New days for the NFLPA, Chicago Blackhawks and NBA while the NCAA goes on the NIL offensive
So, I'm wondering if Mets owner Steve Cohen, will be a buyer or seller at the trade deadline with his team sitting nine games out of the wild card, and a league high payroll of $360 million. It's hard to believe he will be a buyer at all. But it's not sure if he's ready to give up on his team. As he said on Wednesday night, the season is not what he expected.
And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Thursday, June 29th. Good morning, I'm Abe Madkour, getting closer and closer to the holiday weekend. As we've talked about on the Buzzcast, the NFLPA now does have a new leader as Lloyd Howell was named Executive Director succeeding De Smith after 13 years and four terms. It's a hire from outside the sports world as Howell was the Chief Financial Officer of the consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton. He retired from there in September of 2022 after 34 years. He's never worked in sports or in the law area before.
Now, Howell met the media on Wednesday and said his ability to bring teams together is the trait from his career in corporate America that he believes best prepares him for his new role leading the players' union. So, the NFLPA Board of Player reps elected him in a private vote, and no vote tallies were released, nor were the names of other candidates under consideration during the final ballots. It's believed that Howell's collaborative approach was a welcome form of leadership for the players.
The job description circulated initially in this search called for a successor to D Smith, who was "An inclusive, generous, and present leader, able to foster a culture of inclusion, collaboration, collegiality, and accountability." And so that's the guidelines that Howell walks into. He said he would be an agent of service for the players and would take their direction. He declined to speak about any of his specific goals or thoughts on the current collective bargaining agreement that runs through March of 2030. So, a new CBA is not on his to-do list.
What is known is that the NFLPA's executive committee did consider former players for the position. They considered Domonique Foxworth, Kellen Winslow Sr, Matt Schaub, all for the job. But they were eliminated from consideration earlier this year, according to several sources cited by the Washington Post. The Players Union also passed over a number of internal candidates that included NFLPA officials like Don Davis, George Atallah, Terry Smith. So they go with Lloyd Howell. He becomes the fourth full-time executive director in NFLPA history. He follows Ed Garvey, Gene Upshaw and De Smith. So, a new era with the NFLPA.
Speaking of a new era, the Chicago Blackhawks have ushered in the Connor Bedard era, making the North Vancouver native the first overall pick in last night's, Wednesday nights and NHL draft. Bedard is 17. He's being labeled as almost a generational talent. He is seemingly the most high profile NHL prospect since Connor McDavid was drafted in 2015 by Edmonton.
The Blackhawks now, are looking for a surge on the business side with Connor Bedard and the team's president of business operations Jaime Faulkner said the club has sold 3000 full season ticket plans since landing the right to draft first overall in the draft lottery that was on May 8th. So, just over five weeks, the team has sold 3000 full season ticket plans. This comes as the team is seeing over a 90% renewal rate from last year. So the team is looking to return to its winning ways. Remember, the Blackhawks won for a number of years, but they missed the playoffs each of the past three seasons.
Now, Jaime Faulkner said interestingly, that the team is close to capping season ticket sales at the United Center. That's different. Generally, a majority of seats in a stadium in an arena have been filled by season ticket holders, but she said that will not be the case at the United Center as the majority will be single game buyers. They want to get as many people in the building to experience the Blackhawks game presentation and the product. As Faulkner said, she believes that's the trend in entertainment. So that's an interesting angle to keep your eye on.
Let's shift to the NCAA, because the NCAA has become now an aggressor when it comes to name, image, and likeness, as the association has set up a potential confrontation with states concerning NIL guidelines. Earlier this week, the NCAA informed its Division 1 schools that institutions must follow NCAA legislation and bylaws when it comes to name, image, and likeness, not follow state law. So, they're basically saying, "Follow the guidelines we have on the books, not what your state has passed." Remember, several states have laws that run counter to the NCAA rules, especially when it comes to interactions with collectives. And some of the state laws actually prohibit the NCAA from taking any action against the school that follows the state law, but may violate the NCAA rules. That's why the NCAA so badly wants a national overlay by Congress. So this is a pretty aggressive tactic by the NCAA. And you can see the different approach here by new President Charlie Baker, far different than Mark Emmert.
It's obvious that Baker believes the previous leadership made a mistake in not trying to regulate name, image, and likeness on its own. So Baker may be trying to establish such a convoluted, confused marketplace that Congress has to act. To give an example of this, Texas A&M Athletic director, Ross Bjork said that his institution will not follow the NCAA. It will follow state law when it comes to name, image, and likeness. So this will be a test of how the NCAA can enforce its own rules on the books. Meanwhile, it was reported that multiple members of the Division 1 Council, that is the leading group of policymakers in Division 1 college sports have right now really raved about Charlie Baker. They say he is smart, he listens, and that he really wants to help. Another Division 1 Council member cited that there is no arrogance with Charlie Baker. So early word, and this is consistent from what I've heard, is very, very positive and encouraging about new NCAA president, Charlie Baker.
We've been talking about a new era, a lot on the Buzzcast. There's a new era for the NBA and the NBPA, as the two sides formally signed their seven-year collective bargaining agreement. We've talked about this. It will begin next week, or actually Saturday, July 1st, and it will run through the 2029-2030 season. So we have labor peace for the foreseeable future. This signed deal comes just before the start of NBA free agency. Here's a couple of things we need to keep our eye on.
There is a key provision in this deal designed to slow the spending of the big spenders. It's called the second tax apron. The league hopes this prevents super teams or prevents franchises that sign multiple players with maximum salaries. The new second apron really is a hard spending limit on acquiring free agents if a team is already a certain number over the cap. And it also impacts potential draft picks and future penalties on draft picks if they are repeat offenders of this second tax apron. It's complicated, but it's really designed to spread the wealth and the talent across the league. They don't want a team signing these really strong multiple players, free agents to create a super team. So we'll have to see if that works.
The new CBA also paves the way for this in-season tournament we've talked about. That'll begin this coming season. All teams will participate in a group stage and then eight team will go on to a single elimination knockout round. Now, I think this will be a lot of fun. Most team executives I have spoken to are quite excited about this in-season tournament. And remember, this deal also allows for players to benefit in other ways. The goal is to have players achieve generational wealth. And so players can invest in WNBA teams, but cannot collectively hold more than 8% of any independent WNBA team. Players cannot invest in W teams in which NBA owners hold an interest. So that's the line to prevent any conflict. So, players can invest in independently owned W teams. So a lot of nuance to the CBA, but it's official now and a new landscape in the NBA.
And finally, the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup is a big deal in college sports. And this year, Stanford again, wins the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup. The Directors' Cup was developed by NACDA, that's the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and USA Today. It annually recognizes the nation's best intercollegiate athletic programs in Division 1. So, across the whole year, which athletic program performed the best, most consistently? Well, this year Stanford took the top prize. Number two is Texas, three was Ohio State, fourth Virginia and fifth was Florida. At the Conference level, the SEC led all Division 1 conferences in terms of the success of its conference's intercollegiate athletic programs. So Stanford and the SEC, the big winners in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings.
And so that is your Morning Buzzcast for Thursday, June 29th. I'm Abe Madkour. Have a great day, stay healthy, be good to each other. I'll speak to you on Friday.