With the decade wrapping up, several columnists gave their predictions on what the next 10 years might hold for the world of sports business.
- SI.com's Michael McCann believes college athletes will "obtain NIL rights and the NCAA will eventually accept that." He also predicts "cord-cutting and a la carte programming will complicate labor relations" (SI.com, 12/30).
- SBJ's John Ourand takes a look at what could be coming to the world of sports media in '20. Among his predictions is DAZN emerging as a formidable bidder for first-tier U.S. rights. He also believes the NBA 2K League will announce more international expansion with non-NBA parent franchises ahead of its fourth season (John Ourand, SBJ Media).
- The L.A. Times' Arash Markazi predicts Rams fans will "like the team's redesigned uniforms" when they unveil them next year. He also thinks the XFL "will be a success" (L.A. TIMES, 12/31).
- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Ben Frederickson makes a prediction that the name of the St. Louis MLS team will be announced "no later than April." He believes the name "won't be The Governors" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 12/31).
- The Guardian's Sean Ingle believes "more Russians will compete" in the upcoming Tokyo Games than did in the '16 Rio Games. WADA earlier this month banned Russia's colors and anthem from events, including the Olympics, for four years (THE GUARDIAN, 12/30).
- Sports Broadcast Journal's David Halberstram predicts Panthers TE Greg Olsen will become an "excellent analyst" (12/30).
- The Nashville Tennessean's Gentry Estes made 10 predictions for the local sports scene, including a Super Bowl being "played at Nissan Stadium." He also predicts that NASCAR will "return to Nashville and be held at the Fairgrounds" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 12/28).
