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Good Thursday Morning. Here’s the rundown of this week’s Sports Business Playbook:

• 📰 This Week’s Topic: There have been three significant developments on major stories within the sports media space in the past few weeks involving the NBA, the NFL, and the WNBA. We dive into what’s happened and preview where things are heading.

• 🍸️ Impress Your Friends at Cocktail Party: Want to show off your sports knowledge in a public setting but don’t have time to read the deep dive? Hit the “Impress Your Friends at Cocktail Party” section at the bottom for a CliffsNotes of this week’s topic

• 🤯 “Whoa of the Week”: A music icon comes to college football. Dale!

• 💪 Weekly Reminders that Sports are Awesome: Kristen Faulkner’s remarkable road to the Olympics, and Saint Lucia’s first ever medal.

Hey team,

The current sports media landscape is an ever-shifting series of tectonic plates.

There is an air of randomness to the movements, and there are often major events that both push winners to the top of a newly formed mountain and also see losers fall through the cracks.

The aftershocks then reverberate through the industry and lead us to try to predict the next one.

Three massive stories we have been tracking recently had major developments that will have industry-wide impacts:

1. The NBA’s new 11-year, $77 billion media deal, which included saying goodbye to longtime partner TNT (owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) and saying hello to Amazon.

2. The NFL’s initial loss in court over a lawsuit about NFL Sunday Ticket and if it violates antitrust law, and the judge just weighed in on the verdict.

3. The WNBA’s new 11-year, $2.2 billion media deal, a 267% increase over the existing deal.

Let’s unpack what’s happened with each and what likely lies ahead.

The NBA’s New Monster Deal

Previous analysis here

What happened

Since we last checked in with the Association, the league chose to solidify its media partners for the 2025-26 season and beyond: Disney (ESPN/ABC), NBC, and Amazon.

As predicted, the odd man out was WBD’s TNT, which had been an NBA partner for more than three decades.

TNT did have matching rights through their existing contract with the NBA and put in a counter offer targeting Amazon’s “C” package after the initial announcement. But, the league chose to move ahead with Amazon instead, which means TNT will be without the NBA after next year.

Where do we go from here

TNT technically could take this court, and they sent out a press release following the decision that left the door open for that.

I don’t think they will, though.

Despite the huffing and puffing, they know the Amazon offer is inherently different than theirs due to the Amazon Prime streaming platform, and taking a league partner to court does not look good optically when one is in business with several other leagues where they will have to go through similar negotiations.

At this point, the best course of action is to chart a new path.

TNT has re-signed Charles Barkley as of this week and could keep the Inside the NBA crew together for other sports coverage, and it has snapped up a series of smaller rights — the French Open, Mountain West football, and opening rounds of the College Football Playoff — that will enable it to maintain a high level of quality sports coverage while not breaking the bank.

For the NBA, it’s hard not to see this as the best possible outcome. They exceeded the projected revenue totals and have introduced a new, highly sophisticated and deep-pocketed partner into the fold with Amazon.

Now, Adam Silver and co. are likely setting their sights on expansion. The favorites in the clubhouse: Seattle and Las Vegas.

Expect them to be playing basketball in these two cities before the end of the decade.

The NFL’s New Dodged Bullet

Previous analysis here

What happened

The NFL has faced a lawsuit going back almost a decade that it kept the cost of its Sunday Ticket package artificially high in order to profit off of more affluent fans who wanted to watch their favorite team play in out-of-market games and bars who wanted to attract customers on game days.

This practice, the lawsuit argued, priced out most regular fans and forced them to watch only the local game instead, which is a violation of federal antitrust law.

Despite a somewhat flimsy case from the plaintiffs, the NFL had a series of missteps, and the jury ended up ruling against the league to the tune of potentially $14 billion in damages.

That being said, there were a lot of questionable decisions by the jury, including the process for determining for damages, and the NFL expected the judge to throw this verdict out.

And, he did.

U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez wrote a 16-page ruling last week stating that “the Court finds that the jury’s damages awards were not based on the ‘evidence and reasonable inferences’ but instead were more akin to ‘guesswork or speculation.’”

To add insult to injury for the plaintiffs, there was no new trial ordered.

Where do we go from here

Maybe there’s an appeal here, but it’s hard to see how the case has any teeth at this point and it’s already dragged on for almost a decade.

The NFL faced a lot of backlash not only for its sloppiness during the trial but also the fact that it took to trial in the first place instead of settling the case.

My take here is that the league wanted a decisive victory that would give it precedent to fall back on as the media landscape continues to get murkier, even for the biggest sports property in the world.

And to its credit, the league stuck to its guns and got this win.

The other entities breathing a sigh of relief at this outcome are all of the other sports leagues that have some semblance of centralized sports media rights. If the NFL had truly lost this verdict, there would have likely been a series of copycat lawsuits popping up that went after the other leagues in some capacity.

Crisis averted.

The NFL’s preseason has now begun, and you can expect another banner year for the Shield.

The W’s new W

Previous analysis here

What happened

The WNBA’s main $2.2 billion media rights deal was negotiated and finalized as a part of the NBA’s larger mega deal. Plus, the league has an opportunity to negotiate an add-on deal for a package of games that could net it an additional $60 million annually, and the league can renegotiate the annual value of the rights after three years should it believe it can get even more money.

While representing a 267% increase over the current deal (the W makes $60 million annually and it runs through next season) and showcasing the explosive growth of the the league, not all were pleased with this new deal.

Terri Jackson, the players’ union director, questioned how the NBA arrived at these numbers and even went as far as to say that the rights were still undervalued.

WNBA legend Cheryl Miller simply said, “it’s not enough.”

Where do we go from here

There’s a labor fight coming in the WNBA.

Despite the major salary gains that are set to come as a part of this nearly tripling in revenue from the media rights, the W’s complicated corporate structure means the players see a significantly diminished piece of the pie.

Unlike most leagues where the revenue is split evenly or close to 50/50 between the owners/league and the players — the W has multiple other parties:

• NBA: 42%

• WNBA: 42%

• Equity holders from the 2022 fundraise: 16%

This structure means that the W is splitting the pie several ways before hitting the clubs’ bank accounts, which means it will have to work that much harder to continue its ascension.

Is this unfair? Maybe, but the league has also never come close to turning a profit and has needed the NBA and outside investors to fund it for much of its existence.

The model doesn’t make as much sense now given the W’s ascent, but that same model was also what gave it the time and space to grow.

And, as with most businesses, what got it from stages 0 to 1 does not mean it will be the method that carries it from stages 1 to 10.

The players will want to reconfigure this arrangement that sets it up better for its next stage of growth.

Plus, the players have never had this much leverage, with several young stars coming into the league and driving increased interest — namely, Caitlin Clark.

The union will have its first opportunity to opt out of the current CBA in November. Expect the negotiations to begin then.

🍸️ Impress Your Friends at a Cocktail Party

Want to show off your sports knowledge in a public setting but don’t have time to read the deep dive? This section is the CliffsNotes of this week’s topic

• Opener: The current sports media landscape is an ever-shifting series of tectonic plates. There is an air of randomness to the movements, and there are often major events that both push winners to the top of a newly formed mountain and also see losers fall through the cracks. The aftershocks then reverberate through the industry and lead us to try to predict the next one. Three massive stories we have been tracking recently had major developments that will have industry-wide impacts:

  1. The NBA’s new 11-year, $77 billion media deal, which included saying goodbye to longtime partner TNT (owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) and saying hello to Amazon.

  2. The NFL’s initial loss in court over a lawsuit about NFL Sunday Ticket and if it violates antitrust law, and the judge just weighed in on the verdict.

  3. The WNBA’s new 11-year, $2.2 billion media deal, a 267% increase over the existing deal.

• Shot: The NBA confirmed its media partners for the 2025-26 season and beyond: Disney (ESPN/ABC), NBC, and Amazon. As predicted, the odd man out was WBD’s TNT, which had been an NBA partner for more than three decades. TNT did have matching rights, but the league chose to move ahead with Amazon instead. TNT could take the NBA to court, but I don’t think they will. At this point, the best course of action is to chart a new path. TNT has re-signed Charles Barkley and could keep the Inside the NBA crew together for other sports coverage, and it has snapped up a series of smaller rights — the French Open, Mountain West football, and opening rounds of the College Football Playoff — that will enable it to maintain a high level of quality sports coverage while not breaking the bank. For the NBA, it’s hard not to see this as the best possible outcome. They exceeded the projected revenue totals and have introduced a new, highly sophisticated and deep-pocketed partner into the fold with Amazon. Now, Adam Silver and co. are likely setting their sights on expansion. The favorites in the clubhouse: Seattle and Las Vegas.

• Shot: The NFL has been in court over a lawsuit that its Sunday Ticket package violated antitrust law by keeping prices artificially high in order to profit off of more affluent fans who wanted to watch their favorite team play in out-of-market games and pricing out regular fans. Despite a somewhat flimsy case from the plaintiffs, the NFL had a series of missteps, and the jury ended up ruling against the league to the tune of potentially $14 billion in damages. That being said, there were a lot of questionable decisions by the jury, and the judge threw out the verdict last week due to the jury’s discrepancies. Maybe there’s an appeal here, but it’s hard to see how the case has any teeth at this point. The NFL faced a lot of backlash not only for its sloppiness during the trial but also the fact that it took to trial in the first place instead of settling the case. My take here is that the league wanted a decisive victory that would give it precedent to fall back on as the media landscape continues to get murkier. The other entities breathing a sigh of relief at this outcome are all of the other sports leagues that have some semblance of centralized sports media rights. If the NFL had truly lost this verdict, there would have likely been a series of copycat lawsuits popping up that went after the other leagues in some capacity.

• Chaser: The WNBA’s main $2.2 billion media rights deal was negotiated and finalized as a part of the NBA’s larger mega deal. While representing a 267% increase over the current deal (the W makes $60 million annually and it runs through next season) and showcasing the explosive growth of the the league, not all were pleased with this new deal. Both the players’ union and a few prominent former players voiced their displeasure and believe the rights are still undervalued. Whether they believe it or it’s just a negotiation tactic, there’s a labor fight coming in the WNBA. Despite the major salary gains that are set to come as a part of this nearly tripling in revenue from the media rights, the W’s complicated corporate structure means the players see a significantly diminished piece of the pie. Is this unfair? Maybe, but the league has also never come close to turning a profit and has needed the NBA and outside investors to fund it for much of its existence. The model doesn’t make as much sense now given the W’s ascent, but that same model was also what gave it the time and space to grow. The players will want to reconfigure this arrangement that sets it up better for its next stage of growth. Plus, the players have never had this much leverage, with several young stars coming into the league and driving increased interest — namely, Caitlin Clark. The union will have its first opportunity to opt out of the current CBA in November. Expect the negotiations to begin then.

🤯 “Whoa” of the Week

Insane, mind-blowing things constantly happen in the sports business world. Here was my favorite of the past week.

1. Popstar Pitbull has purchased the naming rights to Florida International’s football stadium. Yes, this is a real sentence.

💪 Weekly Reminder that Sports are Awesome

This newsletter is, of course, mostly centered on the business side of sports and the things that happen off the field. That being said, it’s important to remember why we fell in love with sports in the first place, though.

This section is meant to highlight the amazing things that happened in sports this week that serve as that reminder.

1. Kristen Faulkner’s improbable road to the Olympics

2. Saint Lucia brings home its first ever Olympic medals thanks to Julien Alfred’s blazing speed

Thanks for reading! Let me know what feedback you have.

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Until next time, sports fans!

-Alex