Morning Buzz

The CAA World Congress of Sports returns to Los Angeles and the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, beginning Tuesday night with a Welcome Reception. More than 1,200 attendees are registered for the event, with two days of programming beginning Wednesday morning with a packed lineup of industry insiders. Guests for one-on-one conversations scheduled for Wednesday are MLS Commissioner Don Garber (interviewed by SBJ Publisher & Executive Editor Abe Madkour), Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria (hosted by Netflix host Elle Duncan), Fanatics Founder & CEO Michael Rubin (by MLB Deputy Commissioner, Business & Media, Noah Garden), Fox Sports CEO & Executive Producer Eric Shanks (by “The Herd” host Colin Cowherd), WWE President and TKO board member Nick Khan (by Madkour). Also for Wednesday, sessions on CMOS in the Spotlight, biggest issues facing the industry, the 2026 Class of SBJ Champions luncheon and roundtable, two sessions on creators, and a panel on women’s sports to cap the day. To see the full agenda, click here.

Using this week’s World Congress as a backdrop, The Team (formerly Wasserman) is launching an executive search/leadership advisory practice. Amy Segal, who has headed or handled recruitment at companies including Bloomberg, Edelman, Ogilvy & Mather, Sony Music Entertainment, Verizon, Turner, and Coca-Cola, will head the new unit, as managing director.

With the agency’s women-focused “The Collective” unit as backing, “what we do will certainly be all inclusive (gender-wise), but with The Collective, we tend to look at things as female first,” said Segal, adding that she has hired a handful of employees and already has some early assignments for the new practice.

The Team joins agency competitors like CAA, Excel Sports Management, Elevate and UEG, which have acquired or launched executive search capabilities in recent years.

“We went outside of sports quite intentionally to hire Amy,” said The Team President of Brands and Properties Elizabeth Lindsey. “Our idea is integrate search more naturally into our business units.”

The WNBA held its draft Monday night in front of a “room full of fans” that were “engaged enough to boo” during a trade. A few years ago, it was a “largely quiet affair,” but now the league has leveled up and made the draft a “true public event,” which came with the tradition of fans “booing as the commissioner makes a big announcement.” When WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the Valkyries traded No. 8 pick Flau’jae Johnson to the Storm, fans “reacted with gasps” and “boos,” which made for a “perfect moment for television.”

Portland Fire fans hoped for “someone recognizable.” The team selected two international players -- G Iyana Martín at No.7 and F Frieda Bühner at No. 17. The new franchise is tasked with “building an identity and connecting with fans just as much as filling out a roster.” It is “hard to bring in recognizable names through an expansion draft,” but Monday marked a “clear opportunity.” The Fire could have “used these picks to build some buzz and grow the budding fandom with a domestic college star -- a player who could feel like an immediate face of the franchise and help sell a few jerseys” (SI, 4/13). At the conclusion of the draft, Fire GM Vanja Černivec said that Martín will “not be coming to Portland for the 2026 WNBA season.” Černivec said that Martín “wants to focus on her mental health” and also wants to “focus on playing with the Spanish national team and training for the FIBA World Cup in September.” International players forgoing their first chance to play in the WNBA is “not entirely uncommon” (Portland OREGONIAN, 4/13).

The draft featured high fashion flair during the orange carpet as incoming rookies “expressed their individual personalities while strolling into the next chapter of their lives.” Monday night’s looks “spanned the gamut from dressy business pantsuits to full-on Hollywood-style glamour filled with designer labels.” The attention and detail given to the draft night outfits also is “good preparation for the ‘Tunnel Fits’ that have become a major part of WNBA marketing” with how the players look arriving for games during the season (AP, 4/13).

The UCLA women’s basketball team made history during draft night with five players selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft and six picked overall. First-round players were C Lauren Betts (No. 4, Mystics), F Gabriela Jaquez (No. 5, Sky) and F Angela Dugalic (No. 9, Mystics) and G Gianna Kneepkens (No. 15, Sun), while G Charlisse Leger-Walker, picked third in the second round by the Sun, rounded out the picks overall (L.A. TIMES, 4/13).

A little over a month after Geico signed UConn G Azzi Fudd to its first female athlete endorsement deal, the insurance company aligned Monday night with Fudd’s newest team -- the Wings. The multiyear sponsorship will make Geico an official sponsor of the team, with experiential gameday activations, team-wide storytelling and community pursuits. Geico, which was founded in Fort Worth, will become the presenting sponsor of Dallas Wings Youth Basketball Summer Camps and will join the Wings in other initiatives across North Texas. Already, the Wings are planning a 50% increase in youth programs this season alone.

Geico branding will similarly be seen in the Wings’ two home venues this season: College Park Center and three games at American Airlines Center. Both the Wings and Geico handled the deal in-house.

Fudd made her Geico debut in early March through virtual billboards at MSG prior to UConn’s game there against St. John’s. It was expected she would remain with Geico into her pro career. Fudd was drafted No. 1 overall by the Wings Monday night.

NEW YORK -- WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she “feels really good” about her relationship with the players as the league looks to move forward after a contentious labor negotiation. A seven-year labor deal through 2032 that features the first multimillion-dollar contracts in league history might have won over the players who had openly questioned the league’s leadership and Engelbert specifically.

Engelbert said the CBA long form, a document of 400-500 pages, should be completed “in the near term.” “Obviously there was a lot of postering going on, but I’m proud of what we accomplished together, and know we’re in a good spot,” she said in her annual pre-draft availability.

However, Engelbert did not take kindly to a question about her future, openly wondering if her gender played a role in the issue being repeatedly raised. “I wonder whether you would ask that of a man, by the way,” Engelbert replied to a female reporter. “But I realize as women we get asked different questions than men do. But look, I’m so proud of this league, and I’m here working really hard to make the 30th season our best ever and continue to build that sustainable economic model that we know we need for the future.”

Prior to a labor deal being reached, SBJ had reported that Engelbert was likely to exit following the CBA due to deteriorating relationships both inside and outside of the NBA league office. On March 25, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver praised Engelbert, though he added that talks had not begun as to whether she would return to her post in 2027.

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A newly announced $10B development planned directly on the Las Vegas Strip is being pitched as a “massive, year-round sports and entertainment hub -- and as a potential contender for an NBA-ready arena.” The 63-acre proposed site from Starr Vegas Development, Inc. would be “near Las Vegas Boulevard and Starr Avenue.” Plans include a proposed 50,000-seat soccer and concert stadium that could “expand to 60,000 for concerts and festivals.” The venue is intended to be purpose-built for MLS, USL, international soccer and major live events. The development also includes a “proposed 25,000-seat basketball and concert arena expandable to 30,000, with 100 VIP suites, robotic LED display systems and Dolby Atmos audio.” The arena is designed for hockey, combat sports, boxing, NBA, WNBA, college Final Four events and concerts, and it would “include an automated quick-turn configuration for 12,500-seat events” (NEWS3LV.com, 4/13).

The development group said that they have secured $6B in funding with In Tickets We Trust CEO Lou Weisbach. The partnership group also includes Larry Canarelli and K. Roohani, while the project cost is $10B in total (8NEWSNOW.com, 4/13).

NBC Sports will carry 17 matches from this year’s fourth edition of The Soccer Tournament (TST) across NBC, Peacock and NBCSN. The one-year deal will provide the seven-on-seven soccer event with its first appearance on live broadcast TV in the U.S.

TST had been an ESPN property for the past two seasons after debuting with NBC Sports in 2023. The event has grown to feature three $1M winner-take-all competitions -- men’s, women’s and mixed -- with a total of 76 participating teams. This year marks TST’s first year under a new agreement with U.S. Soccer. The national governing body led negotiations with NBC Sports.

The NBC broadcast network will carry four TST matches, with two each on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31. NBCSN, which in its current form is available through YouTube TV and Xfinity, will carry seven knockout matches, including the three championship games on June 1. Peacock will exclusively stream six knockout round contests, while also carrying all NBC and NBCSN matches. All non-NBC Sports games will stream live on YouTube.

TST’s men’s tournament for 2026 is headlined by entries from Liga MX’s Club America, La Liga’s Villarreal CF and a group of all-stars from Kings League. The women’s tournament features a team of former U.S. women’s national team players, as well as a team led by former USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo and the NWSL’s NC Courage. The new mixed competition features the Wrexham Red Dragons and a team led by former USMNT player Landon Donovan.

WWE has launched an annual membership program called “Club WWE” that will give fans exclusive access to a variety of perks. The membership fee was not disclosed. The program was revealed Monday on “RAW,” with the announcement coming via John Cena.

Members will get early access to merchandise drops and 24-hour early access for tickets for premium live events and shows, along with bonus behind-the-scenes content. The program also will include a members-only online fan community and a points-based rewards system for future purchases.

Fans can join a waitlist for the program, with founding members receiving a welcome pack upon registering. The waitlist signup asked for contact info and the respondent’s favorite WWE performer.

Basketball royalty was visible throughout The Culver Theatre in L.A. on Monday night for a VIP showing of Prime’s new documentary, “Jerry West: The Logo.” The doc debuts Thursday, April 16, and is directed by Kenya Barris (“Black-ish”). Over the two hours, West is very candid, reflective and emotional about his private struggles with depression, loss, divorce and parenthood. Sons Ryan and Jonnie West spoke before the premiere, as did Barris and Amazon’s Jared Stacy. Spotted at the event were members of West’s family, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis, Mitch Kupchak, Arn and Nancy Tellem, Elgin Baylor, Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Lon Rosen, Gillian Zucker, Vlade Divac, John Blake, Jim Gray, Lee Zeidman, John Shaw and many others (SBJ).

The NBA and NBPA created the first league-wide biomechanics program in pro sports, using motion capture cameras and force plates to help prevent injuries and improve player performance -- and the league recently invited SBJ senior reporter Joe Lemire to try it out.

ESPN’s Dick Vitale said that biopsy results Monday had confirmed a diagnosis of melanoma in his lung and liver cavity, which will “have him starting immunotherapy.” It marks his fifth battle with cancer, which sidelined him from the airwaves for two years before his return shortly before March Madness in 2025. He posted on social media that he had gone through 10 days of testing that “included scans, MRIs, bloodwork and a biopsy.” Vitale: “I obviously did not get the report today that I was hoping for when my oncologist called.” He noted that he planned on “winning the battle.” He added, “Now at least I know what I face.” Vitale said in his ESPN statement that he “feels ‘fantastic.’” And he “quickly turned the focus of his statement to his long-running efforts to raise money for pediatric cancer research,” notably with next month’s annual gala in his name that has raised more than $105M in its two-decade history (AP, 4/13).

“In the 1850s it was part of the Granadine Confederation; today it’s named for a man who never set foot in the country.”