SBJ Unpacks: NFL Ready To Expand Playoffs, If Needed

Tonight in SBJ Unpacks: NFL owners approve a plan to expand the playoffs should COVID disrupt the season's final eight weeks.

• PGA Tour's Chief Media Officer on conversations with Big Tech
• WWE's Stephanie McMahon, "Triple H" talk WrestleMania in 2020
• Steve Cohen earns high marks for opening Mets press conference
• New PGA of America president on navigating pandemic
• Hospitality commitments for Super Bowl LV quickly dwindling
  
  
  

• This free newsletter keeps you up to date on the biggest challenges facing sports. Click here to sign up to receive nightly updates on the industry's winding road to recovery.

NFL OWNERS APPROVE EXPANDED PLAYOFFS, IF NECCESARY

• NFL owners today approved a plan to expand the playoffs from 14 to 16 teams if meaningful regular-season games are lost to COVID-19 and can’t be made up with one extra week, writes SBJ's Ben Fischer. The resolution would appear to minimize the possibility of an extended delay to the regular season or postseason, just three weeks after Packers CEO Mark Murphy said the Super Bowl could be played as late as March. 
  
  
• Owners reiterated their goal of completing the season in 17 weeks, on schedule, with the Super Bowl on Feb. 7. Under this resolution, the next step after adding an 18th week if necessary would be the expanded playoffs, which would not add weeks to the postseason schedule. 
  
  
• Through nine weeks, the NFL is up to date on its schedule, but there is little flexibility should postponements arise in the final eight weeks. 
  
  
• An NFLPA spokesperson said the playoff adjustment is subject to union bargaining, but declined to take a position. 
  
  
• Meanwhile, Commissioner Roger Goodell today was asked how a possible vaccine would affect Super Bowl planning: “We are starting on the basis that we are planning for fans in Tampa on Feb. 7 at the Super Bowl. We are making plans on that basis. We are not doing it on the basis that there will be a vaccine. We don’t know if there will or there won’t.”

NFL PUSHING TEAMS TO ADOPT MORE INTENSIVE PROTOCOLS

• NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills has a message for teams as COVID-19 cases surge nationally and inside the league: It is possible to prevent the spread inside your facilities.
  
  
• Clubs that were in the so-called “intensive protocol” -- a new level of mitigation procedures that kick in once there’s a new case inside a facility -- had a 50% reduction in high-risk contacts with infected personnel compared to those that weren’t, writes SBJ's Ben Fischer.
  
  
• Last week, 56 people inside NFL teams tested positive, more than doubling the previous one-week high water mark. Teams want to avoid “high risk” contacts if at all possible, because they come with a mandatory five-day absence. Some teams that don’t require the intensive protocols are still using them, Sills said, because of how well they’re working. 

PGA TOUR CHIEF MEDIA OFFICER ON BIG TECH POSSIBILITIES

• While the PGA Tour didn’t rock the boat earlier this year when it re-upped with media partners CBS and NBC and added Disney to the fray, the tour’s Chief Media Officer Rick Anderson said they did get “a lot of attention” from big tech companies. Anderson, appearing during SBJ and Leaders' Media Innovators virtual series, said: “We just didn't get anything across the line. … But we had a lot of conversations with all of the players that you would expect.”
  
  
• What was attractive to the Tour about the non-traditional media companies? “That ability to engage with a massive audience,” Anderson said, “where there probably wasn't a lot of overlap with our current audience.”
  
  
• The PGA Tour Live streaming product is leaving NBC Sports in 2022 and headed to ESPN+, and Anderson called it the “perfect product” for the service because of the number of live hours available. He said, “Currently, we have one live feed following two groups on PGA Tour Live. … (With ESPN+) we will have four live feeds covering up to eight groups. ... If you're programming ESPN+, you're pretty excited about that.”
  
  
• The Tour has not been shy about making deals with sports betting properties, something Anderson says is an opportunity to “grow our audience.” He said, “If you want to talk about the knocks on our audience, everybody kind of goes to age and our audience is very affluent, but it's older. And so, what are the ways that we can expand that audience, make it younger and make it more diverse?”

WWE LEADERS ON STAYING FLEXIBLE AMID THE PANDEMIC

• When the pandemic forced WWE to relocate WrestleMania in early April from Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium to its Performance Center in Orlando, the sports and entertainment property had to figure out how to deliver a riveting show in a smaller venue ... without fans. 
  
  
• WWE Executive VP/Global Talent Strategy & Development Paul “Triple H” Levesque, appearing during SBJ and Leaders' Media Innovators virtual series, said: "Going from 80,000 fans in attendance from all over the globe, to nobody in attendance at the Performance Center, boy, it really started to put into perspective how real this was. But what it really did was open up opportunities for us to explore." That included different shooting styles, as well as different techniques and formats, leading to new iterations like the Boneyard Match.
  
  
• WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon said the eventual WWE ThunderDome experience (at Orlando's Amway Center) cleared the way for the property to partner with The Famous Group and "bring in nearly 1,000 fans virtually into the arena every single show that we do." McMahon: "We can experiment with lasers, and pyro, and drone cameras, and all kinds of things that we've never been able to do before, and really bring the spectacle back to WWE."
  
  
• McMahon expressed confidence that the tech advances amid the pandemic will continue on once WWE can fill stadiums again. McMahon: "My father always defines intelligence not by how much you know but how you apply what you know. And I think that that extends throughout our company as well."

NEW METS OWNER STEVE COHEN MAKES STRONG FIRST IMPRESSION

• New Mets Owner Steve Cohen during his introductory press conference today thanked former Owner Fred Wilpon, saying “we’ve been watching games together for many years and he’s one of the true gentlemen in baseball." Cohen said, "Owning a team is a civic responsibility. You hold the team in trust for the community and for the fans"
       
• MLB Network’s Brian Kenny said of Cohen’s Zoom press conference, “That was impressive. This looks like an owner who has a true understanding of how Major League Baseball works, talking about sustainable decision-making processes, patience, collaborative culture, analytics, also the human side. ... Cohen seems to really get it.”
  
  
• MLB Network’s Dan O’Dowd: “That was as impressive a press conference I’ve ever seen.” MLBN’s Carlos Pena said it seems as if Cohen is “going to be a very hands-on owner” and “he’s going to be present.” Matt Vasgersian said Mets fans “have been waiting for something like this to reinvigorate their brand for a long time. Maybe this is the beginning of some spending and some good things there.” 

NEW PGA OF AMERICA PRESIDENT ON PANDEMIC, ASSOCIATION'S FUTURE

• The PGA of America recently named Jim Richerson its 42nd President, and on the latest “SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead” podcast, Richerson joined SBJ’s Andrew Levin to talk navigating the pandemic and his goals for the association.
  
  
• Richerson said at the outset of the pandemic, the PGA of America developed the “Back To Golf” document in conjunction with political and medical officials to “prove and to show that golf could be done in a very responsible manner.” He listed online reservations and payment, taking rakes away from bunkers, keeping flagsticks in the holes, as well as singles-riding in golf carts as key pivots made as part of the initiative.
  
  
• Richerson stressed the “biggest thing for me is to continue the great work we’re doing.” He aims to grow the PGA Jr. League, and he indicated the association is also “getting into the family space."
  
  
• Quick hits:
  
  
  • On growing golf among young people, women and minorities: “Best way to grow the game is to get more people into it from all walks of life. It’s also important for us to try and make the game look more like society and like the country does.”
    
    
  • On the decision to postpone the 2020 Ryder Cup: “We did think the best opportunity to have a Ryder Cup under as close to normal circumstances as possible would be to postpone it. … The fans really do play an intricate part in that event."
    
    
  • Masters pick: “Rory McIlory is due!”

BIG QUESTIONS FOR THE BIG GAME

• Those in sports business know Super Bowl week is an industry convention followed by a football game of some consequence, writes SBJ's Terry Lefton. However, the more people we talk to about the upcoming Super Bowl in Tampa, the more convinced we become that it won’t be much more than the football game.
  
  
• Hospitality commitments are plummeting daily and any form of client entertainment takes approval four or five levels up from a normal year, because of COVID liability concerns. Companies are starting to reduce commitments or fold up entirely and allocate more money to the 2022 Super Bowl site: the new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
  
  
• For more, see today's issue of SBJ Marketing.

SPEED READS

• More than 40 college football games have been canceled or postponed this season because of COVID and a season-high 10 of them came last weekend. An increase in the number of positive cases should be expected because all 10 FBS conferences are now playing. Two big SEC matchups slated for this weekend -- Alabama-LSU and Texas A&M-Tennessee -- have already been postponed, bringing the total to 45. See more on this tonight in SBJ College from Michael Smith.
  
  

• Red Sox manager Alex Cora began his re-introductory press conference today saying he wants to "apologize to the organization for putting them in such a tough spot," per the Boston Globe. Cora spent the last year serving a suspension for his role in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal. He indicated that he "spoke with team ownership" today. Cora: "I know they were disappointed for everything that happened ... They’ve been very supportive. They understand that we all make mistakes."
  
  
• The Duke basketball team "won’t have its famed, raucous Cameron Crazies in the stands when games begin at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Nov. 25." The school announced today that it is "continuing the no spectator policy for athletic events that’s already been in place for fall sports, like football." 
  
  
  
• Basketball HOFer and Celtics TV analyst Tom Heinsohn, who was involved in all 17 of the franchise’s NBA titles as a player, coach, and commentator, passed away today at the age of 86.

• Check out the most recent editions of our SBJ Unpacks podcasts:
  
  
  • New PGA of America President Jim Richerson on his goals for the future of the association.
    
    
  • National Lacrosse League Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz on how the league has navigated the pandemic and where it is heading for its 35th season in 2021.
    
    
  • Breeders’ Cup Senior VP/Marketing Justin McDonald breaks down how the event intends to engage with fans and bettors who won’t be in attendance this year.
    
    

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 the headlines.
  
  
  • NBA, Union Agree On Amended CBA, Plan For '20-21 Season
  • Blue Jays GM "Optimistic" Club Will Play In Toronto For '21 Season
  • Silver, Roberts Among Members Of NBA Social Justice Coalition Board
  • Fox Partners With Facebook To Produce Boxing Events In VR

SBJ offers must-read newsletters covering Betting, College Sports, Esports, Football, Marketing, and Media. To stay in the know, read SBJ’s newsletters online or manage your newsletter subscriptions.

Not a subscriber? Sign up for a free trial to read our newsletters.

Something related to sports business catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to Thomas Leary (tleary@sportsbusinessdaily.com) or Richard Bush (rbush@sportsbusinessjournal.com) and we'll share the best of it.