Closing Bell

The NFL has submitted public comment with the CFTC calling for tighter restrictions on sports prediction markets than the regulatory agency laid out as part of an initial rule-making proposal it made public in June.

In a letter to CFTC chair Michael Selig, NFL SVP/Government Affairs Brendon Plack reiterated requests and concerns that the league noted in a May filing with the commission that he said were not sufficiently addressed, including league-proposed bans on bets easily manipulated by one person, including injuries and officiating; and a process to block what it sees as objectionable contracts before they’re issued.

“We appreciate the opportunity to again provide our input on these markets,” Plack wrote, “and we will continue to engage with the Commission as the regulatory process continues to ensure the integrity of our games is preserved.”

Read the full letter here.

The N.Y. Giants on Monday “unveiled the specifics behind their plans to modernize their football operations facility and headquarters,” the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. The highlights of their facility improvement plans include:

• A new locker room that will “be more than 6,000 square feet, an expansion that will allow for 100 full-size lockers.”
• An expanded weight room that will include “more than 11,000 square feet.” The new weight room will also include a “nutrition bar and cardio mezzanine that overlooks the indoor field.”
• Other renovations include “expanded space for advanced sports medicine and rehabilitation, an integrated recovery and wellness area with more state-of-the-art equipment, and modernized player and team areas.”
• The team has also “renovated its cafeteria.”

EwingCole and Natoli Construction Corp. “are handling the design and construction of a significant part of the project.” Overall, the project includes “approximately 93,500 square feet of new construction and 46,000 square feet of renovations, and is expected to be completed ahead of the 2028 season.” The Giants “will continue to be based out of the Quest Diagnostics Training Center during the renovation.” However, the renovation, combined with the teardown of the infrastructures around MetLife Stadium related to the World Cup, is “believed to be the reason the team has taken its training camp on the road this year.” The Giants open training camp on Tuesday at The Greenbrier in West Virginia (SI, 7/27).

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MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a TV interview Sunday that he does not believe expansion beyond the league’s current 30 teams is imminent and does not anticipate the league ever growing beyond 32 teams. Speaking to Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, Garber cited “schedule makeup and the like” as the reason MLS would not have more than 32 teams.

“For a lot of different reasons -- schedule makeup and the like -- I don’t see us going beyond 32, and I’m not sure 32 is coming anytime soon,” Garber said. “It’s about making what we have bigger, better, stronger and capturing this cultural moment.”

Garber’s comments come with MLS ownership in the advanced stages of selecting the league’s next commissioner. The field was narrowed earlier this month to two final candidates: LAFC co-managing owner Larry Berg and former Fox Sports executive David Nathanson. The two are expected to make final presentations to owners as early as next week following the MLS All-Star Game in Charlotte this Wednesday.

Positioning MLS’s next two expansion franchises as the final opportunities to buy into the league could help Garber or his successor boost a potential expansion fee. San Diego FC is the most recent team to join the league, with ownership agreeing in 2023 to pay $500M for the franchise that debuted in 2025.

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The Travelers Championship, annually considered one of the top stops on the PGA Tour, is the first event to be confirmed for the tour’s Championship Series that will debut in 2028. The tour made the announcement on Monday and is expected to confirm a handful of other Championship Series events ahead of the Tour Championship, which tees off in just over a month in Atlanta.

Travelers has sponsored the tournament since 2007, and despite being held the week after the U.S. Open, has made it one of the top events on tour. Large crowds routinely turn out, and the tournament has consistently delivered exciting finishes. The last two final rounds also both crossed 4 million average viewers on both CBS and NBC, ranking among the highest non-major tournaments of each year. The Team works with Travelers on its PGA Tour sponsorship.

The tour expects to have 15 Championship Series tournaments when the new model begins in 2028; it said it had 10 of those 15 sponsors/events confirmed in late June. SBJ reported earlier in July that the tour was closing in on signing two more (12 total). Two sources said as many as eight sponsors (existing or new) have shown interest in the remaining three Championship Series tournaments. The Championship-level tournaments are said to be commanding $30M annually from sponsors.

It’s expected that many if not all of the tour’s other Signature tournaments will make up the Championship Series tournaments. Those include the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, Cadillac Championship, Truist Championship and Memorial Tournament. Other tournaments that could be in the mix for Championship Series, as previously reported by SBJ, include The Sentry, WM Phoenix Open and CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

A leading Democratic lawmaker has written to FIFA President Gianni Infantino to “request that he appear before the House Judiciary Committee in a fresh attempt to scrutinize his organization’s relationship with the Trump administration.” U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, is “pushing FIFA to provide all of its records on its contacts” with President Trump, “his administration and the Trump Organization,” which is the president’s family business, by August 9. Raskin “requests Infantino produce ‘a list of anything of value’” given to Trump, members of his Administration, or their family members, or any entity associated with them, such as The Trump Organization. The Congressman wrote that his letter “‘serves as notice’ for all communications to be preserved ‘between FIFA personnel and individuals affiliated with the Trump Administration or its inaugural committee -- including disappearing messages exchanged on ephemeral communication platforms, such as Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, X, and Truth Social.’” The letter “ends by requesting that Infantino appear for a transcribed interview with the committee” (THE ATHLETIC, 7/27).

The U.S. Tennis Association on Monday announced the initial entry list for its 2026 U.S. Open Mixed Doubles Championship, the second edition of the event since it was rescheduled to the U.S. Open’s pre-main draw Fan Week, and reformatted to accommodate more popular singles players, in 2025.

The initial 2026 entry list (listed in full below) is undoubtedly star-studded but also features some notable absences. The most significant in the latter category is ATP No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who a source confirmed withheld his name as part of the ongoing effort by a group of top 20 ATP and WTA players, coordinated by former WTA chief Larry Scott, to secure a higher share of revenue as prize money at the Grand Slams, among other demands. (Sinner initially signed on to play the event in 2025 before having to withdraw after falling ill during the Cincinnati Open final one day prior.)

Full list of the initial entrants for 2026:

• Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic
• Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz
• Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev
• Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud
• Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli
• Diana Shnaider and Daniil Medvedev
• Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien
• Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe
• Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev
• Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Nuno Borges
• Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper
• Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori
• Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori
• Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten
• Peyton Stearns and Preston Stearns

Other players that have had ties to Scott’s group who are not on the initial entry list include Coco Gauff, who did not participate in the mixed doubles event in 2025, and Carlos Alcaraz (currently sidelined with a wrist injury) and Ben Shelton, who did -- though the reasons for their absences are not thought to be singularly tied to the prize money effort. Pegula, Sabalenka and Rybakina, who did enter, participated in a meeting with USTA leadership earlier this month to discuss the player group’s demands, according to The Athletic.

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Broncos fans “have a chance to land half-priced tickets this week,” as part of the legislation and operating agreement between the Broncos and the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, which have been in place since Empower Field was built. The discounted tickets are available at 10am Tuesday and tickets start as low as $23. The club and MFSD have several requirements and limitations around the sale of half-priced tickets. There is a “limit of four tickets per household and tickets cannot be purchased for multiple games.” There are also “no refunds, cancelations or exchanges available on the discounted tickets.” The tickets also “cannot be resold or transferred.” The Broncos set “a record this spring with a 99.5% season ticket renewal rate.” The club currently has a “season ticket waiting list of more than 107,000” (DENVER POST, 7/27).

The Bills have revealed their “Nickel City” alternate uniforms, an all-gray pant and jersey combo featuring “The Charge” helmet -- an all-blue base bolstered by the iconic red charge. The design is a tribute to Western N.Y.’s hard-working people throughout history. Leaning into the “Nickel City” theme, the Bills honor the city of Buffalo with an all-gray design inspired by the Buffalo Nickel. Visual inspiration came from the steel mills, grain elevators and rail yards. Bills Dir/Design Aaron La Porta and the Bills design team were also part of the crew that collaborated in designing Buffalo’s “Cold Front” Rivalries jerseys, which debuted in 2025. The design process took eight months (Bills).

The alternate uniforms are a “radical departure” from the team’s red, white and blue roots. The blue helmet marks a franchise first. The team is “expected to wear the ‘Nickel City’ uniforms at least twice during the 2026 season.” The Bills “took some input from some current players during the design process” (BUFFALO NEWS, 7/27).

The Islanders received 80,490 submissions in their contest for fans to design the club’s next alternate jersey, the team said Monday. The front office will review the submissions and solicit input from players before having fans vote on the five finalists in August. The Islanders will wear the winning jersey starting in the 2027-28 season. The team believes the create-a-jersey promotion was the first of its kind in the NHL. The submission period opened on July 8 and ran through July 24. Users could choose between 15 jersey patterns, nine logos, and more than 50 colors.

SBJ’s Rachel Axon looks back at 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago, taking us inside the biggest panels, fan activations, exclusive events, and behind-the-scenes moments from one of basketball’s premier celebrations. From Chicago Sky co-owner Nadia Rawlinson’s stirring welcome to official book signings, merchandise showcases, and the electric atmosphere across the Windy City, see how the WNBA continues to elevate the fan and business experience.

Fanatics plans to “expand financial market offerings” after acquiring Water Street Labs and CX Clearinghouse from BGC Group Inc, giving the operator a “federally regulated designated contract market” and derivatives clearing organization. Fanatics Markets, the company’s prediction brand, has been offering trading through a Crypto.com partnership since December 2025. Now, Fanatics, which offers sports event contracts, has an in-house full technology stack for trading. A spokesperson said that the deal includes a partnership that “will combine BGC’s market and data analysis to ‘build a prediction market ecosystem that serves both retail and institutional participants.’” Fanatics, no longer needing a DCM partner, can “focus on creating and listing its own prediction markets, with a new focus on financial markets that could help set the operator apart from competitors and build its customer base.” Fanatics added that this BGC partnership “will be the first to ‘connect retail-focused prediction markets with the institutional marketplace’” (COVERS, 7/27).

The Big East is set to host its inaugural Revenue Summit from July 28-29 in Chicago at Wrigley Field. The two-day event, hosted by DePaul Univ., will feature conversations on the future of revenue generation in college athletics and on campuses. On July 29, the Revenue Summit will begin with remarks from Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman and DePaul SVP & AD DeWayne Peevy before five panel discussions:

• Revenue Lessons from Professional Sports
• Ticketing, Premium Sales and Data-Driven Prospecting
• Experiences, Hospitality and Fan Innovation
• Sponsorship
• Licensing, Retail and Brand Monetization

The Revenue Summit will conclude with a meeting with administrators from the attending Big East institutions, participating in focused discussions on shared practices and partnerships and strategic priorities across the conference’s footprint (Big East).