Sporticast: Can the Premier League Thrive With Fewer Stars?

On the 593rd Sporticast episode, Lev Akabas, Justin Birnbaum and Jacob Feldman fill in for Scott and Eben to discuss a week’s worth of sports business news. Justin recently published Sportico‘s annual list of the world’s highest-paid soccer players, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the way with roughly $300 million in earnings. Only one of the top 10 players—Erling Haaland—currently plays in the Premier League, even as that competition extends its position as the world’s richest club league. At the same time, the league is dealing with questions over its efforts to encourage club sustainability and competitive balance following its recent ruling against Manchester City (Haaland’s club) for financial wrongdoings. Are big brands and competitive matches enough to sustain the league, if clubs can’t afford to splash for the world’s biggest talents? Justin is also on top of the ongoing negotiations between the NBA and EuroLeague as the NBA stands up a competition in Europe. He explains where things stand now, and where they could go from here. Stateside, the Golden State Valkyries look anything like a second-year franchise, dominating the WNBA both on and off the court. The hosts discuss whether other expansion teams can hope to match that level of immediate success. The hosts quickly touch on other stories grabbing their attention, from the success of MLB’s financial underdogs in the playoffs to the most recent investors in women’s volleyball to the ongoing debate around NFL officiating—and Jacob’s new term for one of the most annoying plays in football. (You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)