NFL owners will vote next week on a measure allowing Commissioner Roger Goodell and the finance committee to increase league-level debt to cover pandemic-related losses, sources said. The permission to increase borrowing will be decided concurrently with a proposal to raise teams' debt limit from $350M to $500M, a 43% increase. Teams typically can either access the league-level credit facility or borrow independently. While no decision has yet been made on whether the league will follow through with additional borrowing, authorizing the finance committee to take that step is a recognition that some teams may encounter difficulties borrowing on their own, one source said.

Both steps come after NFL CFO Joe Siclare and his team conducted stress tests on all 32 teams, exploring how their books would fare during the worst-case scenario for NFL teams -- spectator-less games in which players would still be due their full salaries while teams lost most of their local revenue. Because of the league’s strong national TV contracts, most of the financial stress caused by that scenario would be felt by teams. If the proposal is agreed to by owners, the finance committee and Goodell would have until December '21 to borrow more at the league level, sources said. Exact terms and amounts would be determined by the finance committee, currently chaired by Chiefs Chair & CEO Clark Hunt. The plan was tentatively agreed to on a conference call yesterday. ESPN first reported the proposed increase to team debt limits.

Read the full story on our Breaking News blog.

Coyotes President & CEO Ahron Cohen is “no longer with the organization,” according to sources. He was hired in August ‘15 under owner Andrew Barroway as COO & Chief Legal Officer, then was promoted to his current role in July ’18 to replace Steve Patterson. The Coyotes under Cohen enjoyed “improvement in multiple areas, including ticket sales, attendance, sponsorship sales and TV ratings.” It is unclear what current Owner Alex Meruelo’s “plans are to replace Cohen.” The Coyotes have had seven team presidents since relocating from Winnipeg in '96 (THEATHLETIC.com, 5/12).

Meanwhile, multiple sources told THE DAILY that Coyotes CFO Gregg Olson also is no longer with the organization. Olson joined the Coyotes in September '14. The team declined comment (Mark J. Burns, THE DAILY). 

Dr. Anthony Fauci today warned "strongly against reopening quickly," and he remains "skeptical about treatments allowing colleges to reopen in the fall." Those were two of the takeaways from Fauci's testimony today before a Senate committee, where Fauci said, "If some areas, cities, states or what have you jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently -- my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/12). Fauci said the idea of having a treatment or vaccine ready for campuses to reopen by fall "would be a bit of a bridge too far" (KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL, 5/12).

Meanwhile, L.A. County Public Health Dir Barbara Ferrer acknowledged today that "with all certainty," the county's stay-at-home orders would extend for another three months, seemingly impacting the chances of pro sports' return in the region (L.A. TIMES, 5/12).

Coca-Cola Senior VP/Strategic Marketing Geoff Cottrill, the company’s “top marketing executive in North America, is leaving the company” after two years. He is set to retire in June 1; no replacement was named. Coca-Cola has “paused most of its marketing globally, including in the U.S., where it has not aired a national TV ad since late March.” Cottrill is credited with “bringing aboard new partners such as esports brand Overwatch, as well as renewing deals” with the NCAA, U.S. Soccer and ESPN’s “College GameDay” (ADAGE.com, 5/12).

China's CCTV today said that it has "no intention of resuming the airing of NBA games as the relationship between the sides remains icy" in the wake of Rockets GM Daryl Morey's Hong Kong tweet last fall. The NBA yesterday named Michael Ma as the new CEO of NBA China. Ma comes from an "influential Chinese media family -- his father, Ma Guoli, is regarded as the father of CCTV Sports." Michael Ma's hiring "led to speculation in China that the connection could help reunite the television giant with the NBA, which has been off the air all season." Ma Guoli today "resigned his position as an adviser to the Chinese Basketball Association" (ESPN.com, 5/12).

The PLL is partnering with Genius Sports, which becomes the league’s "official data and integrity partner for sports betting." Genius "will provide sportsbook operators in the U.S. and globally with a host of live betting data" on the PLL, and it will help the league "protect itself from betting-related corruption." Genius has deals with the NBA, NCAA, EPL, PGA Tour and LPGA, among others (VARIETY.com, 5/12). The July 25-Aug. 9 PLL Championship Series -- the league’s "innovative summer concept to return to play" -- will be included (USLAXMAGAZINE.com, 5/12).

The Nationals are offering a loyalty bonus on top of full credit for ticket holders. Season-ticket, group and single-game buyers can receive a 100% credit for any amount spent on tickets and parking passes during the '20 season (less some fees), for any games they are unable to attend due to the pandemic. They also will receive a 50% bonus credit that can be spent during the '20 or '21 regular season on additional tickets or seat upgrades. Or, it can be converted for more food, drink and merchandise (Nationals).

The MLB Rangers are hosting a “first of its kind series of concerts June 4-7 in a parking lot outside of Globe Life Park.” The QuikTrip Concert in Your Car presented by Energy Transfer series includes artists like Pat Green and the Eli Young Band. About 400 cars “will be able to fit in the parking lot.” Tickets are $40 per vehicle, per night, and a “portion of the proceeds will benefit the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation to support their ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts” (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 5/12).

Netflix has "set in motion a feature centered" on the '99 USWNT team winning the FIFA World Cup. The film will be adapted from Jere Longman’s book, “The Girls of Summer: The US Women’s Soccer Team and How It Changed The World" (N.Y. POST, 5/12).

The PGA of America today announced that the '30 championship will be held at Southern Hills Country Club "for the fifth time." The course in Tulsa "recently underwent an extensive renovation" (TULSA WORLD, 5/12).

USA Gymnastics has "canceled its national championships scheduled for June 4-7 in Fort Worth and will stage the event at the city’s Dickies Arena next year" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/12).

Sports app Sleeper has raised $20M in a Series B round, with investments from Nets F Kevin Durant, former NBAer Baron Davis and Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, among others (CRUNCHBASE.com, 5/12). 

Mamba Sports Academy is "retiring 'Mamba' from its name, out of respect for" the late Kobe Bryant. The academy was launched in '18 as a "joint athletic training business venture" with Bryant and CEO Chad Faulkner (ESPN.com, 5/12).

"Hopefully it will be done by mid-June, and I could put on a fight that weekend that it's done or end of June" -- UFC President Dana White, on when he expects Fight Island to be ready to host events (ESPN.com, 5/12).

“There will be visual cues that this is something different going on. But if we focus on the cars, on the track, if we focus on what the drivers are doing, once we get through the first little bit, I think it's going to settle in to a pretty good, pretty typical NASCAR race” -- NBC Sports’ Kyle Petty, on NASCAR returning to racing at Darlington on Sunday (“Lunch Talk Live,” NBCSN, 5/12).

“This infection control officer … is going to be as important to your team as your offensive and defensive coordinators this year. Because if you don’t keep a clean building and if you get a bunch of people infected, you’re not going to be able to play” -- NBCSN’s Peter King, on NFL teams hiring a new position to oversee efforts to combat COVID-19 (“NFL Now,” NFL Network, 5/12).

“All said, at the end of the day, it’s a video game, and I think we all had a ton of fun. Coming to the line, man, it’s not anything you’d ever do in real life” -- IndyCar driver Santino Ferrucci, who in the final stretch of the May 2 IndyCar iRacing Challenge finale wrecked Oliver Askew, who was leading the virtual race at the time (SLATE.com, 5/12).

National Basketball Players Association regional representatives started texting NBA players today with a 'yes or no' question it says will be kept confidential: Do you want to try and play again this season? The union's trying to gauge broader sentiment of its 400-plus players.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 12, 2020

Told Nets are still formulating season-ticket refund initiatives more than 24 hours after Knicks emailed their plan to subscribers. A few clubs such as Knicks are adding incentives to roll over money for next season.

— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) May 12, 2020

If I’m an NFL team staring at the prospect of an empty stadium, I’m turning those tarped seats into the world’s biggest green screen and running ads on a constant loop.

— Sam Farmer (@LATimesfarmer) May 12, 2020

You know the point of desperation has been reached when Cooper Kupp changing his jersey number resonates as a story on social media.

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) May 12, 2020

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

👀 Recognize anyone in the stands at today’s NC Dinos game? #WeAreNC

(📷: @NCdinos_fan) pic.twitter.com/xLjDoCXcpS

— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) May 12, 2020

There’s nothing better you’ll see or hear today than these kids mic’d up playing football 🤣😂
pic.twitter.com/noMijnqAeO

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) May 12, 2020

"Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back" on Fox at 8:00pm ET will feature Baseball HOFer Cal Ripken Jr. and former NFLer Torrey Smith. The episode is set in Maryland.

34,950 -- Sales of the most in-demand baseball card in Topps' Project 2020, a version of Angels CF Mike Trout's '11 rookie card reimagined by artist Ben Baller. The effort to date has seen 232,000 cards sold of the 66 different ones issued (Topps).