SBJ Unpacks: CFP ticket data sees Horned Frogs invading SoCal

The CFP national championship game is five days away. Secondary ticket market data points to a pro-TCU crowd descending on Southern California for the title shot against Georgia.

NFL teams expect to play this Sunday. LongBall Labs expands its bat optimization to manufacturers. Abe Madkour's Buzzcast includes takeaways from the NCAA Transformation Committee report.

NFL teams expect to play this Sunday. LongBall Labs expands its bat optimization to manufacturers.

37% of secondary sales are coming from Texas, 19% from California and 7% coming to Georgia. Demand for CFP title game at SoFi Stadium is up 17% since two weeks ago. The current get-in price is just under $600.

Sports Media Pod is a podcast hosted by Andrew Marchand and John Ourand. This week's topics include ESPN's coverage of Damar Hamlin's injury and Google/YouTube's $2 billion deal for NFL Sunday Ticket package.

The NFL is considering scheduling changes in the wake of Damar Hamlin's on-field collapse. SBJ's Ben Fischer and Austin Karp discuss the business implications of the changes.

NBPA's total assets grew 9.5% to $428.1 million. The amount of money due to players from its business and licensing arm, National Basketball Players Inc., increased 89.7% from $105.4 million at the beginning of the fiscal year to $199.9 million on Sept. 30. Tamika Tremaglio took over as the new executive director of NBPA on Jan. 10, 2022.

LongBall Labs analyzes the quality of players' bats to make sure they're swinging the best-performing lumber. The company works with 18 pros, including the Mets’ Pete Alonso and the Red Sox”s Trevor Story. LongBall is working with Old Hickory Bat Co., Tucci Lumber, SR Bats, Dove Tail and Overfly. Old Hidory is using Long Ball Labs for all its hitters using its bats in pro ball and in the amateur ranks.

Sports betting industry saw one of its first market-moving pivots this year. Sportsbooks are looking for new strategies to generate new users and retain existing ones. The most popular strategy is content development.  The evolution of content is evidence of a maturing market on the verge of continued innovation and widespread adoption.

Mississippi State and Illinois played in ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday. It was a celebration of the legacy of Mike Leach, who died on Dec. 12. The team worked together over the Christmas holiday to honor Leaches. Former Georgia Tech AD Todd Stansbury has joined N.C. State as its deputy AD. He will report to Boo Corrigan and oversee internal operations and football. Valve's games Apex Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds were among the top sellers and most-played games on the Steam PC gaming platform in 2022.

The NCAA has released a report on how to modernize college sports.

Todd Stansbury has joined N.C. State as its deputy AD. He will report to AD Boo Corrigan and oversee internal operations and football.

Jason McCourty talks about his career transition to media on SportTechie.

Esports games Apex Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds were among the top sellers and most-played games on the Steam PC gaming platform in 2022.

Kraft Heinz and NHL and the NHLPA are looking for nominations for Kraft Hockeyville 2023. Nominations will close on February 19th at 11:59pm ET.