Five weeks into Smarter About Sports — Kindle version available now on Amazon. If you've read it and haven't left a review yet, it genuinely helps.
Big week. Let me give you the headlines.
The Atlanta Falcons just sold 10% of the team to private equity firm Arctos — owned by KKR — at a $10.6 billion valuation. That's $1 billion in cash for Arthur Blank while giving up zero control of his franchise. The NFL only approved PE investment two years ago. Six teams have now done it. And every owner watching is smiling.
College eligibility chaos reached a new level this week — and I'm navigating it by the hour as an NIL consultant. The 10th Circuit paused the Colorado ruling Friday morning, leaving some fifth-year players eligible and others not, depending entirely on which courthouse they walked into. I'll explain exactly where things stand.
The Lakers' family drama continues to deepen. Mark Walter's alleged financial issues appear larger than originally reported. And the Buss siblings are split — five wanting to sell their 17.8% stake, Jeanie fighting it with a 2017 court order. I talked about this in depth with sports business journalist Joe Pompliano on the podcast this week.
Tennis players threatened a media boycott at the US Open. It worked — a 20% prize money increase was announced. And Troy Aikman is now subject to the same broadcast restrictions as Tom Brady. I still think it's silly.
This week's Sunday 7:
College eligibility — what's actually happening and who can actually play
The Lakers drama — Walter's troubles deepen, Buss family split widens
The Falcons' PE deal — $1 billion out the door, zero control lost
Tennis players force a 20% raise at the US Open
The Brady Rules hit Troy Aikman — and why I think it's still overblown
Tweet of the Week
Quote that I Wish I Said
Settle in.
Smarter About Sports — five weeks out, still top 5 on Amazon for sports books. In print and on Kindle. An Amazon review would mean a great deal. smarteraboutsports.com
Want the rest? Go All-Access.
You're reading a members-only piece. All-Access unlocks the full Sunday Seven, every Daily Dose video, and the complete archive — everything Andrew publishes, in one place.
Get All-AccessAll-Access gets you::
- Every Sunday Seven — the weekly long read
- The Daily Dose — 2–3 video takes a week
- Full archive access
- Reader Q&A in the newsletter