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Afternoon Edition

June 18, 2025

The Rays backed out of a deal for a $1.3 billion stadium after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred got it over the finish line. A few months later, owner Stu Sternberg is close to a deal to sell the franchise.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Rays on Verge of $1.7B Sale Following Stadium Deal Collapse [[link removed]]

Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Embattled Rays owner Stu Sternberg is closing in on a $1.7 billion deal to sell the MLB franchise to a group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski, Front Office Sports has confirmed.

The agreement, though not done, involves a signed letter of intent and arrives just months after Sternberg walked away from a deal [[link removed]] with St. Petersburg, Fla., and Pinellas County to build a $1.3 billion ballpark, citing additional costs he was not willing to bear.

The deal, first reported by Sportico [[link removed]], is nearly identical in price to a separate purchase of the Orioles last year by David Rubenstein [[link removed]].

As Sternberg has fallen heavily out of favor with local officials [[link removed]], the agreement is poised to give the Rays a fresh start as the franchise seeks to figure out its facility future, both in the short- and long-term. Tropicana Field is still being repaired after extensive hurricane damage last fall, and the Rays are currently playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the Yankees.

The Rays made a brief statement Wednesday afternoon confirming talks to sell the franchise to the Zalupski-led group.

“The Tampa Bay Rays announced that the team has recently commenced exclusive discussions with a group led by Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, Ken Babby, and prominent Tampa Bay investors concerning a possible sale of the team,” the Rays said. “Neither the Rays nor the group will have further comment during the discussions.”

Zalupski is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dream Finders Homes, and has an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion [[link removed]]. Cosgrove is the CEO of Union Home Mortgage. Babby, meanwhile, already has an extensive track record in baseball, currently serving as the founder and CEO of Fast Forward Group, owner of Fast Forward Sports Group, which operates the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and Double-A Akron (Ohio) RubberDucks. It is one of the most successful ownership entities in Minor League Baseball.

Sternberg led the Rays for 20 years, winning two American League pennants, but after the demise of the stadium deal, his tenure had been thought locally to be essentially untenable. Before the start of the season, though, Sternberg and other Rays officials had consistently pushed back on sale rumors that had swirled around the franchise for years.

“Thank you Stu,” said Pinellas County commissioner Chris Latvala, a frequent and outspoken critic of Sternberg, in a social media post [[link removed]] on Wednesday.

It is expected that the team will stay in the Tampa area should the sale be completed, though the club’s ballpark plans remain unsettled. MLB has had a keen interest in keeping the Rays in the region, particularly as it has grown to become the No. 11 U.S. media market.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

New Session Announced: Eagle on Eagle

This September, Front Office Sports returns to the Times Center in New York City for Year 2 of Tuned In [[link removed]].

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.

New to the Tuned In program is Eagle on Eagle—a special session featuring father-son duo Ian Eagle of CBS Sports and Noah Eagle of NBC Sports. They will be joining an all-star lineup including the NWSL’s Jessica Berman, ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro, NBA’s Adam Silver, Amazon’s Jay Marine, and more.

Secure your ticket now [[link removed]] to experience a full day of programming with industry leaders.

Caitlin Clark ‘Celebrates’ Chance at $500K Commissioner’s Cup Prize [[link removed]]

The Indianapolis Star

WNBA player salaries are the hot topic surrounding the CBA negotiations for next season [[link removed]]. However, for this year, the league’s players have to deal with the current structure.

A significant chunk of players make five-figure salaries, including Caitlin Clark, the WNBA’s biggest draw. But Clark has a chance to enter the six-figure range while also helping her teammates in the process.

The Indiana Fever will play in the Commissioner’s Cup championship against the Minnesota Lynx, the defending champions of the WNBA’s in-season tournament, on July 1.

The teams will play for a $500,000 prize pool, where players on the winning team each win around $30,000 while those on the losing team take home about $10,000 each. The MVP takes home an additional $5,000.

Each player on both teams will also receive $5,000 worth of cryptocurrency from Coinbase.

“Why wouldn’t we celebrate that [accomplishment]? We’re getting to play for a pool of money. That’s pretty fun, and you’re competing to win a trophy,” Clark said Wednesday after defeating the Connecticut Sun, a game that involved several on-court altercations [[link removed]].

For Clark, an additional $30,000 to $40,000 is probably not very significant given her multimillion-dollar endorsement deals, but a win and MVP provide more than a 50% increase on her annual salary. That’s a similar increase to other players on rookie contracts like the Fever’s Makayla Thompson ($69,267) and the Lynx’ Alissa Pili ($74,909).

Even for the highest-paid players on both teams, the prize still represents a significant lift. Lynx star Napheesa Collier, the WNBA’s leading MVP candidate, would see a 19% increase in her $214,284 salary if she leads Minnesota to victory and takes home the Commissioner’s Cup MVP award.

In the Emirates NBA Cup, the in-season tournament of the NBA, the prize money for one player on the winning team ($514,970) is more than the prize pool for both teams in the Commissioner’s Cup final. While that is a huge sum for most NBA players, especially for those on smaller deals [[link removed]], it’s like a drop in the bucket for the league’s biggest stars.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the two best players on the Bucks, who won the 2024 NBA Cup, each made nearly $49 million last season. Based on an 82-game schedule, that means Antetokounmpo and Lillard made about $595,000 per game last year, which is more than they received for winning the NBA Cup.

“The rich get richer,” Antetokounmpo joked after defeating the Magic to advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas in December.

WNBA’s Continued Momentum

The first month of the WNBA season just concluded, and the league’s attendance numbers show continued momentum from last season.

The WNBA is averaging 10,706 fans per game this year, up 9% from last year and the second-highest average attendance in a season.

The Golden State Valkyries, the newest WNBA expansion team, are the biggest driver, as they have sold out each of their five home games so far at the Chase Center, which fits 18,064 fans. Only one game this season has sold more tickets—the Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever game that was moved to the United Center, home of the NBA’s Bulls.

Attendance is actually slightly down for many teams versus last year’s number, but for the likes of the Las Vegas Aces, Washington Mystics, and Connecticut Sun, most or all of their games that moved to bigger venues [[link removed]] are still coming on the calendar.

Those games give the WNBA a shot at passing its all-time average attendance record of 10,869 from the 1998 season, the league’s second year.

Premier League Embraces NFL-Style Flex Scheduling for 2025–26 [[link removed]]

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The concept of flex scheduling, for years a core element of the NFL, is set to take on heightened importance in the Premier League.

The top flight of English pro soccer unveiled its 2025–26 schedule Wednesday [[link removed]], and warned “there is an increased likelihood of Premier League fixtures moving at relatively short notice” during the season. The additional forthcoming shifts are due primarily to an unprecedented nine Premier League teams playing in European-level competition during the upcoming season.

Six clubs—Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, and Tottenham Hotspur—qualified for the upcoming iteration of the UEFA Champions League, while Aston Villa and Crystal Palace will compete in the Europa League, and Nottingham Forest is in the Conference League.

The FA Cup, a separate English competition that ultimately feeds into UEFA Europa League, could also prompt some schedule changes for the Premier League.

“While the Premier League celebrates this success, it will come with an impact on the scheduling of league matches,” the league said in a statement.

Already, the Premier League announces specific game times, and any revised dates, for the season on a monthly basis, with at least five weeks of notice common [[link removed]]. That rolling schedule for confirming game dates and times takes broadcast considerations into account [[link removed]], like in the NFL.

Greater Unrest

The increased level of forthcoming change also arrives amid fast-rising fan unrest [[link removed]] about ongoing ticket price increases across the Premier League. Thirteen of 20 clubs in the league increased prices for the upcoming season, and though down from a comparable 19 clubs last year, the moves continue to spark fan protests under the hashtag of #StopExploitingLoyalty.

Liverpool, the defending Premier League champion, will begin the season Aug. 15 at home against AFC Bournemouth.

The 2025–26 Premier League season, meanwhile, will be the first in a four-year media-rights term with Sky Sports and TNT Sports worth $9 billion, representing the largest sports-rights deal in U.K. history. The new domestic deals have a new provision in which all matches taking place outside of a Saturday 3 p.m. “closed period” will be broadcast live, a move that will involve at least 267 of the 380 league matches this season.

That Saturday afternoon slot is designed to protect attendance at lower-level soccer competition, not unlike the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 in the U.S. The NFL continues to find creative ways to work around that measure [[link removed]], aimed in part to preserve high school and college football.

The upcoming Premier League season will conclude May 24, 2026, giving top players also on national teams a turnaround of less than three weeks before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY How the Panthers Went Back-to-Back and What's Next

FOS illustration

The Panthers completed their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final run in dominant fashion, thanks mainly to savvy moves by their front office. But the formula to keep up their winning ways could get complicated in this offseason, says FOS editor Meredith Turits.

Plus, NBA meme king Josiah Johnson joins Baker Machado and Renee Washington to explain how NBA Twitter has influenced the league’s decisions, especially during these Finals, and how fake news account NBACentel factors into it all.

Also, Tuesday’s skirmish involving Caitlin Clark has WNBA fans calling out a league-wide refereeing problem.

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

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS HONORS

Nominations Close Sunday

The Most Innovative College Athletic Departments Award [[link removed]] will recognize collegiate athletic departments addressing the specific challenges of scholastic sports in the modern age.

They’re the departments setting the bar for the collegiate sports sector using unique, holistic, and empowering programs to help college athletes navigate an era of accelerating change so these up-and-comers can enjoy lasting success—physically, mentally, and monetarily.

Nominees will be evaluated based on training facilities, fan experiences, data and analytics, athlete resources, and more.

Think your athletic department deserves to be recognized? Nominate it now [[link removed]].

Don’t wait—nominations close in just a few days. Submit by June 22 at 11:55 p.m. ET.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, One Down, One Push

D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Rafael Devers ⬆ The newly acquired star for MLB’s Giants [[link removed]] had a largely successful debut in San Francisco on Tuesday, getting two hits, including a double, though the team lost to the Guardians, 3–2. Devers played as a designated hitter, though before the game, he also took grounders at first base—something he did not do in Boston as his relationship with the Red Sox devolved. “That’s in the past now,” Devers said regarding the embattled tenure with the Red Sox. “I’m looking ahead and focusing on what I have here being a San Francisco Giant.”

Manchester United fans ⬇ Despite finishing 15th last season, by far the club’s worst showing in the history of the Premier League, Manchester United said Wednesday that match-day ticket prices will reach as high as $131, up from a peak of $89 per match last year. Manchester United is one of 13 Premier League clubs raising prices [[link removed]] for the upcoming season [[link removed]]. “After how last season went, we might have hoped the club would reconsider their plans for this new ticketing model which will see eye-watering price increases,” said the Manchester United Supporters Trust. “This really is a fresh kick in the teeth for Manchester United fans.”

Canadian Grand Prix ⬆ Formula One has agreed to a four-year extension for its race in Montreal, which will be held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the calendar until 2035. Next year, the Canadian GP will be moved from June to late May, the same day as the Indy 500.

US Open doubles ⬆⬇ The mixed doubles event at the Grand Slam has a star-studded initial list of 16 pairings [[link removed]], including most of the world’s top 10 men’s and women’s singles players. However, one player missing is 2023 US Open’s women’s singles champion Coco Gauff. Only eight pairs will receive an automatic qualifier, while the other eight spots will go to wild-card entries, meaning Gauff could still qualify if she decides to participate.

Editors’ Picks Dana White’s Next Frontier: Making Jiu-Jitsu Mainstream [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The TKO Group Holdings–owned competition expands once again. Fever and Sun Hit With Tiny Fines After Wild Melee [[link removed]]by Annie Costabile [[link removed]]WNBA coaches have long complained about a lack of transparency in fines. Club World Cup Attendance Plummets for Weekday Games: 3,700 in Orlando, ‘Almost Empty’ NFL Stadiums [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Chelsea’s manager bemoaned an “almost empty” stadium in Atlanta. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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