American Teen Stuns The Tennis World!

PLUS Dawn Staley’s Massive Contract, Women’s 3v3 Basketball Taking Over, The NFL Going Globetrotter

January 17, 2025

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Welcome to Office Chair Sports! Your home for everything Sports & Biz! Today, we’re covering top news about:

  • Dawn Staley’s Massive Contract

  • Women’s 3v3 Basketball Taking Over

  • The NFL Going Globetrotter

  • Ticket Prices For The National Championship Game Are Bonkers

  • American Teen Stuns The Tennis World!

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Dawn Staley’s Massive Contract

Major bag alert for Dawn Staley!

South Carolina just made her the highest-paid coach in women's college basketball with a WILD new contract - we're talking $4 million a year, going up by $250K each year, plus a $500K signing bonus.

Total package? $25.5 million through 2030!

Staley is earning her bread. Three national titles (2017, 2022, 2024), eight SEC tournament titles, and they've made the Final Four FOUR years straight. This season? They're ranked #2 with a 17-1 record.

But here's the crazy part - even with this massive raise, Staley's still making way less than the top men's coaches. She's not even the highest-paid coach at her own school (football coach Shane Beamer makes $6.4M)!

Women’s 3v3 Basketball Taking Over

Massive news in women's basketball! WNBA superstars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier just launched "Unrivaled" - a groundbreaking 3v3 pro league that's changing the game. We're talking the highest salaries in women's basketball history, plus all 36 players get equity in the league!

They've got absolute ballers like Brittney Griner, Angel Reese, and Sabrina Ionescu playing on a shorter court (70x50 feet) in seven-minute quarters.

The coolest part? This league gives WNBA players a chance to make bank while staying in the U.S. instead of having to play overseas. They've got some serious backing too - everyone from Coco Gauff to Carmelo Anthony is investing, plus partnerships with TNT Sports, Under Armour, and Sephora.

Games start January 17th, and with only 850 seats in the house, this is about to be one of the hottest tickets in women's sports!

The NFL Going Globetrotter

The Miami Dolphins are about to make history as they'll play in Spain's first-ever regular season NFL game at Real Madrid's legendary Bernabéu Stadium.

This isn't just any stadium - we're talking about a 78,000-seat fortress with a retractable soccer field that makes way for football!

The Dolphins' international record isn't exactly stellar though - they're 2-5 outside the U.S. and just took an L in Frankfurt against the Chiefs last year. But hey, new country, new vibes, right?

The NFL's going ALL IN on international games for 2025:

  • Three games in London (Jets and Browns at Tottenham, Jags at Wembley)

  • Colts hosting in Berlin

  • Now the Dolphins in Madrid

  • And they're eyeing Rio and Ireland next!

The Dolphins share marketing rights in Spain with the Bears, so this is huge for their brand. We'll find out who they're playing this spring, but with opponents like the Ravens, Bengals, and Chargers on their home schedule, it could be a banger! Stay tuned.

Ticket Prices For The National Championship Game Are Bonkers

Ohio State vs. Notre Dame in Atlanta is turning into the hottest college football ticket since 2009.

Check these numbers out:

  • Starting prices around $1,800

  • Average ticket going for $2,500 on StubHub (up from $1,800 for last year's Michigan-Washington game)

  • Already broke StubHub's all-time record for championship game sales

Everyone thought having a 12-team playoff might make fans too broke to show up for the final game. NOPE! Ohio's leading the charge with 17% of StubHub sales, but don't sleep on Notre Dame's nationwide fanbase - they're expected to take up 55% of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

American Teen Stuns The Tennis World!

We just witnessed one of the WILDEST upsets in tennis history! 

American teenager Learner Tien just took down Daniil Medvedev - last year's runner-up and world #5 - in an absolute thriller that wrapped up at 3 AM in Melbourne!

Tien is just 19 years old and ranked 121st in the world. Before this week, he'd never even won a grand slam match! Now he's the youngest American to make the Australian Open third round since Pete Sampras back in '89.

The match was INSANE:

  • Almost 5 hours long

  • Tien had a match point in the third set but blew it

  • Medvedev fought back to force a fifth set

  • Came down to a final-set tiebreak where Tien was down 6-4

  • Kid showed nerves of steel to win six of the last seven points!

The teens are taking over in Melbourne - Tien joins 19-year-old Czech Mensik (who beat Ruud) and 18-year-old Brazilian Fonseca (who knocked out Rublev) in pulling off massive upsets.

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Internships 🙋

1. 2025 Summer / Fall Internship - We are looking for interns to play a role in the planning and execution of the Super Girl Surf Festival Oceanside, the Super Girl Surf Festival Jacksonville, the Super Girl Gamer Series and the ASA No Hate High School Tour.

2. Internship: Business Operations (Seasonal 2024-25) - The Business Operations Intern will provide support to the Vice President, Project and Revenue Management across business operations to enhance MSE’s sales and marketing capabilities.

3. Matchday and Event Operations Intern - This internship provides a hands-on opportunity to gain experience in matchday operations and event execution across multiple sports organizations, with a primary focus on Carolina Ascent FC (USL Super League), a professional women’s soccer team.

4. Summer MBA Intern, Insights - Elevate Sports Ventures is looking for individuals to join our fast-growing consulting team in the sports and entertainment industry. Individuals will focus on supporting projects for Elevate’s clients focused on enhancing fan experience and operational performance.

5. Consumer Products Marketing Intern - Summer 2025 (UFC) - UFC’s Internship Program is designed to provide interns the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have gained through their academic experience in a real-world corporate setting.

Job Board 💰

1. Business Development Representative - Inside Sales (Tampa Bay Lightning) - The Business Development Representative, VSG Academy is responsible for the sale of new season ticket memberships, membership deposits, group tickets, premium seating, suites and concerts & events.

2. Activities Leader - The Activities Leader is responsible for the implementation of activities as planned by the Recreational Specialist. And is to provide support as needed in all areas of the Activities Department.

3. Coordinator, Ad Operations - The Coordinator of Ads Operations handles all tasks for ad campaign fulfillment on NASCAR Digital Media’s owned and operated properties, including ad inventory management, campaign monitoring, campaign trafficking, and campaign reporting.

4. Ticketing and Suites Coordinator (Washington Commanders) - In this role, you will be an integral part of our Ticketing and Suites department, with the day-to-day operations of the department and the execution of delivering a premium gameday experience.

5. Content Producer (FT) (San Antonio Spurs) - Capture, edit, and produce engaging stories, with a focus on vertical format storytelling and platform-specific optimization and more!

Thanks for reading - see you soon!