Host: So T minus 11 hours for the return of the Fall Classic. Now tonight in Milwaukee, the Brewers play their first World Series game in 44 years. Now, in the visitor dugout will sit the Tampa Bay Rays. Now, both franchises have two World Series appearances under their belt, but get this, no World Series trophy. So joining me now is Rick Harrow, FinTech sports business analyst and CEO of Harrow Sports Ventures to talk sports and a lot more. So, thanks for joining us today, Rick. Um, hey, I'm happy that you can watch, uh, the game and not be worried about whether your Yankees are gonna be winning or not. So congratulations.
Rick Harrow: Well, thank you for that.
Host: But again, top of mind tonight, 122nd, uh, edition of the Fall Classic. Neither the Rays nor the Brewers have ever won the World Series. The Yankees, they have, but let's, uh, take us through the storyline surrounding this specific series this year.
Rick Harrow: Here's the biggest storyline. The low payroll, everybody says if it's big payrolls, well, that's great, but it's bad for baseball. If it's low payrolls, no one's going to watch. That's not the case. The Brewers, by the way, 19th in payroll, $1.9 billion in value. Don't hold a bake sale for them, versus the raise of 27 and 24 respectively, depending on what you believe are the exact numbers. But look, that payroll, you combine them, you times them by 10, and you still don't get the. Dodgers and everybody says, well, it's bad for baseball for the Dodgers to be in it. Let's remember that baseball over time has had no repeat winners other than last year since your Yankees in three straight from '98 to 2000. We're going to start some labor issues. December 1 is D-Day. The system needs to be changed, and the real question is, is there a salary cap and a salary floor that may postpone baseball for a year or two? We're just going to have to see.
Host: We definitely are just going to have to see, Rick. So let's talk about the NFL. Let's switch some gears. Plenty of drama going on there on and off the field apparently. So Monday Night Football announcer Joe Buck and Troy Aikman reportedly almost getting into a fistfight before a game earlier this month. So this stems from Aikman's looming contract expiration with ESPN. So does Aikman wish Buck will be back to call the World Series instead of football this upcoming Monday? Rick, what's going on here?
Rick Harrow: What am I, a psychiatrist? I mean, at the end of the day, there's the issue. The issue is that Stephen A. Smith, Brady, McAfee are in the 30 to 40 million a year. Pantheon. Joe Buck just got an extension of 6 years and 108 million. Ekman sitting next to him has been stonewalled until the end of the Super Bowl. It's a business decision, but those two guys had chemistry, and I know everybody in the industry, both on the financial side, by the way, you and everybody else is looking at the next round of TV negotiations because clearly the franchise values of television rights are definitely tied to happy broadcasters. What are you saying?
Host: All right, well, I mean, listen, maybe we can be making that type of money one day, Rick. I don't know, you can sit right here next to me and we can have that type of chemistry, but, um, let's go ahead and switch over to the NFL now. So, Eagles Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts is out for the year after a blood clot that was found in his lungs. So there's a lot of conversation right now because there's controversy surrounding the team's doctors for clearing him for a game in London which obviously involves, you know, taking a long flight, staying up for 36 hours straight. So the NFL Players Association is calling for an investigation. So what changes in protocols as well as punishment could come from this health scare?
Rick Harrow: Well, not only am I'm not a psychiatrist clearly, but I'm not a doctor. When you mention blood clots and thrombosis, and that's pretty scary. At the end of the day, it's not just a trip from New York to New Jersey, it's London and it's across the pond. Were the protocols followed. Everybody seems to think that there were protocols that were followed with best intentions. Jeff Lurry, by the way, friend, owner, he's now sitting. On a franchise worth $10 billion and its sixth or seventh net value in the entire NFL, $700 million in revenue, he's not going to do anything to jeopardize his asset, who's also a good friend and an ambassador to the franchise and doing all the right things, I guess my comment is NFLPA investigating, Roger Goodell waiting for the transparency, and then we'll see from a doctor's perspective what the protocols are that need to be tweaked. I certainly don't have the answer, but I understand the process is important.
Host: Yes, the process is definitely important and also Rick continuing on with conversations about the NFL, the league choosing not to cancel the game this weekend taking place in Paris between the Saints and the Steelers despite these ongoing riots in France. So what does this game mean for the NFL's growth? And I think the big question is, is it worth the risk?
Rick Harrow: Well, you always take a look at this big situation, and I know that the commissioner has spoken to Marco Rubio at a Secretary of State's perspective. So there's high level input going into this decision. There were 62 international games with the NFL going into this year, 9 this year. Paris, a linchpin. The Steelers and New Orleans, an important game. Heavy rain and wind focused on this weekend as well, in addition to the civil unrest. NFL experience may be postponed. The Steelers Fan Fest will be postponed or canceled. At the end of the day, it's very important that the NFL security is as tight as it is for the Super Bowl, if not more.
Host: Yes, no, it's definitely going to be top of mind in a conversation that's going to be leading into the weekend. So Rick, let's go ahead and talk about college game now. History was made last Saturday when 5 of the AP top 7 teams lost on that same Saturday, breaking a long-standing 90-year record. So there were also a number of controversial endings. Continuing a running trend this season. And meanwhile, Miami's president calling out the school's conference and saying that the ACC is second tier. So, Rick, I know you are a Miami fan. There you go. So walk us through the ending of the FSU victory last week and uh what you make of the president's comments.
Rick Harrow: Objective. Full disclosure, I was there. Look, it was a Hail Mary and then another Hail Mary, and you're still 8 points behind. So let's not get ahead of ourselves on that. The president's comments are posturing, but that's what a president is supposed to do. When you look at the relative values of revenues from the SEC and the ACC, are you going to show it again? All right, fine, that's OK. At the end of the day, my Miami is now number one, as we all understand, but it's only August, excuse me, October, and when you think about it, it's a situation if you go from 16 to 12 to 16 to 24 teams in a playoff, these games may not be as important because you can afford a loss. You may be able to afford a second loss, but at the end of the day this is a $400 million revenue. Play you need it for NIL. You need it for coaches buyouts. And I remember '84. I'm going to finish this by telling you that when '83 finished and Howard Schnellerberg was a coach, Miami was 5 going into a national championship game. They beat Nebraska 31-30, ended up number one, and I didn't go to Miami, but I lived down there and don't start talking to me about it or I'll talk about your Yankees.
Host: No, I love it, Rick. All right, Rick, well, thank you so much for joining us today here on Market Moves. Always a pleasure to have you. See you soon.
