Closing Bell

Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia filed a motion for mistrial in the Live Nation DOJ case Monday morning, following the leaked news that the DOJ and the live entertainment powerhouse had reached a settlement in their antitrust case.

A Manhattan jury heard several days of testimony last week, all while the DOJ and Live Nation were zeroing in on a settlement that would end the U.S. government’s multiyear pursuit of an antitrust case that could conceivably have broken up Live Nation and Ticketmaster and hugely impacted the live music and sports industries.

Assessing the ripple effects of the proposed settlement on the live events ticketing business will have to wait.

The states moved for a mistrial because they felt the DOJ’s literal post-settlement disappearance from the courtroom -- DOJ attorneys had done all the plaintiffs’ speaking during the trial, so far -- would prejudice the current jury. The states’ filing said the settlement sent a message that the DOJ felt its case wasn’t strong enough to win at trial and that Live Nation’s alleged anticompetitive behavior had been solved, neither of which the states believe to be true.

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L.A.-based sports marketing and talent representation giant Wasserman is changing its name to The Team starting Monday. The branding shift comes as the agency’s founder & CEO Casey Wasserman is selling off an estimated 40% stake valued at approximately $2B. It was revealed in late January that he exchanged emails with Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator, in 2003.

Wasserman representatives declined to comment on the name change following multiple inquiries from Sports Business Journal.

“As of today, Wasserman is rebranding as THE·TEAM and you can now find us at the.team. For 24 years, this company has been shaped by our work, our people and our unifying belief in the power of Sports, Music and Entertainment. That philosophy remains the foundation of who we are - and where we are going. We go forward as we always have: Together," the company’s website says upon entering.

No structural changes are planned for now. However, existing investor Providence Equity Partners, seems like the most likely to buy the 40% stake. Firm such as Bruin Capital, Arctos and Publicis have emerged as potential interested names.

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A three-judge appeals panel expressed skepticism toward the NFL’s arguments in the high-stakes “NFL Sunday Ticket” antitrust lawsuit on Monday, but one law professor who watched the hearings thinks the league is poised to avoid its worst-case scenario.

Most of the discussion at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco revolved around the expert testimony of Daniel Rascher, who was hired by plaintiff’s lawyers to help build the argument that the NFL and its business partners illegally fixed prices for “NFL Sunday Ticket” from 2011 to 2022, before YouTube won the rights to Sunday Ticket.

In June 2024, a jury determined the NFL had broken antitrust laws and awarded plaintiffs $4.7B in damages, which would be tripled to $14.1B if enforced. But shortly after the trial, Judge Philip Gutierrez zeroed out the verdict, saying Rascher and another expert’s testimony was so fundamentally flawed that it never should have been part of the case.

The plaintiffs appealed that ruling, leading to Monday’s hearing. The NFL’s appeals lawyer, Paul Clement, said Gutierrez was well within his rights to make that decision and argued the appeals judges should uphold his ruling.

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ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter was set up in the “Thunderdome” in Indianapolis on Monday for ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” to open NFL free agency. McAfee revealed last week that his show would “stand alone,” with guests like Schefter, NFL insider Peter Schrager and analyst Dan Orlovsky joining him. Last year, ESPN ran a different show, a special version of “SportsCenter” on ESPN2 that included Schefter, at the same time as McAfee’s. McAfee joked that “ESPN ‘didn’t think we’d be able to handle it’ last time.” Schefter complained about the WiFi while announcing the Panthers’ signing of DE Jaelan Phillips. He said, “By the way, the WiFi in this room, Pat, is not working very well! I’m trying to get things out here, and it’s not working” (N.Y. POST, 3/9).

Schefter was “put in a box isolated from everyone else.” The clip left people online “confused on the set-up.” Some on social media believed the design “made sense with Schefter constantly on the phone to agents for updates” (THE MIRROR, 3/9).

Schefter appearing on McAfee’s coverage drew reactions on social media:

• The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand: “Adam Schefter is Indianapolis for Pat McAfee Show, but is not on set. I guess it makes sense to have Schefter be able to communicate in his own room to text and talk, but not sure why he couldn’t do that from his own studio.”
• Awful Announcing’s Ben Koo: “What a difference a year makes. A year ago, Schefter didn’t appear on PMS, instead appearing on ESPN2 for the start of free agency. Schefter was effectively banned from PMS for the perceived slight until a report surfaced. Schefter is now behind a glass door in the Thunderdome.”
• SI’s Jimmy Traina: “The @PatMcAfeeShow Free Agency Frenzy show with @danorlovsky7 and @PSchrags is great. Covering all the news while having fun and capturing the excitement while not treating this like brain surgery.”

The NFL’s negotiations with the NFL Referees Association on a new CBA are “not in a good place” and “‘frustration is mounting’ among owners,” according to sources cited by ESPN.com. The league held committee meetings last week in Palm Beach, Fla., where owners were “updated on the status of the talks on a deal to replace the expiring CBA.” The NFL last year said it is focused on “implementing changes to the agreement in ways that will improve the performance of our game officials.” However, the referees’ union “wants to preserve the status quo or, in some cases, roll back the league’s access to working with game officials.” The league’s current CBA with the NFLRA expires at the end of May. The last officiating lockout was in 2012 and lasted 110 days (ESPN.com, 3/9).

IndyCar on Monday unveiled the track layout for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix with a 1.7-mile, seven-turn layout that winds around the National Mall. The frontstretch along Pennsylvania Avenue will “display the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol in the background.” Cars will also race by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the National Archives. The lap count of the race has not been determined. Finalizing and revealing the track is a “step in the right direction, as plans for paving, constructing walls and setting up viewing areas can begin” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 3/9).

The buildout of the circuit will “start later this summer,” with the roads near the U.S. Capitol and around the National Mall “expected to remain open and accessible throughout the majority of the course creation.” The logo design for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix was revealed, featuring a race car positioned in front of the U.S. Capitol dome in red, white and blue. A custom red, white and blue livery was also “created specifically to honor the 250 years of American Independence.” The car will be “displayed at prominent locations throughout” the D.C., Maryland and Virginia region over the next several months (MOTORSPORT, 3/9).

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Golf Channel analyst Smylie Kaufman is taking on a larger role with the network and will be joining its “Live From” telecasts throughout the remainder of 2026. Kaufman, a mainstay on Golf Channel and NBC telecasts in recent years, will appear on the show on Tuesday-Sunday during weeks when it’s on site, starting this week at the Players Championship.

Kaufman is joining the show as an analyst months after Johnson Wagner departed Golf Channel to join the CBS golf team.

“His analysis is excellent,” said Matt Hegarty, Golf Channel’s coordinating producer for news and studio coverage. “The level of attention he pays during meetings, the ideas he has, he’s fully engaged.”

Wagner became known at Golf Channel for going out and recreating memorable shots from the just-completed round. The goal for Kaufman isn’t to simply follow that line. “Smylie is his own man,” Hegarty said. “Johnson is Johnson and Smylie is Smylie. There’s going to be some separation.”

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The L.A. Kings will remain on the FanDuel Sports Network West channel for the entire 2026-27 season, including the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The club will also stay on the network for the remainder of the current campaign. In addition, all Angels games in the 2026 season, excluding national broadcasts, will be on the net, along with expanded pregame and postgame coverage and team-focused content (Angels). The Angels had purchased Main Street Sports Group’s 50% share of FDSN West, and will soon announce their own RSN that will likely house the Kings. Because Kings games were previously carried on FDSN West, sources believed the Angels would pay the Kings an undisclosed rights fee to remain in tow, beginning next season (SBJ).

Racquet 360 -- a racket sports-focused firm that operates companies in the event, facility and consumer product spaces -- has raised a $9M funding round from an investor cohort including Sunrise Padel Capital, Profluence Capital and Taktika Equity. The round closed in the fourth quarter of 2025, and Racquet 360 says it has since deployed the capital across its portfolio of brands, which includes racket sports club operator Racket Social Club; pickleball/padel equipment seller Racket Central; amateur padel league National Padel League; and 3-year-old racket sports trade Show RacquetX (which will this year be at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale from March 13-15). “The U.S. padel market is at an inflection point, and this capital allowed us to accelerate the growth of platforms we had already proven in the market,” Racquet 360 CEO Emiliano Abramzon said in prepared remarks.