It was a year of change. Deion Sanders turned Boulder into Hollywood. Las Vegas has emerged as the next sports capital, and its newest attraction has become its most attractive landmark. Taylor Swift brought awareness to the NFL and Lionel Messi made MLS important.
Saudi Arabia splurged on sports, streaming giants invaded live games, and the Pac-12 exploded. Shohei Ohtani also hit a $700 million home run, but his annual salary is only $46 million (more on that later). Elsewhere, cryptocurrencies have plummeted, media rights have been reassessed, and ESPN has come into its own.
Here are the earth-shaking moments that defined 2023.
The year Prime Effect took over Boulder
From the moment coach Deion Sanders signed a nearly $30 million contract in December 2022, every fan and media personality has been talking about Colorado football. When Prime coach Prime announced that many of the players he inherited would be replaced by transfers, controversy immediately arose. All that was forgotten when the Colorado Athletics received record cash donations and saw their spring football games featured in a rare ESPN broadcast slot. A 3-0 start drew celebrities in droves to college football’s new Hollywood, and Fox and ESPN’s pregame shows battled for supremacy. The reality has sunk in as Colorado struggles to 4-8, but star players Shedure Sanders and Travis Hunter will return in 2024, and many believe they will be among the top transfers. There are also people. —David Ramsey
The year the Pac-12 collapsed
Conference realignment reached a whole new level, effectively killing the Pac-12. The end was a long way off. For years, experts have talked about how increasingly lucrative media rights deals are motivating schools to join a select few of the wealthiest conferences. The consolidation reached its peak this summer, when all but two members of the Pac-12 decided to defect for more lucrative media contracts. The remaining two, Washington and Oregon, will try to chart a path forward that may or may not include a future with an organization called the Pac-12. —Amanda Kristovich
The year Messi arrived in Miami
After winning his first FIFA World Cup at the end of 2022, Lionel Messi became the center of the football world for most of 2023. After a short stint at Paris Saint-Germain, speculation increased about the Argentine legend’s future. The Saudi Pro League tried to lure him with an offer of $1.6 billion. In the end, the lure of MLS and playing in the United States won out. Inter Miami, which had the worst record when Messi arrived in the summer, immediately saw an increase in revenue. Despite missing the playoffs, Miami won its first-ever League Cup title and was arguably the most influential team of the year. —DR
The year Taylor Swift captivated the NFL
The NFL is on pace to achieve its best television performance in eight seasons, with viewership up 7% from 2022 to an average of 17.5 million viewers through Week 15. Did the pop star contribute to that? How many Swifts embraced pro football thanks to her romance with Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce and the chance to watch her mingle with Donna Kelce from a luxury suite It’s hard to quantify, but one national poll found that 70% of respondents believed Swift. He had a positive impact on the league. —michael mccarthy
The year I learned what RSNs and DSGs are
The regional sports network model will see unprecedented strain in 2023, highlighted by Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy filing in March. DSG, the parent company of Bally Sports, has reported nearly $8.7 billion in debt and has spent the past nine months cutting back on its programming, including terminating agreements to return rights to the NBA and NHL after the 2023-24 season. We have been steadily reducing our assets. As cord-cutting accelerates, local rights issues are being addressed in a variety of ways, including the rise of several streaming platforms and the rapid accumulation of team rights by Scripps Sports. Including the led and unlikely revival of local radio broadcasting. . But his 40-plus years of security the team has enjoyed through cable bundles have been replaced by a more tumultuous and uncertain future. —Eric Fisher
Just the windsock of the year Dive into live sports
The long-anticipated invasion of live sports by giant streamers became a reality this year. Season 2 was aired exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. thursday night footballGoogle’s YouTube TV has taken over NFL Sunday ticket, and Apple launched a 10-year, $2.5 billion MLS deal. (Netflix has experimented with exhibitions like the Netflix Cup, but has continued to focus on documentaries.) Prime has a near-broadcast audience of 12.1 million viewers per game. Obtained. T.N.F. This season, stories are hitting a wall for legacy media companies. —Hmm
The year Saudi money penetrated deeper into sports
Even in 2023, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund showed no signs of stopping funding for athletics. The biggest ripple: In June, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, along with LIV Golf, which is largely backed by PIF, signed a framework agreement with the PGA Tour to repair the rift in golf. If the deal goes through, up to $2 billion will be funneled into professional golf’s united efforts. In the Saudi Professional League, Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a contract with Al Nasr that will pay him approximately $200 million per season until 2025. The country will also host its first UFC event next year. —AJ Perez
The year I learned about Shohei Otani’s market value
We’ve waited over a year, but the price of the most unique and (arguably) best asset in MLB history has finally been revealed. In the end, the answer was as unique as the player. Shohei Ohtani, who just won his second American League MVP, signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December. An even more unique problem: Ohtani defers $680 million, so the league calculates his salary at about $46 million annually for competitive balance tax purposes. He is also tied to the front office in an unprecedented way and can opt out after the season when President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman or controlling owner Mark Walter leave the organization. —Owen Poindexter
Sin City’s Year of Sports Immigration
Home to Super Bowl LVIII in February, Las Vegas took center stage in 2023, hosting the first F1 race in 40 years, as well as the semifinals and championship of the first NBA in-season tournament. MLB owners also approved the much-criticized move of the Oakland A’s to the desert, fueling speculation that an NBA team could be next. To cap it off, Las Vegas celebrated two championships: the Aces’ second consecutive WNBA title and the Golden Knights’ first Stanley Cup. And in case you missed it (which would be nearly impossible), his Sphere at MSG Entertainment opened and quickly became the most eye-catching venue in the city of glasses. —EF
The year when virtual currencies crashed and exploded
We kicked off the year with Sam Bankman Fried, founder of failed cryptocurrency giant FTX, who is facing federal fraud charges, and others. In November, SBF was found guilty. Current and former athletes, including Stephen Curry, Tom Brady and Shaquille O’Neal, are defendants in the civil lawsuit, along with the Golden State Warriors. In February, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge granted the Miami Heat and Miami-Dade County’s request to terminate their $135 million arena contract with FTX in advance of a new 17-year contract with Caseya. . While Bitcoin and Ethereum saw huge spikes in 2023, NFTs haven’t recovered, and Dapper Labs (creator of NBA Top Shot and NFL All-Day) suffered a series of layoffs. —AP
A year of uncertainty for ESPN
The threat of looming layoffs cast a cloud over Bristol in the first half of 2023, culminating on June 30th with the departures of high-profile talent such as Jeff Van Gundy, Susie Kolver and Max Kellerman. When Disney Chairman Bob Iger said in August that he was looking for a minority investor in ESPN, the company appeared vulnerable. However, ESPN fought back in the second half.network monday night football Viewership increased by 23% through week 15, averaging 16 million viewers. ESPN pivoted to several big-name talents, including Stephen A. Smith, Pat McAfee, and Scott Van Pelt. And while also launching ESPN Bet, it has grown to become the most followed brand on TikTok with 44 million people. Disney released data in October showing that ESPN generated more profit ($2.9 billion) in fiscal year 2022 than the Mouse House’s entire entertainment business. media. —Hmm