Closing Bell

Commissioner Adam Silver, in his most sweeping statements about a potential NBA Europe, said Thursday the project could morph into an open league that includes established international franchises such as Real Madrid and "would just be one piece of a larger approach to basketball throughout Europe."

Silver confirmed in a news conference ahead of the NBA Paris Games that he and Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum have been in dialogue throughout this week with FIBA, leaders of European clubs, global media companies and traditional sports sponsors "just to best understand the landscape here and to see what the opportunity may be."

While no finalized deal is in place, he made it clear that — even though roughly 30% of the NBA consists of international players, including recent MVPs — he believes "the commercial opportunity [in Europe] has not kept pace with the growth of the game."

For that reason, he said that an NBA Europe would be as much about bringing the NBA’s culture to Europe as bringing strictly basketball.

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This week’s NBA Paris Games presented by Tissot, otherwise known as Victor Wembanyama’s homecoming, has attracted a mass of fans and partners to the city — partly to the see the 7-foot-4 Spurs center and partly for the bevy of team activations.

While league executives were in town ideating a possible NBA Europe, fans had the ability to attend, among others, an immersive NBA House that featured a centralized “Maison Spurs’’ with interconnected rooms celebrating Spurs culture. The team also handed out French pastry, as well as Maison Spurs coffee mugs to the first 50 attendees.

At the same NBA House, the opposing Pacers unveiled an LED branded half-court that enabled fans to simulate being in Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse and re-live the most electric moments in franchise history. For the Paris Games overall, which will be played Thursday and Saturday, the Pacers also flew in partners from Eli Lilly, Salesforce, Gainbridge, KeyBank, Spokenote, Sire Spirits, JD  Sports and Sport Graphics.

Elsewhere in the city, there was an NBA Paris Jam presented by Revolut, an interactive celebrity game and music/fashion event hosted by French basketball influencers Bastien Fontanieu and Alexandre Martin of TrashTalk. NBA retirees Jalen Rose and Joakim Noah led the American contingent. In addition, NBA Cares hosted a community outreach event alongside Spurs and Pacers players and coaches. That included an NBA Green activation that had young Parisians teaming with Pacers players and coaches to regenerate old basketball sneakers, as well as two Awabot telepresence robots that allowed hospitalized children to virtually partake in the event.

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The Texans have parted ways with Team President Greg Grissom. Texans Chair and CEO Cal McNair thanked Grissom in a statement. Grissom has been team president since 2021 after he was promoted from SVP/corporate development, replacing former team president Jamey Rootes. Grissom has been with the team since 2002, the franchise's inaugural season, and was promoted five times (Texans).

Warner Bros. Discovery has held talks with the IOC about "whether LA 2028 is still going ahead following the fires in Los Angeles." WBD has the rights to broadcast the Summer and Winter Olympics from 2026 to 2032 in 50 territories in Europe. WBD Sports Europe SVP/Content, Production & Business Operations Scott Young said the broadcaster and IOC "have had conversations and there is no noise or discussion right now that it will have any impact on LA 2028.” He added, “No infrastructure was significantly impacted, so they are not looking to rebuild anything that was required for the Olympic Games." Asked if WBD has any concerns about the debate over California spending money on the Olympics when rebuilding areas of L.A. will be costly, Young said, “That is a discussion for the local organising committee.” Young: “We acquire the rights for the Olympic Games and we don’t have a say in where the Olympic Games are held" (THE ATHLETIC, 1/23).

Manchester United admitted that they are "at risk of breaching profit and sustainability (PSR) rules" if they don't "cut their losses and have left the door open to ticket price rises next season." United have posted losses before tax of £312.9M (US$386.7M) over the past three seasons and have implemented a number of cost-cutting measures since  Jim Ratcliffe  took over operations of the club. In a letter to The 1958 fans group, United refused to "rule out an increase" in ticket prices. Manchester United called the team's current situation "not sustainable," and said the club hopes to "get back to a cash positive position as soon as possible and we will have to make some difficult choices to get there." The club wrote in the letter, "We do not expect fans to make up all the current shortfall -- but we do need to look at our ticketing strategy to ensure we are charging the right amount, and offering the right discounts, across our products for our fans" (London TELEGRAPH, 1/23).

Maybelline will be the "title sponsor for the new women’s professional lacrosse league" -- called the Maybelline Women’s Lacrosse League -- created by the Premier Lacrosse League in November 2024. Aside from logo and branding placements, Maybelline will provide "financial support to the teams and the athletes." Maybelline will also "gift all the players the brand’s products to use both on and off the field." And through Brave Together, Maybelline’s mental health initiative, Maybelline will "work with lacrosse athletes to connect with players in high school through various projects." The Maybelline Women’s Lacrosse League will officially debut at the PLL’s 2025 Championship Series, taking place from February 11-17 at The St. James arena in Springfield, Va. The date for the league’s first game has not yet been set (GLOSSY, 1/23).

North Carolina coach  Bill Belichick   "formally signed his contract" with the school this week, ending speculation he could leave for the NFL. Belichick will be paid $1M per year"plus incentives," which range from "performance-based metrics like wins, conference titles, CFP appearances and national championships to classroom metrics for the players." Additionally, Belichick's contract includes a number of incentives, including $100,000 in "relocation/moving expenses," a membership to Chapel Hill Country Club, 25 hours per contract year "of private aircraft use" and more (SI, 1/23).

MLB Network will broadcast the entire 2025 Caribbean Series in English beginning Friday, January 31. The competition features teams from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and, for the first time Japan (MLB Network).

The Grizzlies announced that FedEx will continue its long-term partnership with the franchise, which began in 2001 (Grizzlies).

MGM Resorts International will host a two-day tennis exhibition called "The MGM Rewards Slam" at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay on March 1 and 2. The first day will feature a singles match between Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka; the following day, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul will play a "four-player competition." More event details, such as its format and broadcast partner, will be announced at a later date (Rob Schaefer, SBJ).

The LPGA has signed a partnership with Arcis Golf, which becomes an Official Marketing Partner of the LPGA. The partnership will provide LPGA athletes with complimentary access to select clubs within the Arcis Golf network (LPGA).

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Manchester City announced a multiyear partnership with Veritran, naming the banking technology company the "Official Fan Identity Partner" of the club. Veritran will integrate into Man City's existing infrastructure to enhance processes and transactions for fans in areas such as registration, memberships and ticketing. The deal was brokered by Range Sports (SBJ).

Hundreds of Everton fans "fear" the club's recent takeover by The Friedkin Group "has led to a dramatic collapse in the value of their shares." There were "about 1,500 supporters who own approximately 8,000 shares," but following the takeover, the total number of shares has increased "from 135,000 to more than 1.6 million," with supporters' collective stake going from 5% to 0.5% (London TIMES, 1/23).

Kayak has become Brentford’s official travel search engine partner for the 2024-25 Premier League season. Kayak will feature in Brentford’s matchday and digital platforms, including perimeter advertising during home games (Kayak).

The Open will be "held at St Andrews" in 2027, marking the 31st time the major will be held on the Old Course (THE SCOTSMAN, 1/23).

Netflix released the trailer for "COURT OF GOLD," a behind-the-scenes look at the men's basketball tournament from the 2024 Paris Olympics. The documentary will be released Feb. 18 on the streaming service.

110%  -- Year-over-year increase for the ESPN2 audience of “Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show” during the CFP National Championship on Monday. The McAfee-led production drew a CFP Championship-record 1.25 million viewers, well above the 596,000 last year for the same broadcast and only the second CFP title game alt-cast to draw over 1 million viewers. McAfee on ESPN2 for the Rose Bowl set a record for any ESPN alt-cast (any sport) with 2.4 million viewers on New Year’s Day (Austin Karp, SBJ).