Tod Leiweke was pumped about Seattle officially landing an NHL expansion franchise.getty images
Seattle lands NHL franchise
After the rousing expansion success of the Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL’s next stop will be Seattle. A group led by financier David Bonderman and film producer Jerry Bruckheimer paid a $650 million expansion fee for the league’s 32nd team, which is expected to launch in 2021-22. At the center of its bid was its new home — the former KeyArena, which is undergoing an $850 million redevelopment by the Oak View Group. Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke has been deeply involved in the efforts to land the city an NHL team, and his brother, former NFL COO Tod Leiweke, was hired as CEO and president of the team. — Ian Thomas
I’m not here to make it kinda work. I’m here to make it work.
Tod Leiweke,
on serving as president and CEO of the Seattle NHL expansion franchise
Disney Buys Fox assets, puts RSNs up for sale
The biggest sports media story of 2018 will be the biggest sports media story of 2019: What is going to happen to Fox’s 22 regional sports networks? Disney picked up the RSNs as part of its $52 billion deal to buy 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets. But in June, the Department of Justice said Disney would have to sell the RSNs as a condition of approving the deal. The RSNs could fetch upward of $20 billion. The big question is whether Disney will be able to find one buyer to take all 22 RSNs, or if it will have to sell them off to several bidders. — John Ourand
A William Hill “ambassador” tutors a fan on using the company’s sports betting app in the William Hill Sports Lounge at Prudential Center in Newark.New Jersey Devils
Legalized sports betting grows
When the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 in May to overturn a federal law that restricted sports betting to Nevada, it triggered a flurry of legislative and commercial activity that seven months later only promises to intensify. Eight states had authorized legal sports betting as of year’s end, with at least a dozen more expected to take up the matter in 2019. MGM Resorts signed on as official sports betting provider of the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball. William Hill signed team sponsorship deals with the Vegas Golden Knights and the New Jersey Devils. DFS providers DraftKings and FanDuel emerged as the leading sportsbooks in New Jersey, where bettors had wagered $928 million on sports through the end of November. — Bill King
Jimmy Pitaro provided a steady hand at ESPN’s helm after he was appointed president in March.ESPN Images
New leadership at ESPN
Disney’s Bob Iger picked Jimmy Pitaro to head up ESPN in March, replacing John Skipper, who resigned suddenly just a few months before. In the ensuing nine months, Pitaro has made his mark on the company by cultivating a calmer atmosphere and repairing relationships with some of its biggest partners. Under Pitaro’s leadership, ESPN has started to shed the criticism that its programming and anchors are too political. The national anthem controversy has died down. And ESPN’s relationship with the NFL looks to be the best it’s been in years, with the league just last month agreeing to have ABC carry the NFL draft in 2019. — John Ourand
They’re going to add a lot of stuff to this. If you’re a shareholder in Disney and you think there’s going to be an ESPN turnaround, this excites you
CNBC’s Dan Nathan,
on ESPN+ and its impact on the company
Jim France was a more visible presence at NASCAR after taking over as chairman and CEO in August.getty images
NASCAR undergoes changes
Turnover at NASCAR during 2018 will be felt both in the boardroom and on the track in 2019 and beyond. Jim France replaced his nephew, Brian France, as NASCAR’s chairman and CEO in August after the latter was arrested on DUI charges in the Hamptons. Jim and niece Lesa France Kennedy are quietly restructuring the sport, with a stunning $1.9 billion bid by NASCAR to acquire International Speedway Corp. in November. After winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship last year, Furniture Row Racing decided midway through this year that it would shut down after the season. That came after losing key sponsor 5-hour Energy and seeing its alliance fees with Joe Gibbs Racing nearly triple in cost. The closure shocked many in the industry and has given added urgency to NASCAR’s efforts to help teams overhaul their model to make it more viable. — Adam Stern
After a weather-challenged spring, MLB’s attendance problems carried over into the summer months.getty images
MLB attendance drops 4 percent
MLB’s attendance had already been on a slow, steady ebb this decade, dropping four out of five seasons entering 2018. But this year’s 4 percent decline more than doubled typical season-to-season shifts and sank the league to its lowest level since 2003. The attendance problems started early as cold, soggy weather led MLB to its largest number of postponements since 1989. But as the weather improved over the summer, the overall attendance slide remained. And far more than just weather-related issues, many leaders around the sport were forced to acknowledge that a troubling mixture of declining on-field action, a series of rebuilding clubs, and confusing ticket offers were also hurting fan appeal. — Eric Fisher
LeBron James has given Lakers fans a good reason to be excited again.getty images
LeBron heads west
LeBron James’ decision to leave Cleveland for the Los Angeles Lakers this past offseason was the sports story of the summer and is the latest chapter for the superstar who sets the template for athlete branding. The move not only returns glitter to the big-market Lakers who have struggled mightily on the floor in recent years, but it also puts James in the middle of Hollywood, where he can continue to build on his thriving SpringHill Entertainment business. — John Lombardo
NFL ratings rebound
Before the NFL season started, experts would trade estimates for how much NFL TV viewership might fall this season. The NFL had become political, and it suffered like other entertainment offerings in the cord-cutting era. The outliers who predicted a rise were correct, however, though even they might be surprised by just how much viewership has risen. Through 14 weeks, the NFL was averaging just under 16 million viewers per game, up 5 percent through the same point last season. A host of factors have contributed: President Trump is not tweeting about kneeling players; the emergence of a slew of top quarterbacks; and game rules designed to engineer offensive explosions. But of course, there is another constant: Americans really like football. — Daniel Kaplan
The USOC’s Susanne Lyons (left) and USA Gymnastics’ Kerry Perry testify before a Senate subcommittee in July.getty images
New CEO at USOC and turmoil at USA Gymnastics
In the run-up to the Winter Olympics, Larry Nassar was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing hundreds of gymnasts, many of whom bravely shared their story in open court. That proved a fitting start to a year of turmoil in the U.S. Olympic movement. U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun resigned just after the Pyeongchang Games, and USA Gymnastics — already under new leadership — kept enraging the women who had been abused through tone-deaf appointments and bad communication. The USOC’s choice to replace Blackmun, Sarah Hirshland, took over in August and moved quickly, forcing out USA Gymnastics CEO Kerry Perry and later beginning the process to decertify USA Gymnastics, a step unprecedented for a governing body of that size. — Ben Fischer
If I had a daughter right now, I couldn’t put her in it. I can’t even trust USA Gymnastics
Gold medal-winning gymnast
Shawn Johnson East
U.S. Soccer’s Carlos Cordeiro speaks after FIFA awards the 2026 World Cup. getty images
U.S., Canada and Mexico win united bid for 2026 World Cup
The joint bid among the U.S., Canada and Mexico beat out Morocco to land the 2026 World Cup, bringing the tournament back to North America for the first time since 1994. The event, which will be expanding to 48 teams and 80 games — 60 of which will be played in the U.S. — is projected to generate more than $14 billion in revenue, by far a record for FIFA, according to bid documents. The World Cup will also be a boon for Fox Sports and Telemundo, which will still hold its U.S. broadcast rights. — Ian Thomas
College basketball on trial
Guilty. That was the verdict for three defendants in the first round of trials resulting from the high-profile Adidas recruiting scandal. The shock to the system was that coaches, agents and shoe companies that pay players under the table can get more than an NCAA penalty. They can go to jail. There almost certainly will be more fallout and potentially more coaches who, like Louisville’s Rick Pitino, are forced to take the fall for transgressions under their watch. — Michael Smith
A sold-out Barclays Center cheers on competitors in the OWL Grand Finals.getty images
Overwatch League makes smashing debut
Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League moved with remarkable speed in 2018, signing a $90 million distribution deal with Twitch just days into the year, then backing it up with sponsorships from HP, Intel, T-Mobile, Toyota and Sour Patch Kids. The inaugural season culminated with a well-reviewed, sold-out championship weekend at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. In the offseason, OWL sold eight more franchises, at big increases over what the charter teams paid just one year earlier. The jury’s still out on the long-term staying power of esports in general and the Overwatch League too, but Activision Blizzard made more progress in 12 months than anybody thought it could. — Ben Fischer
