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September 29, 2026

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The Premier League announced that a three-year review by an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of all serious charges related to breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. The team was accused of artificially inflating its revenues so it could afford more expensive players, and those players led to a dominant nine-year run.

—Margaret Fleming

First Up

Exclusive: The CFTC is looking into prediction-market platforms over concerns that incentive programs may be misleading traders.
Aaron Judge won’t be playing for the Yankees in their AL wild-card series starting Tuesday against Boston, which could create a viewership hit for NBC Sports.
Two Arizona state legislators have joined the push for an independent investigation into the collapse of Arizona State men’s hockey player Matthew Mayich.
Speaking at the team’s preseason media day, Trail Blazers president Dewayne Hankins said the team is aiming to finalize a renovation deal for the Moda Center.

Premier League Confirms Manchester City Found Guilty of All Serious Charges

Darren Staples-Reuters

The Premier League announced Tuesday that a three-year review by an independent commission found Manchester City “guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules,” saying the club created “sham” agreements with sponsors, artificially inflated revenues by more than 900 million pounds over a nine-season period, and failed to cooperate with the league investigation.

The league announcement said City created “sham” agreements with sponsors as part of a “disguised funding scheme” where those companies would pay only a portion of the money, while the rest came from the club’s ownership, Abu Dhabi United Group.

The independent commission found the actions artificially increased revenues and reduced costs “by more than £900 million” from 2009 through 2018, leading the club to file accounts that misled auditors and soccer bodies.

The inflated deals allowed them to report higher revenues and therefore spend more money on players, and the players they signed turned City into the dominant club of the decade in question.

“The Commission concluded that ‘by its conduct the club clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules,’” the league announcement said.

The club said in a statement Tuesday that it is “disappointed and surprised” by the announcement, saying it is “innocent of the accusations made” and has a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” that proves its innocence.

What led to this decision?

Under the ownership of the United Arab Emirates–backed Abu Dhabi United Group, which bought the club in 2008, Manchester City has risen from a struggling side in the shadow of neighbor Manchester United to a dominant force in English and European soccer. Since 2008, the team has won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, and one Champions League trophy.

In 2018, German newspaper Der Spiegel published internal financial documents obtained by a hacker that appeared to show the club evading financial fair play rules, including by the ownership fronting a large portion of a sponsorship deal from Etihad. The Premier League spent four years investigating the case, resulting in 115 charges against the club, and sent the issue to the independent commission.

The Athletic first reported on Friday that City had been found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges against it. City put out a statement saying “significant elements” of the process were unfinished. Earlier Tuesday, ESPN reported that City knew about the guilty verdict this summer.

What did the commission find?

The independent commission found Manchester City “significantly” broke both Premier League and UEFA spending rules, hiding the “true state of its finances.” The commission said if its finances had been reported honestly, the club would’ve been out of line with Premier League and UEFA rules “by a very substantial amount.”

The commission also found City “made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the PL investigation.” The commission’s report published alongside the Premier League announcement said “a number of important factual witnesses” provided false evidence, including some “that they knew to be untrue.”

The commission let Manchester City off on one of the 115 charges, one of four pertaining to failing to cooperate in the investigation.

On Tuesday, the hacker who published the leaks that ended up in Der Spiegel, Rui Pinto, wrote on social media that the independent commission’s decision “ultimately confirms, unequivocally,” what he first leaked. “Years and years of cheating, lying and manipulation will finally have consequences,” he said.

Now what?

The ruling has potentially gargantuan consequences for Manchester City, English soccer, and European competition.

All within the past three years, Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked eight and four points, respectively, because of financial breaches. But their verdicts both pale in comparison to Manchester City’s, suggesting the club could face a punishment that leads to at least a year outside of the Premier League. The fallout from that would be enormous, with City’s current stars likely headed to other teams, and the club locked out of the Champions League for at least two years.

“Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe,” the club said in a statement Tuesday. The club said it will be “relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.”

The club has until Friday to submit its appeal, which would then go to a three-person appeal board.

In a statement, league CEO Richard Masters called the case and decision “the most significant in Premier League history.” While he said City’s punishments are yet to be decided, the Premier League is “committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans.”

Dow’s Impact Beyond the Scorecard

A golf partnership can be about more than what happens on the course. For Dow and the LPGA, it has become a platform for advancing women’s golf while connecting competition with innovation, sustainability and community impact.

The Dow Championship, Team Dow – The Next Generation and the Dow Impact Award each play a role in that broader strategy, from supporting emerging professionals to creating opportunities for athletes to make a difference off the course.

Together, these initiatives illustrate how Dow is using its investment in the LPGA to build lasting impact across the sport and beyond.

Read the full story to see how Dow is putting purpose at the center of its partnership with the LPGA.

ONE BIG FIG

The Cost of QB Injuries

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

$59 million

The combined 2026 NFL salary-cap hits for the four Week 1 starting quarterbacks currently sidelined with injuries sustained this month. Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield—who signed a three-year, $165 million extension Sept. 8—is expected to miss three weeks after dislocating his thumb Sunday in Tampa Bay’s 23–16 loss to the Vikings. His cap hit for this season is $34 million and will rise to more than $65 million in 2027.

Bears QB Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, has a $10.8 million cap hit—and could miss several more weeks with a hamstring injury that he sustained in Week 2 and kept him out of Chicago’s Monday Night Football victory over the Eagles. Jayden Daniels’s return to the Commanders’ starting lineup after an elbow injury in Week 2 is uncertain; he has a $10.3 million cap hit. Giants QB Jaxson Dart is out for the season with a knee injury, holding a $3.9 million cap hit.

LOUD AND CLEAR

Leaving a Legacy

Rob Gray-Imagn Images

“When I’m no longer here, they’re going to get a big chunk of whatever I’ve got.”

—Jazz and Mammoth owner Ryan Smith, speaking to Front Office Sports editor-in-chief Dan Roberts about his relationship with alma mater BYU’s NIL program on the latest episode of Portfolio Players. Smith said he won’t yet put a “thumb on the scale,” with the university already receiving significant backing from several other wealthy alumni. But he has played a role behind the scenes in growing its athletic programs, meeting with AJ Dybantsa’s father twice before the eventual No. 1 overall 2026 NBA draft pick committed to BYU.

The best in influencer marketing. And you’re invited.

Get ready for Return on Influence Festival ’26. An entire day dedicated to influencer marketing with speakers running some of the best programs in the world. October 21, 2026, 10 am – 5 pm ET.

Save your spot now

STATUS REPORT

One Up, Two Down, One Push

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Boston Marathon ⬆ A record 25,360 qualified applicants were accepted into the field for the Boston Marathon, which will take place next April. Applicants who were at least 5 minutes and 17 seconds faster than the baseline for their age and gender group were automatically entered into the field. An additional 1,000 runners who failed to clear that bar but are otherwise qualified will be selected randomly, in a new process introduced for the 2027 race. The final field for the storied marathon’s 131st edition will include 30,000 runners.

Sen. Eric Schmitt ⬆⬇ The Missouri Republican secured a major legislative victory Monday night with the passage of the Protect College Sports Act in the Senate—a bill he helped author alongside Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), and Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.). But on Tuesday morning, Schmitt committed an embarrassing sports-related gaffe during a Senate Judiciary hearing featuring testimony from former special counsel Jack Smith. Schmitt accused Smith of attending a Warriors-Hawks game in Atlanta in February 2024 the day after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was also pursuing a criminal case against Donald Trump, acknowledged an affair with another prosecutor. However, Schmitt had misinterpreted text messages referencing a “Hawks” game, and Smith clarified that he was actually at an Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball game in Maryland.

Odell Beckham Jr. ⬇ The Giants are releasing the veteran wide receiver just three games after he returned to the team where he began his NFL career. Beckham failed to haul in a single catch on just one target in the Giants’ three contests so far. The former first-round pick was waived by the Dolphins at the end of the 2024 season and did not feature last year after accepting a six-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. Beckham first played for the Giants between 2014 and 2018, racking up at least 1,000 receiving yards in four of his five seasons and catching at least 10 touchdowns in his first three.

Oura ⬇ The fitness ring maker is the latest company to delay a U.S. initial public offering, citing “uncertainty in the IPO market.” The fitness ring maker is the latest company to push off a U.S. initial public offering, citing “uncertainty in the IPO market.” In a statement Tuesday, CEO Tom Hale said the company—whose technology tracks wearers’ health metrics like body temperature, sleep, and oxygen levels—is profitable, with consumer response to Oura Ring 5 “exceptionally strong, bringing the number of paid members to 5.7 million.” Despite a robust IPO market this summer, IPO activity came in below expectations in the third quarter of 2026, according to research firm Renaissance Capital.