This is the dawning of a new era for baseball’s minor leagues.

MLB chose to voluntarily recognize the MLBPA as the minor league players’ bargaining representative after more than 50% of minor leaguers signed union authorization cards.

• Following the validation of those cards on Wednesday, the more than 5,000 minor leaguers officially joined the MLBPA, marking the first time MLB’s lower levels have had collective bargaining rights.
• The unionization effort, a much-discussed topic among minor league advocates for many years, kicked into high gear on Aug. 28 with the distribution of the authorization cards.
• By voluntarily recognizing the MLBPA, MLB avoided a formal vote, in which a majority of minor league players would need to vote in favor of joining the MLBPA, under the National Labor Relations Board.

The MLBPA also represents 1,573 major leaguers, as well as 237 coaches, managers, and trainers.

Last week the MLBPA joined the AFL-CIO, the largest labor federation in the U.S., representing 12.5 million workers.

Back to the Bargaining Table

For the second offseason in a row, MLB faces a major collective bargaining negotiation.

MLB and the MLBPA agreed to a new CBA, following a 99-day lockout that delayed the 2022 season. Now they will negotiate over minor league pay and conditions with the MLBPA for the first time. 

MLB teams began providing minor league players with housing starting with this season.

Following salary increases, MiLB players typically make $500 to $700 per week, and are not paid during the offseason.

The controversial LIV Golf upstart is generating “enormous” interest from potential U.S. broadcasters, according to its CEO Greg Norman. 

“We’re talking to four different networks and live conversations where offers are being put on the table, ” Norman said. One source told Front Office Sports there may be at least to six legitimate bidders for LIV’s U.S. media rights — and the leading contender is FOX.

LIV — which currently airs its events on YouTube — has had lukewarm viewership results. 

• The new league saw Round 1 of its inaugural tournament in June average 94,000 viewers.
• The second round averaged 54,000 viewers, according to Apex Marketing. 

Norman has vowed that LIV has an opportunity to do business with a major U.S. broadcaster, but Amazon and Apple have reportedly passed on a streaming rights deal.

So far, LIV has also been unable to secure deals with ESPN, CBS, and NBC. One reason is because its rival — the PGA Tour — currently deals with all three networks. 

Here to Compete

Backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, LIV has shelled out millions of dollars to compete with the PGA Tour. The upstart will make history in October with a $50 million purse for its season-ending team championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club — the richest purse in golf history.

LIV, which has lured some of the top golfers from the PGA Tour, will continue to ramp up its competition with the organization, and is no longer interested in negotiating with the Tour.

Ahead of the U.S. Open, Serena Wiliams told Vogue she was “evolving away from tennis,” but has been reluctant to admit that she has to move on from playing.

There might be a reason she doesn’t like the word “retirement” and hasn’t called her next step anything but an “evolution.”

When asked about a possible return to the court, Serena told “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, “I mean you never know. I’ve just been saying that I think Tom Brady started a really cool trend.”

Brady returned for his 23rd NFL season just six weeks after announcing his retirement in February.

“I feel like there’s no way that I don’t want to be involved in tennis somehow in the future,” Williams said.

Whether Williams plays again, she is plenty busy.

• Serena Ventures, her VC fund, has invested in more than 60 startups, with 16 valued at more than $1 billion.
• Williams is part owner of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and the NWSL’s Angel City FC.

Tennis GOATs

Williams was named by Forbes as the third-highest paid tennis player this year with $35.1 million in earnings. She trailed only Naomi Osaka and Roger Federer, who announced his retirement on Thursday.

Federer, who has yet to play this year, will retire after the 2022 Laver Cup, which begins Sept. 23. He’s earned $130.5 million in prize money — third all-time behind Novak Djokovic ($158.9 million) and Rafael Nadal ($131.6 million).

When more than 100 FBS athletic directors joined a meeting on Wednesday held by their representative organization, Lead1, they disagreed over whether to break FBS football away from the NCAA. 

The idea had been floating around for a few years and has gained steam according to several surveys.

By the end of the day, there was a “strong preference” among ADs to attempt to reform the NCAA rather than abandoning it, Lead1 CEO Tom McMillen told Front Office Sports. Several factors contributed to the decision:

• ADs acknowledged NCAA-backed money wasn’t something they wanted to part with.
• There were “optics” issues with separating a male sport from the rest of college sports — and, in particular, women’s sports.
• They acknowledged the NCAA is generally good at putting on championships. 

“It’s fairly logical to see if you can fix something before you blow it up,” McMillen said.

Future Demands

Despite the spirited debate, McMillen noted one major consensus: “The status quo was no longer acceptable. There needs to be a new model.”

FBS ADs want the NCAA’s Division I Transformation Committee — several of whom were in attendance at the meeting — to create a “streamlined decision-making process,” with involvement from university presidents.

The organization plans to draft a letter outlining specific demands to deliver to the NCAA in coming weeks in the hopes that the nuclear option can be avoided.