- Jack Easterby’s rapid, unconventional rise in the NFL world was undeniably fascinating to league insiders, and it sparked questions about his experience, ambition and tactics. Two years after being fired by the Texans, Easterby’s biggest defenders, like Bill Belichick, still believe he is a brilliant exec, quickly able to identify and address organizational challenges in workplaces. I profiled Easterby in this week's SBJ as he hopes for a second act in major sports.
- Beyond the NFL taking up a large chunk of the top 100 telecasts of 2024, the league accounted for 126 spots (with one of those being the first round of the draft) within the top 200, notes SBJ's Austin Karp. That’s down from 137 NFL spots in 2023 amid an Olympic and presidential election year.
- WME Football will be split off from WME but retain its name, similar to how IMG Academy has kept the IMG branding despite no longer being affiliated with the parent business, sources tell my colleague Chris Smith.
- Blowouts were not kind to the viewership numbers for the NFL Wild Card round. Karp breaks down how each game did.
- The NFL and Bleacher Report have a three-year content deal that gives the TNT Sports digital property and its House of Highlights subsidiary access to NFL game footage, as well as access to NFL tentpole events like the Super Bowl, Draft and Combine, reports SBJ's Mollie Cahillane.
- NFL team sponsors are looking for playoff payoffs this weekend, with a variety of activations surrounding the Divisional Round, writes SBJ's Terry Lefton. One that stood out to me: Bud Light is sponsoring a Lions bus tour this week that’s covered most of the state of Michigan and Windsor, Ontario.
- Ticketmaster signed on as the first founding sponsor of the Bills’ new Highmark Stadium scheduled to open for the 2026 season, the team said.
