October 11, 2024

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New York’s baseball titans have muscled their way back into the spotlight—raising hopes for a potential Subway Series and questions about viewership impact. Will big payrolls translate into more wins—and big ratings?

— Eric Fisher, [[link removed]] Colin Salao [[link removed]], and Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]

New York’s Baseball Resurgence Sets Stage for LCS Drama [[link removed]]

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New York is once again a focus of the baseball universe, a development arriving after the high-spending Yankees and Mets have both overcome more than a year of disappointment, but also one that could raise viewership issues in the World Series.

The Yankees clinched a berth Thursday in the American League Championship Series, finishing off the Royals in the Division Series in four games. That win came just a day after the Mets’ four-game National League Division Series victory over the Phillies, setting up LCS berths for the two teams in the same season for the first time since 2000 and just the third time in the 55 years of MLB’s divisional format.

On the surface, the playoff advancements for the Mets and Yankees represent a simple flexing of financial might as the teams are No. 1 and 2 in MLB player payroll this year [[link removed]], with the Mets coming in at nearly $318 million and the Yankees at $309 million. But each has underachieved recently relative to that spending.

Last year, the Mets sagged to a 75–87 finish, and high hopes raised by an MLB record $344 million Opening Day payroll led to a trade deadline selloff of several notable players [[link removed]]. This season’s Mets began with a 22–33 record before a furious on-field turnaround that was complemented by several pop culture intersections [[link removed]] that became viral sensations, such as McDonald’s mascot Grimace [[link removed]] and infielder Jose Iglesias’s song “OMG.”

The Yankees, meanwhile, missed last year’s postseason with an 82–80 record, and even this year’s run to the AL East division title contained plenty of doubt while the Yankees played all of June, July, and August—representing nearly half the season—as essentially a .500 team.

“This hopefully is not the end of the road for us, and we expect more,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the series-clinching win over the Royals. “But you’ve got to savor these times, too, because to get down to the final four here … I feel like we’re playing well, like we’re pretty well-rounded. We’re not perfect by any means, but I’ll take our chances.”

Blast From the Past

As the Yankees and Mets now will be half of that final four for MLB, they are waiting on their LCS opponents. The Padres and Dodgers will play a deciding Game 5 in their NL Division Series on Friday to face the Mets, while the Tigers and Guardians will do the same on Saturday on the AL side to earn a matchup against the Yankees.

The prospect of a Subway Series Fall Classic, however, recalls the widespread angst—outside of New York—that met the 2000 World Series involving the two teams. The five-game win by the Yankees, while heavy with on-field drama, averaged 18.1 million viewers. The number would be considered massive today, as there is a very different media landscape now than what existed then. But the viewership was a 24% drop from the year before and the worst figure for the World Series, as large swaths of the western U.S. had little interest in the inter-borough matchup.

It would be another five years before audiences for the event shrank as low as what occurred in 2000.

“This has been a difficult year for a lot of us,” then-Fox Sports president Ed Goren said after that World Series.

The 2024 MLB season, however, has contained much more momentum for the league and its rights holders, including attendance growth [[link removed]] and initial viewership increases for the Division Series [[link removed]]. Fox Sports in particular said Thursday that its coverage of the NL Division Series has produced its best totals for that round in the last decade [[link removed]], and another robust figure is anticipated Friday, in part due to the presence of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani [[link removed]] in a deciding game.

WNBA Plans Playoff Shake-Up, Reveals List of Expansion Targets [[link removed]]

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WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced crucial changes to the league’s playoff format at a press conference Thursday before Game 1 of the 2024 Finals.

Starting next season, the WNBA Finals will expand from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven series with a 2-2-1-1-1 structure in which the higher-seeded team would host Games 1, 2, 5, and 7—akin to the NBA.

The league is also changing its three-game first-round series to a 1-1-1 structure, where the higher-seeded team would host Games 1 and 3. The change follows criticism of the odd first-round structure [[link removed]] the league instituted in 2022 where the higher-seeded team hosts the first two games—meaning they could close out the series without playing a road game.

That structure was installed because the WNBA did not have charter flights available to teams before this season. The league announced charter flights would be available to all teams [[link removed]] just a week before the season, but the short turnaround and the monthlong Olympic break made it difficult to also introduce the sweeping playoff format changes.

“We have contemplated both these changes since the pandemic. We would have done it in the current year, but with the Olympic break this year, it wasn’t possible. But now that we have charters throughout the season and playoffs, it’s feasible,” Engelbert said.

Expansion Hopefuls

The WNBA has already announced three expansion teams that will join the league over the next two seasons, bringing its total to 15. But the league’s goal is to add a 16th team by 2028 [[link removed]]—and Engelbert said the league’s received interest from around 10 to 12 cities.

“The good news is we have a lot of demand from many cities. I’d say 10 or so, maybe even plus at this point, because I think the more people are watching the WNBA and seeing what we’re growing here … they see the economic impact of having a WNBA team in their city, the role model in the community these players represent,” Engelbert said.

The commissioner’s response came to a question about the potential of Philadelphia being named the expansion team [[link removed]]. Philadelphia’s mayor and the 76ers organization have expressed an interest in becoming the league’s 16th team.

Engelbert said Philadelphia is “on the list” of cities the league is evaluating.

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Record-Setting Red River Rivalry

Texas is the No. 1 team in the country [[link removed]], and has faced no resistance through its first five games. But anything is possible in the Longhorns’ annual game against the Oklahoma Sooners.

According to TickPick [[link removed]], the upcoming Oklahoma-Texas game is the most expensive Red River Showdown on record, with an average purchase price of $720.

The current get-in price for Saturday’s game is $451—nearly six times the cost of a get-in ticket to Oklahoma’s following home game [[link removed]] against South Carolina ($80). The biggest purchase thus far has been for six tickets in Section 7, Row 26 for $2,204 a ticket ($13,224 total).

The anticipation is palpable, and as a result, Saturday’s game might be the season’s most expensive regular-season ticket.

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SEC, Big Ten Commissioners Have No Interest in Super-League Proposals [[link removed]]

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Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey are not in favor of the two new super-league proposals involving private equity in college football.

The commissioners shared their thoughts with a group of reporters Thursday, [[link removed]] following a two-day meeting in Nashville. The rendezvous—a first of its kind between the two richest and most powerful leagues in college sports—was an extension of a joint advisory committee formed by the Big Ten and SEC in February. The commissioners, athletic directors, and legal counsel were in attendance.

Nothing was decided, they told reporters, though the commissioners made it clear they have no interest in exploring Project Rudy and the College Student Football League, the two proposals made public over the last two weeks [[link removed]]. Both would involve private equity firms and bring outside stakeholders into the college football governance structure.

“I have yet to see a single thing in any plan that I’ve learned details about that contains things that we couldn’t do ourselves and our [Power 4] colleagues as well,” Petitti said. “At the end of the day, there’s a strong commitment that you have the ability to do all of this ourselves.”

If Petitti and Sankey aren’t on board, the projects probably have no legs.

The leagues also discussed other major issues facing college sports, including NCAA governance, the looming House v. NCAA settlement [[link removed]], and a potential scheduling partnership.

Sankey has insisted the summit between the Big Ten and SEC is not an indication the two leagues are trying to make unilateral decisions for the future of college sports without involving other colleagues, especially those in the Big 12 and ACC.

When Front Office Sports asked Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark about the meetings [[link removed]], and specifically about a potential scheduling partnership, he seemed unconcerned. “I don’t wake up thinking about the Big Ten and the SEC,” he said.

WEEKEND PRIZE POOL Playoff Racing Continues

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Front Office Sports tees up every weekend sporting slate with a ledger of the purses and prize pools at stake. Here’s what’s up for grabs this weekend:

NASCAR Cup Series: Bank of America Roval 400, Charlotte Motor Speedway

When: Sunday Purse: $8.1 million First place: Individual payouts are no longer disclosed

PGA Tour: Black Desert Championship, Utah

When: Thursday to Sunday Purse: $7.5 million First place: $1.35 million

LPGA Tour: Buick LPGA Shanghai, China

When: Thursday to Sunday Purse: $2.1 million First place: $315,000

ATP Tour: Shanghai Masters, China

When: Sunday Purse: $8.8 million First place: $1.3 million (singles), $436,730 (doubles per team) AWARD

Whether it’s great leadership; focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion; or commitment to employee well-being, the Front Office Sports Best Employers in Sports Award [[link removed]] recognizes organizations that do right by their employees.

Take the free employee survey [[link removed]] by Nov. 6 for a chance to recognize your company as one of the best in the business.

STATUS REPORT One Up, Two Down, One Push

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Haason Reddick ⬇ ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced Thursday that Creative Artists Agency parted ways with the Jets pass rusher [[link removed]]. Reddick, acquired by the Jets from the Eagles in April, has yet to suit up this season and has not appeared in team facilities due to a contract holdout. He’s already incurred millions of dollars’ worth of fines by the team [[link removed]], according to Ian Rapoport. SportsNet New York previously reported that Reddick, who is in the final year of a three-year, $45 million deal, is seeking a deal with an average annual value of around $25 million to $28 million [[link removed]].

Williams Racing ⬆⬇ Team principal James Vowles told Bloomberg his team will put off investing heavily in 2025 [[link removed]] and instead wait until 2026 when rule changes are expected to alter the hierarchy among Formula One’s constructors. “We’ve got to do this the right way, which means we’ve got to sacrifice the now for the future,” said Vowles, the former motorsport strategy director at Mercedes, who helped lead the team to multiple championships. Williams, once a consistent championship contender, is currently in eighth place in the constructors’ championship.

Toca Football ⬆ The start-up aims to bring a soccer version of Topgolf to the U.S. and has raised $100 million from an investor group [[link removed]] that includes Bayern Munich star striker Harry Kane. The group aims to open its first location just outside of Dallas before the 2026 World Cup. The Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium will host nine games from the tournament.

Social media ⬇ The NCAA released a study that shows “jarring findings” of abusive posts levied at athletes [[link removed]]. The study found more than 5,000 posts containing “abusive, discriminatory, or threatening content,” with 18% of the abuse being sexual toward male and female athletes. The organization has reported the findings to the social media platforms.

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Conversation Starters Patrick Mahomes and Texas Tech unveiled the school’s first Adidas uniform. The jersey will feature the former Red Raiders quarterback’s Gladiator logo. Check it out [[link removed]]. The Golden State Valkyries named Natalie Nakase the franchise’s first head coach— the first female Asian American head coach in WNBA history [[link removed]]. NESN’s George Balekji joined Front Office Sports Today and compared the Patriots’ struggles to the success of the Celtics over the past few years. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks As Jon Gruden Cranks Out TikToks, He Notches Legal Win Against NFL [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Gruden has served as a coaching consultant since leaving the Raiders. McCarthy: Skip Bayless Is Delusional About Shannon Sharpe Divorce [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Bayless said he had nothing to do with Sharpe’s departure and the demise of “Undisputed.” ‘We’re Ready for FBS’: Sacramento State Is Serious About the Jump [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]How the Hornets got themselves on the short list of potential call-ups. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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