Suits and Sidelines

We're back and starting 2021 off with a spirited discussion about the future of collegiate sports in America. Dozens of athletic departments around the country are cutting Olympic Sports and other so-called "non-revenue" sports from their programs to save money. However, the NCAA and its member schools are refusing to point to the hundreds of millions of dollars sunk into coaching salaries, weight rooms, and football stadiums in recent years as a pretext for smaller sports now getting the chopping block.

Also, we discuss the ramifications of universities treating their finances totally separate from their athletic department budget, including hoarding billions of dollars in endowment funds but still deciding to cut sports which only cost thousands per year.

Please hook some brothas up — rate, review, subscribe, and share the pod on social media. Hit that subscribe button and follow us on Twitter and IG. -> @thatjoemags -> @ithotta_AT

We are happy to have Sam C. Ehrlich, J.D., Ph.D., on the podcast. After practicing as a sports agent consultant and immigration attorney, Sam earned his Ph.D. in sport management at Florida State University before joining the Boise State University Department of Management in 2020. His research examines legal aspects of the sports industry, specifically focusing on issues in athlete fairness in collective bargaining and employment, the unique application of antitrust law to sports, risk management and tort liability for sport event managers, and legal issues in athlete representation.

We talk to Sam at length about the NCAA Athletic Grant-In-Aid Cap Antitrust Litigation, which is being considered for review by the Supreme Court of the United States. Specifically, we discuss the legacy of NCAA v. Board of Regents (U.S., 1984) and how several federal courts have interpreted that case in three fundamentally different ways.

Please hook some brothas up — rate, review, subscribe, and share the pod on social media. Hit that subscribe button and follow us on Twitter and IG. -> @thatjoemags -> @ithotta_AT

We are thrilled to be joined by sports lawyer Dan Lust (@SportsLawLust) as we bounce around various topics in professional and collegiate sports. After starting with discussion about Tyrod Taylor's decision not to file a grievance through the NFLPA against the Los Angeles Chargers, we talk broadly about the role of social media and breaking news in shaping terms and negotiations between the leagues and the players. 

Dan discusses the Big Ten's bungles during the pandemic, including the possibility of Ohio State losing its eligibility for the College Football Playoff, as well as harming its own players in regard to their NFL Draft stock and future earning potential. Notably, we balance the conversation by including the long-term health risks to athletes from playing during a pandemic, including the specific threat of myocarditis, and whether to expect future litigation in the years to come.

A special shout to Focused Athletics Philly (@focusedathletics215), where Joe is hosting a virtual 3-week Student Athlete Seminar on Dec. 9, 16, and 30 at 6:30 p.m. as part of his executive board duties with both Villanova's Street Law Society and Sports Law Society.

Zoom link/info: https://lnkd.in/dhFUN4x 

Please hook some brothas up — rate, review, subscribe, and share the pod on social media. Hit that subscribe button and follow us on Twitter and IG. -> @thatjoemags -> @ithotta_AT

This week we go deep on the subject of Amateurism, what "student-athlete" means and doesn't mean, and the decades long war between the Power 5 conferences and the NCAA. Specifically, we tackle the seminal NCAA v. Board of Regents (U.S. 1984) case, which has helped funnel billions of dollars into universities and Power 5 conferences arguably at the expense of every other relevant group in collegiate athletics, including the players.

A special shout to Focused Athletics Philly (@focusedathletics215), where Joe is hosting a (virtual) 3-week Student Athlete Seminar on Dec. 9, 16, and 23 as part of his executive board duties with both Villanova's Street Law Society and Sports Law Society.

Please hook some brothas up — rate, review, subscribe, and share the pod on social media.

Hit that subscribe button and follow us on Twitter and IG.

-> @thatjoemags -> @ithotta_AT

Final exams be damned, we talk at length about NBA Draft 2020 — our favorite picks, the most puzzling moments, and looking ahead to 2020-21 season. Please hook some brothas up — rate, review, subscribe, and share the pod on social media.

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-> @thatjoemags -> @ithotta_AT

We continue our conversation with Andrew Brandt, an accomplished sports media professional and executive vice president of Vayner Sports, by taking on some of the largest topics in the business of sports. We start by discussing the tension between national and regional sports networks wishing to recoup their financial losses by playing games during the pandemic, and whether or not athletes in the NFL and NBA can afford not to keep playing despite obvious health risks.

At [10:00] we ask Brandt, who has worked both team-side and player-side, for his thoughts on whether coaches should ever be granted personnel powers as general manager or president.

Then at [21:00] Brandt speaks honestly about the pros and cons of being authentic online, including losing Twitter followers for expressing opinions on the 2020 presidential election and the role of the media in covering Donald Trump.

In this week's episode, we talk to Andrew Brandt — well, that's Professor Andrew Brandt to us — about 30 years of working in professional sports. At [3:30] Brandt discusses leaving his role as vice president of the Green Bay Packers to forge new career paths in media and academia, which eventually led him to Villanova Law School as the program director of the sports law program.

Then at [10:30] Brandt takes us down memory lane to the 2005 NFL Draft when his Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers, to great controversy, and at Brandt's insistence. "It was the most memorable night of my career in terms of decision-making," Brandt said.

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-> @thatjoemags -> @ithotta_AT

In this week's episode, we discuss how Dak Prescott's gruesome compound ankle fracture might impact both his future with the Dallas Cowboys and as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Topics include why it was bad salary cap management by the Cowboys to offer the franchise tag to Prescott, and how, despite long-term injury concerns, Prescott will likely command $100M or more on the open market in either 2021 or 2022 regardless.

Also [21:00] Joe contrasts the unique leverage of Prescott as a Pro Bowl QB with the cautionary tale of Nerlens Noel — a professional basketball player who turned down "life-changing money" in 2017 and will likely never make that money back.

Finally, [26:20] we discuss the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals behind elite defense, as well as [30:30] briefly discuss how the #GOAT debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James is "different" now.

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In this week's episode, we discuss how the running back position is severely disadvantaged by pro-management bylaws in the business of football. After describing the general framework of how running backs become pros, including the NFL Draft and rookie-scale contracts, we highlight many factors that result in football players in general, but running backs in particular, lacking leverage and labor power.

Topics include recent contract extensions for [5:00] Alvin Kamara and [7:00] Christian McCaffrey; [9:00] relitigating the New York Giants decision to draft Saquon Barkley, and Barkley's limited options in future deals following his recent ACL injury; and [21:00] the legacy of Maurice Clarett's legal fight against the NFL's age restrictions in relationship to the ticking clock of every running backs' career.

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In this week's episode, we analyze years of team building decisions that led to the 2020 NBA Finals matchup between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. We specifically discuss the exceptional drafting and developmental success of the Miami Heat, including their selections of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, as well as why Jimmy Butler was right to prioritize "Heat Culture" in his 2019 free agency decision. Also, we offer our predictions for whether or not LeBron James and Anthony Davis will win their first title since joining forces.

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-> @thatjoemags -> @ithotta_AT