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Morning Edition

October 21, 2025

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The Blue Jays’ strategic spending has paid off, but they now face MLB’s top-spending team. Toronto will meet the Dodgers in a high-stakes World Series clash.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Blue Jays $280M Payroll Pays Off With a Trip to the World Series [[link removed]]

John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The final road to the 2025 World Series starts north of the border.

The Blue Jays claimed the American League Championship Series late Monday, prevailing in an epic seven-game series over the Mariners [[link removed]], one in which they had earlier trailed both 2–0 and 3–2. The club’s World Series berth is its first since winning back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993.

Toronto will now face the Dodgers, baseball’s financial behemoth and winner of the National League pennant [[link removed]] last Friday, beginning with Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 24 at Rogers Centre.

Glittering Prizes

The Blue Jays’ World Series berth is the culmination of decades of frustration and unfulfilled expectations.

The club plays in the seventh-largest metro area in North America, is the only MLB team in Canada, and enjoys the robust backing of its owner, Rogers Communications. The Canadian media giant, which also controls Rogers Centre and the team’s regional sports network, recently burnished itself by also gaining majority control of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment [[link removed]].

“It’s an inspiration for 41 million people in Canada from coast to coast to coast,” said Ed Rogers, Rogers Communications executive chair and Blue Jays chair, of the team’s run during the trophy ceremony. “This team has the depth and the character and the vision and we’re going all the way.”

The club’s financial wherewithal shows up in its No. 5 luxury-tax payroll, a $280 million outlay [[link removed]] that trails only the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, and Phillies among MLB clubs. The Blue Jays also furthered their intent to compete with those financial titans of the sport by committing $500 million in April to star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. [[link removed]] in a 14-year deal that is the third-largest pact in MLB history behind only Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani.

When asked if the pennant was envisioned when he signed the massive contract, Guerrero said, “Yes! But the job is not finished. We need four more [victories].”

Before this year, though, there were many seasons of disappointment for the Blue Jays, including a complete absence from the postseason between 1995 and 2014, ALCS losses in 2015 and 2016, and repeatedly coming up short in pursuits for top talents such as Soto, Ohtani, and Roki Sasaki.

All of that, however, are just memories as the Blue Jays now have the opportunity to return to baseball’s mountaintop.

“We’ve done a lot of work behind the scenes to improve ourselves, our roster, improve our communication, improve our processes, all that kind of stuff,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “This is why you do it.”

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Front Office Sports and IBM are gathering for an exclusive afternoon [[link removed]] of innovation, networking, and entertainment at the iconic Cosmopolitan, set against the exhilarating backdrop of Vegas’s fastest weekend.

Join industry leaders from across sports, media, and technology as we explore the next frontier of AI-powered fan engagement and the evolving future of live experiences. Expect bold ideas, curated conversations, and connections that move the industry forward.

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Saudi Arabia Wants to Bring American Football to the Middle East [[link removed]]

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

As Saudi Arabia continues to explore investing more money into sports, it’s clear that one of the country’s biggest targets moving forward is American football.

Through the $1 trillion state-controlled Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and its subsidiary firm SURJ Sports [[link removed]], the Middle Eastern nation already has a large footprint in soccer, golf, motorsports, tennis, and more.

Recent moves—either upcoming, theoretical, or even failed—show American football, both the collegiate and professional game, is up next:

The debut Fanatics Flag Football Classic will be played in Riyadh on March 21, headlined by current and former NFL stars, including Tom Brady, Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, and Rob Gronkowski. Last week, Saudi official Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, said he hoped that the flag football event would help bring an NFL game to the country. “Brazil got it, Britain got it, and hopefully Saudi Arabia will be next,” he said at the Joy Forum [[link removed]]. Earlier this year, North Carolina football GM Michael Lombardi traveled to Saudi Arabia on an exploratory fundraising trip [[link removed]]—at the request of a Saudi national who is a college football fan, interested in supporting coach Bill Belichick. Former Colorado special teams coordinator Trevor Reilly made a similar trip to Saudi Arabia [[link removed]] in search of NIL (name, image, and likeness) money in 2024. The Holiday Bowl, an ACC–Pac-12 matchup annually played in San Diego, considered moving this upcoming postseason’s game [[link removed]] to Saudi Arabia. Game Plan

Hosting a game, college or NFL, would mark a major step for Saudi Arabia’s American football ambitions.

The NFL is eyeing expansion of its international slate to 16 games per season [[link removed]] (up from a record seven this year) by the end of the decade. A logical first step for Saudi Arabia would be entering the NFL’s Global Markets Program. This spring, the United Arab Emirates became the first Middle Eastern nation to participate in the program [[link removed]], becoming a designated market territory for the 49ers, Commanders, and Rams.

The Bahamas Bowl is currently the only postseason college football game played outside the U.S. But Ireland has had success hosting regular-season kickoff games, and Michigan is in discussions about moving its 2026 season opener against Western Michigan to Germany.

Bringing a major American football event to Saudi Arabia would add to the country’s sports portfolio, which includes soccer’s Saudi Pro League, annual Formula One and LIV Golf events, the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition [[link removed]], the 2034 FIFA men’s World Cup, and WWE.

Indiana Is the Center of the Sports World—Again [[link removed]]

Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

In May, Indiana was the center of the basketball universe [[link removed]]. The Pacers were in the middle of an Eastern Conference finals run, while the Fever opened the 2025 WNBA season with championship aspirations.

Both teams would fall short of the title, derailed by season-ending injuries to their respective stars, Tyrese Haliburton [[link removed]] and Caitlin Clark [[link removed]], but that didn’t take away from their miraculous seasons.

The Pacers fell one win short of the NBA championship, the closest the franchise has ever been to the sport’s mountaintop. The Fever advanced to the WNBA semifinals for the first time since 2015.

Months later, the state’s football teams are among the biggest surprises in the sport.

Colts, Hoosiers on Top

The Colts entered the season with low expectations and a muddy picture at quarterback. The death of longtime owner Jim Irsay [[link removed]] in May also loomed over the organization.

Preseason odds forecasted a below .500 finish [[link removed]], and they were 2-to-1 underdogs [[link removed]] to make the playoffs for the first time in five years.

Indianapolis decided to bench Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, in favor of Daniel Jones, who it signed on a one-year, $14 million deal [[link removed]]. Jones appeared to be a stopgap quarterback, playing in his third team in three years after being shipped out by the Giants and landing on Minnesota’s practice squad.

But on Sunday, with Jones under center, the Colts dismantled the Chargers in Los Angeles to move to 6–1, the NFL’s best record. They have a two-game lead over the Jaguars for the AFC South.

“I always knew that we had really good players here and we were just missing something,” Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said after the game [[link removed]], according to ESPN. “And that’s something that Dan brought. … We were just one player away.”

The Colts, at least, had won two Super Bowls and only fallen on harder times in recent years after Andrew Luck’s shock retirement in 2019. Indiana University had been a doormat in the Big Ten and college football generally for decades. When it was ranked this preseason, it was just for the second time since 1969. Last season was also just the fourth time the team finished above .500 in the last 30 years.

The Hoosiers, who play about 50 miles south of Indianapolis in Bloomington, have more than delivered. They are one of six remaining undefeated FBS programs [[link removed]] and were ranked No. 2 in the Week 9 AP Top 25 [[link removed]], the highest ranking the program has ever received.

The winning comes after increased investment in the team in the NIL (name, image, and likeness) era. The Hoosiers have increased their yearly spending [[link removed]] on football from less than $24 million in 2021 to $61.6 million last year, according to Knight-Newhouse data.

In late 2023, they brought in head coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison; he has an 18–2 record in his first season and a half with the Hoosiers. Following a 10–0 start in 2024, Indiana signed Cignetti to a new 8-year deal in mid-November that paid him $8.3 million per year [[link removed]] with a $1 million retention bonus, among other potential bonuses.

Then, after Indiana beat Oregon and the Penn State job opened, the team signed a new 8-year deal with Cignetti worth $11.6 million per year [[link removed]]. This deal runs until 2033.

Three-Year Difference

Just three years ago, all four of the city’s major professional sports teams were in the doldrums of their respective leagues:

2022 Fever: 5–31 (last in WNBA) 2021–22 Pacers: 25–57 (26th in NBA) 2022 Hoosiers: 4–12 (T-11 in Big Ten) 2022 Colts: 4-12-1 (29th in NFL)

The renaissance has paid off. Even with Clark largely absent, the Fever led the league in total attendance [[link removed]] (home and road), while the Hoosiers set a single-game record of 56,088 fans at Memorial Stadium against Illinois on Sept. 20.

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Guests heard from two-time Olympic gold medalist Kristen Faulkner, former Knicks and Jazz executive David Checketts, and New York Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky—in addition to leaders from HBSE, The Chernin Group, Goldman Sachs, RedBird Capital, Monarch Collective, and more.

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

Editors’ Picks BYU Lost Its Star QB This Summer. Now It’s One of the Best Teams in College Football [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The Cougars are thriving with a true freshman at quarterback. Bruce Pearl: ‘The One Thing’ I Miss About Coaching [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]FOS interviewed ex-Auburn coach on his move to TNT Sports. The Biggest Beneficiaries of College Football’s Coaching Carousel [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]Newcomer programs are coughing up cash to ensure their coaches stay. Question of the Day

Who do you think will win the World Series?

DODGERS [[link removed]] BLUE JAYS [[link removed]]

Monday’s result: 41% of respondents think Florida was right to fire Billy Napier midseason and after a win.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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