Read in Browser [[link removed]]

Afternoon Edition

September 30, 2025

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier torched WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Tuesday, saying the league has the “worst leadership in the world” and claiming that the commissioner also told her “players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media-rights deal that I got them.”

— Margaret Fleming [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Napheesa Collier Torches WNBA: ‘Worst Leadership in the World’ [[link removed]]

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Napheesa Collier went for the jugular.

The Minnesota Lynx forward torched the WNBA in her media exit interview [[link removed]] Tuesday. The Unrivaled cofounder and union VP began her press conference with a prepared statement about “the lack of accountability from the league office.”

“We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world. But right now we have the worst leadership in the world,” Collier said.

The Lynx star said the league talks about sustainability in collective bargaining agreement negotiations, but it won’t address officiating issues. She said coaches constantly bring up officiating [[link removed]], but the league “just issues fines and looks the other way,” which she called “negligence.” The WNBA fined her head coach Cheryl Reeve $15,000 [[link removed]] over the weekend following her complaints about officiating following a play where Collier injured her ankle against the Phoenix Mercury. Both women subsequently missed Game 4, when the Lynx were eliminated from the playoffs.

Collier described a conversation she had with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert [[link removed]] at Unrivaled earlier this year. She said Engelbert told her “only the losers complain about the refs,” and that when she asked about young stars who drive revenue for the league, Engelbert said Caitlin Clark should be “grateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.” Collier said the commissioner also told her “players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media-rights deal that I got them.”

Under the most recent CBA, Clark was paid just $78,006 this past season on a four-year, $338,000 contract.

“We go to battle every day to protect a shield for a league that doesn’t value us,” Collier said.

In a written statement Tuesday, Engelbert said she was “disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations,” but did not directly deny any of Collier’s claims about her comments.

“I have the utmost respect for Napheesa Collier and for all the players in the WNBA,” Engelbert said in the statement. “Together we have all worked tirelessly to transform this league. My focus remains on ensuring a bright future for the players and the WNBA, including collaborating on how we continue to elevate the game. I am disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership, but even when our perspectives differ, my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver.”

The CBA expires at the end of next month, and negotiations between the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association have been tense, with the sides unlikely to reach a deal [[link removed]] before the Oct. 31 deadline.

Collier said her husband, Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell, always messages players when they get hurt, and says she’s received similar sentiments from players from across the league during her injury-riddled season. “Do you know who I haven’t heard from? Cathy,” she said.

“Not one call, not one text. Instead, the only outreach has come from her No. 2 telling my agent that she doesn’t believe physical play is contributing to injuries,” Collier said. “That is infuriating, and it’s the perfect example of the tone-deaf, dismissive approach that our leaders always seem to take.”

When asked about a potential fine for her remarks, Collier said [[link removed]] it “seems like all of free speech is being fined right now” [[link removed]] and “I expect to get fined.” [[link removed]]

Collier said her experience as an Unrivaled cofounder [[link removed]] made her comfortable criticizing the WNBA.

“If I didn’t know exactly what the job entailed, maybe I wouldn’t feel this way,” Collier said. “But unfortunately for them, I do.”

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.

MLB’s Managerial Carousel Spins Early As MLB Playoffs Begin [[link removed]]

Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Major League Baseball’s managerial carousel has begun with force, as the recriminations arrive from missing the postseason.

As the league begins the playoffs Tuesday with a new-look group of teams [[link removed]], several others that missed the playoffs will move forward with new managers. Among them:

The Angels did not pick up the 2026 option for Ron Washington, according to multiple reports. Washington missed much of the season after undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery. Interim manager Ray Montgomery also will not return. The Giants fired Bob Melvin, with his two seasons in San Francisco both ending out of the postseason, with the decision arriving less than three months after the club had picked up Melvin’s 2026 contract option. The Rangers parted ways with Bruce Bochy, just two years after winning a World Series [[link removed]]. Texas has offered Bochy a front-office advisory role to stay with the team, but it’s not known whether he’ll accept. The Twins fired Rocco Baldelli, with his seven years including three division titles, but just one playoff berth in the last five years.

Several other changes could also be soon forthcoming elsewhere around the league. The Nationals, Orioles, and Rockies, meanwhile, have interim managers after firings earlier this year and decisions of their own to make for 2026.

Front-Office Domino Effect?

In many of these instances, the teams that are changing managers are also in the midst of larger ownership or strategic shifts that are influencing these decisions. The Pohlad family, who owns the Twins, recently pulled the franchise back off the market [[link removed]] and is now looking to restructure much of the team in the wake of fading performance both on and off the field.

The Giants, similarly, are trying to determine how to compete in the National League West division against the rival Dodgers and Padres. San Francisco went a combined 7–19 against those teams this year, despite committing $182 million in the offseason to shortstop Willy Adames in the richest free-agent deal in franchise history, and then taking on more than $250 million in future salary obligations in a midseason trade for slugger Rafael Devers [[link removed]].

“[We’re] just looking to find a different voice that can take us in a different direction,” Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey said.

One Team Standing Pat, Sort Of

An outlier to the run of firings is the Mets. The club will retain manager Carlos Mendoza, despite a particularly ugly end to the season that did not meet expectations built in part from a $341.8 million luxury-tax payroll, MLB’s second largest behind the Dodgers. No decisions have been made, however, for the rest of the on-field coaching staff.

“We are all disappointed. We were all frustrated—[Mendoza] as much or more than anybody else,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “But I still believe he’s a very good manager, and I think he’s going to demonstrate that.”

Mets owner Steve Cohen tweeted earlier this week [[link removed]] that fan “emotions tell me how much you care and continue to motivate the organization to do better.”

Tyreek Hill’s Injury Complicates Financial Future With Dolphins [[link removed]]

Rich Storry-Imagn Images

Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill sustained a season-ending injury in Monday night’s 27–21 victory over the Jets. It will likely have a major impact on the team on the field and the franchise’s front office.

Hill, 31, is in his fourth season in Miami, after being traded by the Chiefs in 2022. He’s making $27.7 million this season, but his $36 million salary next year is not fully guaranteed.

With Hill turning 32 in March and attempting to come back from a dislocated knee and multiple torn ligaments, the Dolphins will be forced to weigh the financial pros and cons of keeping him or moving on from the veteran wideout.

If Miami cuts or trades Hill after this season, it will be on the hook for $28.24 million of dead-cap money [[link removed]], according to Spotrac. However, that could be spread out across the 2026 ($15.9 million) and 2027 ($13.35 million) seasons, with a post–June 1 designation. That would account for $36 million in cap savings for the 2026 season, with Hill’s current cap hit set to be $51.9 million next year.

More Questions in Miami

While the Dolphins won their first game of the season Monday night, they face an uphill battle with a 1–3 record and Hill out for the season.

NFL insiders said Miami coach Mike McDaniel was on the hot seat coming into the season, and he has the highest betting odds to be the first coach fired this season at most sportsbooks. McDaniel was hired in 2022, and, in August 2024, received a contract extension through 2028.

Dolphins GM Chris Grier, who was hired in 2016, most recently received a multiyear contract extension ahead of the 2023 season. The entire length is unknown.

Meanwhile, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, is signed through the 2028 season, playing on a $212.4 million extension of his rookie deal. If a potential new coach or GM wanted to move on from Tagovailoa, cutting or releasing the quarterback after this season would result in $99.2 million of dead-cap money [[link removed]], per Spotrac. The dead-cap number would drop to $34.8 million in 2027.

Fever-Aces Elimination Game Without Caitlin Clark Lands on ESPN2 [[link removed]]

The Indianapolis Star

The WNBA’s most popular team plays in a winner-take-all playoff game on Tuesday night to determine who makes the WNBA Finals, and the high-stakes matchup will be a late-night affair on ESPN2.

The Las Vegas Aces host the Indiana Fever—the league’s most-watched team—in Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals at 9:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The winner will play the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Finals, which is expanding to a seven-game series this year.

Even without an injured Caitlin Clark [[link removed]], the Fever have been drawing strong TV ratings this postseason. Game 2 of the semifinals drew 1.7 million viewers on ESPN, marking the third-largest WNBA second-round playoff audience on record. Game 1 averaged 1.4 million viewers on ABC. Viewership for Games 3 and 4 over the weekend is not yet available.

Competing With Baseball

Game 5 of Fever-Aces is being broadcast on ESPN2, which typically draws fewer viewers than ESPN and ABC, because the flagship cable channel is airing MLB wild-card playoff games, and the broadcast network has its standard weeknight programming (ABC usually shows WNBA games only on the weekends).

While there’s no way to know for sure whether a healthy Clark would have led to ESPN shifting its programming to give Fever-Aces a better TV window, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see that come to fruition.

Clark or not, this is the last season that ESPN/Disney is the exclusive broadcaster of the WNBA playoffs [[link removed]]. Starting next year, the league’s new $2.2 billion media-rights deals give ESPN two first-round series and NBC and Amazon one series each; the semifinals and Finals will rotate among ESPN, NBC, and Amazon over the 11-year contracts. ESPN will likely have more broadcast inventory next fall, as NBC is primed to take over MLB’s wild-card series.

Clark Closure

Should the Fever beat the Aces, Clark still wouldn’t be available for the WNBA Finals, regardless of her health. That’s because she was left off Indiana’s active roster for the playoffs, and teams are not allowed to add players back on during the postseason.

Clark played just 13 games this season, her last coming July 15 after sustaining a groin injury, among other injuries. On Sept. 4, she announced [[link removed]] she would not return this year.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Kawhi Leonard: ‘No Wrongdoing’ in Aspiration Deal

FOS illustration

Kawhi Leonard addressed the media for the first time since news of his allegedly shady deal with Aspiration broke, telling reporters that he doesn’t “deal with conspiracies or the clickbait analyst or journalism that’s going on.” Meanwhile, Clippers president Lawrence Frank gave cryptic-sounding answers when he was asked point-blank whether Leonard’s agent asked for illegal benefits as a part of his latest deal. FOS editor-in-chief Dan Roberts joins Baker Machado and Renee Washington to evaluate the Clippers’ responses, while Pablo Torre continues to unveil new information about this scandal.

Plus, NHL legend Mark Messier talks through the NHL season, which begins next week, as the Florida Panthers aim for the coveted three-peat, with a potential assist from Florida’s lack of state tax. Messier also explains the evolution of the league, including the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off and changes to the CBA that will add extra games and reduce contract lengths.

Also, FOS college sports reporter Amanda Christovich explains the new SAFE Act, a counter to the SCORE Act, which is currently stalled in the House. Meanwhile, MLB managers get canned, and the WNBA levies major fines against coaches who spoke out about officiating issues.

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

STATUS REPORT One Up, One Down, Two Push

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

College football ⬆⬇ With the NCAA eliminating the spring transfer portal window [[link removed]] and moving to a singular time period in the winter, the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee on Monday recommended expanding the proposed dates by five days to Jan. 2–16. The previous proposal was Jan. 2–11. The D-I Administrative Committee, which meets Oct. 7–8, must approve the change before it takes effect.

French Open ⬆⬇ The tennis tournament will remain the last Grand Slam to continue using human line judges instead of electronic line calls in 2026, the French Tennis Federation confirmed Monday. Wimbledon began using electronic-line-calling technology [[link removed]] this year, while the U.S. and Australian opens had already been doing so.

Carriage disputes ⬇ Several major television distribution deals expire in the coming days, including a pact between YouTube TV and NBCUniversal [[link removed]] and another between Comcast and the YES Network [[link removed]] that ends at midnight Wednesday, and progress toward new agreements remains minimal. As a result, large amounts of sports programming, including the Oct. 5 Sunday Night Football game on NBC between the Patriots and Bills, stand at risk of blackout for those subscribers.

Milan soccer ⬆ The city council in Milan, Italy, approved the sale of the 99-year-old San Siro stadium to Serie A clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan, paving the way for the clubs to build a joint venue. The facility future of the two powers of Italian pro soccer had festered for years [[link removed]] without resolution.

Editors’ Picks Cheryl Reeve Hit With Largest Individual Fine in WNBA History [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Reeve said the WNBA needs a “change of leadership” in officiating. LeBron, Giannis, Jokić All Weigh In on Contract Situations [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]James is on an expiring contract with the Lakers. Women’s Final Four Moving to Football Stadium in 2028 [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The women’s title game will be at the home of the Colts. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Written by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]

Copyright © 2025 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

460 Park Avenue South, 7th Floor, New York NY, 10016