Menu
Year In Review

Year in Review: Stories

From dramatic comebacks and groundbreaking deals to crises at home and abroad, 2019 did not lack for drama.

Getty images

U.S. women lead on, off the pitch

The U.S. women were inescapable this summer after winning seven straight matches en route to their FIFA World Cup title. From the ticker tape parade in New York City to numerous public appearances and a successful Victory Tour throughout the fall, the team capitalized on its success. The backdrop to all of that was the players’ fight against the U.S. Soccer Federation for equal pay, one that took an ugly turn late in the year when mediation between the two parties fell apart. Most recently, a California court ruled that all 28 members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team can pursue their claims against the federation as a class action, effectively rejecting the governing body’s contention that some players had earned more than the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s top-paid individuals.

Getty images

Tiger’s fifth Masters win

In one of the most emotional finishes in tournament history, Tiger Woods rallied from two shots down in the final round of the Masters to take home his fifth green jacket and 15th major championship. Many doubted that Woods would see the inside of the Butler Cabin again after multiple knee and back surgeries kept him from fully competing over the past several years, including the entire 2015-16 PGA Tour season. The victory moved Woods ahead of Arnold Palmer and one behind Jack Nicklaus at Augusta National. 

 

Here's what we know about sports betting. If you bet on a game, you're almost 80-90% more likely to watch the event. If you watch more of the event, you're engaged. And if you're engaged, guess what happens to ratings?
David Levy
Turner (then) President

 

Getty images

College player marketing rights

California’s new law that protects college athletes from penalty if they make money off their own rights was a game changer throughout the industry. With the momentum from California, 18 more states wrote a similar bill or proposed one, some of which would go into effect as early as the summer of 2020. Now Congress has a working group studying the NIL issue with a national law potentially emerging. The collegiate model could be about to change, and everyone is preparing for what it might look like.


Sacramento Business Journal

MLS expansion 

Expansion has been on the agenda for each MLS board of governors meeting over the past 15 years as two new clubs — St. Louis and Sacramento — are expected to begin play in 2022, both of which were announced this year. Commissioner Don Garber has been outspoken about the league’s plans to grow to 32 teams while Charlotte’s uncertain status as team No. 30 looms with 2020 mere days away. With the rapid expansion and still a 34-match schedule, next season will be the first in MLS history where all teams (26) won’t play each other.

 

 

NASCAR, ISC join forces

Amid a time of sweeping change in NASCAR, Jim France’s bold $2 billion bet to combine NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. has paved the way for what is likely to be a stunning series of moves in the coming years. The acquisition of the publicly traded ISC sets up NASCAR to overhaul its schedule much more easily as soon as 2021, and it makes a potential eventual sale by the France family even more appealing because a buyer would now be able to reshape the sport more easily.

 
Getty images

Hottest NBA offseason in memory

Is there even an NBA offseason anymore? The white-hot summer saw blockbuster free-agency moves that included NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard signing with the Los Angeles Clippers while superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving signed with the Brooklyn Nets. Adding to the offseason furor was the Los Angeles Lakers trading for All-Star Anthony Davis to create a two-headed monster with LeBron James in Hollywood.

 

 

Getty images

Blues hoist Stanley Cup

For the first time in the team’s 52-year existence, the St. Louis Blues finally won Lord Stanley’s Cup in the spring, going from last place in the league at the season’s midway point to raising the coveted hardware. More impressively, the club won with an interim coach and a rookie goalie. The championship came 49 years after the then-expansion franchise was swept for the third straight year in the Cup final.

 

 

Getty images

Another spring football failure

Founded by Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian, the Alliance of American Football had a promising start with strong ratings and an entertaining on-field product. But funding problems and the lack of an agreement with the NFL Players Association for access to practice squad players from NFL rosters led controlling owner Tom Dundon to shut down the league on April 2 — one week before its 10-week regular season was to end. The league filed for bankruptcy 15 days later with $11.3 million in assets and liabilities of $48.3 million. 

 
Getty images

NBA-China crisis unfolds

The NBA found itself in a geopolitical crisis in October following a tweet supporting pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. The harsh reaction within China threatened the NBA’s multibillion-dollar business in the country and created an uproar as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver defended free speech in the face of financial consequences.

 
Getty images

A D.C. championship

The Washington Nationals won their first World Series title in franchise history after starting the season 19-31. Making the feat even more improbable, MLB’s oldest team by average age — and one that lost star outfielder Bryce Harper in free agency — trailed in five elimination games during the postseason and won all five. In addition, the Nats, a wild-card team, won all four of its road games in the World Series.

 

 

Gensler sports rendering

Texas arena a game-changer

The University of Texas is getting a new state-of-the-art $338 million basketball arena and the school is not paying a dime for it. Well, that’s not exactly true: The Longhorns will turn management and marketing rights of the arena over to Oak View Group to monetize, some of which will be shared with the school. Texas and OVG broke ground on the new arena earlier this month, celebrating a new 

model that will likely be copied by other schools.

 

Getty images

New owner for Brickyard, IndyCar

Roger Penske’s acquisition of IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the stunner of the year in motorsports, and its effect is only starting to be understood. The deal, estimated to be between $300 million and $350 million, proved to be a jaw-dropper when it was announced out of nowhere in early November, both because of the massive long-term implications and because it had not been reported as coming. The move means IMS has only the fourth owner in its history and that Penske, a business icon known for a Midas touch in the car world, will now lead the open-wheel racing series and venerable but old venue into its next era.

 

Astros under scrutiny

Allegations that the Houston Astros used an elaborate sign-stealing scheme during their World Series-winning 2017 season strike at the integrity of the game. Harsh penalties could be imposed once MLB concludes its probe into the Astros’ conduct the past three seasons. The team’s 2019 World Series appearance was also clouded by a public relations debacle involving the mishandling of a clubhouse incident in which then-assistant GM Brandon Taubman had taunted reporters over domestic violence.

 
Joed Viera

The future of women’s pro hockey

The National Women’s Hockey League faced a year in which hundreds of players decided to boycott playing in the league, pointing to a lack of medical insurance and inadequate pay, among other infrastructure issues. Despite the turmoil and uncertainty, the league is now in its fifth season and recently sold one of its five teams — the Boston Pride — to Cannon Capital managing partner Miles Arnone, making it currently the only team independently owned and operated.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2019/12/16/Year-In-Review/Stories.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2019/12/16/Year-In-Review/Stories.aspx

CLOSE