NFL Kickoff: the science gets more damning, but the money keeps growing

Hey, folks. Jeff Berman here. Exciting news. Applications are now open for the Masters of Scale Summit. It's happening October 20 through October 22 in San Francisco, and it is a really special event. Please join our curated community of founders, innovators, and leaders shaping the future. Expect ideas that challenge your assumptions and connections that move your business and maybe even your life forward. It's an experience that can change literally everything. Apply now at mastersofscale.com/apply20six. That's mastersofscale.com/apply20six. Something like one in four NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had CTE. Now is the game safer? You know, we've saw Chua Tonga Vailua from the dolphins laid out prone on the field. The valuations and the business of the NFL keeps growing and growing and growing. I do wonder about the long tail. That's sports journalist Michelle Steele. The NFL is the world's biggest, most successful sports business. And today, Michelle and I dig into what to expect in the upcoming twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven season, drawing on her experience at ESPN, Bloomberg, and now the Big Ten Network. We talk about quarterback salaries and what she contends is the most important position in sports, the next iteration of the Taylor Swift effect on the NFL, and the confusing array of TV watching options for fans, plus team valuations, sports betting, whether the bears are really moving out of Chicago, and, of course, the resurgent question of player safety. Every season is a fresh beginning, so let's kick things off. I'm Bob Safian, and this is rapid response. I'm Bob Safian. I'm here with Michelle Steele. Michelle, thanks for, thanks for joining us. Hey, Bob. Thanks so much for having me. I'm really excited to get into today's conversation. Yeah. You've covered the business of sports at at Forbes, at Bloomberg, ESPN. Now you're at the Big Ten Network, and you've got a a Substack steel cut. Do do you look at the sports business as being, like, different than covering, quote, pure sports stories, or has all sports coverage become about business to some extent? Sports business reporting and sports reporting, Bob, have really converged. When I started out at Bloomberg, I was covering the markets. I was covering stocks. I was at the New York Stock Exchange. And then something called Tiger Woods happened, and they wanted someone who could speak relatively conversationally about sports. I'm certainly not gonna name names, but there was an anchor at Bloomberg TV after I did a story once on the Jets, your your New York Jets. My New York Jets. Yes. Who told me at the end of the segment, he said, you know, you really should tell the audience that the Jets are a football team. And I said, if I mentioned that the Jets are a football team, they will think I'm from Mars. So we're we're on the cusp of a new NFL season. So are you are you ready to dive in? …