Three big stories for a Tuesday: Broncos bids, Big Ten talks and LIV's latest recruit. Plus, another departure at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.
Well, congratulations to the Colorado Avalanche, who are headed to their first Stanley Cup final since 2001, and they keep Stan Kroenke's successful ownership run going. Stan Kroenke, of course, won a Super Bowl with the Rams and is now trying to win a Stanley Cup. In addition, our newsroom has been abuzz with the NCAA Women's College World Series. Now we'll have to wait for tomorrow night, Wednesday night, for Oklahoma and Texas to face off in the final, but some great competition in the Women's College World Series.
And this is your Morning Buzzcast. It's Tuesday, June 7th. Good morning, I'm Abe Madkour. Let me say again, every conversation I had over the last few days began by talking about LIV golf and the issue surrounding the world of professional golf. You do not see a situation like this come up often, and that's why everybody is talking about it.
So what happened yesterday? Well, it wasn't a big surprise and that Phil Mickelson confirmed he would play LIV Golf's inaugural event at Centurion Club starting on Thursday outside of London. Mickelson will be playing a tournament for the first time since February 6th, and a couple of reports floated out that Mickelson signed a lucrative contract, but varied on the terms of the deal. One report had that he signed a deal similar to Dustin Johnson, that would be in the five year, $100 million range. Another reported a deal was closer to just under $200 million. Regardless, you see the massive amounts of money that are around this league. Every day, it seems LIV Golf is committing another $100 million or more to some player, to a purse, to an initiative. The money is just astonishing.
Meanwhile, Mickelson gave his first interview, speaking to si.com, and said a few interesting things. First, he plans to play all eight LIV Golf Series events. He still expects to be able to compete in the major championships. And Mickelson said he is not forfeiting his PGA tour membership. Meanwhile, members of the LIV Golf Series who are playing in the event, were meeting the media as we speak and record the Buzzcast in London, and Dustin Johnson said at the press conference this morning, he has resigned his membership on the PGA tour. So for now, that means no Dustin Johnson at the President's Cup, no Dustin Johnson at the Ryder Cup. So again, a very dynamic situation. SBJ's Eric Prisbell reported that the PGA Tour is expected to start imposing sanctions or penalties on players who compete in the LIV Golf Invitational Series as early as Thursday, once the golfers begin teeing off in London. So that would add another dynamic to this really fascinating story that everyone is talking about.
Let's move on to another deal everyone is talking about. That is the pursuit for the Denver Broncos. Bids for the Broncos were due by 5:00 PM Eastern time on Monday, and Forbes' Michael Ozanian predicted that Walmart heir, Rob Walton, who we've talked a lot about on the Buzzcast, will win the bidding for the team at about a bid of $4.5 billion. Now Michael Ozanian's connection to banking sources is well known, so he could be spot on. Ozanian added that Rob Walton's ownership team will include his daughter, Carrie, and her husband, Greg Penner. Meanwhile, CBSSports.com is reporting that Peyton Manning has been contacted by every bidder for the Broncos to gauge his interest in joining their group as a minority partner or advisor. Now the winning bid for the Broncos is expected to be announced as early as this month.
The third deal everyone is talking about the Big Ten media rights. SBJ's John Ourand reported on Monday night that the Big Ten has meetings this week with at least six media and tech companies looking to land its college rights. We know that Fox Sports already has a deal in place to remain the Big Ten's biggest media partner, though the size of that package and what that package is hasn't been determined, as the conference is still in negotiations with other media partners. So currently, Amazon, CBS, ESPN, and NBC are the most active bidders for the rest of the package. The Big Ten will also meet this week with executives from Warner Brothers, Discovery, and Apple, so we'll see how those shake out.
The point of the meetings this week is to come up with specific packages the networks want and the price they will pay. For example, CBS really wants that late Saturday afternoon window. NBC really wants a Saturday night primetime window for the Big Ten. When all is said and done, the Big Ten will become the first college conference to get more than a billion dollars for its media rights each year. That will be a major win for the Big Ten, a huge win for commissioner Kevin Warren. Negotiations are expected to continue through June. A final deal could come later this summer, but some big deals around the world of sports and the Buzzcast this morning.
And we'll end the Buzzcast around people. More changes at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment as Philadelphia 76ers President of Business Operations, Chris Heck, is leaving the organization at the end of June. Chris Heck has been with the 76ers for nine years. He's led a very strong business performance for the team. The team is always among the league leaders in ticket sales and sellouts. Chris Heck joined the 76ers in 2013, after two years with the Red Bulls and seven years with the NBA's league office as a member of TEAMBO. He was an SBJ 40 Under 40 honoree in 2008, when he was with the NBA. Now Chris Heck said no successor has been named and that he was not leaving for any specific new job, but his departure continues changes at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. We know Scott O'Neil left about a year ago. We also know that Hugh Weber stepped down last month. Chris Heck leaving his position as Philadelphia 76ers President of Business Operations at the end of June.
NBC Sports Group made a big change in its Olympic production group, hiring the well-respected Amy Rosenfeld from ESPN to be a Senior Vice President of Olympic & Paralympic Production. She will report to Molly Solomon, who, of course, is president of NBC Olympics & Paralympics Production. Rosenfeld has been with ESPN since 2007. She's worked in college sports, she's worked around the UAFA championship and the World Cup, but it's a strong hire by NBC to bring Amy Rosenfeld over from ESPN. Rosenfeld admitted the allure of the 2024 Paris games and the 2028 L.A. Olympics was really strong and enough to convince her to leave ESPN for NBC.
And finally, there are some more changes at the WWE. We've noted that long-time Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie McMahon, recently said she was taking a leave of absence to focus on her family. Business Insider reported on Monday of a larger reorganization at the company led by her father, Vince McMahon. On Monday, WWE named former Manchester United Media Chief Marketing Officer, Catherine Newman, as Head of Marketing and Executive Vice President. She will seemingly take on some of Stephanie McMahon's responsibilities around the marketing and the brand initiatives, but Business Insider reports that WWE is looking for a number of new executives on the business side, so changes at the WWE are worth keeping your eye on.
And I'll be in Chicago all week next week at our Brand Innovation Summit, one of my favorite events. It's a great time to be in that great city. If you're there, let me know. I'd love to say hi or grab a cup of coffee with you. So that is your Morning Buzzcast. It's Tuesday, June 7th. I'm Abe Madkour. Stay healthy, be good to each other, and I'll speak to you tomorrow.