Morning Buzz

The NHL and Honeywell have agreed to a three-year sponsorship in which the NASDAQ-listed company becomes the Official Building Automation and Energy Management Partner. Honeywell has several relationships with sports teams, such as the NBA’s Hornets and Hawks, but this is its first league deal.

The collaboration will begin with Honeywell consulting on best practices for managing arena operations to make them more sustainable -- not just for NHL teams’ home arenas and practice facilities but also for community rinks throughout North America and beyond. The mantra of the relationship is to make ice accessible and affordable.

“Having a partnership that focuses on building automation and energy management is particularly important for us because [it is] not just for our 32 arenas but in all different levels of the sport,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.

The NHL and Honeywell will speak publicly about the deal for the first time at SBJ Tech Week later today when NHL EVP David Lehanski takes the stage with Honeywell Building Automation President Juan Picon and Chief Solution Officer Greg Turner.

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The quality of NFL games chosen for export abroad figures to increase significantly in the wake of a policy change approved by owners Tuesday. Until now, teams chosen to be the “home” team in international games each season could choose two of their predetermined nine home opponents to protect against being relocated. However, all nine matchups will be fair game going forward.

The policy until now has had the effect of preventing many of the most lucrative and high-profile games from going overseas. For instance, the Cowboys have only played once overseas because they are almost always one of their road opponents’ most valuable home games for ticket sales.

While there have been exceptions, historically, most NFL games overseas have not been top-tier draws. In fact, London has been hosting games since 2007 but didn’t witness a matchup between two teams with a winning record (or two teams in the top 10 of social media followers) until the Giants played the Packers in 2022.

That has been changing as the NFL seeks to make big splashes in new territories and sell some international games as one-off, outsized media rights deals. This step figures to make top-flight games outside the U.S. far more common.

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Around 70 people “were let go” on Tuesday in layoffs by the Trail Blazers “on the business side” (X, 5/19). The layoffs included “roughly a quarter of the team’s business staff,” as Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon made his “most significant cost-cutting move since purchasing the team at the end of March.” The layoffs affected “both business and basketball operations and ranged from senior vice presidents to public relations employees to content producers.” Employees learned about the layoffs “during a Tuesday morning group video call, which lasted roughly two minutes” (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/19).

YES Network and OTT Advisors are extending their relationship around streaming to a sixth season. OTT Advisors’ tech helped shift the YES App into what’s now the Gotham App. Streaming viewership of Yankees games on Gotham grew 91% last season. OTT Advisors has helped YES Network not just with its streaming quality control, but also in creating interactive features (like overlays) and creating advertising operations. Spearheading the renewal of the deal were YES VP/Strategy and Business Development Matt Duarte and OTT Advisors founder and Managing Partner Chris Wagner. OTT Advisors also helps with streaming solutions for Chicago Sports Network, NESN, Monumental Sports Network, Marquee Sports Network and numerous NBA, NHL and MLB teams.

Congress is “set to scrutinize the rapid growth of online gambling” in hearings that are “focused on sports betting integrity.” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is “chairing a hearing Wednesday that will examine not only sportsbooks but also prediction market platforms.” Wednesday’s hearing is “expected to include advocates for the traditional sports betting industry as well as representatives tied to prediction market platforms,” with bipartisan scrutiny “anticipated over how companies enforce their own fairness rules.” The rise in popularity for prediction markets and sports gambling apps, particularly among younger audiences, has “prompted multiple bills in Congress aimed at tightening rules” (FOXBALTIMORE.com, 5/19).

Marty Smith is headed back to cover NASCAR as part of a new side deal with TNT Sports for studio work during its upcoming slate of five Cup Series races. Smith, who just signed an extension with ESPN last month, will shift into the host role for TNT’s studio show when the network begins its slate on June 28 at Sonoma. TNT’s races also include Chicago, Atlanta, North Wilkesboro and Indianapolis. Smith is repped by CAA’s Matt Kramer.

The move is related to the TNT-ESPN deal for “Inside the NBA” to come over to ESPN, but also reflects a deepening relationship between the two sides. That has also included sublicenses around the Big 12 and College Football Playoff.

Smith was first mentioned as potential talent target for both Amazon and TNT back in mid-2024 before the companies went different directions.

For Smith, this is a return to some NASCAR roots. He first came to ESPN in 2006 to cover NASCAR, and went on to serve as ESPN’s lead NASCAR reporter for “SportsCenter” and “NASCAR Now” from 2007-14. Prior to ESPN, Smith was a senior writer for NASCAR.com, an analyst/host on Speed Channel and a NASCAR analyst for FSN.

The NCAA took a “step towards adding flag football as an official championship sport” on Tuesday, as a “key committee formally endorsed sponsoring the sport.” The NCAA Committee on Access, Opportunity and Impact formally voted to “recommend integration of the sport at its spring meeting.” To receive official approval, D-I, II and III will “all have to individually sponsor legislation to add a championship at each of their levels.” It will be “formally discussed at the 2026 NCAA Convention this summer.” If approved, the first national championship “could be held as soon as spring 2028.” Each of the three divisions are “expected to sponsor a proposal by July 1, which would then be up for a formal vote in January 2027.” Funding would also “have to be approved by various NCAA financial committees” (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/19).

Excel Sports Management and WIN Sports Group are formally creating a new partnership centered around increasing broadcast and production representation. The new collaboration will be spearheaded by WIN Sports’ Josh Pyatt alongside Excel SVP/Media Talent Kevin Hopkins and Head of Digital Media Talent Ryan Orozco. Each side will look to tap into the other’s core competencies and connections in the industry, especially around media and talent, where all parties will look to identify and develop opportunities across broadcast, production company representation and content development.

The partnership was already in beta form when the two sides collaborated earlier this year to land Anthony Rizzo and Clayton Kershaw as MLB analysts with NBC Sports. Rizzo also landed a Netflix gig, as well as a new podcast effort.

Netflix’s debut MMA card headlined by Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano “pulled in an estimated audience of roughly 12 million viewers,” according to non-Nielsen numbers. Netflix and Most Valuable Promotion assert that 12.4 million viewers watched the match, per data cobbled together by VideoAmp, G&G Closed Circuit Events and Netflix. Global viewership peaked at nearly 17 million viewers during Rousey-Carano. In the U.S. alone, Netflix claims Rousey-Carano, Mike Perry-Nate Diaz and Francis Ngannou-Philipe Lins averaged 9.3 million viewers, peaking at 11.6 million during Rousey-Carano. The event did “not perform as well viewership-wise compared to other Netflix outings, as the streamer claimed Anthony Joshua-Jake Paul in December 2025 attracted 33 million global viewers and Terence Crawford-Canelo Álvarez in September 2025 at 36.6 million. Jake Paul-Mike Tyson drew an estimated 108 million viewers in 2024, per Netflix internal data (VARIETY, 5/19). The numbers were a “considerable improvement over the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 3 event last summer" on Netflix, which the streamer claimed had an audience of 6 million viewers (MMA FIGHTING, 5/19).

Golf entertainment property PopStroke has tapped former Lightning and PGA Tour CMO Matt Corey as its new chief growth officer. Corey was the CMO at the tour from 2019-2022 and for the Lightning from 2022-2025, and joins PopStroke in the newly created CGO role. Before joining the PGA Tour in 2019, Corey was the CMO at PGA Tour Superstore for six years.

Corey will report directly to PopStroke Founder and CEO Greg Bartoli and lead the company’s growth efforts across revenue, brand marketing and new markets. He’ll also head up PopStroke’s partnerships strategy. PopStroke, co-owned by Tiger Woods, currently has 21 locations across the U.S. and plans to open three more venues in 2026.

American Express and Fanatics reached a multi-faceted agreement that will see American Express named the official payments sponsor across select Fanatics online and retail locations worldwide and a presenting sponsor of Fanatics Fest. The pair will launch the Fanatics American Express Card on the AmEx Network later this year. Fanatics will also become the first sports Membership Rewards transfer partner within the next year (Fanatics).

Leaders in the tech industry gathered Tuesday for State of the Industry at Sports Business Journal’s Tech Week.

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Austin FC is looking for a VP/Stadium Operations. The Austin-based position is responsible for overseeing facility and event operations at Q2 Stadium and St. David’s Performance Center including leading the planning and execution of large- and small-scale events (Austin FC).

Indy Eleven is looking for a VP/Marketing & Club Growth. The Indianapolis-based position is responsible for developing, coordinating and directing all marketing and community engagement activities for Indy Sports & Entertainment (Indy Eleven).

Franklin Sports are looking for a Content Designer/E-Commerce & Marketing. The Stoughton-based position is responsible for developing digital-first creative assets that support brand storytelling, product marketing and online conversion across eCommerce, social, email, SMS, paid media and marketplace channels (Franklin Sports).

The Atlanta Vibe is looking for a Dir/Revenue. The Atlanta-based position is responsible for strategizing, building and executing comprehensive sponsorship and partnership programs, driving ticket sales, enhancing premium experiences and developing commercial strategies to capitalize on the growth of women’s sports (Atlanta Vibe).

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“Shunned by his religion when he went to study law in England, he met Christians who helped awaken a ‘religious quest.’”