Closing Bell

The Cardinals will remain with Diamond Sports Group after the parties agreed today to a multiyear rights deal.

The deal includes the franchise’s linear rights as well as direct-to-consumer rights to deliver St. Louis games via the newly branded FanDuel Sports Network.

Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III told SBJ that the franchise will “probably be a little bit north of 20% in terms of the haircut of what our rights fees might otherwise have been in an undisrupted world.”

As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis was owed approximately $78M for 2025 by Diamond’s FanDuel Sports Network but the operator approached the team about a renegotiated deal at a reduced rate for the upcoming year. Diamond is currently going through a bankruptcy hearing, which has left some teams in limbo over the future of their RSNs.

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Under Armour reported results that "surpassed analysts' expectations as the sportswear company's turnaround gains momentum" under founder Kevin Plank. Sales and adjusted earnings "topped the average estimate from analysis" in Q2, which went through September. The athletic brand, "bolstered by that performance," now is expecting its operating loss for the fiscal year that runs through March to be "as much as" $196M, compared to the previous forecast "for a loss as deep as" $240M (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/7). Under Armour reported adjusted operating income of $166M for Q2, which "beat the company's projections by about" $50M. Plank said the company "wants to use about half of those extra funds to launch what he called 'the most significant marketing effort' in Under Armour's history in 2025." The company plans on using the "increased marketing spend to build more brand recognition in Europe and Asia and to advertise" in major American sporting events like the Super Bowl, March Madness and the NBA All-Star Game (BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/7).

Plank said during Thursday's call that Under Armour will be moving to a "new global headquarters in South Baltimore" next week. The company's arrival to the five-story, 280,000-square-foot building is a "watershed moment for the Baltimore Peninsula, the ambitious development project that's been almost a decade in the making." Approximately 1,500 employees will "work out of the new headquarters when the move is complete." Plank said the headquarters will "feature Under Armour's flagship retail store that will serve as 'a living laboratory' for its newest products" (BALTIMORE BANNER, 11/7).

The PGA of America today elected Don Rea Jr. as its next president, with Rea set to serve a two-year term. Rea, who owns and operates the Augusta Ranch Golf Club in Arizona, is taking over for John Lindert, the PGA's president for the last two years. 

Rea is moving out of the VP role for the PGA and is being succeeded by Nathan Charnes, currently the GM and Director of Golf for WingHaven Country Club in Missouri. 

Rea's appointment, which took place at the PGA's annual meeting in Grand Rapids, comes as the organization has yet to name a CEO to succeed Seth Waugh. SBJ reported on the three finalists for the role two weeks ago, and last week, Golf.com reported that Roger Warren was the lead candidate. It's not clear on the PGA's exact timing for naming the new CEO.

Wilton Rancheria, a federally recognized Native American tribe based in Sacramento County, Calif., are the new majority owners of USL Championship club Sacramento Republic FC. Financial terms of the tribe's investment were not disclosed. In addition, the club could soon have the green light from local leaders to buy the land on which it would build a new soccer-specific stadium. 

Republic FC Chairman & CEO Kevin Nagle, who had previously been the team’s majority owner, will retain a minority stake and continue to serve as managing partner. Wilton Rancheria said it is “the first Tribal Nation to hold majority ownership of a men’s professional sports team.” 

In conjunction with the tribe’s investment in the club, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinbergintroduced a proposed agreement between the city, Republic FC and Downtown Railyard Ventures that would allow the club to purchase the land in a mixed-use development called The Railyards where it has long sought to build a stadium.  

The Sacramento City Council will vote on the term sheet on Tuesday. If approved, Republic FC would construct a 12,000-15,000-seat stadium (expandable to 20,000 seats) to anchor the 31-acre development. It aims to open the facility in 2027. The club currently plays its matches at Heart Health Park on the grounds of the Cal Expo. 

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TKO President & COO Mark Shapiro said that WWE founder Vince McMahon is "out of the business entirely." Shapiro: "He doesn't make decisions. He's not on the board. He doesn't opine. We don't consult him." McMahon exited the company in January amid misconduct allegations against him by a former WWE staffer. Shapiro noted McMahon is "still a shareholder," though "not the shareholder he once was." Shapiro said he "had breakfast with him a few weeks ago just to check in" after Netflix released its docuseries on McMahon in September. Shapiro said McMahon "couldn't have been more positive" about the direction WWE is going in, though Shapiro "wasn't asking for his opinion" (CNBC.com, 11/7).

UConn and Louisville will tip off the 2025-26 season at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, appearing in the first-ever women's college basketball matchup of the Armed Forces Classic. The game will take place Nov. 4, 2025, and air on ESPN. Previous iterations of the Armed Forces Classic, which debuted in 2012, took place in South Korea, Puerto Rico, Japan, Hawaii, Texas, Alaska and San Diego. Ramstein previously hosted the event in 2012 (UConn men vs. Michigan State) and 2017 (Texas A&M vs. West Virginia). The matchup is the "latest example of premier women's college basketball programs opening their seasons with highly anticipated international games." Earlier this week USC-Ole Miss and UCLA-Louisville faced off in Paris (ESPN.com, 11/7).

Chip Ganassi Racing has launched a "new driver development service," and has already landed two clients in Formula Regional Americas series team Kiwi Motorsport and Eurocup-3 team Palou Motorsport. More teams are "expected to be announced in the initiative, where, according to CGR, its creating 'strategic partnerships across motorsports as a development pipeline to the top level of motorsports in North America.'" CGR said the program will allow the company "to identify talent competing with its partner teams at an earlier age and help provide a home for drivers as they develop in the CGR ecosystem." Chip Ganassi Racing said partner teams will be included in CGR programs based out of its "state-of-the-art shop in Indianapolis." Following its downsizing from five entries to three and farewelling its IMSA GTP program, CGR has "made use of its extra resources to reengage in junior open-wheel racing by adding a two-car Indy NXT effort and, with the new driver development program, take on more clients to train and usher upwards towards IndyCar" (RACER, 11/7).

Perfect Game has partnered with tournament organizer Dynamic Baseball to host amateur baseball showcases at prominent college campuses in the U.S. The PG/Dynamic College Series is slated to launch in 2025 with 12-16 projected events, including 11 that have already been scheduled. They will be held at D-I college campuses and nearby venues. The organizations have plans to expand in the years to come (Mike Mazzeo, SBJ).

DePaul Athletics and Taymar Sales U have signed a multiyear extension for the firm to continue overseeing outbound sales for Blue Demon ticketed sales, with an emphasis on men's and women's basketball. In the first year, Taymar helped DePaul achieve a 68% increase in group tickets sold, secure multiple sellouts, deliver record retention rates and post significant growth in total ticket revenue (Taymar).

The NCAA Division I Council adopted "rules change in men's ice hockey and skiing," allowing involvement with pro teams prior to college enrollment, in line with other sports, starting Aug. 1, 2025. The decision is "not final until meeting concludes this afternoon" (X, 11/7).

The Ravens will debut their "new 'Purple Rising' helmets" during "Thursday Night Football" against the Bengals. The helmets were revealed on June 18 and are a "matte, metallic purple." They will be "paired with the Ravens' 'Color Rush' uniforms, which means the players will be dressed in purple from head to toe" (BALTIMORE BANNER, 11/7).

Aston Villa announced Nemiroff Vodka will be the club's official vodka partner as part of a multi-year partnership. Nemiroff will have marketing assets displayed across Villa Park on matchdays and diverse hospitality experiences (Aston Villa).

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said a "a giant 'Free Palestine' banner unveiled at Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League match against Atletico Madrid was 'unacceptable.'" The banner was unfurled by PSG fans and "featured a drawing of a map including Israel, the West Bank and Gaza in the colors of the Palestinian keffiyeh scarf," a symbol of support for Palestinian people (LE MONDE, 11/7).

Dick's Sporting Goods released a new holiday ad campaign starring former NFLer J.J. Watt which features several callbacks to holiday movie moments.

$12,500  -- Fine levied by NASCAR against Truck Series driver Ty Majeski for "failing to show up on a content-gathering day for championship contenders" Tuesday in North Carolina. Majeski said that his absence was "due to voting in his home state of Wisconsin" (THE ATHLETIC, 11/7).