A look at the CFP's extension with ESPN; a change in leadership at the PAC-12; the Washington Commanders and KC Royals taking steps toward new home stadiums.
How about this for being good? In SBJ's Guess the viewership of the Super Bowl contest, WNBA CMO, Phil Cook, and Speedvision co-founder, Robert Scanlon, nailed the exact viewership number. Yes, 123.7 million viewers for the game. Wow, with that skill, with that foresight, I hope they were both in Vegas hitting the tables for the weekend, well done. And I know now where our Austin Karp will turn to next when he has questions about expectations of sports viewership. Well done, Phil Cook and Robert Scanlan. And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Wednesday, February 14th. Good morning, I'm Abe Madkour, hope you're all doing well. I'll be in Indianapolis for the NBA Tech Summit on Friday. If you're there, let me know, I'd love to say hi.
And let's start with one of the biggest stories that I'm watching in sports is the debut of the college football 12-team playoff, which will kick off this year, and one part of that new plan is coming closer to fruition, as The Athletic reported on Tuesday night that ESPN and the CFP are in agreement on a six year, $7.8 billion extension that will make ESPN the home of the tournament through 2032. Now, ESPN has two years remaining on its current deal, that carries an average payment of just over $600 million per year. We'll be able to break down the numbers once we get a few more details. It's a nice increase, maybe not as much as some expected, but the CFP still needs to finalize the 12-team tournament details, and I would say scheduling, structure, and financials, especially after the demise of the Pac-12, and they are scheduled to meet next week to talk about those details. Now, over the course of the deal, ESPN will have the ability to sublicense games, meaning another network or a streamer could pick up a playoff game.
There's a lot of buzz in the market questioning the value of the early round games. For example, in the first round, when the fifth seed plays the 12th seed, the sixth seed plays the 11th seed, and so on. They'll play on the home campus of the higher seed. Many sources who I speak to really question the interest and appeal of these first round games. But I'm in the camp that they will still be intriguing, and I believe there still could be upsets, and I believe people will watch. So we will have to see how this plays out, as decisions by the CFP committee need to be made soon. Remember, if all these deals get done, both the CFP and the NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four will be up for new contracts at the same time, 2032, and that could be a very appealing asset for any media company to covet.
Let's stay with college sports. The Pac-12 has reportedly begun the process of moving on from Commissioner George Kliavkoff, that's according to the San Jose Mercury News, and that process has been expected since the Pac-12 lost five schools who left for other conferences in August. Now, Yahoo Sports reported that George Kliavkoff will leave with a negotiated settlement and that Pac-12 Deputy Commissioner Teresa Gould is being targeted as his replacement, so we could see some changes atop what's left of the Pac-12.
Let's move on to some facility news. There's always a lot of interest about what Josh Harris is doing across sports, he owns so many teams and invests in so many sports businesses. There's especially interest on what his plans are with the Washington Commanders, and Harris said that he and his team are moving forward with plans for a new stadium for the Commanders, and have identified three sites where a new stadium could be built. And this is going to be a complicated decision, as each site has its own obstacles and challenges, and one of the main issues is space and the size of the site itself. But sources confirmed that the three sites are in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
Now, they would not disclose the specific location, but sources said that the old RFK stadium site is the location they are considering in the District of Columbia. I love that site, I went to games there in the early '90s at the old RFK, an experience like no other. But I do question if the site is big enough for the ambitious plans of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, because this will most certainly include mixed use development around any new stadium. Until they select a new site, look for Harris to invest more money in improving the fan experience at FedExField in Landover. But again, Josh Harris and team moving forward, identifying possible sites for a new Commanders stadium.
Let's stay with news on the facility front, as the Kansas City Royals have selected a location right in Downtown Kansas City to build a new ballpark. The team is eyeing a location near the T-Mobile Center, that's the arena in Downtown Kansas City, right in that Power and Light District, so this plan puts the ballpark in the mix of existing entertainment areas in the city. The team also released renderings of the planned $2 billion ballpark. It shows a ballpark that will seat about 34,000, that's smaller than the current Kauffman Stadium. The Royals are hoping the ballpark would be ready for the 2028 season. So what's next is that voters will decide in April whether to issue a new sales tax to help finance the ballpark and renovate Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs, so that's the next step here for possibly a new ballpark for the Royals and a renovated Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs.
This morning, I'll be speaking with the Atlanta Sports Council at their quarterly meetings, and I'll talk about issues we're watching at Sports Business Journal. Here's a very short list of what I'll be talking about, and you let me know what you do or don't agree with. I'll of course focus on the future media models, direct to consumer, the demise of the regional sports networks, more and more teams and leagues controlling their media rights. I'll talk about new players, like Amazon on Thursday Night Football and Amazon getting into NASCAR. We'll also talk about Netflix, their series that they do around sports, but also getting rights around the WWE's RAW.
I'll also talk about the biggest deal we're all watching, and you know what that is, that is the NBA's media rights deal. They are in active negotiations with the incumbents currently. The league gets about $2.6 billion a year. Now, that's a nice deal, but remember, the NFL gets about $11 billion a year. I'm not saying the NBA will get close to that figure, but I will say they want to be closer to about $5 billion a year, that would be a healthy increase for Adam Silver and company, and that's a deal everybody is watching.
I'll also talk about all the changes in college sports we're focused on. I mentioned the 12-team college football playoff. I'm going to talk about NIL and possible congressional action. We're talking about how the Big 10 and the SEC recently aligned, and what does that mean. We'll talk about the future of the ACC and possible more realignment. We'll certainly speak about new investments and sovereign wealth funds investing in sports, and the impact of capital that can accelerate growth for sports properties. Look at what the PFL has done after its recent investment from Saudi Arabia.
We'll talk about strategic sports groups' investment in the PGA Tour. We'll also, of course, talk about the growth of women's sports, which is growing at record rates, the growth of the NWSL, the growth of the WNBA, the growth and the early interest in the professional Women's Hockey League. We're talking about the growth of women's sports on college campuses, with Caitlin Clark, and women's volleyball, and we'll continue to see more brands invest in women's sports. Knowing this audience in Atlanta, they love to talk about the Olympics, we will talk about the Paris Games, what could happen with LA '28, and other big global events.
And finally, I'll certainly talk about the recent stadium boom. Look at what's going on in Nashville, that Titans Nissan Stadium. It's a $2 billion development, it looks amazing, it's going to transform that downtown. Look what they're building in Buffalo. Look what they're building in LA with the Intuit Dome. Look what they want to do in Washington with the Commanders, and, of course, Monumental Sports looking to take the Capitals and Wizards over into Northern Virginia. And of course, the big one out there, the Chicago Bears still looking for a stadium location to build a new stadium in one of the nation's largest markets. So stadium news is very important right now.
And of course, we'll talk about possible expansion. We know the NBA is looking at Las Vegas. We know the NBA is interested in Seattle. We know MLB wants to expand in markets such as Nashville, Charlotte, Montreal, and others are being mentioned. And we still have to talk about the A's possible relocation to Las Vegas. So those are just some of the topics I'll be speaking about today with the Atlanta Sports Council. I always enjoy speaking with them, they're a great group. But if anything I said you do or don't agree with, I'd love to hear from you.
I also want to thank the listeners who commented yesterday on Tiger Woods' New Sun Day Red branding and logo. There was a lot of feedback, no real strong sentiment either way. Some loved it, some didn't. I did laugh when one listener was not a fan of the Woods logo, saying it looked too much like a DNA helix. But thanks for all the feedback on that. And don't miss the SBJ and New York Post Sports and Media podcast, a new episode debuts today that looks at the NBA's upcoming All-Star Weekend, and also NASCAR's season opener in Daytona, with an interview with NASCAR President, Steve Phelps. Don't miss that, it drops today.
And that is your morning Buzzcast for Wednesday, February 14th. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast. Stay healthy, be good to each other. I'll speak to you on Thursday.