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Afternoon Edition

July 30, 2025

Shannon Sharpe is out at ESPN just weeks after settling a lawsuit alleging he raped a woman. The move comes despite prior expectations that the Pro Football Hall of Famer would return in time for the NFL season. Here’s what we know.

— Margaret Fleming [[link removed]], Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Shannon Sharpe Out at ESPN Following Rape Suit Settlement [[link removed]]

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Shannon Sharpe is out at ESPN.

The network has parted ways with Sharpe mere weeks after the TV personality settled a lawsuit alleging rape, Front Office Sports can confirm. The Athletic first reported the news [[link removed]].

In April, an anonymous woman filed a lawsuit against Sharpe seeking $50 million [[link removed]] in damages. Sharpe, who denies the allegations, said at the time that he was stepping away from ESPN but planned to return at the start of the NFL season.

On July 18, the accuser’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, announced his client had reached a settlement [[link removed]] with the Pro Football Hall of Famer, seemingly clearing a pathway for his return to ESPN’s football coverage and First Take with Stephen A. Smith, where Sharpe had become a regular contributor.

Earlier in April, FOS reported Sharpe, 57, had settled a separate accusation with a female production assistant who said he strangled her in the workplace [[link removed]] while the two worked at FS1. Sharpe had been anticipating signing a deal worth more than $100 million for Shay Shay Media [[link removed]], FOS reported shortly before the news of the lawsuit.

Sharpe has continued to podcast on Club Shay Shay and Nightcap, two shows on his network.

ESPN had no comment when asked about Sharpe.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

2 Commissioners, 5 Networks, Big Names

Tuned In [[link removed]], Sept. 16 at The Times Center in NYC, is the only event where you can hear from all of the biggest leaders in sports media.

Commissioners Adam Silver and Rob Manfred will join Front Office Sports’s editorial team to discuss the latest moves in media and what’s on the horizon.

On-air talent, including the legendary father-son duo of Ian and Noah Eagle, will sit down for an exclusive one-on-one conversation on the Tuned In stage, and NBC Sports’s Maria Taylor will speak about her legendary career and the exciting future of the network.

Top executives including Brian Rolapp of the PGA Tour, Jimmy Pitaro from ESPN, Jay Marine from Amazon, Eric Shanks from FOX Sports, and Luis Silberwasser from TNT Sports will take the stage.

This must-see lineup is worth tuning in for. Rates increase soon, register today [[link removed]].

Ex-NBPA Director Defends Two-Apron System: ‘There’s No Hard Cap’ [[link removed]]

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA’s two-apron salary structure has been criticized since it was instituted in the 2023 CBA. Breaching either apron comes with penalties that restrict a front office’s roster management options, so contending teams have repeatedly made moves to get below the thresholds.

There have been references to the second apron, in particular, as a pseudo–hard cap, which is a threshold that franchises are not allowed to exceed. However, former National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) executive director Tamika Tremaglio defended the two-apron structure in an interview with Front Office Sports.

“What I’ve been hearing is [there’s] a hard cap. There is no hard cap,” said Tremaglio, who was the union’s executive director when the latest CBA was ratified in April 2023. “The reality is that any team can go into the apron. Any team could go into where they’re now paying taxes. It just becomes a more intentional choice on that team as to whether or not they will pay the taxes.”

There are three levels on top of the NBA’s soft salary cap, which was set at $154.65 million for the 2025–26 season:

Luxury tax: $187.9 million First apron: $195.95 million Second apron: $207.82 million

Teams that exceed the luxury tax are subject to financial penalties. The fees are why the Celtics, before their offseason moves [[link removed]], were projected to pay $500 million next season, with more than half coming from tax violations.

The first-apron penalties include limitations in salary matching during trades and the inability to sign-and-trade for a player—unless the move brings them below the apron.

The second-apron penalties are much more severe, including restricting teams from aggregating two or more salaries in any trade. Despite references to it as a hard cap, the Cavaliers and Suns are projected to be above the second apron this upcoming season. However, historically high-spending teams like the Warriors and Clippers have worked to elude it in recent years, and the Timberwolves traded Karl-Anthony Towns [[link removed]] a year ago with the specter of penalties looming.

Tremaglio, who left the NBPA in late 2023 and works at consulting firm Secretariat as the managing director leading its global sports consulting practice, acknowledged the system could cause “challenges” for teams in their roster-management process.

However, she added that the tax and apron system was put into place to limit the stark spending gaps among the 30 NBA teams. The result of such a system was to create greater parity across the league—which has been accomplished, given the revolving door of NBA champions [[link removed]] over the last seven years.

“The goal, in essence, is that every team, regardless of market size, has a roughly equal chance to compete, and to run a rational business,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in October [[link removed]] when speaking about the CBA rules. “It seems to be working so far.”

Browns Push Forward on $2.4B Stadium Despite Political Obstacles [[link removed]]

Jeff Lange/Beacon Journal

The Browns’ relationship status with Cuyahoga County, Ohio, is certainly complicated, adding to the drama surrounding the NFL team.

Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam said they are fully moving ahead with their planned $2.4 billion domed stadium and mixed-use development in suburban Brook Park, Ohio, despite a series of funding and legal obstacles. How the county will be involved in the effort, if at all, remains quite uncertain.

On one hand, the Haslams said they are prepared to move forward without any financial involvement from the county, despite prior aims of garnering $300 million toward the project from that jurisdiction. Along similar lines, county executive Chris Ronayne said he has no intention of contributing to a project he has frequently called “a boondoggle.”

On the other hand, though, the team still wants to build a relationship with county leaders.

“Now is the time to work together,” Jimmy Haslam said. “Maybe it doesn’t work out with the county, but now’s the time to sit down and see if we can’t work together. This is an important project. I don’t think many other entities are spending $2 billion–plus in this community.”

So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance

As the county situation plays out, the Browns’ stadium project is also battling complications on multiple other fronts. There is an active lawsuit [[link removed]] related to the team’s plan to draw $600 million from an account of unclaimed state funds [[link removed]]. Separately, the city of Cleveland is challenging various components of the team’s current lease [[link removed]] for the downtown Huntington Bank Field, even after a separate challenge related to Ohio’s Modell Law was mooted.

The state money is half of what the team had targeted to gain from public sources, with the Haslams originally set to contribute $1.2 billion. There are hopes of gaining $300 million in municipal-level support from Brook Park, leaving a final $300 million unaccounted for.

Amid all of that, Jimmy Haslam said there is “a 99.9% chance” of the Brook Park stadium happening, but he also acknowledged the inherent difficulties. A formal groundbreaking is targeted for early next year in advance of a projected stadium opening in 2029.

“This is a complicated project,” he said. “There’s stuff going on. It’s three and a half years until the stadium opens, and we will have to work hard every day to get everything to come together.

“We’re going to have the groundbreaking regardless,” Jimmy Haslam said. “Let me say this and try to be very respectful of everybody. … We can do the project without the county. I think it’s best if the county and [Haslam Sports Group] work together, O.K.? And I won’t say anything more than that.”

The Browns’ stadium situation is developing as similar ones are unfolding for current and potential NFL facilities in markets such as Cincinnati [[link removed]], Philadelphia [[link removed]], and Washington, D.C. [[link removed]]

Trey Hendrickson Ends $450K Holdout Without New Bengals Deal [[link removed]]

The Cincinnati Enquirer

Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson reported to training camp Wednesday still without a new contract after incurring more than $450,000 in fines during his holdout.

“Things are exactly the same,” Hendrickson told reporters when asked about contract negotiations.

Hendrickson, 30, is seeking a raise on the $16 million he is due to make in the final season of his current deal. As one of the better pass rushers in the league—Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks with 17.5 during the 2024 regular season—his salary is less than half of what the top of the market is for edge defenders.

Earlier this month, Steelers defensive end T.J. Watt signed a three-year, $123 million contract that carries a new money average annual value of $41 million, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback [[link removed]] in the NFL, for now. Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons, who is not holding out of training camp, is also seeking a new deal [[link removed]] that could surpass Watt’s.

Hendrickson has sought a new contract since the beginning of the offseason. However, the Bengals prioritized signing receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to new deals first. In March, the wideouts became the richest receiving duo in the NFL [[link removed]] with four-year extensions worth $161 million and $115 million, respectively.

By reporting to training camp, even if he doesn’t practice, Hendrickson will no longer be fined $50,000 per day, as he was during the first seven days of camp. That $350,000 sum, on top of $104,768 in fines for missing minicamp, takes Hendrickson’s fine total this summer to $454,768. He’s made $68.24 million during his first eight seasons in the league, four with the Saints and four in Cincinnati.

Hendrickson’s decision to report without a new deal follows a similar decision from Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin, who showed up to Washington’s camp Sunday after losing out on more than $800,000 [[link removed]] from holding out. McLaurin, 29, is seeking a raise on the $19.65 million he is set to make this season.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Can the NBA Expand to Europe

FOS illustration

The NBA continues to build up its European presence, as the league announced the Grizzlies and Magic will play two regular-season games this upcoming 2026–27 season in Europe, one in Berlin and a second in London. The announcement comes as the league is reportedly exploring its own European league in partnership with FIBA, with London as one of the potential cities to have a team. FOS reporter Alex Schiffer breaks down the league’s international hopes and explains what that infamous photo making the rounds on social media of LeBron James, Maverick Carter, and Nikola Jokić’s agent on a yacht in France could really be about.

Meanwhile, WNBA star Sophie Cunningham continues to be big business, as the Indiana Fever guard launched a podcast called Show Me Something, cohosted by Cunningham and her childhood friend West Wilson of Bravo’s Summer House. FOS’s Tuned In writer Michael McCarthy has the latest on Cunningham’s deal with Colin Cowherd’s The Volume digital media company, plus Tracy McGrady joining his cousin Vince Carter as an analyst for NBC’s upcoming NBA coverage.

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

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Dolphins’ secondary ⬇ NFL insider Adam Schefter confirmed Wednesday that Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou sustained a season-ending ACL tear at Saturday’s practice. The loss means no player from last year’s starting secondary will play in this year’s group.

NHL on DAZN ⬆ Starting in the 2025–26 season, NHL.TV will move to DAZN’s platform [[link removed]], giving subscribers in nearly 200 countries access to every game, including the Stanley Cup Final. While the service will remain unavailable in the U.S. and Canada due to local rights deals, the shift marks a major move to centralize the league’s international audience.

Marcus Morris Sr. ⬇ The former NBA player was denied bond Tuesday in Florida after being arrested on felony fraud charges tied to more than $200,000 in unpaid casino debts in Las Vegas. Morris remains in custody as Nevada pursues extradition, despite his legal team claiming a large payment has already been sent to settle the issue. The 35-year-old played 13 seasons in the NBA, finishing his career with the Cavaliers in 2024.

Buford High School ⬆ The Georgia high school opened its brand-new $62 million football stadium featuring 10,000 seats and 15 luxury suites. The football powerhouse has won 14 state championships since 2001 and has been a pipeline to the SEC. Georgia safety KJ Bolden and former Alabama and Texas receiver Isaiah Bond are two recent Buford products.

Conversation Starters In a bizarre sequence, relief pitcher Seranthony Domínguez was traded from the Orioles to the Blue Jays in the middle of a doubleheader between both teams. Watch him walk across the field to meet his new teammates [[link removed]]. The NBA is expanding across the pond with six regular-season games in Europe over the next three seasons. Check out where it’s heading [[link removed]]. Colorado running back Charlie Offerdahl was forced to medically retire due to concussions, but head coach Deion Sanders is still honoring his scholarship for his dental school aspirations. Check out the moment he found out [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Sophie Cunningham Gets Podcast With Cowherd’s Volume, Continuing Breakout [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Cunningham’s podcast deal is the latest in a breakout summer. Tensions Rise After Suns Fire Ex–Security Director [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]]Phoenix faces a slew of lawsuits from former employees. NBA Adding European Games As It Explores New League [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The Magic and Grizzlies will play in Berlin and London in January 2026. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]], Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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