The NFL's new most exciting play
Plus: WWE gets a C, the NCAA goes worldwide, and the best-kept broadcasting secret??
Back by popular demand, here are six sports business items that caught our eyes to start your week.
The Sportico Story of the Week 🔎: Public disclosure laws played a key role in pushing the NCAA to pay its players, exposing just how much coaches and programs were making while athletes earned nothing. In a new era of college sports, Daniel Libit argues, it’s time to let outsiders track how the stars themselves are being compensated.
The Non-Sportico Story of the Week 🌍: Staying in the realm of college sports, I’m fascinated by attempts to play more games around the world. Kansas and Arizona State will likely play in London next year. Why not? Meanwhile the Big 12 is hoping to put together an Olympic sports competition in Mexico, Pete Thamel reported. I wonder if we’ll ever see a merging of NCAA championships and U-23 world competitions🤔.
What Impressed Me ✍️: WWE debuted its first Premium Live Event (PLE) on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service this weekend, part of a five-year, $1.6 billion deal. It was an important step in ESPN’s continued march into the digital world, with president of content Burke Magnus on hand (not to mention king of content Pat McAfee). Given all that, props to ESPN pro wrestling reporter Andreas Hale for seemingly staying impartial in his review of the evening.
What I Love 🏈: Three NFL results swung on blocked field goals within minutes of each other on Sunday afternoon. I hope this is the start of a trend, because it would make games even more exciting in the latter stages. And I loved Dan Orlovsky’s breakdown of how the Eagles managed to pull off possibly the most consequential of stuffs (particularly for those who needed the Eagles to cover their -3.5 spread).
What Confused Me 📺: Do people really not know about Amazon’s stats-heavy Prime Vision with Next Gen Stats feed? Its been one of the best ways to watch football for years now, but a single X post from @SleeperNFL that garnered three million views makes me believe the league and broadcaster could get the word out even further.1
What I’m Wondering ⚽: When is America going to realize the World Cup is coming to the states next year? Outside of a spike during the Club World Cup (a very different thing) this summer, search traffic shows a similar amount of attention paid to the Olympics, which won’t hit LA until 2028.
Maybe the MAGA-tinted group draw held in DC this December will make people aware? We’re now about 250 days out from an event expected to bring at least six million visitors to cities across the U.S. Let this be a reminder to keep the tournament in mind if you’re making any travel plans for next summer.
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.
Eben here: I didn’t know this was a thing. Will check it out on Thursday.