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Deion Sanders Won’t Re-Sign With NFL Network

“The two sides reportedly had a deal worked out, but it fell apart when no agreement could be reached regarding Sanders taking a pay cut, according to The New York Post.”

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Deion Sanders has decided to leave the NFL Network. Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand tweeted on Tuesday that the Hall of Famer has chosen not to re-up with the network after his contract expired.

The two sides reportedly had a deal worked out, but it fell apart when no agreement could be reached regarding Sanders taking a pay cut, according to The New York Post.

Deion Sanders is one of the longest tenured analysts at the NFL Network. That may be why, despite the statement’s brevity, the NFL Network was kind in what it had to say regarding his exit.

“Deion has been one of the key figures responsible for the growth of NFL Network,” the statement read. “We thank him for his work and wish him the best in the future.”

Last year, the idea of Sanders becoming the new head football coach at Florida State was floated in the media. It was reported that he was a legitimate candidate. It seems hard to believe, given Florida State’s reputation and stature in the world of college football and the fact that the school ended up landing Memphis’s Mike Norvell, one of the most coveted coaches on the market.

Whatever the truth of the matter is though, it seems to have whetted Sanders’s appetite for a new career. He told The Dan Patrick Show in January that he would be a college football coach somewhere next year.

Whether he eventually enters the coaching ranks or not remains to be seen. It does not appear to have been a motivating factor in his professional divorce from the NFL Network.

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Domonique Foxworth: First Take is ‘Us Against the Audience’

“When you do first take with Stephen A, you learn that he understands that we are on the same team.”

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There is an art to the debate shows on ESPN. Domonique Foxworth is a frequent presence on many of them. On Friday, he said that he had to learn that in that format, opponents are actually teammates.

“I think the First Take thing is always an interesting one, and I’ve mentioned this before. People forget when you’re on First Take, we on the same team,” he told Bomani Jones on the latest edition of The Right Time. “When you do first take with Stephen A, you learn that he understands that we are on the same team.”

Both Foxworth and Jones admitted that they are fierce debaters and like to win. Stephen A. Smith made sure that Foxworth understood that even if things between them seem adversarial to the audience, two people debating on a show like First Take have to come in with the same goal.

“It’s us against the audience. Like, we try to keep you from changing the channel.”

First Take is not your standard debate. Foxworth said that Smith made sure he understood that there is no score. Wanting to win the argument is good, but it is important to understand what “winning” means in that setting.

“My inclination was, I’m here for blood, I want to win. And while wanting to win is important, to make the show entertaining, cutting people off and yelling and preemptively defeating their points? That shit ain’t entertaining,” he said. “You know what’s entertaining? Having a conversation where I make a point, you make a point, we build on it, and we grow to a point that we get better information. That’s not how First Take is built. So what’s entertaining there is I shoot a jab, you shoot a jab.”

This isn’t the first time that Domonique Foxworth has talked about the learning experience he has had on the First Take set. On an episode of The Right Time last year, he told Jones that he has come into debates with Chris Russo with the goal of triggering one of Mad Dog’s infamous rants, because that is what the audience wants to see.

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Jimmy Pitaro: ESPN Priority is Expanding Our Audience & Pat McAfee Does That

“I have a son and a daughter, both of whom not just know who Pat is but they like him, and I have a father who also happens to really like Pat.”

Jordan Bondurant

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The announcement of Pat McAfee joining forces with ESPN raised a lot of questions as to whether McAfee’s daily brand of sports talk can sustain itself for the long-term on cable.

But ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro has no doubts that Pat can be wildly successful for years to come. He spoke with The Big Lead recently and said bringing McAfee’s show to the daily lineup allows the network to tap into a different audience.

“When we talk about our priorities at ESPN, one of the things we always mention is audience expansion,” Pitaro said. “That means a lot of things, but it especially means attracting a younger audience. We feel like Pat really helps us in that regard.”

“I have a son and a daughter, both of whom not just know who Pat is but they like him, and I have a father who also happens to really like Pat,” he added. “That’ll tell you a lot about his appeal.”

Also expanding the relationship between The Worldwide Leader and McAfee made sense in Pitaro’s eyes. The two sides already have a history.

“We’ve been in business with Pat for some time by now,” he said. “He’s done a fantastic job for us on College GameDay, he’s done some alternate broadcasts that have really resonated with our audience, so we feel like his show is a natural extension of what we’re already doing.”

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DirecTV Renews Deal to Provide Sunday Ticket to Bars & Restaurants

“Last season, the league worked out a deal with DirecTV to carry Thursday Night Football games to those same customers.”

Jordan Bondurant

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While NFL Sunday Ticket will be moving to YouTubeTV for football fans at home this fall, DirecTV will continue to distribute the service for bars and restaurants. An announcement of a multi-year agreement between the league and DirecTV was made on Thursday. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

“DirecTV for Business delivers a market-leading, consistent and reliable sports viewing experience to fans in more than 300,000 bars, restaurants and other commercial establishments across the United States,” said Mike Wittrock, DirecTV’s chief sales and service officer. “We’re thrilled to partner with EverPass and continue carriage of NFL Sunday Ticket.”

EverPass Media was established earlier this year by the NFL. Working with RedBird Capital, the goal was to manage the distribution of Sunday Ticket to commercial consumers.

Last season, the league worked out a deal with DirecTV to carry Thursday Night Football games to those same customers. Thursday games are broadcast to residential customers on Amazon Prime Video.

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