The World Cup is coming soon. And it’s quickly becoming a pain in the posterior for the 13 teams playing in stadiums that will be commandeered for intercontinental soccer.
Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal recently reviewed some of the practical impacts of FIFA bigfooting the various venues where fútbol will be played. This week, for example, the Jets and Giants will move their annual draft parties away from MetLife Stadium to Manhattan.
In all, 13 teams are impacted by the World Cup: the Cowboys, Jets, Giants, Falcons, Chiefs, Texans, 49ers, Chargers, Rams, Eagles, Seahawks, Patriots, and Dolphins.
For the teams that have employees at the stadiums hosting World Cup games, many will be moved. Those who are staying put will be subject to FIFA credentialing to get into their workplaces. And the Giants will start training camp in West Virginia, since MetLife Stadium will be hosting the final match on July 19 on a grass field that will need to be removed and replaced with one of the worst artificial surfaces in the entire league.
That last part still has to be the most galling for NFL players. Owners with stadiums that don’t have grass have bent over backwards to do whatever had to be done to placate FIFA. Their regular employees, however, will still be stuck with a lesser (and far cheaper) playing surface.
The various sacrifices involuntarily made by the players and other team employees should prompt FIFA to give them all a phony, made-up award. Especially since FIFA has already done that, for far less.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
The Rams have made some changes to their uniforms, but the changes are more a minor tweak than a full redesign.
Images unveiled by the Rams today show the 2026 uniforms will look much like the 2025 uniforms, with some subtle changes.
The Rams chest tag has been removed, as have gradient numbers and pant stripes.
White pants are now considered one of the team’s primary color choices, although they will still wear other two other pant colors as well.
The horn sleeve has been added to the primary home and away uniforms.
The “bone” uniform has been removed from the uniform rotation.
The helmet remains unchanged except for new “3D bumper logos.”
The team describes the Ram head logo as “enhanced to appear bolder and tougher for a fiercer expression, and the horn features a sharper, more defined point.”
Antitrust, shmantitrust.
Over the weekend, we reported that the candidates for a five-game 2026 package of standalone games included Netflix, YouTube, and Fox. The apparent winner is YouTube.
Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reports that YouTube and the NFL have “entered a long-form contract review” for the slate of games. This means they’ve reached a consensus as to the major terms, and that they’re hammering out the precise language of the contract.
The NFL had sent out an RFP that allowed the bidders to select five games from a broader menu of possibilities. It’s not yet known which games YouTube will get.
The options were believed to include the Week 1 49ers-Rams game in Australia, a Thanksgiving eve game (which is not official but apparently inevitable), a second Black Friday game, and a Christmas Eve game.
The move comes at a time when the NFL is under increased scrutiny on the question of whether its broadcast antitrust exemption allows the league to sell games to streaming companies. If the games will be available for free on YouTube (as the Week 1 Chiefs-Chargers game from Brazil was), that will take a little steam out of the issue.
Still, the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 arguably applies only to league-wide rights sales to three-letter, FCC-regulated broadcast networks. The decision to take games that could have been broadcast on Fox and put them on YouTube won’t take any steam out of the current assault.
Last year’s Friday night game on YouTube averaged 19.7 million viewers globally, despite being made available at no charge. That was objectively disappointing.
Former NFL head coach Dave McGinnis died Monday, the Titans announced. “Coach Mac,” as he was affectionately known, was 74.
“My heart aches with the loss of Coach Mac, who was so much more than a coach and broadcaster. He was family,” Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement. “Coach Mac gave so much of himself to this organization over the years, and his passion, loyalty, and love for the Titans never wavered. He cared deeply about the people around him, and that kindness and authenticity left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him. He held a very special place in our family, and his presence in our lives and within this franchise will never be forgotten. We will miss him dearly, and we will always be grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.”
McGinnis served as head coach of the Cardinals, beginning as interim coach in 2000 and keeping the job through the 2003 season. He went 17-40.
“We were deeply saddened to learn of Dave McGinnis’ passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to all who knew and loved him,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “As Dave often said, he was a ‘ball coach’ through and through, and no one ever filled that role with more passion, enthusiasm, and charisma.
“Coach Mac truly loved the game and everything -- and everyone -- associated with it, especially his players. He was one of a kind and will be greatly missed.”
McGinnis began his NFL coaching career as the linebackers coach of the Bears (1986-95) before becoming the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator (1996-2000). He went to the Titans as linebackers coach after the Cardinals fired him and was there from 2004-11 before following Jeff Fisher to the Rams, where McGinnis served as assistant head coach (2012-16).
McGinnis most recently worked for the Titans Radio Network.
