NBC's "Sunday Night Football" telecast featuring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the New England Patriots averaged a 14.6 rating — the highest regular season NFL rating since Week 14 in 2019 and the highest in primetime since Week 14 in 2016 — and approximately 27.2 million viewers on linear TV. (Sports Media Watch) Final viewership for the game, which featured Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady's first matchup against his former team, is expected to reach 29 million to 30 million viewers across all platforms when it is released today, which would make it the most watched "SNF" telecast since 2012. (Sports Business Journal)
Broadcaster Bomani Jones is expected to part ways with ESPN after being impacted by its efforts to scale back salaries for on-air talent, according to sources. Jones reportedly had his average annual salary reduced from more than $2 million under his previous three-year contract to more than $1 million under his current two-year contract, which expires in March. (New York Post)
Bubba Wallace recorded his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory in yesterday's rain-shortened YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, making him the first Black driver to win a race in NASCAR's top series since Wendell Scott in 1963 and marking the first victory for his Michael Jordan-owned race team, 23XI Racing. Wallace's victory was highlighted at the top of NBC's "Nightly News," illustrating the cultural significance of the milestone in a mostly white sport with deep Southern roots. (The Associated Press)
COLLEGE SPORTS
FSU hires Legends to drive premium revenue, revamp F&B offerings Michael Smith, Sports Business Journal
Florida State has hired Legends to maximize revenue from its new premium spaces in the Seminoles' $120 million renovation to Doak-Campbell Stadium. As part of the partnership, Legends will take the lead on premium seating sales, ticketing, fundraising, marketing and data analytics, as well as revamping the hospitality and food and beverage offerings on game days.
Ex-Cincinnati basketball coach John Brannen drops AD, president from lawsuit Justin Williams et al., The Athletic
Former Cincinnati men's basketball coach John Brannen has dropped university president Neville Pinto and athletic director John Cunningham from a lawsuit on his for-cause termination from the program, according to court records obtained by The Athletic.
