Rixon Sports Report - Tue. June 3rd, 2025

Honda gets on board for LA 28

Masters raising ticket prices as lottery opens

MLB investing in professional softball

Two Americans are in the French Open quarters in 1996

Barkley gives timeline for retirement

Transcript

Thank you for listening to the Rixon Sports Report, the fastest three minutes in sports business for Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025.  

The LA28 Olympics get Honda as a “founding partner” sponsor for the games, announcing Monday.  This is their sixth new sponsor this year and their first tier-one sponsor since 2021.  Terms of the deal have not been disclosed but the price for this level reportedly starts at around $200 million.  Honda joins other top-sponsors in Delta and Comcast.  The LA games are $1.5 billion in towards their goal of $2.5 billion in sponsorships for the 2028 event.  Yahoo! Sports with more.

The Masters is raising ticket prices in 2026, according to Front Office Sports.  This is the first time in three years that prices will go up for the marquee event at Augusta National.  Prices going up all days, including the practice, rounds, par 3 content and regular tournament by $20-$25.  This, however, only really matters if you are lucky enough to be selected in the coveted Masters ticket lottery - and don’t even think about selling those tickets!  The lottery for the 2026 Masters is open now until June 20th.  May the odds be ever in your favor. 

Major League Baseball is investing in Athletes Unlimited Softball League, supporting them with visibility and capital, though complete details of the deal have not been disclosed.  MLB will evidently make a significant financial investment in the league towards operational costs while also supporting the league through its marketing, broadcast and social media platforms, with select games airing on MLB Network and MLB TV.   The Athletes Unlimited Softball’s inaugural season kicks off June 7th.  More at CNBC Sport.

To the French Open, the Americans will representation in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2003, and two men for the first time since 1996..  Tommy Paul defeating Alexei Popyrin in a surprising straight-set victory while Francis Tiafoe makes the quarterfinals after defeating Daniel Altmaier in straight sets.  Tiafoe has yet to lose a set so far in this tournament.  This is the first time an American has made the quarterfinals since Andre Agassi did it in 2003, with Pete Sampras and Jim Courier playing each other in 1996.  Both men will play Tuesday for a shot at the semifinals.  On the women’s side Coco Gauff and Madison Keys play each other on Wednesday in their quarterfinal bout.  More at Yahoo! Sports.

In addition to some great news we got this week that Inside the NBA will remain relatively unchanged in its move from TNT to ESPN, Charles Barkley coming out this week and revealing on the Dan Patrick show that he’s got 2 more years and then calling it quits, despite the seven years remaining on his contract with TNT and ESPN.  The 62-year-old Barkley claimed last June he was retiring following this 2024-25 season, but backtracked and changed his mind. 

Thank you again for listening to the Rixon Sports Report.  As always you can find these stories at RixonSports.com.