10 Must Know Sports Takes From Spring 2024

by Dave Torromeo

DT Speaking of Sports- Spring Update 2024

1. Baseball season is in full swing here as we enter mid-June and the summer months. But any novice would be able to tell you at this point the best teams in baseball are the Yankees, Dodgers and Phillies and it would be an upset not to see the latter vying for the NL crown to take on the Bronx Bombers!

2. As far as my New York Mets? It looks like a rebuilding year, and I would expect pieces to be sold off in trades for a youth movement, which has already started.

3. The NHL playoffs have been especially exciting with the run that the NY Rangers had, which came to an end at the hands of the Florida Panthers. The Panthers look to take their first ever Stanley Cup from the Edmonton Oilers. Fun? fact: It has been 31 years since any Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup—if you can imagine that! This is “their” game and obviously many of the players who play for North American teams are Canadian, but it is certainly an oddity.

4. The Clubhouse will have its Summer Spectacular on Wednesday, June 26th at 7PM at Hotel MTK in Mount Kisco, NY. We will help raise funds for the Alzheimer’s association of Hudson Valley. There will be a band and the radio show “The Clubhouse” will air live on WGCH radio and on SiriusXM, but come out and see us if you can, we will have a band some libations and food!

5. Can you imagine turning down a $70 million contract for six years of work? That is exactly what Dan Hurley did. The former URI coach (had to get that in there) and back-to-back UCONN national champion, will stay at Connecticut having turned down the Los Angeles Lakers’ six-year, $70 million offer! He will return to Storrs, CT to chase a third straight national title. LA would’ve made him one of NBA’s six highest paid coaches.

6. Speaking of the NBA, it was good to see the Knicks have a nice playoff run this year. Albeit, full of injuries—although that’s not an excuse. I don’t think they were going to get past the loaded Boston Celtics anyway, who look to be in command to take the world championship over the Dallas Mavericks, although one should never count out Luca Doncic!

7. NIL

The latest developments in the NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) space include significant events and updates affecting student-athletes. There will be a webinar hosted on Isportsanalysis.com by leading sports attorney, Richard Kent, former conference, commissioner Linda Bruno and yours truly. A link to that will be posted soon.

Another major event is the 2024 NIL Summit, scheduled for June 22-24 in Atlanta, GA. This summit will gather student-athletes, brands, and industry experts to discuss strategies for maximizing NIL opportunities, with workshops and panels on topics like influencer marketing, personal brand management, and wealth building.

Additionally, the NCAA has approved reforms allowing schools to assist student-athletes with NIL activities. This includes identifying and facilitating NIL opportunities and even helping athletes manage deals with third parties. This marks a significant shift in the landscape, giving schools a more active role in supporting their athletes’ financial endeavors.

Noteworthy NIL deals are continuously emerging, with platforms like On3 tracking various agreements. These deals span a wide range of sports and include partnerships with major brands and collectives, highlighting the diverse opportunities available to athletes under the NIL framework.

8. The Summer Olympics will be in July in Paris (NBC Sports). The US women’s basketball team, which would be getting more notoriety than it has ever had under with Kaitlyn Clark playing, has decided to leave her off the team. She’s handled it with the same class and grace she has handled everything else in her career. I am not sure what the beef is with the WNBA, but let me just share some of the attendance figures; with Kaitlyn Clark playing 17,300 17,500, 21,000…some of the league’s games without Kaitlyn Clark playing? 7,000, 6,000, 3,000, is anybody seeing a trend here? That’s all I can say about that.

9. We really never talk about the WNBA, I mean, let’s be real who does? Let’s look at this report that the league just put out:

  • Attendance is up 156% from last year, and more than half of all WNBA games this year have been sellouts.
  • About 400,000 fans have attended WNBA games this season, filling WNBA arenas to 94% capacity.
  • This year’s televised games (ABC, ESPN, etc.) are averaging 1.32 million viewers, nearly triple last season’s average of 462,000.
  • WNBA Countdown is averaging 741,000 viewers, a 211% increase from last year’s full season average.
  • The WNBA’s online merchandise store has already set a single-season sales record (with 4+ months left in the season), and sales are up 756% compared to last year.
  • The WNBA’s social channels garnered 157 million video views through the first week of the season, an all-time high and up 380% compared to last year.
  • The WNBA set an all-time high for League Pass subscriptions last month with a 355% increase vs. last season.

So, in simple terms, business is booming , I think this is wonderful news, except for the fact that the WNBA players seem to be jealous of their new colleague who is mainly responsible for all of the above.

Next up NFL mini camps, because the business of the NFL is year-round!

10. And finally, because I run a sport business management masters degree program at Manhattanville University. I will leave you with this sports business vignette: Recent developments in the sports business sector include several notable trends and deals. The NBA and MLB are expanding into spatial computing with apps for Apple Vision Pro, enhancing immersive sports experiences. The PGA Tour has detailed a new player equity distribution model following a $3 billion investment from SSG, aiming to pay players $930 million in initial grants. Additionally, Jim Ratcliffe has completed a $1.65 billion deal for a stake in Manchester United, while Saudi-backed SRJ Sports Investments is nearing a €250 million deal for a new cycling team.

Signing off with a Nat King Cole favorite!

Roll out those lazy, crazy days of summer!

Those days of soda and pretzels and beer!

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