Everyone is wrong about this college football mini-scandal
Plus: Arch Manning impresses for the wrong reasons, Sportico's best-ever data viz, and Eben puts on his tin-foil hat.
Back by popular demand, here are six sports business items that caught our eyes to start your week.
The Sportico Story of the Week đ: Our colleague Kurt Badenhausen is the industryâs most trusted source on athlete pay and franchise valuations. Last week he wrote a detailed account of how NFL teams and owners make their money. You may know that the NFL is a ~$23 billion business, but what exactly does that mean, what money gets shared league-wide, and what money gets kept locally? Kurt has answers that will surprise a lot of fans. Plus, the story updates this all-time Sportico chart đ
The Non-Sportico Story of the Week đ: Longtime Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay died in May. The official cause of death was âcardiac arrest,â but as the Washington Post detailed last week, the truth is much more complex. Irsay had begun to rely heavily on a âluxury recovery doctorâ who was prescribing him opioids. The full story is a thoroughâand sadâlook at the dangers of addiction and the weird world of celebrity medical care.
What Made Me Laugh đ¤Ą: A tough start to the college football season for preseason #1 Texas and the Longhornsâ much-hyped QB.
What Everyone Got Wrong đ˝: There was a mini-scandal in college football this week after Tulane coach Jon Sumrall said Northwestern refused his teamâs request to wear white at home to honor the 2005 team that played in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Sumrall couched it as Northwestern disrespecting New Orleans; Northwestern coach David Braun said it was a logistics issue.
I think theyâre both being disingenuous. It was nearly 90 degrees in New Orleans on Saturday, with a humidity high of 97% (!). Wearing white in those conditions is a real competitive advantage,1 and NCAA rules state that the visiting team wears white unless both teams agree otherwise. I think Northwestern said no because the request put them at a disadvantage. I understand the local sensitivity around Katrina, but I think Coach Novy-Williams would have done the same, he just would have been honest about it.
What I Canât Stop Looking At đž: Look at this photo of Jasmine Paolini from the U.S. Open!
It was taken by photographer Ray Giubilo and he admitted to The Guardian what you likely already suspectâthat it was captured by complete fluke. Paolini moved her racquet over her face, and it lined up perfectly with the colors of her strings. Iâm still impressed. As was Paolini, who made a point to shake Giubiloâs hand during her next match.
What Got Me Wearing My Tin-Foil Hat đŠ: Mathew Bowyer, the bookie involved in the bizarre betting scandal that involved MLB star Shohei Ohtaniâs interpreter, was sentenced last week to 12 months in jail. If you recall, the current version of the saga is that Ohtaniâs interpreter was impersonating the Japanese star, manipulating his bank accounts and using his credit cards to bet at historic levels, all without Ohtani knowing.
In a podcast interview prior to his sentencing, Bowyer said, âI do believe that Shohei Ohtani was aware of [the translatorâs] either gambling or borrowing money or using some of his funds⌠To what extent and how long, that part is really up in the air. But my belief is that [the translator] did get approval or ask for permission or even had [Ohtani] send money initially.â
Obviously! Itâs insane to me that the official narrative of Ohtaniâs total lack of knowledge will likely be the way this ends legally (and journalistically). Iâm not saying Ohtani was gambling the tens of thousands daily by himself, but I also have a brain, and his version of events here is just laughably implausible2 đ¤ˇ
Club Sportico is a community organized by Sportico, a digital media company launched in 2020 to cover the business side of sports. You can read breaking news, smart analysis, and in-depth features from Eben, Jacob and their colleagues at Sportico.com, and listen to the Sporticast podcast wherever you get your audio. Contact us at club@sportico.com.
This knowledge is one of the few perks of being a Jaguars fan.
Last year, Will, a friend of the program, wrote this detailed breakdown of how weird this story is and how unlikely Ohtaniâs claims are.