Closing Bell

Advertiser demand for the NFL Draft remains strong again this year, with ESPN and Disney setting record ad unit rates. Across 53 categories, more than half of advertisers grew their Draft budgets since last year. During all of NFL Draft Week, Disney/ESPN has 135 total sponsorships across 30 advertisers -- including nine new brands -- airing during Draft coverage. There will be around 80 live sponsorship executions on the three days of coverage across ESPN, ABC, NFL Network and ESPN Deportes. Leading up to the Draft, there have been more than 50 surround sponsorship executions.

The NFL heads into Thursday night’s first round of the Draft coming off its second-best figure on record in 2025, as ESPN, ABC and NFL Network averaged 13.6 million viewers. Last year had some drama as QB Shedeur Sanders slipped completely out of the first two days of the NFL Draft after being projected as a first-round pick. The high mark for the first round remains the COVID telecast of 2020 with 15.5 million viewers.

Being the host city has also meant a boost in local ratings for that media market, per new data from Nielsen, usually to the tune of double-digit year-over-year growth. And Las Vegas is also likely to see a big surge having the No. 1 pick, with Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza expected to go there. Over the last three years, the local markets that had a team drafting a franchise QB at No. 1 saw a sharp ratings increase on ABC vs. the year prior.

ESPN is “leaving well enough alone” for its coverage of the NFL Draft, as the company is allowing NFL Network “to deliver the same draft coverage, with the same announcers” as in past years despite acquiring ownership of the outlet. Rich Eisen will once again anchor the main set, flanked by Daniel Jeremiah, Charles Davis, Joel Klatt and Kurt Warner. Meanwhile, ESPN and NFL Network both will have reporters covering the Raiders, Jets, Giants and Cowboys, which “seems a poor use of resources … to double down on four different teams” instead of starting the “inevitable cross-over integration of reporters from both network.” Laura Rutledge and Taylor McGregor are the only ESPN personalities “scheduled to appear on NFL Network” (MIAMI HERALD, 4/23).

NFL Network VP & Exec Producer/Content Production Charlie Yook, who oversees the net’s draft coverage, will have “more toys at his disposal than he has ever had, including three drones and augmented reality graphics.” He said that Jeremiah’s analysis “will be the focus of NFL Network’s coverage.” Yook: “You’re gonna learn something about every player. The guy’s an animal, and I mean that in the best way” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/23).

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast, Bleacher Report GM Bennett Spector explains why the NFL Draft is the biggest event of the year for his company -- rivaling even the Super Bowl in traffic and engagement.

The PGA Tour laid off 56 full-time employees on Thursday as the organization goes through a right-sizing amid its new for-profit structure, according to people with knowledge of the tour’s operations. The 56 jobs represent around 4% of total staff, which numbers more than 1,300 globally.

It wasn’t known if a specific department was impacted more than others, though the layoffs were expected to be tour-wide. In addition to the layoffs, the PGA Tour is not filling 73 open roles that had been posted. Impacted employees were notified of the decisions on Thursday morning, and CEO Brian Rolapp sent a memo to staff explaining the decision.

The tour next week plans to reallocate some of the lost positions and reinvest in 30-plus new full-time roles, including some senior-level jobs.

Despite the moves, tour sources say the organization was profitable in 2025 and believe it remains on a strong financial footing moving forward.

Read More >>>

Virginia Tech AD Whit Babcock is “retiring June 30” but will “remain at the school as AD emeritus.” Babcock is the ACC’s second-longest tenured AD after a dozen years with the Hokies. Virginia Tech did “not reveal the new position’s duration or salary” -- Babcock’s contract as AD was set to expire in June 2029, with an average annual compensation of about $1.2M. The announcement “teemed with applause” from many, including university President Tim Sands, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips and coaches such as football’s James Franklin, men’s basketball’s Mike Young and retired football coach Frank Beamer. But “for all of the Hokies’ competitive, academic and fundraising accomplishments on Babcock’s watch, football, the economic engine of college athletics, didn’t prosper.” Babcock: “It weighs heavily on me that we have not yet reached the level of football success our fans so deeply deserve” (Norfolk VIRGINIAN-PILOT, 4/23).

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer on Thursday “had his attorneys send a letter” to the judge overseeing Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg‘s sentencing for fraud which “detailed all the ways in which Ballmer claimed he was defrauded by Sanberg and Aspiration.” Ballmer’s letter, which “spans five pages,” details multiple instances in which Ballmer claimed he was duped. Ballmer called himself “a clear and undisputed victim of Sanberg’s fraud.” Ballmer said that he initially invested $60M in Aspiration “because he believed Sanberg’s statements about the financial viability of the company.” He then “laid out specific agreements he reached with Aspiration,” including the $300M Intuit Dome founding partnership agreement that eventually fell apart. Ballmer also “detailed financial investments he made in Aspiration, which he claimed he lost due to Sanberg’s fraud.” Near the end of the letter, Ballmer said the “most persistent and damaging injury” caused by Sanberg was to his “reputation,” citing the investigations into the matter by the NBA and the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast (YAHOO SPORTS, 4/23).

Hillsborough County has told the Rays that it is “unlikely to meet the team’s deadline for the completion” of a ballpark deal, which “could jeopardize the entire proposal.” Earlier this month, the Rays released a draft memorandum of understanding that “set a strict deadline: June 1.” The club said that the deadline is “necessary not only for the ballpark to open in time” for the 2029 MLB season, but for the “deal to be feasible at all.” But the county said that a timeline “cannot be established until all involved parties reach an agreement.” After a preliminary agreement is reached, it would “‘likely take at least 60-90 days’ to negotiate the deal’s development and funding obligations.” June 1 is in less than 45 days. It was “not immediately clear how this timing disagreement will be resolved” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/23).

The Univ. of Kentucky announced Thursday retiring AD Mitch Barnhart -- who was “set to move” to a new role as Exec in Residence for the UK Sport and Workforce Initiative on July 1 -- “will no longer take that job.” The news comes two days after Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear “joined the growing number of people criticizing” the new role created for Barnhart. The new job “would have paid him” $950,000 per year, but Kentucky provided “few specifics about what Barnhart’s responsibilities would be.” Kentucky President Eli Capilouto announced Thursday Barnhart “was going to ‘step away’ from that proposed role.” Barnhart previously “dismissed the concerns being raised” about his new job. The school announced Barnhart’s role before it had “provided any specifics” about what the workforce initiative would “look like.” The contract amendment signed by Capilouto and Barnhart in March specifies Barnhart “would be paid his monthly athletic director salary through June 2028, as well as two $650,000 retention bonuses set for the next two years, if the university terminated his contract without cause before July 1” (Lexington Herald-Leader, 4/23).

The country’s two most popular sports drinks brands launched new soccer-focused campaigns Thursday ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, both of which feature high-profile global soccer stars. Powerade is the official sports drink of the World Cup through parent company Coca-Cola’s top-level FIFA partnership, while PepsiCo’s Gatorade brand is seeking to capitalize on the event without official sponsorship rights.

Powerade’s campaign, titled “Power Your Fate,” will feature Spain’s Lamine Yamal and Brazil’s Rodrygo Goes along with “every day athletes” from around the world. The opening spot, which features dramatic narration and an orchestral score, focuses on the dedication that athletes at all levels must possess to perform at their best. The spot doesn’t lean heavily on the company’s official FIFA rights, only flashing the World Cup logo at the end.

The campaign will span social, digital, outdoor and TV, as well as on-the-ground activations in host cities. The brand will be especially visible during the World Cup given FIFA’s implementation of hydration breaks during each half of every World Cup match.

“During the FIFA World Cup, you will see Powerade on the field of play, you’ll see the players hydrating by drinking Powerade directly from the blue Powerade squeeze bottle,” said Coca-Cola VP/Global Sports Partnerships & Operations Mickael Vinet. “So, by nature of what the brand and product is -- to support the hydration of the athlete’s mind and body -- Powerade will be front and center.”

Read More >>>

Representatives from four national soccer players’ unions on Thursday launched the International ‌Footballers’ Association, saying that it will “strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.” David Aganzo, the president of Spain’s Association of Footballers and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, was “appointed to lead the organisation.” Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland “were also represented.” The initiative ​drew a “swift rebuke from FIFPRO.” The launch comes amid “strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar” (REUTERS, 4/23).

Prime Video on Thursday announced additions to its “WNBA on Prime” talent lineup ahead of the league’s 30th season. The roster includes Basketball HOFers Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon, former WNBAer and Lakers assistant coach Lindsey Harding, Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson, ESPN’s LaChina Robinson and former WNBAer Tamera Young. Also new to the team are play-by-play voices Lisa Byington and Mike Watts as well as sideline reporters JayDee Dyer, Kayla Grey and Morgan Ragan. “NBA on Prime” sideline reporter Allie Clifton will serve as the studio host for WNBA pregame, halftime and postgame coverage. Prime previously announced that Basketball HOFers Swin Cash and Candace Parker and play-by-play voice Michael Grady will serve as analysts and announcer, respectively, for its WNBA coverage. AT&T will serve as the presenting partner for “WNBA on Prime,” while State Farm will present the halftime show, with both sponsorships spanning the regular season and playoffs (Prime Video).

Olympic Games events “could return to Paris as soon as 2030.” The Paris Entertainment Company, which operates the Adidas Arena and Accor Arena, “has submitted a bid to host ice hockey” during the 2030 Winter Games to be held in France. Both venues were used during the 2024 Paris Games and “could serve as alternative solutions” because Nice Mayor Eric Ciotti “opposes ice hockey events at Nice soccer stadium, the Allianz Arena, which would be converted into a temporary hockey rink.” Like the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, the French Alps has “split snow sports in storied mountain resorts and skating in a snow-free city” in Nice. The final venues “will be confirmed in June when the IOC decides the list of sports and events.” French Minister of Sports, Youth and Community Life Marina Ferrari said that she was “working with 2030 Games organizers to determine whether alternative solutions were available in Nice or elsewhere” (AP, 4/23).