🏉 The AFL Is Really Rich

Howdy, it's Wednesday, 7 September. Our dear friend and Sport Today newsletter subscriber* Justin Timberlake once said a million dollars isn't cool. What's cool is a billion dollars. If that's still the case, the AFL is positively arctic after it locked up a multi-billion TV deal yesterday. We're shivering just thinking about it.

*JT's invitation is still pending and we're not sure it's even his real email address TBH

⏱ 1,450 words = 7 minutes

👀 Catch of the summer?

THE MAIN GAME

🏉 The AFL's strikes a multi-Gillion dollar deal

That's not a typo. That's a new word we've created in honour of AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan after he pulled off the biggest broadcasting deal in Australian sports history.

Golden points: Yesterday afternoon, the AFL announced it has signed a 7-year, 4.5 billion broadcast rights deal with the Seven Network and Foxtel.

• Seven and Foxtel are the league's incumbent broadcasters and they're going to be that for a while after upping their existing deal to keep the AFL until the end of 2031.

• Over the next 2 years, Seven and Foxtel will pay the AFL $473 million each year but that figure goes up to a whopping $643 million per season from 2025 when the new deal kicks in.

• Channel 10 and its American owners Paramount reportedly put in an offer worth $6 billion over 10 years and were going to show more free-to-air matches, but the Seven-Foxtel bid was more lucrative and won out.

• So what's it gonna look like? Well, largely the same but given Foxtel is chipping in 60% of the cashola, it's getting a few extras, like exclusive games on Saturdays for the 1st 8 rounds and its own commentators at all games except the grand final.

• But the big one might be around delayed matches. Games in NSW, Qld, SA and WA will have "holdback" games, as the AFL calls them, which are essentially delayed games that are shown on Seven 2-3 hours later. So if you wanna watch all the footy live, better get that Kayo subscription.

• Seven has its own wins, like showing Thursday night games on its free-to-air and digital channels for the 1st 15 rounds of each season, it'll show at least 30 AFLW games per season and of course the big one - it exclusively broadcasts the grand final.

What they said: "We want to be the game for everyone. And this partnership will help us to do more to engage with all communities, in all states and territories and across Indigenous and culturally diverse communities," - McLachlan says the gillions are going far and wide (and 28% is probs going to the players).

What's next: Well the new deal does kick in until 2025 but the next box to tick for McLachlan is the team in Tasmania. He says that could be voted on in a few weeks, so hang in there Tassie - not long to go!

QUICK SINGLES

🎾 Tennis: Ajla Tomljanovic's dream run at the US Open is over. Tomljanovic lost to #5 seed Ons Jabeur this morning 6-4, 7-6(4) in straight sets. Service games were broken at will in this match but when it mattered, Tomljanovic's serve let her down. She served 9 double faults, 5 of them in the 2nd set and Jabeur pounced. Despite the loss, it was a heck of a tournament by Tomljanovic, who'll forever be known as the player who ended Serena Williams' career (unless she makes a comeback).

⚽️ Football: The Matildas fall short against Canada again. This was meant to be a payback game after Australia lost 1-0 to Canada on Saturday and things looked good when Mary Fowler scored in the 3rd minute. But the Matildas have been hit hard by injury and it got worse last night when Cortnee Vine and Caitlin Foord were subbed off either side of halftime. Canada scored in the 48th and 64th minutes - both goals to Adriana Leon - and that was that, 2-1 to Canada. There'll be some scrutiny on coach Tony Gustavsson - the Matildas have won just one match from 18 attempts against teams ranked in the top 20 under his coaching.

🎾 Tennis: Nick Kyrgios is now the favourite to win the US Open. He's now top dog after Rafael Nadal was knocked out by American Frances Tiafoe in 4 sets yesterday. Kyrgios can focus all of his attention on the singles now that he and partner Thanasi Kokkinakis were knocked out of the doubles yesterday by Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara despite having a match point. Kyrgios plays Russian Karen Khachanov later this morning the quarters and the 2 have a bit of history...

🏏 Cricket: Cameron Green cramps up but doesn't choke to guide Australia to victory. Green scored a career-high 89no to help chase down New Zealand's 9-231 in the 1st ODI in Cairns. Green could barely move at the end when things were getting tight - he says he was cramping in his calves, hamstrings, groins and forearms (how do you get a forearm cramp?!) but says he should be right to go for the 2nd ODI on Thursday.

🏉 NRL: Latrell Mitchell isn't angry, he's just disappointed. That's so much worse! In this case, Mitchell says he is disappointed with Roosters fans who relentlessly booed him last Friday night in Souths' loss at the new Allianz Stadium. Mitchell won 2 comps with the Roosters before he left for the club's arch-rivals, so that might be why the fans hold a grudge. He pointed out how AFL legend Adam Goodes retired from constant fan abuse but says he can cop it for now.

LEFT OF FIELD

♟ Chess: There's a bit happening in the world of chess. Magnus Carlsen, perhaps the greatest player of the modern era, abruptly withdrew from a tournament in St Louis after a loss to 19yo American hotshot Hans Niemann. Carlsen hasn't said much, other than he can't say much, but the speculation is that Carlsen believes Niemann cheated in their match. It's split the chess community - some say something is suss after Niemann said he miraculously studied the unusual move that beat Carlsen on the day of the match, while others say it's pretty hard to cheat these days. Tournament organisers have delayed the broadcast as an extra precaution just in case there is any foul play. Here's a full breakdown of how it's all played out.

📽 Highlight reel: Glenn Maxwell missed out with the bat yesterday in Cairns but he took a career-best 4-52 with the ball and took an absolute screamer in the field.

📸 Photo finish: It had been 5 years since Celtic played in the Champions League group stage so you bet Celtic Park was humming this morning. Unfortunately, the home side lost 3-0, but there's a long way to go.

THE POLLING BOOTH

Tuesday's result: 68.52% are happy with the Channel Seven/Foxtel coverage of the AFL, which is a good thing because it ain't going nowhere for a while.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

• ⚾️ 8:30am - MLB - Orioles v Blues Jays - Oriole Park, Baltimore - Foxtel, Kayo

• 🎾 9:00am - US Open - Day 9 - Flushing Meadows, New York - 9Gem, 9Now, Stan Sport

• ⚽️ 5:00am (Thursday) - Champions League - Napoli v Liverpool - Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Naples - Stan Sport

All times AEST

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