Tonight in Unpacks: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL will continue to support the Rooney Rule despite Florida’s attorney general labelling the league guidance as illegal, reports SBJ’s Ben Fischer.
Also tonight:
- Tiger Woods steps away from PGA Tour committee
- Nike CEO Hill asks for patience as shares hit lowest price since 2015
- The Power Players of the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- Op-ed: America’s coming decade of sports diplomacy
Listen to SBJ’s most popular podcast, Morning Buzzcast, where Abe Madkour examines the early days of the ABS system in MLB, Las Vegas hosting the Super Bowl for the second time in five years, North Carolina postponing discussions on the Dean Dome’s future and more.
Nike’s Elliott Hill asks for patience amid yearslong turnaround effort
Nike President and CEO Elliott Hill pleaded for patience from investors Tuesday as the embattled sportswear giant continues a yearslong “Win Now” turnaround process that’s focused on repairing wholesale relationships and overhauling product offerings. Hill acknowledged that he hoped for quicker progress, but that the company is seeing indications of success, even if its finances continue to lag.
“We’re even more convinced now that the ‘Win Now’ actions were, and remain, the right strategic moves,” Hill told analysts on Nike’s Q3 earnings call. “These are deliberate actions. We are not just fixing — we’re building brand by band, sport by sport. ... I will acknowledge that parts of it are taking longer than I’d like, but we believe in the direction. We’re moving with urgency and the foundation is getting stronger. I feel great about that.”
In after-hours trading, Nike shares fell more than 9% from $52.82 to around $48, the company’s lowest share price since 2015.
More specifically, Hill pointed to recent success in running (up more than 20% in the quarter), in wholesale (up 5%) and in North America (up 3%). But he also highlighted continued challenges in China, where revenue fell 7% with declines across all product categories, and with Converse. That subsidiary saw revenue fall 35% to $264M, though it’s just a small, single-digit percentage of Nike’s total business.
Overall, Nike reported revenue of $11.3B for its third quarter, the three months through the end of February. That was roughly flat over the same time period last year. Pretax income was down 23%, and net income was down 35% year-over-year. The decline in earnings was partly driven by Nike’s continued efforts to clear out its inventory of classic models, like the Air Force 1 and Jordan 1.
“That created a roughly five-point headwind to our reported results,” Hill said. “It was intentional. It was necessary. And though it weighed on the quarter, it is improving the health of the marketplace, the quality of our revenue and the foundation for more sustainable growth ahead.”
Nike CFO Matt Friend also provided new guidance on the year to come. He suggested challenges abroad will continue in the near-term, with revenue in China projected to fall 20% in the current quarter. But he also noted that Nike will complete its “Win Now” actions by the end of 2026 and expects the company’s margins will demonstrate growth this fall.
“That is a big moment for us, as we’ve been navigating through the costs of the ‘Win Now’ actions and dealing with the newly implemented tariffs,” Friend said. “I think our confidence in margins inflecting positively ... really sets the table for an inflection in earnings.”
MLBPA totals $519.3M in assets in 2025
With a season to go before a likely labor battle with the league, the MLB Players’ Association amassed total assets of $519.3M in 2025, up from $353.1M in 2024, according to its annual LM-2 filing with the Dept. of Labor. Assets rose $166M year-over-year, a jump of nearly 47%, as the union stockpiles cash ahead of the next round of labor negotiations.
The union has continued withholding group licensing checks from players while building its war chest as a lockout looms, with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire in December. MLB teams have amassed a war chest of about $2B combined. The union’s total liabilities for 2025 were $7.8M compared to $4.9M in 2024.
Former executive director Tony Clark made $3.58M in 2025, his final year at the helm before his sudden resignation. Interim Exec Dir Bruce Meyer made $1.56M in 2025, his final year as Deputy. Interim Deputy Matt Nussbaum made nearly $917,000 in 2025 when he was General Counsel. Total employee disbursements for the MLBPA in 2025 were $26.6M.
Top payees were Fanatics at $106M (from $94.4M in 2024), OneTeam Partners at $40.2M (from $44.5M) and MLB Advanced Media at $16.7M (from $16.2M).
Power Players: FIFA World Cup 2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been nearly a decade in the making and is poised to be the largest sporting event ever staged by most measures. With 48 teams, 104 matches and 16 host cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the commercial and operational scale of the tournament is unprecedented. Making it a reality will require coordination across venues, sponsors, governments, media partners and a wide range of vendors over a 40-day competition.
The individuals recognized in this Power Players list are key leaders, advisers and decision-makers responsible for executing that vision. Their selection reflects SBJ’s effort to identify people who will directly influence how every stakeholder experiences the World Cup. Their roles span FIFA leadership, host city organizing committees, federal governments, corporate partners, media, ticketing, hospitality, logistics and legacy.
Alongside a broader network of executives and tens of thousands of volunteers, their work will determine how successfully the tournament is delivered on and off the pitch, and how it is ultimately remembered.
FIFA
Host Countries
Host Cities
Atlanta World Cup Host Committee / Atlanta Sports Council
FIFA World Cup 2026 Houston Host Committee
New York / New Jersey World Cup Host Committee
North Texas FWC Organizing Committee / Dallas Sports Commission
U.S. Leadership in Soccer
Media
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises
Vendors
Agencies, Sponsors and Brands
Facilities
Big 12, NFL team up in hopes of adding women’s flag football
The Big 12 is taking steps toward becoming the first FBS conference to sponsor women’s flag football, beginning in 2028 with a minimum of six teams, Sports Business Journal has learned.
The efforts, which remain in the exploratory phase, are being spearheaded by Commissioner Brett Yormark and Chief Football & Competition Officer Scott Draper from the conference side, along with an intimate assist from the NFL.
“We’re trying to meet the moment,” Draper told SBJ. “Our goal here is growth. Our goal is to advance Big 12 membership opportunities and growth for [the conference]. We see this as an opportunity to do that.”
The Big 12 and NFL previously announced a partnership in December that was expected to include collaborations around technology, officiating and, of course, flag football.
More recently, the relationship featured NFL EVP/Football Operations Troy Vincent speaking with Big 12 presidents and ADs earlier this year specifically about flag football.
“We think this is a natural extension of what we’re currently doing to grow in the Big 12, then the partnership with the NFL comes into play,” Draper said. “It’s well documented what they’re doing around flag ... It really helps with their help and focus on flag. With our focus on flag, we’ll be able to really accelerate the growth of the sport not only at the collegiate level, but at the high school level.”
That the Big 12 is exploring flag football comes after the NCAA added it as an emerging sport in January, while it’s seen as a sport with major growth potential.
There are already 20 million players worldwide and more than four million youth participants in the U.S. alone (a 50% increase from 2020). It is also offered at the high school level across 39 states, while participation there has climbed 60% year-over-year.
Men’s and women’s flag football, too, will debut at the 2028 Summer Olympics in L.A.
“This effort is really an extension of us doubling down on growing opportunities for women at the collegiate level,” Draper said. “... This is just an extension of that growth mindset and the opportunity for us to be innovative and first.”
Jomboy Media pushing the envelope in first full season of MLB league integration
Driving down the average age of baseball fans isn’t going to come just from shortening the length of games on TV. One of the newer ways MLB is tackling that issue is through a partnership with Jomboy Media. The deal is in its first full season and includes an equity stake in Jomboy for MLB.
As Jomboy Media CEO Courtney Hirsch describes it, the company, which produces podcasts and YouTube shows, is a “creator-led sports media company” — and one MLB hopes will create new fans.
“We don’t target anyone,” Hirsch said, when asked what demos the company goes after. “It’s anyone that loves baseball or is interested in learning baseball that wants to have fun with us. Who resonates with our content the most is men 18-34. That’s our sweet spot.”
But there are a ton of content creators tied to the baseball ecosystem, so how does Jomboy Media stand out? “What makes us different is how we do it,” said Hirsch, whose brother Jimmy O’Brien is also a co-founder of Jomboy. “We’re a place for everyone. We are not Disney. We’re not PG-13, but where you wouldn’t describe us as hot takes and controversial and going for the joke for the sake of the joke. It’s a place where everyone can have fun while watching sports.”
Jomboy Media came out of the gate firing on Wednesday night, seeing its best “Opening Day” yet (and the first time it had an “Opening Night” effort). This includes the company’s first Opening Day pregame special, with Corona sponsoring a show using all 12 company creators (as well as some of Corona’s baseball ambassadors).
MLB’s help as an equity partner
Access to footage, new camera angles and archival footage is one way that the league has delivered on its side of the deal. “We are able to create content faster and also create content that does not exist in the marketplace today,” Hirsch said of the official partnership. “MLB does their thing. Their broadcasters do their thing with the content. What we’re doing is totally different.”
Access to jewel events is also part of the deal, and that included the WBC, where the 12 Jomboy Media creators created 11 shows. The company’s “Talkin’ Baseball,” its most popular show, also filmed a live episode from LoanDepot Park in Miami right after WBC games.
The tie to baseball has clearly helped the roster of sponsors as well, including a new one in Fanatics Sportsbook and Fanatics Markets (Jomboy Media was previously with DraftKings). Under Armour does apparel, with other sponsors being Corona, T-Mobile, Amazon and Apple (Jomboy Media is helping to promote “Friday Night Baseball” on Apple TV).
“My favorite thing about our brand partners is they understand us and want to be part of the community and the conversation, not just a very standard kind of commercial or logo slap,” Hirsch said. “A lot of it is very integrated placements.”
See you on the field: America’s coming decade of sports diplomacy
More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek orator Isocrates observed that athletic festivals allowed people to set aside their conflicts, gather together and renew bonds to unite them. The ancient Greeks understood something: Sports have always been a form of diplomacy.
That insight feels especially relevant today as the United States enters what may be the most consequential decade of international sport in its history. Between 2026 and 2034, North America will host an extraordinary sequence of global events: the FIFA World Cup, the Military World Games, the Olympic and Paralympic Games in L.A. and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. No country has ever hosted such a concentration of global sports in such a short period.
In a world shaped by geopolitical rivalry, economic competition and political polarization, sports remain one of the few truly global languages we share. Nations compete fiercely on the field, yet still shake hands at the final whistle. It is one of the rare arenas where countries can express national pride without deepening divisions.
Sports have often succeeded where politics struggled. Ping-pong diplomacy helped reopen dialogue between the U.S. and China in the 1970s. Olympic competition provided a rare point of contact between Cold War rivals. Athletes have advanced conversations about opportunity and equality around the world when governments could not.
Yet sports can also reflect and surface geopolitical tensions. Recent U.S.-Canada hockey matchups during the Milan Olympics have carried symbolic weight beyond the rink, reflecting trade tensions between the two countries. And global tournaments increasingly raise questions about how countries such as Iran or Russia will navigate participation amid political strain or even war. Sport both bridges divides and mirrors them.
What is changing today is not just the diplomatic power of sport, but its scale.
The most influential moments in global sports diplomacy no longer happen only in stadiums. They happen when cities prepare to welcome the world, when investors build leagues that span continents, and when digital platforms connect millions of fans across borders. In many ways, global sport now mirrors the broader international system: Power flows not only through governments, but through cities, capital, technology platforms, and cultural influence.
The coming decade gives the U.S. a rare opportunity to demonstrate leadership across all of these dimensions. The 2026 FIFA World Cup alone is expected to generate roughly $17 billion in economic activity in the U.S. and create more than 185,000 jobs, while contributing over $40 billion in economic output across North America. Each U.S. host city is projected to see between $160 million and $620 million in additional economic activity, underscoring the scale of the opportunity.
For many visitors, American cities will define their understanding of the U.S. more than Washington ever could. Cities such as L.A., Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and Kansas City will serve as hosts and ambassadors, welcoming up to 10 million visitors and billions of viewers. How these cities organize, manage complexity, and extend hospitality will shape global perceptions of the U.S. for years to come.
Sport diplomacy also unfolds at a deeply human level. Millions of fans are expected to travel to North America for the World Cup, creating countless personal encounters that influence how nations see one another. Shared celebrations and friendly rivalries often do more to build understanding than official meetings ever could.
At the same time, the globalization of sport is increasingly shaped by investment. Institutional investors, private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds are pouring billions of dollars into teams, leagues, and infrastructure. In the U.S. alone, private equity has entered four major leagues — MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL — with nearly one in five teams now having private equity involvement. With the combined valuation of teams across these leagues approaching $500 billion, sports ownership has evolved into a complex web of global partnerships and shared capital.
Other nations are also recognizing sport as a tool of influence. Saudi Arabia, for example, has invested billions of dollars into global sporting events and leagues as part of its Vision 2030 strategy to diversify its economy and expand its international presence. The kingdom’s sports sector is projected to grow to more than $22 billion by the end of the decade, reflecting how governments increasingly see sports as a platform for both economic development and global engagement.
Technology has expanded the reach of sport even further. Streaming platforms and social media have transformed local competitions into global events. Digital platforms allow fans around the world to follow the same teams and share the same experiences in real time. Algorithms influence which athletes become global figures and which competitions capture worldwide attention. For example, TikTok alone now hosts more than 60 million sports creators, meaning that a single viral moment can now shape global perception as powerfully as a traditional broadcast.
This is diplomacy at scale — often invisible, but immensely effective.
The coming decade places the U.S. in a singular position. As host of the world’s largest sporting events, a leading source of investment capital, and a hub for global technology platforms, the U.S. sits at the intersection of the forces shaping modern sports diplomacy.
The world will be watching not only how American athletes perform, but how American cities organize, how American businesses invest, and how American communities welcome visitors from around the globe.
In that sense, the phrase “see you on the field” takes on a broader meaning. It is no longer only an invitation to compete. It is an invitation to engage.
Deborah Lehr is interim CEO of Meridian International Center and is CEO of business and consulting adviser Basilinna. She has worked across Asia, the United States, the Middle East, and Europe, with a focus on business advisory, sustainability, finance, and culture.
Speed reads
- NFL owners on Wednesday approved a deal giving Silver Lake co-CEO and Managing Partner Egon Durban the right of first refusal on a controlling stake of the Raiders if owner Mark Davis ever sells, sources tell SBJ’s Ben Fischer. Owners also approved a deal for the Dolphins to sell 1% of the club and its affiliated businesses to tech entrepreneur Lin Bin for $12.5 billion, a new high-water mark for NFL team valuations.
- Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday afternoon sent a note to those at NFL Media affected by the move to ESPN, with sources telling SBJ’s Austin Karp that some well-known names at NFL Network have already signed deals to stay aboard.
- The Big 12 is taking steps toward becoming the first FBS conference to sponsor women’s flag football, beginning in 2028 with a minimum of six teams, reports SBJ’s Ben Portnoy.
- With a season to go before a likely labor battle with the league, the MLB Players’ Association amassed total assets of $519.3 million in 2025, up from $353.1 milion in 2024, writes SBJ’s Mike Mazzeo.
- Former Raptors president Masai Ujiri became a principal owner of the WNBA’s expansion Toronto Tempo on Tuesday, reports SBJ’s Tom Friend.
- The Panthers hired Disney veteran Michael White from Amazon-owned robotaxi company Zoox as their new president of business operations, reports SBJ’s Alex Silverman.
- Redfin, the real estate website, listed Rocket Arena — which, to be very clear, is not for sale — as part of an expanded arena naming rights deal between the Cavaliers and Rocket Companies, writes SBJ’s Bret McCormick.
- Sustainability/carbon offset company Karbon-X signed sponsorships with Ilitch Sports + Entertainment’s Red Wings and Tigers, notes SBJ’s Terry Lefton.
- Lift Management hired former UTA agent Paul Coggiola to head its new division, Lift Creators, as it enters talent representation for those making videos for YouTube and social media platforms, writes SBJ’s Irving Mejia-Hilario.
- SBJ’s Irving Mejia-Hilario reports that longtime sports and entertainment marketer George Kaplan is launching Boston-based Choice Sports, an agency focused on high school and college women’s basketball prospects.