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, 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, 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 promising “the announcement you’ve been waiting for.” The news, however, was a new marketing deal with beverage brand Celsius. 

The struggling Angels, 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. 

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 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—could fuel a monetary crunch among many MLB teams, and in turn, create a tighter market for some mid- and lower-tier free agents. 

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. 

For Texas (10–1), getting a chance to avenge October’s home loss to the Bulldogs, 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 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.

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, 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 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 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.