The influence of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will face a new test in the coming weeks as he seeks passage of two significant rule changes. 

Team owners last week tabled votes on two potentially impactful rule shifts: a ban on the much-debated Tush Push, and a reseeding of playoff teams based strictly on regular-season records. The first potential change was proposed by the Packers, and the second by the Lions, but sources said Goodell is in favor of both, and is now working to secure additional support. 

A possible Tush Push ban dominated chatter at last week’s NFL annual meeting, due in no small part to the Eagles’ perfection of the accentuated quarterback sneak en route to a Super Bowl LIX triumph. Owners are said to be split evenly on the issue. While opposition to the play has centered in large part on player safety concerns, no actual injuries were recorded last year from Tush Pushes. Instead, the real objection lies closer to aesthetic issues and a perceived similarity to a rugby play. 

“I think there are safety issues that are being considered in that case,” Goodell said last week. “We have very little data from it, but it’s beyond data. There’s also the mechanism of the injury that we study, that type of thing, that leads us to show the risk involved with a particular play or a particular tackle.”

Goodell hinted at considering a return to pre-2004 rules, when players were not allowed to push or pull a ballcarrier.

The playoff seeding issue, meanwhile, carries many more economic implications, as it would potentially remove a guaranteed home game in the postseason for a division winner. One possible middle ground is a requirement to have a winning record in the regular season to get a home playoff game. The goal with the proposed switch would be to heighten the importance and appeal of late regular-season games.

“There’s great data to show that we should really look at some form of this,” said the commissioner, who called the Lions’ proposal a “very healthy” one.  

Both issues are expected to be revisited at the NFL’s spring meeting, set for May 20–21 in Minnesota. 

After missing out on a litany of free agents, including Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, and Roki Sasaki, the Blue Jays finally got their man.

Toronto has agreed to a 14-year, $500 million contract extension with star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., sources confirmed to Front Office Sports after multiple reports. The sum represents the third-largest player deal in MLB history, trailing only deals for Soto and Ohtani, and the second largest in present-day value, given the heavy deferrals in Ohtani’s $700 million pact with the Dodgers. The Guerrero agreement starts in 2026 and runs through 2039. 

The Blue Jays made retaining the homegrown Guerrero and preventing him from becoming a free agent in November a major priority, particularly after failing to land the other stars. Last month, club president and CEO Mark Shapiro predicted an eventual signing, saying, “We have such a clear alignment on the desired outcome.”

After an initially substantial financial gap, the 26-year-old Guerrero similarly softened his stance in recent weeks and said he had “always felt good about the whole thing.”

The contract, however, is particularly notable in that it’s also the largest deal in league history for a player not reaching free agency, and more than doubles the prior top guarantee for a first baseman. Those facts, in addition to a complete lack of deferrals, are likely to raise the price for other forthcoming free agents such as Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker and Mets first baseman Pete Alonso—and perhaps create tension within MLB’s ownership ranks. 

Guerrero’s extension nearly quadruples the career earnings of his father, Baseball Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr. 

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays continue to enjoy the strength of ownership group Rogers Communications, which also controls the club’s home ballpark, its local broadcast outlet, and has become one of the most powerful entities in sports.

TAMPA, Fla. — Paige Bueckers wasn’t asked about her WNBA aspirations in the press conference following UConn’s national championship win against South Carolina on Sunday. The 23-year-old was minutes removed from her last game for the Huskies, but it was clear the room of reporters in Tampa allowed her to cherish the moment.

Bueckers, however, will have to face the reality of professional basketball almost immediately as the projected No. 1 pick. The WNBA draft is April 14—the season starts a month later—and she told ESPN before the Sweet 16 that she would declare for the draft.

The quick turnaround isn’t new. Last year, Caitlin Clark and Kamilla Cardoso played in the national championship game—witnessed by the largest television audience in women’s basketball history—then took part in the 2024 WNBA draft in Brooklyn eight days later.

It’s the reality of the WNBA’s calendar, which is expanding to a record-high 44 games this year. It falls toward the end of the NBA playoffs and ends before the NBA restarts in October.

Major CBA Implications

While Bueckers chose to forego her final year of college eligibility, three other potential first-round picks in the 2025 draft decided to stay in college. 

ESPN reported last week that Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles, the projected No. 2 pick, would return to college and enter the transfer portal. LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson and UConn’s Azzi Fudd also announced during the tournament that they were returning for one final NCAA season.

The trio’s decision to return to college—which means joining a 2026 WNBA draft class that will also feature the likes of UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice—highlights the expectation of higher salaries starting in 2026. The Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association opted out of its current CBA in October, and a new CBA is expected by 2026, should they agree to a deal with the league.

The players are seeking a significant pay increase starting in 2026, which would include rookie-scale contracts. However, it’s unclear whether players signed to deals that extend beyond 2026 would be able to pro-rate their contracts based on the new CBA. It would make it more enticing then to wait to sign a new deal by 2026, which is why every WNBA player who isn’t currently on a rookie contract is set to be a free agent next offseason.

A 2025 draft lottery pick will receive a four-year, $348,198 contract, per Spotrac, which amounts to an average annual value of around $87,000.