Over the past few decades, as the value of sports franchises has exploded, ass-covering local politicians have learned to model a familiar behavior anytime one of their teams tries to whip up fervor in support of a new stadium: Publicly balking at any suggestion that public funds be used to build an arena for a billionaire owner. “Chicagoans love the Bears,” they’ll say, “but not enough to support deploying taxpayer dollars for a new stadium.” And local voters seem to mostly agree: A year ago, Kansas City voters soundly rejected a tax increase that would have been used to refurbish Arrowhead Stadium (home of the Chiefs) and Kauffman Stadium (the Royals). A year prior, Tempe voters rejected a taxpayer-funded arena to keep the Arizona Coyotes in the state. Earlier this month, San Francisco Giants C.E.O. Larry Baer candidly discussed his team’s do-or-die private financing journey to move the team from the dregs of Candlestick to a waterfront ballpark downtown. Roger Goodell and the NFL, however, have developed a public-private partnership playbook that has made these deals more palatable to pols and voters alike. And its winning formula was lurking in the background amid the news, announced earlier today, that the Commanders plan to move back to D.C. from the wilds of Landover, Maryland, to the tract that houses the old R.F.K. Stadium. The Commanders will invest $2.7 billion in a new stadium at the R.F.K. site, and the city is being asked to put close to $1 billion toward the development. While several members of D.C.’s City Council have already signaled their opposition to the deal—the body needs to ratify the proposal—the league and the team have expressed confidence. After all, this sort of financial structure has succeeded in the past. During today’s press conference, Goodell compared the Commanders’ deal with D.C. to the Rams’ deal that led to the opening of SoFi Stadium in 2020, and the Falcons’ deal that led to the opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017—and even the Lions deal that led to the erection of Ford Field way back in 2002. “There are many cities where they have seen the reinvestment into that community with the stadium being surrounded by development, such as this, and that is very powerful,” Goodell said. “They’ve all been successful, both in the community’s mind and our mind. But they’ve also been successful from an economic standpoint.” SoFi, for example, was built in Hollywood Park and features restaurants, cinemas, retail… and even Cosm. So what, pray tell, will a risk-averse, hidebound politician say about a concession to billionaire ownership that masquerades as a vital community development investment? That’s a hard proposition to roundly veto, especially when it’s tied to a draw like the NFL. Indeed, the league and its owners have been trying to create entertainment districts around their stadiums, which are critical for the long-term health of an area given that teams host fewer than a dozen football games per year. During today’s press conference, Goodell, Commanders owner Josh Harris, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser hyped up the new, 68,000-seat domed stadium, while also expressing unbridled optimism about new retail developments, housing, and park space that will create revenue and jobs for the city. “This will be critical in revitalizing an area that has been dormant and undeveloped for nearly 30 years, when the team first left,” Goodell said. The other key aspect of the NFL’s strategy is to tout the level of private investment. And Harris, who shattered a league record by forking over $6 billion for the Commanders, isn’t shirking here. The Apollo co-founder has committed $2.7 billion toward the project, some of which will be paid through an NFL fund. “The NFL has a long history of investing in stadium projects along with the home team,” Goodell said. “But all 31 teams will contribute along with Josh and his partners.” Nobody’s talking much about who will invest, but it seems likely that the team will use private equity (or private credit) to fund part of the development. As far as the $1 billion in public money, that’s in the neighborhood of what Buffalo and Las Vegas paid. Meanwhile, the announcement frames the staggering success that Harris has had in his inaugural season—one in which he took over the team from the most despised man in the NFL (and D.C., too, really), drafted Jayden Daniels, reached the NFC championship game, and then pledged to move the team back to his hometown. Smart guy that he is, he’ll wait till this reciprocal tariff madness has ended before he starts building.

On ESPN Flagship: “All platitudes about serving younger-fan behavior are not necessarily wrong. However, what was surprisingly left unsaid is that they are going to ask these younger fans to pay $25+ a month for Flagship. Will younger fans pay that premium to receive what amounts to merely a different flavor of similar content they get for free on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube? There’s no way of avoiding the inconvenient truth that live games simply have to be what is valued primarily.” —A former ESPNer More on Flagship: “I mostly watch ESPN for SEC football. I cancelled my Comcast subscription after the championship game in January and will subscribe to ESPN Flagship at launch. If Fox Sports isn’t there, I’ll just go without Fox Sports.” —A media executive On how the cable business has funded sports: “It’s refreshing to see a journalist finally acknowledge that no one has benefitted more from the cable TV platform than the sports industry. The people who took long-term financial risk to build that platform out (names like Dolan, Magness, Hostetter, Roberts, Malone) and create pay TV should be recognized by all leagues, conferences, etcetera for that foundational business creation more than network middlemen who were merely pass-through partners from rights deal to rights deal.” —A media executive On Mike “F’n” Florio’s pod appearance: “I’d love to hear someone like Mike talk about an evolution of the NFL Draft that gives players and teams flexibility more similar to the NHL and MLB. There were several day three QBs with college eligibility that will make less money than if they were allowed to go back to school via the transfer portal (e.g., Quinn Ewers). This would require coordination between the NFL and the NCAA, but I see some mutual incentives available across all parties involved.” —A Varsity subscriber On tariffs: “Try telling the Bills, Browns, Bears, and Rays—teams that are currently or trying to build new facilities—that tariffs don't impact sports. Not only will imported building materials artificially increase in price, but domestic products will as well. If your competitor has to charge 10 percent more, you can charge 9 percent more and still be cheaper. There have already been supply chain issues, and with the ongoing construction labor shortage, tariffs aren’t going to help.” —A Varsity subscriber Update from the Varsity subscriber who doesn’t subscribe to NBA TV and thus couldn’t watch a Clippers-Nuggets playoff game at home: “I went to the game instead.”

See you tomorrow, John