How one conference shapes the future of sports
Sports nerds took over MIT. From Sloan’s analytics influence to $100M media deals and wild March Madness odds, this one’s loaded. Also: Jokić rewrites the record books and we need a favor to keep our emails out of spam 🙏
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In today’s edition:
- Grading every key NFL free agency deal
- It’s about that time again
- How one conference shapes the future of sports
On the clock: Today’s newsletter takes ~3.43 minutes to read (912 words).
🤓 Sports Business
How one conference shapes the future of sports
Over the weekend, ~2,500 sports nerds took off their lab coats and gathered in Boston for the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (SSAC), an annual convention held at MIT where some of the biggest names in sports meet to discuss the role of analytics in the games they love.
The conference, founded in 2006 by Kraft Analytics Group CEO Jessica Gelman and Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, attracts speakers such as Moneyball author Michael Lewis, and has pioneered metrics like the NBA’s “Plus/Minus” (Mark Cuban spoke on the topic in 2010).
Its attendees tend to be front-office decision makers, or students seeking future front-office roles. And its impact on sports has been quite evident – don your own lab coat and let’s look at the numbers.
Analytics have taken over
So far, every major pro sports league’s gameplay has been affected by ideas discussed at SSAC.
- MLB: An analytics-driven focus on hitting home runs and not making outs has led to a game dominated by three outcomes: walks, strikeouts, and the aforementioned taters. Between 1980-2020, the rate of balls put in play fell ~20%, while the strikeout rate doubled and home run totals soared.
- NBA: Science says three-pointers > two-pointers. And the gameplay followed. The rate of three-pointers per game has increased 100+% percent since 2011-12, and is still rising.
- NHL: The league has discussed rule changes specific to its three-on-three overtime format – which, since its 2015-16 debut, has devolved from a chaotic, freewheeling exchange of offense into a battle of attrition and possession in which teams routinely pass up low-percentage shots and circle back to the defensive end to regroup, per the Washington Post.
- NFL: The I formation has gone the way of the dodo, as the game becomes more pass-heavy. Coaches have also started to lean more on analytics for in-game decision making – see: the increased number of fourth-down attempts (no, it’s not just Dan Campbell).
Has this science made sports less entertaining? Many fans would say yes. NBA attendance and viewership is down. And prior to making rule changes to juice stolen bases and speed up the game in 2023, Major League Baseball was suffering from the same fate.
But the pendulum could be shifting…Sloan held a panel over the weekend titled: "Have [We] the Nerds Ruined Basketball?"
⏱️ Catch Up Quick
Headlines
When the money calls, you answer: NFL DE Myles Garrett signed a four-year contract extension with the Cleveland Browns averaging $40 million/year; the deal makes him the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history.
Speaking of…QB Josh Allen signed a 6-year, $330 million contract with the Bills; $250 mil is guaranteed, the largest ever-guaranted total given to an NFL player.
The FIFA World Cup is getting its first-ever halftime show; the final match of the 2026 tournament, scheduled for MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, will feature a show with artists curated by Coldplay.
Fight Club, the trilogy: After two epic bouts in 2022 and 2024, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano will meet for a third time this July at MSG (and on Netflix) in a battle for Taylor's undisputed super lightweight championship.
Magomed Ankalaev is the new UFC light heavyweight champion; he earned a unanimous decision win over the weekend to unseat Alex Pereira.
The NHL trade deadline has come and gone: Here are its eight winners and seven losers.
The Lakers’ LeBron James is expected to miss at least 1-2 weeks due to a groin strain.
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2025 season.
🔥🔮 In partnership with Kalshi
Duke leading as favorite to capture NCAA championship
With March Madness kicking off soon, we can get a picture of where bettors are putting their money with Kalshi, the first the first CFTC-regulated prediction market.
- Duke leads the way with a 21% forecasted chance of winning their 6th championship
- Auburn is in second with 18%
- Florida and Houston both sit at third with 11%
- Dan Hurley and UConn, the two-time defending champs, have a 1% chance
Kalshi lets you wager on sports and a whole lot more – political outcomes, most downloaded apps, or even the number of tornadoes this month.
📸 Pics from the Weekend
Nikola Jokić recorded the first 30-20-20 statline in NBA history. Jokić scored 31 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, and dished a career-high 22 assists in the Nuggets’ OT victory over the Suns on Friday night. The three-time MVP, who tied his franchise record with 29 triple-doubles on the season, ranks among the top-three in the entire NBA in all three categories: points (28.9/game), rebounds (12.9), and assists (10.6).
Stephen A. Smith’s new contract places him near the top of highest-paid sportscasters. ESPN on Friday announced a new contract extension with the fast-talking host worth $100+ million over five years, making SAS the network’s highest-paid talent ever. His new contract involves an expanded role in NFL programming like Monday Night Countdown, and reportedly allows SAS more time to make appearances on outside platforms to talk politics.
It’s conference tournament week for men’s basketball. The vast majority of the 31 NCAA D1 men’s basketball conferences are hosting their conference tournaments this week. Regular season champions #1 Duke (ACC), #2 Houston (Big 12), #3 Auburn (SEC), and #7 Michigan State (Big Ten) will all look to carry their momentum into the postseason ahead of Selection Sunday on March 16.
🔢 By the Numbers
Here are five stats from this past week that made our team say “whoa.” Hopefully you will, too.
- NFL teams had a collective $1+ billion in salary cap space entering the offseason, as revenue increases keep driving up the cap (from ~$225M in 2023 to ~$279M in 2025).
- George Mason baseball broke a 42-year-old NCAA record by scoring 23 runs in a single inning against Holy Cross last week.
- 300+ pro women’s tennis players are eligible for one year’s paid maternity leave after new WTA funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
- The OKC Thunder (+12.98) and Cleveland Cavaliers (+11.38) are on pace for the #1 and #6 single-season scoring differentials in NBA history; the current top five all won a championship.
- Liverpool managed just 29.5% possession (their lowest ever) and two shots in last week’s Champions League match against PSG – but still secured a 1-0 victory.
✅ Cool Things to Click
Special stuff: Johnny Buckets is a high school basketball player battling Stage 4B Hodgkin's lymphoma. Despite that, he hasn’t missed a game all season – and just dropped 31 points in the sectional championship.
Explore: Grading the good, the bad, and the ugly from every key NFL free agency deal.
Read: How Rick Pitino turned St. John's into a national title contender
🤔 Trivia
Lab coat and goggles, on: Time to nerd out
Below you’ll find five different statistical abbreviations introduced to sports by the analytics movement. Your job is to tell us what each acronym stands for.
- WAR
- QBR
- OPS+
- LEBRON
- RAPTOR
🤔 Answers
