Good afternoon, here’s what we’re following at SBJ Today:
- Athletes First wins NFL Draft’s first round with nine selections
- NFL Draft draws record first-round crowd in Pittsburgh, shattering previous mark
- Jason Benetti is ‘THE guy’ for the job
- Plus: Goodell talks big topics ahead of NFL Draft; PGA Tour lays off 4% of staff; GivenGain, Let’s Do This partner on AI integration
Start your morning with Buzzcast with Abe Madkour: A record night in Pittsburgh; Athletes First reps leading nine first-round picks and an AD opening at top ACC school. Listen >>
THE BIG STORY
Opens in new windowAthletes First wins NFL Draft’s first round with nine selections
Athletes First returned to the top of the agency leaderboards in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft from Pittsburgh. The Laguna Hills-based agency finished the night with nine selections in its first victory in three years, putting an end to CAA Sports’ two-year win streak in dominant fashion, SBJ’s Irving Mejia Hilario writes.
The agency represented two picks within the top five and four within the top 10. Clients selected include Jets DE David Bailey, Cardinals RB Jeremiyah Love, Chiefs CB Mansoor Delane, Browns OL Spencer Fano, Ravens OL Vega Ioane, Buccaneers DE Rueben Bain Jr., Vikings DT Caleb Banks, Steelers OT Max Iheanachor and Titans DE Keldric Faulk. The agency’s Travis Allen and Kyle McCarthy stood above most of the field, representing three clients each. It’s among one of, if not, the best performance Athletes First has ever had in an NFL Draft, topping its 2020, 2021 and 2023 draft classes, which each had eight selections.
Still, none other than Ryan Tollner and Excel Sports had the privilege of claiming the top selection, Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza. Tollner also had a successful night, also representing Cowboys S Caleb Downs and Panthers OT Monroe Freeling, tying him for first place among agents for the most clients represented.
5 STORIES WE’RE WATCHING
1. NFL Draft draws record first-round crowd in Pittsburgh, shattering previous mark: A “record number of people” attended the first day of the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh on Thursday, with more than 320,000 turning out for the festivities. The previous record was set by Detroit in 2024, when more than 275,000 fans attended Day 1.
2. Jason Benetti is ‘THE guy’ for the job: Even with all of his career success — a plum job at Fox Sports, acclaim for his work as the lead TV voice of the Detroit Tigers and previously the Chicago White Sox, and an 11-year run at ESPN calling multiple sports — Jason Benetti acknowledges that this moment with NBC is the biggest one of his career.
3. Goodell talks ref negotiations, Vrabel, 18-game season and more ahead of NFL Draft: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appeared on ESPN prior to the start of the 2026 Draft and talked about some of the key issues facing the league at the moment.
4. PGA Tour lays off 4% of staff amid organizational right-sizing: The PGA Tour laid off 56 full-time employees on Thursday as the organization goes through a right-sizing amid its new for-profit structure, according to people with knowledge of the tour’s operations.
5. GivenGain, Let’s Do This partner on AI integrated registration, fundraising platform: GivenGain has announced a partnership with Let’s Do This, an AI registration platform, to introduce an end-to-end experience that connects registration and fundraising for participants, charities and event organizers.
ON THE MOVE
- The Univ. of Oklahoma named Jared Boyd as the women’s basketball program’s first GM. Boyd spent the 2025-26 season as GM at Texas Tech (The Oklahoman).
- Virginia Tech AD Whit Babcock announced his retirement from the role. He will transition from his role, effective June 30. Beginning July 1, Babcock will continue serving VT as AD Emeritus (Virginia Tech).
- The Univ. of Kentucky announced Thursday retiring AD Mitch Barnhart -- who was “set to move” to a new role as Exec in Residence for the UK Sport and Workforce Initiative on July 1 -- “will no longer take that job” (Lexington Herald-Leader).
NAMES IN THE NEWS
- Andrea Agnelli, one of the architects of European football’s controversial Super League, is “launching a comeback as a sports investor.” Agnelli has established Amsterdam-based Gamma Waves Partners, an investment firm that will “target opportunities in innovative sports competitions and formats, as well as teams and athletes” (Financial Times).
- No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Fernando Mendoza is “donating $500,000″ and “launching a fund in support of research into multiple sclerosis,” an ailment that his mother, Elsa, lives with (Las Vegas Review-Journal).
- Toronto-based CJCL-AM sportscaster Eric Smith told the hosts of Sportsnet’s “The Fan Morning Show” on Thursday that a stench from artist Drake’s two “Iceman” chairs inside Scotiabank Arena “was so strong that organizers were forced to remove them before the season’s final game last week” (Toronto Stars).
HOT READS
SI went with the header, “Val Ackerman’s Exit Leaves College Hoops Searching for Its Next Champion.” Ackerman, who announced her retirement as Big East commissioner this week, “became one of the foremost advocates” for basketball “across every level.” From the “entire women’s side to the men’s professional ranks, to guiding her league back from the brink of extinction to numerous national championships, there have been few areas where she has not left a mark over the course of her 13-year tenure with the Big East and beyond.”
Also:
- How the Montreal Victoire is experiencing a breakthrough third season, on and off the ice.
- Matt Cord is ready to retire — thanks to Marc Zumoff — after a 28-year career that included auditioning for his own job.
- After missing the NHL playoffs again, how should Kraken fans feel?