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Morning Edition

December 11, 2024

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The A’s have maintained MLB’s lowest payroll in each of the last two seasons. As the franchise moves from Oakland to a temporary home in Sacramento, it is now spending money. The real reason may be tied to MLB’s revenue-sharing system, and incentive to reach a salary floor to qualify for its full allotment.

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

More to A’s Offseason Spending Plans Than Meets the Eye [[link removed]]

Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

The A’s are definitely bumping their 2025 payroll to their highest level in at least many years, and perhaps ever. But there’s more reason to it than just elevated competitive desires or a push to establish themselves in Sacramento.

Just as soon as the 2024 season ended [[link removed]], the A’s made it clear their spending would increase [[link removed]] while they play the 2025–2027 seasons at Sutter Health Park [[link removed]]. The club then began to make good on that, signing a three-year, $67 million contract with free-agent pitcher Luis Severino, breaking a 21-year-old record [[link removed]] for the largest player commitment in team history. Contract extension talks are also underway with rising outfielder Brent Rooker.

The A’s, however, will be receiving their full revenue-sharing allotment next year for the first time in many years, the result of the club solidifying its deal to build a new stadium in Las Vegas [[link removed]]. That figure is projected to be at least $70 million, and MLB’s labor deal with the MLB Players Association [[link removed]] generally requires that revenue-sharing recipients have a payroll of at least 150% of what they receive in assistance to promote efforts “to improve performance on the field.”

Payrolls of less than 150% of revenue-sharing receipts shift the burden of proof from the union to the team in a potential MLBPA grievance filing for not adhering to agreement guidelines.

If the club gets to a $105 million payroll for 2025, roughly reaching that 150% level, that would set a new franchise record—surpassing its nearly $99 million outlay in 2019 [[link removed]].

The Athletic reported that the A’s are well aware of the obligations [[link removed]] in the labor deal.

The team already has about $74 million in salary and benefits commitments for next season [[link removed]], nearly equal to its 2024 total outlay and well before other offseason decision-making and arbitration proceedings, but showing that there is still work to do to reach that 150% threshold.

MLB’s free-agent market thus far has been more active than it has been in years, highlighted by the record-setting $765 million deal between the Mets and Juan Soto [[link removed]]. But players beyond Severino will need to be convinced of the merits of playing in potentially extreme Sacramento heat next summer and more difficult playing conditions there competing in a minor league ballpark [[link removed]].

“We wanted to make something of a statement coming into a new city and coming into a new ballpark,” said A’s GM David Forst after the Severino signing.

Ticket Issues

The A’s, meanwhile, have started season-ticket sales at Sutter Health Park for the 2025 season. Capacity will be limited given the ballpark’s roughly 14,000-seat size, though it won’t be MLB’s smallest next year with the Rays playing next season’s home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field [[link removed]] in Tampa. Standard tickets for the A’s will range from $39 to $170 each per game, and purchasing will be limited to fans living within a 180-mile radius of the stadium.

Priority is also being given to fans who were either 2024 season-ticket holders with the A’s in Oakland, or of the Sacramento River Cats, the Giants’ top minor league affiliate and the other major tenant at Sutter Health Park. Single-game ticket sales are expected to begin in January.

DeChambeau, Koepka Hope Showdown Helps Unite LIV–PGA Tour [[link removed]]

Melissa Tamez-Imagn Images

Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka are hopeful that next week’s LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour match against Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler can be a stepping stone toward officially reuniting the two tours.

“It could transcend golf,” Koepka said during an event preview Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday. “Whether it be back together, whatever that case may be, I know that we’ll be a part of that.”

The Crypto.com Showdown next Tuesday in Las Vegas will pay out a $10 million cryptocurrency purse [[link removed]] following an 18-hole match that will be simulcast across TNT, TBS, truTV, and Max. The competition will be divided into three six-hole formats: best ball, alternate shot, and singles.

LIV Golf and the PGA Tour are allowing each of their golfers to compete. But neither tour is an organizer of the event, which was created by Hollywood producer Bryan Zuriff’s BZ Entertainment and EverWonder Studio, which is backed by Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI (which is the majority investor in Front Office Sports).

“The Showdown” is a new franchise, separate from “The Match” series, which was also created by Zuriff (but not EverWonder), and has previously featured DeChambeau, Koepka, McIlroy, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson, among other golfers, as well as celebrities and other professional athletes.

“If we can create something special for the future, something that’s lasting and leaves a good impact on the game of golf, that’s what I hope comes from this event,” DeChambeau said.

DeChambeau and Koepka are both captains of and have ownership stakes in their respective LIV Golf teams. Zuriff previously told FOS that all four participating golfers have equity in “The Showdown.” [[link removed]]

Koepka said the players are “extremely involved” in “The Showdown.” “We want to have our say, and I think that’s something we enjoy. We’ve become more than just players. I think we’ve—with LIV—become actual, true businessmen.”

PGA Tour–LIV Talks Continue

Earlier on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia was “ nearing a deal to acquire a minority stake in PGA Tour Enterprises [[link removed]].” That’s the for-profit entity that the PGA Tour created earlier this year to essentially serve as its commercial arm.

The Strategic Sports Group—a consortium [[link removed]] largely made up of professional U.S.-based sports team owners—has already invested $1.5 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises [[link removed]], with an option to double that to $3 billion. Per Bloomberg, the PIF is “in advanced talks about taking a roughly 6% stake” at a potential $12 billion valuation, which would equate to $720 million—just under 50% of SSG’s initial investment.

However, any potential deal will face scrutiny from the Department of Justice, Woods said last week ahead of the Hero World Challenge, which he annually hosts in the Bahamas. “Even if we had gotten a deal done by now, it’s still in the DOJ’s hands,” he said.

If and when a deal finally happens, DeChambeau hopes his voice can be heard. “I’d love to have some say in how the game comes back together,” he said.

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BYU Secures No. 1 2026 Hoops Recruit With $7 Million NIL Deal [[link removed]]

Enterprise News

A school’s legacy carries a heavy weight during the recruitment of high school prospects. But in the NIL (name, image, and likeness) era, money has become the great equalizer—and BYU proved that Tuesday.

AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1–ranked high school player in the 2025 class, announced his commitment to the Cougars on ESPN’s First Take [[link removed]]. He chose BYU over UNC and Kansas—two college basketball bluebloods that have won 10 national championships combined [[link removed]]—and Alabama, which made the Final Four last year.

The Cougars’ NIL offer to Dybantsa is close to $7 million [[link removed]], according to basketball insider Adam Zagoria, a deal that flirts with the potential $10 million deal [[link removed]] Bryce Underwood, the top-ranked quarterback in the 2025 class, may receive to decommit from LSU in favor of Michigan [[link removed]]. But Dybantsa is expected to declare for the NBA draft after one year in school. If he receives $7 million for one year, it would be the highest annual NIL figure ever reported.

The 6-foot-9 forward, who grew up in Massachusetts, is already playing in the state. In the summer, he transferred from Prolific Prep in California to Utah Prep in Hurricane—about 260 miles south of BYU’s campus in Provo, Utah.

BYU has been lurking as a potential NIL powerhouse in men’s basketball, particularly after the school hired Kevin Young as head coach in April [[link removed]]. Young, who was an assistant coach with the Sixers and Suns from 2016 to 2024, was once the highest-paid assistant coach in NBA history [[link removed]] (more than $2 million a year) before moving to the collegiate ranks.

Young’s presence as head coach was the first thing Dybantsa cited when ESPN asked about his decision to choose BYU.

“A lot stood out during my visit. Obviously, coach Kevin Young’s there. My ultimate goal is to get to the NBA, and he coached my favorite player of all time, Kevin Durant,” Dybantsa said. He also added that the Cougars were full of staff members with NBA experience.

AWARD

The wait is over. … Front Office Sports is pleased to announce the 2024 Best Employers in Sports Award winners.

Winners are based on anonymous employee survey data and analyzed by our research partner, Canvs [[link removed]], using patented AI technology—free from subjectivity and human bias.

Check out the entire list, including multiyear winners here [[link removed]].

ONE BIG FIG Yankees Pivot to Pitching

Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

$218 million

The amount of money the Yankees committed over the next eight years to sign free-agent pitcher Max Fried, according to multiple reports. The contract represents the largest amount of guaranteed money ever for a left-handed pitcher. The deal arrived less than 48 hours after the Mets came to terms on a record-setting, $765 million deal for Juan Soto, [[link removed]] also a key target for the Yankees. After the Soto deal, though, Yankees GM Brian Cashman quickly began to pivot toward other potential acquisitions. “There’s a lot of different ways to figure this thing out, and so we’re just going to have to figure it out a different way,” Cashman said.

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Conversation Starters The Boise State–UNLV game averaged three million viewers on Fox, the most-watched Mountain West championship on any network in history [[link removed]]. The NBA recreated its famous “Jingle Hoops” commercial, this time with players as action figures. Take a look [[link removed]]. Caitlin Clark was named Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year for 2024. Check out [[link removed]?] the cover. Editors’ Picks Netflix Spectacle Made Tyson, Paul Top Trending U.S. Athletes of 2024: Google [[link removed]]by Lisa Scherzer [[link removed]]The Yankees and Dodgers were among the top trending sports team searches in 2024. NFL Owners Set to Vote on Dolphins, Bills Stakes for Tsai, Carter, PE Firms [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]] and A.J. Perez [[link removed]]The deals are likely to be approved at the owners meetings in Dallas. [[link removed]] Linda McMahon’s Sexual Abuse Lawsuit on Pause Over Maryland Constitutionality Questions [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The 2023 law allowing the lawsuit is being challenged. Question of the Day

Are you planning to watch “The Showdown” between PGA Tour and LIV Golf players?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Tuesday’s result: Only 16% of respondents think Juan Soto will spend the entirety of his next 15 seasons as a Met.

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