🏟 Raiders Pay $35M to Keep This Stadium Empty

If you’re reading this, I’m alone in Las Vegas. My itinerary includes the Sphere, Allegiant Stadium, and making TikToks at the aforementioned places.

What else is a man to do in Sin City? Anyway, here’s today’s agenda:

🗞 The Big Story: UNLV’s Favorite Landlord?

📉 Biggest Loser: The Jets Miss Out on $22M

🏆 Winner’s Circle: The Suns Take on Cable

⬇️ Listen: The NFL is taking on its final frontier; the Olympics. But why?

🗞 The Big Story

UNLV pays over $350,000 per game to play at Allegiant Stadium, but what if I told you it’s actually one of the best deals in sports history?

Timeline: Before Allegiant Stadium was even opened, UNLV and the Las Vegas Raiders had an agreement in place for the university to play in the new NFL stadium.

• 2020: 3 games, 2,000 average fans, $50,000-$150,000 per game

This was in line with what the school was paying per game to play at their old stadium, Sam Boyd Stadium.

But then, in 2022 the cost for UNLV to play at Allegiant exploded:

• 2022: 6 games, 22,000 average fans, $355,000-$370,000 per game

So why not just go back to playing at Sam Boyd? It’s currently sitting unused and as recently as 2015 the university spent $1.2 million on renovations.

Non-Compete: As a part of the rental agreement UNLV made with the Raiders, the school isn’t allowed to host any sort of sporting event or concert at the 37,000-person stadium that sits 20 minutes away from Allegiant Stadium.

But here’s the kicker:

In return for just letting the stadium just sit empty, the Raiders are paying UNLV $3.5 million per year until 2030.

That means that the university will earn $35 million by 2030 for not using a stadium, and in return, they just have to play in one of the nicest NFL stadiums in the country.

• $35M (non-compete payout) - $22M (stadium rental fee) = $13M surplus for UNLV between 2020 and 2030

Not a bad deal…

📉 Biggest Loser

The Aaron Rodgers injury is still haunting the Jets.

It’s bad enough to lose your star QB on the first drive of the season, but they also missed out on a $22 million payday because of it.

TTD: Temporary Total Disability is an insurance policy any professional sports team can take out on any one of its players.

It’s required in the NBA and NHL for each team’s highest-paid players but the NFL and MLB leave it entirely up to the teams.

NFL: Sportico estimates that roughly 50-70% of NFL teams purchase insurance for at least one of its players, and in any given season about 65 total players in the league will be insured.

Premiums range from $1M to $4M per year and are determined based on a player’s :

• Age

• Position

• Injury history

Meaning a 39-year-old quarterback with an extensive injury history wasn’t the easiest to insure. Especially when he is owed $37 million, fully guaranteed this year.

Jet’s Dilemma: According to reports, New York did have the option to insure 60% ($22 million) of Rodger’s contract this year but they declined.

Was the premium too high? Were they sure he wasn’t going to get hurt? Who knows.

But by declining the policy, they’re left having to pay Rodgers his full $37 million even though he’s likely not going to play another snap for them this year.

Ouch.

Sponsored by Sleeper

💰 Pick of the Week

I’m going to break the fourth wall for a second: these gambling apps are desperate.

The landscape between companies right now is so competitive that they’re literally giving you free money and free winners just so you try out their app.

And I say, why not?

Right now on Sleeper, you can pick Alvin Kamara to rush for more than 0.5 rushing yards AND get a free $100 on your first deposit.

(You read that right.)

Just use my code TYLERWEBB when you sign up!

🏆 Winner’s Circle

The Phoenix Suns are going to lose tens of millions of dollars per year… on purpose.

But this decision could end up making them the most popular team in the NBA.

Cable Mafia: Since 2003, the Suns (like nearly every other professional sports team) have had their games broadcasted on TV through a regional sports network (RSN) like Bally Sports.

But as households have started ditching cable, these RSNs have started to struggle financially to the point that Bally Sports’ parent company, Diamond Sports:

• Filed for bankruptcy in March

• Started missing payments to some teams (worth $20M+ annually)

Now, these payments are the reasons our favorite sports teams have been okay working with RSNs for so long, even as they’ve blacked out games and increased prices.

House of Cards: As the financial situation of RSNs starts looking more dire, teams are starting to realize they don’t have to play the network’s game anymore. And there’s no better example of this than the Phoneix Suns:

• Chose to forgo an estimated $25M-$50M from Bally Sports Arizona

• Is going to be airing games on free, broadcast TV in 2024

• Households reached will increase from 800,000 to 2,800,000

Owner, Mat Isbhia, describes how this decision might lose them money in the short-term, but will inevitably earn them more money as more fans:

• Buy merchandise

• Buy tickets

• Allow the team to earn more through in-stadium advertising

And if they were to just increase their revenue in each of these areas by 5-10%, they would undoubtedly make back the money they're losing on a potential media rights deal.

Your move, cable.

⏱ In Other News

• Netflix has live sports?

• Who’s lying about Caleb Williams?

• A “mystery millionaire” is building a soccer stadium in Rhode Island.

🎁 Share the Bottom of the Ninth

When you refer new readers to the Bottom of the Ninth, you win exclusive prizes.

➡️ Here is your unique link to share: https://bottom-of-the-ninth.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

You’re currently at 0. That’s only 1 away from receiving a Bottom of the Ninth Sticker!

*Please do not use fake email addresses — they will not qualify as referrals. Thank you!

👋 I just dropped a new YouTube video uncovering the biggest lie in sports, let me know what you think!