There was no shortage of major business-of-sports storylines this year. Some of those stories captivated Front Office Sports readers more than others—not all of them the ones you might guess.
This list is based on a combination of traffic to our site, newsletter opens, social engagement, and reader response across FOS channels.
Here are our 10 most talked-about stories of 2024, in chronological order:
Viewership Records and Crying Swifties: Taylor Swift and the NFL’s Budding Business Relationship (January)
Everybody knows Taylor Swift has had a massive impact on the NFL this year—but the results are increasingly tangible. Data from late January showed Swift generated an equivalent brand value of $331.5 million for the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL. Since then, that number has only risen. Swift’s influence extends beyond brand value, though: Her fans are tuning in, paying up, and latching on to the big personalities of Travis and Jason Kelce. For instance, her presence has generated huge ratings for the Chiefs, plus driven explosive sales of women’s fan apparel and (of course) Travis’s jersey. That’s just the start.
So Long, White Shorts: Here’s Why the NWSL’s Uniform Pivot Matters (March)
The NWSL saw lots of firsts this season—games in a stadium specifically built for a women’s sports team, plus major investments and record valuations. But another pivotal change was the elimination of white shorts when the season kicked off in March. It seems like a small tweak, but it signals a growing movement in women’s sports that is affecting everything from uniforms to training methods. There’s a business case for tailoring products and practices to women.
Shohei Ohtani’s Interpreter Stole $16 Million to Cover Gambling Losses, Feds Say (April)
The Dodgers superstar made headlines throughout 2024, from beginning his historic 10-year, $700 million deal to winning his first World Series. In the spring, Ohtani was at the center of an illegal sports betting scandal—as the victim. His interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, allegedly stole millions of the Japanese player’s money to pay off gambling debts. In June, Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud and could face up to 33 years in prison.
Jury Rules NFL Owes More Than $4 Billion in Sunday Ticket Antitrust Case (June)
The NFL Sunday Ticket saga was one of the most dramatic media storylines of the year—to the tune of $4.7 billion. The lawsuit dates back to 2015 and centers on whether bundling out-of-market games violates antitrust law. In June, the class-action case received a jury verdict: The league was ordered to pay $96 million to bars that said they were overcharged for Sunday Ticket, and $4.7 billion to fans who paid for the streaming package. In August, however, the verdict was tossed after the NFL challenged the jury’s “guesswork” on the monetary reward.
Teenage Sprinting Prodigy Sues Gatorade After Positive Test (July)
Noah Lyles took the Paris Olympics by storm this summer. In April 2023, however, he was bested by Issam Asinga, a Florida high school teenager. Asinga broke the 10-second mark again July 28, 2023, and less than two weeks later, track and field’s global drug-testing body told him he had failed a drug test taken July 18. A urine sample contained the illegal fat-burning substance GW1516, and a four-year suspension kept Asinga out of the Olympics. He blamed gummies that Gatorade had given him, and this past July, he filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the company, seeking to recoup lost economic opportunities.
Why the White Sox Have Hit a Historic Low at the Worst Possible Time (August)
Chicago hit rock bottom this year, ending the season with the worst-ever record in MLB’s modern era at 41–121. The nadir couldn’t have come at a worse time for the White Sox, as the team was trying to rally support for a new stadium and regional sports network amid historic levels of losing and abysmal ticket sales.
Northwestern’s Tiny Temporary Football Stadium Is Making Big Money (September)
As Ryan Field gets an $800 million makeover, the Wildcats set up shop for five college football games on a temporary, in-campus stadium with sprawling green spaces and tailgating areas along the lakefront. It’s unconventional—but the move received rave reviews from fans, including the ones FOS spoke to on-site in September. It was also a smart business move for the university, which was able to charge premium pricing for top-tier ticket packages and the best views; the program made more money in its 12,000-person stadium than it did in previous years with four times the capacity.
It’s Complicated: How the Mountain West–Pac-12 Relationship Crumbled (September)
The Pac-12 has been at the center of the biggest wave of conference realignment in college sports history ever since its collapse in 2023, when all but Oregon State and Washington State exited. The Mountain West, a non-power-conference neighbor, became the perfect solution for a 2024 football scheduling partnership. There were even whispers they could tie the knot with a reverse-merger. But negotiations failed this year, and the partnership was not renewed. In the fall, the Pac-12 poached four Mountain West schools for 2026, leaving its neighbor in rebuild mode.
NBA and WBD Reach Settlement, ‘Inside the NBA’ Headed to ESPN (November)
The NBA’s long, winding media-rights saga was a major headline throughout 2024. Rumors swirled for months about which incumbents and which newcomers would get a piece of the next package. By July, things came into focus: a massive 11-year, $77 billion deal with Disney, Amazon, and NBC. TNT, after a 40-year relationship with the league, was left by the wayside as the future of its beloved Inside the NBA became uncertain. Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit claiming the NBA “did everything it could to frustrate” its ability to match Amazon’s offer. In November, the legal scuffle was settled, and WBD worked out a separate deal to keep the studio show alive on Disney’s ESPN.
Oracle Billionaire Larry Ellison Funded Michigan’s NIL Stunner (November)
No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood’s flip from LSU to Michigan was stunning—but perhaps even more jaw-dropping was the involvement of software and media tycoon Larry Ellison. The billionaire played a key role in funding the quarterback’s change of heart, a founding member of the Wolverines NIL collective told FOS in November. Reports say Ellison provided the majority of a roughly $10 million NIL deal for the quarterback.
