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Morning Edition

April 29, 2025

We’re 15 years away from the 2040 Olympic games, but London isn’t messing around, making its interest in hosting clear. It’s part of a wider trend, as the city has benefited from big sporting events well beyond the soccer world.

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

London’s Big Sports Play: From NFL Games to Olympic Dreams [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

London, already a major global market, has big sports dreams.

City officials released a report Monday [[link removed]], finding that six major sporting events in 2024, including NFL and MLB games, delivered $310 million in direct economic impact last year. While economic impact reports can often be specious, the new findings further signaled London’s intent to forge a meaningful part of its future through large-scale sports.

That strategy will take another major step with a developing bid to host the 2040 Summer Olympics, an event just 28 years after London hosted the 2012 Games. That bid will seek to leverage much of the infrastructure developed for those prior Olympics. London also hosted in 1908 and 1948, and is seeking to surpass both Los Angeles and Paris as the first four-time host city.

“London is the sporting capital of the world, and I am proud that we have such a strong record of staging the biggest and best international events in our great city,” said London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

The 2028 Summer Olympics will be in Los Angeles, while the 2032 event is set for Brisbane, Australia. The 2036 Games have not yet been determined, but likely bidders include India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Turkey.

Formidable Sports Roster

The latest sports findings from London focused on six major events held last year:

MLB’s two-game London Series [[link removed]] between the Mets and Phillies Two separate NFL games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium The latest iteration of the Jaguars’ part-time residency at Wembley Stadium The UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund The Formula E London E-Prix at ExCeL London The London Athletics Meet at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Collectively, those competitions drew 480,000 attending fans and a global television audience of 202 million. Both numbers would be easily dwarfed should the 2040 Olympics bid prevail. In the meantime, the NFL, Formula E, and London Athletics events are all coming back for return engagements in 2025. London will also host the UEFA 2028 Euro tournament and has a strong bid in place for the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The NFL also was found to have generated more than $800 million in total spectator spending in the city since starting its London games in 2007.

“These events shine a global spotlight on the capital and inspire young Londoners to get involved in grassroots sport, and I am focused on bringing even more to our city,” Khan said.

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NFL Shifts Spotlight to Schedule Release, 2027 Draft Host Cities [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

With the 2025 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror after a wildly successful showcase in Green Bay [[link removed]], the league is now shifting its focus to its next major tentpole event: the schedule release.

During the first round of the draft, the NFL announced that the 2025 regular-season schedule would be revealed on May 14. Despite fans already knowing who their favorite teams will play, the unveiling of when each matchup will take place has become another annual holiday for the league.

Last year, primetime TV specials around the schedule reveal on ESPN2 and NFL Network combined to average 378,000 viewers, up about 6% from 2023. Both channels will air similar shows next month.

However, some key matchups may be revealed earlier that week, as has been the case in recent years. Several NFL media partners—including NBC, Fox, Amazon, and Disney—have scheduled or are expected to hold their upfront presentations with advertisers in the days leading up to the NFL’s schedule release, and may be allowed to announce a game they have.

Final Schedule Preparations

Before the NFL gets to schedule release day (or week), it has several loose ends to tie up, like who will be broadcasting its second Brazil game. The Chargers will give up a home game to host an undetermined opponent on Sept. 5, which will mark the second time in as many years the league is exploiting a legal loophole [[link removed]] to play a Week 1 game on a Friday night.

Peacock exclusively streamed last year’s debut in Brazil, drawing 14.2 million viewers [[link removed]] for Eagles–Packers. A different streamer could end up showing this year’s game, with YouTube TV, Amazon, and Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly having shown interest [[link removed]] in acquiring a package of games that would include the Brazil matchup, according to Sports Business Journal.

Meanwhile, now that rookie stars have found their new homes—some in unexpected spots like receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter with the Jaguars—the NFL will certainly consider teams with high-profile draftees for potentially more primetime games than they previously would have.

Draft Decision Looming

The league will also soon announce the host of the 2027 NFL Draft.

Pittsburgh is hosting next year. Washington, D.C., has been the most public bidder for 2027 [[link removed]], unveiling a pitch last summer. Hosting a draft would be another boon for the Commanders, who on Monday unveiled plans for a new stadium [[link removed]], although that venue wouldn’t figure to be a part of any draft plans in 2027, since it has a scheduled opening date of 2030.

On Friday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said [[link removed]] on The Pat McAfee Show that he would give more news about the 2027 draft city “in about a week.” In recent years, the NFL has unveiled future draft hosts at the annual spring meetings, which this year are scheduled for May 20-21 in Minneapolis.

Goodell also offered a clue to where the draft might be headed next. “It might be a little different than the Midwest cities, though, that we’ve been in, which I think is awesome,” he said. “But it’s really important for us to move it around.”

Bucks Face Grim Future After Damian Lillard Tears Achilles [[link removed]]

Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

When Damian Lillard hit the floor of Sunday’s Game 4 between the Bucks and Pacers, it just didn’t have implications for Milwaukee’s season–or whatever is left of it.

Lillard collapsed in the first quarter while going for a rebound and was seen rubbing the back of his foot. The injury came after he returned from a month’s absence following blood clots in his right calf. On Monday, ESPN reported that Lillard tore his left Achilles [[link removed]]. It will likely rule the 34-year-old out for all, if not most of next season.

The injury prompted even more questions about the team’s future.

The Bucks are headed for their third first-round exit in as many seasons, down 3-1 to the Pacers and haven’t gone past the second round since the team’s 2021 NBA championship. Whenever Lillard returns, he will be 35 or 36 and might not be the same player he was before. Even before Monday’s news, the team’s lack of postseason success has led many around the NBA to speculate if Giannis Antetokounmpo will ask for a trade out of the only city he’s ever played in.

Lillard’s injury doesn’t help the Bucks case to stay.

In 2022, a year before he was traded from the Trailblazers to the Bucks, Lillard signed a two-year, $122 million extension that has yet to kick in. He made $48.8 million this season and will make roughly $54 million next season, with a $58 million player option for the 2026-2027 season. For context, when Kevin Durant injured his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, he missed the entire following season, which was ultimately shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before finishing in the NBA bubble in Orlando.

Regardless, it leaves the Bucks without Antetokounmpo’s co-star and with few options to upgrade the roster around the 30-year-old star for the remainder of his prime. Rebuilding through the draft is out. The Nets own the Bucks’ pick this season while the Pelicans have swap rights in 2026 as part of the 2020 trade for Jrue Holiday. The Bucks’ first-round pick belongs to either the Hawks or Pelicans in 2027, the Wizards or Trailblazers in 2028 and 2029, and the Trailblazers have swap rights in 2030.

Free agency doesn’t look much better. The Bucks were fifth in salary this season with $183 million and have multiple free agents such as Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, and Kevin Porter Jr., all of whom have been key contributors in recent seasons. But Lopez is 37, and none of them can replace Lillard’s production.

In 2023, Antetokounmpo agreed to a three-year, $186 million contract extension that’s nearly identical to Lillard’s and will pay $54 million and $58 million the next two seasons, respectively.

Winning in the NBA with two players on supermax contracts is already difficult. Doing so when one of them is out for the season is nothing short of miraculous. The Bucks and Antetokounmpo will likely have to decide whether it’s even worth trying.

Conversation Starters The Indiana Fever released new T-shirts for the 2025 WNBA season, which has already had multiple opponents move games against them to bigger arenas, that read: EVERY GAME IS A HOME GAME. Check them out [[link removed]]. The Commanders are returning to Washington, D.C., with a planned glass dome stadium that has views of the U.S. Capitol. Take a look [[link removed]] at the renderings. Signing bonuses for first-round NFL draft picks this year are up 26% compared to 2024 [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Jalen Hurts Among Many Eagles Skipping Trump White House Visit [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Hurts is skipping the ceremony due to “scheduling conflicts.” Bill Belichick’s Cringey CBS Interview Raises Larger Questions [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]The awkward interview also included interjections from Belichick’s girlfriend. In Major Win for NCAA, Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking NIL Damages [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]It’s a major win for the NCAA, which faces a group of similar lawsuits. Question of the Day

Will London become the first city to host four Olympics?

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

Monday’s result: 44% of respondents said they watched about the same amount of NFL Draft coverage, while 30% watched more because of Shedeur Sanders, and 26% watched less.

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]], Alex Schiffer [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]]

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