Sports
Sources: Big Ten mulling $2B private capital deal
The Big Ten is in discussions about a private capital deal that would infuse at least $2 billion into the league and its schools, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
The discussions include a 10-year extension of the league’s grant of rights until 2046, sources told ESPN, which would ensure long-term stability in the Big Ten.
According to sources, the private capital deal and grant of rights extension have been discussed for months and presented in multiple forms. A deal and the grant of rights extension would also be a distinct blow to the outside entities attempting to form super leagues around college sports.
While there is support from nearly the entire league, according to sources, a few of the league’s biggest brands — including Ohio State and Michigan — are still in discussions with the league. The aim is to have unanimous support before a vote, sources told ESPN.
A decision on the private capital deal is expected in the upcoming weeks from the schools in the Big Ten, sources said, and nothing is considered imminent or certain. There are three different private capital entities being considered by the Big Ten, sources told ESPN, and the league has not taken a vote on any plan.
Like most businesses, athletic departments can always use more money to cover ever-increasing costs. The need is particularly acute now for schools with middle and lower revenues within the league after the NCAA’s recent settlement of legal cases that has led to direct revenue sharing with athletes.
The setup being discussed, sources said, is that this will essentially be the formation of a new commercial entity within the Big Ten that would house all revenue generation such as media rights, sponsorships and league revenue streams.
The working title for the new entity is Big Ten Enterprises, sources told ESPN.
The private capital company would get money back through the new entity through annual distribution in proportion to its financial stake. The Big Ten will essentially have 20 equity shares, comprising the 18 schools, the league and this investor.
Sources told ESPN that this setup eliminates the need to give an outside investor a specific portion of control over decisions or board seats, something that college presidents have generally been uncomfortable with.
“Think of it this way — the conference is not selling a piece of the conference,” a league source told ESPN. “Traditional conference functions would remain 100 percent with the conference office — scheduling, officiating and championships. The new entity being created would focus on business development, and it would include an outside investor with a small financial stake.”
One of the philosophies behind the proposed move, which is being shepherded by Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, is that the league believes its ability to generate revenue holistically has been underserved, and it would be sharing a small percentage of greater profits with the outside investor.
It also helps the league potentially better scale and leverage its 18 members.
Another source familiar with the Big Ten’s discussions summed it up this way: “We’re underselling the strength of what we do the way we are structured. This is a way to organize ourselves better.”
As a micro example of that, Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen was quoted in an Associated Press article last week on the looming discussion of teams wearing corporate logos on their jersey: “If you jump in now, and I’m going to get a little bit [of money] because of the jersey patches. I would really like to see if there’s an opportunity for our conference to put all those jersey patch rights together and, all of a sudden, they’re worth a whole lot more to the institutions when 18 are playing instead of just one.”
The potentially groundbreaking plan, which has been presented across the 18-member conference over the past few months, calls for immediate cash payments to each school, the amount based on a formula that factors in numerous variables including current budgets.
The amount of those payments is still being discussed, but the basic format, sources told ESPN, is believed to be tiered. All schools in the league are expected to receive at least a nine-figure amount up front.
The final financial details are still being discussed as universities with bigger brands are expected to receive more money.
“Our membership has clearly expressed the need to modernize the operations and structure of our conference to ensure that the Big Ten remains best positioned to offer the highest level of athletic and academic excellence in a rapidly evolving landscape,” a Big Ten spokesperson told ESPN in a statement when asked about the private capital.
“Over a year ago, we initiated a comprehensive evaluation of our practices to identify partnerships that could secure the financial stability of our member institutions and allow us to not only protect, but expand, opportunities for our student-athletes. This is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to finding a path that strengthens the conference for the future.”
The 2025 MLB division series matchups are starting to take shape after the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to advance out of the wild-card round.
L.A.’s sweep sets up a division series showdown with the Philadelphia Phillies starting Saturday in Philadelphia.
What have we learned about each team so far? What does each remaining team need to do to move on to the league championship series? Which players could be October difference-makers? And which favorites should be on upset watch in the round ahead?
ESPN MLB experts Jorge Castillo, Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield are here to break it all down as every division series matchup is set.
Key links: Mega-preview | Bracket | Schedule
Jump to a matchup:
LAD-PHI
NLDS: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Upset forecast: (Dodgers win more simulations) Why no number in that parenthetical information? We’d have to use too many decimals! The Dodgers did win more sims, but their edge was four — out of 10,000 runs of the forecasting machinery. In that sense, there can’t possibly be an upset in this matchup between, quite possibly, the two strongest teams left in the bracket.
This feels like a matchup that the bullpens will decide, and even that is a toss-up. The Dodgers led the majors in blown saves during the second half, but their bullpen numbers are better than Philadelphia’s since the start of September. Maybe it’s as simple as this: When in doubt, pick the team that has Shohei Ohtani.
Phillies concern level: Nonexistent. Look, the Phillies know who they are playing. But with Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Cristopher Sanchez and Jhoan Duran on their side, this is not a team that is going to fret about anything. They will just wait for the adrenaline to flow. — Doolittle
Los Angeles Dodgers
What impressed you most about them in the wild-card round?
The Dodgers haven’t really run out their “A” team for most of the season as they babied their starters for much of the season, but now we can see how good this team can be with a healthy rotation. Blake Snell was dominant in the first game until finally tiring in the seventh. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the seasonlong ace for the Dodgers, was solid in Game 2, escaping a bases-loaded no-outs jam in the sixth. The Dodgers were confident enough in those two that they saved Ohtani for what would have been Game 3 — and now is Game 1 of the NLDS. Oh, Ohtani can hit a little, too. Remember, the Dodgers won it all last season with Ohtani having a good-but-not-great postseason at the plate. After his two-homer game in Game 1, watch out.
Why will/won’t it continue against the Phillies?
The Dodgers certainly have to love where they are. Ohtani slowly worked his way up to a normal workload and pitched six innings in his final start, throwing 91 pitches. He allowed just one run over his final four appearances and surrendered just three home runs in 47 innings. Thanks to having three potential off days to play five games in this series, Ohtani could start Game 5 on six days of rest.
After his initial one-inning appearances in June, Ohtani was given at least six days off between starts, and his three starts in September came with eight, 10 and six days of rest, and he will have 10 days before his Game 1 NLDS appearance. The Dodgers will worry about the NLCS if they get there.
Which one player must deliver for L.A. to move on?
This is clearly about players, plural — as in relief pitchers. The sketchy Dodgers bullpen didn’t ease the confidence of Dodgers fans — or Dave Roberts — with a poor showing in Game 1 against Cincinnati, when the Dodgers had a 10-2 lead only to see the bullpen start walking everybody and the Reds load the bases and have the tying run on deck. Who Roberts trusts in the highest-leverage situations — and can deliver — remains a question. — Schoenfield
Philadelphia Phillies
What carried the Phillies to an October bye?
The starting rotation and a monster season from Kyle Schwarber. The rotation led the NL in ERA and led the majors — by 51 innings — in innings pitched. Cristopher Sanchez led the way with an absolute monster season of his own — in fact, it was Sanchez, and not Paul Skenes or Tarik Skubal, who led the majors in Baseball-Reference WAR. Meanwhile, Schwarber led the NL with 56 home runs and 132 RBIs, including setting a major league record with 23 home runs as a left-handed batter against left-handed pitchers.
Will it continue against the Dodgers?
Of course, a large part of that rotation success was Zack Wheeler, but he’s out for the postseason. Ranger Suarez had a terrific season but wasn’t great his final three starts, allowing 12 runs and four home runs in 14⅓ innings. And the fourth starter after Jesus Luzardo is either Aaron Nola, who doesn’t exactly inspire confidence given his 6.01 ERA and mediocre postseason results in his career, or Walker Buehler, who was signed at the end of August after the Red Sox released him. In other words: There are at least some slight concerns here for a rotation that was so good.
As for Schwarber: He has proved before he’s a tough out in October, and coming off his best season, he’s primed for a big postseason.
Which one player must deliver to put Philadelphia in the NLCS?
Trea Turner feels like the key guy here. Schwarber and Bryce Harper have been clutch playoff performers throughout their careers, but the Phillies will need offense from more than just those two — and that’s been a problem the past two postseasons. Turner had his best season with the Phillies but missed most of September with a hamstring injury, returning only for two at-bats in the final game of the regular season. He sets the table for Schwarber and Harper. If he’s getting on base, that’s a very good thing. — Schoenfield
Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique could only admire the spectacle on display Wednesday night at the Olympic Stadium.
What he saw was his PSG side rally for victory against his former team Barcelona to secure a 2-1 win and a perfect record in the Champions League after two matches of the league phase.
Gonçalo Ramos capped the comeback in second-half stoppage time in front of a stunned home crowd, who saw their team lose its first match of the season and for the third time in a row at home to PSG following defeats in the 2021 and 2024 Champions League knockout rounds.
“We’ve seen an excellent game,” Luis Enrique said. “When you see two teams who don’t kick each other, who go out to play and to do damage with the ball, you get a really good spectacle. [Barcelona] were better until their goal. We recovered well. We were better in the second half.
“We played really well. It was difficult at first. Barcelona have a lot of quality. We made mistakes in the first 20 minutes. We were better after the break, we deserved it. It’s a big win. It’s always hard playing against Barça. It’s an important win for confidence. Last year, we struggled in the league phase.”
The game also highlighted the stellar play of PSG outside backs Achraf Hakimi, who set up Ramos for the winning goal, and Nuno Mendes, who assisted on PSG’s opening goal and largely shut down Barça star Lamine Yamal in the second half.
Yamal got off to a promising start Wednesday, awing the crowd with a great run just minutes into the match at Montjuic stadium. But he couldn’t do much more after that, with the 23-year-old Mendes containing him most of the time.
“I’m very pleased to see the younger players thriving in this match; learning, playing well, impressing our fans,” Luis Enrique said after the match. “We consistently play rivals of a really high level. The most important thing for me is our DNA, our attitude — as a squad and as a club — and that’s what we saw today.”
The 18-year-old Yamal made his first start for Barcelona since August because of an injury sustained while playing with Spain’s national team during the international break in September. He came off the bench for the Catalan club in its 2-1 win against Real Sociedad in LaLiga on Sunday.
PSG is the the first team to win three straight road games against Barcelona in major European competitions, while Hansi Flick’s side was looking to win a sixth consecutive match across all competitions.
Luis Enrique did not want to read too much into the result with just two rounds of the Champions League played thus far, and a good chance his team will see Barcelona at some point down the line as the tournament progresses.
“This is just one result so in no case [does it prove anything],” Luis Enrique said. “Barça are among the candidates to win the Champions League. They play really well. They are a top level side. This is just the start of the competition. There are six games left; we will see what happens.
“But I have no doubts because I like how they play. There are not many teams with a clear identity like theirs. Barça are clearly among the favourites with us. But it’s just getting started. Let’s see how everyone arrives to the knockout rounds.”
ESPN’s Sam Marsden and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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San Diego Padres star reliever Mason Miller made MLB postseason history on Wednesday night in an effort to keep his team’s season alive.
The Padres needed a win in Game 2 of their Wild Card series against the Chicago Cubs after losing Game 1 on Tuesday afternoon in the Windy City, and they leaned on the star-studded bullpen to get the job done.
Miller was among those as he pitched nearly two innings, but it was his ninth pitch of the night that rewrote the MLB record books. The flame-throwing righty threw a 104.5 mph fastball to strike out Cubs catcher Carson Kelly.
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Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres throws a pitch in the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs during game two of the National League Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field on Oct. 1, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
That pitch wasn’t just the fastest Miller has thrown in his career, but it’s also the fastest pitch in the postseason since pitching track in 2008, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
It was an incredible outing by Miller, who struck out all five of the batters he faced over 1.2 innings of work. In all, he’s seen seven batters in this Wild Card series, and he’s set all of them down by strikeout.
BASEBALL FAN GOES VIRAL FOR WORKING ON LAPTOP DURING CUBS’ WIN OVER BREWERS
The Padres went with Robert Suarez, another stud right-hander, for the final four outs in the 3-0 victory that brings this postseason bout to a decisive Game 3 on Thursday in Chicago.
Freddy Fermin and Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres interact during Game Two of the National League Wild Card Series between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
San Diego’s offense saw a jolt thanks to veteran third baseman Manny Machado, who belted a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to pull ahead after one run scored by the Padres in the first inning.
The Padres’ pitching staff held the Cubs to just four scattered hits in this game, as Dylan Cease went 3.2 innings, allowing three hits and striking out five over his 69-pitch outing.
It may have been short, but that’s what happens when you have the arms San Diego does in the bullpen. Adrian Morejon went 2.1 innings without allowing a hit before Miller came in.
Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres pitches during Game Two of the National League Wild Card Series between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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More of the same should be expected in a do-or-die game, though the ball will first go to the veteran Yu Darvish. The Cubs will turn to Jameson Taillon to start Game 3.
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