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Afternoon Edition

January 28, 2025

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Sunday’s conference title games presented CBS with a big win—but Fox ended up taking a similarly sized hit. We explore the enormous disparity between the AFC and NFC title games, and what they might mean for this year’s Super Bowl.

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

Bills-Chiefs Draws Historic TV Ratings, but NFC Game Disappoints [[link removed]]

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Sunday’s NFL conference championship games provided two very different viewership realities, with one game making history, and the other extending a lengthy viewership decline for the league this season.

CBS averaged an audience of 57.7 million for the AFC title game between the Bills and Chiefs, dramatically won by Kansas City 32–29, with that viewership representing the most-watched AFC championship game since the late 1980s advent of Nielsen’s People Meter measurement system. The figure surpassed last year’s NFC title contest, also played in the later broadcast slot and drawing 56.7 million [[link removed]], by 1.7%.

The contest also ranks as the No. 2 in all-time viewership for the NFL in non–Super Bowl games in the last 37 years, trailing only the 2009 NFC title game between the Saints and Vikings, won by New Orleans in overtime and drawing an average of 57.9 million.

Fox, meanwhile, had a very different situation for the NFC championship game Sunday, won handily by the Eagles over the Commanders 55–23 in the earlier broadcast slot. The game averaged 44.2 million, down by 21% from the comparable draw of 55.7 million for the AFC title game last year—a figure that was a record for that conference matchup until Sunday.

The weaker figure for the NFC game—the worst for that conference title game since the 2018 season (Rams at Saints), and before the arrival of Nielsen’s counting of out-of-home audiences—extends declines seen throughout the NFL’s 2024 regular season [[link removed]], wild-card round [[link removed]], and divisional playoffs [[link removed]]. It also helps create a more difficult situation for Fox to match the record-setting audience seen last year for Super Bowl LVIII [[link removed]] with the upcoming Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 between the Chiefs and Eagles.

The television audience for the AFC game, however, does additionally provide a counterargument to “Chiefs fatigue” that may be currently at play in a declining ticket resale market [[link removed]] for Super Bowl LIX.

NFL Power Shifts: Brady’s Influence Drives Raiders Leadership Moves [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Raiders introduced their new coach Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek to the media Monday, following a lengthy search that was heavily influenced by minority owner Tom Brady.

While Brady wasn’t in Las Vegas on Monday, Raiders owner Mark Davis made it clear the seven-time Super Bowl champion, and current Fox NFL analyst, is one of the franchise’s most important people.

“Bringing in Tom Brady was bringing in somebody that was on the football side that I had been lacking having here in the organization,” Davis said after Monday’s press conference. Brady was one of five key members leading the hiring process, Davis said, a development that raised concern [[link removed]] given Brady’s 10-year, $375 million contract at Fox.

Davis said Brady is filling a void left by Jon Gruden, who resigned in 2021 [[link removed]] after sexist, racist, and homophobic emails Gruden sent while working for ESPN were published by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Since then, Gruden has been embroiled in a defamation lawsuit against the NFL [[link removed]].

“Back in I guess it was ’18, with Jon Gruden—he was somebody that I brought in and really expected to be that person on the football side that would bring stability to the organization,” Davis said. “He had a 10-year contract and all that, and his head was chopped off. And we were put in a really bad position as an organization.”

It’s evident Davis still feels chided by how Gruden’s exit played out.

“We want to build something here,” he said. “And again, that’s been the process and the mindset all along. Like I said, it got offset, or kind of blown up, when Jon Gruden was sent away. So, we’ve been trying to get it right since then. But I’ve got patience to get it right.”

In-State Move

Also on Monday, the Jaguars introduced new coach Liam Coen following his controversial departure from his role as offensive coordinator of the Buccaneers [[link removed]].

Coen’s hiring coincided with Jacksonville firing GM Trent Baalke [[link removed]], who had originally been retained by Jaguars owner Shad Khan when coach Doug Pederson was fired.

“After the 10 video interviews were done, there was a transition point for me to reflect, and what was the right thing for the organization,” Khan said of his conversations with prospective head coaches. “And that’s when I decided that it was time for a change.” Khan hopes to have a new GM hired by the end of February.

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Sixers Face Dilemma: Push for Playoffs or Tank for Draft Lottery [[link removed]]

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Sixers were supposed to have a shot at a championship this season.

Philadelphia signed nine-time All-Star Paul George [[link removed]] to bolster its core led by former MVP Joel Embiid and All-Star Tyrese Maxey. The team brought back 2020 Coach of the Year Nick Nurse, signed a few veteran role players (Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond), and picked up Jared McCain in the draft.

It followed a similar blueprint to the NFL’s Eagles [[link removed]], its next-door neighbors in downtown Philadelphia, who are now in the Super Bowl.

But the Sixers have gone the opposite way. Embiid has played just 13 games, George is having his worst scoring season in more than a decade, and injuries have plagued Maxey and McCain.

Amid the disastrous first half of the season, however, Philadelphia isn’t out of playoff contention yet. The Sixers are 11th in the Eastern Conference, a game and a half out of the last play-in spot. And since the team is built to compete now, it could aspire for a play-in push, especially if Embiid is able to play consistently.

But the Sixers could consider going in the complete opposite direction, call it a lost season, and embrace a tank. The 2025 NBA draft is projected to be a deep class, but the Sixers will receive their pick only if they fall in the top six [[link removed]]. Otherwise, the No. 1–seeded Thunder will take their pick, which they acquired for taking on Al Horford’s contract in 2020 [[link removed]].

The Sixers currently have the eighth-best odds to win the lottery [[link removed]] and are four games ahead of the Raptors, who have the sixth-worst record [[link removed]] in the league.

There is precedent for other contending teams that essentially took a one-year sabbatical and nabbed a lottery pick, but the results have been mixed. The Warriors finished 15–50 in 2020, a year after making the Finals, due to injuries to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, and selected James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick. The Grizzlies selected Zach Edey with the No. 9 pick in 2024 after the team won 24 fewer games last season as Ja Morant played just nine games. Edey has started 26 games for Memphis this year.

With the trade deadline just over a week away (Feb. 6), Philadelphia has to decide soon what its direction will be for the remainder of the year, or it may find itself trapped where it is now: outside the playoffs and projected to lose its first-round pick.

Bob Myers to the Rescue?

According to The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Sixers GM Daryl Morey could potentially be replaced by former Warriors GM and current ESPN NBA analyst Bob Myers. Simmons cited Myers’s previous experience with Sixers owner Josh Harris. Myers was on the advisory committee for the GM and head coach search of the Commanders, the NFL team Harris purchased in 2023.

“There’s been some Bob Myers Philly buzz that I think has been building because I think he had a good experience with Josh Harris,” Simmons said Friday on The Bill Simmons Podcast.

It’s unclear how much traction there is to Simmons’s report. Last year, he claimed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos [[link removed]] was interested in purchasing the Celtics, but that claim was shot down days later by The Information [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT One Down, Three Push

David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Penguins ⬆⬇ The NHL team’s parent organization, Fenway Sports Group, is exploring a sale of a minority equity interest, according to multiple reports. The Penguins have long been a top performer in the league across multiple business metrics, though Pittsburgh is currently suffering through a downbeat season that could be its third straight missing the playoffs. FSG, which acquired the Penguins in 2021, is expected to remain the controlling owner of the franchise.

South Carolina vs. LSU ⬆⬇ Viewership for the women’s basketball rivalry drew 841,000 viewers Friday on ESPN, down 46% from last year’s January matchup between the two teams that also featured future WNBA first-round picks Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. The game was postponed by one day due to weather conditions in Louisiana that impacted travel for the Tigers. It was still the fourth-most-watched women’s college basketball game this year across all networks.

Suns and Heat ⬇ Bradley Beal would not waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a trade to the Bulls, according to The Athletic [[link removed]]. The three-time All-Star wants to join a winning team, but he also finds cold-weather cities like Chicago “less attractive.” These requirements complicate a potential trade for the guard and the chances the Heat can move Jimmy Butler to Phoenix [[link removed]].

NASCAR ⬆⬇ The league will not change its playoff format in 2025 but will create a group to evaluate changes for 2026. NASCAR’s playoff format received heavy criticism last year after Joey Logano [[link removed]] became the first driver to finish 15th or worse in points during the regular season to win the title.

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Conversation Starters Mike Trout supported the Eagles—his favorite team growing up—in Philadelphia on Sunday, then attended TGL in Florida the next day [[link removed]]. Trout is a limited partner of Tiger Woods’s Jupiter Links Golf Club in the new golf league. Vanderbilt was fined $500,000 after its fans stormed the court Saturday following a win by its men’s basketball team over Kentucky. The school has been fined $850,000 this year [[link removed]] for multiple violations. LeBron James has been named an NBA All-Star starter for the 21st straight time, while Jalen Brunson received his second selection. Check out [[link removed]] this picture of James and a young Brunson at the 2006 All-Star Game. Editors’ Picks Remembering the Super Bowl XLVII Blackout, 12 Years Later [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]The last Super Bowl in New Orleans was interrupted by a chaotic 34-minute blackout. It’s Starting to Pay to Be Good at Cornhole [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]American Cornhole League players made $7.7 million in 2024. Colin Cowherd Nearing Deal to Remain at FS1 [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]Cowherd’s current contract is slated to expire in late February. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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