LeBron's Exit, Tech-Driven Leagues, Rise of Pro Flag Football

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0:42Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr. I'm Vanessa Perdomo-Maglione. And I'm Miranda Williams. Vanessa is back from France and came back with some great conversations. Yes, I was at the Canline International Festival of Creativity in France and got the chance to catch up with a lot of athletes and executives in the sports world. While the World Cup is the biggest thing right now, a lot of my conversations were looking ahead to some of the next big events in sports.

1:14You hear a little of my conversation with Tomorrow Sports CEO Mike McCarley and pro flag football player Ashley Clam, who are both working to push the sport to new heights. All that on the way, but we start with some of the big headlines in the world of sports this week, starting with, hmm, what's on everybody's mind? And hmm, what is Vanessa thinking about right now? Oh, yes, the U.S. moving on in the World Cup. I won't stop thinking about this until Monday, and I won't get over it, I don't think, ever, unless the men actually end up going through. The U.S. men are going through, which is really exciting.

1:53But Flo Balogun getting the red card and not being available for the round of 16, a game against Belgium. I think it's bad. I think it's bad. The fact that there's no appeal system to some of these things, like the accidental contact, I understand what they were explaining on the broadcast about how he could have broken his ankle, and that's why the result is the result. However, missing the next match for it. If he has to sit out for one match, fine, like the rest of it. But the next match, that's so harsh. Yeah, it's this horrible system, especially with the World Cup, right? I mean, this is what happens in tournaments.

2:25You get a red card, you sit out the next game. But when you look at the play and you look at the slow motion is the reason why he got the red card, right? It's the slow motion of it all and it's the still image that you literally can see. Yes, it kind of looks like he was breaking his ankle. But at the same time, when you watch the play outright, it was absolutely accidental. It wasn't on purpose. It wasn't violent. and I think it has a huge implication for what the U.S. men can do in the next round. Yeah, to me, I'm like, if this was a dirty play, the person would have the exact same result. The result would be the exact same.

3:01They would still be suspended for the next match. But the fact that it's accidental contact is like, all right, if this was a careless action, let him sit for the rest of the match. We just saw Lionel Messi do something very similar, but the fact that he's the GOAT is the reason why I think that that didn't happen, because you have a hard time explaining to broadcasters and sponsors that Messi isn't playing for something that was accidental. But the U.S. is obviously not Lionel Messi. And if we're going to go old school, yeah, because I'm going football, then you need to throw Lawrence Taylor out big time because of the accident.

3:35It was an accident against Joe Theismann. I saw that. I was like, oh, gosh. And it's like, you know, and of course, Mr. Taylor played, you know, the next play. And it's like, and nothing against Lawrence Taylor at all. It was an accident what happened. But that's my point is, look, that was an accident. And we're going to lose the guy now, you know, for the next match. I got a problem. I think the bigger thing is just there needs to be an appeal system. Yeah. Because there is a difference between a dirty play and an accidental play. And that was, the line was not blurred in the match between the U.S.

4:09and their opponent. And let's make sure we lay that out exactly, because people were asking maybe, is there a potential, you know, appeal process? People online were trying to understand if there was. But FIFA has laid out in their rules and did confirm to the athletic late during the week that it was that there is no appeal process. There is no appeal process and they can't do anything about it. And this is why VAR sometimes shouldn't be used in these instances. It's supposed to be used for aggressive acts. And this was not an aggressive act. I think the bigger thing for me is that if we remember this tournament long term, what is going to be the legacy of the 2026 World Cup in the host nations?

4:50It's like Mexico has been having a ball. And what did you say? I want to be in Mexico City right now. So bad. Mexico has been having a ball. Canada has been performing well and the U.S. has been performing well. So now you have three host countries doing very well. and obviously with the U.S. hosting the most matches for them to then have one of their best players not be able to play in the most important match and granted like the U.S. team is still in good condition to be able to compete against Belgium but if you take someone like Lukaku off of Belgium I'm sure Belgium would be complaining as well and I would hate for this to happen for any of the teams I know that we're all you know we all live here and so we feel closer to this but it shouldn't happen across the board there should be an appeal process Yeah, I agree.

5:32And you can't it's in these tournaments. It just unless it was egregious, you shouldn't be taking the best players or the most aggressive players or whatever it is off of the teams because it's it's simply not the way you want to win. And then let's just do another round up there that England also came back from a one nothing win. I mean, they were I mean, they came back from one nothing to win two to one because a Harry Kane is absolutely out of his mind right now. I'm listening to the match and all of a sudden it's like they're down by a goal already. It's like England? Right away. Whoa. It's like I had money on that.

6:12And the DR Congo was playing incredibly. The goalie was playing out of his mind. I also have England to win, so I should have been excited. But I just feel like Congo was playing so well. I love a goalkeeper. We all know this. I was a goalkeeper. I love a goalkeeper performance. So in posse, I just feel like he deserved it. It is a bit unfortunate that it feels like all of the African countries participating in the World Cup have received the same script. Yes. They play phenomenal for 93 % of the match, and that 7 % that they don't play phenomenal, they lose. Let's talk about Senegal and Belgium there for a second then.

6:47That's what you're talking about. Senegal's winning 2-0 with 84 minutes. And somehow. And they lose 3-2. I also hate a late-in-the-game penalty kick. Oh, it's the worst. I just can't get on board with that. But that's enough on the World Cup, even though I could literally talk about it all day. All day. I can see. We've got to talk about Serena Williams. 44 years old, returned to the first play at Wimbledon in almost four years. and before that happened John McEnroe the great tennis star talked about hmm I wonder what Serena is going to do. This is just Serena being Serena deciding to come back play her first tournament in singles here at Wimbledon where she dominated for so many years it's been four years since she played a singles match that was 2022 at the U.S.

7:43Open. Can she win it? I would say that's a stretch right now in her first tournament back but there sure is tremendous amount of buzz just to see her back on the court she'll also be playing doubles with big sister venus and now we know obviously that she lost and she did not attend the press conference it's supposed to be mandatory but she didn't attend it and the reason why is that apparently she suffered a knee injury and that may have given her a pass on not getting a fine of why she did not attend the press conference. One of the things that I'm mindful of when our legendary athletes get older is just not everyone is going to be able to perform at their highest level forever.

8:28We are in this era where we've seen Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers and LeBron and Steph Curry and Kevin Durant all transcend time and space in terms of their productivity on the court and on the field. And I think Serena is still the most dominant female tennis player of my lifetime. And I think this is a tall task for her to come back and it's exciting to have her in the sport the sport is better within it but I also think that the sport is better when she's victorious and when she's competitive and I don't ever want to see anyone go out where it's just like they're out there and they're just losing and losing it's like a boxer where I think the interesting thing there too is when she did retire four years ago she was still really competitive and maybe that's why she felt like she could come back in this way and still be competitive but 44 is very different that's very you know a good amount of time that passed without being on the tour i just think it's tough and by the way before we move on to the next topic uh she lost to maya joint who's 20 yeah i gotta give it up for serena you're 44 you're playing a 20 year old hey and give it up to maya joint as well she had the composure to be out there with a legend uh now talk about blockbuster in the NBA.

9:44What? Man. I don't even know where to begin. Okay, first let's start with LeBron James. LeBron says, you know what? Lakers, it's been real, but I gotta split. And so be it. And so be it. You talk about being strong. Now you gotta explain this, man. The reason I say so be it is because LeBron, I think, revived the Lakers brand after Kobe left and I don't think he's ever gotten enough credit just because of the fact that his championship was in the pandemic. He was not in control of that. And then you have people calling it a Mickey Mouse championship. They never got a parade. And really from an ownership level and from a management level, Lakers management has mismanaged the entire team from the moment that that 2020 championship was won.

10:29And so since then, I think he's done as much as he could. Now, there are going to be fans out there that are going to say that he could have taken a pay cut. Yes, but he was still playing at an elite level. So why would you take a pay cut, especially at the later years of your career, when you're going, this is probably going to be one of the only times you're making 60 million that's guaranteed on the court. And so I don't think the Lakers organization truly appreciated him for what he was, just because their superstars of the past were different. And with that being said, I think in his last chapter, he deserves to go wherever he wants and hopefully compete for a championship legitimately this time.

11:06Which brings us now, speaking of the NBA, Mr. Bob Iger and Mr. Joshua Kushner. They're talking about going into an NBA expansion team. Well, who doesn't want this Vegas team, Randall? And tell us, is this real? I'll tell you, I am skeptical of all bids so far just because of the fact that there are two people across NBA expansion that have announced that they are interested. Number one is Samantha Holloway in Seattle. She's been expressing interest for years. And then we have Bill Foley, who owns the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL. He also controls T-Mobile Arena, which is where a Vegas NBA team would play if he were to win it.

11:46Everybody else, I'm like, OK, we'll see. Because of the fact that it's not bidding time yet. The NBA is still canvassing the landscape. They've hired PJT partners to run this process. And they also have not committed to expanding yet. Adam Silver said he expects a decision by the end of the year. And so anybody can raise their hand and say that they're interested. But ultimately, we will find out who is interested and who's not, I would expect, by the end of August at the very latest. And so if Bob Iger and Josh Kushner are interested, we'll find out in the months to come. Josh has also acquired a piece of the San Francisco Giants.

12:25He's a part owner of the Miami Heat. So he does have experience, but this Vegas expansion team is going to go for a lot of money. Oh, man. Vanessa, we got to get back to your interviews. We got to get back to it. You know, so up next, we'll be talking to Tomorrow Sports CEO about the new professional flag football league. They are building with the NFL. That is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports for Vanessa Perumbo-Naglione and Randall Williams. on Michael Barr, you are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

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16:08Little by little, Optum is helping make healthcare work as one for everyone. Head to business.optum.com to see how. This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr. I'm Vanessa Perdomo-Maglione. And I'm Randall Williams. After the World Cup is over. No. The next big international tournament is the U.S. hosting the 2028 L.A. Olympics. And one of the sports that will be added for the first time is flag football. Randall, you've done a lot of reporting on the subject.

16:50Tell us about the landscape of the sport right now. I am bullish on specifically women's flag football. I think that sport is electric. I think that it could be very popular very quickly. And so the NFL has been investing in this for many years, I believe the first press release, I read about the NFL's investment in flag football probably dates back to 2018 or 2017. So they've long been involved in this. But last year, they announced that they were going to be looking at different bids from different partners, and they ultimately decided on Tomorrow Sports, who's going to be running the process.

17:24Vanessa, you recently spoke with Tomorrow Sports CEO Mike McCarley while in can. Did he tell you any more about what we can expect from the league? He told me they're really trying to sort through all the details right now, what their version of the sport's going to be, how many teams there's going to be. But they are full steam ahead to start next year. I think the interesting thing that we spoke about was how they weren't sure what the sport would be and look like as a professional property until the NFL stepped in. And the reason for that is because the NFL is a money printing machine. And so when they say we're in, everyone's in.

17:57I was going to say, the NFL, that's the big dog of the sports food groups. That's not a bad partner to have when building up a new football league. Let's take a listen to Vanessa's conversation with Tomorrow Sports CEO and co-founder Mike McCurley. There's a ton of interest around this sport. I mean, I think, as you know, everyone sees what's happening within flag football and the momentum behind it. You know, youth, high school, college now, and now pro with the Olympic debut coming up in 28. and Ashley Clam, who we've gotten to know over the past several months, one of the real up-and-coming stars of the sport, most likely will be one of the best on the Olympic team for the Team USA leading into the Olympics in LA.

18:42And she's just been a really good advocate and a good voice in the room as we've started talking to players. She has a great story to tell. I'll let her tell her story, but exactly what she had to do and what her family had to do to find her a place to play because she wanted to be that role model. And now what we're creating and what we're building is something that kids in this country and all around the world can now have a professional league that they can look up to and ultimately dream to play in that league. Not just dream to play college or the Olympics, but they can also make a living playing flag football.

19:26Right. Absolutely. So, yeah, let's take a step back and talk a little bit about that and just about the launching of it. Obviously, like with Tomorrow, you guys have been so focused on launching the TGL for the last few years. So when did you start noticing this trend in flag football? We had a few investors come to us and ask us about flag football a couple of years ago. And we looked at it and frankly, the sport of football is so dominant, so powerful in this country. It was really attractive to us. But we couldn't really see really getting to the next level with the sport, with the stars of the sport.

20:07How are you really going to promote it? How are you going to get the megaphone? How are you going to make sure this is lasting? And then we got a phone call from the NFL. And, you know, asking us if we wanted to come and talk to them about building a professional flag football league. And, you know, when the NFL calls, you listen. My history with the Olympics and then also with the NFL, you know, kind of brings all of these things together for what this potentially could be. And you know that with the NFL's backing, the likelihood and chances of success go up significantly. So we really liked what they were saying to us.

20:50And then we came back to them with the vision of creating something that's really thinking about building a professional sports league. And in this time, how would you do it? And in a lot of ways, it's a complete blank campus. I mean, how many chances are you actually going to be able to create a sports league from scratch? And then how many times are you actually going to be able to create a sports league from scratch with the NFL as your partner? It was a little bit of a once in a lifetime opportunity to really go and build something that we could all be proud of. And we think about things from a media first standpoint, you know, live primetime, but also creating moments that live on social media in other places after that live primetime broadcast is over.

21:33So with that first initial meeting and call from the NFL, was it we want to find a partner to do this with and this is our idea or it was just, hey, we like what you guys are doing in the TGL and we want to see what you guys would create with this? Yeah, it was a little of both. We have a vision for creating a professional fight football league, But we want to hear your vision and how you would bring it to life. And I think in a lot of ways, it was a really good kind of melding of experiences from where the NFL has come and investing significant, significant resources over the last decade plus in building flag football leagues.

22:14So it's building flag football. So there is a there's a real infrastructure in place. There's youth, there's high school, there's now college. All of that exists. So really what we were doing is coming in and now putting something at the top of the pyramid where the pro league for the kids that came up through youth and played in high school and played in college, they now have a place to play. Yeah. So when you're looking at what you guys would want to do with the league, what they already did with youth and high school, like you were saying, how do you look at what they do there and what it looks like there to what it could look like for you guys creating?

22:51Yeah, I think now what it'll look like when the pro league launches is you've got a complete ecosystem just like any other sport. You know, a kid can start playing this sport at a very young age and they can grow and they can play competitively. They can then play in high school for a high school state championship. They can then get recruited and go play in college for a college scholarship and play for a national championship. then they can go to a combine go to get drafted go to training camp and then make a team in the pro league and make a career out of it and then every four years they can go represent their country in the olympics so a lot of it is the successful pathways that exist in all of these other sports that are incredibly popular and incredibly successful now exist for flag football the TGL obviously when is when it launched it had this idea to be very technological really innovative how do you bring that or do you imagine bringing that to flag football yeah we have things that we see I mean I watch sports very differently you know how do we demystify this sport and translate it to a to an audience at home who may or may not understand some of the nuances of the sport and technology is part of it, but we never want to create technology for technology's sake.

24:18We really, it needs to be doing something to help educate the viewer because we believe that if a fan is a bit more educated about that sport or the nuance of that sport, they're going to become a smarter, more intelligent, more educated fan. And they're going to appreciate the sport more, which means they're going to continue to watch and engage and tell their friends about it. Yeah. So have you figured out what the model will look like for you guys? How many teams, how many players will be involved? Yeah, we're working through a lot of those details now. I think the great news is there's a ton of great talent who are already playing this sport.

24:56And it seems like every week we hear about someone who has now left another sport and come and started to play flag football because of the opportunities that are in this sport. And I think we're going to see more and more of that as the momentum continues to build. Listen, I wish it was around when I was in high school. And I love soccer, but I feel like I would have loved to. You would have been great. Yeah. Obviously, you talked about it being in the Olympics and you'll be launching before, you know, the 2028 Olympics. Tell me about the strategy of doing that and being before it comes to the Olympics instead of after.

25:31Yeah, I think there's a lot. One, the athletes are here and they're ready to go. Now it's can we build this great primetime stage to showcase this awesome game and where they can showcase their skills? I think doing it in advance of the Olympics, you want to make sure that all of this infrastructure is in place. The Olympics will be a huge catalyst. But I think what what what the NFL has really put in place and what's been existing in flag football now is there. and the Olympics should really be an accelerant to all the momentum that's already happened. Will it look the same for you guys as it does in the Olympics, do you think, like rule structure-wise?

26:13I don't know if it'll look the same exactly. I think the bones are there for what is a great sport. In the Olympics, it's country-based. And I think the level of talent, depending on the country, You've got some country, you know, some top level countries that are that are really, really good. And I think what's what will happen over time is the great democratization of the sport. We'll have more and more talent who flock to this sport, who represent their country at the Olympics. And I think you'll start to see a lot more competitiveness all around the world, not just not just in some of the countries that are good right now.

26:54Yeah. I think, you know, one of the points you made before was the athletes that are leaving other sports to come play flag football. What are those athletes look like? I know because I know I was talking to someone earlier about you guys don't want this to be a G League for the NFL, right? It's a totally different sport with people with different skill sets. Yeah, I think the biggest thing you want fans to take away is these are the best athletes in the world at this sport. And this is a unique sport. It's not, you know, a lot of the rules are the same. It's a football that they're playing with.