Morning Buzz

With ESPN’s exclusive negotiating window with UFC expiring on Tuesday, the property is set to take its media rights to market. However, ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro on Thursday told SBJ that even with the window expiring, that doesn’t mean UFC will be leaving ESPN.

“The exclusive negotiating window is expiring imminently, but I wouldn’t read too much into that,” said Pitaro. “We’re not hyper-focused on that window. We know that there’s going to be interest in the UFC and that’s great for the sport. It’s great for them. But we remain interested in trying to figure something out with those guys.”

The UFC-ESPN deal is up at the end of 2025, and the MMA outfit is reportedly targeting more than $1B per year for its next deal. The current five-year deal is worth $1.5B total. UFC has been using WME as a media rights adviser.

“UFC has been really good to ESPN,” said Pitaro. “We launched ESPN+ in April of 2018, and really the UFC property was the marquee property for ESPN+ at launch. Fast forward to today, and it still is the marquee property for ESPN+. We also at the same time believe that we have been a great partner to the UFC in terms of our promotion, in terms of our commitment to the sport of mixed martial arts and specifically the UFC across our studio programming across dot com, the ESPN app.”

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Total NFL revenue cleared $23B in the just-completed fiscal year, CFO Christine Dorfler told owners and execs late last month at the league’s annual meeting, sources tell SBJ.

Teams have been told they will get a $416M distribution from the league’s national media, sponsorship and licensing revenue, up 8.9% from last year’s $382M, sources said (it’s also important to not compare these figures directly to numbers published each summer by the Packers, who won’t report this year’s figure for three more months and may account for this distribution differently).

People in the room said Dorfler cautioned that future growth will become more challenging. With the league now entering the third year of its media rights package, steep growth will be hard to come by without something big happening.

Of course, “something big” could well be in the cards. An 18-game regular season, new media rights contracts or some windfall via the venture fund 32 Equity could all qualify. League executives have high hopes for international growth eventually, but preach patience on that front.

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MLS owners did not vote on a proposed alignment of the league’s schedule with the international soccer calendar at today’s board of governors meeting in Chicago. Instead, the league said the earliest such a change would happen is now the 2027 season, meaning the schedule shift won’t take place immediately following the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, as some in the sport envisioned.

“We clearly have work to do to figure out whether or not we can move over the international calendar, and we’re not there yet,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said following the executive session. “No decision has been made, and frankly, sitting here today, I’m not sure whether or not we have all the support we need to be able to achieve that.”

The league said in a formal statement that its owners “authorized a second phase of exploration into a potential move to the international soccer calendar, along with a continued evaluation of the league’s regular season and playoff formats.” It added, “Any potential changes would not take effect until the 2027 season at the earliest. This next phase will include additional consultation with key stakeholders and the development of a comprehensive transition plan.”

LAFC co-managing owner Larry Berg was the lone owner to speak on the record following the meeting, which he characterized as “an opportunity for the league to present and recommend some big, bold moves.” He said owners had the chance to “respond as to how they take those moves and give the league a sense whether it’s worth continuing to work on them” as well as to “point out the challenges that need to be worked on to get to a final vote in the future.”

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The PWHL averaged 13,733 fans per game during its nine-stop Takeover Tour, which drew a combined attendance of 123,601 from January through March. All six teams participated in the neutral-site series that included stops in Seattle, Vancouver, Denver, Quebec City, Edmonton, Buffalo, Raleigh, Detroit and St. Louis.

The Jan. 8 game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver between the Montréal Victoire and Toronto Scepters drew the largest crowd of the tour with an attendance of 19,038. That game was one of three sellouts on the tour. The crowd of 14,288 for a March 16 game at Little Caesars Arena between the New York Sirens and Minnesota Frost was the largest crowd ever for a professional women’s hockey game in the U.S.

In addition to growing the PWHL brand, the Takeover Tour offers the league an opportunity to gauge fan enthusiasm in various markets as it considers adding as many as two teams as soon as the 2025-26 season. A decision on its near-term expansion plans is expected to be announced in the next few weeks.

The PWHL said approximately 78% of fans who attended Takeover Tour games had never been to the host venue before. The league also estimated that 80% of attendees were at their first PWHL game.

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Lakers G Luka Doncic’s return to Dallas on Wednesday night was the “most-watched” NBA game on ESPN this season, excluding Christmas Day games. According to Nielsen, the broadcast averaged 2.26 million viewers, with the audience “peaking at” 2.79 million. According to ESPN, those numbers “represent a 71% increase vs. a comparable game last year.” Doncic’s first game against the Mavericks back in February averaged 2.5 million viewers on TNT, TruTV and Max (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/10).

“Inside the NBA” held its final regular-season edition on TNT on Thursday night as host Ernie Johnson “bid farewell to his longtime employer.” This comes as the show will move to ESPN and ABC next season. Johnson: “One of the most gratifying things about the whole process is this: We start the NBA on TNT back in 1989, and then we become synonymous with the league. For the fans out there, they think NBA, they think NBA on TNT. That’s why it hurts tonight--to know that’s gone after this next playoff run, and that’s the business of basketball, I guess.” He added, “But I will say this: No time for bitterness. It is time for appreciation. It’s time for gratitude. And it has been my pleasure to be one of your coworkers, one of your teammates, and a part of this family. Love you” (SI, 4/10).

RELATED: How ‘Inside the NBA’ fueled a rise in sports studio shows

The Capitals on Thursday night held a celebration for LW Alex Ovechkin for breaking the NHL goal record at Capital One Arena with a sold out crowd of 18,573 before their 5-4 win over the Hurricanes. The carpet on the ice, the sign on the front of the lectern for the ceremony and the “near life-size replica of the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer all made clear the number that will be synonymous with Ovechkin in perpetuity.” Capitals President of Hockey Operations Brian MacLellan, owner Ted Leonsis, and Ovechkin’s family -- wife Nastya, sons Sergei and Ilya, mother Tatyana and father-in-law Kirill -- were “all on the ice to celebrate with him.” Ovechkin received an “engraved, golden stick from the team,” a gift that included “matching golden mini sticks” for his sons; a “six-foot artwork that featured a pair of his signature yellow-laced skates;” and a Rolex watch from Leonsis (WASHINGTON POST, 4/10).

 The sold-out crowd packed into Capital One Arena to celebrate Ovechkin and a “career-long record chase” that culminated Sunday on Long Island. It was an “opportunity for fans to thank him and recognize history.” The “Ovi” chants “were instantaneous” as many fans “stood up when the ceremony began and didn’t return to their seats until the puck dropped.” Those diehards “erupted when Ovechkin finally stepped onto the ice.” The chants “returned as spotlights circled the captain while he skated around the ice” (WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/10).

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill was inducted into the Arizona Sports HOF at the Chateau Luxe in Phoenix as part of the 2024 Hall induction ceremony on Thursday night. Bidwill’s impact in Arizona has been seen. That was acknowledged at the ceremony making him the sixth person with Cardinals ties to go into the state’s sports HOF. Former NFLers Adrian Wilson, Jake Plummer, Pat Tillman and Larry Fitzgerald are in, as well as Michael’s father and owner, the late Bill Bidwill. Bidwill began working full-time with the Cardinals under his father in 1996 after a stint as a federal prosecutor. He was the driver of the work to get State Farm Stadium built -- a building that not only houses the Cardinals but has allowed the Valley to host Super Bowls, college playoff games and Final Fours. Bidwill also has been a leader in the Valley’s business community, leaving an impact through the prism of the Cardinals (Cardinals).

Legendary Hendrick Motorsports communications strategist Jon Edwards passed away this week, according to a statement from the team on Thursday night, a sudden and shocking loss that left the motorsports world reeling. Edwards was around 53 years old. A cause of death wasn’t released by HMS. Edwards had been Jeff Gordon’s right-hand man for decades, and currently served as the team’s director of racing communications, overseeing its trackside PR group.

Gordon, now vice chairman at HMS, said in a statement that he was devastated by the death of Edwards, adding in part: “For almost three decades, we were side by side through every high and low, every celebration, and every challenge. He was one of the most loyal, hardworking and selfless people I’ve ever known, and I will be forever grateful for his immeasurable impact on my life and my career.”

Edwards played a central, indelible role in Gordon’s career, which helped spark NASCAR’s glory days and led the driver to four Cup Series championships, an induction into the NASCAR HOF, immense wealth and global superstardom. But Edwards was also a trusted confidante of team Owner Rick Hendrick and interacted with hundreds of business people who transacted with the team over the decades.

Crucially, Edwards was also deployed to help revive Kyle Larson’s career in 2021 when HMS hired the star driver following his suspension from the sport. He served as Larson’s lead PR representative in those first couple seasons that he was with the team, after Larson had been banished from the sport in 2020 following a slur incident.

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Boston Univ. defeated Penn State 3-1 in the NCAA Frozen Four in front of 16,814 at Enterprise Center. BU will face Western Michigan for the national championship at 7:30pm ET on Saturday (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/11). Western Michigan is making its first Frozen Four appearance having knocked off defending champion Denver 3-2 in double overtime. Western Michigan held a “distinct crowd advantage” and also brought its band and cheerleaders (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/10).

The announced attendance for Thursday’s combined session is the “second lowest non-COVID number of the 21st Century for a semifinal,” behind the 13,051 announced in Buffalo in 2019 (USCHO.com, 4/10).

ESPN’s John Buccigross joined SBJ’s Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane on the Sports Media Podcast to discuss the Frozen Four.

The Warriors are looking for VP/Premium Suites. The S.F.-based position is responsible for establishing and executing a comprehensive business plan heading into each season, and will be expected to increase revenue through annual, packaged and individual suite sales (Warriors).

The Mystics are looking for a Dir/Basketball Operations. The D.C.-based position is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations and logistics from handling all player travel arrangements including flights, hotel bookings, team buses, and supporting the logistics and operations associated with the end-to-end player experience with the Mystics, including Team Housing, car rentals (Mystics).

The Phillies are looking for a Creative Dir. The Philadelphia-based position is responsible for leading and driving the overall graphic design vision, ensuring it aligns with the organization’s brand identity, mission, and strategic objectives (Phillies).

Elevate are looking for a VP/Communications. The hybrid-based position is responsible for developing and implementing comprehensive communication strategies that align with Elevate’s mission of being the industry’s best sports and entertainment agency (Elevate).

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“Located on Cromwell Road & home to more than 2.8 million objects, it bears in part the name of a cousin of a British queen.”