As discussions around college athlete endorsement money continue, the Power Five conferences are doing all they can to ensure a prime seat at the table. The SEC, Big Ten, Pac 12, ACC and Big 12 spent $350,000 on lobbying in the first three months of 2020 – more than they had previously in any full year, according to the Associated Press. 

The SEC, in its first-ever foray into congressional lobbying, led the way by spending a total of $140,000 with three firms in Washington. The Pac-12 and Big Ten, also first-timers, spent $70,000 and $20,000, respectively, while the ACC and Big 12 each laid out $60,000.

The conferences each spent at least $10,000 with two firms: Subject Matter, led by Democrats, and Marshall & Popp, which is run by former Republican congressional staffers. Both firms state their objective as a “national solution to preserve the unique model of American college athletics.”

In recent weeks both Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott and Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby told FOS a federal law would help level the collegiate playing field as individual states start to roll out their own legislation. Last year, the NCAA itself spent $450,000 on congressional lobbying, the most since 2014, and has exceeded that pace by spending $130,000 in the first quarter of this year.

Conference Lobbying “Core Principles”

• One term of academic progress before athletes can sign endorsement deals.
• Ban on athlete deals with “categories inconsistent with higher education.”
• Limitations on who can advise athletes.

Without fans in the seats this year, the NFL stands to lose $5.5 billion – or 38% – of its revenue. That includes tickets, concessions, sponsors, parking and team store revenue from game days. 

The impact on teams wouldn’t be equal, with some, like the Dallas Cowboys, losing more than half of their overall income. In 2018, the Cowboys generated $621 million of their $950 million of revenue in the stadium. At the other end of the ledger, the Raiders made $77 million of their total $357 million in revenue in their home venue. 

The Raiders, however, would likely see an uptick this season as they open Allegiant Stadium in their new home of Las Vegas. The Chargers and Rams will also open a new shared stadium in Los Angeles. The Tampa Buccaneers, meanwhile, stand to miss out on a big jump in ticket sales due to Tom Brady’s decision to relocate from New England. 

In order to mitigate potential losses, NFL owners have agreed to a proposed increase in debt limit from $350 million to $500 million per team to help bridge financial difficulties from the coronavirus, though not all teams would need it. The Green Bay Packers – famously owned by 361,256 people – long ago set aside an emergency fund for a season with little to no revenue and have $385 million in savings. The Packers generated $174 million of their overall $456 million at Lambeau Field.

The NFL has implemented several Rooney Rule changes in an effort to help diversify coaching and front office hires. The previous Rooney Rule required one external minority applicant be interviewed for a head coach opening.

Rule Changes

• Teams will be required to interview two minority candidates outside their organization for vacant head coach jobs and one for offensive, defensive and special teams coordinator positions.
• Teams will be prohibited from denying interviews with other teams.
• Must include at least one external minority applicant for senior football operations and general manager openings.
• Position pool expanded to include minority and female applicants for executive roles including president and senior executives.
• All 32 teams are to establish minority coaching fellowship programs.

The Rooney Rule and its proposed changes have been met with plenty of criticism. A proposal to incentivize diverse hiring with improved draft picks for minority hires was postponed for a later date during an NFL team owner conference call Tuesday.

There are currently four minority head coaches in the league: Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, Redskins head coach Ron Rivera, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, and Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn. Three of the past 20 head coach openings have been minority hires.

Following 9% growth in the first quarter of 2020, the video game industry is forecast to finish the year with 9.3% improvement and projected revenues of $159.3 billion. Newzoo’s Global Games Market Report also says the industry will become a $200 billion enterprise by 2023.

COVID-19-related lockdowns were cited as a major driver for mobile games’ 13.3% growth to $77.2 billion in revenue. However, just 38% of the 2.6 billion mobile gamers pay for games. Mobile games’ lower barrier to entry and exit leave it most susceptible to correction once lockdown measures are lifted.

Video Games by Segment:

• Mobile: 13.3% growth, $77.2 billion revenue, 2.6 billion users
• Console: 6.8% growth, $45.2 billion revenue, 729 million users
• PC: 4.8% growth, $36.9 billion revenue, 1.3 billion users

Half of gaming consumer spending comes from China and the U.S., but growth is driven by areas like Latin American and Asia-Pacific nations. It’s more than just consumers, too. The U.S. Army is using video games as a recruitment tool now that physical meetings are nearly impossible.

With lockdowns holding back the Army’s goal of 70,000 recruits in its fiscal year – which ends in September – the service is falling back on the full-time Army Esports Team. The team has helped generate 13,000 leads in the first half of the year, mostly through interaction on Twitch streams. Along with helping the Army recruit, Twitch is leading the way in a growing esports job market, which offers a slew of jobs with six-figure salaries. Esports Industry job postings grew 43% in the first three months of 2020.