Sports

[gardenman]

We should get lots of interviews from the league meeting starting later today. Coaches, GMs, and owners all get some time with reporters at these events, so lots of chatter will be coming. 

You won't learn a lot as every GM will be thrilled with the players they got in free agency, sorry they had to let some guys leave, and talk of the plans they still have going forward. "It's not a finished product yet." Owners will insist they've got a great coaching staff in place and this will be their year. Coaches will talk about how they can't wait to get their guys on the field again. Everyone will insist they've got their eyes on a few great players in the draft who they're targeting. You won't learn a lot, but it's still good to hear something.

[Spurt]

NFL owners are expected to vote during their three-day meeting in Orlando on approving $86.5 million in funding for stadium improvements for Washington, sources say. The funding would amount to a loan from the visiting teams’ shares of ticket revenue.  

This is to cover the cost of the improvements already announced for Washington, which include new premium seating, changes to ingress and egress, a better sound system, infrastructure improvements, In his 24 yrs of ownership Snyder invested no money in keeping the stadium in good reapair , also new food/beverage options are needed.

Washington signed former Houston Texan Center Micharln Deiter. He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.   

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

They paid $6+ billion for the team and need a $86+ million loan to fix the stadium? Uh, okay. Cash is kind of important for a team to have as they need it for signing bonuses, workout bonuses, roster bonuses, and the like. If they can't find the cash to fix the stadium, they could be in trouble. They don't need cash to pay player's salaries until the season starts, but they need cash for a lot of other stuff. Interesting.

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

Stadium renovations are creating more and more problems for NFL teams.  Here's an article about what the Titans faced when pricing renovations to their stadium versus building a brand new stadium.......ALL NFL teams are facing this as time moves forward on older stadiums, even Jerry World is getting old, constructed in 2009......Your Eagle's "Linc" opened in 2003...

For example, the Bears are facing this dilemma, in 2003 Soldier Field stadium reopened after 20 months of renovations at a cost $632 million, now they are investing over 2 bill in a new stadium, at a new location to be completed in 2035....

In Tennessee's case the renovation would cost about $900 million, they estimated, with another $900 million likely needed in the future to cover the 18 years remaining on the Titans’ lease.....(JMHO..so the 86 mill Washington wants is a bargain...).

“Once we realized that the renovation costs were not too far off from the cost of a new stadium, and that we’d have to revisit that conversation again before the end of the lease, it became clear that we need to pursue another option,” Titans spokeswoman Kate Guerra said in an interview.

The Titans switched their focus. Negotiations with the local Metro government of Nashville and Davidson County, which owns the stadium and is contractually responsible for its upkeep, shifted to the possibility of a brand new stadium, one built from the ground up with the most up-to-date technology and hospitality trappings. The two sides eventually reached an agreement on a $2.1 billion project—a price just 15% higher than the full renovation estimates—funded by $840 million from the team, $760 million via revenue bonds and $500 million from the state.

Other NFL teams may soon follow Tennessee’s lead. Stadiums have never offered more revenue opportunities than the modern, suite-laden ones currently being built by billionaire owners, often with major government contributions, and more than half of NFL teams are considering major renovations or full-scale replacements to their current homes.

The projects have also never been more expensive. Experts estimate that inflation alone has boosted the price of big projects by some 35-40% in the past few years. And while that may deter big spending for residential or commercial real estate, it could have the opposite effect in the NFL, nudging teams away from more modest renovations and toward new multibillion-dollar builds.

The bang for your buck in doing a major renovation often isn’t there,” said William DiBlasi, head of the Inner Circle Sports stadium and arena finance practice, which advised the Nashville government. “You could end up with a project that costs 80% or more of a new building but generates substantially less additional revenue and has a shorter useful life. It’s easy to think, ‘I’ll put in $300 million or even $500 million and have a building that feels brand new,’ but for older buildings, that’s just not the world we’re in.”

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

In another connected story, concerned over rising costs needed to purchase an NFL team, since Washington's price was 6 billion, there's a committee that is putting something together that will be discussed at the May 2024 Owner's Meeting regarding NFL ownership rules, the most restrictive in professional sports.

Currently, the NFL requires the lead investor of an ownership group to have at least a 30 percent equity stake in the purchase. No ownership group can exceed 25 people, including the lead investor...The committee consists of the Falcons' Arthur Blank, Patriots' Robert Kraft, Browns' Jimmy Haslam and Broncos' Greg Penner. Chiefs owner and finance committee chairman Clark Hunt is an ex-officio member.

The makeup is interesting: Kraft, Hunt and Blank are veteran ownership leaders known to be Goodell confidants. The other two are more recent additions from the world of big business. Haslam, chairman of Pilot Flying J, is increasingly playing a role in league-level affairs; and Penner, the chairman of Walmart, is a new owner after his family acquired the Broncos for $4.65 billion in 2022......Stay tuned...

[gardenman]

Quez Watkins is moving on from the Eagles and signing with the Steelers. He's one of those high-potential guys who always came up small. Dropped passes in critical situations. Forgetting to catch a ball that soars through his hands. He made a handful of good plays, but many more missed opportunities. If you could ever get his head in the right place, you'd have a good receiver. It just never happened in Philly. He's big, fast, and smart, but when there's play to be made, more often than not he doesn't make the play.

The ban on hip-drop tackling is going to cause chaos. It should make for a great year for running backs like Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry. They're big and strong enough to just carry tacklers down the field. It should also be good for the bigger receivers like DJ Metcalf and AJ Brown. The smaller DBs can't use their weight to pull down the big guys. They'll just be along for the ride.

It'll be interesting to see how defenses adjust. You can't go man on a big guy unless you're matching him up with an equally big man who might be able to drag him down. I suspect you'll see more zone defense with an emphasis on letting the receiver catch the ball, but then closing and trying for a kill shot on the receiver to bring him down and/or separate him from the ball. But where to hit the bigger guys like AJ Brown? You can't go head or neck. Now you can't wrap them up around the waist. Chop their legs out? Hope you can hit them hard enough in the chest area to knock them down? It's going to be interesting. Not great for a smaller corner like Emmanuel Forbes or some of the smaller kids coming out this year in the draft. 

[gardenman]

Nick Sirianni just finished his breakfast press conference and pretty much said nothing. As was expected. He loves the players and wants to get the team to bond. Not sure who will be the starting center. Lots of time to decide before they go to Brazil for the opener. Loves the new coaches. Loves everybody. The typical coach stuff.

[teganslaw]

The NFL announced that 2024 HOF game on Aug. 1 will be the Bears and Texans.  

The Bears have Devin Hester, Steve McMichael and Julius Peppers inducted in the HOF; the Texans have Andre Johnson. 

The Eagles opening game in Brazil will be streamed on Peacock. Their opponent hasn't been announced yet. I wonder if the streaming service might have specials so more people can access the game. 

[gardenman]

Peacock had a Black Friday deal last year where you got a year for $20. I signed up for it then and it was a good savings. They'll likely repeat the offer again. 

[gardenman]

The new kickoff rules should be fun to watch. The kicker will be all by himself (maybe herself at some point) at their own 35-yard line to make the kick. They can then run forward but can't cross the 50-yard line until the ball hits the ground or is caught by the receiving team. The rest of the kicking team is divided with half (five players) on each side of the field and all with at least one foot on the receiving team's 40-yard line. There will be two kick receivers inside their own 20-yard line. Everyone else on the receiving team is lined up at their 35-yard line. Neither the kicking team nor the receiving team are allowed to move until the ball is caught or is in play.  Then all heck breaks loose.

There is a landing zone that goes from the goalline to the twenty. Any ball that lands in that area must be returned, no fair catches. Any ball that lands short of the 20 will be spotted at the 40. Any ball that goes into the endzone and isn't returned will be spotted at the 30 (instead of the 25 now.) If the ball lands in the landing zone (goalline to twenty) and isn't touched or returned and rolls into the endzone, it goes to the 20.

Expect lots of chaos early on as everyone tries to figure out the new rules. Any penalty on the kicking team only moves the kicker back, not the rest of the team. Onside kicks can only take place in the fourth quarter and the team must declare it in advance. The kicking team must also be trailing to declare an onside kick.

It's going to be a bit crazy until everyone adjusts to the new rules. You're apt to see a lot of kickers trying to make an open filed tackle as the guy of last resort.