SBJ Unpacks: Remembering Ted Turner’s turn in the dugout

Tonight in Unpacks: Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten recalls the time his former boss, Ted Turner, decided it was time for him to manage the Braves, as SBJ’s Tom Friend writes about Turner’s time as an MLB owner in the wake of the media mogul’s passing Wednesday.

Also tonight:

• Disney/ESPN yet to engage NFL on early renewal
• PWHL adds Detroit as expansion team
• NCAA needs clearer case for March Madness expansion
• Op-ed: The globalization of American soccer

Listen to SBJ’s most popular podcast, Morning Buzzcast, where Austin Karp breaks down big first-round playoff viewership numbers for the NBA and NHL, the latest with LIV Golf, unrest among professional tennis players and more.

The late TED TURNER, who made the term “Superstation” a household word, was a mogul, entrepreneur, champion yachtsman and … loose cannon.

No one worked closer with Turner than STAN KASTEN, the current president and CEO of the Dodgers who once ran three of Turner’s teams at once: the Braves, Hawks and Thrashers.

To hear Kasten, there was never a dull moment. When Turner publicly discussed acquiring OF GARY MATTHEWS while Matthews was still under contract to the Giants back in 1976, MLB suspended Turner for a year and docked the team a draft pick. Which meant Kasten -- who at the time was Turner’s in-house counsel -- had a whole other role:

“My only job was to keep Ted out of trouble,” Kasten once told me.

Apparently, that wasn’t an easy task.

“The other thing I remember -- and I’m 25 at the time -- is that the Braves were on a 15-game losing streak, and I go home to my bachelor pad in Atlanta and turn on the TV,” Kasten said. “And there’s a guy running around the dugout wearing a number that I knew we didn’t have on our team. That was very odd to me, and I look, and I’m, ‘Sonofabitch, Ted has taken over the team as manager.’ Look it up. Look at the all-time register. ‘Managers: Turner, T. Record: 0 and 1. We lost that game to the Pirates.

“He was manager of the effin’ team! I sit down. I call our outside counsel [TENCH COXE] who I know very well through our Hawks transaction, which we closed the first week of that January. And so I call Tench Coxe, and I say, ‘Tench, you watching the game?’ He said, ‘No, why, should I be?’ I said, ‘We have a new manager.’ He said, ‘He fired DAVE BRISTOL?’ I go, ‘No, not exactly.’ He said, ‘What do you mean, not exactly?’ I say, ‘He gave Dave a 10-day vacation.’ He goes, ‘Ohh noooo.’ But that’s a real thing that happened. Ted had been in Pittsburgh. No lawyer with him. No CFO with him. Just him. So he took over as manager.”

It’s not clear if Turner made any in-game decisions -- “You could see Ted following around the bench coach,” Kasten said -- but MLB Commissioner BOWIE KUHN put a stop to it the following day.

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“That next day, I was this young lawyer in Bowie Kuhn’s office trying to explain this, trying to rationalize, trying to justify,” Kasten said. “Bowie said, ‘Stan, we’ve had rules forever. ... An owner can’t make himself or his brother or even his father-in-law manager. We’re not gonna do it.’ So Bowie put me on the speakerphone with Ted. We called Ted, and Bowie said, ‘Sorry, Ted, you have a great young lawyer here. He was really kind to me. But there’s no way we’re letting this happen. No way!’ And so Dave [Bristol] stayed on vacation, and the bench coach took over for the next couple days. We won the next day. We lost Ted’s game.”

Turns out, Turner had always wanted to wear a baseball uniform.

“Ted had talked about doing this casually in the office [before it happened],” Kasten said. “He had even signed a player contract that we didn’t file because he said, ‘Dammit, players have a union. But owners don’t have a union. I want to be a member of the [players’] union.’ So he signed a player contract. He was always talking about things like that.”

Kasten says Turner was a promotional genius, who thought out-of-the-box -- or out of his mind, depending on your perspective. When Turner launched WTCG-Channel 17 (which eventually turned into TBS), Turner was so intent on turning the Braves into America’s Team he had the word “Channel” inscribed onto P ANDY MESSERSMITH’s No. 17 jersey.

But he was also a man of the people. At the press conference to unveil Turner Field, a reporter asked Turner -- seated next to Stan -- why stadium Coca-Cola prices were so high. Turner explained the cost was in line with other ballparks, until he asked, “How much is a Coke here, Stan?”

“Three-fifty,” Kasten answered.

“What?!” Turner said. “I would never buy a Coke here. That’s outrageous.”

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Disney CFO Hugh Johnston on a call with Wall Street investors Wednesday morning said that ESPN and Disney “haven’t yet engaged” with the NFL on early renewal conversations surrounding ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” deal, which currently runs through the end of the 2030 season. “We’re not dogmatic about the process,” he said. “We’re always willing to have a conversation with the NFL in an effort to find new opportunities for growth. We expect to be in business with the league for years to come, and will of course evaluate this deal as we would any deal -- with discipline, and a focus on driving value for Disney shareholders. In that regard, we’re really looking forward to our year of the Super Bowl, and all that that can bring.”

Johnston also noted that with last year’s transaction, Disney/ESPN’s relationship with the NFL has “deepened as broad as it’s ever been.” Johnston: “We’re excited and looking ahead to the upcoming NFL season with the NFL Network and with RedZone linear now part of our distribution portfolio -- on top of ‘Monday Night Football” and broader NFL coverage.”

Disney and Comcast/Xfinity remain locked in a dispute over carriage of NFL Network, which sources told SBJ was related in part to clarity on how many regular-season games ESPN would be keeping on NFL Network in the long term.

Vanity Fair’s Lachlan Cartwright took a deep dive into the NFL’s growing power in the entertainment industry and notes NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league initially were upset about the NBA’s $77B rights deal it signed in 2024 with NBC, Disney and Amazon. However, the NFL quickly “began salivating at the prospect that they could improve” on their current package of deals, which are worth $110B. Cartwright writes, “As live sports become the ultimate subscription driver, broadcast partners and streamers are fighting over every bit they can get -- putting Goodell in an enviable position as the ultimate media kingpin.” One thing Goodell has done is examine the value NFL content is creating for the league’s media partners. NFL Media EVP/Media Distribution Hans Schroeder told Cartwright, “We look at the numbers, we look at the data. We look at the value behind it all. And yes, I think we think our rights are driving even more value today. As Roger said, our rights are undervalued.”

The PWHL is expanding to Detroit as part of an aggressive growth plan that could see the league add up to four teams for the upcoming 2026-27 season. The ninth PWHL team will be part of the league’s single-entity ownership structure under TWG Global and be a tenant of Ilitch Sports + Entertainment at Little Caesars Arena.

The league will also hold its upcoming awards show and draft in Detroit on June 16 and 17, respectively. The draft will be a ticketed event at the Fox Theatre.

Detroit has been among the most enthusiastic markets in its reception of the PWHL Takeover Tour, hosting more games than any other neutral site over the league’s first three seasons. In four visits to Little Caesars Arena, PWHL games have drawn an average of 13,397 fans per game, including 15,938 for the latest appearance in March.

“The fans have really, by showing up, told us that they want a team here and that they deserve a team,” PWHL EVP/Business Operations Amy Scheer said. “And the Ilitch Sports + Entertainment folks have just been the most wonderful partners for us in our three years.”

The Detroit team’s permanent brand identity, including name and logo, will be announced at a later date. Its primary colors will be black and silver, complemented by white as a secondary color and red as an accent.

In addition to playing at Little Caesars Arena, the team will practice at the underground Belfor Training Center. Scheer described the work needed to accommodate the PWHL team, including the creation of dedicated locker rooms, as minimal. She also expressed confidence that the PWHL team will have access to favorable dates on the calendar despite sharing Little Caesars Arena with both the Red Wings and Pistons.

“We might have a few dates that we share with the Red Wings, which is fine, and then we’ll have dates that are our own, but we feel confident we’ll get dates that will work and that we could be successful with,” Scheer said.

Ilitch Sports + Entertainment will support the PWHL in both sponsorship and ticket sales. The league’s only similarly integrated commercial relationship with a facility operator is in Seattle with Oak View Group, which both operates Climate Pledge Arena and serves as the PWHL’s exclusive sponsorship sales sponsor.

“We’re going to help support their sales efforts, both with sponsorship and ticket sales,” Ilitch Sports + Entertainment CEO Ryan Gustafson said. “They’re going to have a model like they’ve done in other markets with some PWHL-specific staffing, and we’ll get into some of the details as we get into this, but we are very confident in our ability to work with them as partners and to do this the right way.”

One brand already backing the new team is Detroit-based Ally Financial, which was announced as the official bank of PWHL Detroit and presenting sponsor of next month’s awards show. The firm, which has been an ardent supporter of women’s sports under the direction of Chief Marketing and PR Officer Andrea Brimmer, previously sponsored several Takeover Tour games in the city and underwrote the PWHL’s first national telecast in the U.S. on Ion in March.

Scheer said the PWHL expects to add up to four teams next season, which would increase its total as high as 12. That would be twice as many as when the league launched in January 2024.

Other cities that have received consideration as expansion markets include Denver, San Jose, Las Vegas, Chicago, D.C. and Hamilton, Ont. Calgary is also expected to be in the mix once the Flames’ new arena opens ahead of the 2027-28 NHL season.

NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament expansion is on the horizon, but the path forward remains murky.

Members of the basketball committees have effectively been given a gag order on discussing expansion. That said, sources with knowledge of the talks told Sports Business Journal that they had not seen any materials related to expansion as of late last week.

Non-FBS football conference commissioners were slated to meet with NCAA President Charlie Baker early this week. The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees were also scheduled for a joint session.

In the wake of these talks, I’ve gotten plenty of questions from people in the industry and the broader media rights world on how the financial math related to expansion might work.

It’s believed neither CBS/TNT nor ESPN would be required to increase rights fees if the tournament expands, so don’t expect the networks to pay more if they don’t have to.

So, what’s the funding source for expansion? NCAA SVP/Basketball Dan Gavitt has teased that the NCAA is likely to open additional sponsorship categories. Combine that with new ad inventory from eight additional games and there’s more money to be made. Would it be enough to cover expansion costs? We’ll see.

Another consideration: Expanding now positions the NCAA for its next TV deal. The men’s basketball tournament’s contract isn’t up until 2032. The women’s tournament — which is part of a broader package that includes dozens of Olympic sport championships — expires the same year.

Think of expansion as a sampling of the options. If this were to go into effect in 2026-27, the NCAA would have at least three years’ worth of data and, if it gets its wish, proof that people will watch additional early-round games. That translates into more cash in the next media rights deal.

NCAA tournament expansion hasn’t exactly been a popular discussion. Public criticism has been widespread. The NCAA and Baker also have yet to give a clear explanation as to why the tournament needs to grow.

Either way, it’s likely tournament expansion is coming. Yippee?

On Jan. 27, the United Soccer League announced the name of its new Division I men’s league, USL Premier, and unveiled a multitier pyramid incorporating promotion and relegation (pro-rel). With this decision, USL is not merely restructuring its competitive format — it is challenging one of the pillars of North American sports business: the closed-league model.

In 2025, USL club owners voted to adopt promotion and relegation across its professional men’s tiers. That vote marked a decisive break from American sports tradition, where franchise exclusivity, territorial rights and asset protection have traditionally outweighed sporting merit. By embracing pro-rel, USL is aligning itself with the norm seen in England, Spain and Germany — and signaling that American soccer’s long-standing exceptionalism needs to evolve to become competitive in the global market.

To understand the significance of this moment, it is necessary to revisit the legal battle that failed to impose this change, examine MSL’s strategic response, and look across the aisle to the NWSL, where labor reform is quietly globalizing the sport from within.

The legal ceiling: Miami FC and Kingston Stockade FC (claimants) v. FIFA, Concacaf and USSF (respondents)

The road to an open system in the U.S. was paved not by regulation, but by failed litigation. The most prominent attempt to mandate promotion and relegation came in 2017, when Miami FC and Kingston Stockade FC brought a claim before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The claimants argued that the respondents’ operation of MLS as a closed league effectively blocked clubs from lower divisions from advancing based on sporting merit. As a result, the claimants did not have a pathway to enter MLS or to qualify for international club competitions. They maintained that the absence of a promotion and relegation system deprived them of access to key domestic and international football markets under United States Soccer Federation (USSF), Concacaf and FIFA, thereby causing substantial financial harm.

The respondents requested the dismissal of all claims, arguing that Article 9 of the FIFA Regulations Governing the Application of the FIFA Statutes (RGAS), which established the principle of promotion and relegation, did not require U.S. soccer authorities to adopt a promotion and relegation system.

In February 2020, CAS issued a ruling that effectively insulated the American closed-league model from international intervention. The panel concluded that Article 9 of the RGAS was intended only for member associations that had already implemented promotion and relegation systems. It found that FIFA had never intended Article 9 to apply to the U.S. As a result, USSF was not obligated to implement promotion and relegation based on sporting merit.

The decision confirmed that promotion and relegation would not arrive in U.S. soccer through CAS or FIFA mandates. If it were to happen, it would have to be a voluntary commercial decision.

MLS: Structural stability, incremental globalization

MLS remains legally protected and commercially stable. Its single-entity structure, closed system, and rising franchise valuations continue to attract investors seeking predictable returns and cost certainty. At the same time, the league is taking measured steps to integrate more closely with global soccer markets. MLS has announced a new competition calendar beginning in the summer of 2027, aligning with the schedules of the world’s leading leagues, and has updated its 2026 primary and secondary transfer windows to better synchronize with international markets, facilitating player mobility and cross-border transactions. Together with ongoing roster-rule amendments, these changes reflect incremental globalization without altering the league’s core governance model.

The premise is simple: MLS is pursuing the upside of global alignment — improved transfer market participation, enhanced international relevance, and greater competitive credibility — while preserving the centralized control and investment stability of its business model.

The NWSL parallel: Labor as a globalizing force

While the USL is tackling the structural model of soccer and MLS is making changes to attract talent and become more competitive globally, the NWSL has been dismantling the transactional “Americanization” of the sport through its recent collective bargaining agreement.

The NWSL’s latest CBA (2024) is a pivotal moment for the business of women’s sports. It effectively abolished the NWSL Draft — a distinctly American mechanism for talent distribution — and introduced unrestricted free agency alongside the requirement of player consent for all trades.

These changes are not merely pro-player; they are pro-globalization. By aligning its labor rules with the global transfer market (FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players), the NWSL has removed the friction that often deterred international talent. In the global market, players are accustomed to agency; the American model of being drafted or traded without consent was a competitive disadvantage in recruiting top foreign talent.

A new era for U.S. soccer business

The simultaneous changes in the USL, MLS, and NWSL signal a broader trend: the “American Exception” in soccer is evolving.

1. USL’s gamble: In embracing promotion and relegation, the USL is making a calculated bet that fan passion, deeper community ties, and a meritocratic pathway will generate enough value to offset the financial risk and revenue volatility traditionally associated with open pyramid systems.
2. MLS’s strategy: Without changing its business and governance model, it is trying to adapt and compete internationally.
3. NWSL’s maturity: By adopting global labor standards, the NWSL is acknowledging that to be the best league in the globe, it must operate like the rest of the world, treating players as assets to be wooed rather than commodities to be allocated.

The USL and NWSL are now trying to prove that an open, globalized system is profitable.

The creation of a USL-sanctioned Division I would formally end MLS’s long-standing status as the sole sanctioned Division I men’s professional soccer league in the U.S. If USL’s Division I project succeeds, the central challenge facing MLS will shift from legal defense to market competition.

The Miami FC case proved that the closed system is legal. The more consequential question is now economic.

For the first time, the closed, franchise-based model in U.S. soccer will face a domestic competitor operating under globally recognizable governance principles. Investors, sponsors, and broadcasters will effectively determine which structure maximizes long-term enterprise value.

The future of American soccer will not be decided in arbitration hearings. It will be decided through capital flows, labor mobility, media rights negotiations, and fan adoption. The shift from courtroom defense to boardroom strategy marks an inflection point: the globalization of American soccer is no longer theoretical — it is being priced in real time.

Mauricio Ríos is an international sports business adviser and director of strategy at Global Field Sports Consulting. He holds an LL.M. from Cornell Law School.

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