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Morning Edition

April 21, 2025

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As traditional media scrambles to evolve, Shannon Sharpe is on the verge of a blockbuster move. Sources tell Front Office Sports the Hall of Famer is closing in on a podcast deal worth more than $100 million—cementing Club Shay Shay as a media empire.

— Michael McCarthy [[link removed]], Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich, [[link removed]] and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

EXCLUSIVE Shannon Sharpe Eyes $100M+ Podcast Deal As Volume Contract Expires

Dale Zanine / Imagn Images

Shannon Sharpe’s media deal with Colin Cowherd’s The Volume podcast network is up. Sources tell Front Office Sports the Pro Football Hall of Famer has received multiple offers and is expected to sign a deal that would exceed $100 million.

Sharpe partnered with The Volume in August 2023, several months after leaving FS1’s Undisputed, where he broke out opposite Skip Bayless. Club Shay Shay immediately took off to become one of the biggest podcasts in sports and entertainment, particularly on YouTube, where it’s a juggernaut. Nightcap with cohost Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson also has a considerable audience.

Sharpe’s interview with comedian Katt Williams [[link removed]] has reached 89 million views and counting on YouTube since premiering on Jan. 3, 2024. Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay has amassed nearly 4 million subscribers.

A new deal will encompass all shows on the Shay Shay network, not just Sharpe’s. That currently includes Club Shay Shay, Nightcap, Club 520 Podcast, The Bubba Dub Show, and Humble Baddies.

Sharpe regularly appears on ESPN shows like First Take with Stephen A. Smith.

Earlier this year, The Volume added Nick Wright’s podcast and popular YouTube feed.

Sharpe’s agent could not be reached for comment on the negotiations.

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Former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava Will Transfer to UCLA [[link removed]]

The Columbus Dispatch

After a week of drama over his NIL contracts, it appears Nico Iamaleava has found a new home.

The former Tennessee quarterback is headed to UCLA for a deal rumored to be in the $1.5 million range. Iamaleava posted the news on his Instagram account [[link removed]] Sunday.

Last week, a report surfaced saying Iamaleava was in the middle of a renegotiation of his NIL contract with the Vols’ collective—news that his father Nic vehemently denied on social media. He didn’t appear at practice the following day, and by Saturday morning, the Vols had decided to part ways with him.

A member of his camp told Front Office Sports [[link removed]] that Iamaleava hadn’t asked the team for more money, and that he had decided to transfer before the April 11 practice, which was why he skipped it. His decision was based on unfulfilled requests related to improvements to the team’s offensive line and arsenal of wide receivers.

Another source familiar with Iamaleava’s NIL contract, however, said he had asked for a raise at the end of the winter transfer portal window and that his representatives have been increasingly unresponsive, leading to confusion and uncertainty at Tennessee.

The messy split from Tennessee has led to questions over who’s really at fault. And it illustrates how uncredentialed representation can potentially undermine a player’s reputation and lead them to the wrong decision, sources have said. Iamaleava’s father Nic Iamaleava, a coach named Cordell Landers, and at least one lawyer—none of whom are certified agents—have been in control of his decision-making.

Iamaleava, who committed to Tennessee in 2022, left a top SEC program fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance that was paying him at least $8 million over the lifetime of his contract. He’ll join a struggling UCLA program for less than he made in Knoxville. The Bruins went 5-7 this past season, and have never appeared in the decade-old College Football Playoff.

And yet, a close family friend refused to say his representatives had led him astray. “His representation hasn’t steered him wrong,” the family friend said. “At the end of the day, what did we do wrong to steer him and put him in a bad situation? We didn’t.”

NFL Draft Set to Kick Off at Lambeau Field and Command the TV Spotlight [[link removed]]

Green Bay Press-Gazette

The 2025 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night in Green Bay, and all eyes are on the Titans, who currently hold the No. 1 overall pick.

What’s that pick really worth? That’s up to Tennessee to decide, but whoever hears their name called first will sign a rookie deal worth around $43 million. Thanks to the rookie wage scale implemented in 2011, contract values are largely locked in based on draft position—meaning where a player is picked determines how much they make, down to the dollar.

First-Round Money

Here’s a look at the projected contract values for the top five first-round selections [[link removed]], per Spotrac:

Pick 1 (Titans): $43.01 million Pick 2 (Browns): $41 million Pick 3 (Giants): $39 million Pick 4 (Patriots): $37 million Pick 5 (Jaguars): $35 million

There’s a steep dropoff from the top of the board to the bottom of the first round—pick No. 32 will make $11.86 million—but a Day 1 selection still guarantees a solid payday. The first pick of the second round will make one million less ($10.85 million) than the last pick of the first round.

The smallest contract for a draft pick is $4.29 million, which will go to the final nine picks [[link removed]] (Nos. 249 to 257), which are all compensatory picks. Given the contracts are for four years, that means that every NFL draftee will have a contract with a seven-figure average annual value, though contracts are rarely fully guaranteed.

NBA and NHL Competition?

The NBA and NHL playoffs are in the middle of their opening rounds, but the NFL Draft, particularly its first day, is expected to be the biggest ratings draw this week.

Last year’s draft drew 12.1 million viewers across ESPN and NFL platforms [[link removed]]. That would be on the high end compared to the average NBA Finals, World Series, and Stanley Cup ratings over the last five years.

The draft does see viewership dip in years where there is no high-profile quarterback expected to be drafted No. 1. The first day of the 2022 draft, when the first quarterback selected was at pick No. 20, averaged just 10 million viewers, the lowest viewership since ABC started airing the draft in 2019.

Draft evaluators don’t project this draft to have the same quarterback talent as last year’s, which saw Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye selected with the first three picks. However, Miami quarterback Cam Ward is a potential No. 1 overall pick, and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders is projected by many draft pundits to be one of the first few names off the board.

Packing Lambeau Field

Most cold-weather markets don’t get the luxury of hosting the Super Bowl, but the NFL Draft has become a coveted consolation prize. Green Bay, despite owning one of the league’s legacy franchises, has never hosted a Super Bowl. This year’s draft will be the first hosted at iconic Lambeau Field.

Green Bay is not expected to draw the same crowd as Detroit [[link removed]], which hosted more than 700,000 fans last year, including approximately 275,000 on Day 1—the biggest crowd in NFL draft history. But the Packers are still expecting about 250,000 visitors for the annual event [[link removed]].

LOUD AND CLEAR More World Cup Expansion?

Yukihito Taguchi-Imagn Images

“We’re ready, or we will be ready, inshallah (God willing). If that’s a decision that FIFA takes and thinks that that’s a good decision for everyone, then we’re more than happy to deliver on it.”

—Saudi Arabian minister of sport Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal told reporters ahead of the Formula One race in Jeddah [[link removed]] about the possibility of a 64-team FIFA World Cup in 2034. The World Cup had a 32-team format from 1998 to 2022, and will move to 48 teams starting with the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Saudi Arabia was the only country to submit a bid to host the 2034 event. FIFA officially awarded the country the host rights [[link removed]] in December.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, One Down, One Push

MetroWest Daily News

Boston Marathon ⬆⬇ The world’s oldest and most prestigious annual marathon is expected to have 30,000 runners at its 129th race Monday, the same number it had in the last four years. However, there were 12,324 qualifiers whose bids were not accepted this year, the most on record [[link removed]]. Next year, the qualifying time will be cut by five minutes for most age groups.

Justin Thomas ⬆ The former world No. 1 won the RBC Heritage on Sunday, ending a nearly three-year drought of failing to win a PGA Tour tournament. The 31-year-old American took home $3.6 million in prize money.

Stanford softball ⬆ The team set an NCAA attendance record [[link removed]] Saturday with a crowd of 13,207 while facing rival California at the school’s football stadium. The Cardinal are playing their home games at Stanford Stadium this season while their ballpark undergoes a $50 million renovation.

Peter Laviolette ⬇ The Rangers fired their head coach Saturday after missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2020–2021 season. New York finished with a 39-36-7 record one year after making the Eastern Conference Finals and winning the Presidents’ Trophy.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

Tuned In Returns for Year 2

Tuned In [[link removed]], Front Office Sports’s media franchise, led by senior media reporter Mike McCarthy as well as media and entertainment reporter Ryan Glasspiegel, appears across FOS platforms through editorial coverage, social storytelling, and newsletters.

Last year, Tuned In came to life as a single-day event [[link removed]] with the biggest newsmakers in sports media. This September, Tuned In will return to New York City.

The event will feature intimate discussions with leaders in the sports media space—from athletes and on-air talent to media moguls and league executives.

Conversations will cover:

The future of media rights Sports streaming The rise of talent Women’s sports Athletes turned media moguls Sports betting

Register now [[link removed]] to claim early-registration pricing. Prices increase May 1.

Conversation Starters Paige Bueckers’s hometown of Hopkins, Minnesota, is renaming itself after the No. 1 pick of the 2025 WNBA draft [[link removed]] on May 16 in honor of her professional debut. WWE CCO Paul Levesque, known for his in-ring name Triple H, was inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame this weekend. Check out [[link removed]] his entrance in Las Vegas ahead of WrestleMania. The line to PNC Park for Paul Skenes’s bobblehead went across Clemente Bridge and into downtown Pittsburgh. Take a look [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Max Verstappen Linked to $300M Aston Martin Deal Ahead of Miami GP [[link removed]]by Colin Salao [[link removed]]Aston Martin is currently seventh in the constructors championship. Drake Lawsuit Says Kendrick Lamar Defamed Him At Super Bowl [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Drake says taking out the word “pedophile” didn’t erase the defamation. Unorthodox OKC: The Thunder Redefined Tanking to Become NBA’s Best [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]A rebuild years in the making has OKC in the driver’s seat. Question of the Day

Did Nico Iamaleava make the right move by leaving Tennessee for UCLA?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Friday’s result: 89% of respondents think Netflix is about to become an even bigger force in live sports streaming.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]], Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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