Closing Bell

In a move that should resonate across the NBA, the Suns and Mercury have extended their over-the-air broadcast deal with Gray Media through 2030 and have consolidated both team’s DTC apps under Gray’s control through an impending Arizona’s Family Sports App.

The development -- which builds on owner Mat Ishbia’s decision three years ago to abandon a $36M RSN rights fee to increase his teams’ reach -- is a likely eye-opener for the NBA teams that recently exited their FanDuel Sports Network deals with Main Street Sports Group and are looking for local broadcast solutions for 2026-27.

One of those franchises, the Pistons, has already signed a one-year OTA deal with Scripps Sports. And 12 others -- the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, T-Wolves, Thunder, Magic and Spurs -- are deciding between the Suns’ free OTA blueprint and streaming services such as DAZN or Victory+.

“I didn’t really know how it would all play out,” Ishbia told SBJ when asked about his decision in 2023 to go OTA. “I knew it was the right thing for the fans. So that was the first thing -- just do right by the fans and good things always follow… How did it play out differently than I expected? I actually thought more teams would follow sooner.”

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The Rays’ ballpark proposal has passed an “important test at the county level” as Hillsborough County Commissioners on Wednesday “approved a nonbinding memorandum of understanding” between the county and team for the Rays’ proposed $2.3B Tampa ballpark. After previously setting June 1 as the deadline for definitive agreements, the team “shifted its focus” to a nonbinding MOU before the end of May. The Tampa City Council will “vote on Thursday.” The MOU outlines a $976M public contribution toward the cost of the stadium, with $796M from the county and roughly $180M from the city (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 5/20).

Wednesday’s vote was the “first of three approvals” slated for this week. It came in a 5-2 vote. The approval will “allow negotiations to continue as the Rays and the local governments draft and finalize definitive agreements that will be voted on at a later date.” If the Tampa City Council votes against the MOU on Thursday, negotiations “would halt” (TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/20).

The top tennis players in the world are “planning to protest over prize money by reducing their media appearances” at the French Open. Players who will speak at Friday’s opening press conference will “walk out after 15 minutes,” symbolizing the Grand Slams allocating an average of 15% of their revenues to prize money. The rest of the draw will “refuse to conduct additional interviews with the tournament’s main media rights partners, TNT Sports and Eurosport.” A source said that after the French Open confirmed the prize pot would be US$71.7M, locker room talks led players to respond with “what they described as a ‘work-to-rule strategy’ in Paris,” with their off-court activities “kept to a bare minimum” (London GUARDIAN, 5/20).

The French Tennis Federation said that it will “continue to maintain an open dialogue,” adding that it “proposed a meeting expected to take place Friday with the players and their representatives” (AP, 5/20).

LIV Golf is “exploring and considering a number of future pathways and long-term strategic partners,” according to a source cited by ESPN.com. The source added that the league has “received significant interest from potential investors” and would “soon be presenting its go-forward business plan to those prospective capital partners.” LIV is continuing with its plan to take a new business model to potential investors following a report Tuesday that the league is “laying groundwork for potential bankruptcy in the U.S. if it doesn’t find new financing beyond this season” (ESPN.com, 5/20).

The Spurs and Pelicans will play a pair of international games in 2027, facing off first at Accor Arena in Paris on Jan. 14 then at Co-op Live in Manchester on Jan. 17. The Paris game will mark the 16th game featuring an NBA team in France since 1991 and the league’s sixth regular-season game in Paris. The Manchester clash will be the 20th game featuring an NBA team in England since 1993, the league’s second in Manchester and first regular-season game in the city (NBA).

The Spurs have “maintained a near-constant presence in France” since drafting C Victor Wembanyama in 2023. Earlier this season, the Spurs debuted “Spurs Week Paris” to “bring elements of its business and fan experience from San Antonio directly to French fans” (AP, 5/20). Paris and Manchester are “being targeted as sites for NBA Europe teams” (THE ATHLETIC, 5/20).

Longtime sports business educator and administrator Jim Kahler will retire as director of the sport and entertainment management program at Cleveland State Univ. at the end of June, with plans to transition to a mix of consulting and philanthropic work.

Kahler, 67, launched the undergraduate program at Cleveland State in 2022 after 16 years at his alma mater Ohio Univ., where he was the first executive director of the school’s center for sports administration. He segued into academia to launch a sports MBA program at Arizona State in 2002 after serving as SVP of marketing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He recently co-founded Activate Marketing, for which he plans to consult for clients part time.

“Guys like me don’t retire-retire,” Kahler said. “I promised my wife, who is going to get a lot more of my time, that I’ll keep it to 20 hours a week on either consulting or charity. And if it’s charity she can go with me.

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As professional sports leagues and entertainment companies accelerate their digital transformation, a shared reality is emerging across organizations to modernize fan engagement and operations using a new wave of scalable technology.

Execs mention that the challenge is no longer whether to adopt emerging technologies like AI, but how to deploy them in meaningfully ways that meaningfully improve their operations.

On the SBJ Tech Week stage Wednesday, NBA Chief Technology Officer Krishna Bhagavathula said the pace of change in technology today is “the slowest it will ever be,” underscoring how quickly AI-driven tools are already reshaping workflows, decision-making and fan experiences.

At the center of that transformation is shared priorities between sports execs of growing the game, enhancing the fan experience and building more efficient, data-driven organizations. Technology, increasingly, is the connective tissue tying those goals together.

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Premier League club Everton is “expected to finalise a deal” with financial services company CMC Markets that will see it “replace Stake on the front of their shirt from next season.” The club has been “looking for a new sponsor” to replace Stake, the Australian bookmaker, following new government legislation that prohibits logos of gambling firms from appearing on the fronts of Premier League shirts starting next season. Sources said that CMC Markets has emerged as the “clear frontrunner to take over when Stake’s deal expires at the end of June.” Reports have suggested that CMC Markets could pay a figure in the region of $40.3M across a three-year period (THE ATHLETIC, 5/20).

The winners of the 2026 Sports Business Awards are set to be honored Wednesday night at the Marquis Times Square in N.Y. There will be 15 awards handed out, along with two more honors as Fenway Sports Group founder John Henry will be recognized as the recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Soccer Without Borders will receive the Celebration of Service award.

Thirteen categories are determined by a group of industry executives. Read more about the nominees below:

• Agency of the Year: Brand Consulting
• Brand Activation of the Year
• Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services
• Best in Sports Media
• Best in Sports Social Media
• Best in Talent Representation
• Deal of the Year
• Sports Breakthrough of the Year
• Sports Event of the Year
• Sports Facility of the Year
• Sports League of the Year
• Sports Sponsor of the Year
• Sports Team of the Year

Sports Business Journal selected award winners in two categories — Athletic Director of the Year and Executive of the Year. Read more about the nominees below:

• AD: Dan Bartholomae, Western Michigan University
• AD: Scott Dolson, Indiana University
• AD: Mark Harlan, University of Utah
• AD: Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech University
• AD: Candice Storey Lee, Vanderbilt University
• Executive: Rick Cordella, NBC Sports
• Executive: Michael Jordan, 23XI Racing
• Executive: Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN
• Executive: Mark Shapiro, TKO
• Executive: Mark Walter, TWG Global