Plenty of business before training camp
The NFL is nothing but a marketing juggernaut, creating more holidays and celebrations than Hallmark. The first weekend of training camp is now Back Together Saturday. The schedule release is a primetime TV spectacle. The NFL Draft has morphed from reading index cards in a smoky hotel ballroom to a three-day television bonanza and traveling road show.
But the NFL isn’t quite a 12-month sport. The league hasn’t found a way (yet) to monetize the six weeks of dead time between the end of the offseason program in mid-June and the start of training camp in late July.
But while the calendar is slow right now, there are a few items of business left over from the spring. Let’s take a look at what’s still on the docket between now and the early part of training camp:
Commanders sale. The $6.05 billion bid from New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris isn’t perfect, and may not pass muster in a typical transaction. NFL owners and the finance committee have questions about the amount of cash being offered, the structure and amount of the debt, and the number of limited partners in the ownership group.
But the 31 owners not named Dan Snyder are eager to be rid of him, so the finance committee is working with Harris to ensure that his bid meets enough of the league’s requirements to get the necessary 24 votes from owners. The NFL has told the owners to be available on July 20 to potentially vote on the transaction and finally kick Snyder out of the league.
“Unless something crazy happens, it’s going to get done and it will get approved,” one source told the Washington Post earlier this month.
Harris, a native of Bethesda, Md., certainly seems to know his new fan base. This past week, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment made a significant investment in Joe Gibbs Racing, the NASCAR team of the Hall of Fame football coach who won three Super Bowls for Washington. Gibbs announced he will become a limited partner in HBSE, but it is unclear if he will be a minority owner of the Commanders.
“Joe is a winner,” Harris said in a statement. “This investment and partnership aims to support his vision and allow Joe Gibbs Racing to continue its track record of excellence long into the future.”
Gambling education. The legalization of sports gambling and proliferation of websites and cellphone apps has gotten six players suspended for part or all of the 2023 season, with more believed to be under investigation.
It’s understandable if the players are a little confused by the rules. NFL players of course can’t bet on the NFL, but they are allowed to bet on other sports. They can place a bet on another sport at the Starbucks across the street, but can’t do it in their team facility.
Most teams, and likely all of them, are doing their own education with their players on the gambling policies — Bill Belichick, for example, led a team meeting during the Patriots’ spring program.
But the NFL is also sending Sabrina Perel, vice president and chief compliance officer, on the road to speak to players. She said this past week that she saw 14 teams during minicamp, with six more scheduled at the start of training camp.
“It’s just really the emphasis to make sure that these key rules are presented, they’re presented succinctly, and giving them the opportunity to ask questions on it,” Perel said. “This is the time where we really ramp it up and make these in-person presentations, and continuing to try to have the clubs be engaged as possible.”
Unfortunately, 18 teams haven’t heard that presentation yet. And those players, especially rookies, are continually at risk of placing bets and violating the policy. It seems the NFL needs to make these presentations mandatory for each team, and to have them done during the offseason.
NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith is stepping down this year after 13 years on the job, and Sports Business Journal reported that a successor is expected to be named next week. Smith narrowly won reelection in 2021, but his term was limited to a year, as a large chunk of players were not happy with the collective bargaining agreement, which runs through the 2031 season, that Smith and the NFLPA agreed to in 2020.
What’s interesting, though, is how little transparency the NFLPA is providing. The union is keeping the process secretive, with little known about the identities of the finalists. One name multiple sources have brought up over the last several months as the potential front-runner is Don Davis, the former Patriots linebacker, strength coach, and team chaplain who has been the NFLPA’s senior director of player affairs since 2010. Davis is viewed as the continuity candidate who would most likely carry on Smith’s goals and legacy.
Other rumored candidates include NFLPA president JC Tretter, Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow, former Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, and prominent agent and former player Trace Armstrong. But the NFLPA has not provided any concrete insight into the process.
Draft picks. As of Friday, 83 percent of NFL draft picks had signed contracts (216 of 259). Most of the unsigned picks are from the top two rounds — only 13 of 32 second-round picks had signed, and 21 of 31 from the first round. The first-round players are trying to get more money up front each year with large roster bonuses in March and minimum salaries during the season. The second-round players are trying to get guaranteed money in the third year of their four-year contracts.
Patriots first-round cornerback Christian Gonzalez and second-round defensive end Keion White remain unsigned.
Free agency. Several notable players remain unsigned with training camps a few weeks away. In New England, we know all about receiver DeAndre Hopkins and how he is weighing offers from the Patriots and Titans (and probably hoping another offer will materialize). Other players still available include quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, running backs Dalvin Cook and Kareem Hunt, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, and cornerback Marcus Peters.