Podcast
Front Office Sports Today
Hosted by Front Office Sports · EN
Sports is big business - and there is no offseason to the major moves, groundbreaking deals and culture-shifting moments happening across the world of sports.
Front Office Sports Today is your daily guide on all things sports, business and culture. Join our host, Baker as he offers insightful commentary on breaking news and engages in conversations surrounding the biggest headlines, with guest appearances from athletes, executives, experts and more.
28episodes
Episodes
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Mina Kimes on Hosting the Spelling Bee, Sports Emmy Nom, ESPN NFL Merger, and the Seahawks Sale
6d ago00:10:29Tap to summarizeMina Kimes is an Emmy nominated NFL analyst, a Celebrity Jeopardy champion, and now the host of the Scripps National Spelling Bee airing on Ion on May 27th and 28th. It is one of the more unexpected and genuinely delightful career pivots in sports media right now, and the story of how it came together runs directly through her time on Celebrity Jeopardy. She also just received a Sports Emmy nomination for her analyst work at ESPN, NFL Live is up for one too, and ESPN is now absorbing NFL Network into its portfolio ahead of hosting the Super Bowl next year. What does that mean for her role, for the talent she already knows over there, and what does a sports media super team actually look like in practice? Then there is Pablo Torre's Pulitzer Prize, the Clippers ownership situation that Steve Ballmer keeps downplaying, and the Seattle Seahawks going up for sale. As one of the most prominent Seahawks fans in sports media, Mina has a very clear and very specific answer for what kind of owner she actually wants for that franchise. CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction and the Scripps National Spelling Bee 0:34 How Mina Kimes Became Host of the Spelling Bee 1:34 What She Would Tell Her Second Grade Self About This Moment 2:31 Which NFL Player Would Crush the Spelling Bee 3:24 ESPN Trivia Scene and Celebrity Jeopardy Update 4:21 ESPN Sports Jeopardy Hosted by Joe Buck 5:10 Sports Emmy Nomination for Mina and NFL Live 6:12 ESPN Absorbing NFL Network and What It Means for Talent 7:21 Pablo Torre's Pulitzer and the Clippers Accountability Question 8:21 Who Should Buy the Seattle Seahawks
Transcribe →Mark Cuban Explains The Business of Owning an NBA Team
1w ago00:36:29Tap to summarizeMark Cuban joins Portfolio Players for a wide-ranging conversation on NBA ownership, NIL, sports betting, media rights, and the future of professional sports. Cuban breaks down: • Why he sold the Dallas Mavericks and whether he’d buy them again • How he helped bring Fernando Mendoza to Indiana and his approach to NIL • Why owning an NBA team today is completely different than 20 years ago • His thoughts on Vegas becoming a major sports market • Why leagues continue partnering with sports betting companies • The risks surrounding NBA Europe and global expansion • Why “ratings are irrelevant” in today’s sports media ecosystem • Why Cuban believes NBA games should only be 40 minutes long This episode of Portfolio Players, presented by @etrade_frommorganstanley , explores how one of the most influential owners in modern sports views media, league economics, and the future of team ownership. Chapters: 2:07 - Helping Bring Fernando Mendoza to Indiana 3:25 - How Cuban Supports Indiana NIL 10:04 - Why Mark Cuban Sold the Mavericks 12:37 - Owning an NBA Team Today vs. 20 Years Ago 17:09 - Vegas Becoming a Sports Market 18:01 - Why Leagues Partner With Sports Betting Companies 22:56 - Why NBA Europe Is Risky 26:32 - Why Ratings No Longer Matter 30:12 - Why NBA Games Should Be 40 Minutes Portfolio Players is Front Office Sports’s original series exploring the deals, capital, and decision-makers shaping the future of sports business. Subscribe for more conversations with the industry’s top builders and investors.
Transcribe →Golden State Valkyries President Jess Smith on Billion Dollar Valuation, WNBA Growth, Championship Promise
1w ago00:16:49Tap to summarizeThe Golden State Valkyries are in just their second WNBA season and are already being called the most valuable women's sports franchise in the world. The team generated $78 million in revenue in year one, has sold out every home game across two seasons, and holds a valuation that outpaces expansion fees that were set less than two years ago. Jess Smith, the team's president and winner of the WNBA's first ever Business Executive Leadership Award, sits down with Front Office Sports to talk about how all of it happened so fast. The expansion fee for the Valkyries was reportedly $50 million. The next round of expansion teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia paid $250 million each. Ticket prices for some Valkyries games are now outpacing Golden State Warriors games at the same venue. And the question of whether a WNBA franchise could one day be as valuable as an NBA or NFL team is no longer a hypothetical worth dismissing. The CBA negotiations created real uncertainty about whether there would even be a season. The team made headlines with a draft day trade and a waiving decision that stirred up the fan base. Joe Lacob promised a championship within five years before anyone was even hired. Jess Smith addresses all of it, including whether she thinks they will actually get there. CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction and the Billion Dollar Valuation 0:28 Did They Expect to Hit a Billion Dollars This Fast 1:35 What the Valuation Says About the Undervaluation of Women's Sports 3:12 78 Million in Revenue and the Biggest Single Revenue Driver 4:39 Could a WNBA Franchise Ever Match NBA or NFL Valuations 6:03 The 50 Million Expansion Fee vs 250 Million for New Teams 7:39 Advice to New Franchises: Know Who You Are 8:41 Sold Out Every Game and Balancing Premium Pricing With Accessibility 10:11 CBA Negotiations and Roster Construction Challenges 13:47 Project B, Unrivaled, and Whether Players Even Need Other Leagues
Transcribe →Jay Bilas on AJ Dybantsa at No. 1, NCAA Tournament Expansion, NIL Costs, and the CBB's Future
1w ago00:20:04Tap to summarizeJay Bilas has thoughts on everything happening in college basketball right now, and none of them are softened for comfort. The Wizards hold the number one pick, AJ Dybantsa is the consensus choice, but the draft is deeper than any in recent memory and the decision Washington faces is genuinely hard. Jay breaks down every name worth knowing before June. The NCAA tournament is expanding to 76 teams, which means a play-in round whether the NCAA wants to call it that or not. Dusty May told Front Office Sports his Michigan roster will cost more than ten million dollars this year. Mid-majors are watching their best players leave every offseason. And the question of whether college athletes will ever unionize or get a salary cap is no longer theoretical, it is a lobbying battle happening in Congress right now. Jay has been offered head coaching jobs and fielded interest from NBA teams over the years. He has also never given money to Duke's NIL fund. Both of those answers are more interesting than they sound, and he addresses both directly before the conversation is over. CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction and American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament 0:52 Lake Tahoe, Charity Work, and Who Surprises Him on the Course 2:31 Steph Curry, Annika Sorenstam, and the Best Golfers in the Field 3:55 NBA's New 3-2-1 Draft Lottery System and the Tanking Problem 5:31 Is AJ Dybantsa a Lock at Number One and Who Else Could Go Top Five 7:47 NCAA Tournament Expanding to 76 Teams: Good TV or Diluted Madness 9:41 How Do Mid-Majors Survive the Transfer Portal and NIL Era 12:27 Michigan's Ten Million Dollar Roster and What Players Deserve to Earn 14:56 Will College Athletes Unionize and Is a Salary Cap Coming 17:40 Head Coaching Offers, NBA Interest, and Has He Given to Duke's NIL Fund
Transcribe →Enhanced Games CEO on Embracing Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports, $25M Prize Pool & More
1w ago00:18:06Tap to summarizeThe Enhanced Games just began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, backed by Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr., with a $25 million prize pool for 50 athletes and a $50 million total budget for an event built around one radical idea: athletes should be allowed to use performance-enhancing substances in a safe and supervised environment. The CEO Max Martin joins Front Office Sports on the day the company went public to explain how they got here and what comes next. The games take place Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas with 2,500 invite-only spectators, but the broadcast strategy is something no major sports property has tried before. Athletes can compete clean or enhanced, and the question of how much each athlete discloses about what they are taking, and how that transparency actually works in practice, is one of the more complicated questions the Enhanced Games has had to answer. The MLB steroid era forever changed how sports fans think about performance enhancing drugs. The Enhanced Games is making the argument that the entire framework around banned substances in sports needs to be rethought, that world records are being broken, and that the future of the league extends well beyond Las Vegas and well beyond the three sports launching this year. CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction and Enhanced Games Goes Public on NYSE 1:09 The Road to Today: Three Years of Headwinds and Controversy 4:54 The $25 Million Prize Pool and Who Is Funding It 6:24 Where to Watch the Games and the Media Rights Strategy 7:50 Will Donald Trump Jr. Be There in Attendance 8:07 Athletes Competing Clean vs Enhanced: What Gets Disclosed 10:09 What FDA-Approved Substances Are Actually Allowed 11:19 The MLB Steroid Era and Whether Society Should Embrace PEDs 13:59 Age Limits and Future Plans for the Enhanced Games 15:47 World Records and Whether They Count Officially
Transcribe →PGA Championship 2026: Prize Money Questions, LIV Golf Drama, Free Food, and More
2w ago00:09:42Tap to summarizeThe PGA Championship is underway in Pennsylvania with 156 of the world's best golfers, but the event long nicknamed the fourth major has a prize money problem that no one in golf is ignoring. FOS reporter David Rumsey is on the ground at Aronimink and the business storylines surrounding this tournament are as compelling as anything happening on the course. The PGA of America has a new CEO who just stepped into the public eye for the first time since being hired in February, and he had things to say about the tournament's identity, its date, and whether it could ever leave the United States. There are also 11 LIV players in the field this week including Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, and the future of both of them on LIV is genuinely uncertain in ways that could reshape the entire golf landscape before the year is out. Then there is the food situation, which is more interesting than it sounds. General admission to the PGA Championship includes all-inclusive food and non-alcoholic beverages baked into the ticket price, and the secondary ticket market this week has done something unexpected for a sold-out event. David Rumsey has all the details from inside the ropes.
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Legendary NBA Exec Dave Checketts Dishes on Michael Jordan, David Stern, Running the Knicks & More
2w ago00:44:05Tap to summarizeDave Checketts, veteran sports executive and investor, joins Portfolio Players for a conversation on ownership, expansion, and the evolving economics of global sports. Checketts breaks down: • Why scarcity is the single biggest driver of franchise value • The investment strategy behind his fund and why cash flow matters • Michael Jordan/Knicks stories, lessons from Utah & New York • The realities of launching new leagues and why venture capital often stays away • His perspective on MLS growth, global soccer, and media rights • The rise of NIL and why education still needs to be prioritized • Expansion opportunities across MLB, the NBA, and beyond hapters: 1:00 - UtahJazz Presidency 2:50 - Las Vegas Expansion 3:30 - Seattle Expansion 4:30 - Vegas Expansion Continued 5:00 - Kareem Breaking Points Record + David Stern Story 7:00 - Influx of Gambling, Good or Bad? 8:45 - Prediction Markets, League Adoption 10:00 - Knicks/Brooklyn Story 11:00 - Attending Unrivaled, as a Veritable Business 13:10 - Investing in Sports Startups 14:25 - MLS Investment, MLS vs. PL, Apple TV Deal 17:00 - Knicks & Bulls Story, MJ non-sellout 19:30 - 1990s NBA 23:00 - Investment Strategy Looking Ahead, Golf + CFB 24:30 - PE Money in College, Collective Bargaining? 26:30 - Financial Literacy In Sports 28:15 - Golf Equipment Boom, Investment Opportunities 29:15 - MLB, Utah Expansion? NBA Story 33:30 - Ownership Competition across Leagues, NFL Rules 35:15 - Family Success
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MLB Lockout, ESPN-NFL Merger, Trump’s World Cup—2026 Sports Predictions
Dec 3100:25:34Tap to summarizeIn our last show of 2025, FOS editor-in-chief Dan Roberts and senior editor Dennis Young talk through the biggest storylines to watch for in 2026, including a potential lockout in both MLB and the WNBA. They also discuss the megadeal between ESPN and the NFL that has yet to clear regulatory hurdles and could still be blocked by President Donald Trump, who is also trying to assert his influence on the first United States–hosted World Cup in more than 30 years. There are risks when investing in ETFs, including possible loss of money. ETFs’ risks are similar to those of stocks. Investments in the tech sector are subject to greater risk and more volatility than more diversified investments. The Nasdaq-100 Index® includes the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq. An investment cannot be made directly into an index. Consider the fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. Visit Invesco.com for a prospectus with this information. Read it carefully before investing. Invesco Distributors, Inc.
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What Will Be the Top Sports Event of 2026?
Dec 3000:28:43Tap to summarize2026 has a packed sports schedule, including the Winter Olympics, FIFA men’s World Cup, World Baseball Classic, and more—plus big expectations around the Super Bowl, expanded College Football Playoff, and a potential UFC fight on the White House lawn. FOS newsletter writer Eric Fisher takes us through his expectations for the 2026 tentpoles across sports and what could boom or bust. Plus, FOS women’s sports reporter Annie Costabile previews what could be the biggest year ever for women’s sports. She and Baker Machado discuss the potential for a WNBA labor stoppage, the second year of Unrivaled, and expectations for other women’s sports leagues that have blossomed in 2025. There are risks when investing in ETFs, including possible loss of money. ETFs’ risks are similar to those of stocks. Investments in the tech sector are subject to greater risk and more volatility than more diversified investments. The Nasdaq-100 Index® includes the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq. An investment cannot be made directly into an index. Consider the fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. Visit Invesco.com for a prospectus with this information. Read it carefully before investing. Invesco Distributors, Inc.
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Pablo Torre, Diana Taurasi, and More—Best Conversations from 2025
Dec 2900:25:54Tap to summarizeAfter 165 episodes in 2025, Front Office Sports Today takes you back through some of the best conversations throughout this year, from hard-hitting journalism with Pablo Torre, to dildo tossing with Diana Taurasi and plenty more. We chat with MLB Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., Tony Reali from ESPN's Around the Horn, and an inside look at what to expect from Caitlin Clark's new Nike signature shoe with sneaker insider Nick DePaula. There are risks when investing in ETFs, including possible loss of money. ETFs’ risks are similar to those of stocks. Investments in the tech sector are subject to greater risk and more volatility than more diversified investments. The Nasdaq-100 Index® includes the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq. An investment cannot be made directly into an index. Consider the fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. Visit Invesco.com for a prospectus with this information. Read it carefully before investing. Invesco Distributors, Inc.
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