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Afternoon Edition

March 7, 2025

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Knicks owner James Dolan has a contentious relationship with the NBA league office. His latest attack puts the league’s finances in the crosshairs.

Also: We feature a few of the excellent responses you sent in about MLB’s local rights, a story that seems to resonate with a lot of you.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

James Dolan Escalates Feud With NBA, Demands Budget Overhaul [[link removed]]

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

James Dolan is still at war with the NBA, and the ongoing conflict is now taking on additional levels.

Dolan, whose Madison Square Garden Sports controls the Knicks, is now pressing the NBA for additional clarity and transparency on league finances, and is also decrying what he sees as excessive staffing at NBA headquarters. He is proposing a resolution that would “adopt a zero-based method of budgeting operating costs, headcount, and capital expenditures for all league and affiliate league operations.”

“Despite the league’s swelling costs and headcount, the budget materials provided by the league during its annual September budget review are limited in scope,” Dolan wrote in a letter to the NBA league office and board of governors, and obtained by ESPN [[link removed]].

The issue could be addressed at NBA board of governors meetings set for this month.

The latest broadside extends a bitter relationship between Dolan and the NBA that has stretched for several years. Among the other recent issues is a still-ongoing lawsuit against the Raptors [[link removed]] regarding the alleged theft of proprietary files, a case that is headed this summer toward arbitration. Dolan also has repeatedly claimed that the NBA’s new TV deals reached last summer [[link removed]] would render regional sports networks “unviable,” [[link removed]] and that the league has engaged in a campaign of “harassment” [[link removed]] against the Knicks.

On the RSN subject, the Dolan-led Sphere Entertainment Co. on Monday said its MSG Networks is perhaps days away from filing for bankruptcy protection [[link removed]] without a restructuring of more than $800 million in debt. Industry-wide cord-cutting is a key factor in the financial decline of MSG Networks, but the company again also pointed to the NBA national media deals that could take additional game inventory away from local outlets.

“Our affiliation agreements generally require us to meet certain content criteria, such as minimum thresholds for professional event telecasts throughout the calendar year on our networks,” Sphere Entertainment Co. said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “The impacts of the NBA and NHL national broadcast agreements, including the new NBA agreements that are scheduled to begin with the 2025–2026 NBA season, could result in fewer professional event telecasts of our teams made available to us for broadcast and impact our ability to meet these criteria. If we do not meet these criteria, remedies may be available to our distributors, such as fee reductions, rebates, or refunds.”

Bills Making, Spending Plenty of Cash Ahead of New Stadium Opening [[link removed]]

Detroit Free Press

The Bills have brought in a lot of extra cash recently.

Ownership, led by CEO and president Terry Pegula, received roughly $1 billion in December when the team sold minority stakes [[link removed]] totaling about 20% of the franchise at a $5 billion valuation to new investors, including private equity firm Arctos Partners.

And with a new Highmark Stadium opening in 2026, the Bills have also sold at least $129 million in personal seat licenses [[link removed]] for the venue, according to The Buffalo News.

But the Bills are going to spend a lot of money, too.

The cost of building their new stadium was originally projected to be $1.4 billion, with $850 million in public funding. By the end of 2024, that forecasted total had already surpassed $2.1 billion [[link removed]]. Now, the Bills are seeking an exception [[link removed]] to NFL debt limits to borrow $650 million with the stadium projected to cost at least $2.2 billion, according to Sports Business Journal. Buffalo had previously planned to borrow $200 million as part of the league’s G-4 stadium financing program.

Additionally, the Bills said in a statement [[link removed]] Thursday to The Buffalo News that the team is “closely monitoring” land development around the new Highmark Stadium, which could include more commercial and residential projects.

On-Field Costs Rising, Too

The Bills will be on the hook for another high-profile expense soon.

Josh Allen’s six-year, $258 million contract extension runs through 2028, but with the 2024 NFL MVP’s $43 million annual average salary ranking 14th among quarterbacks [[link removed]], a raise is likely in store (all figures via Spotrac).

When NFL teams give players guaranteed money in contracts, the franchise has to put those funds in escrow. So any additional guaranteed funds that Allen may secure in the coming years will be more immediate cash Buffalo ownership has to account for. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott currently has the highest annual salary at $60 million per year.

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A’s Double Down on Vegas: Stadium Updates, New Hires, Extensions [[link removed]]

Athletics

The surprising A’s have made a series of significant moves this week to establish themselves further in their forthcoming Las Vegas home, including hiring a former skeptic as team president, releasing a new set of stadium renderings, and locking up another key player.

The efforts arrived as the team Friday began taking ticket deposits [[link removed]] for a planned $1.75 billion ballpark along the famed Las Vegas Strip that is due to open in 2028.

Leadership Shuffle

The A’s named former Raiders president Marc Badain to the same position with the MLB club, succeeding Dave Kaval, who left at the end of last year, and interim president Sandy Dean, who now moves to a vice chairman role. Badain previously spent 30 years with the Raiders, helping lead the NFL team’s similar relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas, before being pushed out in 2021 amid a series of alleged financial irregularities [[link removed]]. Since then, Badain has been involved with Oak View Group in efforts to bring an NBA-ready arena to Nevada [[link removed]].

Perhaps most notable regarding the A’s, Badain previously conveyed sizable doubt about MLB’s likelihood of success in Las Vegas.

“I think it’s a little more challenging,” Badain said in 2023 at a conference [[link removed]] regarding MLB’s prospects for success in the market. “The economics of baseball are very different than the other three sports. Regional sports television comes into play here. This is not a huge market for that. And you’re going to have to sell 2.5 million tickets. That’s not easy.”

Now, Badain is offering a somewhat different sentiment.

“The challenges that MLB has versus what [the] NFL has are pretty well documented,” Badain told The Athletic [[link removed]]. “You start [addressing that] with the stadium, and then you start with an incredible design, and you start with a great product and a great experience. I have no doubt we’ll be able to achieve that here.”

New-Look Venue

The A’s, meanwhile, released a new set of renderings [[link removed]] regarding the Las Vegas ballpark, addressing a series of critical missing pieces in prior drawings [[link removed]], including bullpens, a batter’s eye, and luxury seating. The enclosed stadium design is continuing with the unusual “spherical armadillo” concept first unveiled last year.

“It freed us up from some of the constraints that you might typically have within a ballpark, both in seating and environments,” HNTB’s Emily Louchart, one of the stadium designers, said in a presentation Thursday to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.

Another Big Signing

The A’s have also signed outfielder Lawrence Butler to a seven-year, $65.5 million contract extension, according to multiple reports, with the 24-year-old seen as a long-term cornerstone for the team.

The deal, the third-largest guarantee in franchise history, is the latest in a series of offseason pacts for the A’s, showing a heightened aggressiveness from the club. Other recent deals include a three-year, $67 million contract for pitcher Luis Severino [[link removed]] and a five-year, $60 million extension for designated hitter Brent Rooker [[link removed]].

Some of that activity likely owes to pressure from the MLB Players Association regarding the use of revenue-sharing funds. The A’s now have a projected luxury-tax payroll of $106.7 million [[link removed]] for the 2025 season, well above the comparable $80.4 million figure from last year.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, One Down, One Push

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Vlad Guerrero Jr. ⬆⬇ The star Blue Jays slugger is up for an enormous contract this offseason, but he has revealed he’s not looking to become the highest-paid player in MLB. Guerrero told ESPN that his agent’s latest proposal to Toronto was for “much less” than the 15-year, $765 million deal [[link removed]] that Juan Soto signed with the Yankees in December. Guerrero said his reps proposed a deal [[link removed]] for “the same number of years, but it didn’t reach” $600 million.

Trump National Doral ⬆ PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan told Golfweek that he “ would love to return [[link removed]]” to the course that hosted a Tour-sanctioned event between 1962 and 2016. Doral will host its fourth LIV Golf event next month, and it could be back in line for a PGA Tour stop if a long-awaited deal with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia finally gets done.

FIFA World Cup ⬆ Expansion from 48 to 64 teams will be considered for the 2030 edition that will be played in Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. The president of Uruguay’s soccer federation, Ignacio Alonso, suggested the idea [[link removed]] Wednesday at a FIFA board meeting, according to The New York Times.

Myles Garrett ⬇ The All-Pro pass rusher requested a meeting with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to discuss his recent trade request [[link removed]], but was denied [[link removed]], according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

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Front Office Sports Honors includes the Rising 25 Award and Most Innovative awards.

Established in 2017, the Rising 25 Award [[link removed]] celebrates the brightest young stars in the business of sports and has become one of the most competitive and prestigious awards in the industry.

In partnership with Sports Innovation Lab, the Most Innovative awards spotlight the trailblazing organizations redefining the sports industry through creativity and progress–from venues and athletic departments to brands, leagues, teams, and more. See the full slate of award categories here [[link removed]].

The nomination window is now open. Submit now [[link removed]] for the best price.

Reader Response

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Tuesday’s edition of “The Memo” asked readers whether they would subscribe to a streaming platform to watch their local baseball team. Quite a few of you responded, so we’re featuring some of the most compelling emails.

“I would absolutely love to subscribe to any streaming platform to watch my Astros play. I live in Austin, TX (Rangers are unfortunately considered the local team and on cable networks), and Austin is 167 miles away from Houston, but MLB makes it virtually impossible for me to watch my team. Even if I pay hundreds of dollars for MLB Ticket plan, my Astros games are blacked out, so it seems MLB just doesnt want my money.“ —Kyle Mace

“Yes!!! I will pay for the streaming service. I just want to watch the Brewers! If MLB is trying to build a bigger (and younger) fanbase, why do they have blackouts! I live almost 4 hours from Milwaukee, so I’m not just going to go to a game at the drop of a hat, so a blackout doesn’t get me to go to games. I live outside of Wisconsin, so I can’t buy Fox Sports WI (or whatever it’s called now), but “they” determine that I’m in the La Crosse, WI media market, so I’m blacked out from the MLB.TV broadcast. I can’t win!!! Please get rid of these stupid blackouts!!!!! I just want to be a baseball fan, but they don’t make it easy!” —Mason Rebarchek

“First of all, I really enjoy your insights into the business/economics of sports.

Secondly, no I would not pay for a streaming service to watch my local MLB team (Astros). The fragmenting of TV has done harm to the viewer in my opinion. I am not a fan of having to login and go back and forth to watch multiple events at the same time.

My NHL team I follow (Dallas Stars) was removed from their RSN this year and are now on an app (Victory+). It’s free for now which is a positive but the fact that it is not available with my DirectTV Stream service has cut my viewership by about 80%.

I grew up when the local sports teams road games were free on over the air TV. The notion was you could not attend the game so it should be aired for free. In a dream scenario billion dollar sports franchises would go back to this method and actually give something back to their fans.” —Kyle Mikulin

Conversation Starters A fan traveled 6,000 miles from South Korea to see Russell Westbrook. After the Nuggets game Wednesday, Westbrook gave the fan his game-worn jersey. Check it out [[link removed]]. U.S. Soccer and Concacaf have made an official bid to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup [[link removed]]. Kent State has released its 2025 football schedule—and it will earn $4.2 million from buy games with Texas Tech, FSU, and OU. The Golden Flashes have made more than $17 million in the last four years from buy games [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Mark Cuban: Mavs Should Have Gotten a ‘Better Deal’ on Luka Trade [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The former majority owner wishes the team got more picks back for Luka. Feds Put $10 Million Bounty on Olympic Snowboarder for Drug Trafficking, Murder [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Ryan Wedding competed at the 2002 Winter Games for Canada. Draymond Green Calls False Comments About Karl-Anthony Towns ‘Unfortunate’ [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Green accused Towns of missing Tuesday’s game because of Jimmy Butler. Advertise [[link removed]] Honors [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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