The Athletic

Pat McAfee's exclamation mark to his opening monologue was calling Caitlin Clark the b-word. If you went down to Bristol and described anyone that way, you would likely be suspended or worse. Our Andrew Marchand on how McAfee and ESPN came up short ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/gpp3v4p5

Dat Nguyen forged his parents’ signatures to sign up for the football team in junior high. He went on to become a legend at Texas A&M and then drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, becoming the NFL’s first Vietnamese player. His story: https://lnkd.in/gPUbfJZB

BREAKING: TNT Sports is adding College Football Playoff games starting this season in a five-year sub-licensing agreement with ESPN, per The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. The deal will see Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports and Max have two first round games over the initial two seasons of the contract. More details: https://lnkd.in/g43K5pMx

Would you pay up to $145 per month to watch every NFL game on TV this season?

What do pro pickleballers and bull riders have in common? Their yearly earnings match Caitlin Clark’s. The WNBA's revenues far trail those of other major North American leagues. But Clark’s salary also lags behind professionals in niche sports like bowling, surfing and esports. The base salary for a contracted player in the Professional Pickleball Association is $75,000. The top five ranked players on the PPA Tour will average $1.5 million this year in prize money and payouts. Ten players in the Professional Bowlers Association made more last year than Clark’s rookie salary. One major difference between the WNBA and its counterparts across many other sports is that WNBA players earn a smaller fraction of league revenue. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g8j2bV3G

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, speaking during a commencement speech at Benedictine College, referred the events in June demonstrating inclusivity and support for the LGBTQ+ community as an example of the “deadly sins” as he advocated for a more conservative brand of Catholicism. Butker spoke for more than 20 minutes to students at the Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas, saying he wanted the graduating class to prevent political leaders from interfering with social issues that impact their relationship with the church. More: https://lnkd.in/dHAz4VYV

Charles Barkley is “100 percent” concerned about TNT’s future with the NBA. TNT Sports is battling NBC for the final piece of the NBA’s next TV rights deal. Its current contract with the NBA ends after the 2024-25 season. When asked by ESPN Chicago about the future of "Inside the NBA," Barkley, who has been part of the broadcast since 2000, said those involved in the studio show "have zero idea what’s going to happen." More: https://lnkd.in/dWR-DFEz

There’s a new Christmas tradition brewing: The NFL’s two Christmas Day games in 2024 will stream on Netflix, the streaming giant announced Wednesday. As part of a three-season deal, the streaming platform will broadcast at least one Christmas Day game in 2025 and 2026, too. Details: bit.ly/3K1rcL5

BREAKING: The NBA and Amazon Prime Video have the framework of a deal that will make the streaming service one of the main homes for the league games, executives with direct knowledge of the talks told The Athletic. It is expected that Prime Video’s package will include significant regular season and postseason games, perhaps even some conference finals. The deal would likely begin for the 2025-2026 season. More: https://lnkd.in/guzvZYJT

Commissioner Roger Goodell said more changes could be on the way to the NFL schedule. His dream scenario would consist of two preseason games and 18 regular season games. The lengthened regular season would move the playoffs back. “The (Super Bowl) ends up on Presidents’ Day weekend, so it’s Sunday night, and then you have Monday night off.”