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Afternoon Edition

January 14, 2025

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Less than an hour after the Cowboys parted ways with Mike McCarthy, reports emerged that owner Jerry Jones had spoken to Colorado coach—and Cowboys legend—Deion Sanders. How much would it take to bring Prime Time back to Dallas? And is Jones willing to commit?

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

Deion Sanders Leaving Colorado for Cowboys Would Be Expensive [[link removed]]

Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

As the Cowboys dominate the NFL news cycle with speculation about Deion Sanders replacing Mike McCarthy as the head coach in Dallas, there are some important financial obstacles to consider.

Sanders is entering the third season of a five-year, $29.5 million contract as head coach of Colorado. If he were to leave in 2025, the university would be owed $8 million (cheaper than the $10 million UNC would be owed [[link removed]] if Bill Belichick leaves before June 1).

The Cowboys are widely estimated to be the world’s most valuable professional sports franchise, worth at least $10 billion, but money was still an issue for Dallas owner and GM Jerry Jones, who had the final say on McCarthy’s departure [[link removed]].

On the team’s official website, Cowboys columnist Mickey Spagnola wrote [[link removed]], “Jerry likely wasn’t willing to commit guaranteed money over the five-year time period new head coaches have been signing over the past year that certainly McCarthy’s agent, Don Yee, was angling for.” That’s in line with other reporting, including from ProFootballTalk, which previously cited similar thinking around league circles [[link removed]].

McCarthy was making $8 million per season in Dallas, according to ESPN. The NFL’s highest-paid coaches have salaries well into the eight figures ($10 million and more). Broncos coach Sean Payton [[link removed]] and Chiefs coach Andy Reid [[link removed]] could each make as much as $100 million over five years.

It would seem unlikely for Sanders to leave Colorado without a raise upon the $5.9 million (plus $1.85 million in potential incentives) he is due to make in 2025. However, even that salary is above what first-time NFL coaches typically initially earn, which is often not more than $5 million per season.

Rocky Mountain Man

Sanders confirmed he spoke with Jones [[link removed]] on the phone about the Cowboys opening, telling ESPN, “I love Jerry and believe in Jerry. After you hang up, and process it, and think about it, it’s intriguing. But I love Boulder and everything there is about our team, the coaches, our student body and the community.”

Colorado is moving forward without an official NIL (name, image, and likeness) collective, after dropping its partner, the 5430 Alliance [[link removed]].

Earlier this week, Sanders posted a video on social media of his first team meeting of the year, in which he said he was excited [[link removed]] to “just be a coach and not be a dad.” For the past two seasons, Shedeur and Shilo Sanders were on the Buffaloes. Shedeur is projected to be one of the top quarterbacks selected in the NFL Draft, while Shilo’s professional prospects are less certain.

DirecTV Launches MySports Package, Expands on Failed Venu Sports [[link removed]]

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The battle for supremacy in sports-centric skinny bundles is escalating quickly as satellite TV carrier DirecTV is introducing a sports package that includes all of what was previously attempted with Venu Sports, plus many more channels.

The company unveiled its “MySports” streaming package Tuesday, bringing together content from prior Venu Sports partners ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as league-owned channels such as the NFL Network and MLB Network. Other digital services such as ESPN+ will eventually be added to the package.

More than 40 sports and broadcast channels will be part of the MySports package. It will be available initially in 24 U.S. metro areas, including top markets such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and cost $69.99 per month. A debut promotion drops $20 from the cost for each of the first three months.

Those figures are dramatically less than the standard fee of more than $100 per month for an entry-level DirecTV package with a broad array of sports channels and streaming capabilities—but more than the $42.99 per month eyed for the now-shuttered Venu Sports.

“This is the first of several genre-based options we plan to launch over the coming months on our path towards a brighter TV future for consumers,” DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.

The skinny bundle race is one of several strategies carriers and programmers are attempting to address accelerating cord-cutting across the pay-TV landscape. Other efforts are more direct-to-consumer options, such as what ESPN is now developing with its “Flagship” product [[link removed]].

Several major sports programmers, including CBS and Amazon, remain notable omissions from this new MySports package, as they were in Venu Sports.

Broader Landscape

DirecTV’s high-profile announcement arrived just days after Venu Sports announced plans to discontinue [[link removed]] before even reaching the market, though former rival Fubo Inc. now plans to revive the essence of that controversial service [[link removed]].

DirecTV, meanwhile, has been in the throes of its own change in recent months. An attempt at a large-scale merger [[link removed]] with satellite TV rival Dish Network quickly unraveled [[link removed]], in part due to complications from the latter’s debt load of nearly $10 million. A separate deal in which private equity giant TPG Inc. will acquire from AT&T the 70% stake in DirecTV it doesn’t already own remains on track.

The carrier has also been in the midst of amending current deals or striking new ones with major programmers to help make initiatives such as MySports. Among them was a major negotiation last summer with ESPN’s parent company Disney, ultimately resolving [[link removed]] a bitter, two-week impasse in talks.

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Don’t Call It a Comeback, but Reds Have Returned to RSN [[link removed]]

Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The accelerating and unlikely momentum of Main Street Sports has gathered more support as the regional sports network operator reached a revised rights agreement with the Reds, the company’s second such new deal in the last two weeks.

As the former Diamond Sports Group recently emerged from bankruptcy with its new name and a reworked rights pact with the Brewers [[link removed]], the National League Central rival Reds made a similar move. Cincinnati had previously elected to go with Major League Baseball’s in-house model [[link removed]] for producing and distributing its local games in 2025—to the point of walking away from its 20% equity stake in FanDuel Sports Network Ohio [[link removed]] for a single dollar.

Several weeks of subsequent negotiations between the Reds and Main Street Sports, however, led to a new pact for the coming season back on that network. The agreement includes both linear and streaming rights.

“Our top priority is to make sure Reds games are accessible to our fans,” said Reds COO and CFO Doug Healy. “The decision to stay with FanDuel Sports Network provides continuity for our fans.”

Main Street Sports now has nine MLB clubs in its portfolio of teams, joining eight NHL teams and 13 more in the NBA. It also has boosted its post-bankruptcy operations by hiring former ESPN executive Norby Williamson [[link removed]] as president of production and programming. MLB will now handle five clubs in 2025 through the in-house program.

The Reds have struggled in MLB’s increasingly big-dollar competitive landscape [[link removed]], reaching the playoffs just once since 2014, and not having won a playoff game since 2012. The team is increasingly seen as an improving one, though, with a solid offseason to date [[link removed]] that includes hiring two-time World Series winner Terry Francona as its new manager. Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz is one of the top rising talents in the league [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Jerry Lai-Imagn Images

Daytona 500 ⬆ NASCAR’s most iconic race has sold out for a 10th consecutive year. The season opener will take place Feb. 16, as Joey Logano looks to defend his 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship [[link removed]], and Michael Jordan’s team, 23XI Racing, continues competing amidst its legal battle with NASCAR [[link removed]].

JD Sports ⬇ The U.K.-based sports retailer lowered its guidance for this fiscal year, citing weakening demand for athletic clothing. The company’s pretax profit is down to a range of $1.11 billion to $1.14 billion from a previous low end of $1.17 billion.

João Fonseca ⬆ The 18-year-old Brazilian tennis player upset No. 9–ranked Andrey Rublev in straight sets during the first round of the Australian Open. Fonseca, who turned pro less than a year ago, has less than $1 million in career earnings [[link removed]]. He’s already earned at least $200,000 [[link removed]] by advancing to the second round of the Grand Slam.

Bricker Graydon LLP ⬇ The Cleveland-based law firm has been fired by the city [[link removed]] for a development project it was working on, due to it also representing Brook Park in the suburb’s effort to build a $2.4 billion dome for the Browns [[link removed]], who would move out of downtown.

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Conversation Starters UFL president and CEO Russ Brandon joined FOS editor-in-chief Dan Roberts on The FOS Interview to discuss the spring football league’s inaugural season since the merger of the XFL and USFL. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Commanders kicker Zane Gonzalez, who is open about his struggle with OCD, doinked a kick off the uprights to give Washington its first playoff win in 19 years. Take a look [[link removed]]. The Rams provided buses to take hundreds of fans on a six-hour trip to State Farm Stadium in Arizona [[link removed]]. They watched Los Angeles advance to the divisional round. Editors’ Picks Eagles Fan Barred from Lincoln Financial Field in Latest Instance of Fan Bad Behavior [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]There have been serious consequences recently for sports fans caught misbehaving. Clinton Yates Takes Over Mike Greenberg’s ESPN Radio Time Slot [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Yates will take over Mike Greenberg’s 10 a.m to noon ET slot. Olympic Medals From Paris Games Already Need to Be Replaced, IOC Says [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Athletes complained about the condition of their medals before the Games ended. DISCLAIMER

*Marcus and Kiyomi Mariota are non-customer, paid promoters of Prudential Financial. Learn more about the material terms of their relationship with Prudential at [[link removed]].

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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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