Mark Abbott • Renie Anderson • Steve Battista • David Baxter • Dan Beckerman • Seth Berger • David Berson • John Brody • Paul Brooks • Zak Brown • Willy Burkhardt • Faust Capobianco IV • Peter Carlisle • Kathy Carter • Brian Cashman • Ray Clark • Casey Close • Justin Connolly • Rick Cordella • Bob Cramer • William Daly • Lee Ann Daly • Paul Danforth • Mark Dowley • Russell D’Souza • Damon Evans • Jeff Fluhr • Tom Fox • John Galloway • Frank Gibeau • Neil Glat • Tom Glick • Todd Goldstein • David Greenspan • Al Guido • Wally Hayward • Robb Heineman • Michael Huyghue • Martin Jarmond • Jerry Jones Jr • Tucker Kain • Dave Katz • Wayne Katz • Sam Kennedy • Billy King • Chris Klein • Jonathan Kraft • Katie Lacey • Steve Lauletta • Mark Lazarus • Peter Lazarus • Rita Benson LeBlanc • Michael Levine • Tom Lewand • Mark Lewis • Jon Litner • Lawton Logan • Dan Lozano • Greg Luckman • Chris Marinak • Elliott McCabe • Mike McCarley • Kevin McClatchy • Patrick McGee • Tom McGovern • Dan Meis • Scott Milleisen • Peter Murray • Howard Nuchow • Sarah Robb O’Hagan • Susan O’Malley • Scott O’Neil • Jon Oram • Alan Ostfield • Rohan Oza • Jacqueline Parkes • Merritt Paulson • Bea Perez • Doug Perlman • Steve Phelps • Kevin Plank • John Pleasants • Jon Podany • Ed Policy • David Preschlack • Jeff Price • George Pyne • Bob Reif • Michael Robichaud • Brian Rolapp • Kris Rone • Jamey Rootes • Michael Rubin • Chris Russo • David Samson • Frank Saviano • Connor Schell • Hans Schroeder • Emmanuel Seuge • Greg Shaheen • Eric Shanks • Mark Shapiro • John Shea • Jeff Shell • Adam Silver • Matt Silverman • Jared Smith • Daniel Snyder • Dave St Peter • Mark Steinberg • David Sternberg • Jennifer Storms • Andrew Sturner • John Tatum • Mark Tatum • Shannon Terry • Neal Tiles • Rob Tilliss • Heidi Uberroth • Keith Wachtel • Casey Wasserman • Chris Weil • Danny White • Russell Wolff • Jed York • Brett Yormark • Peter Zern • Celebrating 20 Years of the Best Young Talent in Sports Business Will You Be There? Are you a SBJ Forty Under 40 winner and want to attend the 20th anniversary festivities? Please contact Lorianne Lamonica at loriannelamonica@sportsbusniessjournal.com for special pricing for both the Banquet and our CAA World Congress of Sports 2019 Forty Under 40 Awards Banquet April 4, 2019 | Monarch Beach Resort | Dana Point, CA www.FortyUnder40Awards.com FORTY UNDER 40 AWARDS PARTNERS TURNKEY S E A R C H MARCH 18-24, 2019 VOLUME 21 ISSUE 47 • $7.95 Derek Jeter, Act After a trying rookie year, how the Marlins CEO is executing his plan to make Miami matter again Page 26 Debt for Seattle NHL team, arena upgrades totals $825 million The nominees for the 12th annual Sports Business Awards Champion Buffy Filippell helped seed the sports industry Rachel Nichols has built a career asking tough questions 3$*( 3$*( 3$*( 3$*( TURNKEY S E A R C H TURNKEY & THE M AMI DOLPHINS TEAM UP TO RECRUIT VP, CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS 856.685.1450 TURNKEYSEARCH.COM STEVE MULLINS MAY 29-30 2019 RENAISSANCE CHICAGO DOWNTOWN CHICAGO, IL CHICAGO WHITE SOX AN “EVENING AT THE BALLPARK” TRADITION CONTINUES IN THE WINDY CITY WE ARE HEADED BACK TO THE SOUTHSIDE PRE-GAME INTERVIEW CHICAGO WHITE SOX CHAIRMAN TUESDAY, MAY 28 GUARANTEED RATE FIELD JERRY REINSDORF VS For MORE INFORMATION and to REGISTER, please visit: www.BrandEngagementandContentSummit.com @HE=LIHGLHK K>L>:KO>GBG@:M MA>;:EEI:KD SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL 67$7(2)3/$< MONEY TALKS “ Always believe in yourself Fight for what you’re worth And never accept anything less Never ” — USWNT star MEGAN RAPINOE after members of the team sued the sport’s governing body over pay inequity and other issues CASH ONLY $ 400M The full amount of investment returned by Endeavor, owner of UFC, to the Saudi royal family in the wake of the murder last October of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had written for The Washington Post 2))(16,9( )28/ The Jazz banned for life a fan who engaged Thunder star Russell Westbrook in a verbal altercation by making comments Westbrook called “completely disrespectful,” causing NBA players to rally to his defense THE METER Island Living The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Fla., teed off in March for the first time since 2007 after having been a fixture in May on the PGA Tour calendar The change kicks off a condensed fivemonth schedule designed to have all of golf ’s biggest events take place before football season starts And while the earlier date affected how golfers approached the course, one aspect that hasn’t changed is the famous island green at the 17th hole, the most distinctive location in golf RATINGS GAME  Getty Images (5) 2))(1'(' )28/ The Knicks banned for life a fan who told controversial owner James Dolan at a game, “Sell the team,” an extreme reaction to a harmless comment owl, up from 30/1, after the team acquired Pro Bowl wid de receiver Odell Beckham Jr from the Giants last wee ek The Browns have never reached the Super Bowl an nd have not won a playoff game since being reborn in 1999 WWW.SPORTSBUSINESSJOURNAL.COM Rating on NBC Sports Philadelphia for the Phillies’ March spring training game that marked the debut of Bryce Harper, a 311 percent increase on their average for this year and the team’s highest-rated spring training game since 2012 M A R C H 18 -24 , 019 | )2580 Inside our thinking on SBA nominee selections WANTED to offer some insight into our decisions on the nominees for this year’s Sports Business Awards, which will be presented on May 22 in New York City We have been doing this for 12 years, but the decisions become only more difficult and challenging, a testament to the growing sophistication of the business Our editorial committees debated hundreds of companies and submissions to come up with the list of 86 nominees across the 17 categories Here’s a glimpse into the thinking behind the decisions in a few popular categories and other thoughts on the process I f LEAGUE OF THE YEAR: The committee surprisingly put forward only four nominees These were the leagues that stood out for business growth, innovation and accomplishment For the NFL, this is its first nomination in this category in six years, as the committee recognized a more positive narrative around the league, commercial and sponsorship gains, a ratings resurgence and increased interest in the on-field product For last year’s League of the Year winner, the NBA, it was another stellar year, becoming the first league to a gambling deal with MGM Resorts International There also were significant digital innovations and plans for a basketball league in Africa MLS just keeps building, brick by brick, planning new teams in Cincinnati, Nashville, Miami and Austin and new efforts at stability in Columbus Finally, there was a lot to like about what PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan did in his second full year, in changing the tour schedule, bringing on Discovery as a key international partner and fortifying its media strategy $%5$+$0 0$'.285 EXECUTIVE EDITOR THIS WEEK 21 7+( &29(5 26 MIAMI HEAT Amid another makeover, Marlins executives have a plan in place to turn the franchise around By Eric Fisher 0$5.(7,1*  PUSH TO 100 The licensing program around the NFL’s centennial year has companies lined up to cash in By Terry Lefton 0(',$  LAUNCHING FROM STRENGTH The long list of distribution deals adds pressure on cable systems to carry the ACC Network By John Ourand /$%25  SWEAT EQUITY United Sports Group makes a sweet find with speedy Mississippi State defensive end By Liz Mullen )$&,/,7,(6  COLD CASH The rush to go cashless raises questions and concerns from sports facility experts By Mike Sunnucks OPINION  CAREERS  FACES & PLACES  “ f TEAM OF THE YEAR: There will be some raised eyebrows in one of the most competitive categories Yes, I’m sure there is Golden State Warriors fatigue The team has been nominated five out of the past six years and won twice But there is a reason they win so many of the business awards presented during the NBA’s sales meetings — they are that good There will be questions of whether we had influential committee members from Milwaukee (we had none), but if you look into the business stories of both the Brewers and the Bucks, you will see a 12-month period of excellence and achievement For the Brewers, there was nearly record season-ticket sales, an impressive new spring training complex and a lucrative new naming-rights deal all while the team had a great story on the field For the Bucks, you can’t ignore how much new ownership, President Peter Feigin and others have transformed this once sleepy franchise Atlanta United continued an incredibly impressive run in year two, and the Washington Capitals were able to lift an entire region with their activations and brand extensions around their long-awaited Stanley Cup championship Finally, the NWSL Portland Thorns’ business excellence is noteworthy in a world where selling and marketing women’s sports is a significant challenge Overall, this category will be an interesting debate among the judges We have been doing this for 12 years, but the decisions become only more challenging, a testament to the growing sophistication of the business ” f OTHER THOUGHTS: There was lengthy consideration of the new media players, but the committee still was drawn to the business innovations of the five “traditional” media companies … Staying on media, there was appreciation for what Turner Sports does with Bleacher Report and B/R Live (two nominations) as well as ESPN around ESPN+ and a newly launched mobile experiences (two nominations) … The nomination for Gritty may be surprising, but give the Philadelphia Flyers credit for creating a mascot that became a pop culture hit … The new gambling environment was evident in both Breakthrough (MGM Resorts) and Mobile Fan Experience (DraftKings Sportsbook) and could have been nominated in more categories but was seen as still too new … Toughest omissions: Team Penske and Minnesota Vikings for Team of the Year, The Athletic for Breakthrough and the MLS All-Star Game for Event of the Year The entire contents of this magazine are copyrighted by Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal 2019 with all rights reserved Street & Smith’s is a registered trademark of American City Business Journals, Inc Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal (ISSN-1098-5972) is published weekly, with the exception of the first week of January, the first week of July and the last week of December, for $297 a year by Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, at 120 West Morehead Street, Suite 310, Charlotte, NC 28202 In Canada $360 per year, includes GST and all other countries $457, includes a one-year subscription and expedited air delivery (GST#139794580) Periodicals postage paid at Charlotte, NC and additional mailing offices Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal is a publication of American City Business Journals, Inc Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal is an equal opportunity employer POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal — Subscriber Services, P.O Box 36637, Charlotte, NC 28236-6637 FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE CALL 1-800-829-9839 For article reprints, please contact The YGS Group at (717) 505-9701 , x2204 / SportsBusinessJournal@ theYGSGroup.com The decisions now become even harder, and a group of independent judges will select the winners in all but two of the categories The winners will be announced as part of the 12th annual Sports Business Awards on May 22, where we will also honor Tim Finchem as our Lifetime Achievement Award winner You won’t want to miss it! Abraham Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com CLOSING SHOT  Cover image by Jock Fistick SBJ/SBD PODCASTS | M A R C H 18 - , FIRST LOOK & BUZZCAST Check out our First Look podcast every Monday where we discuss the week’s top stories Also, check out Buzzcast in SportsBusiness Daily’s Morning Buzz, our daily two-minute look at the stories of the day WWW.SPORTSBUSINESSJOURNAL.COM LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT Tim Finchem MAY 22, 2019 I MARRIOTT MARQUIS TIMES SQUARE I NEW YORK CITY TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT FOR THIS SPECIAL NIGHT, VISIT WWW.SPORTS-BUSINESS-AWARDS.COM 632576%86,1(66$:$5'63$571(56 XSIURQW Lending Support Banks line up as Oak View Group, Seattle NHL team borrow record debt amount %