SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead -- Rosenhaus, Boras Agencies Among PPP Recipients

The list of players opting out of league restarts is quickly growing, and it now includes some real star power ... and an entire MLS club.

FC Dallas officially backed out of the league’s return tournament this afternoon following 10 positive player tests, just hours after the reigning MLS MVP Carlos Vela also announced he was staying home. MLB, which has come under fire for insufficient player testing, today lost Nick Markakis, who follows the likes of David Price, Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond and Felix Hernandez, among others. Mike Trout and Buster Posey are also considering sitting out this season.

But as growing doubts continue to dominate the headlines, today delivered an eye-popping bit of virus-free news: The Chiefs have reportedly signed quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a 10-year extension worth more than $400 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. How’s this for a sign of the times: It’s perhaps the most valuable contract in American pro sports history, but, with the U.S. Small Business Administration releasing data on the hundreds of sports organizations that received payroll loans, it’s not even the biggest sports news of the day. 

-- Chris Smith

ROSENHAUS, BORAS AGENCIES AMONG PPP RECIPIENTS

• Some of the biggest agents in sports recently received Paycheck Protection Program loans, according to data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration. 
  
  
  • The names include Drew Rosenhaus, whose eponymous agency received between $150,000 and $350,000 from Truist Bank, which was used to retain 19 jobs.
    
    
  • Baseball’s top agent, Scott Boras, received approval for a loan of between $1-2 million on April 7, which helped his company maintain 69 employees during the pandemic. Two other Boras-related entities, Boras Marketing and Boras Sports Training Institute, also received loans ranging from $150,000 to $350,000.
    
    
  • Excel Sports Management received a similar loan from JPMorgan Chase, which preserved 96 jobs, the most among the agencies that SBJ located in the data. Independent Sports & Entertainment, another multi-sport outfit, received between $350,000 and $1 million in late April, with 42 jobs saved as a result.
    
    
  • Athletes First also received a loan, worth between $350,000 and $1 million, which helped save 38 jobs, while its sister agency, Athletes First Partners, received a loan for between $150,000 and $350,000, which spared 10 more jobs. 
    
    
  • L.A.-based Demoff Sports Group received a loan of between $150,000 to $350,000. 
    
    
  • MVP Sports Group received at least $350,000 and possibly as much as $1 million. Rep 1’s baseball and football entities each received at least $150,000.
    
    
• For more on the 500-plus sports properties receiving PPP loans of $150,000 or more, see today's story from Bret McCormick in Closing Bell. Liz Mullen also contributed to this report.

FC DALLAS WITHDRAWS FROM MLS RETURN TOURNEY

• FC Dallas this afternoon officially withdrew from the MLS is Back tournament after 10 players and one coach tested positive for COVID-19 in Orlando. The team in a statement said it will "cooperate with MLS and local health officials, both in Florida and Texas, on a plan that can safely bring the team back to Frisco in a way that minimizes risk of exposure to all parties involved and ensures their safety."
  
  
• MLS Commissioner Don Garber, appearing on "SportsCenter" earlier this evening, stressed that the "health of everyone involved in our return to play has always been our top priority, and we will continue to make decisions consistent with that priority.” Garber added that he still considered the league in a "good spot" two days before the tournament is set to begin despite the loss of FC Dallas.

TESTING ISSUES RAISE CONCERNS ACROSS MLB

• A handful of MLB teams have confronted issues related to testing less than a week since training camps opened, reports SBJ's Eric Prisbell.
  
  
  • The Nationals, Astros and Cardinals today canceled workouts after a delay in testing results. Nationals President of Baseball Operations & GM Mike Rizzo then issued a strongly worded statement in which he said "without accurate and timely testing it is simply not safe for us to continue with Summer Camp." More Rizzo: "Major League Baseball needs to work quickly to resolve issues with their process and their lab. Otherwise, Summer Camp and the 2020 season are at risk."
    
    
  • Meanwhile, the A's entered today having yet to complete a full team workout because of delays, perhaps attributed to the holiday weekend, in delivering test samples to the centralized Utah-based lab that the league is using to process samples. 
    
    
  • The Angels reportedly used their own staff to collect samples after medical officials did not show to administer testing.
    
    
  • And some players have expressed concerns over whether the health of players and staff can maintained. Cubs 3B Kris Bryant told reporters today, "I wanted to play this year because I thought it would be safe. Honestly, I don't really feel that."
    
    
• MLB this afternoon issued a statement that said in part that 95% of tests under the intake screening period have been conducted, analyzed and shared with the 30 teams. MLB: "Our plan required extensive delivery and shipping services, including proactive accommodations to account for the holiday weekend. The vast majority of those deliveries occurred without incident and allowed the protocols to function as planned. Unfortunately, several situations included unforeseen delays. We have addressed the delays caused by the holiday weekend and do not expect a recurrence. We commend the affected clubs that responded properly by canceling workouts."

The Angels reportedly used their own staff to collect samples after medical officials did not show to administer testing

WNBA: 5% OF PLAYERS TEST POSITIVE AHEAD OF RESTART

• As the WNBA heads to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., to prepare for their scheduled July 24 restart, the league announced that seven out of 137 players (5%) tested positive for the coronavirus between June 28-July 5. The players who tested positive were not identified by the league, reports SBJ's John Lombardo. According to WNBA policy, any player who tested positive will remain in self-isolation until she satisfies public health protocols for discontinuing isolation and has been cleared by a physician.
  
   
• The test results came as 11 of the league's 12 teams arrived in Florida today in advance of the planned 22-game season. The Indiana Fever will not travel to Bradenton for at least another five days “in an abundance of caution due to the CDC’s self-quarantine requirements” the league said.
  
  
• The WNBA has also formed a new platform called the The Justice Movement -- while also creating the WNBA/WNBPA Social Justice Council -- with a mission to be a “driving force of necessary and continuing conversations about race, voting rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and gun control amongst other important societal issues,” according to the league. The WNBA will begin its season in Bradenton with a focus around the Black Lives Matter movement. Players will wear Nike-branded warm-up shirts with “Black Lives Matter” on the front.  Additionally, “Say Her Name” will adorn the back of the shirts. “Black Lives Matter” will also be prominently displayed on courts during games.

PGA TOUR REVERSES COURSE; NO FANS AT MEMORIAL

• The Memorial Tournament "will not allow spectators" into next week’s PGA Tour event at Muirfield Village, citing "an 'abundance of caution' as coronavirus cases spike across the country and in Ohio." The Memorial, originally scheduled for early June, was moved to July 16-19 and had been slated as the "first tour event to include spectators since March 12." Initially, the Memorial was going to include an attendance limited to 8,000.
  
  
• The Action Network's Jason Sobel notes with the upcoming 3M Open (Minneapolis) and PGA Championship (San Francisco) "already declaring that spectators won’t be allowed, this now assures that at least eight PGA Tour events will be contested without any ticket-holders."
  
  
• One silver lining for golf fans? A spectator-less event likely increases the chances of getting a commitment from Tiger Woods, a five-time winner at Muirfield Village who has yet to play since the Tour's return. Golf News Net's Ryan Ballengee: "No fans at Memorial makes Tiger playing a whole lot better. Fans could have created a really bad visual."

Woods, a five-time winner at Muirfield Village, has yet to play since the PGA Tour's return

NHL PREPARES "SECURE ZONES" FOR HUB CITIES

• Details surrounding "how the NHL plans to operate and maintain what it is calling a 'secure zone'" for its hub cities concept in Edmonton and Toronto have "emerged for the first time," according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.
  
  
• Each team "will be permitted to bring a maximum of 52 individuals inside the secure zone, including ownership, players, coaches, executives and staff." Teams are permitted to bring "no more than 31 players." Every person "inside the NHL's 'bubble' will be tested for COVID-19 daily via nasal swab, also administered temperature checks and symptom screenings." Any person who "has contact or may come into contact (even indirectly) will be tested daily."
  
  
• At deadline: The NHLPA in a statement said it has "reached a memorandum of understanding" with the league on a return to play plan and a CBA that "adds four years to the current agreement." This is "now subject to approval by both parties." The full statement can be read here.

OUTSIDE CONTRIBUTORS: EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT AFFECTS BRAND REPUTATION

• Tonight's op-ed contribution is from Nolan Partners President Chad Biagini, who writes under the header, "Coronavirus Layoffs: Why HR And Marketing Need To Align."
  
  
• "Internal employment decisions are often becoming front page news -- hurting or helping their brands. Why? Because, while some organizations are handling the matter sensitively and transparently, others are treating their employees like inanimate objects to be discarded."
  
  
• To read the full contribution, click here.  

SPEED READS 

• The Ringer's Haley O’Shaughnessy writes as the Kings became the seventh NBA team to shut down its practice facility due to COVID-19 -- joining the Bucks, Clippers, Heat, Nuggets, Nets and Suns -- "it’s hard not to be cynical about the league’s July 30 restart." But the league is "actually better off if bubble-goers test positive now, rather than at Disney." Having a number of positive tests now, "before the bubble, won’t determine whether there’s a season or not."
  
  

• Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league remains "committed to their original plan to allow fans to attend games this week” despite the number of coronavirus infections “increasing, especially in Tokyo, over the last few days.” The league on Friday is set to allow up to 5,000 fans into ballparks per game. Teams would be “allowed to operate venues at up to half of their full capacity from Aug. 1.”
  
  

• If fans are allowed at Gillette Stadium this fall, none will pay to park and all will use mobile tickets, the Patriots told season-ticket holders in a letter today. Separately, the Titans became at least the 10th NFL team to promise fans they can opt out of the 2020 season without losing their season-ticket status for next year, writes SBJ's Ben Fischer. The Patriots, who were among the first teams to announce a plan to defer the 2020 season, announced both changes to eliminate gameday touch points and minimize the spread of COVID-19 at the stadium.

• CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd writes under the header, "Time Is No Longer On College Football's Side." When the sports shutdown arrived in March, there was "plenty of time" for the game's stakeholders to figure out testing. But now with just over 50 days to the start of the season, "at least six FBS programs -- including last season's championship finalists (LSU, Clemson) -- have shut down workouts due to positive outbreaks." Meanwhile, there is "still no uniform testing protocol." Dodd: "Perhaps more concerning: Almost half of the 130 FBS schools aren't revealing numbers of positive tests."

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:
  
  
  • Yankees' Steinbrenner Expects Fans To Be Able To Attend Games
  • Some Learfield IMG College Clients Accept Revenue-Sharing Deals
  • Reporters Facing Strict Guidelines For Covering NBA's Orlando Return
  • NFL Notes: Players To Face Virus Restrictions On, Off Playing Field

SBJ UNPACKS -- THE ROAD AHEAD

• Check out the most recent editions of our "SBJ Unpacks" podcasts around COVID-19:
  
  
  • SBJ's Eric Prisbell on the complications that have and will arise with MLB's return to the diamond.
  • Top Rank President Todd DuBoef on the resumption of fights in a true, self-contained bubble at Las Vegas’s MGM Grand.
  • NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird joins Bill King to discuss their journey as the first U.S. team sport to return from the stoppage.

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.