🏟️ Bye-Bye, Bad Calls

Welcome to this week’s edition of Sports Industry Weekly.
We’re breaking down the biggest headlines, boldest moves, and emerging trends shaping the business of sports. From major deals to industry shifts, here’s what you need to know. Let’s dive in.

Automated balls and strikes are officially coming to MLB in 2026. 🤖

Under the new system, each team will get two challenges per game, and will keep them if the call is overturned. Challenges can only be initiated by the pitcher, catcher, or batter immediately after a pitch.

For MLB, the move represents a major step toward bringing technology to the heart of the game. After several seasons of testing in the minors, spring training, and even this year’s All-Star Game, the league is ready to make ABS part of its regular-season play.

For players and managers, it’s a shift in strategy: using challenges wisely could impact crucial moments. For fans, it promises a new layer of drama and (hopefully) fewer debates over strike-zone calls.

It’s a landmark change that underscores baseball’s evolving relationship with tech, balancing tradition with precision as the game looks to its future. (more here)

💰 MLB owners just green-lit the Rays’ $1.7B sale, now the franchise’s next chapter begins.

🎬 Pharrell turned October baseball into a full-on spectacle, and gave the postseason its own anthem.

📺 Amazon isn’t just streaming games anymore, it’s quietly building a sports empire across every major league.

👀 NBC is treating Micah Parsons’ Dallas homecoming like a Super Bowl, with the full pregame circus in town.

🏈 The Patriots’ $9B valuation just got its first outside investor, a landmark moment for NFL private equity.

👌 CFP leaders say 12 teams is enough…for now. Expansion talks stall ahead of the 2026 season.

📃 A lawsuit claims UNC tried to hide talks about hiring Belichick, and even about conference realignment.

🌏 A court just cracked the door for international college athletes to earn NIL money, this case could rewrite the visa playbook.

🏀 Lakers double-down on JJ Redick with a new deal, betting big on the second-year head coach.

👟 Reebok fast-tracked the Angel Reese 1, and it sold out in hours. Here’s why the brand couldn’t wait until 2026.

🏟️ The LA Sparks are breaking ground on the WNBA’s first indoor-outdoor player sanctuary, a $150M game-changer for recovery and training.

🤝 College teams could add sponsorship patches to uniforms as soon as next fall, a new revenue stream is on the horizon.

🏐 Boise State is heading to the Pac-12 in 2026… but its beach volleyball squad is bound for the Big 12.

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