September 6, 2022

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Johnny Manziel may have crashed out of the NFL in two seasons, but his story has more staying power. Netflix and “Johnny Football” himself are teasing [[link removed]] a new documentary chronicling the college phenom’s epic pro flameout.

Premier League Clubs Spent $2.2B in Summer Transfer Window [[link removed]]

Manchester United

After breaking the transfer spending record [[link removed]] with a week to spare, Premier League clubs passed more significant milestones before the summer window closed Thursday.

EPL clubs spent $2.2 billion this summer — breaking the transfer fee record for the entire season ($2.16 billion) set in 2017-18, per ESPN and accounting firm Deloitte.

Premier League clubs also proved to be the world’s biggest spenders, as their cumulative transfer fees during this window were more than those of Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, and Germany’s Bundesliga combined.

Several high-profile transfers in the final days pushed the EPL over the line.

Brazilian winger Antony moved from Ajax to Manchester United for $104.5 million. French defender Wesley Fofana went from Leicester City to Chelsea for $88.4 million.Swedish forward Alexander Isak moved from Real Sociedad to Newcastle United for $77 million.

Both Antony and Fofana’s fees exceeded that of Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez, who had previously held this window’s high mark at $82.5 million.

Premier League’s Pockets

According to Deloitte’s latest annual review of football finance, the Premier League earned [[link removed]] $5.7 billion in the 2020-21 season, an 8% year-over-year increase, and is expected to have earned $6.4 billion during the 2021-22 season.

Deloitte anticipates the Premier League will make $6.95 billion (£6 billion) this season for the first time.

Chicago Bears Inch Closer to New Stadium [[link removed]]

Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Chicago Bears will present conceptual plans for a new stadium and entertainment district at an informational community meeting this week.

In September 2021, the Bears signed [[link removed]] a $197.2 million purchase agreement for the Arlington International Racecourse property — roughly 30 miles north of downtown Chicago.

The 326-acre property is the potential site for the new stadium.Team officials will present [[link removed]] their plans at a local high school in Arlington Heights on Thursday.

The Bears’ lease at Soldier Field — the team’s home since 1971 — runs until 2033.

The team has an option to break that lease starting in 2026, but would be forced to pay an $84 million penalty to the city.

A Plan to Stay Put

The Lakefront Museum Campus Working Group — led by Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot — has recommended [[link removed]] that Chicago “explore the feasibility” of a dome atop Soldier Field. The project would allow Soldier Field to host major events like the Super Bowl and possibly keep the Bears within city limits.

Estimated costs for a dome range from $400 million to $1.5 billion, per [[link removed]] Sports Business Journal.

Proposals have also included increasing [[link removed]] the seating capacity of Soldier Field from 61,500 seats to 70,000.

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The Biggest NWSL Match Ever [[link removed]]

San Diego Wave FC

When San Diego Wave FC hosts Angel City FC on Sept. 17, history will be made.

The NWSL’s two newest clubs will not only draw the largest attendance ever for one of the league’s games, but also play [[link removed]] in front of a sold-out crowd for the very first NWSL game at Snapdragon Stadium.

The club sold 32,000 tickets to the game — all of them 17 days before kickoff.The previous NWSL record of 25,218 attendees was set by the Portland Thorns in 2019.

The $310 million Snapdragon Stadium is owned by San Diego State University. The San Diego Wave, which was valued [[link removed].] at more than $100 million in April, previously played at the 6,000-capacity Torero Stadium on the University of San Diego’s campus.

“We’ve sold all of our inventory, it’s incredible,” Wave president Jill Ellis said. “We should celebrate this, but we should now expect it, big crowds for women’s professional sports.”

Wave of Women’s Soccer

Ellis is right — the sold-out game isn’t the only one breaking women’s soccer attendance records.

The Women’s Euro 2022 was the best attended in the tournament’s history, with an aggregated attendance [[link removed]] of 574,875.

Shortly after the Euro, England’s international friendly against the United States in October sold out [[link removed]] general admission tickets, with a record 65,000 tickets sold in one day.

Australia Drops Bid for 2023 Asian Cup [[link removed]]

Mandi Wright

Australia wants to host a major soccer tournament, but it won’t be doing so next year.

The country has dropped [[link removed]] out of the running to host the 2023 AFC Asian Cup but hopes to host the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

Australia had filed an Expression of Interest statement for the 2023 tournament, as did South Korea, Indonesia, and Qatar.China was originally slated to host the summer tournament but bowed out to focus on suppressing COVID.Officials will select a new country for the 24-team tournament by Oct. 17.

The bid was contingent [[link removed]] on government support and the Asian Football Confederation’s willingness to move the contest from June/July 2023 to January/February 2024, Football Australia CEO James Johnson said in July.

Pivot to 2026

“Football Australia maintains its strong interest in bidding for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 and will submit a formal and comprehensive bid to the Asian Football Confederation within the required timeline later this year,” Football Australia wrote.

The 2022 Women’s Cup, hosted by India, drew [[link removed]] 156 million unique viewers — up 63% from the 2018 tournament in Jordan.

The AFC’s World Cup qualifying matches topped 100 million viewers across each matchday, reaching more than 345 million unique viewers in total.

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The UEFA Champions League group stage starts today [[link removed]] with two matches at 12:45 p.m. ET and six at 3 p.m. ET.

Keep an eye on two clubs rich with talent, PSG and Juventus, facing off at 3 p.m. ET. With Messi, Mbappe and Neymar sharing the pitch with Di Maria, McKennie and Vlahovic, there should be no shortage of fireworks at the Parc des Princes.

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Conversation Starters Here’s how Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase spent his first million [[link removed]] dollars. From the first pitch to the soccer pitch, Atmosphere Sports is bringing sports back to the center with scores, highlights, and more. Find out [[link removed]] what they’re all about.* Texas Tech has unveiled [[link removed]] renderings of its new $200 million football stadium and facility project scheduled to be completed before the 2024 season. Brett Favre’s attorney told [[link removed]] NBC News that his client was questioned over the $1.1 million in fees he received in 2017 and 2018 for motivational speeches he allegedly didn’t deliver. Today's Action

MLB

09:40 PM

White Sox (+130) at Mariners (-150)

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MLB

09:40 PM

Diamondbacks (+140) at Padres (-165)

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MLB

08:40 PM

Brewers (-190) at Rockies (+160)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

Question Of The Day

Do you plan to watch NFL games this season?

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Friday’s Answer

33% of respondents have taken an online course in the past year to learn new skills.

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Written by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]] Edited by Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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