1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: This is the Business of Sports. 2 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:06,359 Speaker 2: Sports are the greatest unscripted show owner. 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,440 Speaker 3: The next generation of players who really grew up with 4 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:09,799 Speaker 3: tech and believe in tech. 5 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 4: Your face is your ticket, your face is your wallet, 6 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 4: Your face is your access to a club. 7 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 5: These are such icnic and important buildings for businesses. 8 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 3: For fans, COVID was one of the best things that 9 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 3: ever happened to go. 10 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 6: The NFL is a bulletproof business. 11 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:26,480 Speaker 7: Racing is unique because there is absolutely no reason why 12 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:28,640 Speaker 7: we can't compete with the guys. I'm well, it's pro pickleball. 13 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 6: Real, are people really going to tune into this? If 14 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 6: you're playing moneyball with a huge bag of money, you're 15 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:34,279 Speaker 6: going to be. 16 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 7: Really, really good. 17 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 18 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 7: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore 19 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 7: the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm 20 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 7: Michael Barr, along with my colleagues Damian Sasauur and Vanessa Berdomo. 21 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 7: Coming up on the show, we do a deep dive 22 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 7: on the nc DOUBLEA. With college football's new season coming up. 23 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 7: We'll take a look at the latest following the NCAA 24 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 7: settlement the House some of the latest legal headlines involving 25 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 7: college sports and more. Plus we'll also take a look 26 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,319 Speaker 7: at how some of the Trump administration's policies could be 27 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 7: reshaping America's soft power in the world of sports. We'll 28 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 7: explain that all that and more is on the way 29 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 7: on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. But first we continue 30 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 7: to follow the turmoil in the NFL Players Association. One 31 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 7: of the latest discoveries the union's former leaders. We're working 32 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 7: in secret on a venture capital fund with the hopes 33 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 7: that one day it would raise enough money to invest 34 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 7: in an NFL franchise. Bloomberg US sports business reporter Randa 35 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:45,119 Speaker 7: Williams has been following this story, and he joins us 36 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 7: now to discuss. Randa, Welcome back to the Bloomberg Business 37 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 7: of Sports. 38 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 6: As always, thank you for having me now. 39 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 7: You wrote a great article, man, it's so much to 40 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 7: talk about here in your article. The former head of 41 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:01,559 Speaker 7: the National Football League Players Association now, when he left 42 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:08,959 Speaker 7: Howell's project for the union's secret venture fund project also left, 43 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 7: and he had hoped it would raise enough funds to 44 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 7: invest in an NFL team. I just don't see other 45 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 7: NFL team owners voting for that one. 46 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 6: Yeah, neither do I I think it was a little 47 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 6: far fetched, but he had, from what my sources told me, 48 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 6: he had reason to believe that this was a way 49 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 6: that NFL players could gain equity in teams, I mean, 50 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 6: and the NFL owners voted to ban that as part 51 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 6: of contract negotiations. Aaron Rodgers tried it, Caleb Williams tried it, 52 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 6: and evidently they're like, no, this isn't. 53 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 7: Going to happen. 54 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 6: When Lloyd howl came in at the time, he mentioned 55 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 6: during his press conference that in his conversations with the league, 56 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 6: well at the time, no one had reported the firms 57 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,359 Speaker 6: that the league was having conversations with, which obviously goes 58 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 6: back to his position at Carlisle, and so he had 59 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 6: started basically bringing together they're a quiet group of people 60 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 6: at the NFLPA to look into raising funds and hopes 61 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 6: of one day buying into a team. Now, what team 62 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 6: would allow that and what owners would approve that. I 63 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:11,919 Speaker 6: don't think we'll ever find that out. 64 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 8: It's interesting because I was trying to figure out who 65 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 8: it would actually be the most beneficial for, obviously other 66 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:23,079 Speaker 8: than Lloyd Howe himself, because is it beneficial to the players? 67 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 8: I mean, they kind of have that seat, but also 68 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 8: at the same time, if owner did allow it, technically 69 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 8: that means the players or whatever the PA would be 70 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 8: in on the best interest of the franchise. 71 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 7: Yeah, I don't know. 72 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 6: I don't know that the project got far enough to 73 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 6: figure out like the intricacies of how this would work, 74 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 6: like what does exiting look like in this proposed plan? 75 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 6: And another part of this is like, if you're one 76 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 6: of the NFL's greatest earners, so let's think like Mahomes, 77 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 6: Alan Jackson, Burrow, They're all going to earn probably another 78 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 6: three hundred million dollars in their career. At a certain 79 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 6: point they might just want to buy in themselves and 80 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 6: not want to go as part of this union thing. Now, obviously, 81 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 6: with Lloyd being gone for a multitude of reasons, I 82 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 6: don't think that the new executive director is going to 83 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 6: come in and be like, yes, venture fund, that's definitely 84 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 6: at the bottom of his to do list. 85 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 4: Well, Randall, talk to us about David White, who is 86 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 4: the new interim I believe director I talk is that 87 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:23,919 Speaker 4: going to be a permanent position? Is he going to 88 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:26,919 Speaker 4: be the permanent leader of the NFL Players Association? 89 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 6: So he was interviewed alongside Lloyd when Lloyd was hired, 90 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 6: not at the same time, but he was another candidate, 91 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 6: And it's to be determined. I think that luckily he's 92 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,840 Speaker 6: in a time of labor piece like when Lloyd was 93 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 6: in his tenure, he was talking about the biggest contention 94 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 6: point was whether or not they could get an eighteen 95 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,720 Speaker 6: game season done. At first Lloyd was in favor of it, 96 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 6: then at the Super Bowl he changed gears a little bit. 97 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,920 Speaker 6: It's unclear how David feels about this, and the union 98 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 6: doesn't really put their executive director in front of journalists 99 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 6: much like outside of the super Bowl interview that they 100 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:04,840 Speaker 6: have during super Bowl Week, they don't really speak that much. 101 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 6: So I don't know how David feels about this. 102 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 7: Now. 103 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 6: The first thing that he has to get in order 104 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 6: is to rally the NFL players. Like Lloyd's actions as 105 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 6: executive director and also J. C. Tretder as well have 106 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 6: divided a lot of players and there's a lot of uncertainty, 107 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 6: and so who is going to be the person to 108 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 6: rally the troops, And I think it has to be 109 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 6: David White. 110 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,840 Speaker 7: I want to go back to Aaron Rodgers now in 111 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:32,360 Speaker 7: his heyday, obviously he was with the Green Bay Packers. 112 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 7: But because the way the Packers' ownership is structured compared 113 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 7: to the Jets, I'm assuming that's why he put it 114 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 7: in the try to anywhere the Jets contract. 115 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 6: Yeah, that's part of it. 116 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 7: He could. 117 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:46,600 Speaker 6: I mean, no one can buy into the Packers. I 118 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 6: don't even think the Packers can ever be sold. But 119 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 6: at the time of his Jets tenure, he's thinking about 120 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 6: like long term, and I don't know how much he 121 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 6: would have asked for. I imagine it would have been a 122 00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 6: very small stake. We've seen people five point five percent 123 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:02,840 Speaker 6: of Charles Woodson bought point one percent, but you got 124 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 6: to remember, point one percent of like the Giants is 125 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 6: going to go for millions of dollars. So it would 126 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,119 Speaker 6: have been very beneficial to Rogers because, of course, NFL 127 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 6: valuations has shown no sign of slowing down, in large 128 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 6: part because no one is stopping watching the NFL. The 129 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 6: Super Bowl had one hundred and twenty seven million viewers, 130 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 6: so Rogers rightfully, so I was like, let me get 131 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 6: in on this, and then the NFL owners had a 132 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 6: quick impromptu meeting. Everybody voted no, and that was the 133 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 6: end of it. 134 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 4: Well, you know, Randall, while we're talking about NFL sports 135 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 4: teams valuations, I can't help but point out the Chicago 136 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 4: Bears resetting the playing field at eight point eight billion dollars. 137 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 4: And let's just think about some of the more recent transactions. 138 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,279 Speaker 4: The Niners were went for eight point six, the Eagle 139 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 4: freight point three, and the Dolphins for eight point one. 140 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 4: I'm talking taking on some minority investors. Yep, this, I. 141 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:50,239 Speaker 7: Mean is a big, big number. 142 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,039 Speaker 4: I mean, even adjusting for all of those previous transactions. 143 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 4: That's what we do here at Bloomberg Intelligence. We kind 144 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 4: of try to smartly adjust for things in real time. 145 00:06:57,640 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 4: I mean, I was only coming up with a seven 146 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:01,679 Speaker 4: point seven four value billion dollar valuation for the Bears 147 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:03,720 Speaker 4: and they go for eight point eight. I mean, my god, 148 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:05,280 Speaker 4: this is just resetting the bar. 149 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 6: No, it does. What's the most interesting to me? And 150 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 6: I'll go on record and say that the Bears are 151 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 6: the biggest sleeping giant in the NFL by far. They 152 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 6: have the third or fourth largest market, depending on if 153 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 6: you want to put Houston in front of them. But 154 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 6: they have the smallest stadium in the NFL, probably the 155 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 6: oldest stadium in the NFL and they're struggling to build 156 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 6: a new stadium, probably in Arlington Heights. And with that 157 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 6: in mind, the eight point eight number is staggering, but 158 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 6: of course, like you still need a stadium built. And 159 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,559 Speaker 6: at that point you look at Josh Harris, for example, 160 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 6: who has this three point eight billion dollar facility that 161 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 6: he helps to open by twenty thirty. What does the 162 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 6: Bears go for? When they were talking about putting this 163 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 6: on the lake Front, the number they floated around was 164 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 6: four point six billion. That was with all the infrastructure. 165 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 6: The stadium itself would have been three point two. Now, 166 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 6: granted the Lakefront stadium is dead and they haven't got 167 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 6: into the specifics in Arlington Heights, but with that in mind, 168 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 6: you add a stadium onto the valuation of eight point 169 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 6: eight and you very quickly get to a ten number, 170 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 6: which is very, very high. 171 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,239 Speaker 7: I want to talk about the Chicago Bears and their board. 172 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 7: They weset all that. Edward McCaskey. He's the son of 173 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 7: Board Secretary Patrick McCaskey. He was named the seventh member 174 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 7: of the panel. He replaced his grandmother, Virginia McCaskey, who 175 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 7: died in February at age one. Hundred two. How much 176 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 7: of an impact will Edward McCaskey now have. 177 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 4: Can I just for an audience for Michael, let's just 178 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 4: talk about who Virginia McCaskey is, the daughter of the 179 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 4: founder of Georgiow who bought the team in nineteen twenty 180 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 4: four for one hundred dollars. 181 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 7: Crazy. 182 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 8: Anyone who doesn't believe in women's sports should remember that 183 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 8: one hundred years ago. 184 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 4: So just give them a little bit dollars one hundred 185 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 4: years ago. 186 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 7: They didn't even have leather helmets back then. Yeah, but 187 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 7: the Sky I have an impact. 188 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 6: I mean well, I think the Bears board is one 189 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 6: of the more private boards of all the NFL ownership groups. 190 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 6: Like George McCaskey is not getting on a podium. He'll 191 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 6: talk to reporters, of course, but he's not one of 192 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 6: the more forward facing owners in the NFL, and neither 193 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 6: are the board members. The most often people at the 194 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 6: NFL league meetings that are speaking are Bears President and 195 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 6: CEO Kevin Warren and occasionally Ed McCaskey. And so with 196 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 6: that in mind, I am interested to see if ed 197 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 6: McCaskey has any impact on the stadium front. Now that's 198 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 6: been Kevin Warren's project, of course, but they have a 199 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 6: long way to go, and I mean, maybe he comes 200 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 6: in with a new fresh mindset, he starts talking about 201 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,080 Speaker 6: any way to fund this, or maybe he's lobbying. 202 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 7: I don't know. 203 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 8: Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what they do on 204 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 8: the stadium front. The thing that I find interesting and 205 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 8: you pointed out those numbers earlier Damon about which teams 206 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 8: have gone recently, and they're all for the minority stakes, 207 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 8: but different than we thought. Right, we thought private equity 208 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 8: was going to come in and rechange the private the valuations. 209 00:09:55,080 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 8: But these minimal two percent six percent deals are changing valuations. 210 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 5: Do you think that they should have an impact like that? 211 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 8: It feels I think. 212 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 6: That this is a impact of private equity. There are 213 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 6: some people who might disagree with me, but what you're 214 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 6: seeing from my vantage point is that private equity gets 215 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 6: approved in August twenty twenty four, you immediately have two 216 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 6: deals in approved in December that's Dolphins and that's Bills, 217 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 6: and then three months after that in March you have 218 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 6: a Chargers deal. I think that is March or May, 219 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,320 Speaker 6: one of those two league meetings, and of course you 220 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 6: have all these minority stakes. Now all of these ownership groups. 221 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 6: If you go back to the Eagles, the Eagles considered 222 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 6: private equity. I believe the forty nine ers considered it 223 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 6: as well, and so what I think is probably happening 224 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,320 Speaker 6: is that it is a new investment pool for these 225 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 6: owners to look at. And evidently then they have these 226 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 6: conversations with private equity firms, they have these conversations with 227 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:53,680 Speaker 6: individual investors, and then whoever is the right investor, and 228 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 6: the right investor in the right fit, and they have 229 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 6: the most money they go with. And so with the 230 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 6: Bears in particular, this is a small stake. I'm sure 231 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 6: that they may eventually look further into private equity, of course, 232 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 6: because private equity is going to help with the stadium funding. 233 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 6: But in regards to the forty nine ers, the forty 234 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,320 Speaker 6: nine ers had conversations, they went another way. The Eagles 235 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 6: had conversations, they went another way. And the exact reasoning 236 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:18,480 Speaker 6: for that is unclear, but it doesn't really matter because 237 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:20,680 Speaker 6: it is what the NFL wants to see. They want 238 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 6: to see more of these minority transactions so that if 239 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:25,679 Speaker 6: owners want to get more capital they can, and that's 240 00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:30,239 Speaker 6: what's happening. So I think it's a it's an inadvertent 241 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 6: impact that private equity is having, and there will be 242 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 6: more deals to come. Sixth Street hasn't made a deal yet, 243 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,280 Speaker 6: and neither has Dynasty Carl Isle and Curtis Martin Ran. 244 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:39,840 Speaker 4: Do you think the Giants sell for ten billion? 245 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:42,640 Speaker 6: I do think that sticks a pass. The reason, let 246 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:45,200 Speaker 6: me explain, agree, if the Coach family is involved and 247 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 6: considering what they bought into BSc, which is of course 248 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 6: the nets and the Liberty, they have a lot of money, 249 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 6: a whole lot of money. And so if you're competing 250 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 6: against the Coach family and you're putting up money, what 251 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:59,080 Speaker 6: if they say we want the full ten percent and 252 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 6: we'll go one point five billion. Well that's a ten 253 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:05,440 Speaker 6: point five billion dollar valuation. And who's gonna be willing 254 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:08,800 Speaker 6: to own ten percent of the team? Have no you know, 255 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 6: that's to control and just say I just want to 256 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 6: be a fan and you know, participate and help you all. 257 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 6: There's not a lot of people who are going to 258 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 6: be offering one point five billion dollars for anything. They're 259 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:19,080 Speaker 6: not going to control. 260 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:22,200 Speaker 7: Our Thanks to Bloomberg, US sports business reporter Randa Williams 261 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 7: for joining US up next, we take a look at 262 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,440 Speaker 7: how America is wielding soft power in the world of 263 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:32,920 Speaker 7: sports and how new policies might be reshaping that influence. 264 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 7: For Damien Sasaur and Vanessa Perdomo, I'm Michael Dahar. You 265 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 7: are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports Bloomberger Radio 266 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:41,840 Speaker 7: around the world. 267 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:55,000 Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 268 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 7: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports. Will we explore 269 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 7: the big gunny issues in the ear to sports. I'm 270 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:05,080 Speaker 7: Michael Barr along with Damian Sassaur and Vanessa Perdomo. The 271 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 7: US has long wielding soft power in the world of sports, 272 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,679 Speaker 7: but recent changes to US foreign and immigration policies could 273 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 7: be reshaping that soft power and affecting athletes around the world. 274 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 7: Bloomberg opinion columnists Adam Mentor's latest Peace discusses this and 275 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,600 Speaker 7: he joins us now that tell us about it. Adam, 276 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:26,959 Speaker 7: Welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports. 277 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 2: Glad to be back. 278 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 7: I want to talk about one of the articles, and 279 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 7: you hit a point. America is undermining its soft power 280 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:42,439 Speaker 7: in sports, and part of this is because with new 281 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:47,719 Speaker 7: travel restrictions that's going on and all that's going on, 282 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 7: and people are afraid, you know, vice and this and that. 283 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,080 Speaker 7: That has changed the landscape in sports. 284 00:13:55,760 --> 00:14:00,320 Speaker 2: It absolutely has. You know, the Trump travel bands they're 285 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:04,559 Speaker 2: loosely called, are really starting to impact who can come 286 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 2: to the US and why they come to the US 287 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 2: in terms of sports. And we're seeing this with the 288 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 2: Little League World Series, which is happening right now. It 289 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,680 Speaker 2: took an exemption from the Secretary of State Marco Rubio 290 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 2: to get the Latin American representatives a team from Venezuela 291 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 2: Cardinales Little League into the country, and that's fairly unprecedented. 292 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 2: I mean, usually and historically international athletic events in the 293 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 2: US have welcomed and have had no problem welcoming competitors 294 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 2: from all over the world, and all of a sudden, 295 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,720 Speaker 2: since the beginning of June, that's no longer the case. 296 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 2: We've seen visa denials for teams and then we've seen 297 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 2: unbelievable red tape having to be cut through, as we 298 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 2: have with this Venezuelan Little League team. So it's a 299 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:51,200 Speaker 2: real shift. 300 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 8: It's interesting and also if you could explain a little 301 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:59,360 Speaker 8: bit of the idea of what the term soft power 302 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,680 Speaker 8: means guards to in regards to this topic. 303 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 2: Sure, sure, well, hard power is you know what, it 304 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 2: kind of sounds like military means pariffs, these kinds of 305 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 2: things that are ways of extending US power kind of 306 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:14,760 Speaker 2: with a with a big stick, or if we will, 307 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 2: with a baseball bat. Soft power is a little bit different. 308 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 2: It's it's cultural power. 309 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 3: You know, it's. 310 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:24,320 Speaker 2: Going to China and seeing a lot of kids wearing 311 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:28,200 Speaker 2: James Harden jerseys, which you will see they love Harden 312 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 2: over there. You know that's those kids aren't just embracing 313 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 2: James Harden, They're kind of embracing the American values, the 314 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 2: creativity that a guy like James Harden embodies on the court. 315 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 2: So that's the kind of thing that is much harder 316 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,880 Speaker 2: to acquire and much harder project. But the US has 317 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 2: been able to do it for decades. And one of 318 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,240 Speaker 2: the ways it's been able to do that is through 319 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 2: sports and in these travel bands, as I argue in 320 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,560 Speaker 2: this recent piece, are starting to undermine that traditional soft 321 00:15:57,640 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 2: power that the US has wielded. 322 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 4: One thing, when you know the State Department's denying these 323 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 4: is to members of Senegal's national women's basketball team or 324 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 4: Cuba's national women's volleyball team, We've got FIFA World Cup 325 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 4: coming to town, We've got the Olympics coming to LA. 326 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 4: I mean, what about your average run of the mill, 327 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 4: you know, fan from abroad or family member who wants 328 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,640 Speaker 4: to watch their child participate in some of these events. 329 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 4: Are they gonna have this? Do we expect they're gonna 330 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 4: have similar problems here? 331 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 2: Absolutely they will. I mean again, there's certain countries that 332 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 2: will have no problem. If you're coming from the UK, 333 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:29,760 Speaker 2: you know, you're probably gonna be able to get in 334 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 2: and see, you know, your child die for the UK 335 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:37,600 Speaker 2: diving team at LA twenty eight. But the problems come 336 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 2: is exactly you point out with the fans. The travel 337 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,200 Speaker 2: bands make exemptions for major athletic events, and it was 338 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 2: the Olympics and the World Cup that everybody had in mind, 339 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 2: but it does not make the bands do not make 340 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 2: exemptions for fans. And so if your country is on 341 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 2: the list of around a dozen countries Venezuela, Cuba, some 342 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 2: West Africa countries, and it's likely to expand to more countries, 343 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 2: you may not be able to get in. And it 344 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:11,480 Speaker 2: kind of undermines, not kind of underminds, it definitely undermines 345 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,640 Speaker 2: one of the reasons theoretically why the US would want 346 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 2: to hold events like this. I mean it's to showcase 347 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:22,440 Speaker 2: our country, to showcase our venues, to showcase our openness, ironically, 348 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 2: and and to showcase how well we can host an event. 349 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 2: You know, these aren't just about hosting the World Cup. 350 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 2: They're advertising our ability to host other kinds of events. 351 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:35,120 Speaker 2: And if people can't get their people into the country, 352 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 2: they're going to look elsewhere. 353 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:36,520 Speaker 5: Well. 354 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,880 Speaker 4: I agree with most things that Adam Andntor is mentioning here, 355 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 4: Michael Barr, but I mean, let's be clear, UK athletes 356 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,960 Speaker 4: getting into the US. It's just as long as cure Starmer. 357 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,160 Speaker 4: You know, Prime Minister of UK treads in the line 358 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:49,320 Speaker 4: carefully with the White House. You know, we can black. Hey, 359 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:51,920 Speaker 4: I don't think anything is setenced doone here, but yeah, 360 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 4: well enough. 361 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 7: You know, I when I realize is that, like and 362 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:57,919 Speaker 7: you said it best at them. This isn't just like 363 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 7: with baseball or basketball or something like that. This impacts 364 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 7: because I'm a motorhead in the f one. I mean, 365 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 7: you know everything the fans. You know, if you're from 366 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:11,760 Speaker 7: Brazil and you're rooting for your driver and this and 367 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 7: that whatever, or even the drivers for that matter. This 368 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 7: impacts everything. 369 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great point because again the travel bands, 370 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 2: you know, they make an exemption for major sporting events. Well, 371 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 2: you know obviously in the Olympics, in the World Cup. 372 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,720 Speaker 2: You know, what is the Miami Grand Prix. Does that qualify? 373 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,240 Speaker 2: You know, does the Las Vegas Grand Prix qualify? You know, 374 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 2: is Marco Rubio gonna, you know, be sitting in his 375 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:43,399 Speaker 2: office signing travel exemptions for you know, team members from 376 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,119 Speaker 2: from countries that are or that are on the on 377 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 2: the travel band list, or you know, for that matter, 378 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 2: is it going to be signing exemptions for people you 379 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:52,919 Speaker 2: know who got caught up in a dragnet at the 380 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,880 Speaker 2: you know, the consulate in Rio that day because some 381 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,320 Speaker 2: visa officer was in a bad mood. I mean, this 382 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 2: really turns the soft power idea and the openness of 383 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:05,120 Speaker 2: American sports on its head. 384 00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 7: And Vanessa, this does not help Las Vegas at all, 385 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:10,920 Speaker 7: because they just came out with a report that said 386 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:16,680 Speaker 7: that their visitors coming to the city went way down. 387 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 5: Yeah. 388 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 8: I saw that as well. I mean it's interesting after 389 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 8: we've seen so many sport events in Vegas, then the 390 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 8: downtick happened, which is definitely something to pay attention to. 391 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 7: Adam. 392 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:31,040 Speaker 8: I'm curious because this in your article you talked about 393 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 8: how this could affect or NC double A athletes, because 394 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 8: we've seen a huge uptick in that in the last 395 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 8: few years I played, you know, Division one, they got 396 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 8: free scholarships, you know, I mean, and no, no matter 397 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 8: what sport they played in. It it's a massive, you know, 398 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,920 Speaker 8: part of college athletics. So how is it going to 399 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:51,800 Speaker 8: affect that. 400 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:54,680 Speaker 2: Well, it's it's first worth noting that, you know, the 401 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 2: the number of international athletes coming to the US to 402 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 2: play in NC double A sports is ballooned over the years. 403 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,120 Speaker 2: In the piece, we note that in twenty twenty three 404 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 2: twenty four, around seven percent of D one athletes are international. No, 405 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 2: not all of those are scholarship athletes. A lot of 406 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 2: them are. But you also have the case where you 407 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 2: have international athletes from from countries that don't have a 408 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 2: training program saying swimming or diving, which are very popular examples. 409 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 2: They can't train as well, say in Singapore, as they 410 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:30,399 Speaker 2: can somewhere in the US. They will pay tuition to 411 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,639 Speaker 2: schools to take these kids and train them. That's a 412 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 2: business opportunity for these colleges and universities first of all, 413 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 2: but even where you're talking about the scholarship athletes, I mean, 414 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,640 Speaker 2: it's there's a lot of uncertainty there. I mean, if 415 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,959 Speaker 2: you're a basketball program and you're counting on, you know, 416 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:50,320 Speaker 2: a student coming in from you know, say Serbia, and 417 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:51,959 Speaker 2: I'm just throwing this out there, I don't know if 418 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,160 Speaker 2: any one programs have it to play basketball. And there's 419 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:58,119 Speaker 2: visa delays that not only gives you pause for the 420 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,440 Speaker 2: future about whether you're going to be recruiting these kinds 421 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:02,239 Speaker 2: of athletes because you know you're not going to have 422 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 2: the student athlete there, the athlete there. But on the 423 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:08,200 Speaker 2: other side of the equation, say you're a Serbian, very 424 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 2: talented Serbian, you know, eighteen year old center. You may 425 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:16,240 Speaker 2: have other opportunities. They may not be as lucrative as 426 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 2: playing in D one basketball is these days, but at 427 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:21,360 Speaker 2: least you know you can get the visa to say, 428 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,919 Speaker 2: go play in Spain. And so again it's it's cutting 429 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,199 Speaker 2: the US off from international talents. So it's going to 430 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 2: lower theoretically the level of competition across American college sports, 431 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 2: and it's also going to it's also going to hurt 432 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 2: the business of college sports. 433 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,440 Speaker 7: I also want to talk about and you wrote another 434 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,639 Speaker 7: good article and this involves Bryce Harper, you know, first 435 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,359 Speaker 7: baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies making three hundred and thirty 436 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:53,680 Speaker 7: million dollars. He got into a let's call a little 437 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 7: tift he did. Yeah, you know, well, he was talking 438 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:03,120 Speaker 7: to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and it ended 439 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 7: up with Harper saying, oh, yeah, your brother Blow's bubblegum 440 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:12,040 Speaker 7: and then it all broke loose. You wrote a great 441 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 7: article that should a three hundred and thirty million dollar 442 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:21,480 Speaker 7: player be the face for getting more pay fights? 443 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 2: Yes, I mean I think you know. The Harper confrontation 444 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 2: with Manfred is interesting because it was Manford going to 445 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 2: the Phillies Phillies team meeting to basically just talk about 446 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 2: what's going on in the business of baseball. And he 447 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:41,120 Speaker 2: does this with every team, just updating them. And Harper, 448 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,639 Speaker 2: who we know just from watching him on the field, 449 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 2: he has a bit of a temper. He sensed that 450 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 2: Manfred was about to start talking about salary cap, which 451 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:54,439 Speaker 2: is something that the player's union and and Harper have 452 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:56,440 Speaker 2: a post for many years, and he got up and 453 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,400 Speaker 2: used an expletive telling them where to go, and Manfred 454 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 2: fired back, and you know, cooler heads prevailed and they 455 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,239 Speaker 2: stopped talking about the salary cap. But my point in 456 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 2: this piece is, you know, a guy like Bryce Harper 457 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,199 Speaker 2: has done really well without a salary cap in baseball. 458 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,200 Speaker 2: I mean, he's got the three hundred and thirty million 459 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 2: dollar contract, so it's natural that he wouldn't want one. 460 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 2: But that discussion, Guys like Harper are really the exceptions 461 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,760 Speaker 2: in baseball, and anybody who follows baseball knows that most 462 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,440 Speaker 2: of the players on most rosters aren't making that kind 463 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:34,480 Speaker 2: of money. Most of them are struggling with salaries around 464 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:36,240 Speaker 2: one million dollars a year. Now, I would be happy 465 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:38,840 Speaker 2: to have a salary of one million dollar a year, 466 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,639 Speaker 2: or even the MLB minimum of seven hundred and sixty 467 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,000 Speaker 2: thousand dollars a year, but they're locked into contracts that 468 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,639 Speaker 2: don't allow them to get to that level of compensation 469 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:49,679 Speaker 2: three years. And so those are the players who I 470 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 2: argue should be talking, not not Harper. 471 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,159 Speaker 4: Well, Adam, I mean, you couldn't be more right on 472 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:56,119 Speaker 4: this front. I mean, this number just stood out to 473 00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:58,000 Speaker 4: me in your article. I just have to for our 474 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,919 Speaker 4: audience here. In twenty fifteen, the media Major League Baseball 475 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,600 Speaker 4: player salary was one point sixty five million. Today, ten 476 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:07,080 Speaker 4: years later, it's only one point three five million. It's 477 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:11,200 Speaker 4: gone down down. I mean that is just mind numbing 478 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:13,520 Speaker 4: when you think of all just how big the Major 479 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 4: League MEMLB is and how many players there are, and 480 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 4: minor leagues and everything that goes hand in hand with it. 481 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,000 Speaker 4: I mean, it's it really does. I mean, it does 482 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 4: bode in favor of a salary caps something like what 483 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 4: you see in the NFL and some other professional sports 484 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 4: leagues now, right. 485 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,880 Speaker 2: And it also pushes against the narrative that I think 486 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 2: many fans have about baseball, which is that the salaries 487 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 2: keep spiraling upward. But that's not the case. And that's 488 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,720 Speaker 2: that's uh, it's it's worth keeping in mind again. You know, 489 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:49,160 Speaker 2: Bryce Harper has you know, he's he's ridden that narrative. 490 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,040 Speaker 2: But but for most of these players, they're they're stuck 491 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 2: in six years of service that is there, you know, 492 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 2: their rookie contracts, I mean right, they're stuck, you know, 493 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:03,360 Speaker 2: on a team, unable to negotiate really their contracts. There's 494 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 2: some movement, there's some contractual stuff but they can't. They 495 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,800 Speaker 2: can't you know, they can't get their value. They're underpaid. 496 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 7: Our thanks to Bloomberg Opinion columnists Adam Mentor for joining us. 497 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,719 Speaker 7: For more from Bloomberg Opinion, visit Bloomberg dot Com, Slash 498 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 7: Opinion or opi n go on the Bloomberg Tournament. Up next, 499 00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:26,760 Speaker 7: we take a deep dive on the latest headlines in 500 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:30,879 Speaker 7: college sports for Damien Sassauer and Vanessa Bernomo. I'm Michael Barr. 501 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:35,439 Speaker 7: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 502 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:36,439 Speaker 7: Around the world. 503 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:45,000 Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 504 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 7: Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports, 505 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:50,679 Speaker 7: where we explore the big money issues in the world 506 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 7: of sports. Michael Barr along with Damien Sassauur and Vanessa Bernomo. 507 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,639 Speaker 7: The college football season is right around the corner, and 508 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,440 Speaker 7: it comes in the middle of a lot of change 509 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:05,719 Speaker 7: in the college sports landscape. Kelly Irwin Fagan is a 510 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 7: partner at Church, Church, Hittle and antrim Or CCHA and 511 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:15,479 Speaker 7: chair of its sports law practice. She's also a former 512 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:20,399 Speaker 7: college athlete and previously worked in enforcement at the NCAA's 513 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 7: national office. Kelly joins US now to weigh in on 514 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:27,679 Speaker 7: some of the latest legal headlines and regulatory changes shaping 515 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:30,840 Speaker 7: the world of college sports. Kelly, Welcome to the Bloomberg 516 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 7: Business of Sports. 517 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me. I look forward 518 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:36,160 Speaker 3: to talking with you all today, well. 519 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 7: Back in the day, and thank you for joining us again. 520 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 7: It's back in the day of coach Dan Devine, back 521 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:47,080 Speaker 7: in the day of coach bo Scham Beckley, back in 522 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 7: the day of coach Woody Hayes. It was pretty simple 523 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:55,679 Speaker 7: to see the college landscape today. Just take all of 524 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 7: that and throw it up in the air, Cuz I 525 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,400 Speaker 7: don't have a clue now what's going to happen, especially 526 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:06,639 Speaker 7: with everything from NIL to how the new landscape is 527 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,000 Speaker 7: shaping up. Can you inform us about it. 528 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,360 Speaker 3: I'll do my best. It's it's been a journey over 529 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,439 Speaker 3: the past three or four years or so as the 530 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 3: college sports landscape has changed. But really, what was the imptus? 531 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 3: The huge impetus for a lot of the change was 532 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 3: the NCAA was having several of its rules challenged under 533 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 3: antitrust law and was not having success in defending the 534 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:36,280 Speaker 3: legality of those rules and over a series of lawsuits 535 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,440 Speaker 3: that has brought us to today. The one most talked 536 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:42,200 Speaker 3: about most frequently is the House Settlement, and the House 537 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:46,280 Speaker 3: Settlement has been approved and is being implemented this summer, 538 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,879 Speaker 3: and schools are getting getting used to that and working 539 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 3: through that. Now along with the n c a A, 540 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,920 Speaker 3: we're now in a world where schools can pay their 541 00:27:56,000 --> 00:28:00,000 Speaker 3: athletes directly for their NIL rights, and several years ago 542 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:02,600 Speaker 3: that was not the case. And many many more years 543 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 3: ago when you were talking about schools weren't should not 544 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 3: have been paying student athletes at all other than their 545 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:12,880 Speaker 3: scholarship and the benefits they got as a student athlete. 546 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 5: I think you know what's interesting for me, Kelly, is 547 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 5: and I've been saying this since that was overturned and 548 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:21,720 Speaker 5: all of the things that we're going to see after that, 549 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,000 Speaker 5: because just because that was overturned doesn't mean, you know, 550 00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:28,040 Speaker 5: the lawsuits and all, you know, all of that stuff 551 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:30,719 Speaker 5: is over. And I think one of the biggest things 552 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 5: is Title nine and how this like revenue sharing model 553 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:40,120 Speaker 5: and college is paying athletes directory for the NIL relates 554 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,800 Speaker 5: to Title nine And because what we're really seeing is 555 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,600 Speaker 5: football players are going to get the biggest share of 556 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:50,800 Speaker 5: that men's basketall players and women's basketball, but really it's 557 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 5: going to be male athletes. So can you tell us 558 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 5: a little bit about how Title nine is going to 559 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:57,200 Speaker 5: come and do you think that they were going to 560 00:28:57,280 --> 00:28:58,400 Speaker 5: see fur their lawsuits for that? 561 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, under you know the jurisprudences, we know it today. 562 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:09,200 Speaker 3: You know. Title nine applies to financial assistance that schools 563 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 3: provide to student athletes, and it has to be provided 564 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,560 Speaker 3: proportionately between male and female student athletes. So the big 565 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,280 Speaker 3: question that people are asking is these revenue share these 566 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:22,479 Speaker 3: NIL payments, are those considered financial assistance and do they 567 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:26,800 Speaker 3: have to be provided proportionately? And uh, there's probably different 568 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:30,720 Speaker 3: views on that, but we haven't received any guidance as 569 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 3: to one way, or at least any guidance that's still 570 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:37,160 Speaker 3: in place one way or another. So it'll likely be 571 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:40,720 Speaker 3: decided in a court case. Like you alluded to, there's 572 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 3: been there's been a there's been there's a case against 573 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 3: the University of Oregon, the Schroeder case that does not 574 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:53,840 Speaker 3: directly challenge this, but does challenge essentially our female and 575 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 3: male student athletes being treated equally in terms of their 576 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:02,120 Speaker 3: publicity opportunities, which then translates into n IL opportunities. 577 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 4: Kelly, you are chair of the sports law practice at 578 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 4: c c CHA. You have seen it all, and I'm 579 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:11,760 Speaker 4: just curious. You know, you know your day to day, right, 580 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:14,840 Speaker 4: I mean you've dealt with everything from NCAA in fractions, 581 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,479 Speaker 4: eligibility extensions, you know Title nine issues, as as Vanessa 582 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,360 Speaker 4: points out, sexual harassment is like how much of your day, 583 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:25,240 Speaker 4: how much of the cases, how much of the time 584 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 4: you're spending now is involved in NIL? 585 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a big portion of it. I would say, 586 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 3: you know, half of my day is probably spent on 587 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:37,480 Speaker 3: issues that touch in IL in some way, whether that's 588 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 3: in conjunction with another legal issue like Title nine or 589 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:44,960 Speaker 3: at you know, writing a contract or negotiating a contract 590 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:50,600 Speaker 3: for an NIL deal, helping with the the implementation. There's 591 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,960 Speaker 3: a new enforcement group called the College Sports Commission that's 592 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,760 Speaker 3: really just up and hunning, so trying to trying to 593 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,040 Speaker 3: help schools figure out, you know what that's going to 594 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,720 Speaker 3: look like. So it's it's what is that. 595 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:02,760 Speaker 7: Going to look like? Kelly? 596 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:05,000 Speaker 4: I mean, isn't that like is it Deloitte or Ernst 597 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 4: and Young? I mean, what is the composition of that? Like, 598 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 4: how do you how do you how do you work 599 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:10,640 Speaker 4: with them? 600 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, the College Sports Commission is right now. I think 601 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 3: it's two employees, and then Deloitte is working with the 602 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:21,200 Speaker 3: College Sports Commission on essentially the aspect of ANIL that 603 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,560 Speaker 3: if you have a third party deal, the reporting aspect. 604 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 3: If you have a third party deal, then in some 605 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 3: cases it has to be for a valid business purpose 606 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,000 Speaker 3: and for a range of compensation or fair market value. 607 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:36,160 Speaker 3: So what that looks like, we don't know. It's in 608 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,320 Speaker 3: its infancy, and it's eventually supposed to act as an 609 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:42,640 Speaker 3: enforcement agency and then there's an arbitration process that can 610 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:46,600 Speaker 3: that can come. So we're very early into what that 611 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:48,600 Speaker 3: looks like, and hopefully over the next six or twelve 612 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:50,520 Speaker 3: months that'll become a little bit more clear. 613 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 7: Can we talk about the brand new Score Act and 614 00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:59,440 Speaker 7: President Trump's Executive Order on college Sports? Can you break 615 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 7: it down about the Score Act and President Trump's impact 616 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:06,600 Speaker 7: on college sports for the audience. 617 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:10,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, the NCAA, for what we taught, we started talking 618 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:13,240 Speaker 3: about the you know, all of this was really triggered 619 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:17,520 Speaker 3: by the antitrust liability they faced, and there's now a 620 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 3: lot of different state laws that and states have got 621 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:23,520 Speaker 3: State's Attorney generals have gotten involved, and so the NCAA, 622 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:27,040 Speaker 3: this House Settlement, the forward looking component is last for 623 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:31,760 Speaker 3: ten years, so that's not permanent, and they need a 624 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:36,960 Speaker 3: way to try to avoid the constant litigation that they're 625 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,960 Speaker 3: facing that I think Vanessa said isn't going away and 626 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:45,280 Speaker 3: hasn't gone away. And so there's been a lot of efforts. 627 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:48,240 Speaker 3: From a federal legislation standpoint. The Score Act is really 628 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:52,640 Speaker 3: the furthest one that we've seen get to the floor 629 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:55,840 Speaker 3: of the House. Whether it gets passed, I think is 630 00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:01,080 Speaker 3: a lot more questionable through the Senate. But basically the 631 00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:03,800 Speaker 3: goal of the Score Act and then the President Trump's 632 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 3: Executive Order that followed was to try to codify some 633 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 3: aspects of this House Settlement, to provide some protection to 634 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:17,719 Speaker 3: the NCAA from anti trust scrutiny, to protect women's sports 635 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,000 Speaker 3: in Olympic sports. There's a lot of language in the 636 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:23,239 Speaker 3: Executive Order that was geared towards that and trying to 637 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:26,520 Speaker 3: get schools to make sure that they are protecting those 638 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 3: and along with the Olympic movement, and to prohibit the 639 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:35,600 Speaker 3: third party pay for play that continues to be not allowed. 640 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:38,960 Speaker 3: But an area that is that I think is can 641 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:46,280 Speaker 3: put a boundary that is pushed regularly and to to 642 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 3: to address the issue of student athletes as employment. So 643 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 3: it's a it's trying to hit a lot of different 644 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:54,640 Speaker 3: things and one in one act and one bill, and 645 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:57,479 Speaker 3: we'll see what happens and if it gets passed or not. 646 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:01,360 Speaker 5: The cure is thing for as we were talking about, 647 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:05,560 Speaker 5: you know, the Score Act and things like that. Is it, 648 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:08,879 Speaker 5: you know, like, should there be a bill like that 649 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:14,200 Speaker 5: that tries to hit on everything, you know, Title nine, 650 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:17,719 Speaker 5: all of these things under one employment status, all of 651 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:21,840 Speaker 5: these things under one bill? Or should that really be 652 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,680 Speaker 5: broken up into different things? Because from what I saw 653 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:31,239 Speaker 5: it wasn't completely supported on both sides, right, So what 654 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:34,840 Speaker 5: is you know, what is the bipartisan act for this 655 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,400 Speaker 5: and why is it not I guess supported by everyone 656 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:40,520 Speaker 5: the Score Act? And what can really be done? 657 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:41,440 Speaker 2: Should it be broken up? 658 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:43,160 Speaker 5: Do you think into different bills? 659 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,160 Speaker 3: Yeah? I think, I mean, I think if it's going 660 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:49,080 Speaker 3: to get passed, you know, through the Senate with needing 661 00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:51,680 Speaker 3: sixty votes, I think that it's going to have to 662 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,960 Speaker 3: obviously going to have to be bipartisan supported. And in 663 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:58,520 Speaker 3: order to do that, there's will have to be given 664 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:01,960 Speaker 3: take from each and I I think that you know, 665 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:06,400 Speaker 3: the definition or how they've they've treated athletes as not 666 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:10,880 Speaker 3: being employees and making that, you know, a very black 667 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:15,160 Speaker 3: and white provision of it. Is there some opportunity for 668 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:17,799 Speaker 3: some nuance there. I think that there may be some 669 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:21,680 Speaker 3: athletes that are much closer to employees than others and 670 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:24,960 Speaker 3: just depend just based on how the nature of college 671 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:28,320 Speaker 3: sports works. So I think if something is going to 672 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:31,800 Speaker 3: get past, it's going to have to have a little 673 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:34,400 Speaker 3: bit for each party that is interested in it, and 674 00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:37,479 Speaker 3: have to be bipartisan. Maybe they don't have to cover 675 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:41,120 Speaker 3: everything that's in this initial version of the score Act, 676 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:42,719 Speaker 3: and it can be kind of whittled down to some 677 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:44,160 Speaker 3: of the more priority issues. 678 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:46,080 Speaker 4: You know, I do want to ask you this, you know, 679 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:48,239 Speaker 4: when you I mean, you're you're you're writing all these 680 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:51,040 Speaker 4: contracts for all these players, all these student athletes, and 681 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:53,360 Speaker 4: you know, I just I'm curious about the integrity of 682 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,200 Speaker 4: those contracts themselves, you know, because I hear about these athletes. 683 00:35:56,239 --> 00:35:59,160 Speaker 4: They they go into the transfer portal, they agree to, 684 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:01,239 Speaker 4: you know, move to this new university, and then the 685 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:03,880 Speaker 4: money's not really there and the promises aren't met, and 686 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:06,239 Speaker 4: I'm just curious, like in your day, you know, in 687 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:08,400 Speaker 4: your neck of the woods, the contracts that you're drafting 688 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:12,960 Speaker 4: for these athletes, I mean, are they are they hard 689 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:17,400 Speaker 4: and fast? Are they are they enforceable? Are they subjective? 690 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,840 Speaker 4: I'm just curious, you know, in your gut you know today, 691 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:23,400 Speaker 4: do you feel that these athletes are protected? 692 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,319 Speaker 3: A lot of we we work with the schools on 693 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,520 Speaker 3: the contracts, and a lot of the schools we work 694 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:35,000 Speaker 3: with are very understanding that they're working with in some cases, 695 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:38,080 Speaker 3: you know, eighteen year olds, in some cases seventeen year olds, 696 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:41,040 Speaker 3: and a guardian has to sign the contract, and so 697 00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:43,640 Speaker 3: there there is a lot of effort to try to 698 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:47,759 Speaker 3: explain it and to ensure that the player signing it 699 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:51,479 Speaker 3: understands to make sure they have adequate representation in terms 700 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:55,239 Speaker 3: of an agent or legal counsel for themselves. So the 701 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:57,960 Speaker 3: ones that we work on, I think there is an 702 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:01,600 Speaker 3: effort there to ensure they're enforceable. University still protected, but 703 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:05,600 Speaker 3: not in a way that's so onerous and one sided. 704 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:08,879 Speaker 3: But I think there's a lot of contracts out there 705 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:12,240 Speaker 3: and a lot of you know, third party in IL 706 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:14,960 Speaker 3: deals where it is really one sided and student athletes 707 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:18,239 Speaker 3: are signing away their rights and perpetuity for you know, 708 00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:20,360 Speaker 3: fifty dollars or one hundred dollars to put up some 709 00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:25,160 Speaker 3: social media posts. So there's still a lot of need 710 00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:29,799 Speaker 3: for student athletes to have good representation or just some 711 00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:32,400 Speaker 3: education about you know, what should they look for? Not 712 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:36,640 Speaker 3: somebody getting fifty dollars deal doesn't need you know, shouldn't 713 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:39,359 Speaker 3: probably shouldn't spend money on an attorney to review that. 714 00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:41,719 Speaker 3: But can they can they be given you know, ten 715 00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:45,240 Speaker 3: things to look for in some of these contracts education 716 00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:46,320 Speaker 3: provided by their school. 717 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:50,680 Speaker 7: Our thanks to Kelly Irwin Fagan for joining us. She's 718 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:55,759 Speaker 7: partner at Ccha Law and share of its sports law practice. 719 00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,480 Speaker 7: And that does it for this edition of The Bloomberg 720 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:01,360 Speaker 7: Business of Sports. For my cow co leagues Damien Sassaur 721 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:04,640 Speaker 7: and Vanessa Perdomo, I'm Michael Barr. Tune in again next 722 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:07,280 Speaker 7: week for the latest home the stories moving big old 723 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,120 Speaker 7: money in the world of sports, and don't forget catch 724 00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:13,560 Speaker 7: our podcast on all of your podcast platforms. You are 725 00:38:13,719 --> 00:38:17,440 Speaker 7: listening to The Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio 726 00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:18,480 Speaker 7: around the world.