Morning Buzz

Nationwide Insurance is “buying 37%” of the Crew at a valuation of $900M for the team, according to CNBC’s Mike Ozanian. The company is based in Columbus. Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam are selling 30%, while 7% is being sold by the Edwards family (X, 5/28). After the sale, the Haslams will retain a 40% stake. The valuation “matches the figure attached to the Crew last summer,” when the Haslams sold a 10% stake in the club to the Edwards family. That deal increased the Edwards family’s ownership share to 30% while leaving Haslam Sports Group with a 70% controlling stake. The move also comes just nine days after the Haslams sold a 3% stake in the Browns to private equity firm Arctos (CRAIN’s CLEVELAND BUSINESS, 5/28).

Average attendance across MLS is up 1% from roughly the same point last season, putting the league on pace to record its second-best mark even before a potential World Cup bump. The league began a seven-week break in its schedule this week in advance of the international competition being held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Through Matchday 15, MLS is averaging 22,109 fans per match. That figure is 1% higher than the average of 21,902 on May 24 of last season. The league only saw a marginal increase beyond that point in 2025, finishing the season with an average of 21,988.

This season, however, the league is hoping to ride enthusiasm around soccer generated by the World Cup to a significant attendance spike coming out of the break. Many clubs are expected to offer ticket promotions to bring in new fans, including discounts and “First Match on Us” giveaways.

The three teams seeing the biggest year-over-year increases so far -- the Rapids (+67%), D.C. United (+47%) and LAFC (+30%) -- have each benefited from a home match against Inter Miami held at larger alternate venues. The team with the fourth-largest bump is Inter Miami itself (+29%), which moved into the newly built, larger Nu Stadium this season.

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Incoming Tennis Australia CEO Andrew Abdo will “join forces with outgoing boss Craig Tiley to push a reform agenda for global tennis.” With Tiley set to become the CEO of the USTA, the pair will oversee two of the sport’s four Grand Slam tournaments, and Tiley said that he and Abdo ⁠would “work as peers to reform the game.” Player dissatisfaction with prize money “boiled over ahead of the French Open,” with players limiting their media appearances in protest. Abdo, who starts working for TA in August, said that it was “too early for him to comment on how the Australian Open would manage that situation.” However, Tiley said that players “should be paid more” (REUTERS, 5/29).

Netflix on Friday is premiering a new docuseries, “Rafa,” in which Rafael Nadal gives viewers an “in-depth look at what it takes to become an icon and the sacrifices required” during his career in tennis. The four-part, nearly four-hour film from director Zachary Heinzerling and produced by Skydance Sports does not “take shortcuts or insult viewers.” It “shows the good, the bad, and the ugly side of Nadal as he puts his body through the wringer.” Heinzerling said that the film “took a year of filming and another year of editing” (USA TODAY, 5/27). The docuseries “achieves more introspection than the average sports documentary, and will feel revelatory to anyone who hasn’t followed the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s career in detail” (THE ATHLETIC, 5/29).

If not for its “transcendent bittersweetness, ‘Rafa’ might be an exemplar of the sports-documentary paradox: Ambitious, wide-ranging and exhaustive, it is rich in the sort of detail that might be of interest only to the type of hardcore fan who would know everything already.” “Rafa” goes on “too long, though the drama is propulsive.” The series is not “entirely downbeat, just supremely self-aware” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/26).

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday said that it will “bar drones over FIFA World Cup 2026 matches and related fan events across the U.S., to fortify security.” During match ‌days, all aircraft operations, including drones, are “prohibited within a radius of three nautical miles and up to 3,000 feet above ground level around the stadiums unless specifically authorized by air traffic controllers.” Drones will be “barred within a one-nautical-mile radius and up to 1,000 feet above ground ⁠level for fan events throughout the country.” The FAA said that drone operators who enter restricted airspace without approval can “face fines of up to $100,000, along with criminal charges and confiscation of the drone” (REUTERS, 5/28). In addition to match days and fan festivals, restrictions will “also be in place in other locations including team hotels, base camps and training facilities” (USA TODAY, 5/28).

Uber today will announce the launch of Uber Shuttle, which will provide FIFA World Cup fans a ride home from matches played at MetLife Stadium ($49 per person), Hard Rock Stadium, AT&T Stadium and Gillette Stadium ($45).

The service can be booked in advance or on matchday.

The ride share company is also introducing Travel Pass, a $4.99 tournament-long subscription that gives travelers to U.S. host cities up to $85 in total savings across Uber and Uber Eats.

Additionally, fans can customize their Uber in-app car icon with their favorite country’s flag, and if their team is eliminated, they’ll get 30% to put towards a future ride “so you can leave the packed bars, game-day crowds, and heartbreak behind,” according to the announcement.

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Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta agreed on Thursday to buy Caesars Entertainment for $5.7B. The Rockets will “not be merged with Caesars.” The deal will “merge his casino and restaurant business” with Caesars. Caesars will be Fertitta’s “biggest challenge,” as it has “lost market share at its regional properties and has been hit with fewer visitors to Las Vegas.” Its online betting arm, which “trails larger rivals like FanDuel and DraftKings Inc., faces growing competition from prediction markets” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/28).

The deal includes a “go-shop period for Caesars to entertain competing offers.” Caesars, in announcing the deal, said that its current leaders are “expected to remain in their roles.” Regulatory filings list Caesars as having over $11B in debt. Fertitta Entertainment is “absorbing that debt as part of the deal” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/28).

There will be “no outdoor watch party outside the Bell Centre” for Friday’s Canadiens-Hurricanes Eastern Conference Finals Game 5, with the Canadiens one game away from elimination. The Canadiens in a post on X noted watch parties are “held exclusively on home game days.” Hordes of fans “gather in front of projector screens outside the arena for every home game.” In Game 7 of the previous two series, both away games, the Bell Centre “sold stadium tickets for about $12 to screen the game on the jumbotron.” It “sold out quickly both times” (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 5/28).

Federal prosecutors allege that NBA free agent Terry Rozier “agreed to a $100,000 bribe in order to manipulate his performance in an NBA game as part of a gambling scheme and filed two new charges against him Thursday.” The government filed a “new indictment with additional charges of bribery in sporting contests and honest services wire fraud conspiracy.” Rozier has “denied participating in the scheme” and his attorney Jim Trusty “asked a judge to dismiss the case in December, arguing that the government overstepped.” The indictment alleges Rozier, then playing for the Hornets, “planned to use a leg injury he suffered late in the 2022-23 season as a reason to withdraw himself from an upcoming Hornets game in exchange for the $100,000 bribe” (ESPN.com, 5/28).

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast, SBJ’s Austin Karp and Josh Carpenter discuss just how big the Knicks being back in the NBA Finals is, and how the hype is comparable to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl.

The Lightning are looking for a Dir/Corporate Finance. The Tampa-based position is responsible for driving financial planning, performance management and strategic analysis to support informed decision-making and achievement of long-term business objectives (Lightning).

The UFL is looking for a VP/Business Intelligence. The remote-based position is responsible for leading the strategy, development and execution of the league’s business intelligence, analytics and data infrastructure initiatives (UFL).

MLB is looking for a Dir/International Partnerships. The N.Y.-based position is responsible for strategic and commercial partnership deals working in collaboration with regional offices and the international client services team on the creation, implementation, strategic management and profitability of partner promotional programs and initiatives (MLB).

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is looking for a Manager/Production Stadium. The Atlanta-based position is responsible for leading control room operations, crewing, show execution and live event production for all events at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, including Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC and third-party events (Mercedes-Benz Stadium).

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“An 1863 Congressional ‘Act relating to’ this was decried in the press as a ‘bill to appoint a dictator.’”