Bob Myers shift to football to revamp Commanders; The draw of the Star in the NFL; Kings/T-Wolves/Jazz get NBA top honors and a minor league team deal to watch
Congratulations to the University of Michigan for winning the college football playoff on Monday night. I know a number of Michigan alums who work in the sports business, I'm sure they're very happy, if not bleary-eyed today. A game that was still pretty close in the fourth quarter should, should, draw a good viewership number for Disney and ESPN. My apologies for yesterday, stating the wrong city home to the Xcel Energy Center. That arena is in St. Paul, Minnesota. Thanks for correcting me on that mistake in yesterday's Buzzcast. This is your morning Buzzcast for Tuesday, January 9th. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast.
Big changes in Washington, and we expected it. But Commanders owner, Josh Harris, is really running his own playbook and taking a very novel approach as he looks to revitalize that franchise. He has brought on former Golden State Warriors General Manager, Bob Myers, to help with the search for a new head of football operations and a new head coach. Very intriguing move. After Josh Harris fired Ron Rivera on Monday, he also brought on former Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman, to help Bob Myers on the search.
Now, Harris could also revamp the business operations as well this year. The addition of Bob Myers in this process is incredibly interesting. I've said on the Buzzcast how well regarded Bob Myers is as a team operator, as a cultural leader. Now, he's being asked to do it in a different sport from his past experience in the NBA. Before he joined the Warriors, he was an NBA agent for Wasserman. Now he will work with Josh Harris and limited partners, Mitch Rales, Magic Johnson, and David Blitzer as part of a committee revamping the Commanders front office. Now, Josh Harris and Bob Myers had a relationship and Harris is drawn to Myers' championship resume and his industry relationships and his focus on creating a leadership culture within a sports organization.
But make no mistake, Josh Harris will be very, very involved in the search processes as well. This is an attractive opening for both head of football and a head coach, as the Commanders are projected to have the most salary cap space in the NFL in 2024. They have five draft picks in the first three rounds, including the number two selection. So again, a lot to work with the Commanders, Bob Myers is in a very interesting spot to remake that franchise.
Yesterday we noted that NFL games account for 93 of the 100 most viewed programs of 2023. Well, here is a deeper look inside those numbers as SBJ's Austin Karp noted that the strength of the Dallas Cowboys brand was evident. Again, the Cowboys were playing in 16 of the top 100 most watched programs of the year. The most of any team. Who's behind them? The Chiefs and the Eagles both had 14 games within the top 100. While the Bills had 11, the 49ers had nine.
On the other end of the spectrum, these teams did not appear in the top 100. That would be the Panthers, the Falcons, the Texans, the Colts, the Cardinals, the Rams, and the Saints. None of the games that those teams played in were in the top 100. Probably not a surprise to a lot of our listeners on the Buzzcast. But what it shows me again, and we've said this on the Buzzcast time and again, the power and the draw of the Dallas Cowboys.
Well, the Tiger Woods era with Nike is over as Woods has played his last golf event as a Nike endorser. Wood said on social media on Monday that the longtime partnership was ending. Tiger did not share any details on future endorsement plans. Now Tiger has been with the company for nearly 30 years. I remember when Nike signed Tiger in 1996, the year he turned pro as a 20-year-old. It was a $40 million contract that at that time was easily the largest golf endorsement deal. What a partnership over the years it was.
Tiger signed multiple deals with Nike over his career. The most recent was a 10-year agreement in 2013, worth around $200 million. So like I said, this relationship easily one of the most iconic of our generation. But things have changed. Nike is right now obviously focusing less and less on golf. Nike's going through a lot of changes internally. Nike stopped producing golf clubs and balls in 2016, and also Jason Day left Nike earlier this week. Rumblings are that their other high profile names could be moving on from Nike later this year. So obviously golf less of a priority as Nike undergoes a number of changes.
So now Tiger's a free agent. He didn't say what apparel brand he will be wearing in future events. He did hint that it could be unveiled soon. He wrote, "There'll be another chapter in LA." That would seem to indicate that he could introduce his new partnership and play in the Genesis at Riviera in February. That's a tournament he hosts and benefits his foundation. So you could see Tiger in a new apparel brand and a new endorsement partnership by the Genesis in mid-February. But a fascinating relationship and a fascinating what's next for Tiger Woods.
I always push our reporters to get the deals on the NBA Sales & Marketing Awards as they hand out their best of awards for the year. NBA leaders are meeting in Miami this week, and on Monday night they named Team of the Year as the Sacramento Kings. Sacramento Kings won the honor for some unique in-game experiences. The Sacramento Kings were also awarded the NBA Team Innovation Award. That innovation award was for the team's launch of the victory beam. What is the victory beam? That is six purple lasers that shine in the sky outside Golden 1 Center, after each Kings victory home or away. That has been getting a great following in Sacramento and led to the Kings getting the NBA Team Innovation Award.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves won the NBA Inclusion Leadership Award for its Pack the Vote campaign, focusing on voter education and voter registration. The Utah Jazz won the NBA Team Viewership Innovation Award. Remember, the Jazz have launched a free linear television package over the air in that market, as well as hitting parts of Wyoming, Washington, Eastern Oregon. And already this season, the Jazz have seen a 50% increase in overall viewership. So again, the Jazz winning the NBA Team Viewership Innovation Award. These awards shed some light into what teams are doing, what teams are doing well, and what are teams doing that are getting noticed across the NBA and in the NBA league office. So they're always a good indicator of teams and programs to watch.
We'll end with this. We talk about the increasing valuation of minor league baseball teams. We saw how the Worcester Red Sox were sold for more than $70 million late last year from Larry Lucchino to Diamond Baseball Holdings. One team I have been frequently told to keep an eye on is the AAA International League Charlotte Knights. They're owned by businessman Don Beaver. He is 83. He bought the club in 1997. He also has owned and developed one of the best centrally located new ballparks in all of the minor leagues Truist Field, right in downtown Charlotte. When the ballpark first opened in 2014, the Charlotte Knights routinely led the minor leagues in attendance. Now, less so, but they always rank in the top 10 among minor league baseball teams in attendance. Their 10,000 seat home isn't just for baseball. In fact, they're doing outdoor hockey this weekend. They've had college baseball. So there's a number of seasonal sports that play in this facility.
Why am I bringing this up? Well, my friend Erik Spanberg of the Charlotte Business Journal reported that the Charlotte Knights, and Truist Field are now for sale and could go for north of $100 million. Don Beaver just feels the time is right to sell. Again, this will be a very good litmus test to the value of minor league baseball and specifically a AAA franchise in a strong market with a new centrally located ballpark. The Knights are an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. I'll keep you updated on the potential sale of the Charlotte Knights on the Buzzcast. But that is one possible transaction to keep your eye on. So that is your morning Buzzcast for Tuesday, January 9th. My colleague, Austin Karp, will bring you the buzz cast on Wednesday. Until I speak to you again, stay healthy, be good to each other. I'll talk to you on Thursday.