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Morning Edition

January 8, 2025

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This year’s College Football Playoff is down to four teams. We break down everything you need to know about Thursday’s and Friday’s games, including a huge potential audience—and how much Notre Dame could pocket from money that generally goes to conferences.

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

Can College Football Playoff Maintain Ratings Momentum? [[link removed]]

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff is gearing up for its semifinal matchups this week, with the expanded postseason’s inaugural TV ratings in the national spotlight.

With 12 teams making up this year’s bracket, the first-ever CFP quarterfinals averaged 16.9 million viewers on ESPN platforms [[link removed]], after an average audience of 10.6 million tuned in to the debut of first-round Playoff games [[link removed]] across ESPN and TNT Sports platforms. So far, all eight CFP games combined have averaged 13.75 million viewers.

Next up, ESPN will apply its traditional “MegaCast” approach to Notre Dame–Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night, and Ohio State–Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night. Those games will be looking to match or surpass last year’s CFP semifinals, which averaged 23.2 million viewers for ESPN.

Last year’s matchups were played on New Year’s Day, with the Michigan-Alabama Rose Bowl drawing 27.7 million viewers. That was higher than the audience of 25 million who tuned in to the Michigan-Washington national championship game.

Ready for Kickoff

The Orange Bowl is going ahead as originally scheduled, despite a request from SEC commissioner Greg Sankey to have the CFP semifinal games flipped [[link removed]], due to the Sugar Bowl’s one-day delay to Jan. 2. Sankey felt that Notre Dame, which beat SEC champion Georgia last week, would have a disadvantage, since Penn State ended up with two extra days of rest, having beaten Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

For Notre Dame, another $6 million in bonus money is on the line, as the Fighting Irish get to keep 100% of the CFP revenue distribution they earn as an independent university, as opposed to other schools whose conference receive said bonus money, and distribute it to all their members.

Notre Dame has already earned $14 million thus far [[link removed]]—the same amount Penn State and Ohio State have each earned for the Big Ten, and Texas has netted for the SEC.

Raiders Coaching Search Fuels Tom Brady Conflict Questions [[link removed]]

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The 2024 NFL regular season has been over for less than 72 hours, and Tom Brady has already become a major storyline.

Less than three months after Brady was approved as a Raiders minority owner [[link removed]], complete with a series of special rules [[link removed]] to account for his Fox Sports broadcasting role, the seven-time Super Bowl winner’s role in football operations is again quickly rising to the forefront.

The team fired head coach Antonio Pierce after one season [[link removed]], and in the midst of that, multiple reports quickly suggested Brady would have a sizable role in selecting Pierce’s successor. Among them was an Adam Schefter post saying Brady would be part of a “collaborative committee” [[link removed]] to interview coaching candidates.

Of course, that’s hardly a leap, as last month Raiders owner Mark Davis said he expected Brady to have a “huge” say in the team’s future direction [[link removed]]. The rebuilding team finished 4–13 on the season, and it will have the No. 6 pick in the 2025 draft.

The drama of the situation, however, stems largely from how this latest role aligns with his 10-year, $375 million broadcasting contract with Fox. The coaching search functions are not on the banned activities list along with other actions such as attending team practices or pregame production meetings. But they would appear to skirt closer to the line, and potentially raise another appearance of conflict—particularly if the Raiders pursue current Lions coordinators Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson or Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and Brady is calling one or more of those teams’ playoff games in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, Brady will also be part of Fox’s production of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, an event that is not only the single largest event in all of U.S. television this year but an obvious corporate priority for Fox Corp.

As those preparations continue, Brady’s performance in the booth has been widely deemed to have improved considerably in the second half of the season.

Among the other potential candidates for the Raiders coaching job is former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, also a former teammate of Brady’s in New England. Vrabel, however, will also reportedly interview for the Patriots’ vacant head coaching job [[link removed]], along with several others, and he is seen as a strong candidate there.

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As Butler Eliminates Options, Heat Face Expensive Dilemma [[link removed]]

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Jimmy Butler was suspended for seven games [[link removed]] by the Heat on Friday as the team explores trade offers for the six-time All-Star. However, it seems Miami will not be trading Butler before he is reinstated.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Heat are not satisfied with the offers they’ve received for Butler and are “preparing internally” for Butler to be on the team by the time he’s eligible to play on Jan. 17.

“We’re at a genuine stalemate,” Windhorst said Tuesday on First Take [[link removed]]. He added that teams are offering the “pupu platter” for Butler because of his contract.

The Heat reportedly refused to give the 35-year-old a two-year, $113 million contract extension [[link removed]] this past summer, so Butler can be an unrestricted free agent this offseason if he chooses to decline his $52.4 million player option.

Multiple teams, including the Grizzlies, have been told Butler has “no interest” [[link removed]] in being traded to them, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes. Yahoo Sports senior analyst Kevin O’Connor reported the Bucks as another team [[link removed]] Butler shot down. This would indicate Butler would not sign an extension and would essentially be a half-year rental for any team.

According to Windhorst, Butler’s desired destination is Phoenix—and there’s mutual interest between the two sides. But several factors complicate a trade to the Valley of the Sun. For the money to work, Bradley Beal would need to be involved in a trade—unless the Suns unexpectedly decide to trade Kevin Durant or Devin Booker.

Beal, who was benched Monday [[link removed]] for the first time since the 2015–2016 season, has three years left on his deal, including this year, amounting to about $161 million. He also has a no-trade clause—and he told reporters after Monday’s game that the team has not informed him about a potential trade [[link removed]].

“If so, I need to be addressed because I hold the cards,” Beal said.

Beal was reportedly willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to Miami in 2023 [[link removed].] when he was being shopped by the Wizards [[link removed]]. The Heat were unwilling to take on the three-time All-Star’s contract. That position hasn’t changed [[link removed]] this time around, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Miami will need to find another team willing to take on Beal that can also make the money work—especially because the Suns are second-apron violators [[link removed]]. An already narrow field would shrink further since Beal must be willing to waive his no-trade clause for the deal to push through.

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Conversation Starters Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn attended a Detroit Pistons game the day after his defense held the Vikings to nine points to help clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The fans gave him a standing ovation. Take a look [[link removed]]. The Bulls surprised Derrick Rose this weekend by telling him his jersey number would be retired next season. The 2011 NBA MVP was visibly emotional. Watch it here [[link removed]?]. Actress Emma Roberts is an avid sports-card collector. Last week, she pulled a one-of-one card of Orioles star Jackson Holliday. Check it out [[link removed]?]. Editors’ Picks Dana White Joins Meta As Company’s Trump-Era Pivot Continues [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The UFC CEO and GOP donor is a longtime Trump friend and ally. Unrivaled Reveals TNT Team Headlined by Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Lisa Leslie, Taylor Rooks, Allie LaForce, and Sarah Kustok will also appear. What’s Next for Fox Sports, Skip Bayless, Other Parties Implicated in Lawsuit? [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]] and A.J. Perez [[link removed]]A lawyer for the plaintiff told FOS “our client looks forward to being vindicated.” Question of the Day

Will Jimmy Butler be dealt before the NBA trade deadline?

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

Tuesday’s result: Only 12% of respondents said they will try to catch WWE now that it’s on Netflix.

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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