Author: alaskaadmin

In Follow The Money, Ben Portnoy will bring you into a weekly deep dive into the business of college sports. Before we jump in, I thought it would be helpful to briefly explain what we’re doing here. College sports have never experienced a more topsy-turvy era. Longtime traditions and the increased need for commercialization are clashing at every turn. Quarterbacks are signing multi-million dollar deals. Television contracts are popular fodder for fan bases. Even jersey patch deals are becoming mainstream. Each week we’ll capture some of the angst and inherent fluidity of the ecosystem as we look at the off-the-field storylines that are shaping what you’re seeing on Saturdays. With that, let’s get into it. There is no place quite like Baton Rouge. This is a city where football is king, where politics and the Tigers intertwine like PB&J and where power struggles and backroom dealings are the currency of the day. So what better place to begin the 2026 football season than a Louisiana courtroom? For those who haven’t spent the last two weeks locked into PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) tracking court cases, let’s rehash what’s happening down on the bayou: Yeah, it’s a lot. That said, the LSU situation got me thinking: What if the SEC really did kick the Tigers from the league? And, if it did, what kind of brand value or sponsorship dollars might LSU command on the open market as an independent? “A conference like the SEC is just bigger than a single school,” Rob Temple, CEO of Pivotal Sports & Entertainment, told me. “A team moving out of it may have a change or an impact on its sponsors tied to the school or whatever, but the big money around advertising and distribution of content, all that kind of flows to another place. “But the idea of private equity coming into college sports — just like Americans have gone and become owners in the EPL — if that dynamic ever came into college sports, and you got into valuations of franchises, that’s different. That’s a huge hypothetical.” Independence isn’t anything new in college sports. Notre Dame is the poster child, but others have played this game — BYU in the 2010s and Miami in the 1980s immediately come to mind. Pulling it off these days, however, is increasingly complicated. For one, scheduling is its own challenge. Independent UConn and its administrators have long addressed the issues this poses in trying to piece together a coherent ledger. There’s also a matter of whether LSU would subsequently control its own media rights or whether it’d remain tied to the SEC’s ongoing deal with ESPN. The rights would likely revert to the school, but that’s no guarantee — see Clemson and Florida State’s lawsuits against the ACC in recent years for further proof. Media rights control aside, the most obvious parallel in all of this is Notre Dame, which brings home an annual payout that neighbors the SEC and Big Ten’s media rights distributions in the $75 million range through its NBC deal and arrangement with the ACC. Could LSU fetch that on the open market? That’s less clear. “It’s no knock on LSU; it’s just Notre Dame has been Notre Dame, and they’ve operated independently for so long that to assume LSU would immediately have that same level of independent value is probably unlikely,” one media rights consultant told me. “Do they have a good shot of it? Sure, perhaps in the Southwest, but I think the point is, I don’t know if they have that same level of national recognition and standing to be considered independent.” There’s also the matter of the school’s broader business value. The Athletic conducted a study in July that suggested LSU would be the 11th-most valuable program in the country at around $1.3 billion. That shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. LSU athletics has reported north of $120 million in revenue every year since 2015 and almost $200 million or more since 2022, per the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database. It also reported at least $60 million in donor contributions annually since 2022, while corporate sponsorship and licensing dollars have jumped from $3.3 million in 2022 to $5 million in 2025. Pro sports exist in Louisiana, but it’s fall Saturdays at Tiger Stadium that capture the consciousness of the state in a way the Saints and Pelicans can’t quite muster — and why a pending game of chicken between LSU and the SEC has everyone paying attention. “The SEC and Commissioner Sankey are prepared to contest the allegations in the plaintiffs’ petition at Thursday morning’s hearing,” the league wrote in a statement released on Sunday night, “and defend the SEC’s rights as a voluntary association to fulfill its mission to its member institutions.” “This whole thing is ridiculous. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry in a statement to Front Office Sports on the ongoing eligibility fight in the state. Duke announced a five-year agreement with Edward Jones, which, at face-value, isn’t going to force eyebrows to raise. That the Blue Devils brass is allowing the company to place its branding on the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium, however, is noteworthy. “It’s balancing our needs with the history and tradition, evolving with the current landscape and figuring out what is right to do here,” Duke athletics director Nina King told me by phone. “I’m just really excited by how this looks. It’s not like, ‘Oh my goodness, we turned into NASCAR.’” Michigan added signage within the Big House for the first time in recent weeks. Now, Duke is following suit. Such is life in college sports these days.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

With you know who coming out of retirement for the Rams, it’s already a wrap for the Super Bowl … or is it? The Bears? Must-see TV. The GOAT of this generation? He’s coming back with a vengeance. Oh, and Joe Burrow is talking big. There will inevitably be significant storylines this NFL season that we can’t predict. But we do have an idea of the narratives that will have the biggest impact on how we view this year.Here are the top 13: Aaron Donald’s return after two years in retirement is the cherry on the top for the Rams, who’ve built one of the most talented rosters in NFL history. They’ve revamped their defense in a significant way by adding Donald, Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett (trade), former All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie (trade) and cornerback Jaylen Watson (free agency). And that’s on top of their top-ranked offense from a year ago that returns all 11 starters, including league MVP Matthew Stafford. The Rams are the heavy favorite to win Super Bowl LXI. Anything less than a Lombardi Trophy would mark a major disappointment. But it’s certainly no lock: Over the past 30 years, the preseason Super Bowl favorite has entered the season with +500 or shorter odds 20 times. They’ve gone 0-for-20. Mahomes is coming off the first major injury of his career — and his first time missing the postseason. He suffered a torn ACL in a Week 15 loss to the Chargers that eliminated the Chiefs from playoff contention. This generation’s most accomplished player, Mahomes intends to return to the postseason. With offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy back, the return of a healthy Rashee Rice as WR1 and the addition of Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III in the backfield, Kansas City could have its most dynamic offense in years around the three-time Super Bowl MVP. Released by the Cardinals in the spring after seven seasons, Murray signed a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum with the Vikings and beat out 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy to become QB1. If the former No. 1 overall pick regains Pro Bowl form, Minnesota becomes a dark-horse contender to win the NFC North and one of the better teams in the conference. The Bears returned to national prominence in 2025 in Ben Johnson’s first season as head coach — 11 regular-season victories, an NFC North title and the franchise’s first playoff win since 2010. Second-year Bears quarterback Caleb Williams led Chicago to seven comeback victories after trailing in the final two minutes of regulation, the most since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger. But will the Bears keep ascending in 2026? Or will they come down to earth? Reliance on late-game heroics isn’t a formula for sustained success. The Bears rebuilt their secondary this offseason but are already facing major injury concerns. Their marquee free-agent acquisition, safety Coby Bryant, will miss four to six months after undergoing knee surgery. The A.J. Brown shadow is gone, with the star receiver traded to the Patriots in the offseason. But the Eagles will have to replace his production and adjust to significant coaching changes, including yet another new offensive coordinator and the loss of legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who stepped down. First-time OC Sean Mannion will have to improve an offense that regressed last season from the unit that helped the franchise win Super Bowl LIX. Last season, the Eagles dropped from seventh to 19th in scoring and from eighth to 24th in total offense. Even with Mahomes and the Chiefs out of the playoffs last season, neither Allen nor Jackson could take advantage. Allen’s Bills suffered an overtime loss to the Broncos in the AFC divisional round, while Jackson’s Ravens failed to even make the playoffs. So the pressure continues to ramp up on the MVP quarterbacks, both entering their ninth season, to make a Super Bowl. The stakes are particularly high in Baltimore, considering that Jackson has no guaranteed money left in his contract after next season. Injuries have become an annual concern for the Niners, a perennial contender under coach Kyle Shanahan. San Francisco is hopeful that it will have tight end George Kittle (Achilles) and edge rusher Nick Bosa (ACL) for Week 1 in Australia, but their statuses remain uncertain. The team had 23 players sidelined in its final training camp practice. Despite having one of the league’s oldest rosters, the 49ers should have one of the best teams in the NFL. But injuries can derail their hopes of a deep postseason run. With quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, the Cowboys had one of the NFL’s elite offenses last season. But they were held back by a porous defense — ranked last in points allowed and third-worst in yards allowed — leading Dallas to miss the playoffs for a second straight year. The Cowboys, though, poured significant resources into that side of the ball this offseason. Five of their seven draft picks were defensive players, including first-rounders Caleb Downs, an All-American safety out of Ohio State, and Malachi Lawrence, a star defensive end from UCF. Dallas also added a slew of veterans — safety Jalen Thompson, cornerback Cobie Durant and edge rushers Rashan Gary and Von Miller among them. On paper, the Cowboys have one of the more complete teams in the NFC. Owning one of the NFL’s most lethal offenses, the Bengals are viewed as a major AFC contender for the first time in years after the upgrades they’ve made on defense. Cincinnati traded the 10th pick in the draft to the Giants for star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II, and also added edge rusher Boye Mafe, defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and safety Bryan Cook in free agency. Quarterback Joe Burrow says this year’s Bengals team reminds him of his legendary 2019 LSU team, which went 15-0 and won the CFP national championship. The three-time Pro Bowler is “trying to manifest” a return to the Super Bowl. If Cincinnati returns to prominence in 2026, the AFC landscape becomes significantly more competitive at the top. A future first-ballot Hall of Famer, Rodgers will spend his 22nd and final NFL season with new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy, who was his coach in Green Bay for 13 years. Rodgers will have a deeper cast of wide receivers around him than he had a year ago — the Steelers traded for Michael Pittman Jr. and drafted Germie Bernard in the second round — as Pittsburgh begins the post-Mike Tomlin era and aims for its first playoff victory since 2016. Since putting together one of the best rookie quarterback seasons in NFL history in 2023, Stroud has regressed in consecutive years. His uninspiring playoff run last season, including a four-interception performance in the Texans’ division-round loss to the Patriots, has thrust his future in Houston into question. The franchise picked up the fifth-year option in his rookie contract, which will pay him $25.9 million fully guaranteed in 2027, but a long-term deal doesn’t appear to be imminent. Texans general manager Nick Caserio said Tuesday that if a deal isn’t reached before Week 1, all contract talks will pause until next offseason. An improved Stroud would make the Texans one of the top Super Bowl contenders, as they already have one of the NFL’s most feared defenses. New Browns coach Todd Monken named veteran Deshaun Watson the starting quarterback for Week 1 over second-year pro Shedeur Sanders following a months-long competition. But the 30-year-old Watson, who’s appeared in just 19 games for Cleveland since signing a five-year, fully-guaranteed $230 million deal with the franchise in 2022 due to suspension and injuries, has long been a shell of himself. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Browns turn to Sanders at some point this season. Cleveland currently holds two first-round picks in the 2027 draft (one was acquired in the Myles Garrett trade), so the team is positioned to land a quarterback of the future next spring. Mayfield will play out the final year of his contract, as the former No. 1 overall pick and the Bucs failed to reach agreement on a multi-year extension before his self-imposed training camp deadline. Apart from being a rare situation — established starting-level quarterbacks and their teams typically stay multiple years ahead of contract expiration — it also represents a big gamble for both sides. Mayfield risks injury or a downward trajectory before he can get a big-money deal next offseason, while Tampa risks Mayfield playing himself out of its price range and hitting free agency. The Bucs could franchise-tag him next spring to prevent that from happening, but that would limit their salary cap flexibility for 2027.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports