The WNBA and Scripps Sports said Friday they had a multiyear extension to continue airing games on Ion.

The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, adds to the league’s 11-year, $2.2 billion deal it agreed to in July.

Players had wanted to be included in talks, as the amount of money coming in will ultimately determine players’ salaries in the next collective bargaining agreement.

The Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) tells Front Office Sports it was not included in the negotiations, despite previously receiving support from commissioner Cathy Engelbert to be at the table.

“The commissioner expressed support for their involvement in those talks. The union noted that it didn’t happen this time,” a union source told FOS.

According to the union source, the WNBPA understands its involvement in these discussions is “unprecedented” but remains “hopeful” it will be included in future negotiations.

The initial $2.2 billion deal was tied into the NBA’s $77 billion deal with partners Disney, NBCUniversal, and Amazon Prime Video. ESPN reported in July that the additional partners—like Ion and CBS—could bring the total of WNBA’s full media deal close to $3 billion. 

The WNBA does not appear to be finished with its negotiations as it has yet to secure an extension with CBS Sports. The network has aired two of the three most-watched WNBA games of the 2025 season through the first month.

In May, WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told The Athletic that the union asked to be included in media-rights negotiations and that Engelbert “seemed inclined” to go along with the request.

Pop music’s biggest superstar, having already elevated the NFL, has entered the hockey universe, and the NHL is eagerly looking to take advantage. 

Taylor Swift attended Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final in Florida on Thursday with her boyfriend, Chiefs superstar Travis Kelce, and spent time during the game with hockey icon and TNT Sports commentator Wayne Gretzky. Swift and Kelce were featured several times during the game on the game broadcast and on digital and social media, and with the championship series between the Oilers and Panthers now tied at two games each, the NHL would like to see its own version of a Swift effect.

“Calling all Swifties … hockey is awesome and so are you,” NHL CMO Heidi Browning said in a social media post early Friday. “If you’ve never watched hockey before, now is the time! The series is tied, the matchup is tight, and hockey is a master class in athleticism. Check out Game 5 on Saturday.”

While plenty of celebrities, such as actors Will Ferrell and Steve Carell and pop star Justin Bieber, are noted hockey fans, the NHL has never had the kind of lift that Swift, one of the most popular and recognizable figures on the planet, can provide. Her fame and power are such that she has created a broad-based business boost to the NFL, the world’s most dominant sports league, over the past two years as her relationship with Kelce has blossomed. 

During the 2023 NFL season, Swift generated more than $331 million in brand value for the Chiefs and the NFL, and she was credited for an extended series of increases to television viewership, merchandise sales, and social media consumption for the league, particularly among female fans. While Swift was on tour for a sizable chunk of the 2024 season, her impact on turning many of her fans into lasting football fans remained. The effect has been so great that even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has taken notice.

Swift attending NFL games has been “nothing but a blessing,” Goodell said early last year. “She loves great entertainment, and I think that’s why she loves NFL football.”

Big Emotions

Far from just a casual night out with Kelce, Swift appeared to be drawn heavily into the drama of Thursday’s game in which the Oilers rebounded from an early 3–0 deficit to defeat the Panthers in overtime. After a late, game-tying goal by Florida to force the extra period, she was spotted saying to Kelce, “That was so crazy!” Minutes later, she repeatedly tapped her chest, signaling how much her pulse was pounding, and told him, “My heart!”

Through the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final, the NHL had a predictably mixed result in viewership. U.S. audiences have declined so far, particularly as this year’s broadcast is back on the cable-based TNT Sports in the annual rights rotation with ESPN and ABC parent Disney. Canadian audiences, however, have grown with the presence of the Oilers in the series. 

With the series now guaranteed to go at least six games, stronger numbers on both sides of the border are likely for the upcoming contests—figures that could be boosted further by Swift’s ability to draw in additional fans.

The PGA Tour hasn’t officially announced Brian Rolapp as its new CEO, but when it finally does (potentially as soon as next week), it will mark the start of an unprecedented shift in how the golf league operates.

Since publicly announcing the CEO search in December, the plan has been for the new executive to focus heavily on leading PGA Tour Enterprises, the for-profit entity that has already received a $1.5 billion investment and could get a similar one from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The PGA Tour itself still operates as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization.

PGA Tour Enterprises encompasses business operations like media rights, sponsorships, and other revenue-generating operations, while charitable efforts still fall under the nonprofit PGA Tour arm.

That’s where Rolapp’s expertise as the NFL’s chief media and business officer comes in. “There’s no better choice for a senior executive who can drive media distribution and exposure,” longtime sports media consultant Lee Berke told Front Office Sports.

TV Time

The PGA Tour’s media-rights deals with CBS Sports, NBC Sports, and ESPN run through 2030. Rolapp has strong relationships with those three companies, since they are major NFL rights holders, and many other networks and streamers that could vie for future PGA Tour rights.

“From a PGA Tour standpoint, that’s why they created this position,” Berke said. “He’s there to really build their business, and he’s got just the best possible track record for doing that.”

The PGA Tour CEO search was headed up by Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who is one of the backers of Strategic Sports Group, the firm that pumped $1.5 billion into the Tour. So, it’s not surprising that Rolapp was a top target, given his NFL experience and relationships.

Still to be determined is how Rolapp will coexist with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. There are separate boards of directors for the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Enterprises. Currently, Monahan sits on both, but it’s possible Rolapp could take his seat on the PGA Tour Enterprises board.

LIV Golf’s Future

Rolapp has a longtime relationship with LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, as the two went to Harvard’s business school at the same time in the 1990s. 

The PGA Tour has been negotiating with PIF leaders, not LIV execs like O’Neil, about an investment deal that could reunify the fractured men’s professional game. But Rolapp’s relationship with O’Neil should be a positive sign nonetheless. 

Monahan and former LIV commissioner and CEO Greg Norman did not have a good relationship, which severely complicated efforts to bring PGA Tour and LIV players back together.