Morning Buzz

Dick’s Sporting Goods has “agreed to buy Foot Locker for roughly” $2.4B as the big-box retailer “seeks a bigger global presence with shoppers.” The deal was announced Thursday morning. Dick’s said it “will pay $24 a share in cash for Foot Locker, representing a nearly 90% premium to Foot Locker’s share price,” which has “dropped sharply this year.” Foot Locker shares closed at $12.87 on Wednesday, “before soaring more than 60% in after-hours trading.” Dick’s said it “expects to operate Foot Locker as a stand-alone business unit within its portfolio and maintain the Foot Locker brands.” It also “intends to finance the deal with cash and new debt.” The deal would be, “by far,” Dick’s “biggest acquisition and would expand the company outside of the U.S.” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/15).

NFL teams released their schedules in full Wednesday night with a number of creative videos, but it was the Chargers -- “the NFL’s gold standard” when it comes to schedule release videos -- who “outdid themselves -- and the Indianapolis Colts, who were unlucky enough to attempt the same idea as Los Angeles” -- with their latest video. The Chargers, with “very real-looking graphics, went the video game route once again and took fans to a Minecraft world for their 2025 schedule release.” Complete with references and all, the Chargers’ schedule release “was a masterpiece” (SI, 5/14).

For more takeaways from Wednesday night’s full NFL schedule release, read Ben Fischer‘s reaction piece and see more in Thursday’s SBJ Daily.

The Colts “deleted a video” posted to their social media accounts Wednesday night that “included a controversial depiction of one of the team’s 2025 opponents” -- the Dolphins. The “Minecraft-themed schedule-release video opened with an apparent reference to” Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill‘s 2024 arrest, “portraying a dolphin with the username ‘Hill’ and the jersey number 10 being arrested by the Coast Guard.” The video was “deleted within hours of being posted.” Hill was detained by police outside Hard Rock Stadium ahead of the Dolphins’ season opener last year. He was ticketed for two traffic violations, which were later dismissed (THE ATHLETIC, 5/14).

Two teams used the popular “Minecraft” game in their schedule releases, with the other being the Chargers. There’s also “speculation” that the Colts “took the video down because the Chargers had a similar video.” Colts officials “have not provided a reason for the video being taken down” (USA TODAY, 5/14).

Hill responded to the deletion of the video on X (formerly Twitter).

For more takeaways from Wednesday night’s full NFL schedule release, read Ben Fischer‘s reaction piece and see more in Thursday’s SBJ Daily.

One of the newest entrants to upfront week, Netflix hosted its event at the Perelman Performing Arts Center on Wednesday afternoon in N.Y., unveiling its two NFL Christmas Day matchups and an expanding slate of sports programming.

Ahead of the NFL’s full schedule announcement later Wednesday, Netflix brought out Commissioner Roger Goodell to reveal its Christmas Day games: Cowboys vs. Commanders and Lions vs. Vikings.

Goodell donned a red Santa Claus coat for the reveal, saying that “last year, viewers in 218 countries watched our first-ever worldwide distribution of an NFL game, two games on Christmas Day, on this great service. It’s not just about the games themselves. Netflix has always done a great job of taking you behind-the-scenes with some of the biggest stars and the most successful teams in the league. And this year, they’re going to do it again.”

CBS Sports will produce the games, with NFL Media handling pregame, postgame and halftime studio shows. Talent will be revealed at a later date.

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On this week’s SBJ Sports Media Podcast, co-hosts Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane discuss how sports has taken over the annual upfront season. Plus, Karp talks to WNBA Dallas Wings CEO & Managing Partner Greg Bibb ahead of the start to Paige Bueckers era for his club. And with just a few weeks left in the UFL season, President & CEO Russ Brandon joins Karp for a talk about how Season 2 is going.

A vote by NFL owners on where the Jaguars will temporarily play home games in 2027 “has been punted to a later date.” The Jaguars in a statement today said that they are “still reviewing proposals with the league on sites to host its games and will not have the item on the agenda for the NFL’s owners meeting this month.” Lynch notes the item is “expected to be considered at the NFL owners meeting in October, where it would need 75% of the league’s owners approval.” Orlando’s Camping World Stadium and the Univ. of Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville are “currently competing” to be the Jaguars home venue while EverBank Stadium undergoes renovations (JACKSONVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/14). Orange County voted last month to provide up to $11M in an “incentive deal to the team if they choose Orlando.” However, both the city of Gainesville and Alachua County this week said that they “hadn’t offered an incentive deal.” Gillespie notes an Alachua spokesperson “didn’t rule it out.” Among the arguments in favor of the Jaguars playing in Gainesville is that “one of the largest University of Florida booster clubs in the country is based in Jacksonville.” Gainesville is “also a shorter drive” for Jaguars fans (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 5/14).

Ole Miss and Sodexo Live! have extended their existing deal of more than two decades for another 10 years. Sodexo Live provides food and beverage service at Ole Miss athletics venues including Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, The Sandy and John Black Pavilion, and Oxford-University Stadium at Swayze Field.

The concessionaire has introduced alcohol sales and grown overall revenue more than 150% since 2019. More than 30 points-of-sale and new grab-and-go markets, as well as improved wayfinding and concourse branding elements have helped Ole Miss fans find more diverse menu options that have been introduced, too. Sodexo Live’s college client list also includes Michigan, Cincinnati, Texas, Louisville and Florida.

Mississippi State AD Zac Selmon signed a “one-year contract extension through Jan. 31, 2029.” The deal “raises his salary by $25,000” to $1.25M this year. The salary will “increase by $25,000 each year Selmon‘s contract is continually renewed,” and it also includes an “annual $100,000 bonus beginning Jan. 31, 2026.” Selmon, a 2023 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree who was hired as AD that same year, signed the extension on Feb. 1, with it being the “maximum allowable extension under state law.” He has been “busy recently securing major donations to advance MSU athletics.” A donation from the Howard Industries “made the construction possible” on a football-only practice facility. Selmon has “already made a major coaching decision” when he hired football coach Jeff Lebby before the 2024 season (Mississippi CLARION LEDGER, 5/14). Mississippi State has seen an “uptick in giving” in the two plus years that Selmon has been AD and is “expected to set a University record for fundraising this year” (247SPORTS.com, 5/14).

Laura Lefton, former VP/Club Business Development for the NFL, is joining the USTA in a newly created role overseeing ticketing and premium experiences at the US Open.

As the USTA’s Managing Director/Ticket Sales & Premium Experience, Lefton will be tasked with developing and implementing strategies related to general ticketing and club, suite, experiential and hospitality products at the tournament. This is a big revenue source for the USTA, which derived 90% of its $624M in overall revenue from the US Open last year, including nearly $300M across ticketing and corporate hospitality. The USTA also for the first time hosted more than one million fans at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds across the US Open’s Fan Week and main draw play in 2024.

In the new role, Lefton will report to USTA CCO Kirsten Corio and work out of the organization’s N.Y. office in Times Square. She will oversee a team that spans ticket operations, ticket sales and service, premium hospitality and experiences, and business intelligence and analytics.

“Laura’s an experienced, widely respected leader who’s been a force in driving business results at the highest levels of professional sports, and we’re thrilled to welcome her to the USTA,” Corio said in a statement. “The US Open has seen three consecutive years of record-breaking attendance and unprecedented growth. Laura has the perfect breadth of skills and experience to lead strategy and execution to continue that growth while optimizing our customer experiences.”

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The Reds on Wednesday “celebrated Pete Rose Night with a Q&A” featuring four Reds HOFers, a “ceremony on the field to recognize his family, a moment of silence and a long standing ovation from a sold out crowd” at Great American Ball Park. Former Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman “led the Q&A” with former Reds George Foster, Barry Larkin and Eric Davis. Then, Rose’s daughter, Fawn, “addressed the crowd.” During the Q&A, the Reds HOFers on stage “all told stories from their experiences with Rose.” The Reds HOFers “sat in front of a table that included an authentic Rose jersey, a replica Rose statue, a signed bat, a bouquet and a standing flower arrangement that spelled out the No. 14.” The Reds “watched it all from the dugout rail” (DAYTON DAILY NEWS, 5/14).

MLB and tech partner Google Cloud have developed a new personalized video recap for any fan using the app or website and logged into their MLB account. My Daily Story creates the highlight reels based on both data inputted by the user, such as a favorite team or players, and also their activity interacting with content.

The concept behind the new feature, said MLB SVP/Product Management Josh Frost, was to not only “showcase our partnership” with Google Cloud but also ultimately to drive revenue and engagement.

“There are certainly monetization opportunities between ad footprints down the road, but to me, this is a net positive if it gets you to open the app every day,” Frost said. “We want to be creating strong habits of people starting their morning with the MLB app, seeing all the great content that we have from yesterday, and then bringing them through the whole daily cycle.”

MLB previously used Minute.ly to power its video stories but later made the investment to bring that capability in house. Google Cloud’s machine learning and Gemini generative AI functionality helps deliver the personalization. ML is used to compile content based on explicitly entered favorites, but gen AI takes implicit behavior such as watching a lot of Bryce Harper videos or attending a D-backs game -- which is info stored in a user’s MLB account -- into consideration.

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MLS and Apple are offering even more content from the league’s Season Pass steaming service to Xfinity customers at no cost by making weekly Sunday Night Soccer telecasts available within the channel guide on Xfinity X1 and the Xfinity Stream app for the rest of the 2025 season. Subscribers to Comcast’s cable service have already had free access to the league’s Saturday night whip-around show, MLS 360, since the start of the season. Xfinity users with an MLS Season Pass subscription can access all matches directly through the Xfinity interface.

The addition of free Sunday Night Soccer telecasts for Xfinity customers is the latest in a series of moves to drive new Season Pass subscriptions by creating new entry points and raising awareness of the service. MLS and Apple have also allowed DirecTV customers to subscribe to Season Pass directly through the satellite provider’s interface, offered free access to T-Mobile wireless customers and offered four matches for free through the EA Sports FC Mobile app.

Snowboard legend Shaun White will participate in a new partnership between U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Project Gold program and the High Cascade Snowboard Camp and Windells Freeski Camp at Oregon’s Mount Hood this June.

Project Gold is U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s series of youth development camps intended to identify and train potential future Olympians. The upcoming program in Oregon will feature the debut of a new Banger Bag, a state-of-the-art, Olympic-caliber inflatable landing ramp.

White, who launched The Snow League earlier this year, will join for one day of the weeklong program at Mount Hood’s Wy’East Mountain Academy, which houses the two action sports camps. White is an investor in High Cascade and Windells through Unrivaled Sports.

Next week, White will join Sports Business Journal’s 4se event in N.Y. to discuss the launch of The Snow League and how he built a personal brand off the slopes.

Legends Global Merchandise CCO Michael Quirk shares why he feels that the merchandise pavilion at this year’s PGA Championship will be another successful endeavor for his organization.

Dignitaries from around the college sports and business sphere gathered on Wednesday night in Charlotte to celebrate longtime Sports Business Journal scribe Michael Smith. The evening was hosted at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse by Teall Sports & Entertainment founder Ben Sutton and was attended by around 35 contacts and colleagues of Smith’s from his 17 years at SBJ.

Former ACC commissioner John Swofford and longtime Duke AD Kevin White were among those on hand, along with current college administrators Wake Forest AD John Currie and Duke AD Nina King. Other industry leaders at Wednesday night’s soirée included OnLocation EVP/Collegiate John Anthony, Bespoke Sports & Entertainment CEO Mike Boykin, Taymar Sales U. founder & CEO Mark Dyer and former Charlotte Sports Foundation CEO Danny Morrison.

A handful of Smith’s former SBJ colleagues also attended the event. SBJ Publisher & Executive Editor Abe Madkour, Teall General Counsel Lou Doherty, Sutton and Dyer shared words with the group, highlighting Smith’s professionalism, kind and caring demeanor and dogged work ethic throughout his career.

Smith, who concluded his almost two-decade run at SBJ in January 2024, covered a host of beats during his time with the company, most notably college sports. He was joined at the event by his wife, Lisa, and son, Colson.

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“GPS technology has determined that a popular monument near this capital was built about 800 feet too far to the south.”