Closing Bell

Toyota now says that it "will advertise in the Super Bowl," with the decision coming just ten days after the automaker said that it would "sit out the game to focus on experiential marketing on the ground in Las Vegas." Toyota now will "run a national TV ad during the game on CBS in addition to the experiential activities." Toyota's entry means that there are now four automakers to "publicly confirm ad plans," including Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen and Kia. Toyota’s standing as the NFL’s official automotive sponsor, which it became in October, gives it "certain advantages over other auto brands in the game, including the ability to use NFL trademarks" (AD AGE, 1/26).

Meanwhile, Paramount Advertising President John Halley "denied reports that surfaced last week claiming the company is struggling to sell Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl inventory." Halley said that Paramount is "seeing strong advertiser interest." Halley said, “We’ll wind up with 15 to 20 units that will be very specific to the Nickelodeon telecast. Contrary, by the way, to press coverage last week -- there is a lot of demand against it." He added, "The NFL loves this as well.” The main broadcast on CBS is “virtually sold out,” and similar to Nickelodeon’s previous Wild Card games, Super Bowl units have been "sold as one across CBS and Nick, and most will run on both feeds" (ADWEEK, 1/25).

USA Hockey will vote this weekend at its 2024 Winter Meeting in Florida on proposed rule changes that would require all youth, junior and adult hockey players in sanctioned leagues to wear neck guards. The proposal follows the 2023 death of former NHL player Adam Johnson, who suffered a fatal neck laceration caused by another player’s skate during a game in the U.K.’s Elite Ice Hockey League.

As of the national governing body's 2022-23 registration report, there were 556,186 registered ice hockey players in the USA Hockey ecosystem, including 387,910 youth and 168,276 adults. That’s about the same as Hockey Canada, which has mandated neck protection for youth and women’s hockey for decades. The IIHF, which oversees international competitions such as the Olympics, World Championships and World Juniors, began mandating neck protection in December.

The proposal does not outline specific standards for cut resistance or anatomical coverage required, simply stating it must “be designed for protection from neck lacerations.” The proposed rule also recommends, but does not require, that players also wear cut-resistant socks, sleeves or undergarments.

Some believe, however, that commercially available neck guards aren't effective enough in preventing injury. Past USA Hockey research found that 27% of players who suffered neck lacerations on the ice were wearing neck guards at the time. USA Hockey Chief Medical Officer Michael Stuart was not available this week to discuss the proposal and specific standards.

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FC Dallas President and Dallas World Cup bid Chair Dan Hunt said "everything is still wide open" around FIFA's decision on where it will hold the 2026 World Cup final, which the governing body will announce on Feb. 4. Hunt said he has "seen all the rumors" that AT&T Stadium will be chosen to host the final, and it has been a "mound of rumors that I’ve rarely seen before." Hunt noted AT&T Stadium is "in consideration for the semifinals and possibly the finals," and they have "done everything in our power from a bid standpoint." Hunt: "We’re offering up one of the best stadiums in the world.” Hunt said once the 2025 NFL season is over, they will "start the process of getting AT&T Stadium (the field) ready to host matches," as "installing the platform to raise the field will take time" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/26).

The NHL has unveiled the uniforms the Flyers, Devils, Rangers and Islanders will wear for next month's two-game outdoor Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium. The Devils uniform is "dark red with black stripes and a black logo as the crest." The Flyers jersey features a "classic white logo with black and orange stripes on the arms and numbers on the shoulders." The Islanders sweater is "dark blue with an orange stripe across the middle, with the wordmark 'ISLES' replacing the logo." The Rangers uniform includes the "classic 'NYR' wordmark diagonally across the front in red letters with a blue back, along with blue and red stripes" (SPORTSNET.ca, 1/26).

The White Sox's SoxFest is coming back next Jan. 24-25 after a four-year absence. The fan convention was first cancelled in 2021 due to COVID-19, but "not brought back the following three winters for unspecified reasons." A 2025 SoxFest would coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Sox’ 2005 World Series championship and the 125-year anniversary of the White Sox organization (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/26). 

A season ticket holders event Friday at the Field Museum "basically takes the place of the traditional SoxFest." But the Sox "aren’t promoting it much," and "no media availability was scheduled for Friday’s event." If the Sox make any news from the Field Museum, it "likely would be leaked first by individual fans" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/26).

The 62nd running of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona will take place this weekend at Daytona International Speedway to kick off the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar calendar. Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford and Penske are all in Daytona Beach as the series has "become a must for international performance brands." The Rolex 24 also attracts a "who’s who of drivers from IndyCar, Formula One, and even celebrity Brad Pitt, who will be capturing footage for his new racing movie" (DETROIT NEWS, 1/25). Pitt is in Daytona to film "Apex" a movie that "revolves around the world of Formula 1 racing" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 1/26).

Oregon State baseball has elected to "pursue an independent schedule in 2025, declining an opportunity to join the West Coast Conference." School officials are still "ironing out many of the details surrounding the 2025 baseball schedule," but a source said that the "bulk of it, including most of the opponents, has taken shape" (Portland OREGONIAN, 1/26).

CEVA Logistics has signed a new multiyear agreement to continue providing all logistics services for Scuderia Ferrari. The CEVA Logistics logo will remain on Scuderia Ferrari's new 2024 single-seater, on the team's vehicles, and on the equipment and clothing of the drivers and racing team (CEVA Logistics).

NYCFC has partnered with fine artist and multidisciplinary creative Gianni Lee, who will become the club’s Art & Culture Consultant for the 2024 MLS season (NYCFC).

PWHL Toronto D Renata Fast partnered with Cheetos to introduce the brand's 16-foot "Top Cheetle" statue at Toronto’s Roundhouse Park ahead of next week's NHL All-Star festivities. Fast, an Olympic gold medalist in 2022, is represented by Brant Feldman of American Group Management.

30,000+  -- Number of signatures the 76ers say they gathered on "petitions supporting their plan" to build a $1.55B arena in Center City. The total includes "about 26,000 names representing 55 zip codes in Philadelphia and 4,000 from commuters who work in the city" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1/25).