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Afternoon Edition

November 20, 2025

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The NFL’s global push is resonating with fans, as its Sunday morning international games set a new ratings record this season. The surge is giving the league even more confidence in expanding abroad.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

NFL Morning Games Break Ratings Record As Global Slate Grows [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The NFL’s Sunday morning international game broadcasts saw record TV ratings this season, as the league continues to explore expanding and further monetizing its presence abroad.

NFL Network averaged 6.2 million viewers for the six European games that started at 9:30 a.m. ET. That’s up 32% from last season’s slate, and narrowly beat out the previous record of 6.1 million in 2023, when a Dolphins-Chiefs matchup produced an audience of 9.6 million [[link removed]], still the most-watched NFL Network international game on record.

Here’s the viewership breakdown for this season’s games:

Vikings-Steelers (Dublin): 7.9 million Vikings-Browns (London): 6.4 million Falcons-Colts (Berlin): 6 million Commanders-Dolphins (Madrid): 5.9 million Broncos-Jets (London): 5.7 million Rams-Jaguars (London): 5.26 million

Not included in the NFL Network’s international average is Week 1’s Chargers-Chiefs game in Brazil, which drew 16.1 million viewers [[link removed]] on YouTube in the U.S. and an audience of 17.2 million globally on the streamer.

Global Footprint

The record international game audience average for NFL Network is significant for multiple reasons.

After playing a record seven games [[link removed]] outside the U.S. this year, the NFL is looking at adding up to two more contests [[link removed]] abroad next season (potentially one in France [[link removed]]), and eventually wants to play 16 international games [[link removed]].

That expansion may very well coincide with the league eventually selling a separate media-rights package of international games, which could be worth $1 billion annually [[link removed]].

But in the meantime, NFL Network is set to be acquired by ESPN [[link removed]] in 2026, pending the approval of a deal that will see the league take a 10% equity stake in the Disney-owned sports channel.

Under ESPN ownership, NFL Network will air seven regular-season games [[link removed]] per year, which could still include international games.

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PGA Tour Weighs Delaying Future Season Starts Until After Super Bowl [[link removed]]

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As a new Tiger Woods–led committee explores ways to revamp the PGA Tour, major changes being discussed include delaying the season’s start until after the Super Bowl, reducing the primary schedule to around 20 events, and getting rid of the $20 million signature events.

“Sometimes change is good,” Harris English said Wednesday, ahead of the RSM Classic, revealing some of the details.

“I get that they want all the best players playing together more often,” said English, who is currently No. 11 in the Official World Golf Ranking. “And the talk of the Tour potentially starting after the Super Bowl I think is a pretty good thing because we can’t really compete with football.”

In August, new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp announced the creation of the Future Competition Committee [[link removed]], which is chaired by Woods and is “aimed at a holistic relook” of the sport. “That is inclusive of regular season, postseason, and offseason,” Rolapp said at the Tour Championship.

While Rolapp also said he would like to start implementing changes “as soon as we can,” the 2026 schedule is set, so significant shifts like beginning the season after the Super Bowl wouldn’t come until 2027 at the earliest.

Before the PGA Tour’s 2026 season opener The Sentry was canceled due to water supply issues [[link removed]] on Maui, there were five tournaments scheduled to take place before Super Bowl LX, including the Sony Open (Honolulu), The American Express (Palm Springs), Farmers Insurance Open (Torrey Pines), and WM Phoenix Open, which annually concludes on Super Bowl Sunday.

The first event after the Super Bowl on the 2026 schedule is the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. LIV Golf’s 2026 season begins Feb. 4–7, the weekend of Super Bowl LX, in Saudi Arabia.

Mark Your Calendars

The 2026 PGA Tour schedule will run for 33 consecutive weeks (which would have been 34 with The Sentry) from January to August, with four weeks including multiple tournaments as “opposite field” events are played alongside higher-profile ones. Eight of those will be signature events [[link removed]], which have limited fields and a larger $20 million purse. (The Sentry was going to be a ninth signature event.) Those are in addition to the four major championships, which count as part of the PGA Tour season but are not run by the PGA Tour.

“I think that’s what they’re going to change down the road—maybe in 2027—is have all the tournaments be equal and not have the eight elevated events and the regular events,” English said. “They’ll have 20, 22 events that are all the same. I think that’s a good model to have. That’s where you’ll see all the top players play every single event because you can’t really afford to take one off.”

Many top golfers already play in fewer events than that. No. 1–ranked Scottie Scheffler and FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood each played in 19 events during the PGA Tour season, while No. 2–ranked Rory McIlroy played in 16.

Rolapp—leaning on his experience as the NFL’s chief media and business officer [[link removed]]—has cited “scarcity” and “simplicity” as two key characteristics he would like the PGA Tour to have. “Competition should be easy to follow,” he said in August.

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FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Did MLB Hit a Home Run With New TV Deal?

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Coming off a highly rated World Series and a regular season that saw increased attendance and viewership, Major League Baseball formally unveiled its new media deals for the 2026–28 seasons, where NBC and Netflix will now join ESPN, TNT, and Fox as broadcast partners. This announcement comes as commissioner Rob Manfred said the league will cooperate with a congressional inquiry relating to the gambling indictments regarding Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz. FOS newsletter writer Eric Fisher was at the league meetings and has the latest.

Meanwhile, after leaving Peloton, fitness instructor Kendall Toole has launched her own wellness app called NKO Club, blending fitness, nutrition, and mental health. Toole talks about why she left Peloton and why fans will be satisfied with the content on her new app.

And FOS editor-in-chief Dan Roberts joins Baker Machado at the FOS Watercooler to chat about Mark Cuban taking a more public role with the Mavericks’ front office by proclaiming the team won’t trade Anthony Davis.

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

SURVEY

Want a chance to win $250? Help Front Office Sports improve by taking a few minutes to complete a brief survey [[link removed]]. As a thank-you, we’re offering a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card and an item from the new FOS merch collection.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Push

Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Texas ⬆⬇ Steve Sarkisian once again pushed back on reports that he could leave the Longhorns after this season, as his team attempts to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive following last week’s loss to Georgia that dropped their record to 7–3. “People reporting or insinuating that there’s a possibility I could leave the University of Texas—that’s absolutely false and untrue,” he said Wednesday. “I am not going anywhere. … I’ve had no discussions, not with my agent, not with the university, not with any other school, not with any NFL team, about ever going anywhere else.” Last month, Sarkisian’s agents put out a statement denying he was pursuing NFL jobs [[link removed]].

Player safety ⬆ Neck guards will be required for hockey players competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced. Starting with the 2026–27 NHL season, incoming players will be required to wear them, while returning players will have the option of wearing them.

Boca Raton Bowl ⬆⬇ The annual college football postseason game’s official name is changing to the “Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl of Beans,” becoming the first bowl game to have its official name end in a word other than “bowl” (not including games with presenting sponsorships). Last year’s game did not have a title sponsor, so the new deal with Bush’s Beans—while certainly not traditional—provides crucial funding for the South Florida bowl game.

LPGA ⬆ The women’s golf tour will pay out a record $132 million in prize money next year, it announced Wednesday ahead of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship (which has an $11 million purse). Non-major championship purses will total more than $82 million in 2026.

Editors’ Picks Judge Dismisses $800 Million Enhanced Games Lawsuit [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The competition sued WADA, World Aquatics, and USA Swimming. MLB’s TV Hot Stove Market Heating Up [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]] and Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]“Suddenly, it’s a great time to be a baseball talent.” [[link removed]] Power Conferences Finalize House v. NCAA Enforcement Guidelines [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]Schools have two weeks to sign the agreement. DAILY TRIVIA Factle Sports

Can you rank the top five active NHL players by most assists per game (career)?

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