Eagles coach Nick Sirianni's contract expires after 2025
Before he received an extension last month, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell had a contract that ran through 2025. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni's contract currently runs through 2025 — and he has yet to get an extension.
He'll be offered one. There's no doubt about it. Earlier this week, owner Jeffrey Lurie said this about Sirianni's deal, via Zach Berman of PHLY: 'His future is going to be great. We never talk about contracts publicly in 30 years, so I'm not going to start now, but he's great.'
It's one thing to be great. It's another thing to come to a mutual agreement as to the price of his greatness.
Adam Schefter of ESPN.com suggests that a win in Super Bowl LIX 'would be worth millions' to Sirianni. This assumes that Lurie will allocate even more money to whatever he currently is willing to offer. Without knowing what Lurie already plans to put on the table, it's impossible to know whether this assumption is warranted. Win or lose, Lurie might have a bottom-line number in mind for Lurie — and Lurie might shrug at an expectation for a significant bump if the Eagles do what they failed to do in Super Bowl LVII.
Sirianni doesn't get as much credit as he could for a 14-3 season that secured the No. 2 seed in the NFC. In the coach of the year voting, Sirianni finished 12th, garnering only three fifth-place votes from the 50 AP voters.
For the Vikings, the urgency to get O'Connell's contract done came from a concern that O'Connell would finish his contract next year and become a free agent. With no salary cap and no franchise tag (but with a strong whiff of collusion when it comes to coaching contracts), the Vikings would have risked having O'Connell finish his deal and walk away without compensation after one more year.
For the Eagles, is there similar urgency? Jay Glazer's Week 18 Sunday Splash! report regarding teams being interested in trading for a current coach was about O'Connell, not Sirianni. If other teams regard the Eagles' recent success as the product of an All-Star lineup of talent compiled by G.M. Howie Roseman and not Sirianni's game plans or in-game decision-making, would there be a land rush of franchises throwing blank checks at him like beads on Bourbon Street?
If Sirianni would choose to walk away from the best roster in football after 2025, coaching candidates would line up out the door for the chance to take his place. Sirianni could end up with a lesser team, and a different coach could end up with his team.
So even though Schefter's article seems to suggest that, if the Eagles win, Lurie had better pay up or risk losing Sirianni after next season, it seems that the Eagles are far less concerned about that outcome than the Vikings were about seeing O'Connell possibly exit for a new team.
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NBC Sports
27 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
WNBA's 'Line ‘Em Up" initiative has league's three-point line installed at outdoor courts around the country
Bethany Donaphin, a former player and now the head of league operations for the WNBA, remembers what it was like to grow up in New York City in the 1990s loving basketball. As a tween she would make it a point during recess to play basketball out on the blacktop. Donaphin was always the only girl playing, something that looking back was a bold choice. It was a decision that took a ton of confidence and a boat load of risk to participate in a situation where she was the only girl. It took a lot of guts for a 12-year-old Donaphin to want to set herself apart, especially at a time when most girls are looking to fit in. Donaphin's early memories resonate for many former and current WNBA players. This idea that young girls always had something to prove and were underestimated when they stepped onto an outdoor court in a park or blacktop at school has been the inescapable reality, the status quo. This summer the WNBA is looking to challenge that common experience with the launch of their new nationwide initiative 'Line 'Em Up,' which will paint the official WNBA three-point line on outdoor park basketball courts across the United States. The league will launch this officially in New York on Thursday at the outdoor courts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, and later in July the league will take the campaign to Indianapolis for WNBA All-Star Weekend. 'This is so necessary in order to represent the league in spaces that are iconic,' WNBA Chief Marketing Officer Phil Cook told NBC Sports about the initiative. 'There's not a basketball player in the world who hasn't spent some time dribbling on an outdoor space, and we, [the WNBA] belong in that space. And women, young women, have been going to the park for as long as park basketball has been happening. They just haven't had their representation in that space.' The program has been teased by WNBA players including Atlanta Dream star Allisha Gray, Lynx point guard Courtney Williams, Phoenix Mercury point-forward Alyssa Thomas and Sparks sophomore wing Rickea Jackson in addition to personalities associated with the league including GMA's Robin Roberts and ESPN's Arielle Chambers. Last week on Instagram the teases included photos of a mysterious looking blue background which included a bright orange curved line. Last July at WNBA All-Star in Phoenix was when Cook and his team began having conversations about how the WNBA could lay down its legacy in a tangible and more vibrant way. How could the league create something that's representative and 'replicable' but also represents the work the league has done to grow the game of basketball for women, girls and nonbinary people on a larger scale? Over breakfast in Phoenix, Cook and his staff discussed how the league could pursue a project that wouldn't just last during tentpole events including the WNBA Draft, the WNBA All-Star Game, the Commisioner's Cup, the playoffs and WNBA Finals. The league was looking for something permanent. The league enlisted the independent creative marketing company JOAN to come up with a campaign that could represent the ways in which the WNBA has attempted to challenge the status quo, grow the game and encourage empowerment of girls and young people everywhere. Representatives from the marketing agency came back to Cook and his team with the idea to paint a WNBA three-point line on outdoor courts at parks across the country working in conjunction with different cities and parks and recreation departments. 'It's a very simple replicable idea that we hope every single outdoor park across the country, and every driveway across the country chalks up their three point line in orange chalk,' Cook said. Beyond New York City and Indianapolis as the first two major places to get these new orange three-point lines, Cook sees a huge opportunity for the league's two upcoming expansion cities in Toronto and Portland to get involved in the campaign. All of the league's current 13 teams including the newest in the Golden State Valkyries have been briefed on the campaign and how they can look to execute painting orange three-point lines in parks within their local communities. As part of the campaign, the league will make a donation to each park that participates in painting an orange three-point line on their courts. To accompany the WNBA's launch of the 'Line 'Em Up' campaign, the league enlisted Korean-Canadian director Iris Kim to create a film that would introduce the program and illustrate the need for orange WNBA three-point lines across the country. The nearly four-minute video includes shots of some of the most famous outdoor parks in the country including Rucker Park in Harlem, Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and two other New York City parks in Dykman and The Cage. Later the film introduces former players Epiphanny Prince, Chamique Holdsclaw and Sue Bird in addition to current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles, who traveled to New York during Sun training camp to be a part of the film. The four native New Yorkers explain what it was like growing up and playing on outdoor courts and the challenges that came with often being some of only young women. 'Growing up in Queens, NY at that time, it was really hard to be a female to get on the court,' Charles said in the film. 'I know I had something to prove. We've all been through it. All the greats, all the ones that you're fans of.' And that includes Holdsclaw who told the story of how she used to hustle all the guys who underestimated her. The film also features two New York community leaders in Sharon Bond and Alex Taylor who have both founded and led organizations that try to encourage participation in basketball for women and girls. Both Bond and Taylor explain that having the new orange three-point line painted on outdoor courts is boon for representation and it sends the message that women and girls are wanted in these spaces. Bird ends the film by stating the mission statement of the entire campaign, which is that the next generation of players won't know a world without a WNBA orange three-point line painted across America. The campaign represents the very fact that the WNBA has become more mainstream and more accessible in the past few years. The league isn't distant and it's much easier now more than ever to understand that the WNBA isn't going anywhere and will be an institution that stands the test of time. Donaphin thinks about what it would have been like if she had an orange three-point line to accompany her during those days when she was working hard on her game and often the only girl out there doing it. 'If I had had an orange line while I was going through that process, I think it would have given not just me, but the other kids around me, an understanding that, yeah, what I was doing was completely part of of what any person would do if they if they love something,' Donaphin told NBC Sports. 'And that there was a place for me there.'
Indianapolis Star
an hour ago
- Indianapolis Star
Personal touches, secret messages: Behind the scenes of making Caitlin Clark's new Wilson basketballs
INDIANAPOLIS – Caitlin Clark's favorite color is blue. Outside of the gym, she's happiest being on the water or a golf course. She says the same thing to teammate Aliyah Boston before every Indiana Fever game. When you buy one of the basketballs in Clark's new line from Wilson, you're not just getting a ball. You're getting a glimpse of Clark herself. The colors, the patterns, the detailing — all are the result of months-long conversations between Clark and Wilson's design team about who she is, what she likes and what messages she wants to send to young fans. 'It was a really fun process for me to go through,' Clark told USA TODAY Sports. 'It's things that are super important to me and all very different things, too, throughout my life. So hopefully they can make an impact on whoever's going to pick the ball up.' Clark joined Michael Jordan as the only athletes with full basketball collections for Wilson, signing a multiyear sponsorship deal in May 2024 with the official manufacturer of basketballs for the WNBA, NBA and NCAA. In part because of the short turnaround time before the release of her first signature ball last October, Clark's first line leaned heavily into history. The records she broke at Iowa. Her historic rookie season with the Fever. But Clark and Wilson knew they wanted future lines to be more personal, reflecting who Clark is as a person as much as a player. 'She's actually influencing this. It's not just people at Wilson picking the design,' said Hudson Vantrease, director of product design at Wilson. 'We never wanted to just put her name on a ball and call it a day,' he added. 'We want to tell the most compelling story, and having her as part of that is a positive to it.' Wilson invited USA TODAY Sports to attend the design team meeting in April where Clark saw the finished basketballs for the first time. The design team also gave USA TODAY Sports a behind-the-scenes look at the collaboration process with Clark for the latest collection, which will be released June 23. There are four balls in the collection, and they differ in both purpose (one is an indoor-only ball, one is outdoor-only and two can be used either indoors or outdoors) and price point. One, the Embrace, is an Evo NXT basketball, meaning it has the same construction as a regulation W ball and could be used in official games. 'Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome,' Clark said when she walked into the Fever's practice gym and saw the four new basketballs. 'You guys killed it.' The team responsible for developing Clark's line has about a dozen core members. They met with Clark at last year's All-Star Game and got her initial thoughts about the collection, including what a young Caitlin Clark would have wanted. 'I think she said a blue ball,' said Haley Reines, the product line manager at Wilson. Afterward, Reines and product designer Julia Muscarello sent Clark a detailed questionnaire, asking her everything from her favorite color to her hobbies outside of basketball to what she'd be if she wasn't a basketball player (chef). They also monitored social media, taking note of Clark's clothes — there's an Instagram account devoted to her fits — and what she does off the court. 'I don't want to say borderline stalking, but yeah,' Muscarello said with a laugh. 'I was trying to stay on the Caitlin pulse.' Those answers and details drove the design process, which involved 'hundreds' of hours. Christopher Rickert, the senior director of global production at Wilson, said the team began with 50 design ideas and whittled them down. Sometimes the color wasn't right. Sometimes the pattern didn't work. Sometimes what seemed like a great idea on paper didn't quite translate into reality. When the team had 10 ideas, they sent the designs to Clark for her thoughts. There were further tweaks, and prototypes were made to make sure the designs looked the same on an actual basketball as they did in drawings. The four designs ultimately chosen for this year's line all have very different looks, but there's a commonality to all of them. Clark. 'Whenever I do something, I want to make it the best product possible for people. But also I feel like this is an easy way for me to connect with my fans,' Clark said of being so involved in the design process. 'I want it to feel very personal for them, too. They can connect with me, not just by watching me on TV or coming and buying a ticket to a game.' Take the Oasis ball, which can be used indoors and outdoors. Clark told Reines and Muscarello her favorite color is blue, she likes pastels and her happy places are the water and golf course. So the panels of the Oasis ball are white and light blue, and the light blue panels have what looks like pink and green splashes of paint but is actually an abstract drawing of a golf course. Clark picked up on it right away when she saw the ball. 'That looks like a hole on a golf course!' she exclaimed. Light blue is also the shade used for the pattern on the Envision, an outdoor ball. At first glance, it looks like a maze, but it's really the words 'DREAM BIG.' That phrase is also on the Aspire, an indoor/outdoor ball that at first appears to be white or grey. Put it in the sunlight, however, and the phrases 'Dream Big,' 'Keep Going' and 'You're Going to Be Amazing Because You Are Amazing' emerge in bold, Fever-red letters. That last phrase is what Clark says to Boston before every game. 'See, she loves it!' Clark said, pointing to a picture of her and Boston on the bench that was on the design team's planning whiteboard. 'We'll get her a free basketball. She'll love it. I'm going to put it in her locker.' Because the Embrace is an official basketball, it cannot have any obvious detailing. Look closely, though, and you can see a pattern — again, light blue — within the Wilson logo and in what looks like a sunburst around the airhole. Both are the visual representation of the decibel level at a Fever game; the Wilson team took an audio file of the sound and made a graphic out of it. 'Fans really admire how she just plays so well under pressure,' Muscarello said. 'Sometimes it's OK to embrace the noise.' Though Clark had been involved in every step of the design process, seeing the basketballs on a computer screen is very different than holding the finished product. Clark picked up each of the basketballs and examined it, taking note of the different details. She spun each ball and shifted it from one hand to the other. She also studied the design team's whiteboards, pointing to some of the notes and photos. Though she initially seemed most taken by the Oasis ball, she was fascinated with the Envision's UV technology and said she'd have loved to have had a basketball that revealed 'secret' messages when she was a kid. She also was impressed that Wilson's design team was able to turn a decibel meter reading into a design. 'They're all unique in their own way. They all have different things I love about them,' Clark said. 'I think they each serve their own purpose and are different. 'So I guess you have to buy 'em all!' she added, laughing. While there will be some fans who buy the whole collection, whether to use or keep as memorabilia, Clark was conscious of not pricing any fans out of the new line. Two of the balls are less than $50, with the outdoor Envision ball costing $27.95 and the Oasis indoor ball priced at $49.95, while the Aspire outdoor ball is $54.95. The Embrace, which is Wilson's premium Evo NXT basketball, costs $124.95. All the balls will be available on Wilson's website and at retail sporting goods stores. Last year's collection sold out almost immediately and, given the appetite for all things Clark, it's a good bet this one will, too. 'It's kind of cool to see how the balls came back and they feel very 'me,'' Clark told USA TODAY Sports. 'That's what I love about it. I feel like I'm sharing part of my life and my journey with people. "I could have never dreamed (as a child) to have something like this," she added. "It's pretty special."
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Women are reclaiming their place in baseball
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Callie Maddox, Miami University Many of those fans – more than you might think – are women. A 2024 survey found that women made up 39% of those who attended or watched Major League Baseball games, and franchises have taken notice. The Philadelphia Phillies offer behind-the-scenes tours and clinics for their female fans, while the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees offer fantasy camps that are geared to women. The number of women working professionally in baseball has also grown. Kim Ng made history in 2020 when she became the first woman general manager of an MLB team, the Miami Marlins. As of 2023, women made up 30% of central office professional staff and 27% of team senior administration jobs. In addition, 43 women held coaching and managerial jobs across the major and minor league levels – a 95% increase in just two years. As a fan and scholar of the game, I'm happy to see more women watching baseball and working in the industry. But it still nags at me that the girls and women who play baseball don't get much recognition, particularly in the U.S. It wasn't always this way. Women have been playing baseball in the U.S. since at least the 1860s. At women's colleges such as Smith and Vassar, students organized baseball teams as early as 1866. The first professional women's baseball team was known as the Dolly Vardens, a team of Black players formed in Philadelphia in 1867. Barnstorming teams, known as Bloomer Girls, traveled across the country to play against men's teams from the 1890s to the 1930s, providing the players with independence and the means to make a living. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, founded by Philip K. Wrigley in 1943, also offered women the chance to play professionally. The league, which inspired the 1992 film ' A League of Their Own,' enforced rigid norms of femininity expected at the time. Players were required to wear skirts and makeup while playing and were fined if they engaged in any behavior deemed 'unladylike.' Teams were open only to white women and light-skinned Latinas. Black women were not allowed to play, a policy that reflected the segregation of the Jim Crow era. Three Black women – Connie Morgan, Mamie 'Peanut' Johnson and Toni Stone – did play in the otherwise male Negro Leagues in the early 1950s. However, their skills were often downplayed by claims that they'd been signed to generate ticket sales and boost interest in the struggling league. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in 1954, and by the late-1950s women's participation in baseball had dwindled. Softball was invented in Chicago in 1887 as an indoor alternative to baseball. Originally aimed at both men and women, it eventually became the accepted sport for girls and women due to its smaller field, larger ball and underhand pitching style – aspects deemed suitable for the supposedly weaker and more delicate female body. The passage of Title IX in 1972 further pushed the popularization of fast-pitch softball, as participation in high school and college increased markedly. In 1974, the National Organization for Women filed a lawsuit against Little League Baseball because the league's charter excluded girls from playing. The lawsuit was successful, and girls were permitted to join teams. In response, Little League created Little League Softball as a way to funnel girls into softball instead of baseball. As political scientist Jennifer Ring has pointed out, this decision reinforced the gendered division of each sport and 'cemented the post-Title IX segregated masculinity of baseball.' Girls can still play baseball, but most are encouraged to eventually switch to softball if they want to pursue college scholarships. If they want to keep playing baseball, they have to constantly confront stubborn cultural beliefs and assumptions that they should be playing softball instead. A global game You might be surprised to learn that the U.S. fields a national women's baseball team that competes in the Women's Baseball World Cup. But they receive scant media attention and remain unknown to most baseball fans. In a 2019 article published in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues, I argued that the U.S. has experienced inconsistent success on the global stage because of a lack of infrastructure, limited resources and persistent gendered assumptions that hamper the development of women's baseball. Other countries such as Japan, Canada and Australia have established solid pathways that allow girls and women to pursue baseball from the youth level through high school and beyond. That being said, opportunities for girls to play baseball are increasing in the U.S. thanks to the efforts of organizations such as Baseball for All and DC Girls Baseball. Approximately 1,300 girls play high school baseball, and a handful of young women play on men's college baseball teams each year. In recent years, numerous women's collegiate club baseball teams have been established; there's even an annual tournament to crown a national champion. Pro league in the works Momentum continues to build. MLB recently appointed Veronica Alvarez as its first girls baseball ambassador, who will oversee development programs such as the Trailblazers Series and the Elite Development Invitational. A new documentary film, ' See Her Be Her,' is touring the country to celebrate the growth of women's baseball and raise awareness of the challenges these athletes face. Perhaps most significantly, the Women's Pro Baseball League announced that it is planning to start play in summer 2026 with six teams located in the northeastern U.S. Over 500 players from 11 countries have registered with the league, with a scouting camp and player draft scheduled for later this year. Should the league have success, it will mark a revitalization of women's professional baseball in the U.S., a nod to the rich history of the women's game and a commitment to securing opportunities for the girls and women who continue to defy cultural norms to play the game they love.
