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Morning Edition

April 25, 2025

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The Titans took Cam Ward with the first pick in the NFL Draft, turning down a huge offer from the Giants. Ward, who was a zero-star high-school recruit, benefited from the transfer portal to an extent no player ever has.

— Alex Schiffer [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], and Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

No. 1 Pick Cam Ward Is the Face of Football’s Transfer Portal Era [[link removed]]

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Cam Ward is headed to the Music City.

The Titans selected Ward No. 1 overall in Thursday’s NFL Draft.

The Titans will be Ward’s fifth team since 2020, following a winding college career for the 22-year-old.

Ward is the first No. 1 overall pick to see the transfer portal transform his career. He started his college career at Incarnate Word in 2020, where he played for two seasons before transferring to Washington State. He played two seasons for the Cougars and initially declared for the 2024 draft, where he was projected as a third- or fourth-round selection. He changed his mind, however, and benefited from name, image, and likeness rules while spending his final college campaign at Miami.

At Miami, Ward led the Hurricanes to a 10–3 record, and the team’s season ended with a loss to Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Ward finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy and was a consensus All-American.

Ward was the first quarterback taken in what is considered a weak class for the position. He will sign a four-year deal worth $43 million with an average of $7.82 million per season, based on estimates from the NFL collective bargaining agreement.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on the network’s draft telecast that the Giants offered Tennessee the No. 3 pick, their 2026 first-rounder, and “other picks” to move up for Ward, but were rejected.

The Titans’ decision to draft Ward makes Will Levis, the team’s current starting quarterback, expendable. Levis was a second-round pick out of Kentucky in the 2023 draft and has gone just 5–16 as a starter in two years. Levis still has two years and roughly $5 million remaining on his rookie contract, which was originally a four-year deal worth $9.5 million.

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CFP Meetings End With No Major Changes to 12-Team Playoff—for Now [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff’s annual spring meetings concluded without any major decisions about changing the format of the expanded, 12-team postseason bracket.

The CFP management committee—made up of FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua—met in Dallas Tuesday afternoon through Thursday morning to discuss standard logistical and financial operations for the upcoming season, as well as ideas about how the Playoff could further evolve [[link removed]].

However, no big changes were agreed to this week, CFP executive director Rich Clark told reporters in Dallas on Thursday afternoon.

One idea that has seemingly had momentum this offseason is shifting to straight seeding, as opposed to the inaugural bracket, which gave the top four seeds (that come with first-round byes) to the highest-ranked conference champions. This past season, No. 9 Boise State received the third seed, and No. 12 Arizona State got the fourth seed.

That change and any other could still be made ahead of the 2025 season, as the CFP leaders are set to meet again in June.

Ahead of this week’s meeting, a source told Front Office Sports that they expected things to remain status quo this year, before big changes come in 2026, since the CFP format for that season and beyond has not yet been set.

Other potential format changes in future years include more automatic qualifiers for the Big Ten and SEC, expanding to 14 or 16 teams, and more on-campus home games [[link removed]].

Baseball Meets Bristol: Braves-Reds Game Aims for Record Crowd [[link removed]]

Bristol Motor Speedway

Major League Baseball is projecting the largest single-game attendance of the entire season for the Aug. 2 MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the league is still grappling with the complexities of playing in one of the world’s largest sports venues.

Now 100 days out from the Braves-Reds clash at the Tennessee motorsports facility, the showcase is a continuation of MLB’s run of domestic special-event games in recent years that has included sites such as Alabama’s Rickwood Field, the Field of Dreams complex in Iowa, and Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

The Bristol game, however, is quite different from its predecessors in that its roughly 165,000-person capacity not only surpasses nearly all other racetracks, but also stands as the world’s eighth-biggest sports venue. Its oval shape and massive infield are still big enough to fit a regulation MLB field, but the league is still working through exactly how many seats to sell to ensure good views of the action. A specific count has not been finalized, but it will surpass the 56,000-seat capacity of Dodger Stadium, MLB’s largest ballpark.

The sprawling speedway, also known as The Last Great Colosseum, is also a highly active racing facility, with events across various circuits scheduled throughout the spring and summer. MLB’s preparation for the game will include a temporary removal of some infield structures.

“There are some luxuries you get from being in such a big venue like Bristol. But there are still a number of things to balance, including fan experience and having a backdrop that immediately makes it clear it’s a racetrack,” said MLB SVP of global events Jeremiah Yolkut.

This week’s run of promotions for the game has included the announcement of a pregame concert [[link removed]] by country music star Tim McGraw, while top NASCAR driver Chase Elliott made the media rounds in New York on Thursday, meeting with a variety of television networks and print journalists.

“This is truly going to be unique,” said Elliott, who grew up a Braves fan. Elliott, however, will not be attending, as NASCAR is racing in Iowa that weekend.

A Merging of Cultures

The MLB Speedway Classic also differs greatly from other special-event games, as both the league and track owner, Speedway Motorsports, are leaning hard into the camping and extensive tailgating activity endemic to racing fandom. Camping passes on the Bristol property will be sold in addition to game tickets.

“This event tells a great story, being able to bring the culture of one sport into another,” said Bristol Motor Speedway president Jerry Caldwell.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS NETWORK

Building a Powerhouse at Penn State

James Franklin has been the face of Penn State football for more than a decade. In this episode, Adam Breneman sits down with coach Franklin to talk about the challenges of NIL (name, image, and likeness) and the transfer portal, why players are staying at Penn State, and how he landed top defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

They dive deep into leadership, culture, and what it’ll take to bring a national championship to Happy Valley. Whether you’re a Penn State fan, a college football diehard, or just want a master class in building a winning culture, this one is for you.

Watch the full Next Up episode here [[link removed]].

Loud and Clear Hunter Could Get Unique Payday

Imagn Images

“It’s very rare to be able to target a player who can alter the sport itself.”

— Jaguars GM James Gladstone [[link removed]], who traded a king’s ransom to move up from No. 5 to No. 2 and add Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. The Colorado star aims to play significant snaps at both wide receiver and cornerback, just as he did in college. He’ll make over $40 million over the next four years [[link removed]], but after that, his pay will become fascinating. Top receivers make $10 million more per season than top cornerbacks.

Conversation Starters Pittsburgh will host next year’s NFL Draft, but 2027 and beyond are still up in the air. Take a look [[link removed]] at the contenders. Celtics guard Jrue Holiday and his wife, USWNT legend Lauren Holiday, have joined the ownership group [[link removed]] of NWSL franchise North Carolina Courage. Suns guard Devin Booker saw kids in Arizona running a lemonade stand and pulled up to support them. Check it out [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Fox, Shannon Sharpe Settled Physical Incident With Female PA [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]Sharpe’s reps confirm a past “physical” incident was settled by Fox. Coach Yo: Women’s College Hoops Are ‘Pay for Play’ [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin built a top transfer class this offseason. NIL Contract Buyouts Are More Common, but Can They Be Enforced? [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The Arkansas collective has issued two demand letters to players to pay buyouts. Evan Mobley’s DPOY Win Adds $45 Million to Contract [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Mobley’s contract extension got more expensive with his DPOY win. Question of the Day

Should Shedeur Sanders have been drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Thursday’s result: 50% of respondents plan to watch the NFL Draft on ESPN/ABC, 12% on NFL Network, 1% on ESPN Deportes, 3% on The Pat McAfee Show, and 34% do not plan to watch.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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