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Morning Edition

July 28, 2025

A Venezuelan Little League team won’t be able to participate in the Senior League Baseball World Series after their U.S. visa requests were rejected.

Also, an $800,00 NFL holdout ends—did Terry McLaurin get anything out of it?

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Venezuelan Little League Baseball Team Denied Entry Into U.S. [[link removed]]

The Topeka Capital-Journal

A Little League baseball team from Venezuela was denied visas to travel to the U.S. for a major tournament.

The Cacique Mara Little League team was unable to obtain the appropriate visas required to enter the country for the Senior League Baseball World Series, which is being played just outside Greenville, S.C. this week. The tournament is for teams with players aged 13–16, one level up from the more well-known Little League World Series, which includes players aged 10–12, and begins Aug. 17.

Little League International called the situation “extremely disappointing” in a statement. The team told the AP [[link removed]] that it traveled to Colombia two weeks ago to apply for visas at the U.S. embassy in Bogotá. “It is a mockery on the part of Little League to keep us here in Bogotá with the hope that our children can fulfill their dreams of participating in a world championship,” the team said in a statement. “What do we do with so much injustice, what do we do with the pain that was caused to our children?”

Cacique Mara was replaced by the Santa María de Aguayo team from Mexico, which lost the Latin American championship game.

A senior State Department official told the Washington Pos [[link removed]]t on Saturday that officials were “working to review the case to confirm proper procedures were followed and necessary appeals were submitted by the visa applicants.”

Venezuela is one of 12 countries that received a full suspension of entry by U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban in June. The ban is not expected [[link removed]] to impact professional leagues with large international player pools like MLB and the NBA.

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Terry McLaurin Ends Commanders Holdout After Losing $800K [[link removed]]

Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin unexpectedly reported to training camp on Sunday, after losing out on more than $800,000 from holding out for a new contract this offseason.

McLaurin, who turns 30 in September, is set to earn $19.65 million in total cash in the final season of a three-year, $68 million contract. However, he’s collected fines totaling $200,000 for missing the start of training camp, $105,000 for missing minicap, and forfeited a $500,000 workout bonus.

On Sunday, McLaurin spoke to reporters and signed autographs for fans. “It’s tough, but it’s a business,” he said. “Right now, I’m just trying to take things day by day.” McLaurin isn’t practicing yet and was placed on Washington’s physically unable to perform list with an ankle injury.

McLaurin’s 13 receiving touchdowns were second in the NFL last season. He had 1,096 receiving yards, which ranked 15th. His $19.65 million salary ranks 15th among receivers, after Bengals wideout Ja’Marr Chase reset the market [[link removed]] in March with a four-year, $161 million extension that carries a new money average annual value of $40.25 million.

State of the League

McLaurin’s contract dispute is one of the NFL’s highest-profile at the moment, after the Bengals signed rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart to his four-year, $18.97 million contract on Friday. Stewart, the No. 17 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, was the last rookie to sign their deal, with language over guarantees complicating talks. However, veteran Cincinnati edge rusher Trey Hendrickson is still holding out.

Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons has been a full participant in training camp, despite his desire to receive a raise. Parsons is entering his fifth season, set to earn $24 million in the final year of his rookie contract, and is a likely candidate to surpass Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt [[link removed]] as the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.

Lottie Woad Wins Pro Golf Debut After Forfeiting Nearly $600K As Amateur [[link removed]]

LPGA and Getty Images

Rising golf star Lottie Woad won her first start as a professional on Sunday, after not being allowed to accept prize money during two stellar performances as an amateur earlier this month.

Woad, 21, won the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three strokes, cashing a $300,000 first-place check. The victory comes just a few weeks after Woad won the KPMG Women’s Irish Open, a Ladies European Tour event, but had to forfeit the $79,000 winner’s check [[link removed]]. She also tied for third at the Amundi Evian Championship, one of the five LPGA majors, which would have paid her $485,200.

“I don’t even know what the winner’s check is,” Woad said after her victory. “But yeah, I mean, a lot of people have obviously talked about me not winning any money. … Didn’t make too much difference. And then I knew if I kept playing how I was, then it would all work out.”

Woad, who is from England, played collegiately at Florida State and had major NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals with Titleist, FootJoy, Upper Deck, and fintech company Novellus. She had held the No. 1 spot in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings since last July.

CNBC Saves the Day

After the third round ended with Woad in contention, the LPGA worked last-minute to give the final round broadcast additional TV exposure Sunday morning.

Originally, NBC Sports was only set to stream the final round live and show a tape delay on Golf Channel Sunday afternoon. However, the company ended up airing the conclusion of the tournament live on CNBC from 9–11 a.m. ET. Golf Channel aired the Senior Open Championship Sunday morning.

Getting better TV exposure is a top priority for new LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler. “For so many sports, it’s easy to know when to turn on the TV or click open an app and find the players you want to see at predictable times. It’s really, really hard to do that today with women’s golf,” Kessler told Front Office Sports after his hire was announced in May [[link removed]].

Woad will make her next start later this week at the AIG Women’s Open, which is the final major of the year.

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For all of our news and analysis around sports finance and deals, you can subscribe to the twice-weekly Asset Class newsletter [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Push

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Ichiro Suzuki ⬆ The MLB legend became the first Japanese player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame [[link removed]] on Sunday, as he led the 2025 class that also included CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen, and Dave Parker.

England ⬆ The country’s women’s national soccer team defeated Spain in the UEFA Women’s Euro final on Sunday. The Lionesses pocketed nearly $6 million in prize money from the tournament’s record $48 million purse.

Deion Sanders ⬆⬇ Colorado’s football coach will hold a press conference on Monday morning with his medical team. It’s unclear what announcements will be made. Sanders, who signed a five-year, $54 million contract extension [[link removed]] in March, was away from the football program most of the offseason dealing with undisclosed health issues.

NFL international games ⬆⬇ Falcons owner Arthur Blank said the league is “headed toward” each team playing a game outside the U.S. each season. That falls in line with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s efforts to expand the regular season to 18 games, including 16 games internationally [[link removed]]. “That’s probably on the horizon,” Blank told NFL Network [[link removed]] on Saturday.

Loud and Clear Steeler Disposition

“I’d love to get to know Terry on a deeper level.”

—Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, on comments Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who won four Super Bowls in Pittsburgh, made this offseason. In May, before the Steelers signed Rodgers to a one-year, $13.7 million deal, Bradshaw called the franchise’s pursuit of the quarterback “a joke,” and said “that guy needs to stay in California,” among other barbs [[link removed]].

Speaking to NFL Network on Saturday, Rodgers said [[link removed]], “I feel like if he gave me a chance to get to know him then we’d have a good friendship because for me I have nothing but the utmost amount of respect and deference for what the greats have done because they laid the foundation for us to be able to play in this great game.”

The Rodgers signing boosted one of the NFL’s top TV teams [[link removed]], with a nationally televised October matchup against the Packers being one of the league’s most-anticipated matchups.

Conversation Starters The Dodgers lead MLB with the highest average cost of attending a game: $588 when factoring in travel. Check out [[link removed]] the rest of the league. U.S. President Donald Trump made his first foray into legislating college athlete compensation with an executive order titled “Saving College Sports.” Front Office Sports Today broke down what it means [[link removed]]. The Hollidays are becoming baseball’s next great dynasty [[link removed]]. Matt earned $159 million throughout his career. Jackson was the No. 1 pick in 2022. Now, Ethan was drafted No. 4 and signed the richest deal ever for a high school MLB draftee—$9 million. Editors’ Picks ‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars [[link removed]]by Jake Kring-Schreifels [[link removed]]The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS. Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated [[link removed]]by Ian Stonebrook [[link removed]]Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it. Prospective Rays Owner Must Start Fresh As $1.3B Stadium Deal Ends [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]St. Petersburg, Fla., officials formally terminate a prior ballpark agreement. Question of the Day

Will Terry McLaurin sign a new deal with the Commanders?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Friday’s result: 46% of respondents plan on watching UNC football games this season because Bill Belichick is now at the helm.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Or Moyal [[link removed]]

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