JUNE 14 COFFEE CLUB

[Thomas]

WHAT'S BREWING TODAY Tuesday, June 14 On Today's Scorecard Billion Dollar Spending Spree For TV

When Tony Romo kicked off the current game of announcer musical chairs by signing a 10-year, $180 million contract with CBS Sports in early 2020, his deal was called "unprecedented." Au contraire. Per Front Office Sports, top broadcasters have struck combined deals worth more than $1 billion over the past 27 months as talent. During his first press conference for "Monday Night Football," new ESPN hire Joe Buck noted his late announcer fatherJack Buck would be "stunned" at the multimillion-dollar contracts being handed out like candy to NFL TV talent. With Romo off the chessboard, networks continued to hotly pursue Peyton Manning, who retired from the Denver Broncos in 2016. ESPN and Fox promised "Romo Money," or more, if they could land the elusive "White Whale" of sports TV. Click here for more on this.

Trending Today Money, Money, Money

With its latest deal, the NFL can raise a glass to another milestone. A pact with California winemaker E. & J. Gallo has the league nearing $2 billion in sponsorship deals for the first time. The brand becomes the NFL's official wine sponsor and will have exclusive pouring rights at major events including the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl. The deal means that every item at the NFL bar is spoken for, with Anheuser-Busch retaining beer rights and Diageo covering hard alcohol. Last year's Diageo deal, worth a reported $30 million annually, made the company the NFL's first hard alcohol sponsor. With it, the NFL is now on course to pass $2 billion in sponsorships for the first time. The league hit a record $1.8 billion in deals last year. It had $1.6 billion in 2020. Tech companies contributed the largest chunk in 2021, followed by gambling and alcohol companies. Verizon's deal with the NFL has reached as high as $300 million per year.

Grinding Out The Profits Wild Stat

Axios Sports reports that this is the fourth straight year that three different horses won the Triple Crown races. The last time that happened: 1926–29.

[Chamblin]