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Afternoon Edition

August 5, 2025

Major League Soccer is on the verge of securing its next international star. LAFC has agreed to a deal to acquire Son Heung-min from Tottenham, a move that would mark one of the biggest in league history.

— Colin Salao [[link removed]] and Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]

Another Star in MLS? LAFC Set to Sign Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min [[link removed]]

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

There’s a new name to add to the list of international soccer stars who move to Major League Soccer in their 30s: South Korean forward Son Heung-Min.

LAFC has agreed to a deal with Tottenham Hotspur [[link removed]] to acquire the 33-year-old for a fee worth $20 million to $26.5 million, according to GiveMeSport. If it falls in the higher end of that range, it would break the MLS record for a transfer fee set when Atlanta United paid $22 million to acquire Emmanuel Latte Lath from Middlesbrough FC.

Son announced last week that he was leaving Tottenham after 10 years with the club. He was under contract until 2026 for about $10 million per year.

He led Spurs to the 2025 UEFA Europa League championship in May, breaking the club’s 17-year trophy drought. He played his final game for Spurs in the club’s friendly against Newcastle in South Korea on Sunday.

An official announcement of the signing is expected as early as Wednesday [[link removed]], according to ESPN. In 2023, Son reportedly received an offer from the Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad worth around $65 million (€60 million). He chose to stay in England.

Growing Influence of MLS

Son may not be as big a name as Lionel Messi, but his move is another sign of the growing influence of MLS. While the South Korean is on the back end of his career, he is still expected to be one of the sport’s top forwards for several years.

Messi moved to MLS in 2023 when he was 36 years old.

Reports have also indicated that one of the key reasons for Son’s move was the large population of South Koreans in Los Angeles. The city has the largest Korean population of any city in the U.S. Los Angeles is also the host of the 2026 men’s World Cup, and Son is the captain of the South Korean national team.

MLS has received some criticism for its exclusive media deal with Apple TV worth $2.5 billion over 10 years. Commissioner Don Garber told Front Office Sports during the Huddle in the Hamptons event Friday that he pushed back on criticism [[link removed]] of the deal.

“The media and pundits just don’t get it yet,” Garber said. “I’m not sure we are where we need to be, but I know that we’re going to have to get there soon.”

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

Highlights From the Hamptons

Last Friday, Front Office Sports hosted its second-annual Huddle in the Hamptons [[link removed]] in East Hampton, bringing together more than 200 VIPs, tastemakers, athletes, and power brokers for the perfect summer Friday.

The event kicked off with conversations led by Don Garber, Ryan Clark, Leslie Osborne, and Wale Ogunleye, among others. Following the panels was an afternoon of lunch, cocktails, and paddle sports.

A huge thank-you to our official partners UBS, On Location, and Saratoga for supporting the event. Thank you as well to our supporting partners Nomatic, Rivian, FanServ, Stance, Hampton Water, Sap’s, Diadem, Hiatus, and Toss and Spin.

Learn more [[link removed]] about the event or how you can get involved. Will we see you next year?

Mammoth vs. Mammoth: NHL Team Strikes First in Trademark Feud [[link removed]]

Utah Mammoth

The NHL’s Utah Mammoth are seeking their first win with their new team name off the ice.

The club is suing Mammoth Hockey, a line of high-end hockey bags, asking the court to resolve a trademark dispute. The 16-page suit filed Friday in U.S. district court in Utah [[link removed]] lists the ownership’s LLCs, Uyte, and Smith Entertainment Group Hockey, as plaintiffs.

The suit claims the bag company initially “voiced public support” for the new team branding and even reached out about a potential collaboration. But in June, the complaint says, the company “reversed course” by claiming a violation of its trademark rights and “recently threatened litigation in some unknown forum, at some unknown time.” The team is striking first, petitioning the court to make a trademark ruling under the U.S. Declaratory Judgment Act.

Jazz owner Ryan Smith bought the Arizona Coyotes in 2024 and moved them to Salt Lake City [[link removed]], where they competed last season as the Utah Hockey Club, finishing sixth in the Western Conference’s Central Division. In May, the team announced, following a lengthy fan-input process [[link removed]], that its official name would be the Mammoth [[link removed]].

How It All Started

The complaint includes a screenshot from June 2024 when Mammoth Hockey posted about the six finalist team names for the Utah club.

“We’re pretty partial to this one,” the company account posted, along with a winking emoji and a red circle around “Mammoth.” The filing also includes a screenshot where one of Mammoth Hockey’s cofounders, Erik Olson, reached out to a member of the NHL team in April 2025 on LinkedIn, saying “it would be cool to talk about a possible collaboration” if Mammoth became the team’s new name.

“For example, it could be a good marketing story for the Utah team to tell if we produced the team bags. By Mammoth, for Mammoth!” Olson wrote in the screenshot.

According to the suit, attorneys for Mammoth Hockey then sent a letter to the NHL club in June 2025 claiming trademark violation and demanding they stop using the Mammoth moniker, and sent another letter the next month saying it could lead to consumer confusion.

The complaint states the bag company never filed a trademark registration for “Mammoth,” leaving their claim to the name on their common law rights. But because the logos have different colors, designs, and uses, the suit says they are two distinct properties that wouldn’t confuse the bag company’s hockey-literate customers, who “readily understand the difference between a well-known professional hockey team and the vendors who provide equipment for amateur players.”

“UTAH MAMMOTH and the NHL believe strongly that we have the right to use the name UTAH MAMMOTH under federal and state law, and that our use will not harm the defendant or its business in any way,” SEG wrote in a statement to Front Office Sports.

Mammoth Hockey has said it is “highly likely that consumers will confuse the two marks, risking our client’s business and operations, according to The Salt Lake Tribune [[link removed]]. Hockey enthusiasts who pledge support for a team other than Utah Mammoth will not purchase goods from our client due to the consumer’s mistaken belief that such a purchase would support a rival team.”

Olson and his cofounder, Lars Huschke, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from FOS.

Alexandra Roberts, an expert on trademark law and professor of law and media at Northeastern University, tells FOS that waiting for a declaratory judgment could extend into the NHL season, but a coexistence agreement or other kind of settlement could be reached sooner. “This does seem like the kind of thing the two companies could work out for themselves,” she says.

Spurs Are Spending Big Now, but Can They Afford Their Future? [[link removed]]

Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox played just five games together last season after the Spurs traded for the veteran guard in February. But as expected, San Antonio still handed Fox a max deal to serve as Wembanyama’s sidekick for the foreseeable future.

Fox agreed to a four-year, $229 million max extension with the Spurs on Monday, according to ESPN. The deal for the one-time All-Star starts in 2026 and runs through the 2029–30 season.

The deal ostensibly locks in the Spurs duo until the end of the decade, especially with Wembanyama’s extension eligible starting next offseason. He could sign a five-year deal that would run until the 2031–32 season.

However, as seen this offseason with the Celtics [[link removed]] and Suns [[link removed]], a lot can change in the next few years, given the league’s two-apron salary-cap structure [[link removed]].

The Spurs have a bevy of young guards on the roster that could become redundant with Fox in the coming years. Stephon Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year, will be extension-eligible in the 2027 offseason. Given his performance last year, he could command a max or close to that if he continues to progress.

In June, San Antonio selected Rutgers guard Dylan Harper with the No. 2 pick—a selection it lucked into despite just a 12.5% chance at a top-two pick in the 2025 draft. While Harper has not played a second in the NBA, the 19-year-old, who is the son of NBA legend Ron Harper, will likely still command much more than the $14 million per year his rookie deal pays.

Long-Term Questions

The Spurs are in a decent place financially for the next two seasons due to the abundance of young talent on cheap deals. Despite signing center Luke Kornet on a four-year, $41 million deal last month, they are well below the luxury tax [[link removed]] threshold for this upcoming season.

They can also avoid the tax next year [[link removed]] as Wembanyama’s potential extension will not yet be on the books.

The question is whether the Spurs—one of the league’s most successful franchises, though also one of its smallest markets—will be able to afford their players in about three or more seasons.

San Antonio’s moves will likely be determined by how they perform on the court over the next few years. If Fox and Wembanyama can lead the Spurs to the playoffs—or a playoff series win for the first time since 2017—then they may be satisfied with what they have at present. Otherwise, their young guards could be given the keys.

The Spurs should also monitor the situation in Milwaukee [[link removed]] as they have the pieces to create an enticing deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, should he become available.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY NFL Insider Dianna Russini Talks Holdouts, Offseason

FOS illustration

The NFL season is just weeks away, but there are still a handful of stars holding out for new deals, including Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons. NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic weighs in on Parsons and other negotiations around the league, the NFLPA’s ongoing controversy, and the NFL’s response to the NYC shooting that targeted the league office.

Plus, the Connecticut Sun have a buyer, but WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has not presented the offer to the league’s board of governors, according to FOS women’s sports reporter Annie Costabile. She joins Renee Washington and Dan Roberts to explain the status of this sale and what’s next. Also, we check on the trade status of NBA stars LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo with FOS reporter Colin Salao.

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

STATUS REPORT One Up, Three Down

William Purnell-Imagn Images

Big 12 ⬆ Peacock is set to add 20 Big 12 regular-season basketball games [[link removed]] as part of a sublicense agreement with Fox Sports and NBC. The conference will now have games broadcast on every major network: Fox, ESPN, NBC, CBS, and TNT.

Novak Djokovic ⬇ The 24-time Grand Slam champion withdrew from the Cincinnati Open for a non-medical reason and will enter the US Open in late August without playing a single hard-court game since Wimbledon. Djokovic also skipped out on all hard-court warmups last year, before the 2024 US Open.

Shedeur Sanders ⬇ The Browns’ first depth chart of training camp listed Sanders fourth with Joe Flacco as the starter, Kenny Pickett as the backup, and fellow rookie Dillion Gabriel third. The quarterback room is banged up with Sanders dealing with arm soreness, and Pickett and Gabriel recovering from hamstring injuries. Tyler Huntley, 27, signed with Cleveland on Monday, which now lists five quarterbacks on its roster.

Napheesa Collier ⬇ The Minnesota Lynx star and MVP front-runner will miss at least two weeks with a right ankle sprain, the team said Monday. Collier got hurt late in Sunday’s blowout game against the Las Vegas Aces, though imaging revealed no major damage. She currently averages a WNBA-best 23.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

Conversation Starters The Panthers helped a Make-A-Wish child live out his dream by inviting him to join the team huddle and score a touchdown. Take a look [[link removed]]. Scottie Scheffler locked up an $18 million bonus as the PGA Tour’s top regular-season performer. Here’s [[link removed]] how the other top 10 players fared. In 2024, Max Kissel scored the goal that won Vermont its first national trophy. A year later, he did it again to win the USL League Two crown [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Saquon Barkley Rebuffs Trump As Other Athletes Line Up Behind Him [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]]The White House has had a barrage of sports announcements in recent weeks. Kalshi Going on Offense After Legal Setback in Maryland [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]]The legal chess match comes ahead of expected M&A in prediction markets. Josh Donaldson Settles With Mold Landlord for $729K [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Donaldson vacated the Greenwich, Ct., mansion shortly after moving in. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Colin Salao [[link removed]], Margaret Fleming [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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