The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Hagey & Sharma in a front-page piece note boardroom drama "is intensifying" at Viacom amid "questions about the health" of Exec Chair SUMNER REDSTONE. Sources said that among those "frustrated by Viacom’s direction and governance" is Patriots Owner ROBERT KRAFT, who "left Viacom’s board in August after nine years" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/7). Sources said that Kraft has "expressed dissatisfaction with the company's direction" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/7).
MARSHALL LAW: Wichita State men's basketball coach GREGG MARSHALL signed a contract extension Sept. 23 that pays him $3M annually "plus numerous perks." That "represents a raise from his previous base salary" of $1.85M, plus bonuses, a deal that started after WSU’s '13 Final Four run. As of April 26, he "received a salary" of $3M, a figure that will rise to $3.5M in '18. He will "continue at that base salary" until '22, according to the current contract, at which point raises "will be decided" by WSU AD ERIC SEXTON. That salary "will likely rank Marshall among the nation’s top 10 or 15 coaches." His bonuses include $35,000 for "20 or more wins," and $18,000 for a Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship or co-championship. They also include $36,000 for "each NCAA Tournament game" as well as $60,000 for "reaching the Sweet 16, $100,000 for the Final Four and $200,000 for winning the NCAA title" (WICHITA EAGLE, 10/6).
NAMES: The Devils will retire MARTIN BRODEUR's No. 30 jersey in a pregame ceremony Feb. 9 at Prudential Center. The jersey retirement will be the culmination of a four-day celebration for Brodeur (Devils). The Devils also will "unveil a statue of Brodeur outside Prudential Center" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/7)....Georgetown last night announced a $50M donation from boosters PETER and SUSAN COOPER, the "biggest single gift focused on athletics." The gift has the "dual purpose of expanding a relatively new leadership program for Hoyas athletes and upgrading the central-campus field that hosts football, field hockey, lacrosse and numerous club sports." Three of the Coopers’ sons "played football at Georgetown, while a daughter, KYLIE, was co-captain of the swim team" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/7)....Bond, Schoeneck & King, which deals "exclusively with potential NCAA rules violations," was retained by Rutgers in August "to investigate and advise the university on potential NCAA rules violations" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 10/7)....49ers S ERIC REID in a 30-second PSA co-sanctioned by the team and FAA "lays down some basic rules about drone safety" (RECODE.net, 10/6)....Major Arena Soccer League team Hartford City FC Majority Owner JAMES DUCKETT JR. “has a felony conviction for embezzlement and has faced a string of legal judgments in at least four states for failing to pay personal and professional debts.” Duckett said that he “plans to raise” $30-40M to build a soccer stadium in an attempt to join NASL (HARTFORD COURANT, 10/7).
