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Afternoon Edition

February 26, 2025

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Hello from Indianapolis, where much of the buzz centers on Wednesday morning’s NFLPA report cards. The biggest shift belongs to the Commanders, who mirrored their on-field surge by going from 32nd in last year’s survey to 11th this year. We explain how new ownership has transformed the franchise.

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

NFL Players’ Views of Commanders Spike After Year Without Snyder

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

INDIANAPOLIS — The Commanders continue to shed their former title of the NFL’s worst franchise.

After finishing dead last in the NFL Players Association’s annual report card for two years in a row, Washington rose to 11th overall in 2025’s report cards [[link removed]], which were released Wednesday morning.

Last year’s report cards covered the 2023 season, which played out only months after Josh Harris closed a deal with disgraced former owner Dan Snyder to buy the team for $6 billion in July [[link removed]] of that year.

“I’m not an F-minus guy,” Harris deadpanned after last year’s report cards [[link removed]].

“A lot of stuff happened that was unfortunate,” Harris said after buying the team [[link removed]]. “We’re focused on changing the culture. It’s about creating a management team that doesn’t look the same. It’s about zero tolerance on ethically challenged behavior.”

The Commanders were ripped across the board in the 2024 report cards with issues ranging from sewage leaks in the locker room to an understaffed training room. As Snyder sold the team, the NFL fined him $60 million [[link removed]] after an investigation that found he sexually harassed a team employee and withheld millions in ticket revenue from the league.

Harris backed up his talk, receiving an A this year for ownership, ranking eighth among his peers. New head coach Dan Quinn was the top-ranked head coach on the report cards, too.

The 2025 report cards mark the third year the NFLPA has done them, publicly grading teams on everything from facilities and head coach to treatment of families as a way to help drive players’ decisions in free agency and push teams to improve working conditions that aren’t strictly required under the collective bargaining agreement. In the three years they’ve existed, the report cards have led to significant changes to the players’ benefit [[link removed]]. Despite being of interest and envy to other professional sports leagues [[link removed]], no other major pro sports union has followed with its own yet.

For more on this year’s report cards and other big shifts across the league, read the full story by FOS writers Alex Schiffer and David Rumsey [[link removed]].

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Braves: MLB-ESPN Split ‘No Effect Whatsoever,’ Better Deals on Horizon [[link removed]]

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The recent MLB-ESPN divorce [[link removed]], though approaching in slow motion for months, sent shockwaves across the sports, media, and financial worlds. For the Braves, however, the news ultimately amounts to a “non-event,” and the team predicted that an even better situation could soon arrive for the league’s national rights.

In an earnings call Wednesday to review the club’s fourth-quarter and full-year financial results for 2024, Braves chairman Terry McGuirk placed a very optimistic spin on the fallout from the league’s pending split from ESPN.

“This will have no effect whatsoever on [the Braves’] economics,” McGuirk said of the MLB-ESPN breakup. “I think the market is going to be surprised at the enthusiasm and uptake on these sets of rights that are becoming available for next year. I know that the interest is very strong, and I’m sure you’ll hear more from [commissioner] Rob Manfred on this in the coming weeks.”

McGuirk is close to Manfred and has served on a variety of key league committees.

The comments arrived six days after MLB and ESPN announced plans to part ways after the 2025 season. A reunion of some sort remains possible, though unlikely. In the meantime, Fox is ramping up its MLB national broadcast plans heavily [[link removed]] for the upcoming season.

Local Media Rise

The Braves also conveyed a hefty dose of optimism for their retooled local-media situation, which involved an altered deal with the newly reorganized Main Street Sports [[link removed]] that includes streaming rights, as well as a separate over-the-air agreement with Gray Media to simulcast 15 regular-season games alongside Main Street’s FanDuel Sports Network.

“There are now more ways for our fans to view our games and follow our content, and ultimately, that’s to the benefit of our fans and to the business,” said Braves president and CEO Derek Schiller.

The team has had a quieter offseason compared to many top rivals such as the Dodgers and Mets, and speculation has grown in some corners that recent disruption in the media business contributed to that. Braves executives, however, insisted the team remains a title contender, and will benefit from the pending return of injured stars such as Ronald Acuña Jr.

“Over the last three or four years, we have been a top-10 salary organization [in MLB] and we expect that to be the same again this year,” McGuirk said. “[President of baseball operations and GM] Alex Anthopoulos has always had the resources he needs to put a championship group on the field. I see no different situation this year.”

Broader Results

The Braves, meanwhile, reported full-year 2024 financial results that included a 3% rise in total revenue to nearly $663 million, a 14% bump in their mixed-use development revenue at The Battery to $67.3 million, and a 15% reduction in operating losses to $39.7 million.

The results, however, also showed the uniqueness of the club’s business model as the Braves also posted an adjusted operating income of more than $45 million last year from The Battery—a total far greater than the comparable figure from the baseball team itself.

Truist Park will be the host venue for the MLB All-Star Game [[link removed]] on July 15.

Diana Taurasi Steps Away Just Before the WNBA’s Financial Boom [[link removed]]

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Diana Taurasi’s retirement announcement [[link removed]] Tuesday wasn’t exactly a surprise. The 42-year-old played 20 seasons in the WNBA—the most of any player in history—and had reportedly been mulling retirement throughout the offseason.

But the timing of her decision is still noteworthy.

Taurasi is retiring a year before a new WNBA collective bargaining agreement, which, assuming the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association can agree on a deal, is expected to significantly boost players’ salaries. The WNBA, together with the NBA, agreed to an 11-year, $2.2 billion media-rights deal [[link removed]] that kicks in next season, which will be a massive revenue bump for the league.

The full career earnings of Taurasi are unclear, but the 11-time All-Star and 2009 MVP earned nearly $1.4 million over the last eight years of her career [[link removed]], per Spotrac, an annual average of about $173,000.

WNBA salaries were even smaller in Taurasi’s early years than they are now, despite the significant criticism levied on players’ pay today. Taurasi, the 2004 No. 1 pick, earned a base salary of $40,800 in her rookie season, while 2024 No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark earned about $76,500 last season.

Given the smaller salaries in the past, it’s likely Taurasi made around $2 million throughout her two-decade WNBA career—which would be only $100,000 per season. That’s the minimum salary of players in Unrivaled’s inaugural season this year [[link removed]]. (Taurasi did supplement her WNBA earnings by playing more than a decade internationally, which for the best players, can be worth more than $500,000 per season [[link removed]], according to The Athletic.)

It’s the unfortunate reality that Taurasi, who paved the way for many of the stars today expecting a massive payday, won’t be able to benefit from the potential incoming salary bump.

She may have not brought in viewership the way Clark did [[link removed]]—but she certainly molded the future generation, including Clark, who posted an Instagram Story captioned “legend” following Taurasi’s announcement.

Planning Ahead

Taurasi spent all 20 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, but the team’s offseason moves signaled they were ready to compete with or without their franchise’s most iconic player.

The Mercury acquired five-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas [[link removed]] and two-time All-Star Satou Sabally, both of whom will serve as replacements for Taurasi and center Brittney Griner, who left for the Atlanta Dream.

With 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper in the fold, the Mercury, on paper, have the talent to compete with the All-Star-laden championship contenders like the New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, and Minnesota Lynx.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Matthew Stafford ⬆ Raiders minority owner Tom Brady has been in contact with the camp of the Rams quarterback [[link removed]], according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Stafford, 37, has a $49 million cap hit next year [[link removed]], per Spotrac, as part of a four-year, $160 million deal that began in 2023. Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager said earlier this week that Stafford is seeking $50 million per year for his next deal. The Raiders can afford to give Stafford his wish as they have nearly $100 million in cap space.

New Orleans Privateers ⬇ Four of the top five scorers of the men’s basketball team have been held out for nearly a month due to a sports gambling investigation [[link removed]], according to The Field of 68. The report comes just days after Fresno State launched an investigation into three men’s basketball players for sports gambling [[link removed]]—including two players who reportedly bet on the team’s games.

Caesars Entertainment ⬇ The gambling company said its profits and revenue for 2024’s fourth quarter were dragged down in part by “customer-friendly” betting outcomes during the second half of the NFL season that saw favored teams win at historically high levels. Nearly every major U.S. sports betting operator has grappled with a similar situation in recent months.

The GR8 Chase ⬆ Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin scored again Tuesday against the Flames and is now just 12 goals away from breaking the league’s all-time record held by Wayne Gretzky [[link removed]]. Notably, the latest goal gave the Russian at least 30 in a season for the 19th time, extending another NHL record already held by Ovechkin. ESPN, meanwhile, has added two late-season Capitals games to its national coverage as speculation grows on when the Gretzky record will fall.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS NETWORK

Tim Pernetti: Future of CFB, Realignment, and Power Moves

American Athletic Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti joins Adam Breneman for an unfiltered conversation about the future of college football, conference realignment, NIL (name, image, and likeness), media rights, and the business behind the game.

From leading Rutgers’s move to the Big Ten to reshaping the American Athletic Conference, Tim has been at the center of some of the biggest decisions in college athletics.

In this episode, he shares insights on his strategy for growing the American Athletic Conference, the challenges facing college football, what needs to change in the College Football Playoff, and the impact of NIL and private equity in college sports.

Watch the full Next Up episode here [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters The NBA dropped a 50-minute Luka Dončić highlight reel from his time in Dallas ahead of his first game against the Mavericks on Tuesday night. Take a look [[link removed]]. Jordan Brand also released an ad for Dončić before the game that featured the song “All My Ex’s Live in Texas.” Watch it here [[link removed]]. Dončić and Jordan Brand offered free parking to Lakers fans for his first game against the Mavs. Check it out [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Tampa Bay Rays Return $200K They Were Paid by Alleged Ponzi Scheme [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The SEC is suing a company that the Rays marketed at games. WNBA Players Rip Big Ten, SEC for Refusing to Meet With Players [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]A new group is seeking a meeting with conference commissioners. TKO Stock Is Surging. A WWE, UFC, PBR Combo Event Is Next [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]WWE, UFC, and PBR plan to collectively stage a “takeover” in Kansas City. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Alex Schiffer [[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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