The Broncos unveiled their first major uniform change since 1997 today, debuting the Mile High Collection in partnership with Nike.

The team’s primary colors of orange, white and navy remain intact, but the most notable touches, according to team President Damani Leech, might be the many nods to the team’s home, including “5280” on the helmets and pants in reference to the city’s elevation and nods to the surrounding Rocky Mountains.

“We really wanted to be true to our history, our state, our region and that’s really what was most important,” said Leech. “I love the use of triangles as summit markers. I really love the detail on the shoulder sleeve, the angle of the mountain coming from the jaw of the horse, little Easter eggs in there that I really love. Vintage is in.”

Fans had been clamoring for a throwback to the look used by the 1977 team, which reached the first Super Bowl in franchise history, and that is also part of the collection, including the unmistakable “D” helmet. 

The process began nearly two years ago and included a fan survey with more than 10,000 respondents. Internally, owner and CEO Greg Penner, head coach Sean Payton, GM George Paton and several players were part of the process. Leech, owner Carrie Walton Penner and Chief Marketing Officer Hailey Sullivan traveled to Nike headquarters in Oregon 12 months ago as part of the process, and Nike offered periodic design reviews.

There are 10 uniform combinations in all, including a white, metallic-finish alternate helmet. Leech, who was hired in August 2022 shortly after the Walton-Penner family completed its $4.65B purchase of the team that summer, was ready for any initial poor reviews, which are not uncommon in similar situations.

“We expected a mixed reaction, we’ve seen enough uniform launches to know the reaction’s going to be mixed,” he said. “We’re seeing a tremendous amount of engagement and what seems to be largely a decent amount of support from our fan base. We wanted to reinvigorate a lot of excitement around the team, the brand.” 

Items have been on sale since this morning, but the team is making a formal announcement at 5pm ET.

The Lions and Jets already unveiled new uniforms for 2024 earlier this month, and the Texans will do so tomorrow.

Capitulating to the popularity of Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever are putting 17 of their games on free, over-the-air television this coming season after striking a deal with Tegna’s NBC and MeTV affiliates in Indianapolis. While 36 of the Fever’s 40 regular season games were already slated for national telecasts, the Fever’s goal was to create unfettered access locally on NBC’s WTHR Channel 13 and MeTV’s Channel 13.3 -- an over-the-air trend that has become commonplace in the NBA, as well.

In the NBA, the Suns and Jazz broadcast all of their games on free television last season, while the Hawks, Bucks, Mavericks, Cavaliers, Thunder and Pelicans combined to telecast 48 over-the-air games. If Diamond Sports Group fails to exit bankruptcy later this summer, it is conceivable that as many as 15 NBA teams will transition to free broadcasts for the 2024-25 season.

Similarly, Tegna said in a statement that it “will work with additional broadcast companies in the coming weeks to expand free over-the-air access to all available television markets outside of Indianapolis’’ -- meaning the trend could continue all over the WNBA. The WNBA’s national broadcasts can be currently seen on ESPN/ABC, ESPN+, Amazon Prime Video, Ion, NBA TV and CBS/CBS Sports Network.

The arrangement was brokered and negotiated for the Fever by Dan Granik and David Sternberg of Range Sports, longtime consultants to Pacers Sports & Entertainment, and Lee Berke and Brad Ramsey for Tegna. Ramsey heads up the sports at Tegna.

Kroger could be on the move in NASCAR after this year as part of a shakeup at JTG Daugherty Racing, with the potential of America’s largest supermarket chain switching to a new team in 2025, according to people familiar with the matter. Since 2010, the Cincinnati-based grocery chain giant has been a sponsor with the one-car Cup Series organization that has been owned by former Procter & Gamble exec Tad Geschickter; his wife, Jodi (JTG); former NBA player Brad Daugherty; and entrepreneur Gordon Smith. With longstanding ties in the CPG industry, Geschickter has kept close ties to Kroger and turned its sponsorship into one of the more unique and impressive in NASCAR.

Geschickter also runs his Brand Activation Maximizer agency, and in 2022 it started working with Joe Gibbs Racing. The arrangement raised eyebrows in the NASCAR garage because it involved an owner of a Chevrolet-aligned team helping sell sponsorship for a Toyota-aligned outfit. Since this most recent offseason, industry sources have identified Joe Gibbs Racing as a possible destination for Kroger in 2025 in a move that could bring Geschickter along with it. That has coincided with subtle moves made since last season that have also seemed to suggest that Kroger Racing could split from its longtime relationship with the JTG. For example, after not sending any posts since 2017, the Kroger Racing account on X was reactivated this January.

The Supreme Court today allowed Relevent Sports' antitrust lawsuit to go forward against FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation over the world governing body’s policy of not permitting a country to host league matches involving teams from other countries. The high court order "leaves in place" a federal appeals court ruling in favor of Relevent, controlled by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. Relevent and FIFA reached an agreement this month to drop FIFA from the suit, a deal that the USSF "wants to review" and that "has not yet been approved" by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni. FIFA, the USSF and Relevent lawyer Jeffrey Kessler did not immediately respond to requests for comment (AP, 4/22).

Tiger Woods "rounded out the four-man squad" for his TGL team Jupiter Links Golf Club today with three "popular PGA Tour players" in Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner. Homa is a six-time PGA Tour winner, who recently played with Woods the first two rounds at the Masters. Kim became the first person to win twice on the PGA Tour before turning 21 since Woods. And Kisner is a four-time PGA Tour winner whose broadcasting experience this year "should add to the team's entertainment value" (GOLF DIGEST, 4/22).

Netflix's roast of former NFLer Tom Brady, "The Greatest Roast of All Time," will be broadcast live on the streaming service on May 5, the streaming service announced today. The event will be hosted by Kevin Hart and feature "an all-star lineup of athletes and comedians" including comedian Jeff Ross, the "industries unofficial roastmaster." The special was first announced as the first in a series "first announced in May 2022" (YAHOO SPORTS, 4/22).

April 22, 1996 -- The WNBA is founded. The NBA Board of Governors would approve the creation of the WNBA on April 24, 1996, with the league beginning play in 1997. The WNBA had to compete with another professional women's basketball league American Basketball League, which began play in the fall of 1996 but would cease operation during its 1998–99 season. The WNBA began with eight teams: the Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets and N.Y. Liberty in the Eastern Conference; and the L.A. Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs and Utah Starzz in the Western Conference. After a series of expansions, contractions and relocations, the WNBA currently consists of 12 teams. There has been a total of 18 franchises in WNBA history.

Also happening this week:

• April 22, 1954 -- The NBA adopts a 24-second shot clock and six team-foul rule.
• April 23, 1950 -- A Phillies-Braves game is the first MLB day game to be completed under lights.
• April 24, 1945 -- Happy Chandler is named the second MLB commissioner.
• April 25, 1978 -- The Phillie Phanatic makes its first appearance at a Cubs-Phillies game.

Colts owner Jim Irsay, who is rehabilitating from major surgery on his lower back area, said today that has "severely limited" mobility will "keep him from being in the Colts' draft room" later this week for the NFL Draft. Irsay added that he'll "still have a presence" and that the team's affairs are "running per usual despite his physical absence" (ESPN.com, 4/22).

NFL Network insider Ian Rapaport has agreed to a new deal to remain with the network (THE ATHLETIC, 4/22).

Penn Entertainment has named Aaron LaBerge Chief Technology Officer, effective July 1. LaBerge will report directly to Penn CEO & President Jay Snowden and will be responsible for driving the technology strategy and execution for Penn. LaBerge comes to Penn from Disney and was a nominee for Technology Executive of the Year at this year's Sports Business Awards: Tech (Penn Entertainment).

Florida State Athletics and The Brandr Group have established an group licensing agreement for all FSU athletes, enabling them to profit from their NIL using the school’s official trademarks and logos (TBG).

Snickers Ice Cream has partnered with NFL WR prospect Rome Odunze to launch the Snickers Ice Cream Chiller -- a first-of-its-kind ice cream holder shaped like a hand that helps keep the ice cream cold (Snickers).

The World Anti-Doping Agency has "come under renewed attack over its failure to investigate the Chinese swimming scandal that has rocked the sports world" -- with calls for the body to be "disbanded and replaced" ahead of the Paris Games. Global Athlete and FairSport have released a joint statement "demanding a full and independent review into the case" (Adelaide ADVERTISER, 4/22).

Oak View Group Chair & CEO Tim Leiweke has revealed "plans to build a new arena" in the Hammersmith area of west London. Talks with local authorities are "at an early stage, with no details released on the capacity of any potential arena or when it would be able to open." Leiweke was speaking ahead of the scheduled opening of OVG’s new arena in Manchester, the 23,500-capacity Co-op Live, which will not open tomorrow as planned "due to issues relating to the venue’s power supply" (THE STADIUM BUSINESS, 4/22).

Topps has replaced Panini as the official sticker album for this summer’s European Championship (London TELEGRAPH, 4/22).

Boris Becker is hoping to return to Wimbledon in some form next year after revealing that he is already “working hard with the authorities” to secure permission for re-entry to the UK as a convicted criminal after being deported in December 2022 (London TIMES, 4/22).

Premier League club Chelsea has "threatened to ban and support criminal action against anybody found guilty" of sending racist abuse to F Nicolas Jackson in the wake of his missed chances in the club’s FA Cup semifinal loss to Manchester City (London TELEGRAPH, 4/22).

Tim McKone will be the new third voice on “Zolak and Bertrand,” The Sports Hub’s midday show. They had been using a rotation since Hardy moved to mornings at the start of January.

— Chad Finn (@GlobeChadFinn) April 22, 2024

THANK YOU FANS for a banner season!

The AHL has set a new attendance record with 6,822,875 fans during the regular season👏 pic.twitter.com/G18AgTXCb3

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) April 22, 2024

"Only 400 of the first 6,000 that bought season tickets were also season ticket holders for the Jazz..

We think that's good news and I have faith in the people of Utah" ~ @RyanQualtrics #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Q54KrEkP8E

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 22, 2024

Tremendous TV & audio sequence on YES pic.twitter.com/YOSoY10KOQ

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) April 22, 2024

Boone getting tossed, standing on the top step of the dugout and not saying anything, really is something and a horrible look for veteran umpire Hunter Wendlestedt. Some of Boone's issues with umpires over the years have been of his own making but that wasn't one of them.

— Erik Boland (@eboland11) April 22, 2024

Happy #EarthDay. 🌎

Here's the part of the world where we'll be in just three weeks. 📍 pic.twitter.com/BVaUGZRexV

— PGA of America (@PGA) April 22, 2024

His sacrifice will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/YtXjY7RYGY

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) April 22, 2024

I got a call in 2011.

Could you host for 2 hours?

It turned into 13 years.

Thank you, @nflnetwork for a great run.

Thank you to every @NFL fan. It’s been an honor.

I can’t wait to write the next chapter.

I’ll see you on @nbcolympics @peacock in July, if not much sooner. pic.twitter.com/CwsljcQLnr

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) April 22, 2024

49ers QB Brock Purdy stars in a new campaign from Toyota Motor North America themed around the 2024 NFL Draft and the 2025 Toyota Crown Signia.

17 million -- A poll conducted of Canadians aged 13-65 revealed that two in three Canadians (67%) consider themselves to be fans of women’s sports -- equivalent to more than 17 million people (IMI Consulting).