🎮 You're Favorite Video Game is BACK

Who wins this matchup?

🌲 11 pine trees vs. 🐊 11 alligators?

Please note, I believe the trees do have arms in this hypothetical…

🗞 The Big Story

The universally beloved, NCAA 14 is getting a long-awaited revamp next summer. But what took it so long?

May 5, 2009 - Former Arizona State and Nebraska QB, Sam Keller, files a class-action lawsuit seeking damages on behalf of all college athletes whose likenesses were used in EA's NCAA Football games without their permission.

June 13, 2013 - EA settles with Keller and agrees to pay $40 million to between 200,000 and 300,000 former college football players. Athletes were paid anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each.

July 9, 2013 - NCAA 14 was released with Michigan QB Denard Robinson on the cover. Robinson beat out Eddy Lacy, EJ Manual, and Tyler Eifert (among others) for the spot. He was not allowed to be paid for appearing on the cover.

July 17, 2013 - EA announces that it would be discontinuing its NCAA Football franchise, stating it was willing to pay players for their likeness but the NCAA wouldn’t allow it.

February 2, 2021 - EA announced they would be releasing a new version of their college football game.

June 21, 2021 - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in NCAA v. Alston that the NCAA’s restrictions on an athlete’s ability to make money on their name, image, and likeness violated anti-trust laws. This opened the door for athletes to earn compensation while playing college athletics.

December 9, 2021 - Leaked documents from EA indicates that the company is working on a new college football game, with hopes to release it by the summer of 2023.

November 22, 2022 - EA announces that the game will be set to release in the summer of 2024.

May 17, 2023 - EA strikes a deal with group licensing firm OneTeam to feature all eligible FBS players who opt-in to having their likeness used.

As of today, Notre Dame is among fewer than 10 schools that have not yet made a decision as to whether or not they want to be featured in the game.

The hold-up? Probably money. I’d bet the Irish don’t feel it’s fair that their players get paid the same as athletes from much smaller schools.

But as of right now, OneTeam has committed to equally splitting the money between all athletes.

Now all that’s left to do is pick a cover athlete. Here are all the ones we missed out on:

🔥 *Insert “Everything is Fine” Meme*

Remember the madness that ensued when Texas and Oklahoma bolted for the SEC and UCLA and USC joined the Big 10?

Well, it’s happening again, but this time it could result in the end of the ACC conference as we know it.

Currently, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Miami, NC State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech want out of the conference’s current deal with ESPN.

And for good reason, just look at these rankings of how much each school in each conference makes from its media rights deals every year:

1. Big 10: $67 million

2. SEC: $51 million

3. Big 12: $32 million

4. ACC: $23 million

5. Pac 12: $21 million

Now, in college sports less money = a decreased ability to compete with other top programs in the nation. So what can these seven ACC schools do?

Option 1: Renegotiate with ESPN

This won’t happen, ESPN has the ACC locked in until 2036 so what’s their incentive?

Option 2: Secede from the ACC

This comes with a $120 million exit fee, and ESPN still would own those teams’ broadcasting rights.

Option 3: Restructure payouts so the ‘better’ programs get a greater share of the pie

This would only add an additional $5 million to a few schools’ bottom lines, still a far cry from $50 million.

Option 4: The Nuclear Option™, dissolve the ACC and start a new conference

This might be the only way to get out of the ACC’s current contract with ESPN, but even that still might not work. Plus the seven schools currently pissed off would need to find one more ally to help them get the majority they need for dissolution.

Louisville and Duke, we’re looking at you.

The long and short of it? The ACC is screwed and programs like Northwestern are making more on their media deal than Clemson and FSU… combined!

🎧 Episode 1 of Sportsonmics is LIVE!

We discuss the downfall of Bally Sports and its impact on sports media, delve into the Kentucky Derby's highlights and missteps, and share insights from an exclusive interview with the creators of Wilson's Viral 3D-printed basketball.

Plus, we uncover the amusing story behind Super Bowl 57's viewership numbers.

New episodes every Thursday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

️⛳️ Can I Play Through?

Keep an eye out this weekend on "pace-of-play conversations in golf, and come loaded with some great tidbits:

• The recommended pace outlined by the PGA is 14.5 minutes per whole for four players or 4 hours and 21 minutes for 18 holes.

• PGA Tour professionals get 40 seconds to prepare for a shot

• The last time that rule was enforced in a major (which resulted in a one-stroke penalty) was in 2013 on 14-year-old Guan Tianlang at the Masters

• Patrick Cantaly is this weekend’s “you’re too slow” guy, Brooks Koepka has even joked about sending him a warning shot off the tee if he doesn’t play fast enough.

👋 For the record, 11 trees beat 11 alligators. No question - see you next Friday!