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Morning Edition

November 27, 2024

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Last year’s MLB offseason started slowly and ended with several high-profile players settling for short deals. This year’s should look different, as we’ve already seen teams snap up players in the middle of the market—and 26-year-old superstar Juan Soto is in line for a potentially record-breaking deal.

A note to FOS readers: We are taking a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday, but “The Memo” will be back in your inboxes on Saturday with a story on how schools are preparing for the House v. NCAA settlement and potentially another round of NIL (name, image, and likeness) changes.

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

Juan Soto Leads MLB’s Offseason Frenzy, Chasing $600M Deal [[link removed]]

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Major League Baseball’s hot stove period of offseason player signings, which has suffered through a more languid pace in recent years, is already beginning to take on a different cadence this year.

Free-agent outfielder Juan Soto, by far the biggest prize on the market [[link removed]], has already received five offers, according to multiple reports. He remains poised to sign a deal for more than $600 million, representing at least the second-largest player contract in U.S. sports history, and perhaps the largest in present-day value depending on the amount of deferrals involved.

Those initially interested teams are believed to be the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox, and Yankees, though it’s possible that the pursuit of Soto will include both additional teams and updated offers from this initial group. It’s also expected Soto will pick a team by mid-December [[link removed]], soon after the completion of baseball’s winter meetings, if not sooner—highlighting a player market that is expected to heat up significantly after Thanksgiving.

On Tuesday, Soto teased the rising expectations around his forthcoming contract with an Instagram Reel [[link removed]] promising “the announcement you’ve been waiting for.” The news, however, was a new marketing deal with beverage brand Celsius.

The struggling Angels [[link removed]], meanwhile, are attempting to reverse an ugly 99-loss season in 2024 that was the worst in franchise history with a flurry of mid-tier signings. In just the last three weeks, the Arte Moreno–owned club has picked up pitchers Yusei Kikuchi and Kyle Hendricks, catcher Travis d’Arnaud, and shortstop Kevin Newman, committing $80 million in the process.

The initial movement, though still a prelude of many bigger moves to come, contrasts with recent offseason markets in which many big names waited until after the start of spring training in February to sign their deals. There is also a further bump to come starting in mid-January when star Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki is due to hit the international player market [[link removed]].

Underlying Trends

There are a series of key factors contributing to the different pacing for this year’s player market. The later moves last year for a series of players, particularly those represented by super-agent Scott Boras, resulted in some notable misfires [[link removed]] in on-field performance.

This year, the historic Soto outlay will both fundamentally reshape the budget for the team that signs him and influence the rest of the player market.

Additionally, the ongoing turbulence of the local sports media landscape—even after the recent resolution of Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy [[link removed]]—could fuel a monetary crunch among many MLB teams, and in turn, create a tighter market for some mid- and lower-tier free agents.

High Stakes and Record Ticket Prices for Texas–Texas A&M [[link removed]]

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Texas and Texas A&M are facing off for the first time since 2011 on Saturday night, and the matchup could go down as the most expensive game in college football history.

The in-state rivals, who haven’t played each other since Texas A&M left the Big 12 in 2012, are meeting in College Station with a trip to the SEC championship game on the line.

Texas A&M’s Kyle Field can pack in more than 100,000 fans, and ticket prices are reaching record levels on secondary markets. On Tuesday afternoon, the cheapest price for a single ticket on most major platforms was more than $500—with the price even higher for seats together.

The stakes are high—but different—for both teams. A victory means a date next weekend with Georgia in Atlanta, with the winner of that game earning a first-round bye in the first edition of the 12-team College Football Playoff [[link removed]].

For Texas (10–1), getting a chance to avenge October’s home loss to the Bulldogs [[link removed]], and earn a spot in the CFP quarterfinals, would no doubt be nice. But the Longhorns would likely still qualify for the Playoff bracket should they lose to the Aggies.

On the other side, Saturday’s game is likely a must-win for Texas A&M (8–3). A fourth loss would take them out of CFP consideration, so beating both Texas and Georgia is likely the Aggies’ only path into the postseason.

ABC will broadcast the primetime contest at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night, one of Disney’s many potential ratings-magnet games [[link removed]] throughout the day, including Auburn-Alabama at 3:30 p.m. on ABC and South Carolina–Clemson at noon on ESPN.

Big Bucks to See ‘The Game,’ Too

The battle in Texas isn’t the only expensive game this weekend, though.

Get-in prices on the secondary market for Michigan–Ohio State are north of $200, as the Buckeyes look to seal their place in the Big Ten championship game. The Wolverines have won the previous three matchups, but they head into Saturday’s showdown in Columbus as three-touchdown underdogs.

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NBA Passes on Thanksgiving Games, Eyes Black Friday Spotlight [[link removed]]

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Thanksgiving is a day associated with family, food, and football. It seems as though the NBA understands that—because it’s unlikely the league is going to add a Thanksgiving slate anytime soon.

Sources tell Front Office Sports the NBA is not expected to schedule any games on Thanksgiving, at least for the duration of its 11-year, media-rights deal that starts next season.

The NBA had consistently aired games on Thanksgiving before 1982, then once again from 1994 to 2006. After briefly returning from 2008 to 2010, the NBA once again abandoned Thanksgiving games since the lockout season in 2011–2012. In the league’s last three collective bargaining agreements [[link removed]], the section “Holidays” cites rules for playing on Christmas, New Year, and Good Friday—but not Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a difficult day for the NBA to attract viewership because it would be competing with the NFL. The league is already feeling the effects of going head-to-head with the NFL as seen by the drop in its Christmas Day viewership, which has been cannibalized since the NFL’s decision to add games [[link removed]'s%20three%20games%20on,game%20slate%20averaged%204.27M.] on the holiday. However, the NBA doesn’t seem interested in infiltrating Thanksgiving Day, which is owned by an NFL tripleheader.

The focus of the NBA, together with Amazon, a new partner in the league’s next media deal, is to turn Black Friday into a day for both basketball and football. The day normally associated with going to malls to rummage through sales has instead become an online shopping bonanza for many, which means many stay in the comfort of their own homes—and are probably on Amazon.

In 2023, the NFL aired its first Black Friday game—which drew fewer than 10 million viewers—but could rise this year with the Chiefs on the card. The NFL cannot air games on Friday nights past 6 p.m. ET [[link removed]] due to an antitrust exemption, so the Black Friday start time is at 3 p.m. ET, giving ample time for the NBA to slip in one to two games on the card. The NBA is expected to have at least one Black Friday game starting in 2025.

ONE BIG FIG Record Playoff Payout

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

$129.1 million

The amount allocated for Major League Baseball’s 2024 postseason player pool, up by 20% from a year ago and a league record. The funds are generated from 60% of the gate receipts from the first four games of the World Series and each league championship series, the first three games of each division series, and the first two games of each wild-card series.

In addition to the 12-team MLB playoff format now in its third year, the player pool is also in part a function of the stadium capacities of the participating teams. The World Series champion Dodgers, playing in MLB’s largest ballpark, were a particular driver toward the record-setting figure. Dodgers players divided a pool of $46.47 million, awarding 79 full shares of $477,441 each, 17.49 partial shares, and $405,000 in cash awards.

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The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is closing out a historic season as it heads into a championship match at Kansas City’s CPKC Stadium, the first venue built specifically for a women’s sports franchise.

Saturday’s final between Michele Kang’s Washington Spirit and Mark Wilf’s Orlando Pride caps a year of skyrocketing franchise valuations, record-breaking attendance, and growing sponsorships. By increasingly capturing the attention of high-profile investors in recent years, the NWSL has positioned itself as one of the fastest-growing leagues in North America, both in terms of expansion and revenue opportunity.

Check out [[link removed]] the Women’s Sports content hub to read the full article, and stay up to date on all things women’s sports.

Front Office Sports Today Are Legacy Games Hurting NFL Thanksgiving?

FOS illustration

The NFL is gearing up for a big holiday weekend with its annual slate of Thanksgiving games, and its second rendition of a Black Friday game on Amazon Prime Video. Front Office Sports reporters Alex Schiffer, Margaret Fleming, and Amanda Christovich join the show for a roundtable discussion about the NFL’s legacy Thanksgiving games, plus a little Thanksgiving trivia.

Also, Front Office Sports Today is going on hiatus during the holiday season. Owen Poindexter and the Front Office Sports Today team gather for a roundtable discussion about their favorite guests and memories from the show, what to look forward to in business and sports, and what the team is thankful for heading into the holiday season.

Watch, listen, and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], and YouTube [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters NBA teams install special courts for each of their home games during the Emirates NBA Cup. Take a look [[link removed]] at what goes into that process. Michigan’s recruitment of five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood was aided by an unlikely donor—the billionaire founder of Oracle, Larry Ellison. Find out more [[link removed]] about how the $10 million–plus NIL deal went down. The UFL wants to expand. Where should the spring football league go next? [[link removed]] Editors’ Picks ESPN Signs Danny Green, Tim Bontemps, Angel Gray to Extensions [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]All three are regarded as important NBA analysts for the network. Inside Amazon Prime Video’s Plan to Own Black Friday—With Football [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Prime has ambitious production plans for the Raiders-Chiefs matchup. F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Viewership Falls in Year Two [[link removed]]by Colin Salao [[link removed]]The F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix drew 905,000 U.S. viewers this year. Question of the Day

Will Juan Soto’s next contract ultimately exceed Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Tuesday’s result: 59% of respondents said they plan to watch Raiders-Chiefs on Black Friday on Amazon Prime Video.

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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