Last season, the six remaining teams in this year's NFL playoffs finished, in a 32-team league: 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 24th and 29th. The NFL has enormous appeal because there is genuine opportunity for all It often strikes me that European football has long normalised only a select few winning

£480million*

When the regular season ended last week, the Giants officially embarked on their fifth head coaching search in the 10 years. Landing John Harbaugh is the biggest win for the franchise in a long time. 🔗: www.nytimes.com/athletic/697...

Tottenham and West Ham are not what they were, nor, in terms of potential, what they could be. The Way the clubs played seems like a relic of history, yet a sense of it is still entwined in the current fanbase disaffection and disconnection. www.nytimes.com/athletic/692...

BBC report at a headline level that Grok will now not make sexually exploitative images any more. An actual reporter comes on and explains that it will do no such thing, and will just make the images invisible in the UK. These are two very, very different things.

New @theathleticfc.bsky.social pod Thomas Frank, Fabio Paratici, Conor Gallagher etc @aakinwo.bsky.social @dannykellywords.bsky.social and me pod.fo/e/378828

We are hosting our latest talent ID day on March 18 to help identify the next generation of sports journalists. If that’s you, you’re 18+ & UK-based: send us 200 words on your experience & why you want to take part - plus your contact details. 📧 [email protected] Deadline: January 27, 5pm

In parallel to this the government should also invest in community spaces for under 16s, unless you want kids on Roblox all day instead.

This is a brilliant read on the chaos that is Real Madrid CF

New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social. And depressing. Correspondence between the Premier League and the British government suggests that elite English football clubs will be allowed to pursue commercial relationships with illegal betting operators in the future. josimarfootball.com/2026/01/13/s...

Snippet in today's DealSheet from me on how the Premier League's summer strikers have fared so far

🚨 Manchester United reach agreement in principle with Michael Carrick + coaching staff to take over until end of season. Appointments subject to finalising contract details & announcement. In position for #MUFC ahead of #MCFC visit on Sat 🚨 @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/694...

#AVFC left-back Finley Munroe expected to join Middlesbrough. Several interested Championship clubs, though. Fee worth around 350k plus sell-on.

The Athletic found that this season’s 20 top-tier clubs brought in 23 first-team strikers last summer. Twenty of those joined for fees, totalling an estimated £812million ($1.1bn) — or £41m per player signed. Were they worth it? @cweatherspoon.bsky.social bit.ly/49xk59I

🚨 Conor Gallagher expected to fly to England on Tuesday to undergo medical + finalise details on long-term contract ahead of joining Tottenham Hotspur from Atletico Madrid. Agreement reached between #THFC & #Atleti over €40m permanent deal 🚨 @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/695...

The Supreme Court sets aside lower court decisions upholding convictions for bribery related to the FIFA scandal because the Trump administration decided to dismiss those criminal cases "in the interests of justice." The FIFA prosecution ends in a whimper. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...

Piece is now updated for our full analysis including: • Record gross and net player spending • Squad cost relative to rest of PL • Wages to revenue assessment • Continued importance of Tony Bloom @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/695...

More appalling news from dystopia central www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Great piece and he's absolutely right "When a billionaire refuses to keep funding a club and it hurtles towards the cliff edge, nobody suggests that the private investment model of club ownership is broken and should be abandoned." Indeed - look at the reaction to Chansiri and Sheffield Wednesday

Bristol City's sell-on clause is expected to earn them over £10million from Antoine Semenyo's move to Manchester City. #BCFC have now earned over £130m from player sale profits in the past decade:

Unsaid here (because it's a much bigger topic) but Brighton highlight one of the big issues foreseeable for clubs in the middle of the Premier League: If wages keep growing consistently, how do these particular clubs generate sufficient recurring revenues required to keep up?

Incredibly small sample size, but, on evidence so far, the increased TV money paid to EFL clubs in 2024-25 has not resulted in better finances/lower losses Of eight clubs to disclose 2024-25 figures, all eight recorded 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 operating losses last season than in 2023-24

Note that the sudden rise in "nudification" is not an advance in the tech itself, it's a design choice by Musk / xAI. LMMs trained with nude images have been able to do this for years; Grok is the first time a major company has chosen to enhance this functionality for users rather than restrict it.

CONFIRMED: Manchester United will play just 40 games this season — their fewest in a campaign since 1914-15 (39 games). (This excludes seasons impacted by war).

Bristol City's sell-on clause is expected to earn them over £10million from Antoine Semenyo's move to Manchester City. #BCFC have now earned over £130m from player sale profits in the past decade:

Unsaid here (because it's a much bigger topic) but Brighton highlight one of the big issues foreseeable for clubs in the middle of the Premier League: If wages keep growing consistently, how do these particular clubs generate sufficient recurring revenues required to keep up?

Brighton & Hove Albion lost £56m pre-tax in 2024-25, when they became only the 11th English club to spend over £200m on new players in one financial year. Initial reaction from @andynaylorbrighton.bsky.social for @theathleticfc.bsky.social here, with more to follow: www.nytimes.com/athletic/695...

Incredibly small sample size, but, on evidence so far, the increased TV money paid to EFL clubs in 2024-25 has not resulted in better finances/lower losses Of eight clubs to disclose 2024-25 figures, all eight recorded 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 operating losses last season than in 2023-24

And now Igor Thiago: signed for initial £28million, scorer of 16 goals in 21 Premier League games this season Brentford's striker recruitment is outstanding and the fact they lost a pair who scored 39 of 66 league goals last season while barely skipping a beat is remarkable work

It would not benefit me at all if reading and writing became niche and elitist, that would be the worst possible world. I want more people to read because I want more people to have the pleasure and possibilities that come with an active mind. And I hate everything that threatens that.

A point worth highlighting amid Ruben Amorim's sacking: while Manchester United continue to spend big on fees, the wage bill has tumbled relative to peers In 2024-25 they spent £95m less than Manchester City despite employing far more staff A snippet from yesterday's live blog:

Manchester City's imminent £65million signing of Antoine Semenyo means that, since their bid for a fifth successive Premier League title fell apart in late 2024, #MCFC will have responded by spending around £460million on player fees in barely more than one year

Bits in here from me on: (a) January spending so far (b) Which clubs are over/underachieving relative to summer activity

Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United tenure in numbers: Unwanted records and unwelcome firsts w/ @willjeanes.bsky.social for @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/694...

In the wake of this morning's sacking of Ruben Amorim, I'll be on @bbc5live.bsky.social's Wake Up to Money at 5.50am tomorrow, discussing #MUFC finances, should you be awake and desire to listen in

As Christmas and New Year loom and we reflect on 2025, what better time than now for some absolutely shameless self-promotion? This year saw us run our BookKeeper series, a procession of deep dives into the finances of various football clubs. So I've threaded the lot for you:

Only justification people - promoters, media, supposed boxing fans - seem able to offer for Anthony Joshua taking that fight is "How can he turn down [insert silly sum here] for an easy night's work?" And I think that tells you lots about both boxing and much of society now too

FIFA made $700m from ticket sales at Qatar 2022. At next year's World Cup, with 40 more games, bigger stadia and, yes, those sky-high prices, they've budgeted for over $2.1billion. Does football's world governing body need the money? @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/689...

Only six of 92 English league clubs have released 2024-25 financials so far, but all six posted losses 2024-25 pre-tax losses: • AFC Wimbledon £2.9m • Bristol Rovers £7.0m • Man City £9.9m • Derby County £11.1m • Norwich City £20.7m • Man Utd £39.7m Combined loss: £91.2m

FIFA made $700m from ticket sales at Qatar 2022. At next year's World Cup, with 40 more games, bigger stadia and, yes, those sky-high prices, they've budgeted for over $2.1billion. Does football's world governing body need the money? @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/689...

Premier League TV picks to March 1 now out, covering the first 28 matchweeks of the season. 189 games now picked for live broadcast, around 70 per cent of the 2025-26 season total. Here's how those picks break down by club, inc. estimate of 'TV facility' earnings:

EPL player registration costs, per club accounts: *All at end of 2023-24 unless stated otherwise 1) #CFC £1.437bn 2) #MCFC £1.330bn (2024-25) 3) #MUFC £1.103bn (2024-25) 4) #AFC £882m 5) #LFC £749m 6) #THFC £697m 7) #NUFC £605m 8) #AVFC £503m 9) #WHUFC £411m 10) #AFCB £382m

Highest published transfer spends, per club accounts, in English football: 1) #CFC 22-23 £745m 2) #CFC 23-24 £553m 3) #MCFC 24-25 £353m 4) #MUFC 24-25 £343m 5) #MCFC 17-18 £328m 6) #CFC 17-18 £290m 7) #CFC 18-19 £281m 8) #THFC 23-24 £272m 9) #AFC 23-24 £256m 10) #AFC 22-23 £251m

Manchester City's 2024-25 accounts are out, ft. falling revenue and a (low) loss; first non-Covid deficit since PSR came in #MCFC splurged £353m on players and over £400m in wages, even as performance drooped Analysis w/Jordan Campbell @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/689...

Real Madrid are regularly cited as football's richest team. Revenues top €1bn; profits made for 20+ years. But there's far more to it than that. Today, our BookKeeper series dives into the finances of the world's most glamorous club: @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

Real Madrid are regularly cited as football's richest team. Revenues top €1bn; profits made for 20+ years. But there's far more to it than that. Today, our BookKeeper series dives into the finances of the world's most glamorous club: @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

Sunlun rising. A column on an unforgettable day at the SoL www.sunderlandecho.com/sport/footba...

Have highlighted in comments on yesterday's analysis (link below), but some mischief in reporting around #MUFC debt figure United's financial debt is not over £1billion The £1.29bn figure circling includes transfer debt and all day-to-day liabilities - these aren't borrowings

A delight* to join the Totally crew and talk about what should be a nice and quiet pre-Christmas Sunday in the north east this weekend */absolutely terrifying to realise what is nearly upon us

A delight* to join the Totally crew and talk about what should be a nice and quiet pre-Christmas Sunday in the north east this weekend */absolutely terrifying to realise what is nearly upon us