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Morning Edition

August 6, 2025

ESPN and NFL made it official: ESPN will take control of NFL Network, and the league is poised to grab a 10% stake in ESPN—pending regulatory approval, which is no guarantee.

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

Disney Buying NFL Network, NFL Getting 10% Stake in ESPN [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The long-rumored [[link removed]] sale of the NFL’s core media assets to Disney for a financial stake in ESPN is official, ESPN announced Tuesday evening ahead of parent company Disney’s 2025 third-quarter earnings results on Wednesday.

ESPN is acquiring NFL Network and the rights to distribute NFL RedZone to pay TV operators, in a deal the respective sides announced as “non-binding.” The NFL will continue to own RedZone and retain digital rights. ESPN is also taking over NFL Fantasy Football and will merge it with ESPN Fantasy Football.

The NFL gets a 10% ownership stake in ESPN.

The league is also holding onto NFL Films, NFL.com, the NFL Podcast Network, the NFL FAST Channel, and the websites of the league’s 32 teams.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval, and if approved, it likely won’t take effect until at least the 2026 football season.

The sweeping agreement has the potential to remake the landscape of sports media and create a new template for leagues to own a piece of their TV/streaming partners.

As part of the pact, ESPN will get an additional three NFL games per season to air on NFL Network.

Taking control of NFL Network and the league’s fantasy football business, with the ability to weave in sports betting, amounts to a major coup for ESPN. All of those assets shape up as extra selling points for ESPN’s first direct-to-consumer platform, launching this fall for $29.99. The league gets to exit the crumbling cable TV business, which it entered with the 2003 launch of NFL Network.

The NFL and ESPN are also entering “a second non-binding agreement,” the announcement says, “under which the NFL will license to ESPN certain NFL content and other intellectual property to be used by NFL Network and other assets.”

The historic deal would be a win-win for both sides. Disney/ESPN would become true equity partners with the nation’s richest, most powerful, and popular sports league. As cord-cutting continues to hammer the cable industry, it would give ESPN the inside track to retaining Monday Night Football rights, scoring better game schedules and, potentially, more Super Bowls down the road.

“It’s an expensive insurance policy for ESPN—but it’s worth it,” one industry source told Front Office Sports.

ESPN currently pays the NFL $2.7 billion a year for the rights to the Monday Night Football package. That’s more than any current media partner, including NBC Sports, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, and Amazon Prime Video. Under the current NFL agreement negotiated by ESPN bosses Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus, ESPN scored rights [[link removed]] to its first Super Bowl telecasts after the 2026 and 2030 seasons. Both will be simulcast on sister Disney network ABC. Showing a Super Bowl has been a dream of ESPN since its founding in 1979. Disney telecast its last Super Bowl in 2006 under the aegis of the old ABC Sports, which was later subsumed by ESPN.

Meanwhile, NFL owners pocket so much money off the league’s 11-year, $111 billion media rights contracts that they’re losing interest in operating a costly 24/7 cable network, sources said. Especially since the NFL wrote in a clause that will allow the league to opt out of its current contracts in 2029 and 2030 rather than waiting for 2033. The league also held discussions with other possible buyers, according to sources, but only ESPN stepped up to the plate.

It has been an uphill climb for ESPN to reestablish a positive relationship with the NFL. Eight years ago, the network was gauging a plot to “abandon” the league, reporter Jim Miller wrote at the time [[link removed]].

In the Pitaro era, ESPN dug deep into its wallet to poach Joe Buck and Troy Aikman from Fox Sports for Monday Night Football—in addition to continuing to air the ManningCast with Peyton and Eli Manning via a licensing deal with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions. ESPN recently extended the contract of legendary anchor Chris Berman [[link removed]] through his record 50th year with the network, so he will work ESPN/ABC’s coverage of Super Bowl LXI on Feb. 14, 2027. The network has even erected a Countdown Clock on its Bristol campus that ticks off the minutes until its first Big Game.

The on-and-off negotiations between the NFL, Disney, and ESPN have lasted for four years. But the negotiating dance between top executives in New York, Burbank, and Bristol is done.

One source told FOS the final hurdles were worked out during a face-to-face sitdown between NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Sports Is Big Business

At Front Office Sports, we believe that sports is big business. That’s why we’ve trademarked the phrase and launched our new merch shop [[link removed]], where you can say it with us on your hat, T-shirt, or sweatshirt. Orders above $75 ship for free. Pass it on to a friend who also gets it: Sports is big business.

WNBA Trade Deadline Hits Ahead of Looming CBA Chaos [[link removed]]

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The WNBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, and it’s particularly intriguing given the backdrop of the league’s CBA negotiations [[link removed]].

About 80% of the league’s players will be free agents next offseason in preparation for a huge increase in the salary cap and player salaries (assuming a work stoppage doesn’t derail the 2026 season). Theoretically, that could result in a ton of movement given the potential for chaos in the offseason.

However, trades could also be viewed as riskier since teams who part ways with draft capital or young talent may do so for a player who bolts in free agency.

Any moves before Thursday afternoon could also factor into the decision-making of a team’s pool of protected players for the expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire.

There are also some additional nuances [[link removed]] about the WNBA’s trade and cap structure that differ from other leagues like the NBA, first pointed out by Her Hoops Stats. The most notable is that teams do not have to match salaries to facilitate a trade—meaning max players can be traded for minimum salary players—as long as both teams stay under the $1.51 million salary cap.

Done Deals

There’s still more than 24 hours until the trade deadline, but there have already been a couple of high-profile deals that have bolstered some of the league’s best teams:

Minnesota Lynx receive: DiJonai Carrington

Dallas Wings receive: Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson, and a 2027 second-round pick Seattle Storm receive: Brittney Sykes

Washington Mystics receive: Alysha Clark and a 2026 first-round pick

Carrington, the 2024 Most Improved Player, struggled to find her place in Dallas but could be another weapon for one of the title favorites. Minnesota holds the WNBA’s best record, though MVP front-runner Napheesa Collier is out for at least two weeks due to injury.

Sykes adds a fourth All-Star to the Storm, who are sixth in the league at 16–13 and trying to break into the upper echelon of contenders.

Names Worth Watching

The Mystics may not be done dealing. While the team is in the hunt for one of the last playoff spots, Tuesday’s trade shows they are looking toward building for the future around rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.

Forward Aaliyah Edwards has been in trade rumors throughout the season. The No. 6 pick in the 2024 draft was injured throughout training camp and fell behind Iriafen in the rotation, but she could be a compelling option for teams looking for a young piece.

The Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun—who have the two worst records in the WNBA—are the two most likely teams to be sellers at the deadline. They both have starting guards who could help a contender in search of a player to get them over the hump.

The Sun have Marina Mabrey, who requested a trade in February [[link removed]] that the team denied, while the Sky have Ariel Atkins, whom they acquired for the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft that turned into Citron.

NFL Bans Smelling Salts Over Concussion-Masking Risk [[link removed]]

Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

George Kittle disrupted an NFL Network interview on Tuesday at 49ers training camp to “air a grievance.”

The tight end revealed the league issued a ban on smelling salts and ammonia packets for the 2025 season.

“Our team had a memo today that smelling salts and ammonia packets were made illegal in the NFL, and I’ve been distraught all day,” Kittle said [[link removed]]. The six-time Pro Bowler admitted he uses smelling salts on “every drive.”

Front Office Sports obtained the memo that the NFL sent to its teams. It refers to a 2024 FDA warning about [[link removed]] “the lack of evidence supporting the safety or efficacy” of smelling salts or ammonia packets, and said that the products “have the potential to mask certain neurologic signs and symptoms, including some potential signs of concussion.”

The league said it was banning the products, including “ammonia capsules, inhalers, ammonia in a cup, and any form of ‘smelling salts’” at the recommendation of the league’s Head, Neck, and Spine Committee. The game-day ban applies to all team personnel and includes pregame, halftime, sidelines, and locker rooms.

Smelling salts—which many NFL players [[link removed]]openly use—are used as a stimulant. It’s used across many sports, not just in football, but also in hockey and weightlifting.

Last season, Bills quarterback Josh Allen was taken to the medical tent to be evaluated for a concussion following a hit in a Week 5 game against the Texans. The 2025 MVP returned to the game, but the NFL received criticism after it appeared Allen received a smelling salt [[link removed]] before taking the field.

NYC Authorities Will Examine Brain of NFL Shooter for CTE [[link removed]]

Amanda Christovich/Front Office Sports

As part of the ongoing investigation into last week’s shooting at a midtown Manhattan high-rise office building, the New York City medical examiner’s office has confirmed [[link removed]] it will test the shooter’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The examination will be part of a comprehensive autopsy report.

Last week, a 27-year-old Las Vegas casino worker, identified by police as Shane Tamura, opened fire [[link removed]] at a major office building that houses the NFL headquarters, along with other companies. Four people were killed before Tamura died by suicide.

The shooting has also prompted broader questions around security at NFL facilities. “I do think security is going to be part of the conversation for this season,” said Dianna Russini [[link removed]], NFL insider for The Athletic, during an appearance on Front Office Sports Today. “The concerns over that, knowing that they were targeted, and perhaps maybe too easily. It was too easy for the shooter to enter that building.”

Tamura left a three-page note, excerpts of which were shared with Front Office Sports [[link removed]], saying he believed he had CTE, a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head trauma, with which many former NFL players have been diagnosed. “The league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits,” he wrote. “They failed us.” Tamura asked for his brain to be studied for CTE, and he added, “I’m sorry.”

CTE cannot be diagnosed while a person is alive, as the test requires studying the brain tissue for certain protein deposits. “There’s no way in the world any person could make that diagnosis for him,” Dr. Robert Cantu, one of the foremost medical experts on CTE, told FOS. Cantu cofounded Boston University’s CTE Center, served as a founding member of the Concussion Legacy Foundation’s Board, and advises the NFL’s Head, Neck, and Spine Committee.

The disease develops in people who have sustained repeated head trauma, which is one of the reasons that former NFL players have CTE. People who have been posthumously diagnosed with the disease often exhibited similar symptoms while alive, including psychiatric or behavioral dysregulation symptoms—depression, anxiety, and suicidality, among them—as well as physical symptoms such as painful headaches.

Tamura played football through high school, though never in college or beyond. He had a history of mental illness, NYPD police commissioner Jessica Tisch said last week. He had been treated for depression and had been “held twice involuntarily for mental health reasons,” ESPN reported [[link removed]]. He had also been treated for “repeated, debilitating headaches.”

Cantu cited a study of mostly young football players, all of whom had the symptoms of CTE—but only one-third of whom had the disease. “You couldn’t tell one group from another based on the symptoms, at least in young people.”

It could take weeks until the results of the autopsy are released.

ONE BIG FIG Golf’s Big Boom

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

2.97 million

CBS Sports’s average viewership for its golf coverage in 2025. The mark is the highest-rated golf season since 2018, and up 17% over 2024. CBS broadcasts the weekend coverage of the PGA Tour, and 14 of its 19 final rounds were higher rated than last year. The final round of The Masters averaged 12.71 million, also the highest since 2018, as the world tuned in to watch Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam. CBS’s media-rights deal with the PGA Tour runs through 2030, along with NBC and ESPN.

Conversation Starters Mackie Samoskevich brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown in Connecticut to honor the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Take a look [[link removed]]. The Islanders had 20 children who’ve lost parents help present Matthew Schaefer with his first NHL contract. Check it out [[link removed]]. Months after his MLB debut and a cancer diagnosis, rookie Nic Enright now has a save to his name [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Trump Order Leads to Visa Ban for Trans Athletes in Women’s Sports [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]“Men do not belong in women’s sports,” a USCIS spokesperson said. Why the NFL-ESPN Deal Is ‘Political Catnip’ for Trump [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]The president has a history of using media mergers for leverage. Question of the Day

Do you agree with the NFL’s decision to ban smelling salts?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Tuesday’s result: 79% of respondents think Boston should get a WNBA team.

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]], Colin Salao [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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