Welcome to The Big Deal.

Remember the Adelaide Rams? They might not be dead after all.

The NRL has unveiled its grand plans to expand the competition to 20 teams and nowhere is off the table - not Adelaide, Perth or even the Pacific!

The AFL has remodelled what has in recent years been a fairly unwanted and pointless trophy. It will now reward clubs for success in both the men’s and women’s competitions - it looks like a good call.

And Alyssa Healy has thrown down the gauntlet to the WBBL to continue to evolve in the interests of the women’s game.

Now, here’s what’s doing the rounds of sport and business.

IN THIS WEEK’S WRAP OF THE BIG DEALS

• NRL eyes grand expansion plans

• AFL trophy rewards men’s and women’s successes

• Min Woo Lee misses millions

• Healy calls on WBBL to refocus

• LeBron increases Fenway stake

• North-South divide an issue for Tassie team

• Phillies’ astroturf cancer link

• Equal pay win for Canadian women’s soccer

• Toffees not for sale

• New data partner on ATP radar

• StubHub unseated by MLB

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NRL EYES GRAND EXPANSION PLANS

The NRL has unveiled a bold expansion plan to boost the league to 20 teams by 2032.

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys told News Corp the league was open to new clubs from any viable areas including the possibility of revamping the Adelaide Rams, a pawn in the Super League wars of the late 1990s.

Perth will also have strong claims to a side, Brisbane and New Zealand will both be considered for an extra team while a side from the Pacific representing Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Tonga will also be considered.

A team representing the Pacific region and based out of Cairns is among the favourites for the NRL’s 18th licence.

Central to the NRL’s plans is the desire to keep up with or even surpass the AFL as the country’s leading national sport.

The NRL’s recent investment in Adelaide with State-of-Origin fixtures underlines its intent - this year’s series will open at Adelaide Oval on May 31.

Three new teams could generate up to $20 million in additional funding for the competition.

AFL TROPHY REWARDS MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SUCCESSES

The AFL’s McClelland Trophy has been recast for a second time to incorporate the AFLW.

It will now be awarded to the club with the most accumulative wins in a season across their men’s and women’s teams.

The trophy will be accompanied by a welcome $1 million in prize money.

That will be shared by players and the club in a deal still to be finalised between the AFL and the Players’ Association.

From 1951-90, the trophy was awarded to the club with the most wins across its league, reserves and under 19 teams.

Since then, it has been won by the minor premiers.

MIN WOO LEE MISSES MILLIONS

Aussie golfer Min Woo Lee has missed out on a multi-million dollar pay day after a horror final round at the Players Championship today.

The PGA’s flagship tournament came with a bumper winner’s purse of $6.8 million.

Heading in to the final day the 24 year old was outright second, if he had have held that position he would’ve walked away with a staggering $4.1 million and temporary PGA Tour membership.

Instead, a couple of of horror holes saw Lee finish sixth, shooting a four-over 76.

But don’t worry, he won’t go home empty handed - the result will see him likely earn $1.1 million for his troubles.

“I hung in there pretty well. I didn't have it all today,” Lee said.

“Nice finish and I'm pretty proud of the result and I think it will take me a long way. It could have been a lot worse. That's for sure. It wasn't easy.”

HEALY CALLS ON WBBL TO REFOCUS

Alyssa Healy has called on the WBBL to continue to evolve with a focus on entertainment to allow female cricketers in this country to continue to bridge the pay gap on their male counterparts.

Writing for cricket.com.au, Healy paid tribute to the rise of the WPL and wants to see the Australian women’s T20 competition follow the same path, while keeping an eye on helping to grow the women’s game globally.

“It's not all about money, but players in the WPL are earning more for a three-week competition than they are playing for their country for 12 months of the year,” she wrote.

“For the WBBL to keep pace with the WPL and retain its status as the best domestic competition in the world, we need to make sure it's lucrative and exciting enough for the best players to keep making the trip to Australia. 

“I feel strongly that the WBBL should be about entertainment: our showpiece competition where fans pack out the hill and watch the best players in the world do battle.”

She also suggested more state-based T20s at WNCL level and would like to see a greater sharing of resources and facilities with the men’s team.

LEBRON INCREASES FENWAY STAKE

LeBron James is increasing his investment in the Fenway Sports Group - owners of Liverpool, Boston Red Sox and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The increased commitment is part of a “lifetime marketing deal”.

That deal gives Fenway Sports Management the ability to secure “exclusive, global marketing and sponsorship opportunities” for James.

James’ original £4.5 million stake in the group has now grown to an asset worth around £100 million.

The 38-year-old also was instrumental in the kit deal Liverpool signed with Nike.

NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE AN ISSUE FOR TASSIE TEAM

AFL great Warren Tredrea has questioned the logistics and process of the AFL’s expansion into Tasmania.

He says the determination to base the new team in Hobart comes at the expense of the enormous push and goodwill the League has built in Launceston for more than two decades.

A close contact of Tredrea’s told him there was “no way in the world” a Tasmanian team will work if, as expected, the AFL programs all, or the vast majority, of its home games in Hobart.

“I did speak to a former Tasmanian person who’s in a pretty high powerful position on the weekend, now back in Adelaide and they flagged to me as to whether Hobart’s the right fit,” Tredrea told The Big Deal.

“They’d know the numbers so I’m only going on this conversation I had.

“(They said) all the footy interest and participation is in the north so they were suggesting Launceston would be a better fit.

“It’s not the capital and it is a smaller thing but you look at all the northern areas where all the big participation in the AFL is and it’s a real divide.”

Tredrea and the Big Deal team discussed the season ahead as well as the players and coaches under the most pressure in this week’s podcast.

PHILLIES’ ASTROTURF CANCER LINK

The Philadelphia Inquirer has made a shock link between the astroturf used at Veterans Stadium, the former home of the Phillies, and the deaths of six former players from an aggressive brain cancer, glioblastoma, before the age of 60.

The investigation revealed 16 different types of chemicals in the turf known as “forever chemicals” because they remain in the human body for years.

The Phillies played on the astroturf from 1977-2001 before it was replaced by a new surface.

The stadium was then demolished in 2004.

The investigation found the brain cancer rate among the 532 Phillies who played during the period was triple the normal rate.

The chemicals have also been connected with kidney, liver and testicular cancer.

Pieces of the turf were sold off in 1982 and the Inquirer conducted its investigation on the turf after purchasing some of it on eBay last year.

EQUAL PAY WIN FOR CANADIAN WOMEN’S SOCCER

Canada Soccer and the women’s national team have come to an interim pay agreement, and it comes with compensation and incentives that reflect their male counterparts.

The deal is an interim agreement for 2022, breaking a deadlock that had the team threatening to strike last month.

Negotiations have been ongoing since the previous deal expired in 2021.

TOFFEES NOT FOR SALE

Relegation-threatened Everton is not for sale.

The majority shareholder of the Toffees, Farhad Moshiri, has reportedly received several offers but is refusing to sell amid concerns it may attract scrutiny from the UK government.

The 67-year-old has links with Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

Moshiri still plans to raise nearly US$600 million to help fund a new stadium with MSP Sports Capital and 777 Partners reportedly among the primary investors.

Usmanov’s company, USM, was to be the naming rights sponsor of the new stadium until UK and EU sanctions for his ties to Vladimir Putin forced Everton to explore a different path.

NEW DATA PARTNER ON ATP RADAR

There are unconfirmed reports that Swiss sports data firm Sportsradar is very much on the ATP’s radar as its new gambling data and streaming partner.

Sportico says a six-year deal has been agreed after tennis’s governing body walked away from IMG Arena, exercising an escape clause midway through a six-year deal.

The ATP runs all tennis tournaments around the world except the majors which are run by the International Tennis Federation.

Sports data allows betting agencies to maintain and offer current odds of live matches and is a highly lucrative business.

It’s another giant step forward for Sportsradar which already partners the NHL, MLB, NBA and UEFA.

STUBHUB UNSEATED BY MLB

StubHub is out and SeatGeek is in if you’re searching for a cheap seat at the ball game.

Major League Baseball has ditched its long-time ticket reseller, signing a new deal with SeatGeek worth US$20 million per year for the next five years.

SeatGeek, which was founded in 2009, has steadily been growing its presence worldwide.

It is already the preferred ticket reseller with most Premier League clubs including Manchester City and Liverpool, most Major League Soccer clubs and some leading NFL and NBA clubs such as the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Cavaliers.

The strategy is aimed at targeting younger fans in the marketplace as well as leveraging its vast platform of fixtures, according to SeatGeek co-founder Russ D’Souza.

“Baseball is the largest spectator sport in the world in terms of total attendance, and the nature of the league’s 162-game season makes it ripe for innovation on the ticket resale side of the business,” he said.

Thanks for reading our weekly wrap!

Stay tuned for the podcast (Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) later this week.

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