MLS Commissioner Don Garberhas a new employment contract that extends his tenure through the end of 2027, the league confirmed to SBJ. The agreement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, was finalized over the summer but hasn’t previously been reported. Garber worked the first half of 2024 without a contract after his previous deal ended last year. 

Garber has been commissioner of MLS since Sept. 1, 1999, when the league was nearing the conclusion of its fourth season. His 25 years on the job are the second-most for an active leader of a major North American sports league, behind only NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. He ranks fourth all-time behind Bettman (31 years), Pete Rozelle (NFL, 29 years) and David Stern(NBA, 30 years). 

The Queens native, who made a name for himself as a marketing executive at the NFL, has elevated MLS from a fledgling league on the verge of monetary collapse to North America's fifth major men’s professional team sport. He has overseen the expansion of the league from 10 to 30 franchises beginning in 2025, 22 of which play in soccer-specific stadiums built during his tenure, and helped facilitate the acquisition of impactful stars like Lionel Messi and David Beckham. He also created Soccer United Marketing, a commercial agency serving other soccer properties and brands that has been a key revenue driver for the league’s ownership. 

Garber will turn 70 during the final year of the newly signed contract, and it is unclear whether he intends to continue as commissioner beyond 2027. 

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FIFA continues to fill out the sponsorship roster for the 2026 World Cup in North America with blue-chip brands, signing hardware retailer The Home Depot to a supporter-level deal for the highly anticipated tournament. The deal is The Home Depot's largest single sports marketing investment, its first with a global sports property and its first that covers the entire continent on which it operates. 

Industry sources said the cost of becoming a “Tournament Supporter” for the 2026 World Cup -- the third level of FIFA’s sponsorship program -- is in the mid-eight-figure range. 

The World Cup offers The Home Depot exposure during the summer months, a slower period of its sports marketing calendar. The retailer’s biggest sports marketing investments are its presenting sponsorship of ESPN’s “College GameDay” and its tie to NCAA March Madness. The company is also a league-level sponsor of MLS and has deals with Atlanta United and Mexican national team.  

The Home Depot intends to have a major experiential marketing presence at World Cup venues and fan festivals. The brand also plans to offer employees and customers opportunities to participate in World Cup activations leading up to and during the event. Through the brand’s Orange Apron Media advertising network, select supplier partners in exclusive categories will be allowed to participate in various activations alongside The Home Depot. 

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Bruin Capital is entering the soccer talent representation space, launching As1 today following the acquisition of European agencies Nomi Sports, Position Number, Promoesport and Football Division Worldwide. All the agency acquisitions have been completed except for Football Division Worldwide, with regulatory approval expected before the start of 2025.

Financial details of the individual agency acquisitions are not known, but a source familiar with the transactions said the deal values the overall As1 business at $310 million. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised Bruin across the various As1 transactions.

Former Atletico Madrid board member Ignacio Aguillo, who advised CVC Capital Partners on its global soccer investing, will serve as As1’s CEO. All four founders of the individual agencies -- Raul DaCosta of Nomi Sports, Miguel Pinho of Position Number, Rodri Baster of Promoesport and Manuel Sierra of Football Division Worldwide -- will remain to lead their respective businesses.

The London-based agency will have more than 90 employees and nine other offices across Spain, Portugal, and the U.A.E. As1’s client roster will include Liverpool FC’s Luis Díaz, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Chelsea FC’s Moisés Caicedo and Manchester United coach Rúben Amorim.

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ESPN and Stephen A. Smith are in negotiations on a "historic deal" that is in the six-year, $120M range, according to sources. While Variety reported that a deal was "close to fruition," when asked over text if a deal is close, Smith simply responded, "False." The $20M a year would be the most ever paid to an ESPN on-air personality "without it being tied to a licensing deal." The two sides "have also discussed both five- and six-year options" for the potential length of the contract, according to sources. If consummated, the contract "will mostly be paid by ESPN but will have small components from Disney Entertainment and a gambling company, presumably ESPN BET" (THE ATHLETIC, 12/3).

The two sides are "hopeful they can reach a deal over the next several weeks," according to a source. The new pact could also "involve creating a sort of 'first-look' agreement for Smith-backed concepts across Disney’s general-entertainment properties," sources said (VARIETY, 12/3).

The latest College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night, and Alabama was ranked at No. 11 in the playoff committee’s latest top 25 -- just ahead of Miami at No. 12 -- despite Alabama sitting at three losses to Miami's two. While there’s "still a scenario that could keep Alabama out of the 12-team field," the three teams directly behind it "have effectively been eliminated from the playoff." CFP Selection Committee Chair Warde Manuel, the Michigan AD, said that the committee will "closely evaluate" the outcome of championship games, but it will "not adjust" teams like Alabama and Miami who aren’t competing in league title games because "they don’t have another data point." Based on the latest rankings, it "would appear as though the only outcome that could potentially knock Alabama out of the playoff" would be a loss by No. 8 SMU to No. 17 Clemson in the ACC championship game (USA TODAY, 12/3).

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips "came to Miami’s defense" following the release of the rankings, saying he was "incredibly shocked and disappointed that Miami dropped six spots" to No. 12. Phillips: "Miami has more wins and fewer losses than the team directly ahead of them and a dominant victory over an SEC team whose late-season surge includes a win over No. 13 Ole Miss. Moreover, with two losses by a combined nine points -- to a ranked Syracuse team and a Georgia Tech team that just took No. 5 Georgia to eight overtimes. Miami absolutely deserves better from the Committee. As we look ahead to the final rankings, we hope the Committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the field" (THE ATHLETIC, 12/3).

ADs at Iowa State and SMU are "in a turf war over the latest College Football Playoff rankings," as the leaders of both programs feel that they should be ranked above the other. SMU, at 11-1 and heading to the ACC title game, was slotted at No. 8 in Tuesday night’s latest ranking. Iowa State, meanwhile, was at 16th and will be playing for the title of the Big 12. Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard took to X and pointed out that SMU "hasn’t played Clemson, Syracuse, Georgia Tech or Miami" -- four of the ACC’s top seven teams -- and lost at home to BYU of the Big 12. Pollard then wrote in a post directed at SMU AD Rick Hart, "Looks like your lawn may be artificial." But Hart hit back, writing in response, "respect you, but bad take." He "compared nonconference schedules -- SMU’s was better" -- and then wrote, "I could go on ... Stay off my lawn!" (AP, 12/3).

The Washington Commanders have hired veteran packaged food executive Mark Clouse as their new team president.

Clouse has been CEO of The Campbell’s Company (NASDAQ: CPB) for six years, and recently completed a wide-ranging deal with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment to sponsor every team in that company’s portfolio and the Commanders.

Clouse and the Commanders announced the move after the markets closed today.

“In Mark we have found a dynamic leader with a stellar track record of guiding organizations to excellence, building brands that connect deeply with consumers, and ultimately delivering best-in-class experiences and lasting memories,” Commanders owner Josh Harris said in a statement.

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NBC Sports later today is expected to announce that it is going with Kevin Kisneras its lead golf analyst in 2025, a change in strategy from 2024 that saw a rotating booth at its biggest tournaments. 

While Kisner, 40, will still compete in a limited capacity on the PGA Tour, he's expected to slot into the booth alongside play-by-play man Dan Hicks at NBC's top tournaments that include the Players Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship, among others. In addition to his PGA Tour schedule, Kisner also will be competing in the TGL in Q1.

Last year, NBC had Kisner as the lead analyst at the Players, while Brandel Chamblee filled the role at the U.S. Open and Luke Donald took the spot at the Open at Royal Troon. Kisner's role is expected to focus only on NBC on weekend coverage.

While there's a change in the lead analyst role, NBC is expected to continue its strategy of having two play-by-play announcers and two analysts that will rotate on odd and even holes at the major events. Among those likely to return in 2025 include Brad Faxon, Curt Byrum, Steve Sands, Terry Gannon, Smylie Kaufmanand others. 

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The Raiders-Chiefs audience on Black Friday was up 41% from last year's debut effort, but it wasn’t big enough for a Prime Video NFL streaming record. The AFC West matchup on Friday afternoon drew 13.5 million viewers, well above the 9.6 million that Amazon drew for Dolphins-Jets on Black Friday in 2023. However, Raiders-Chiefs was well below Prime Video's NFL record of 16.2 million for a Giants-Cowboys "TNF" game earlier this season. Raiders-Chiefs peaked at 17.4 million viewers late in the game (6pm ET quarter hour). Expect Prime Video to set a record for the streaming platform during the Wild Card round this season when it airs its first NFL playoff game.

Horizon Sports & Experiences debuted a thought leadership series “& Now” and released its first study in the series, which looks at the growth of women’s sports and explores how brands can maximize ROI, highlighted by viewership growth, valuable and diverse audiences, and growth in sports betting.

The study, "The Women’s Sports Opportunity," found that of the 172 million U.S. adult population that identifies as sports fans, 65 million (25%) identify specifically as women’s sports fans, and 108 million wish there was more coverage of women’s sports on major networks.

The study found a 40% YOY increase in betting volume in women’s sports, partially driven by a 500% increase in bets placed on the 2024 NCAA women’s basketball championship finals.

According to the study, fans of women’s sports align with the next generation of fans, with 53% identifying as Gen Z/millennials, and 84% driven by a social-first approach. Notably, women’s sports fans drive significantly more social engagement than men’s sports and are more engaged when it comes to favorite players versus teams.

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March of Dimes is set to host its annual Sports Luncheon and awards presentation today at Cipriani 42nd Street in N.Y. from 11:30am-2:30pm ET, and three awards will be handed out -- the Corporate Leadership Award, the Sports Leadership Award and the March of Dimes Hero Award. The first honoree, Wasserman Chair & CEO and LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman, will be given the Corporate Leadership Award. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman will be honored with the Sports Leadership Award, while former NFLer Eli Manning will receive the March of Dimes Hero Award (SBJ).

The Flames honored  Johnny Gaudreau  prior to a Tuesday night matchup against the Blue Jackets. Gaudreau's parents, Guy and Jane, were "joined by their daughters Kristen and Katieand by [Gaudreau's wife] Meredith and her two kids." They stood at center ice for a ceremonial puck-drop, with Flames C Mikael Backlund and Blue Jackets C Sean Monahan. Post-game, Johnny "was announced as first star" (CALGARY HERALD, 12/3).

The Dallas Open announced Tennis HOFers Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis will play in the event’s annual exhibition Women’s Tennis Classic at The Star in Frisco at 8pm ET on Feb. 1 (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 12/3). 

The Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL went with the header, "Assumption High School to Louisville volleyball to ESPN: Katie George's path to Final Four." George "likes to be busy" -- she "did while in college at Louisville, balancing one of the most decorated volleyball careers in school history with local news internships at WLKY and a stint as Miss Kentucky USA." And she "does now," covering college football, the NBA, Premier Lacrosse, Formula 1, the United Football League and college volleyball for ESPN. This month, 12 years after her career with the Cards began, George will return to the KFC Yum! Center to cover the NCAA volleyball semifinals and championship. From "KIVA (Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy) to U of L to sports fans' television screens, volleyball is the through line connecting each phase of George’s life." Though George is already based in her hometown of Louisville, the tournament "feels like a perfectly timed homecoming."

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• Paul Sullivan: Latest nutty idea from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred -- the Golden At-Bat -- proves how little he cares about baseball fans.

• How Kate Scott built a résumé of many firsts, from broadcaster to Madden play-by-play.

"An early version of this novel was first published as a serial under the title 'The Year 1805.'"

"What is 'War and Peace'?"