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The Brewers have won their first World Series title in franchise history, knocking off the Rays in Tampa and capping a dominant postseason run. But as Milwaukee celebrates, MLB faces a much bigger question: Will there even be a 2027 season?

Also: Front Office Sports shows how NFL, NBA, MLB, and other team owners have spent more than $100 million on the midterm elections, mostly supporting Republicans.

—Eric Fisher

First Up

Small-Market Brewers Oust Rays to Claim First World Series Title

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The team from baseball’s smallest media market is now one of the sport’s biggest champions ever. 

The Brewers defeated the Rays in Game 5 of the World Series to win their first title in franchise history. Milwaukee’s convincing Fall Classic performance completed a dominant 11–2 postseason run in which it beat an upstart Padres team, dispatched the two-time defending champion Dodgers, and then ousted the Rays. 

This Milwaukee team also led MLB in the regular season with a club-record 103 wins, and as a result, is already poised to be remembered as one of the strongest squads in league history. 

The Brewers’ fan base, however, has been even more remarkable. That group’s unyielding passion, mirroring the club’s relentless lineup, has been a defining storyline of this World Series. Milwaukee is MLB’s smallest media market, but the club has consistently performed well beyond its size in attendance, viewership, and merchandise sales—never more so than during the past month.

This Fall Classic, in particular, has seen Brewers fans set several ticket and merchandise records, along with the best local-market viewership to start a World Series since 2019 and even better television metrics for Game 2. Thousands of Brewers fans at the Rays’ Tropicana Field made Game 3 feel like a Milwaukee home game, and that feeling only grew for Game 4 and the clinching Game 5. 

For the fourth straight season, the World Series winner received the championship trophy on the opposing team’s field. 

The Brewers’ victory, meanwhile, fulfills a vision created by former club owner and MLB commissioner emeritus Bud Selig, who moved the former Seattle Pilots to Milwaukee in 1970. 

What’s Next

With the 2026 MLB season officially concluded, the big question is when the next big-league baseball game will happen. The league has already released its 2027 schedule and plans for the earliest traditional Opening Day ever.

It’s not certain that the March 24 start will happen as scheduled, though, as MLB and the MLB Players Association remain locked in bitter labor talks. The current collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, and a management lockout at that point is widely expected. 

MLB club owners are seeking several dramatic changes, including a hard salary cap and floor, significant restrictions on free agency, a retooled draft, and a 154-game regular season. 

The union vehemently opposes many of those potential measures, particularly the cap, and is looking to preserve the core of the current, market-based economic system. 

The low-budget World Series won by the Brewers served as a further flash point in the ongoing economic divide between the two sides, and the union said that the matchup helped “undermine” the owners’ argument for a salary cap. 

While there are still faint glimmers of hope that a labor deal can be reached in time to preserve the 2027 season, there is plenty of hard negotiating to come this offseason.

SPONSORED BY ZOOM

Where Conversations Get to Work

The best teams don’t just have more conversations. They turn those conversations into progress. But between back-to-back meetings, endless notes, and a growing list of follow-ups, it’s easy for great ideas to get lost in the shuffle.

Zoom is changing how work gets done with tools designed to help you move from conversation to finished work. That 4:59 Friday brainstorm? Monday’s slide deck is ready by 5:02 with ZoomMate. That 9 a.m. meeting you were barely awake for? A clear summary, complete with key decisions and suggested next steps, lands in your inbox with My Notes. And that “one more thing” at the end of the call? It’s already reflected in the project plan.

It’s a smarter way to work—designed to help you move from talking about what needs to happen to actually getting it done.

ONE BIG FIG

To the Limit

$49 million

That’s the cap the Big Ten Council of Chancellors set Wednesday for individual member schools to spend on athlete NIL deals per year. That includes a $27.5 million limit on “institutional involvement in arranging third-party NIL agreements.” That goes along with $21.5 million in revenue sharing. The $49 million total is no coincidence—it matches the compensation limits laid out in the Protect College Sports Act, which passed the Senate in September and is set to be considered by the House after the midterm elections. The conference is preparing for its passage, with the chancellors expressing “unanimous support,” but if it doesn’t, a legal showdown over its ability to limit spending could await.

DAILY SPORTS TRIVIA

Can you rank the top five active NBA players by most career blocks?

LOUD AND CLEAR

EJ Moving On From ‘Inside’

“It’s just time.”

—Inside the NBA host Ernie Johnson announcing Wednesday that this season will be his last. “I’ve always prided myself on my preparation, the hours I’ve put in every day getting ready for the next show,” he explained. “I’ve always loved that part of my job. But I’ve always vowed that if that ever became more of a challenge than it is a joy, then I’ll know it’s time to step away. And now, after 37 seasons, it’s time.”

The 70-year-old said he isn’t retiring and will continue calling March Madness and doing other projects for TNT, CBS, and his production company: “I just want to slow down a bit.” Cohost Charles Barkley has also said he’s retiring after this season, calling him and Johnson a “package deal,” but the Hall of Fame forward has announced retirement plans before, only to return.

SPONSORED BY TEAMWORKS

AI in Sports: Everyone Is In

AI adoption is accelerating across the sports industry, but meaningful returns remain elusive. A new joint report from Front Office Sports and Teamworks based on a survey from hundreds of sports organizations, examines how teams, leagues, and athletic departments are investing in and using AI.

While 90% of organizations expect their AI usage to grow, just 15% report a clear, measurable ROI. The report explores what separates organizations seeing returns, including dedicated AI budgets, centralized ownership, and organization-wide implementation. It also examines where sports organizations are using AI today, what they want from the technology, and how they plan to invest in the year ahead.

Read the full report to see where sports stands on AI and where it’s headed.

Question of the Day

Do you think the Brewers will return to the playoffs next year?