Everyone take note: New York vs New England for a sports championship equals huge ratings.  Sunday's Giants victory over the Patriots was the most watched TV program in history. 

Remember that thing called the NFL lockout? Neither do fans. Numbers released by the NFL and Nielsen Media show an average of 36.6 million viewers watched the four playoff games last weekend, the most ever for an NFL Divisional Weekend and a four percent increase from last season’s previous record (35.1 million). Sunday’s New York Giants-Green Bay Packers game on FOX drew...

Remember that thing called the NFL lockout? Neither do fans. Numbers released by the NFL and Nielsen Media show an average of 36.6 million viewers watched the four playoff games last weekend, the most ever for an NFL Divisional Weekend and a four percent increase from last season’s previous record (35.1 million). Sunday’s New York Giants-Green Bay Packers game on FOX drew...

You, I, or politicians, every decision we make comes with consequences. Good or bad, there are outcomes to what we choose to do. The big difference is, politicians are constantly being watched by the media and taxpayers for missteps. Controversial subjects are often sidestepped, and the funding of new stadiums or arenas for professional sports teams are often in that category. ...

Welcome to a new edition of Bizball Radio with Seth Everett and Maury Brown! Just how marketable is Tim Tebow and why the fascination with him? In this edition of the football podcast, Seth and Maury talk the sensation and ask why the Broncos' quarterback is so popular. They also delve into technology that could mean bringing your favorite game to your device so you can watch...

Welcome to a new edition of Bizball Radio with Seth Everett and Maury Brown! The Sandusky sex scandal at Penn St. has Seth and Maury talking about how sports institutions could be covering up the truth in this latest edition of Bizball Radio. Seth has ideas on how to punish Penn St. while not hurting the kids in the football program. Along the way, the two talk about the timing...

Full disclosure: I'm not a lawyer. I did go to law school for a year, so I'm familiar with reading legal documents, looking for holes in stories and asking questions. While reading the grand jury report on Jerry Sandusky, I noticed something that hasn't been touched on by the mainstream media. The following passage begins on page 6 of the grand jury report: "He...

Welcome to a new edition of Bizball Radio with Seth Everett and Maury Brown! A 62-7 beatdown didn't help, but it was worse than that: the World Series beat the NFL in the ratings on two consecutive games. To add, for the first time since the NFL began playing regular season games in London, the league didn't sell out the event (although, 76,981 is nothing to scoff at, capacity...

Welcome to a new edition of Bizball Radio with Seth Everett and Maury Brown! While the lockout in the NFL is over, the business of the league saw a news around the Raiders this past week. Seth and Maury talk the death of Al Davis, look at his legacy and how he compares to George Steinbrenner. The podcast also talks about Carson Palmer going from the Browns to the Raiders and...

Click to go to document locationThe Biz of Football has been updated with a new document…. When it comes to understanding how ownership in sports leagues is guided, each one’s constitution is the template. For the public, access to such docs are hard to find. Today, the Business of Sports Network is happy to make one available to you. The site has been updated with a copy...

You can add Hank Williams, Jr. to the list of human beings who have contracted hoof and mouth disease. Williams rammed both of his flashy cowboy boots into his wide-open mouth during an interview on Fox News when he invoked the name of Adolph Hitler in reference to President Obama. Williams’ exact words were that when Obama played golf with House Speaker John Boehner last summer...

Oakland Raiders longtime owner Al Davis has died at the age of 82. He served as the team's head coach before becoming its owner. He also was commissioner of the AFL.

Welcome to another edition of Bizball Radio This week we look at the state of Major League Baseball and have a great interview on sponsorships and sports marketing Baseball has never been more prosperous, but in the span of a year, the Rangers and Dodgers have fallen into bankruptcy, and the Mets have been on the verge. All that has impacted the sale of the Houston Astros as...

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) and the National Football League (NFL) today announced the renewal of their long-term partnership with a new, multi-year agreement to take effect in 2012. Financial terms and total contract length were not released. The new agreement builds on the organizations’ 28-year relationship, aligns several of PepsiCo’s brands with the power of the NFL and...

The NFL, its players and fans will take time to remember the courage and resilience that followed the events of September 11, 2001 with special tributes in stadium, on field and on television during all games on Sunday, September 11. The first Sunday of the NFL regular season falls on the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001. The games and broadcasts on that opening Sunday will...

While full details of the settlement of the Brady v NFL anti-trust case has yet to surface, some aspects are slowly filtering out. One is through a memo that went to all player agents today and details how there is “soft cap” flexibility in the cap system as part of the settlement between the league and the players. The salary cap for 2011 has been set at $120.4 million per...

With the NFL lockout coming to a close on Monday, sources close to both the NFL and NFLPA indicate that Commissioner Roger Goodell and Exec. Director DeMaurice Smith will be receive pay retroactively that they voluntarily refused during the work stoppage. Goodell cut his salary to $1 just two days after the lockout started with Smith going a bit further five days later saying...

NFL football is coming to a TV screen near you. Four and one-half months after locking out the players, team owners unanimously (Oakland abstained) voted to approve a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which the players agreed to ratify. In an effort to put the onus on the players to end the labor impasse the league initiated, management essentially told the players, �...

The following are sections of the 2011 NFL CBA that were released to player agents in advance of signings. The briefing took place on the day that the new CBA was ratified (July 25, 2011), but before the NFLPA was recertified as a union. The following are PDFs of: Article 4: NFL Player Contract Article 7: Rookies Compensation and Rookie Compensation Pool Article 11: Transaction...

The following is text of a Powerpoint presentation that was just given to all NFL Player Agents, and is a brief regarding aspects of the new 10-year CBA that was unanimously approved by the NFL players:2011 Deal Summary of Main Terms (7/25/11) Players’ Share of Revenues •“All Revenues” (AR) included in cap calculation with limited deductions as opposed to TR with significant�...

THIS IS BREAKING NEWS....The NFLPA Board of Directors has voted to recommend a settlement to the plaintiffs in Brady, et al v. NFL, the anti-trust lawsuit that was working the lift the lockout. The true details of how that settlement will be addressed, however, were not released by the NFLPA. In a statement, the soon-to-be-again union for the players said: Player Directors active...

The long national nightmare is finally over as both the players and owners have finally agreed on a CBA, meaning everyone can now get back to work.

While the NFL’s owners voted on Thursday to approve a proposal to end the lockout, it was a one-sided affair. With several pieces still needing to be addressed, the players have yet to ratify any agreement that would end the longest work stoppage in league history. (See While NFL Owners Ratify Proposal, Here’s the Final Steps Needed to Get a CBA in Place) Now, Chris Mortensen...

In a bizarre twist to the NFL labor situation, it appears that NFL players and agents are involved in some kind of phishing scheme, or at least that’s a possibility. As the players have yet to vote on re-establishing themselves as a union to finalize certain aspects of the upcoming CBA, a rogue website has begun soliciting the players. An email sent to players and agents from...

THIS IS BREAKING NEWS....Half the equation may be there, but the players are not quite there yet. The NFL clubs approved today the terms of a comprehensive settlement of litigation and a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association. The vote was 31-0 with the Oakland Raiders abstaining. But, according to an email sent by DeMaurice Smith, the ratification...