October 15, 2024

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Atlanta has hosted three Super Bowls, with the most recent one in 2019. Today, NFL owners awarded the city with a fourth iteration of the league’s biggest game, coming in 2028. We get into what makes the city and Mercedes-Benz Stadium stand out as a destination for not only the Super Bowl, but premier events across the sports world.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]], and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Atlanta Scores Another Super Bowl: Adds to Growing List of Sports Events [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

ATLANTA — The Georgia capital further solidified itself as a major locale for top-tier sporting events as NFL owners awarded the 2028 Super Bowl to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The unanimous vote to place Super Bowl LXII at the Falcons’ home facility, though expected for weeks [[link removed]], nonetheless sets up Atlanta as one of the preeminent destinations for championship events. The future sports lineup for Atlanta includes:

2025: The College Football Playoff championship game, Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game [[link removed]], and part of the FIFA Club World Cup 2026: Part of the FIFA men’s World Cup [[link removed]] 2028: Super Bowl LXII 2031: The Final Four in men’s Division I college basketball

“This is a huge statement about this community, the leadership in both the public and private sectors,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. “Atlanta has been known on a global basis as a city that can make things happen.”

Though Atlanta is not a preferred leisure destination in the way that other frequent Super Bowl hosts such as New Orleans and Miami are, the city boasts the world’s busiest airport, a growing and walkable downtown, a solid base of hotels and sought-after restaurants, and one of the industry’s most technologically advanced venues in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The facility also hosted Super Bowl LIII in 2019, and Falcons owner Arthur Blank championed a repeat bid for not only the stadium, but one that leans in to Atlanta’s continued growth.

“There’s a lot of things that go into the decision of where a Super Bowl is going to be, and this really shows [the league’s] belief in our franchise, their belief in the city, their belief in the stadium, and their belief in our ability to support another Super Bowl,” Blank said.

With this awarding, the next four Super Bowl locations are now settled with Atlanta to be preceded by New Orleans (2025), Santa Clara, Calif. (2026), and Inglewood, Calif. (2027).

Kickoff Dynamics

League officials, meanwhile, said they were encouraged by initial results from the new “dynamic kickoff” rules designed to create more on-field action, fewer touchbacks, and a decrease in severe injuries from that portion of the game. After Goodell previously expressed support [[link removed]] for the new rules, data presented to owners Tuesday provided further backing for that. Among the key results:

Kickoffs are now being returned at a 32% rate through the first six weeks of the regular season, up from 17% at this point last year. There has been only one player concussion suffered in the new kickoff format so far, and no major knee injuries such as a torn ligament.

While these are specifically on-field rule changes, the shifts surrounding the kickoffs also are helping increase scoring, which, in turn, can boost television viewership [[link removed]]. Further tweaks to the rules will likely be considered after the season, when full-year data can be received and analyzed, as opposed to pursuing any midyear changes.

“There’s a lot more work to do, a lot more study. The sample size is not tremendously large at this point,” said NFL EVP Jeff Miller. “But we did see that lower player velocities [on kickoffs] yielded fewer major injuries in the preseason, and so far we’ve seen that unfold into the regular season.”

WNBA Finals TV Ratings Grow in Game 2 Despite NFL Competition [[link removed]]

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The WNBA continues to smash viewership records despite Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever’s elimination nearly two weeks ago.

Game 2 of the Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx averaged 1.34 million viewers [[link removed]] Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ABC, the most-viewed WNBA Finals game in 23 years. It was also the second-most-watched WNBA game on ESPN networks, behind Game 3 of the 1998 Finals, a do-or-die elimination game between the Phoenix Mercury and Houston Comets.

The record-setting figure comes despite direct competition from the NFL’s Week 6 slate. The NFL has cannibalized some of the WNBA’s viewership throughout the 2024 playoffs [[link removed]], most notably in the first round when games that aired on Sundays drew fewer eyeballs than those on Tuesday and Wednesday when there were no NFL games on-air.

The first game of the 2024 Finals, an overtime thriller Thursday, averaged 1.14 million viewers on ESPN, which was the first Finals opener in history to pass one million viewers [[link removed]].

The series is averaging 1.24 million viewers through two games, 82% more than last year’s Finals. The most-viewed game in last year’s series, which saw the Las Vegas Aces win their second consecutive title by beating the Liberty, was the series-clinching fourth game that averaged 889,000 viewers.

While WNBA viewership is up significantly compared to prior seasons, Caitlin Clark remains the league’s biggest draw [[link removed]]. The two playoff games with Clark and the Indiana Fever averaged about 2.2 million viewers, while the league’s regular-season viewership on ESPN networks [[link removed].], which was filled with Fever games, averaged 1.19 million viewers, just below the current Finals average.

SPONSORED BY UBS

A New Era of Naming Rights

In the latest installment of our Future of Sports [[link removed]] series, presented by UBS, we discuss the evolving landscape of sports venue sponsorships and naming rights. This engaging conversation features industry leaders discussing the trends, strategies, and innovations shaping this dynamic space. From immersive on-site partnerships to media-driven brand visibility, we explore how venues and brands collaborate to create memorable experiences and maximize value.

Key sessions cover the shift to fully integrated marketing partnerships, the race to elevate fan experiences, and the broader economic and community impact of major sports venue partnerships. Don’t miss this opportunity [[link removed]] to gain valuable insights and learn from key players shaping the future of naming rights in sports.

Watch now [[link removed]].

Big Ten, SEC Exploring Schedule Deal After Rejecting Super League [[link removed]]

Detroit Free Press

The Big Ten and SEC say they aren’t interested in heading up a college football super league, but they are intrigued by the prospect of playing more games against each other.

After leaders from the two conferences shot down multiple outside proposals at meetings in Nashville [[link removed]] last week, concrete ideas about how the top half of the Power 4 can keep distancing themselves from the rest of the pack are starting to emerge. The Big Ten and SEC are discussing a new scheduling agreement [[link removed]] that could include 16 or more games pitting schools from the conferences against each other every football season, according to USA Today.

SEC teams are 2–1 in non-conference games against Big Ten programs this season. The 18-team Big Ten plays nine conference games each season, while the 16-team SEC plays eight— a point of contention [[link removed]] with TV partner Disney.

Earlier this year, the Big Ten and SEC formed a joint advisory committee to guide them in the evolving college sports landscape and were able to secure more than half the future revenue [[link removed]] from the expanded College Football Playoff.

A New World?

With 12 spots now available each postseason (and maybe more in the future), scheduling more tough non-conference opponents isn’t as dangerous to a school’s championship hopes as it once was.

If the conferences were to agree on a scheduling partnership, games at Big Ten campuses would be broadcast on Fox, CBS, or NBC, while matchups at SEC schools would be on ESPN platforms. Without reworking current contracts, any theoretical deal to sell a Big Ten vs. SEC regular-season TV package couldn’t be done until the next decade.

LOUD AND CLEAR The Cost of Competing

Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

“That was a battle of two $20 million rosters.”

—Washington football coach Jedd Fisch, on Oregon’s 32–31 victory over Ohio State on Saturday night, and the money spent on NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals between the two Big Ten programs. Fisch, who spoke with reporters Monday [[link removed]], believes more teams will be able to compete at a higher level should revenue-sharing officially hit college football. Earlier this month, the House v. NCAA settlement that would cap spending at $22 million per school was granted preliminary approval [[link removed]].

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 Three Up, One Push

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Davante Adams ⬆ The All-Pro wide receiver got his wish. On Tuesday, Adams was traded from the Raiders to the Jets for a conditional third-round pick, reuniting with Aaron Rodgers, his quarterback for eight years with the Packers. In 2022, Adams was traded by the Packers to Las Vegas and signed a five-year, $140 million contract, which was at the time the largest deal in history for a receiver. The Jets will eat $11.6 million remaining on Adams’s deal for this season [[link removed]]. He’s due for $71 million over the next two seasons, but that money is not guaranteed [[link removed]], and it’s very likely the team will release him or try to renegotiate the deal.

Chicago Sports Network ⬆⬇ The new regional sports network [[link removed]], which launched Oct. 1, heard complaints about its vertical score bug [[link removed]] for Bulls preseason games—and responded days later by moving the graphic to a more traditional horizontal shape found at the bottom of the screen [[link removed]]. However, the network has received additional complaints from fans who can’t access games [[link removed]] as it has yet to agree to a deal with Comcast.

NWSL Boston ⬆ The expansion franchise set to begin play in 2026 announced its official team name [[link removed]] Tuesday: BOS Nation FC. The city previously had an NWSL team, the Boston Breakers, who dissolved in 2018. The team will play its games in White Stadium, which has a capacity of around 10,500.

TGL ⬆ The golf league launching in January 2025 has secured a media-rights deal in Canada with Sportsnet [[link removed]], the network announced Tuesday. TGL—which is backed by TMRW Sports, the $500 million company led by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy [[link removed]]—is a virtual golf league competition that has secured participation from top professional golfers including Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Ludvig Åberg.

SPONSORED BY MAGNIFI

Expand Reach and Fan Engagement With AI

As the sports world expands, the ability to localize and regionalize video content is crucial.

Explore how AI is reshaping sports content in our upcoming webinar [[link removed]], Engaging Global Sports Fans With AI, presented by Magnifi and moderated by NBC Sports reporter and journalist Zora Stephenson.

This webinar will discuss how cutting-edge AI technologies enable sports leagues—from global giants like the NFL and NBA to emerging teams—to customize content for diverse audiences. Discover how AI can help expand your reach, deepen fan engagement, and maintain cultural relevance across borders.

Join the conversation Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. ET to learn about the potential of AI-driven localization and how to adapt content for different cultures and languages while prioritizing fan engagement.

Register now [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters The horror film Smile 2 is sending people to MLB playoff games to sit behind home plate and hold creepy smiles toward the camera. Check it out [[link removed]]. The Guardians’ payroll of $140 million is less than half of the other three teams [[link removed]] left in the MLB playoffs. The Mets, Dodgers, and Yankees are all paying more than $300 million in salary this season. Nike CEO Elliott Hill officially assumed his role Monday. Front Office Sports multimedia reporter Lindsay Zienty explains Hill’s 36-year journey from intern to CEO of the Swoosh. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Adidas Posts Early Earnings Surprise on Samba Wave [[link removed]]by Lisa Scherzer [[link removed]]“They can’t keep surprising to the upside,” said one analyst. Vanderbilt QB Disputes Licensed NIL Apparel: ‘This Is Not Me’ [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Diego Pavia is upset about “Vandy We Turnt” shirts. Hawai‘i to Join Mountain West As Full Member in 2026 [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]It’s the latest move in the most recent wave of conference realignment. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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