SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead -- MLB Season Still In Limbo

The reality that the pandemic's impact -- financially, socially and, of course, heath-wise -- will last beyond 2020 has become increasingly clear in the past few weeks. Sports is not exempt. While leagues are slowly finding short-term solutions enabling a return to action, the long-term impacts of these situations will be felt for many years, especially in relations between leagues and their players.

Already, the NBA’s return-to-play plan appears to be meeting resistance as star players express concerns over safety protocols and worry that playing basketball could undermine the Black Lives Matter movement. Murmurs of discontent are stirring from MLS players too, who will be right across the street from the NBA at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, and who were handled roughly by owners during recent CBA negotiations.

And as MLB struggles to get back on the field, the mistrust between the players’ union and ownership seems to be only worsening. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says is unsure of what's next and signs are pointing to him likely unilaterally salvaging a 50-game season.

MANFRED NOW UNSURE MLB SEASON HAPPENS

• MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred today said he's "not confident" there will be a 2020 baseball season, while speaking to ESPN for the net's "The Return of Sports" special that airs tonight. Manfred walked back comments made last week, when he said "unequivocally we are going to play Major League Baseball this year" and pegged the likelihood at "100 percent." After a weekend of bad news for the league, Manfred today said that "as long as there's no dialogue" with the MLBPA, "that real risk is going to continue."

• Manfred: "I'm not confident. I think there's real risk; and as long as there's no dialogue, that real risk is gonna continue." He added, "The owners are 100 percent committed to getting baseball back on the field. Unfortunately, I can't tell you that I'm 100 percent certain that's gonna happen."

• The MLBA released a statement this evening, in which Executive Director Tony Clark said any implication the union has delayed progress is "completely false." Clark said Manfred has "recently acknowledged the parties are 'very, very close.'" He went on to call Manfred's comments just the "latest threat" from MLB, which he claimed have "always been about extracting additional pay cuts" form the players.

NFLPA EXPECTS FAN-LESS SEASON TO COST AT LEAST $3 BILLION

• NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith on a call today with agents reportedly said that the union has "had preliminary calls with the NFL on projections for the 2021 salary cap and it’s safe to say a season without fans would have at least a $3 billion impact on revenue." NFL Network's Tom Pelissero notes the CBA states that the NFL and NFLPA "must bargain in good faith if there’s a significant revenue shortfall." However, bargaining "hasn’t started, per Smith."

• On that same call, NFLPA Medical Dir Thom Mayer said that the current plan for this season is to "test players for COVID-19 about 3 times a week, isolating those who test positive." Per Mayer, there is a "90% chance reliable saliva testing is available before players return to facilities." Smith said that the union "expects to make headway on overall protocols going forward in the next 30 days or so."

WNBA IN GOOD SHAPE WITH RESTART PLANS

• Today’s announcement that the WNBA’s 2020 season is planned to be played at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., beginning in late July is a huge win for Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who is in her first full season running the league, writes SBJ's John Lombardo. The plan calls for each of the league’s 12 teams to play a modified 22-game season at the IMG complex in front of no fans, to be followed by its traditional eight-team playoff format. Players will receive their full salaries and benefits for the season that originally called for a 36-game schedule that was supposed to start on May 15.

• The deal helps maintain some of the league’s hard-won traction it gained with a new eight-year labor deal signed in January that increases the average WNBA player salary to $130,000 while providing increased travel and health benefits, including paid maternity leave for the players. The WNBA is also coming off its 2019 season that brought a rebranding and a major marquee sponsorship deal with AT&T that puts the company’s name on team jerseys. The reformatted season will give the WNBA a platform for social issues, a critical component for the league and its players

• WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike in a statement said, "In our discussions with the league, we emphasized and they agreed that a strong commitment to a 2020 season will give the WNBA the chance to show the world that it's taking the steps needed to secure our livelihood and well-being, while also providing the opportunity to amplify our collective voice. We have always been at the forefront of (social justice) initiatives.. ... This is not only necessary from a humanitarian perspective, but it may be one of the biggest opportunities that this league has and will ever have.”

NASCAR MOVES ALL-STAR RACE TO BRISTOL

• NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports are moving next month’s All-Star Race from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Bristol Motor Speedway, in part because of rising coronavirus cases in North Carolina -- marking just the second time the event won’t be held in the Queen City. SBJ's Adam Stern notes news of the impending announcement started leaking out this afternoon, and Speedway Motorsports President & CEO Marcus Smith later confirmed it on FS1’s "Race Hub." Smith revealed that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has green-lit up to 30,000 fans for the race on July 15th. That may sound like a lot of people, but it’s slightly under 20% of capacity of the massive venue that can seat 160,000.

• Meanwhile, NASCAR is considering moving numbers to the rear quarter panel of the car for next month's race, as a first-time experiment for the Cup Series, per sources. NASCAR's minor-league K&N Series started experimenting with this in 2017 to see if it gives sponsors better branding. SBJ's initial report of this possibility tonight on Twitter immediately generated a massive response from NASCAR’s hardcore fanbase, which largely appears to want to keep the traditional style of the number in the middle of the side of the car.

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP SET FOR FAN-LESS TOURNAMENT

• S.F. public health officials have "approved plans to hold the PGA Championship in early August at Harding Park" and the S.F. Chronicle is reporting the event "will take place without spectators." The PGA of America is "expected to make an official announcement" tomorrow.

• The event, scheduled for Aug. 6-9, will be the "first major championship in Harding’s 95-year history." This year’s PGA also will serve as the first major of the reshaped '20 golf season. Spectators who "bought tickets to the tournament will be given refunds."

SPARTAN RACE RETURNS TO ACTION IN U.S.

• Spartan Race on Saturday held its first U.S. event since putting race operations on hold three months ago at Jacksonville’s WW Motocross Park, marking the first mass-participation competition since the beginning of COVID-19 lockdowns. The return required strict safety regulations, which Spartan Founder & CEO Joe De Sena, who drove to the event from his home in Vermont, told SBJ's Chris Smith stack up against anything else he’s seen. “All the places I saw going down, they were not even close to the proper procedures and protocol compared to what we did," he said. "Not even close.”

• Organizers capped active racing to a maximum of 300 racers on the course at any one time, and all water obstacles were removed. Around half of the course was expanded in width. Participants could only be in the venue within 30 minutes before and after the race, and all were temperature screened (nobody registered high enough to be denied entry). De Sena estimates that some 35 race organizers were on hand to examine Spartan’s safety procedures, and that three times that many have since reached out.

• Overall, the race weekend hosted around 2,000 participants, down from a typical headcount of over 7,000. De Sena said the restrictions made the event a money loser, with severely reduced revenues from registrations, merchandise sales and sponsorships. “The economics just don’t work,” said De Sena. “If it wasn’t for PPP, there’s no way we could have done this.” He suggested raceday revenues were down as much as 70%, but that it was important to demonstrate that racing can safely return. De Sena: “Somebody had to step off the ledge and say, ‘Hey guys, we have to come back as an industry.’”

OUTSIDE CONTRIBUTORS: GUIDING LIGHT

• Tonight's op-ed contribution is from sports marketing agency 4Front co-Founder Dan Migala, who writes, "In a post-COVID world ... adaptable sports executives will be wise to embrace a new parallel to ROI and layer on a focus for Return on Inspiration."
  
  
• "Those executives that can look to inspire their fans during this tumultuous time will be rewarded for years to come for the positive impact they had on their communities. Looking to generate both a Return on Inspiration and a Return on Investment is defined as the 'Double Bottom Line' and it’s never a more relevant strategy than it is right now."
  
  
• To read Migala's full contribution, click here.

CHECK OUT THIS WEEK'S SBJ

• Don’t miss this week’s issue of SBJ. Meanwhile, if you’d like to receive the print issue at your home office, update your delivery address at any time within your account settings here. If you have any questions about how and where to receive your print copy of SBJ, please email help@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

SPEED READS

• Kyrie Irving’s push to not resume the NBA season was no doubt a hot topic for popular sports podcasts today. Brian Windhorst, on “ESPN Daily,” said: “It’s turned off some players that the union worked for weeks very diligently and under a lot of pressure to put together a deal that really does benefit many of the players and Kyrie was a part of that, ratified it and then so quickly changed his track.” Bill Simmons said, “I think the prevailing wisdom will be that the stage that they’ll be able to have for nine to ten straight weeks … is the best possible use of their platform.”

• News of the MLB-Turner deal has inflamed tensions as MLB tries to negotiate return-to-play scenarios with the MLBPA, reports John Ourand in tonight’s SBJ Media newsletter. In a statement released over the weekend, the association cited the Turner deal in rejecting “hundreds of millions in further concessions.” The MLBPA’s lead negotiator Bruce Meyer, in a letter on Saturday to MLB Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem, wrote, “We ask again that you provide us with details on this and other negotiations.”

• The 2020 Vans US Open of Surfing presented by Swatch has been canceled and will return in 2021. The annual event at the Huntington Beach Pier -- sanctioned and operated by the World Surf League under license from IMG, the event owner -- was originally scheduled to run in early August.

NEWS YOU NEED FROM SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY

• During this crisis impacting the sports business, we want everyone to be up-to-date on the latest news and information. Select stories from Sports Business Daily are free, outside the paywall, for the foreseeable future. Below are today's headlines:
  
  
  • Roberts: NBA Players Debating How Best To Further Movement
  • NBA Will Test Players, Staff Every Other Day Starting June 23
  • PGA Tour To Share Lessons Learned From Return Event With Leagues
  • NHL Urges Players Needing Extended Work Visas To Return
  • Mets, Yankees Lose Millions In Potential Ballpark Revenue

SBJ UNPACKS -- THE ROAD AHEAD

• Check out the most recent editions of our "SBJ Unpacks" podcasts around COVID-19:
  
  
  • Bill King is joined by Adam Stern and they discuss the impact of NASCAR banning the confederate flag at its events and properties.
  • PGA Tour Senior VP Andy Levinson shares insight into the Tour's return to the links and what lies ahead.
  • Food services consultant Chris Bigelow on how social distancing policies and other aspects of a changed world will impact sports venues.

LAST WEEK TO NOMINATE FOR SBJ GAME CHANGERS

Now is the time to nominate a change agent within your organization for Game Changers. The deadline of midnight June 21 is fast approaching. The Game Changers event will be Oct. 27-28, and a special section will run in SBJ in the Oct. 19 issue, recognizing women who are pushing forward and changing the industry.

Something related to coronavirus and sports business catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to Austin Karp (akarp@sportsbusinessjournal.com) and we'll share the best of it.