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Afternoon Edition

July 25, 2025

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Lionel Messi is again at the center of the MLS conversation—this time for a one-game suspension after skipping the league’s All-Star Game alongside teammate Jordi Alba.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

MLS Suspends Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba for Skipping All-Star Game [[link removed]]

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Even the biggest stars in Major League Soccer aren’t immune from league discipline.

Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi, who has helped bring significant attention to the league since his 2023 arrival, was suspended for one game for missing Wednesday’s league All-Star Game against top players from Liga MX. The one-game suspension is in keeping with existing league policy for players missing the key midseason event without an approved medical reason.

Messi will be suspended along with teammate Jordi Alba. The pair were voted in to the All-Star Game, but they did not play due to fatigue-related reasons and will be out for the club’s Saturday match against FC Cincinnati. Their absence from the All-Star Game was not communicated until the day of the event.

“Per league rules, any player who does not participate in the All-Star Game without prior approval from the league is ineligible to compete in their club’s next match,” the league said.

Bigger Issues

While Messi and Alba did not have prior approved exemptions from the game, their absence speaks to the increased demands on pro soccer players, in MLS and in many other European leagues, and tension is rising around the sport because of it. Calendars within the sport continue to grow more compressed, with additional competitions being created and expanding around existing league play.

“We’ve been playing practically every three days,” said Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano on Friday. “It’s not enough rest for the players. The first thing we have to think about is that football belongs to the players. And if football belongs to the players, without players, it doesn’t exist.”

Speaking Wednesday before the All-Star Game, MLS commissioner Don Garber acknowledged that public notification of the status of Messi, a major attendance draw across the league, could have been better managed.

“Yeah, we should have known earlier and we should have addressed it earlier, no doubt about that,” Garber said.

Garber, however, also acknowledged the heavy demands that have been particularly on Inter Miami, which was one of three MLS teams in the recently concluded FIFA Club World Cup.

“I want to say something that we as a league need to deal with. We have an all-star game that we think is a real priority. As do all leagues. All-star games have a uniqueness as it relates to all the leagues,” Garber said. “Where do you fit it in the schedule and make it a priority for all your stakeholders, not just your players, but your fans, partners, taking a break? It is an important midseason break for us. At the same time, we have a player who has played nine matches in thirty days. Miami’s had a schedule that is unlike any other team. Most of our teams have had a ten-day break. Miami hasn’t.

“We had Leo playing 90 minutes in almost all the games that he played. We have to manage through that as a league. At the same time, we do have rules,” Garber said.

The Messi situation arrives as MLS is also grappling with potential large-scale changes to its schedule [[link removed]] and is also aiming to be more transparent about its media-rights deal with Apple [[link removed]].

SPONSORED BY RBC WEALTH MANAGEMENT

That’s a Wrap, Austin

This week Front Office Sports collaborated with RBC Wealth Management to host RBC House [[link removed]] surrounding the MLS All-Star Game in Austin, Texas.

Tuesday included a timely discussion with top soccer executives and innovators on the sport’s rapidly growing U.S. presence—followed by a first-time live broadcast of Redefined with Leslie Osborne and Arielle Houlihan, who sat down with D.C. United’s Danita Johnson and Portland Timbers’ Heather Davis.

Wednesday brought the Front Office Sports brand to life with a Second Acts showcase and first-time live broadcasts of FOS Today, with MLS experts including Apple TV’s Jake Zivin, CBS Sports Golazo Network’s Tom Bogert, and content creator Elischa Edouard. Redefined returned with a second live show, this time with CBS Sports’s Jenny Chiu and Kickback Soccer Media’s Susannah Fuller.

Learn more about RBC House here [[link removed]].

Prospective Rays Owner Must Start Fresh As $1.3B Stadium Deal Ends [[link removed]]

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Prospective Rays owner Patrick Zalupski, should he succeed in acquiring the MLB club from Stu Sternberg, will officially need to start over in developing a deal for a new venue.

The city of St. Petersburg, Fla., formally terminated the deal to build a $1.3 billion ballpark and mixed-use development. The step was not a surprise given Sternberg walked away from the deal in March [[link removed]], citing increased costs he was not willing to bear alone. The unanimous approval of a termination agreement Thursday, however, means Zalupski and his partners would need to strike an entirely new pact, should they opt to remain in St. Petersburg long-term. As it is, some reports have suggested Zalupski prefers Hillsborough County, where the NFL’s Buccaneers and NHL’s Lightning play, as a future home for the team.

The St. Petersburg deal termination—arriving just over one year from when the pact was approved [[link removed]]—critically reverts land redevelopment rights from the Rays back to the city.

“While the Rays’ decision is terribly disappointing, our mission was to adapt and refocus on our primary objective—the progress of our city,” said St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch. “The most important element of this is that the development rights of this area, previously held by the Rays since 1995, are now in the hands of the city. This puts us in the strongest position to assure that the future development of the Historic Gas Plant District meets the needs of St. Petersburg.”

Zalupski, meanwhile, has reached an agreement in principle on a $1.7 billion deal for the Rays [[link removed]], something MLB commissioner Rob Manfred briefly referenced last week at the league’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.

“I have no reason to quibble with or dispute the reports that have been out there,” he said.

A deal, however, won’t be too soon for some local officials.

“Cheap Stu. The Yankees and Phillies have spent millions of their own $ on their spring training stadiums in recent years, while Stu has to sit back and watch everyone else pay for his stadium,” said Pinellas County commissioner Chris Latvala, a frequent critic of Sternberg, in a social media post [[link removed]]. “He can’t leave soon enough.”

Over at the Trop

St. Petersburg officials, meanwhile, are making more progress on repairing the hurricane-damaged, city-owned Tropicana Field so the Rays can return there next year.

Already, preparations have begun to install new roof fabric to replace what was shredded last fall by Hurricane Milton, with that particularly visible part of the job scheduled to be done late this year. The city council, after legally ending the deal for the new stadium Thursday, also approved $5.2 million in electrical and lighting repairs for Tropicana Field.

While the Rays are playing this year at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the Yankees, the club intends to return to Tropicana Field next year, and confidence is growing both with MLB and the city that it will be achievable.

The league plans to release the 2026 schedule next month, and that will give some further clues. An early-season slate that is front-loaded with away games would give crews more time to finish the work. The interim stay at the open-air Tampa stadium this year had the inverse situation, with the Rays playing a large chunk of home games in April and May to avoid the brunt of midsummer Florida heat.

Eagles Turn to Their Fans As They Consider Future Stadium Plans [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Amid an accelerating stadium boom around the NFL, the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles are taking further steps to determine their own facility future.

The Eagles have sent an email survey to their season-ticket holders, looking to gauge their opinions on what the team’s future home venue should be and how best to maximize fan experience.

“We’re exploring potential updates to Lincoln Financial Field—including both renovations options and the possibility of a brand new stadium in the region,” the email reads in part.

The effort follows comments from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie before Super Bowl LIX in which he said the team’s stadium deliberations were beginning to amplify [[link removed]]. The city-owned Lincoln Financial Field opened in 2003, and while still quite functional, is beginning to fall behind newer and more technologically advanced facilities such as SoFi Stadium in California and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The Eagles’ current lease expires in 2032.

In particular, the Eagles are grappling with whether to build a domed facility, and the fan survey explored several options ranging from fully open-air venues to entirely closed domes and those in between, such as a canopy.

“I love outdoor football. I love the cold games,” Lurie said in February. “On the other hand, Philadelphia deserves to host the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, lots of great events. It’s an incredible sports city. Does it deserve it? Yes. So we have to balance all those things.”

League and Local Developments

While keeping up with the Cowboys and their owner, Jerry Jones, is always front and center for the Eagles, given their heated division rivalry [[link removed]], the growing wave of other new NFL facilities, as well as other local developments, more directly colors the situation in Philadelphia.

New or substantially renovated NFL venues are already on the way in Buffalo, Jacksonville, and Tennessee, while the Commanders [[link removed]] and Browns [[link removed]] have made material steps in recent weeks on their respective projects, and the Chiefs are looking to decide in the coming months between stadium options in Missouri and Kansas [[link removed]]. The Bears’ push for a domed facility, while currently stalled [[link removed]], is certainly not dead, and the Broncos are in a similarly deliberative position [[link removed]] as the Eagles.

Elsewhere in the South Philadelphia sports complex, meanwhile, Comcast Spectacor and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment intend to develop an arena they foresee as “unlike any other in sports.” [[link removed]] Neighboring Citizens Bank Park, meanwhile, will host next year’s MLB All-Star Game [[link removed]], a key part of a heightened wave of top-tier events scheduled for the complex.

Any renovation or new construction project that the Eagles undertake might happen without any state-level financial support [[link removed]], though. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently said he’s “very worried about the overall budget” and that his priority is on “investing in things that Pennsylvanians need most.”

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Trump’s Exec Order: College Athletes Aren’t Employees

FOS illustration

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to mitigate the “unprecedented threat” to college athletics and prevent athletes from being considered professionals. FOS college sports reporter Amanda Christovich explains the order and how it impacts the ongoing contention between NIL (name, image, and likeness) collaborators, the NCAA, and the federal government around the employment status of college athletes.

Plus, Bill Belichick addressed a huge media crowd at ACC media days to explain his vision for North Carolina and why the current college landscape is “not that different from the NFL.” FOS newsletter writer David Rumsey was at the event and joins Renee Washington and Baker Machado to break it all down, including some chatter that UNC could eventually look to join the SEC behind its $10 million coach.

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

STATUS REPORT Two Up, One Down, One Push

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Desmond Watson ⬇ The Buccaneers’ free-agent signee—and heaviest player in NFL history—has started summer camp on the non-football injury list [[link removed]] due to weight concerns. The former Florida standout, who went undrafted in April, is considered “day to day” as the team helps him work toward a playable condition.

Japan ⬆ Barcelona’s preseason match against Vissel Kobe is back on [[link removed]] after the club resolved a last-minute dispute with the event promoter. The friendly match in Tokyo, now scheduled for Sunday, is part of a longer Asia tour that includes stops in South Korea to play FC Seoul on July 31 and Daegu FC on Aug. 4.

Crystal Palace ⬆ New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has acquired a 43% stake in Crystal Palace for $254 million (£190 million) [[link removed]], joining the club’s ownership group alongside Steve Parish, Josh Harris, and David Blitzer. The move comes as the team appeals a UEFA ruling that bumped the FA Cup winners from the Europa League to the Conference League.

Bill Self ⬆⬇ The Kansas coach underwent a procedure to insert two stents after experiencing “concerning symptoms,” [[link removed]] but he is expected to make a full recovery. Self, 62, was hospitalized in 2023 for a similar heart issue and missed the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments. Speculation about his retirement has lingered since then, though he has repeatedly said he plans to keep coaching. The 2026 season will be his 24th with the Jayhawks.

SPONSORED BY CHAMPS SPORTS

Aliyah Boston is buying an undisclosed stake in the NWSL’s Boston Legacy FC [[link removed]], the team said earlier this month. The NWSL team’s primary ownership is an all-women group [[link removed]] led by Jennifer Epstein—founder of Juno Equity—and backed by an investment group that includes three-time Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, actress Elizabeth Banks, Celtics GM Brad Stevens, and his wife, Tracy.

Boston joins other WNBA players who have become owners, including New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu [[link removed]], who is an investor in Bay FC.

Check out [[link removed]] the soccer content hub, presented by Champs Sports, to read the full article [[link removed]], and stay up to date on all things soccer.

Conversation Starters Happy Gilmore 2 was released Friday, almost 30 years since the original came out. The star-studded cast features professional golfer cameos along with several of the original actors returning. Check out a clip here [[link removed]]. Fenway Park workers are going on strike [[link removed]] after their Wednesday announcement yielded no progress with the stadium’s food and beverage provider, Aramark. If content creator IShowSpeed were commissioner of MLS for one day, here’s one rule change he would make [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Raiders Trying to Void $35 Million in Guaranteed Money They Owe [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Christian Wilkins missed most of the 2024 season with a Jones fracture. NHL, NHLPA at Odds Over Five Acquitted Players From Hockey Canada Trial [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The league is indefinitely barring the players despite the judge’s acquittal. The Harlem Globetrotters Have Changed Hands Repeatedly, but Keep Making Money [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]] The team is gearing up for its 100th season. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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