally distributed, also pleaded guilty to federal charges. 

With VanLandingham’s plea, federal prosecutors have now charged seven people who were part of a scheme that saw more than $90 million in welfare money illegally diverted—federal money earmarked for the poorest residents of Mississippi, the most impoverished state in the U.S. The federal investigation remains ongoing. 

“The purpose of the scheme … was for VanLandingham to unlawfully enrich himself by making materially false and fraudulent representations that he would use certain funds, including funds obtained from MDHS through MCEC, to develop a pharmaceutical treatment for concussions,” prosecutors wrote in the charging document.  

The News and Davis entered into plea deals that were contingent on their cooperation with federal investigators. The plea supplement for VanLandingham—a document that typically includes a cooperation agreement—was filed under seal in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Prevacus was developing two concussion-related treatments when the company received $2.2 million in TANF funds in 2019. Favre served as a spokesperson for the company and was the largest individual investor in Prevacus, according to court records. 

Text messages from Favre and VanLandingham that have been made public in a lawsuit filed by MDHS have shown their interactions with others involved in the scandal, like Davis and the News. Both Favre and VanLandingham are also defendants in that pending civil case. 

“Surprise [John Davis] with a vehicle. … We could get him a Raptor,” Favre wrote in a January 2019 text to VanLandingham.

Diamond Sports Group is closing in on a big trifecta of agreements that could give the bankrupt regional sports network operator a sizable leg up in its reorganization efforts. 

The Bally Sports parent told a U.S. bankruptcy court Wednesday that it is postponing a scheduled July 29 hearing to confirm its reorganization plan. The delay is aimed at giving the company more time to complete not only a distribution deal with Comcast but new programming contracts with the NBA and NHL.

The pacts, if finalized, would resolve three of DSG’s more problematic areas in recent months. Comcast pulled Bally Sports stations off its systems in May, a major flashpoint in a growing carriage battle involving the No. 2 U.S. cable carrier. According to industry sources, DSG is expected to agree to Comcast’s long-held insistence that the Bally Sports RSNs move to a premium-level tier, just as it has recently treated similar channels such as the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network and SportsNet Pittsburgh. 

The NBA and NHL, meanwhile, have both made plain before the court their concerns about DSG emerging from bankruptcy as a viable company. Reaching new agreements would clearly signal a change in sentiment, and perhaps place more pressure on MLB, which in recent months has been the most outspoken among the major pro leagues about their frustration with DSG. 

“While no agreements have been reached at this time, these discussions are ongoing … with significant progress being made,” said DSG attorney Brian Hermann. 

Not Quite Done

DSG has not yet established a new schedule to confirm its reorganization plan, but Hermann intends the timetable to move by “days, and not weeks.” The final timing will, of course, depend on if and when the company is able to complete any or all of the three contracts. A key driver of the final schedule will also be the October starts of the 2024–2025 NBA and NHL seasons, which DSG intends to precede with its deals. 

Despite the tone of optimism Hermann sought to convey before Judge Christopher Lopez, the lawyer nonetheless said there is still a chance of the talks failing and DSG ultimately not being able to reorganize. 

“That is not our focus today, but that is a possibility, and that’s not lost on us,” Hermann said. 

None of the involved leagues commented during Wednesday’s status conference with the court.