March 27, 2023

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The NFL held its annual owners meetings this weekend, and FOS Senior Reporter A.J. Perez brings us the latest from Phoenix and updates on the Commanders sale saga on Front Office Sports Today — plus, Professional Fighters League founder Donn Davis previews his new MMA league.

Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

Commerce Men’s Final Four Ticket Prices Plummet with Texas Schools Out [[link removed]]

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Miami’s Cinderella run has created an amazing narrative heading into the men’s Final Four — but it may have torpedoed secondary-market ticket prices for the big event.

With about five minutes remaining in the Hurricanes’ Elite Eight contest with Texas on Sunday, tickets to get into the Final Four were selling [[link removed]] for $286 all-in on ticket marketplace TickPick.

According to data provided by the company to Front Office Sports, the get-in price dropped to $195 in the immediate aftermath of the game and currently stands at $157 — a 32% and 45% decrease, respectively.

Ticket purchase prices for the national semifinals are averaging $421, while the all-sessions tickets — providing access to both the semifinals and championship game — are going for an average $705. The get-in price for all sessions is $229.

The price drop is a byproduct of Miami’s upsets of 1-seed Houston and 2-seed Texas, which are located a respective five and 160 miles from Houston’s Final Four venue, NRG Stadium.

Other ticket marketplaces are seeing [[link removed]] the effect, as well.

With Houston still in the mix, tickets were selling for $229 on Ticketmaster and $250 on StubHub before taxes and fees. With Houston eliminated but Texas remaining, tickets came down to $175 on Ticketmaster and $215 on StubHub. By Monday morning, with both schools gone, the tickets were as low as $100 on Ticketmaster and $122 on Stubhub.

The Houston Chronicle reported that tickets to the championship game were selling for as low as $75 on Monday morning.

Deals On or Off Agenda, Commanders Sale Hot Topic At Owners’ Meetings [[link removed]]

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

League and team representatives filed into the NFL’s annual owners meeting with the sense that Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder is inching closer to finalizing a deal to sell the franchise.

Snyder was expected [[link removed]] to sell among those interviewed at the last owners meeting outside Dallas in December, but now two team executives told Front Office Sports that they believe it will happen soon.

Another source told FOS that the sales talks are “at a critical juncture.”

There’s no formal agenda item at the league meetings that began Sunday and run through at least Tuesday at an upscale hotel in suburban Phoenix. On Monday, a Commanders’ spokesperson offered no update on the process.

Firm details of the potential transaction remain shrouded in secrecy, although the league’s owners could seek an update from Commanders’ co-CEO Tanya Snyder.

Snyder and the Commanders will be discussed at privileged, owners-only sessions on Monday and Tuesday, sources told FOS.

Piece of Chargers For Sale?

The sister of Los Angeles Chargers controlling owner Dean Spanos is reportedly selling nearly a quarter of the team she controls.

Dea Spanos Berberian has been locked in a legal battle with her siblings for more than three years. Dean Spanos, Michael Spanos, Alexis Spanos Ruhl, and Berberian each own 15%.

Sportico reported [[link removed]] that Berberian is selling her personal share of the Chargers, along with her chunk of the family trust, which amounts to a collective 24% of the team.

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Leagues NWSL Crushes Attendance Record with Media Deal Looming [[link removed]]

Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The NWSL began its season by surpassing its opening weekend attendance record.

Nearly 31,000 fans packed into San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium, 22,000 saw Alyssa Thompson’s first goal [[link removed]] for Angel City, and a total of more than 90,000 fans came to the league’s first six games — an average of 15,002 — over the first weekend.

That figure was nearly 50% higher than the previous high of 10,150 set last year.

The league topped 1 million total fans last season, with an average of 7,894 across 132 games. That figure was buoyed by Angel City with an average of 19,105 and the Portland Thorns with 15,543.

An Angel City-San Diego Wave tilt in September at Snapdragon Stadium set the league’s attendance record with 32,000.

If the league can show growing popularity this season, it could pay dividends for years to come: The NWSL is currently in talks with interested broadcasters on its next media deal. The current one with CBS Sports expires after this season.

Name, Image, and Unlikeness

The NWSL has been added to EA Sports “FIFA 23” game, but some players are angry over how they’re depicted.

“I know you expect women to just be thankful and grateful that you’ve given us a little sliver of publicity, but please stop wasting our time,” tweeted [[link removed]] Angel City’s Sydney Leroux. “Some of us are bald.”

Conversation Starters Three minutes [[link removed]] into Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh’s speech at the NFL owners meetings, quarterback Lamar Jackson announced his request for a trade. Alyssa Thompson — at 18, the youngest draft pick [[link removed]] in NWSL history and one of Nike’s first NIL athletes — scored 11 minutes into her debut for hometown club Angel City FC. Speaking of Nike: The Atlanta Braves’ new City Connect uniforms pay tribute to Hank Aaron and his record-breaking 715th home run. Check them out [[link removed]].

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What to Watch

The Philadelphia 76ers will take on the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena.

How to watch: 9:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV

Betting odds: 76ers +5.5 || ML 76ers +177 || O/U 228.5

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