SBJ Unpacks: Labor talks loom over MLB free agency

Tonight in Unpacks: Fresh out of MLB’s Winter Meetings, SBJ’s Mike Mazzeo looks at the questions facing players and teams during the final offseason before the collective bargaining agreement expires.

Also tonight:

• The NBA Cup is taking bids for 2026 final
• Texans, BMW plan ultra-premium clubs at NRG Stadium
• Omaha, ESPN keep innovating on ‘ManningCast’
• Op-ed: Notre Dame’s Pete Bevacqua — maverick or hero?

Listen to SBJ’s most popular podcast, Morning Buzzcast, where Abe Madkour discusses the future of the NBA Cup Finals, the latest on mixed-use sports projects in New York City and Atlanta, the Stars’ building their case for a new arena on premium experiences and more.

As Yankees GM Brian Cashman described it before the 2025 Winter Meetings ended, the free-agency market is moving at a “glacial speed.”

The 2026 season will be the final one under MLB’s current collective-bargaining agreement, with labor uncertainty and a potential lockout ahead.

However, super agent Scott Boras, who is negotiating deals for several clients, was not concerned teams would curtail spending as a result.

“Historically, I’ve done major contracts, mainly because owners should be more concerned about the ebbs and flows of talent,” Boras said last week. “Because that’s what operates success in this industry.”

He then joked: “I haven’t been able to get a clause in a contract lately that they have to pay players during strikes, so it mitigates the primary concern.”

There was no Juan Soto-caliber deal from the Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek. However, there was significant free-agent activity, as the Phillies kept designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (five years, $150 million), while the Mets lost closer Edwin Diaz to the Dodgers (three years, $69 million) and first baseman Pete Alonso to the Orioles (five years, $155 million).

Here are five questions from the Winter Meetings:

What is the Mets’ plan?

A year ago, the Mets gave Boras client Soto the largest contract in the history of professional sports (15 years, $765 million). They also retained Alonso after a contentious negotiation. Add it all to the team’s unlikely postseason run in 2024, and New York managed to draw 3 million fans to Citi Field for the first time in 15 seasons. Yet a late-season collapse with MLB’s second-highest payroll ($340 million) and luxury taxes ($89 million) led to changes being inevitable.

When owner Steve Cohen bought the Mets, he aspired to be the Dodgers of the East Coast. That didn’t include losing a key reliever to the two-time defending World Series champions. And the Mets ultimately didn’t want to give Alonso, a Boras client, fan favorite and the team’s all-time home run leader, the term he desired. The Mets have even more work to do as a result. Cohen is going to have to finish the offseason with another bang after the losses of beloved players.

If the Orioles can spend, why can’t other small-market teams?

The Orioles were a middle-of-the-pack payroll team ($165 million) last year, but made a massive statement in signing Alonso. Baltimore appears to be pursuing starting pitching as well.

You can certainly hear the union saying, “If Baltimore can spend, why can’t others?”

At the bottom of MLB’s payroll rankings, the Pirates (No. 27 at $87 million) and Marlins (last at $69 million) are reportedly going to spend money this offseason. Pittsburgh was apparently in on Schwarber, as were the Reds, hoping to increase ticket sales by bringing their hometown player in, and the Orioles before turning to Alonso.

Agents told The Athletic that the aim of the Pirates and Marlins spending more was to get additional revenue sharing in the next CBA. The teams, though, contended they plan to be opportunistic. Given their histories, it remains to be seen whether it is talk or action.

Miami, which receives about $70 million in revenue sharing, believed it had followed CBA rules last spring by improving its technological and training infrastructure, despite not spending 150% of those funds on its actual roster, and thereby avoiding a grievance. The union could look to change that language, making it more specific in the next CBA.

The Cardinals, projected to be a revenue-sharing recipient for the first time amid back-to-back losing seasons and decreases in attendance and local RSN revenue, appear to be in rebuilding mode. The Tigers had an incredible business year across the board, finishing second in local TV ratings and opening a premium space behind home plate, yet the future of ace Tarik Skubal is uncertain.

MLB Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark told reporters on Dec. 4 that formal bargaining will begin in the spring. The union is vehemently opposed to a salary cap.

“Knowing that there are teams who have the wherewithal to compete that choose not to, and how that affects the industry,” Clark said, according to The Associated Press. “In an industry where not all 30 teams are committed to that, what does that mean? Are there things that we can do to address those concerns? There are.”

Is there a new super power in the AL East?

Fresh off their heartbreaking Game 7 loss in the Fall Classic, the Blue Jays and Rogers Communications appear to be increasing payroll after finishing fifth last season at $266 million.

They aggressively landed starting pitcher Dylan Cease (seven years, $210 million) and introduced him at a press conference in Orlando. Toronto also hosted potential $400 million man Kyle Tucker at its spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., on Dec. 3. With recently renovated facilities and an unexpected postseason run, Toronto has become a destination.

The Yankees have their own roster vacancies, and while most teams are envious of their budget, owner Hal Steinbrenner indicated last month that it would be “ideal” if the team could stay under a $300 million payroll in 2026.

With the Red Sox also pursuing talent and the Orioles very active, it should be a competitive year in the AL East.

Are the Dodgers ruining baseball?

The Dodgers were widely seeking bullpen help. It just wasn’t expected that they would land Diaz. Yet, two days after a fan was spotted wearing a “There Is No Crying In Payroll” T-shirt, Los Angeles was adding to its ledger after spending a record $509 million ($341 million in salaries and $168 million in luxury taxes) in 2025.

“You can see why the Dodgers are Goliath,” Boras said. “They went and got something [bullpen help] they really, really needed. And, obviously, it had appeal. I can imagine what they said and why they said it. And I’m sure there was a goal on the part of the player that maybe he felt he could achieve his goals differently with the Dodgers than the Mets.”

The Dodgers, with their big spending, have been accused of ruining baseball. Manager Dave Roberts raised eyebrows when he told Amazon Prime that he was in favor of a salary cap, which includes a floor that would force small-market teams to spend, comments he defended at the Winter Meetings.

“I just think we have an organization that whatever the rules and constrictions are, we’re going to dominate,” Roberts said.

After attracting two-way star Shohei Ohtani to Los Angeles, the Dodgers have taken what was already a successful business and baseball operation and moved it into another stratosphere, drawing more than 4 million fans in 2025 and generating $200 million in sponsorship revenue, becoming the first team in North American professional sports to reach the benchmark. Over the last two offseasons, they have invested $141 million on closers alone.

Which Boras clients could be next?

Boras thinks the market will still be fruitful for his clients. And by the end of the Winter Meetings, things seemed to be trending in the right direction. Boras was still negotiating offseason deals for third baseman Alex Bregman, starting pitcher Ranger Suarez, outfielder and first baseman Cody Bellinger, Japanese starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai, Zac Gallen and Japanese corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto, all of whom figure to cash in.

“I don’t know of a CBA where an owner came out and said things are going to be so much worse that I’m concerned about the longevity of the contract I just agreed to prior to the new CBA,” Boras said. “Because the only thing that even major-market teams are concerned about are luxury taxes or how that’s going to evolve. So it’s usually that they believe the outcome of the CBA is going to be more beneficial to them than the prior one. So that’s why I don’t think you see clubs hesitate to where they’re going to sacrifice a year or miss out on a talent that won’t be available for 5-6 years because of that.”

LAS VEGAS -- Sin City just had its third shot at the NBA Cup, and even though the Spurs and Knicks brought the house down in Tuesday night’s final, the house is still the main problem.

Last Saturday afternoon’s Knicks-Magic semifinal at T-Mobile Arena was only about three-quarters full (the final box score said, “Not Yet Counted”), while the Thunder-Spurs nightcap was an announced sellout of 18,519 even though hundreds of fans in the rafters never made it. But you get what you get with a neutral court, which is why the league is: A) definitely taking next year’s NBA Cup semifinals out of the city; and B) probably isn’t bringing back the final, either and C), in a new revelation, is considering moving future finals to “storied” college arenas.

“I can understand where the NBA might feel like, ‘Well, let’s try an alternative to Vegas and see what happens,’” said Steve Hill, President & CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “They may feel bringing fans and teams from the East Coast every year to the West Coast is not really a balanced approach, and they want to do something on the east side of the country and then come back and do something on the west side. All of those things are understandable.”

Some four-odd years ago, when the NBA was dreaming up its in-season tournament Final Four, sources said cities on the short list were Vegas, Seattle, Tampa, Austin, Honolulu and San Diego. Considering Commissioner Adam Silver has long espoused that the Las Vegas summer league is his 31st franchise, the choice was easy back then. Until it wasn’t.

The tournament’s debut of 2023 was saved by LeBron James and the Lakers, who have long made Vegas their home away from home. “Without the Lakers, I think it would’ve been tough to fill the arena,” Hill said. A Laker-less 2024 benefited by moving the semifinals from a Thursday to a Saturday -- though not enough to sway an Amazon/NBA/NBPA/League Sponsor roundtable from deciding (even before this year’s event) to move the 2026 Cup semifinals to home markets.

Amazon’s Prime Video definitely has a voice in all of this. After the NBA Cup became the only tentpole event attached to their $1.93B annual package, Amazon executives flew in for the December ’24 event and appeared unmoved by the in-arena atmosphere. “I can tell you, they wanted the place to be going bananas, and it wasn’t,” one team exec said.

Jared Stacy, Amazon’s director of global live sports production, made it clear he thinks Vegas “is a great basketball town with a lot of rich history,” but he also said this past week, “I think one of the things we collectively liked about home semis is that you get a game with stakes in front of a home crowd.

“I don’t have the metrics to give you, but if you’re watching at home and you see a crowd that’s on fire, it’s more fun and entertaining for the viewer at home. ... And [semis in home markets] also allows you to have the games not as spaced out. So if you have two semifinals on a Saturday, we can get pretty quickly from one game to the next and kind of have a full day of basketball. So we like that a lot.”

The NBA seems to agree, with the league’s Head of Basketball Strategy & Growth Evan Wasch saying they’ve noticed the juice in home arenas during the quarterfinals and are swapping next year’s semis to the markets of the higher seeds “to capture that magic for one additional round while still having the neutral site championship as that celebration of basketball.”

On the surface, then, the league doesn’t want to give up at least on the neutral court title game, which might be why Amazon suggested moving the finals to “storied college arenas.” Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday night: “I like the idea...We’re just looking at other ways we could do this.’’

There are valid reasons for the league to hold on tight. Along with the All-Star and Global games, the Emirates NBA Cup is a rare tentpole event that fans can book far in advance -- this year from 16 countries. The league’s Head of Global Events Kelly Flatow rattled off a list of activations, from a Hoop Bus to NBA Experiences to a courtside dinner with Chris Bosh, all designed to reel people into Vegas this past week. Problem was the city hosted the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (and Cowboy Christmas) the same weekend.

In other words, between the perfume, cigarette smoke and alcohol in the casinos and the showgirls, concerts and horses on the strip, basketball can sometimes take a little bit of a backseat.

For that reason -- even with a sellout for Tuesday’s Spurs-Knicks final -- it’s a fair bet the NBA Cup doesn’t return to Vegas in ’26, and Flatow admitted there’s other cities (which she wouldn’t name) “interested” in bidding for next year’s championship game, including Vegas again. Magic G Desmond Bane nominated Hawaii, Austin and San Diego, while former Sonic Gary Payton offered up expansion hopeful Seattle -- which raised an obvious question: If Vegas can’t keep the NBA Cup, is it even a legitimate expansion city itself?

“Seriously,” the team exec said. “How do you have Vegas expansion if you can’t get the Vegas market to show up and show out?”

Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley remained steadfast, saying “I look forward to cheering on an NBA franchise of our very own in the near future.” And while her compatriot Hill said, “Las Vegas is really the only city in the world that has the resources to treat 20,000 people at a time like a VIP,” he also guessed even the NBA Cup Final could eventually wind up in home markets.

“We love having it here, and if that turns into a rotation, we understand that,” he said. “And if it also turns into, no, we really need to have it in the city of one of the teams that’s playing, I get it, too. Particularly when you play semifinals on Saturday and the finals on Tuesday. It’s going to be a little bit tougher to bring people to Vegas from across the country potentially.

“The fact that they chose Las Vegas to come here first and to try it here first, that’s what really matters to us. Now, we certainly hope to be able to keep the event, and we think it’s been really successful. But we understand that they may look at alternatives, too.”

The Texans will launch sales Tuesday for two high-end hospitality clubs on the field level inside NRG Stadium, including an offering that features a chauffeur from customers’ homes to the game. Both products are branded by BMW, the team’s official luxury car sponsor which received these assets in a contract extension. With membership prices well into the five figures annually to start, the products are intended to address a shortage of modern corporate entertainment spaces in the 23-year-old stadium.

“You look at Houston, we have one of the most robust corporate communities in the country,” said Texans President Mike Tomon. “These smaller-to-midsized businesses and Fortune 500 companies are looking for unique ways to entertain clients or reward employees, and candidly we had a void there.”

Created by overhauling a 6,000-square foot space formerly used by concessionaire Aramark for storage, the BMW Lone Star Ballroom includes field access before and after the game, food and beverage, valet parking, gifts and access to Texans legends and other VIP guests. Up to 45 memberships will be sold for an initiation fee that starts at $20,000 and an annual fee starting at $60,000.

Within the ballroom space is a small speakeasy style club with room for 11 members. That is dubbed the BMW M Club Blue, which includes all the trappings of the bigger ballroom, but with a chauffeur picking up members at their homes that day, plus a view of the visitor’s tunnel at NRG Stadium. Members of the BMW M Club Blue also will receive a trip to BMW’s Ultimate Driving Experience in South Carolina.

An initiation fee there starts at $40,000 with annual membership going for $100,000 or more. Members to both clubs can bring three guests. The clubs are sold as add-ons to other tickets or suites, Tomon said.

Populous designed the clubs. With a major renovation to the stadium possibly coming, Tomon said there’s still more work for the Texans to match the potential demand for corporate hospitality at NRG Stadium. Also, he said, these new spaces will help seed expectations for a renovated stadium. “I don’t think we satisfy the appetite in this market with just these products, but it’s absolutely a step in the right direction.”

The “ManningCast” is approaching the end of its fifth season. It’s an impressive feat for an alt-cast, especially one that has 10 episodes a season. Most alt-casts are one-offs or annual events. Think about “Funday Football” (Toy Story, Simpsons, Monsters, Inc.) on ESPN or the EA “MaddenCast” on Peacock or “SlimeCast” on Nickelodeon.

“It’s certainly the most unique show I’ve ever worked on, and at the end of the day, it’s all about the authenticity with Peyton and Eli,” said Scott Matthews, an ESPN producer on the “ManningCast.” “Every show is unique, and sometimes it’s the guests and sometimes it’s the demos and the breakdowns. ... Every time I walk out on a Monday night out of our control room, it has felt like a different show, and I think that’s part of the reason it’s been so successful.”

So, how do Omaha Productions and ESPN keep the show fresh? Beyond leaning on the interplay between Peyton and Eli, a few tech innovations have been utilized make things fun for viewers. In 2023, the Augmented Reality Table debuted, and that evolved into a “white board” that the Mannings continue to use (aka Telestratin’ Manning).

This season, the innovation came in the form of XR tech, where it seems like Peyton or Eli are actually in the screen diagramming a play for viewers (almost like they are in a VR setting). If you haven’t checked out the tech, give it a look here.

“The goal at all times is ‘don’t get in their way,’” said Alex Tyner, who leads innovation at Omaha. “The [Mannings] are what it’s all about. It’s their chemistry, it’s their ability, and they’re so good at what they do. And so, what tools can we provide them?”

Tyner’s desire to see the Mannings on a field during the broadcast led to the XR tech use. “I’ve always been excited about the idea of getting Peyton and Eli on the field behind the line of scrimmage and find whatever way we can to give that perspective and show what it looks like to be Pat Mahomes or to be Aaron Rodgers or to be the quarterback and what are they facing and what are they seeing,” Tyner said. “It’s that game of chess. So, the purpose of the XR shoot was exactly that. And so, because it was important to us with green in front of them and see the players and see the play, it was very important for us not to shoot this with green screen. It was very important to us to do it as an XR shoot, which of course means that it’s done with LED screens.”

Finding the right balance

Just because one can use new tech doesn’t mean they should, and that’s a balancing act for the show. “What we always try to do is bring a viewer closer to the mind of Peyton and Eli,” said Omaha Productions Executive Producer Sam Pepper. “[XR] is the first one that gave us a true quarterback perspective before the snap takes place.”

“It’s another item in the toolbox, and it’s certainly one of our more unique items that we’re able to use on a show-to-show basis,” Matthews said.

Another benefit of the alt-cast is that these QB explanations take time — something that the main feed may not have as the next play is under way. “It does take time and there are times when you’re using it and you’re like the game — the live game at that moment — becomes secondary,” Pepper said. “But it’s only for 45 seconds or a minute. ... Our setup definitely gives a better opportunity for it to be used.”

Pepper also lauded the communication and relationship with ESPN on the “ManningCast,” noting he speaks with ESPN folks every day during the season. “Every conversation is a joint venture, and their goals are the same as ours,” he said. “That’s one of the things that helps is that this is a constant communication and constant partnership.”

Last week was a pivotal one in the college athletics mixed-use development world, with Ole Miss and Texas launching RFP processes that will undoubtedly draw significant interest.

North Carolina is not far behind, with plans to issue an RFP in January seeking a master developer for Carolina North, the 250-acre parcel two miles north of the university’s main campus. Carolina North isn’t as clear cut an athletics-related project as those at Ole Miss and Texas, but the development has been pegged as a potential landing spot for a new Tar Heel basketball arena.

To finally jumpstart the Carolina North development process — the concept was first publicly mentioned in 2008! — the university hired RCLCo in the fall to consult on planning and implementation strategies and plans.

An update given to the UNC Board of Trustees’ University Affairs committee in mid-November noted that the Carolina North funding mix will vary by project, but it could include public-private partnerships in addition to fully university-funded efforts. The development will, or could, entail:

• Undergraduate and graduate student housing
• Workforce housing
• Retail
• Hotel
• New athletics facilities
• Expanded academic and research programs and facilities

UNC’s Board of Trustees — chaired by former Wasserman, NBA G League exec and Vanderbilt AD (and Chapel Hill grad) Malcolm Turner — also heard a pitch in July from a group of investors interested in putting a cricket oval at the new development.

Populous produced a site study for the university over a year ago, which targeted five potential new sites, including Carolina North, as well as addressing whether the Tar Heel basketball’s 39-year-old Dean Smith Center could be suitably renovated.

Takeaways from a week of announcements

• Whether the Carolina North project includes an arena or not, the developer RFQ/RFP will draw major interest. If the scope does include a new basketball arena, it will provide an excellent test case for a theory I’ve been hearing: There are no stronger brands right now than those in sports, and when they’re associated with a fixed place and experience, they become intellectual property. Carolina basketball is easily one of the strongest brands in college athletics, and a new arena at Carolina North could incorporate Tar Heel basketball culture and history, as well as the Jordan brand, in a meaningful and, frankly, incredible way. It’s easy to envision a state-of-the-art Carolina basketball museum and an immersive Jordan experience sitting steps away from any new arena.
• At Ole Miss, the stadium-adjacent project proposal is more standard college-athletics development fare, but a few similarities between the Carolina North project and what Texas proposed — a new, small-scale arena and athlete student housing, both next to Moody Center — jump out to me. Both RFPs include (potential) sports venues and some basic mixed-use real estate elements (retail, for example). But both also include student housing, which is a distinct developer skillset and market, and in UNC’s case, the university wants to create an entirely new section of campus. North Carolina’s campus is idyllic. It’s also 236 years old. Will UNC find a developer or team of developers interested in and capable of taking on that kind of project while also proficient in navigating the public university realm (and all its incumbent intricacies)?
• Another thought: These RFPs make the strategy behind Hunt’s acquisition of Carter, which I reported earlier this year, suddenly clearer. Carter brings sports-related mixed-use development expertise to the table, while Hunt is an established student-housing developer. Will we see more such business combinations, whether acquisitions, mergers or partnerships, as the real estate industry tries to jump on the sports-adjacent mixed-use opportunity? Or will we see just project-by-project consortiums? Either way, it’s clear that these college mixed-use projects require some distinct skills that aren’t required in pro sports.
• Regarding the Texas RFP, my first thought was whether Oak View Group would compete for the project. Recall that it was the Moody Center project that, seven years later, landed OVG co-founder and former CEO Tim Leiweke in hot water with the Department of Justice, until his, well, let’s call it unexpected pardon by President Donald Trump earlier this month. That said, OVG’s pioneering public-private partnership with the university on Moody Center appears to have been a categorical success, instantly becoming one of the top grossing concert venues of its size in the world. OVG brought development and operational capabilities that few firms possess, but it’s unclear if OVG is as eager to develop new venues in the post-Leiweke era under new CEO Chris Granger.

The sports business has never been short on critics of change. It has always been short on people willing to absorb the criticism required to make change happen.

Last week was one of those rare moments when multiple change agents surfaced at once.

Michael Jordan secured a decisive settlement with NASCAR, forcing the implementation of permanent, team-friendly charters after months of derision from commentators who accused him of disrespecting tradition. Bob Iger announced a sweeping partnership with OpenAI — almost exactly 20 years after he was ridiculed for the tradition-breaking iTunes deal to sell Disney content digitally. Notre Dame, under Pete Bevacqua, chose honesty and independence over applause. Different domains. Same pattern.

The pattern is simple: The people who change systems are attacked first by those who don’t understand them.

We’ve seen it before. Jerry Jones was vilified in the 1990s for his lawsuit challenging the NFL’s sponsorship cartel, until it delivered the modern system that added billions to all team valuations. Rupert Murdoch was mocked for “grotesquely overpaying” for the NFC, willingly losing money on NFL rights to turn his nascent upstart Fox into a Big Four network in a single deal.

Michael Jordan’s NASCAR fight belongs squarely in this lineage. He didn’t just win a settlement — he changed the structure of the sport, just as he changed basketball, player endorsement economics and brand ownership before it. The same commentators who scoffed months ago now praise the outcome, quietly forgetting their earlier certainty.

Had any of them listened to the outrage merchants, the Cowboys wouldn’t be the most valuable franchise in sports, Fox wouldn’t be a Big Four network and NASCAR owners would still be leasing their team ownership.

Which brings us to Notre Dame and Pete Bevacqua.

Notre Dame is a one-of-one asset. Its value has never come from conformity or conference safety. It comes from scarcity, independence and leadership willing to protect the brand, especially when it’s unpopular. That is why it enjoys the richest and most flexible position in college sports — and why myopic criticism consistently misses the point.

Arguments like the ones put forward by the sport’s loudest critics reek of a broader failure of commentary: confusing conformity and decorum with value and insight. By their logic, the Cowboys’ three-decade-long Super Bowl drought should disqualify Jerry Jones from business leadership — conveniently ignoring the fact that during the same period, his franchise became, and remains, the most valuable on Earth.

My gut tells me that while the carnival barkers make their rounds excoriating Pete, he is constructing Notre Dame’s — and by extension, college football’s — future.

Because the doers build, the observers yap and then history rewards. Jerry Jones. Michael Jordan. Bob Iger. Rupert Murdoch. And now Pete Bevacqua.

They absorb the noise, change the system and years later, everyone claims they saw it coming.

History tends to remember today’s villains as tomorrow’s heroes.

That’s why weeks like this matter: They reveal who is building for the next decade (meteors) — and who is still arguing about the last one (dinosaurs).

Charlie Ebersol is founder of global sports technology company Infinite Athlete, which was recently acquired by Exos. He serves on the board of TMRW Sports and works as an adviser across professional sports.

• ESPN has made a number of promotions and changes in responsibility within its communications team under EVP Josh Krulewitz, promoting Derek Volner to VP/communications and Andy Hall to senior director/communications, reports SBJ’s Austin Karp.
• The Braves are adding six private, open-air boxes, each with seating for 20 to 25 fans, in left field at Truist Park, notes SBJ’s Bret McCormick.
• McCormick also writes that Proof of the Pudding’s multimillion-dollar acquisition of RS3 Hospitality — the Texas-based concessionaire started by Baseball HOFer Nolan Ryan and run by his son, Reid — is the latest in a string of under-the-radar purchases by the Atlanta-based F&B provider.
• Private equity firm Arctos Partners is backing Minor League Baseball holding company Prospector Baseball Group, serving as PBG’s lead financial and strategic partner, notes SBJ’s Chris Smith.
• MLB Chief Operations & Strategy Officer Chris Marinak, an SBJ Forty Under 40 HOFer, is leaving after 17 years in the league office to pursue new opportunities, reports SBJ’s Mike Mazzeo.
• Weave, a Venice Beach-based NIL agency founded by veteran agent Mike Naiditch and NBPA agent Daniel Poneman, launched a division focused on women’s basketball, writes SBJ’s Irving Mejia-Hilario.