NFL in Paris + LeBron Isn’t Committing and a Major NIL Ruling
And the odds Scottie Scheffler will repeat at the PGA Championship
In Today’s Issue: LeBron James, Roger Goodell, Bryan Seeley, Cal Raleigh, Logan Gilbert, Jason Giambi, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Cameron Young
WHAT TO READ
LeBron James hasn’t decided if he’ll play a 24th season after the Lakers were swept out of the playoffs. “I don’t know what the future holds for me,” James said. The 41-year-old added that he would only come back if he can “commit to still being in love with the process of showing up to the arena 5½ hours before a game to start preparing for a game, giving everything I got.” James averaged 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds in the playoffs, which was a better points and assists mark than he had during the regular season. (Dave McMenamin, ESPN)
The NFL is set to play a record nine international games in 2026, and the matchups have been coming out all week ahead of tomorrow’s full schedule release. The Saints and Steelers will play in Paris during Week 7 in what will be the NFL’s first-ever game in France, and the Bengals and Falcons are headed to Madrid’s Bernabéu Stadium on November 8th for the league’s second game in Spain. In non-international schedule news, the Chiefs will host the Broncos in the Monday Night Football opener, and the Cowboys face the Giants on Sunday Night Football to open Week 1. Commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly didn’t approve the final schedule until Tuesday afternoon, which is why leaks were scarce early in the week. The full 272-game schedule drops Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network and ESPN2. (Yahoo Sports)
A neutral arbitrator sided with the College Sports Commission in the first major NIL deal dispute to reach arbitration, stopping millions of dollars in contracts between Playfly Sports and 18 Nebraska football players. The arbitrator found that Playfly’s deals with Nebraska athletes lacked a valid business purpose and constituted improper ‘warehousing’ of NIL rights under the House settlement rules, the CSC announced Monday. The ruling is a significant early test of the commission’s authority to reject third-party deals worth $600 or more, and CSC CEO Bryan Seeley said the outcome shows “the system is working as intended.” A separate federal court hearing on May 27th will determine whether multimedia rights companies like Playfly and Learfield count as ‘associated entities’ at all — a ruling that could reshape the entire NIL landscape. (Stewart Mandel, Mitch Sherman and Matt Baker, The Athletic)
The NHL kicked off the playoffs on a historic ratings run, with viewership up 76% through the first five days of the postseason compared to last year. Coverage of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 1.15 million viewers through the opening five days, the highest average on record at that stage of the postseason, according to Sports Media Watch. This year’s number is up 30% from the previous all-time high of 887,000 set in 2012, and up 39% from the best mark of the current media rights deal. The surge comes as the Panthers, two-time defending champions, missed the playoffs entirely after an injury-plagued season, giving the field a wide-open feel. (Jon Lewis, Sports Media Watch)
Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh finally ended a historic 0-for-38 slump after showering in full uniform the night before. On the advice of pitcher Logan Gilbert, Raleigh took the shower after Monday’s game to wash off what he called the “bad mojo” — and then went 2-for-4 with two singles in a 10-2 rout of the Astros in Houston. His 0-for-38 struggle was the longest hitless streak in the Live Ball Era by a player following a 40-homer season, surpassing Jason Giambi’s 0-for-32 with the 2004 Yankees, according to the Associated Press. Raleigh, last year’s AL MVP runner-up who hit 60 home runs in 2025, was batting .157 on the season heading into yesterday’s game. (Kristie Rieken, Associated Press)
WHAT TO WATCH
3pm — Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace on USA: With one fewer game played, Manchester City is five points behind Premier League-leading Arsenal with three to play and faces an all-but-must-win match for City’s title hopes. (MNC -500, O/U: 3.5)
8pm — Cavaliers vs. Pistons on ESPN: Both teams held serve at home, so it’ll be an uphill battle for the Pistons if the Cavs steal Game 5 in Detroit. (DET -3.5 Total: 212.5)
8pm — Wild vs. Avalanche on TNT: Colorado can advance with a home win in Game 5. The NHL’s top regular-season team has gone 7-1 so far in the playoffs, with the lone blemish being a 5-1 loss in Minnesota in Game 3. (MIN +170, COL -205)
WHAT TO TRACK
On Kalshi, reigning PGA Championship winner Scottie Scheffler has a 17% chance to repeat, ahead of Masters champion Rory McIlroy (8.9%) and Cameron Young (6.7%), who has finished no better than 47th in the past three years at the season’s second major.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I feel like the rage-baiting would have been one of the strategies, so I feel like I had to stay composed.”
— Victor Wembanyama on his approach in Game 5, where he scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a Spurs’ win, after returning from a Game 4 ejection.
See you tomorrow,
Abe