The PGA TOUR is altering its competitive structure starting in 2028; Scripps Sports is reportedly looking to bolster its portfolio; and ESPN is promoting Chase Daniel and Jordan Rodgers. Plus news on Matt Miller, Tony Castricone, Jeremy Woo and the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
PGA TOUR altering competitive structure starting in 2028
The PGA TOUR is implementing sweeping changes to its competitive structure beginning in 2028, including promotion-relegation system that will assign players to one of two tiers — the PGA TOUR Championship Series and PGA TOUR Challenger Series — that will run concurrently from “approximately February to August.” These tiers, combined with several other changes recommended by the Future Competition Committee and approved by the PGA TOUR boards on Monday, create a system that “is built upon a foundation of meritocracy.”
The PGA TOUR Championship Series will include fields of about 120 players competing in 23-24 events with purses of at least $20 million. The series will include major championships, THE PLAYERS Championship and other signature competitions. The PGA TOUR already knows 10 out of the 15 regular-season events for next year. For the remainder of the schedule, the organization will either retain current events or move into new markets currently being considered, some of which include Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The PGA TOUR Championship, which has traditionally been played at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., will rotate between “prestigious courses” starting in 2028, some of which have yet to host PGA TOUR events.
The top 90 golfers at minimum will retain their membership for the next season, while those outside of the bubble could be relegated to the PGA TOUR Challenger Series. In addition, the Championship Series will utilize “last chance” series in the fall consisting of four to six events with some remaining spots for the next year at stake. Golfers participating in the PGA TOUR Challenger Series can receive instant promotion to the higher tier by winning multiple events in the same season or winning a major championship. Tournaments on this circuit will feature fields of about 144 players competing from traditional PGA TOUR venues with purses of at least $4 million.
Players competing in the PGA TOUR Championship Series are also going to be eligible for some international events under a partnership with the DP World Tour. About seven events in the PGA TOUR Challenger Series will occur when the Championship Series is off; however, golfers will not be permitted to compete in events within the other series. PGA TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp, who is in his second year leading the organization, wrote in a letter to fans that this was “a pivotal moment” and that the changes were premised off feedback from multiple stakeholders. Rolapp will add the title of PGA TOUR commissioner when Jay Monahan steps down from the role later this year.
Scripps Sports reportedly looking at bolstering portfolio
Scripps Sports is looking to acquire additional local sports rights, Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal reported Monday, with its president Brian Lawlor quoted as saying that the company has “a business model that’s working really well” in markets where the company has a Big Four affiliate station. Lawlor: “There’s still other NHL and other NBA markets that check that box, and we’ve gotten a lot of calls from other teams that aren’t in our markets [where] we might own an ION but we don’t own like an ABC, NBC, CBS.”
Earlier in the offseason, Scripps picked up local rights for the Nashville Predators and Detroit Pistons. Karp also noted that the company had pursued rights to the Miami Heat, which ultimately went to Berkshire Hathaway-owned WPLG Local 10. Both the NBA and NHL are reportedly looking “to develop national solutions for local broadcasts,” which occurs as regional sports networks endure seminal change.
The company already has other NHL local rights deals with the Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Utah Mammoth, which Lawlor said have paid dividends. Lawlor: “We’re able to just take a lot of those sponsors and sort of upsell them into sports, and then there’s a whole lot of other businesses that are not traditional advertisers but lean into sports.”
“The future is going to be about a combination of, in my mind, broadcast and streaming, and so we’re heavily focused on acquiring rights, being a very disciplined acquirer of those rights,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said at the Gabelli Sports & Media Symposium earlier in the month. “We actually haven’t lost any deals. We walked away from deals where the owners had, let’s say, fantastical views of what their rights are worth. From our perspective, this has to create value.” Symson proceeded to explain how the rights will help generate more money in hospitality and ticket sales.
ESPN to promote Daniel, Rodgers
ESPN has promoted college football analyst Chase Daniel, who will now call Thursday night games and join the cast of “SEC Nation,” Sports Media Watch has confirmed. As first reported by Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, Daniel would be working with Matt Barrie on both weekly assignments. Barrie is replacing Laura Rutledge on “SEC Nation” after she had hosted the show over nine seasons.
Barrie primarily worked alongside Tom Luginbill on Thursday night games last season. Dan Mullen and Louis Riddick have held the role in previous seasons. It remains unknown what role Luginbill will have on college football game broadcasts next season.
Along with his work on college football broadcasts, Daniel provides analysis on the network’s NFL coverage, which Glasspiegel reported will continue. Prior to joining ESPN, Daniel was co-host of “The Facility” midday program on FS1 and also contributed to NFL Network. Daniel starred as a quarterback at the University of Missouri for four years and was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2007. He went on to have a 14-year career in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints in 2010.
Jordan Rodgers, who has served as an “SEC Nation” analyst since 2020 and called Saturday night games on SEC Network, is reportedly being promoted to an “elevated” role at ESPN/ABC. As a result, Rodgers would no longer be on “SEC Nation,” per Glasspiegel, although the exact parameters of his new role remains unknown. In addition to his work with SEC Network, which began in 2016, Rodgers made his debut on UFL coverage for ESPN last season.
Plus: Matt Miller, Tony Castricone, Jeremy Woo, Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest,
- ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller posted on social media Tuesday that he was “involved in a serious car accident” last week in Missouri and airlifted to a hospital. Miller said that he endured “multiple fractures and broken ribs” and also had “a life-saving amputation” of his left arm. Miller has covered the NFL Draft for ESPN since 2021 and previously wrote about the event for Bleacher Report after a four-year stint working for New Era Scouting.
- Tony Castricone has been named the new radio play-by-play announcer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the organization announced on Tuesday, succeeding Gene Deckerhoff in the role, who retired following last season after 37 years behind the microphone. Castricone has been the director of broadcasting at the University of Washington for the last nine years, and he previously broadcast Clemson men’s basketball and IMG Academy events.
- ESPN NBA Draft analyst Jeremy Woo has signed a multiyear extension with the network, the company announced on Monday. Woo, who has been working for ESPN since 2023 after time as a writer for Sports Illustrated, covers high school, collegiate and international prospects for the company.
- The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest will be simulcast on ABC this year, as first reported by Ben Huddleston of Sports Media Watch last week. This will mark the first time the Fourth of July contest will air on the Disney-owned broadcast network since moving over to ESPN platforms in 2004. ESPN holds rights to the contest under a multiyear deal with the International Federation of Competitive Eating through 2029.
