Closing Bell

The Clemson BOT compensation committee on Friday “unanimously approved” a new deal for AD Graham Neff that will see his total annual salary rise 39% from $900,000 to $1.25M in 2025-26 and “eventually climb to” $1.75M. The deal keeps Neff, whose previous contract expired in 2027, “under contract through 2031.” Although full lists of NCAA AD salaries aren’t widely available, Neff’s new contract (average annual value $1.5M) “should place him among the ACC’s highest paid ADs and somewhere in the upper half” of ADs nationally.

Neff’s new contract “includes a number of interesting perks,” including an annual “licensing fee” of $250,000 for his “name, likeness, trademarks, and similar IP.” There are also “regular details,” such as the fact Neff’s total salary will rise by $100,000 annually and he’ll receive a $300,000 retention bonus if he remains Clemson’s AD “as of July 1, 2026.” Neff can also “earn up to $250,000 annually in bonuses based on various Clemson sports accomplishments” (Columbia STATE, 10/17).

As the NCAA and federal authorities investigate alleged point-shaving in college basketball, documents have revealed new details about the “behavior of an alleged gambling syndicate and the games that suspected members targeted” between Dec. 1, 2024, and mid-January 2025. The documents show “gamblers repeatedly wagering against the same small-conference teams in at least 11 men’s college basketball games over six weeks last season.” At least nine sportsbooks in 13 states and one Canadian province “detected similar unusual betting activity.” Sources said that the FBI “has been interviewing college athletes and believe indictments are forthcoming.” The sources said they “have seen evidence of plots to fix college basketball games.” It is “not clear if the syndicate is behind all the suspicious bets flagged in the documents,” but the games mentioned “involve five of the six schools where the NCAA says 13 former players are under investigation for participating in gambling schemes" (ESPN.com, 10/17).

Delta Air Lines logos will be featured on the playing surface of Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium for the final three home games of the 2025 regular season following an expansion of the airlines’ sponsorship with the Univ. of Georgia. The logos, which will be on both 25-yard lines, will make their debut Saturday when UGA hosts Ole Miss. The partnership is led by Georgia Bulldogs Sports Marketing, a joint venture between Learfield and JMI Sports (UGA). Athletic departments are “looking for ways to add new revenue streams in the era of paying players after the NCAA House Settlement.” UGA softball will have “Georgia’s Own” logos “on the right and left field lines at Jack Turner Stadium for the 2026 season as part of a deal announced last month” (ATHENS BANNER-HERALD, 10/17).

Reno, Nev., has been awarded a USL Championship League team and plans to build a proposed 6,000-seat, $80M stadium in the southern part of the city. There remain “some hurdles to clear, including getting a conditional use permit” from the city. Additionally, financing “has to be arranged” for both the stadium and accompanying $200M entertainment district. Reno Pro Soccer Founder & CEO Wendy Damonte indicated that the team name, colors and crest “will be announced later in 2026 with input from the community.” She hopes to “break ground on the stadium in early 2026 and have it completed by March 2027” (RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, 10/16).

F1 driver Lewis Hamilton discussed the “rapid growth” in popularity of the championship and the U.S. GP since the race at the Circuit of The Americas joined the calendar in 2012 and said it has “been amazing to see the growth and the interest from people” in the U.S. The latest edition of the race will be held Sunday. Hamilton said the track to him is “the best track here in the States.” He added, “It’s one of my favourite tracks on the whole calendar.” Mee noted Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” was a “huge driving force” in increasing the viewership of F1 in the U.S. Another factor was Apple’s “F1″ movie, which Hamilton “served as executive producer” for. Hamilton: “The first time we came here, it was all kind of ‘Formula 1? What is Formula 1?’ But the progress, the journey that we’ve been on from, you know, from Netflix being out to then the biggest sports movie of all time, the ‘F1’ movie that we did this year, which has been amazing” (MOTORSPORT, 10/16).

After 80 races at 12 different American venues, F1 has “finally cracked the American code.” Former F1 driver Scott Speed said, “It’s been a long time coming but there is a noticeable difference when you see people walk around in F1 apparel.” There have been “years of ingenuity, dissatisfaction and scandal” ever since the U.S. first hosted a race in F1 in the sport’s inaugural year in 1950. The composition and creation of the COTA in Austin, which hosts this weekend’s U.S. GP, “gave F1 a lifeline” in the U.S. Speed said, “They finally got their location right.” F1’s expansion in the U.S. can be “decreed as nothing other than a roaring success” (London INDEPENDENT, 10/17).

RELATED: F1, Apple clinch five-year media rights deal as racing series pins U.S. hopes on tech giant

The Chargers will debut their all-gold “Charger Power” alternate uniforms at home Sunday against the Colts, marking the first time in franchise history the team “will take the field in gold jerseys.” Unveiled in July, the striking look “pays tribute to the Air Coryell era, reflecting the bold, innovative spirit that defined the Chargers” under Pro Football HOFer Don Coryell. To complete the throwback theme, SoFi Stadium’s end zones will be “painted in powder blue, showcasing the retro Chargers logo alongside a prominent ‘H’ -- a nod to the team’s early franchise identity” (THE ATHLETIC, 10/16).

The Lakers have reached a multiyear sponsorship with fashion retailer and premium lifestyle brand Revolve, marking the “first NBA sponsorship deal” for the company. The deal will include “in-arena signage, co-branded social media features on Lakers and Laker Girls social channels and influencer engagement.” Additional “social media content and influencer collaborations” will also be a part of the agreement. Revolve is “wildly popular among millennial and Gen Z female consumers” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/17).

Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin is “attempting to pump the brakes” on the deal between the Browns and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb regarding the team’s planned Brook Park stadium and “says he is forcing the mayor’s negotiators to explain themselves to Cleveland City Council” before the $100M settlement proceeds. A memo said that Griffin has “given the law director a ‘strict mandate’ to not dismiss any lawsuits against the Browns without council approval.” Whether Griffin and the council have that authority “is dubious.” Many issues may be “hashed out at a 10 a.m. hearing Monday, where Griffin is bringing in Bibb’s negotiation team to answer questions” (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 10/17).

Aces coach Becky Hammon is “getting the well-deserved documentary treatment,” as she will be the “subject of a nonfiction film” from production companies SMAC and 2463. Through “never-before-heard audio diaries,” the documentary “will offer an inside look at Hammon in her most intense moments -- from the adversity she faced while interviewing for NBA head coaching positions, to when she became the first female acting head coach in the NBA” with the Spurs in 2020. Pro Football HOFer Michael Strahan co-founded SMAC with Constance Schwartz-Morini, while 2463 Entertainment was founded by NFL free agent Odell Beckham Jr. (VARIETY, 10/17).

The Aces’ championship parade in Las Vegas “will begin” at 5pm PT (8pm ET), with the planned parade route “being similar to the Aces’ 2023 championship celebration. The parade will end at Toshiba Plaza in front of T-Mobile Arena, and the celebration there will “last until 7:30 p.m., with fans able to enter the area at 3 p.m.” Once the Aces arrive, they will “have a red carpet entrance to the main stage where they’ll address the crowd.” Fans can purchase Aces championship merchandise “at the celebration at a pop-up shop to be located at Toshiba Plaza” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/17).