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Afternoon Edition

January 6, 2025

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NFL fans are often quick to turn on coaches and general managers. Owners have not been, with only two coaches fired on Black Monday, generally a day full of pink slips—and no GMs.

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

NFL Coaching Carousel Spins Slower: Only Two Fired Since Sunday [[link removed]]

Florida Times-Union

There are now five head coach openings in the NFL, and just one vacant GM position, as this season’s firing and hiring cycle is turning out to be less active than last year—so far, at least.

Last offseason, eight NFL teams made head coaching changes, four of which also hired new GMs (five when including the Patriots promoting Eliot Wolf to EVP of player personnel following Bill Belichick’s departure).

Just two coaches have been fired since the conclusion of the regular season Sunday—Jerod Mayo in New England and Doug Pederson in Jacksonville. But the Patriots are keeping Wolf as the leader of their front office, and the Jaguars are retaining GM Trent Baalke.

During the season, the Bears fired coach Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29 and retained GM Ryan Poles, and the Saints moved on from Dennis Allen on Nov. 4, while sticking with longtime GM Mickey Loomis.

The Jets fired coach Robert Saleh in October and then GM Joe Douglas in November. New York currently has the league’s only GM opening.

Staying the Course

Owners of the Colts, Dolphins, and Giants each released statements announcing they would not be making any changes at the head coach and GM positions.

Indianapolis and Miami finished the season 8–9, while New York was 3–14, which is the most losses in a single season in franchise history [[link removed]]. “I’ve just about run out of patience,” Giants president and CEO John Mara told the media Monday.

Still in Limbo

The Raiders (4–13) have not made an official statement on the job status of head coach Antonio Pierce or GM Tom Telesco, both of whom were hired last offseason. When Pierce addressed the media Monday, he was asked whether he had received any clarity and he said, “I haven’t been told anything different.”

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy’s contract expires Jan. 14 and, on Sunday night, team owner and GM Jerry Jones was fairly cryptic about his plans. “I don’t know that I am considering making a change,” Jones said.

Meanwhile, the Bears have sought permission to interview McCarthy and are awaiting a response from the Cowboys, sources told ESPN [[link removed]].

McCarthy is 49–35 in his five seasons as head coach in Dallas, which missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020 with a 7–10 record this year. Jones will have to negotiate a new contract with his coach if both sides want to stay together.

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Disney Buys Fubo, Killing Venu Lawsuit [[link removed]]

FuboTV

The long-running legal battle between Fubo and Disney over the formation of Venu Sports is over—and in perhaps the most dramatic way possible—as the ESPN parent company is acquiring a majority stake in the rival streamer to create a potentially market-shaking joint venture.

Disney will merge its own Hulu + Live TV service with Fubo’s operations to form a new entity with more than 6.2 million North American subscribers. The new venture will be held by 70% of Disney shareholders, with Fubo owning the rest and running operations. The deal also includes a $220 million payment to Fubo from the Venu Sports partners—Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery—as well as a $145 million loan from Disney to Fubo scheduled for January 2026.

The two services will still be offered separately post-closing, and Hulu will also remain available in the larger Disney streaming bundle. The Hulu on-demand streaming service is not part of the transaction. The dramatic deal, however, still achieves two major objectives: creating a stronger live-streaming service to compete against others such as YouTube TV, which said a year ago it had eight million subscribers, and resolving all litigation between Fubo and Disney.

“This transaction represents an incredible opportunity to build a consumer-first, live TV streaming company,” said Fubo cofounder and CEO David Gandler in an investor call early Monday. “At deal close, our company is expected to become immediately cash-flow positive, instantly making Fubo the major player in the streaming space.”

Fubo sued Venu Sports, the sports-streaming service, last summer, arguing the initiative violated U.S. antitrust law. The company had succeeded in blocking the intended debut last fall [[link removed]] of Venu Sports, to the point where it remained an open question whether that service would ever fully materialize.

The status of Fubo as a business, however, remained significantly challenged, with the company posting a $55 million loss from continuing operations in its most recent fiscal quarter, while the company’s stock had fallen by more than half in the last year. Previously, Gandler said Fubo was looking at bankruptcy if Venu Sports hit the market.

Much of that radically changed with Monday’s trading, though, as Fubo shares rose more than 250%, closing at $5.06 per share—the stock’s highest level in nearly three years.

More Sports Through Fubo

The pact also includes an additional carriage agreement with Disney in which Fubo will gain access to key Disney sports networks such as ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, the ACC and SEC networks, and ESPN+. Those networks will help form a new sports-oriented service offered within Fubo, enhancing the service’s existing sports-oriented focus.

“Fubo will now be able to provide even more sports,” Gandler said. “Crucially, Fubo has the potential to create skinnier sports, news, and entertainment bundles according to consumer needs.”

Venu Moving Forward

Venu Sports, meanwhile, is still proceeding toward a public debut, industry sources close to the agreement said. There is no specific timetable yet; the legal settlement has just been filed.

For ESPN, the planned rollout later this year of its direct-to-consumer product—currently carrying the internal name of Flagship—remains the top corporate streaming priority. At the company’s last earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger called Flagship [[link removed]] “the best product the consumer has ever seen in sports.”

MORE FOS NEWS

NFL Players Score Big With Week 18 Incentives

The final week of the NFL regular season wasn’t just about wins and losses—it was also about big paydays. Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans earned a $3 million bonus while tying a record held by Jerry Rice, and Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith pocketed an extra $6 million by hitting key season-long marks.

Read more about NFL players cashing in on incentives [[link removed]] from FOS newsletter writer David Rumsey.

NFL Playoff Tradition: Texans Draw Saturday-Afternoon Game Again [[link removed]]

The Tennessean

There are no certainties when it comes to the NFL playoffs—except perhaps the Texans playing a Saturday late afternoon wild-card game.

Houston’s placement in the NFL’s first—and arguably least attractive—playoff broadcast slot is now about as close to a sure thing as the league’s postseason can offer.

The AFC South division champions this season claimed the eighth postseason berth in their 23-year history, and for the eighth time will play a wild-card game at 4:30 p.m. ET on a Saturday. The Texans will face the Chargers on CBS, kicking off the NFL’s three-day wild-card weekend.

The streak, remarkably, covers the Texans reaching the playoffs as both a division champion and as a wild-card team, and against opponents from all other U.S. geographic regions and AFC divisions.

There is perhaps a reduced momentum surrounding the 10–7 Texans this year, particularly after the breakthrough season in 2023 for quarterback C.J. Stroud that wasn’t entirely repeated in 2024, and the team is currently the betting underdog in the Chargers game. There’s also little debate that the team doesn’t have the expansive fan base, mainstream cachet, or proven ratings power as several other playoff teams such as the Steelers, Bills, and Packers.

Houston has won five of its prior seven wild-card games. The Texans, however, are 0–5 [[link removed]] in the divisional round.

“We’ve earned the right to play postseason football, which is always our goal, and now we’re excited for whatever opportunity comes next,” said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans.

Other Playoff Matchups

The NFL, meanwhile, rolled out late Sunday a similarly sequenced wild-card schedule as a year ago, slating all of the AFC games to be played before the NFC ones.

The Texans-Chargers game will be followed Saturday night by a Steelers-Ravens game on Amazon Prime Video, its first NFL playoff game in company history [[link removed]], that could challenge the recent league streaming records set by Netflix [[link removed]]. Sunday’s tripleheader will begin with a Broncos-Bills game at 1 p.m. ET on CBS, followed by the Packers and Eagles clash at 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox, and concluding with the Commanders and Buccaneers in prime time on NBC.

The weekend will finish Jan. 13 with the Vikings visiting the Rams, beginning at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, with simulcasts across multiple Disney properties including ABC.

The top-seeded Chiefs and Lions earned byes in this round.

EVENT

Front Office Sports and Excel Sports Management are partnering to gather the biggest names in sports, entertainment, and media for an unforgettable day out on the golf course ahead of the Big Game.

Learn more [[link removed]] about partnership opportunities or how to get involved with The Breakfast Ball—an ultra-high-end Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament that will be a can’t-miss event for companies and brands looking to entertain in the lead-up to the game.

STATUS REPORT Three Up, One Down

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Dwayne Johnson ⬆ The Rock acquired 96,557 more shares of TKO Group, the holdings company of both the WWE and UFC, according to an SEC filing [[link removed]] on Friday. He joined the TKO board of directors in January 2024. He now owns 289,673 shares of TKO, which is up about 76% in the last year, valued at more than $41 million as of the market opening on Monday.

G League ⬆ The Mexico City Capitanes hosted the South Bay Lakers on Saturday at the Arena Ciudad de México in front of 19,328 fans, an attendance record for the NBA’s developmental league. Commissioner Adam Silver has said the NBA would look “seriously” into Mexico City [[link removed]] as a location for an expansion franchise. The top five most-attended G League games of all time were held outside the U.S.

Amazon Prime Video ⬆ The NBA studio coverage of the streaming giant will include NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki and six-time All-Star Blake Griffin [[link removed]], according to The Athletic. They will join host Taylor Rooks. Amazon will pay the NBA about $20 billion of its 11-year, $77 billion media-rights deal starting next season.

Rutgers ⬇ Freshman standout Kiyomi McMiller was not available for the Scarlet Knights’ game Sunday against USC—which was expected to feature a matchup with Trojans star JuJu Watkins. Rutgers lost, 92–42, the worst defeat in the program’s history. McMiller apologized to fans on social media for her absence [[link removed]], saying the “decision was made by my Head Coach Coquese Washington.” Washington chose not to go “into specifics” [[link removed]] when asked after the game about McMiller’s absence. McMiller reposted an Instagram Story on Monday that suggested she should enter the transfer portal [[link removed]].

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Conversation Starters The Kraken invited Marie-Philip Poulin to announce their pregame lineup in the locker room ahead of their game Saturday against the Oilers. She is considered to be one of the greatest women’s hockey players. Check it out [[link removed]]. ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott passed away 10 years ago. Watch the iconic ESPYs speech [[link removed]] he gave in 2014 when he was given the Jimmy V Award for perseverance. Brothers Pat and Cam Spencer played each other in the NBA for the first time Saturday. The Grizzlies subbed in Cam immediately after the Warriors brought in Pat. Take a look [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Biden Signs RFK Stadium Bill Into Law [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]D.C. will take control of the potential stadium site within 180 days. Shannon Sharpe Weighs In on Fox Bombshell Suit: ‘Nothing to Do With Me’ [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Emmanuel Acho is also mentioned in the 42-page lawsuit. House to Fast-Track Ban on Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sports [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The bill would change the language of Title IX. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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