As revenue goes it barely registers on the books. The NBA probably gets more from the contract with its frozen daiquiri vendor than it
does the new deal it inked with casino giant MGM Resorts International.
With good reason. The deal announced with such fanfare Tuesday is arguably little more than a branding exercise ??at least for now ??and a chance to take
baby steps into a sports betting partnership that would have been almost
scandalous only a few years ago.
Still
Youth Jason Sanders Jersey , the NBA is now officially all in on sports betting.
Other leagues will soon, undoubtedly, follow.
And sports may never be the same again.
Forget the image of a shadowy figure in a back room somewhere taking bets over the phone. Indeed, if the bookie you've used to make illegal bets over the
years hasn't made plans yet to get into another profession, you might suggest
that it's time.
Things figure to change in Las Vegas, too, if not all that much. Books in this gambling city have already expanded their offerings in recent years to
include the in-game betting that the NBA believes will prove the need for its
official data.
But the official seal of approval apparently means something, at least to MGM. So, too, might the official data the league provides at some point in the
future.
And now that MGM has a deal with the NBA, surely the NFL and Major League Baseball are going to want in on the action.
Credit NBA commissioner Adam Silver for inking a deal he called "a leap of faith on both sides." Silver realized early on that legalized sports betting was
an opportunity for the league, not something to fear.
And when his idea of an "integrity fee" paid to the leagues out of sports betting revenue failed to gain traction in the early adopting states, Silver
pivoted to find another way to get a piece of what figures to be a huge revenue
stream.
He quickly found the perfect partner in MGM
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Jackson Jersey Elite , which might have some ulterior motives of its own.
The company wants an NBA team for its new arena on the Las Vegas Strip, and
there's no better way to curry favor with the NBA than ink a deal with the
league.
According to Silver and MGM officials, the casino company is buying data. And the party line is that it's important, despite the fact Vegas bookies have
prospered for decades without any need for official league statistics.
"I know the value of data," MGM chairman and CEO James Murren said at a New York press conference with Silver. "To be able to have the official NBA data for
sports bettors around the world is very valuable. I was willing to, and I've
paid for that."
The money MGM paid isn't much in the grand scheme of things, a few million a year over three years, according to reports. But if the NBA can convince other
sports betting operations to sign up it could turn into a steady chunk of extra
income for the league.
Not exactly the 1 percent of gross income the NBA was seeking from states considering legalizing sports betting, but that effort was going nowhere. In
signing a deal to provide unspecified data to casinos, the league gets to profit
from betting without getting hands terribly soiled with the actual messiness of
it.
And new money is new money.
"This is a whole new world for us," Silver said.
It's hard to imagine that it was just a dozen or so years ago when the NFL refused to run an ad promoting Las Vegas on the Super Bowl, using the farcical
argument that any association with gambling could ruin the league.
With the Supreme Court decision in May opening the door for legalized sports betting across the country,
though
Authentic
Kevin Hogan Jersey , all bets are off. Instead of treating sports books
like threats, the leagues are looking at them to boost profits.
What they see should have been apparent years ago: Americans want to be able to place a wager or two on their favorite teams, and they don't feel there's
anything immoral about it.
In a perfect world, the bookies would go at it alone. They wouldn't partner with the leagues that spent years trying to destroy them.
But for MGM, at least, it's a marriage of convenience. The casino giant is betting the NBA will help spread its brand, and maybe even pave the way for an
NBA team in Las Vegas in the near future.
And that's a bet that just might pay off.
Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at
[email protected] or
://timdahlberg
The Indianapolis Colts finally made a splashy signing Monday night.It should make Andrew Luck happy, too.
After adding only one player in the first five days of free agency, the Colts agreed to a deal with former Detroit Lions tight end Eric Ebron. Contract terms
were not immediately available.
"I fell in love with the coaching staff. I fell in love with the GM, I fell in love with the staff and that's kind of what pushed the envelope for me to
want to be here," Ebron told local reporters on a conference call. "I really
felt a lot of love and was shown a lot of support for my game, my family, the
things I wanted to accomplish and at the end of the
day
Byron Jones
Jersey Elite , my goals."
It's a chance for Ebron to start over.
The Lions drafted the highest-rated tight end in 2014 in the first round but Ebron never quite lived up to the hype.
In four seasons, he had 186 receptions, 2,070 yards and 11 TDs in 56 career games. He didn't appear in all 16 games until last season when he caught 53
passes for 574 yards and four touchdowns.
Even worse, he developed a reputation for dropping passes ??a problem Ebron said stemmed from a lack of mental focus and a problem he plans to fix next
season.
Ultimately, that was enough for Detroit to cut ties with Ebron last week.
The Colts, however, thought enough of Ebron's potential to give him another shot. He is expected to be paired with Jack Doyle, who made his first Pro Bowl
last season, and Erik Swoope, a former college basketball player who had moved
to No. 2 on the Colts' depth chart.
"It's a fresh start, it's a whole new ordeal, it's a whole new world really that you're stepping
into
Jorge
Alfaro Jersey ," Ebron said. "It's definitely something to look forward
to. Obviously, you get to play the game that you love for another season. You
just have to enjoy it."
Ebron joins Denico Autry, a backup defensive lineman with the Raiders last season, as Indy's only free-agent additions so far.
It's not likely to be the last move made by general manager Chris Ballard, who has long espoused he prefers to draft and develop players rather than
overspending in free agency.
Autry and Ebron both appear to fit the blueprint.
But Ballard did make a lot of noise Saturday with a trade that sent the No. 3 overall pick in next month's draft to the New York Jets, who will presumably
take a quarterback. In exchange the Colts got the No. 6 overall pick, two
second-round picks this year and the Jets' second-round pick in 2019.
The move gives Indy four picks in the top 50 this year and three picks in the first two rounds next year ??all of which made Indianapolis an even better
choice in Ebron's mind.
"Growing up, I've never really been a fan of things that are already great because then what's the point of really joining it?" Ebron said. "I've always
been a fan of trying to make something better, and I feel like I can do that
with my talent and my abilities here. I feel like with Andrew Luck coming back
and playing along with Jack, I feel like we can create something that most teams
would want."
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