Diego Pavia's win against the NCAA over eligibility upheld by the Sixth Circuit, but on mootness grounds—judges rule he already got what he wanted (a chance to play this fall). Two of the judges write concurring opinions, with one saying Congress should step in. My take for @sportico.bsky.social:

This is not new news, but it was time for Stu Sternberg to sell the Rays and the club to move on. Next up a new ballpark on the Tampa side of the bay. They'll have three years to get it done when their lease expires at the Trop after the 2028 season. My latest for @sportico.bsky.social

Ryne Sandberg was essential to the Cubs-Padres rivalry and in Game 5 of the NLCS in 1984 he did something that caused his club the game and NL pennant. Read on. My latest column for @sportico.bsky.social

Happy Sportico NHL valuations day to those who celebrate. Ranking list here: www.sportico.com/feature/nhl-...

Kawhi Leonard has finally spoken on allegations his endorsement deal with then-Clippers sponsor Aspiration was part of a salary cap circumvention scheme. He was blunt and brief. I noticed he used the word "fraud" several times. That signals a defense strategy. My take for @sportico.bsky.social:

Kalshi launched custom parlays last night, a long-awaited feat one would expect the company to shout from the rooftops. Instead, there has been complete radio silence.

Yankee Stadium will be rockin' tonight as Yankees-Red Sox resume rivalry that goes back more than 100 years. From Ruth to DiMaggio to Dent to Boone to Rivera to Judge. My latest for @sportico.bsky.social

If a former G League player—and G Leaguers are employees who are members of a union—is eligible to play college hoops, who else might be eligible to play college sports? My weekly @sportico.bsky.social sports law column on the profound implications of Thierry Darlan going from pro to college:

Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge have been in a class of their own among MLB players over the past five years

Five MLB teams had payrolls over $250 million this season ⚾️💵 Four of them—the Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies, and Blue Jays—had top five records in baseball The Mets, with a whopping $340 million payroll, missed the playoffs The Brewers, with a meager $122 million payroll, had the best record in MLB

Mets out, Yanks lose AL East title tiebreaker, Raleigh fails to break Judge's homer record, Kershaw goes out in style, Guardians come back from 15.5 out to take AL Central from slumping Tigers. All this and more as hectic 2025 season ends. My latest for @sportico.bsky.social

NBA star Chris Paul and billionaire Solina Chau have bought into NWSL club Angel City FC, part of a quartet of new investors in the world’s most valuable women’s soccer team.

Braylon Edwards and 3 other former University of Michigan Football players lose $50M lawsuit against the NCAA over unpaid NIL while they played in the 2000s. This is the fourth lawsuit of its kind to lose, though maybe appellate courts will have a different view. My take for @sportico.bsky.social:

Brady Stewart is out as CEO of Bay FC, according to a statement from the two-year-old NWSL club, the latest transition for a franchise that is entering what it has called “its next phase.”

Riley Gaines and other plaintiffs in their case against the NCAA over transgender athlete eligibility see most of lawsuit dismissed by a federal judge, though Title IX claims advance to pretrial discovery. @daniellibit.bsky.social and I discuss the ruling for @sportico.bsky.social:

New York Jets start Sauce Gardner is awarded over $50K in attorneys' fees after defeating a lawsuit brought by a Buffalo Bills fan against Gardner and Barstool over his posts on X. A really interesting case about how athletes interact with strangers on social media. My @sportico.bsky.social take:

South Park gave prediction markets some free PR last night

New Jersey Superior Court Judge Jonathan W. Romankow issued a final judgment in a case that stemmed from an exchange last year on X between Gardner and Kalli Mariakis, a Bills fan from Biloxi, Miss.

ESPN and the NFL team up to argue that Mark Gastineau’s $100 million lawsuit over a 30-for-30 that featured video of him confronting Brett Favre about the NFL sack record should be sacked. Right of publicity and newsworthiness are key. I have details + analysis for @sportico.bsky.social:

Private equity giant Sixth Street and a family are buying a stake in the New England Patriots that values the team at more than $9 billion.

🚨 BREAKING 🚨 The New England Patriots have reached an agreement to sell an 8% stake in the franchise, including 3% to PE firm Sixth Street, at a valuation exceeding $9 billion It is the fourth NFL private equity deal

Baseball fans from Los Angeles and Detroit to Miami and Boston saw coveted tickets to MLB games disappear from their accounts within the league’s Ballpark app earlier this month.

It would stand to reason that the Yankees might be eager to capture that at their own venue.

Despite spending $1.57b on players since he bought the team , Steve Cohen's Mets find themselves in a familiar position: hanging on for dear life just to make the playoffs with five games left to play. My column for @sportico.bsky.social

The robo ump challenge system will be coming to an MLB ballpark near you in 2026. Tap your cap or helmet to challenge. Should be fun. My short explainer on @sportico.bsky.social

NEW: College athlete advocates had a solid case against applying open records laws to players' third-party NIL deals—but that doesn't apply to rev-share contracts w/ schools. Those should be transparent, and athletes should push for it. For @sportico.bsky.social 👇 www.sportico.com/leagues/coll...

Extending the pro sports protections of the Sports Broadcasting Act to college sports is one idea being discussed. There's a problem: the SBA does very little these days for sports on TV since it doesn't apply to cable, paid satellite or streaming. My weekly @sportico.bsky.social sports law column:

International college athletes are limited in earning NIL money due to visa restrictions, but ASU basketball player Last-Tear Poa, who is from Australia, has brought a federal case that could change that. She gets past the feds at motion to dismiss stage. I discsuss for @sportico.bsky.social:

Here's a dive into what Kyle Schwarber has to look forward to in free agency and the NL MVP race. My latest for @sportico.bsky.social

New: The NFL petitions the 2nd Circuit for a rehearing en banc in the Brian Flores case. These petitions are granted only about 1% of the time. But NFL argues this is an exceptional situation that impacts other pro leagues and their ability to arbitrate disputes. I discuss for @sportico.bsky.social:

Lots of talk these days of Congress "fixing" college sports. The politics of that are hazy, but more engaging--to me at least--is how a federal college sports statute would face its own set of legal challenges, including on Equal Protection + states' rights grounds: www.sportico.com/law/analysis....

The latest turn in Brian Flores v. NFL could be a big one: he asks the trial judge to bring his claims against the Dolphins—which include him refusing to go along with tanking—back from arbitration into court in light of Second Circuit's ruling last month. My legal take for @sportico.bsky.social:

Women’s National Basketball Players Association executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson touched on the challenges the union faces in securing a CBA.

Remember those "Pay Us What You Owe Us" shirts that sparked a firestorm of sorts after the @wnba.com ASG? During @sportico.bsky.social's RISE event yesterday, I had a chance to talk with WNBPA about their impact. www.sportico.com/leagues/bask...

Taking an off day from baseball I write about the WNBA playoffs and how Liberty coach Sandy Brondello has a chance to eliminate her former Mercury squad with a win in Brooklyn tonight. My latest for @sportico.bsky.social

Executives and stars from the WNBA, NWSL, Unrivaled, WLL and the Olympic movement gathered in midtown Manhattan.

I listened to today's Diego Pavia v. NCAA hearing at the Sixth Circuit. There's a good chance the court will decide the case is moot since Pavia got what he sued for: The chance to play this fall. But if not, moot the judges seemed skeptical of NCAA arguments. My recap for @sportico.bsky.social:

Liz Marro, Unrivaled's new chief marketing officer, previously served as CMO at sports gaming company Underdog.

Former WNBA MVP Tina Charles is the latest hooper committing to play in the Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball league this winter.

ESPN and CBS will both see the number of games they air expand in 2026, while Victory+ enters the fray.

A huge hearing today for college sports law: the U.S. Court of Appeals for 6th Circuit will hear NCAA's appeal in Diego's Pavia case. How long should college athletes be eligible to play? Is that an education or antitrust question? My @sportico.bsky.social preview: www.sportico.com/law/analysis....

The SCORE Act is facing political headwinds, but even if it were to become law, it could face several legal challenges, including with regard to states' rights, employment law and Equal Protection. My @sportico.bsky.social legal column: www.sportico.com/law/analysis...

According to @netflix.com, over 41 million around the world watched Crawford's win over Canelo. Some context in my latest for @sportico.bsky.social as scrutiny over streaming numbers has grown in recent weeks. www.sportico.com/leagues/boxi...

Always a treat to sit down with Trevor Hoffman, this time talking about the current great Padres bullpen and his slick recent save at Petco for the Bananas. My latest for @sportico.bsky.social

Shohei Ohtani and his agent motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the two men of wrongdoing in a $240M luxury real esate development in Hawaii. Ohtani argues he did nothing wrong and insists that the developer misused his NIL. I have details and analysis for @sportico.bsky.social:

In February, Alvarez signed a four-fight deal with Alalshikh; Reports put the package at $400 million. A longtime boxing insider told Sportico the fight contract was in the neighborhood of $325 million.

Big NBA agent arbitration decision: Derrick Jones Jr. owes his ex-agent, Aaron Turner, $1.2M for a $30M contract Turner says he negotiated with the LA Clippers in part because Jones didn't give Turner sufficient notice of his firing. Kudos to Darren Heitner on the win. My @sportico.bsky.social take:

The jokes are flying but the business is real. With USF/Miami on The CW tomorrow, I chatted with its president about how ACC football helps raise the profile of CW Sports. My latest for @sportico.bsky.social. www.sportico.com/business/med...

Kalshi says it never wins when users lose. That's not true—at least for the parent company. Kalshi Trading, owned by Kalshi Inc., is a for-profit entity operating on the exchange. We break down the affiliate and how its existence seems to contradict Kalshi's public messaging.

As troubling new salary cap circumvention allegations against the Los Angeles Clippers are revealed this morning by Pablo Torre, NBA commissioner Adam Silver—a seasoned attorney—stresses the importance of due process. My @sportico.bsky.social legal take on latest developments: