Sporticast: Deion, Buzz Lightyear and Taylor Swift Take Over Sports
On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including a recent Sportico report about the rush to provide some of Colorado’s top football players with insurance that would cover against critical injury and disability.
It’s unclear exactly what went down in the past few weeks, but insurance experts all seem to agree that two highly regarded NFL prospects—quarterback Shedeur Sanders and receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter—went uninsured long past the time that they otherwise should have. Hunter, who coach Deion Sanders has predicted will be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft, was hospitalized during a recent game after suffering a lacerated liver. Had the injury ended his football career, he would have walked away with no payout.
More from Sportico.com
Colorado's Players Weren't Insured. Then Travis Hunter Got Hurt
Sporticast: NIL Pork, WNBA Expansion and a Soccer Jersey Debate
Next the hosts talk about a pair of NFL stories. ESPN experimented this week with an animated AR broadcast of the Jaguars vs. Falcons game using characters and other IP from the popular Toy Story film franchise. The telecast, which featured animations with Woody and Buzz Lightyear, is part of a new push by leagues and their broadcast partners to create new “altcasts” that might widen the sport’s audience. The NFL is also doing games with Nickelodeon, similarly aimed at young children.
This week also marked the second Sunday of the NFL’s Taylor Swift era. The pop star, rumored to be dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, took in her second straight game in New Jersey on Sunday evening. Swift has been credited with driving jerseys sales, ticket sales, bets and all sorts of other business metrics, but the hosts caution about believing too much of that narrative.
Lastly, they close with a discussion about the upcoming WNBA finals, and RedBird IMI, a UAE-backed media joint venture led by former CNN boss Jeff Zucker, buying into digital sports business platform Front Office Sports.
You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Google, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)
