• About Us / Contact
  • Responsible Gambling
This site contains commercial content
SportsHandle
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
  • News
No Result
View All Result
SportsHandle
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
  • News
No Result
View All Result
SportsHandle
No Result
View All Result

Media Notebook: Carlos Correa Saga Shows Dangers Of Instant Reporting

Tweets from national reporters can dramatically affect team futures odds

Mark Saxon by Mark Saxon
February 1, 2023
in Industry, Sports
Shutterstock

Shutterstock

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

As the minute hand approached midnight on the East Coast on Dec. 13, ESPN baseball reporter Jeff Passan, one of the top news breakers in the industry, tweeted a scoop about one of Major League Baseball’s best free agents, shortstop Carlos Correa.

BREAKING: Shortstop Carlos Correa and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a 13-year, $350 million contract, a source familiar with the deal tells ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 14, 2022

Needless to say, fans of the San Francisco Giants started celebrating, but the news also reached an audience interested less for emotional reasons than for financial reasons. Undoubtedly, some sharp bettors perusing Twitter late at night jumped into the Giants’ futures markets, hoping to snag a quick advantage before the odds fell.

The Giants finished .500 in 2022, but now they had just landed a player who one oft-cited baseball statistic, Wins Above Replacement (WAR), implies is worth about five extra wins per season all by himself. The Giants had opened as longshots to win it all, +3500 (or 35-to-1) at many mobile sportsbooks, so the value was hard to pass up with new information coming to light.

Six days later, however, it all fell apart. The Giants, noting a metal plate in Correa’s ankle from surgery after an old injury in the minors, sought to renegotiate his deal following the physical exam, going so far as to cancel a press conference scheduled for Dec. 20. Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, let it be known to the rest of the league that the shortstop was back on the market.

The next day, another MLB insider, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, tweeted that Correa had agreed to a 12-year contract with the New York Mets worth $35 million less than the deal he’d agreed to in San Francisco. In a matter of minutes, the Mets’ World Series odds moved significantly, going from +900 at BetMGM to +650.

Odds change dramatically as saga continues

By now, most baseball fans know the rest of the story. Three days later, word leaked that the Mets, too, had asked to renegotiate after their doctors examined Correa’s medical information. Nearly two weeks later, he agreed to return to the Minnesota Twins on a six-year, $200 million deal.

All the while, each of the teams involved saw their World Series odds whipsaw all over the place even though it would be weeks before any of them convened for spring training. The Mets’ price moved to +750 at BetMGM after the deal fell apart and the Twins went from +6600 to +5000. At DraftKings, the Giants’ World Series odds jumped from +3500 to +5000 after that deal fell apart and the Mets’ odds went from +700 to +750 after they, too, pulled out.

β€œOur handling of the news was probably as you’d expect. We’re always stuck in a bit of a reactionary position with free agency, so as any new information became available via reputable sources, we shifted our prices,” DraftKings Director of Race and Sportsbook Johnny Avello said. β€œWe were less aggressive with the Mets’ situation, knowing there was a possibility of further issues, as he had already failed the physical with the Giants.”

BetMGM issued the following statement after Sports Handle asked about its policy of monitoring national reporters’ tweets: β€œIn general, the BetMGM trading team is paying attention to multiple sources of information to adjust future odds as needed.”

No doubt, some bettors found themselves feeling aggrieved with all of the false starts in Correa’s free agency, but it’s the world we live in now. Information travels at the speed of light and reporters are often competing for exclusivity that might only last for minutes or even seconds.

Savvy sports bettors would be wise to note the various gradations of reporting in such situations. If a reputable reporter tweets that a deal is β€œclose,” it just means that the sides are moving toward agreement, but it’s still far from done. The next stage is β€œagreed to,” meaning the two sides have come to terms and are simply waiting for the final contingencies — such as a physical — to be completed.

However, no reporting — no matter who it comes from — is entirely bankable until the team gets league approval to announce the deal, a process that often takes weeks. The lesson, of course, is that if you’re going to play the arbitrage game, do so at your own risk.

Bally’s Sports channels facing bankruptcy?

The largest owner of regional sports networks in the U.S. is heading toward a complex $8.6 million debt restructuring in bankruptcy court that could imperil payments the company makes to several sports teams and, thus, impact those teams’ bottom lines and even competitiveness.

Bloomberg was the first to report that Diamond Sports Group LLC, which bought the network properties from the Walt Disney Co. in 2019 and sold the naming rights to Bally’s, was under financial duress due to lagging cable TV subscriptions, spurring the talks with creditors.

Teams potentially impacted include the St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Coyotes, and San Diego Padres. Bloomberg reports that Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., which owns Diamond Sports, will likely skip the $140 million in interest payments due in mid-February, starting a 30-day grace period.

If Diamond winds up filing for bankruptcy, it would have the option of ending contracts with teams, potentially cutting off a crucial revenue stream for those franchises.

There is, in fact, evidence that those teams already have taken the company’s financial distress into consideration, though none has publicly stated as much. At the start of the offseason, the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak, announced that the team’s payroll would rise significantly. But after signing catcher Willson Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million deal in early December, the team has had a quiet hot-stove season in the wake of superstars Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina retiring.

β€œLet’s start with the question, β€˜Will payroll go up?’ And I answered yes,” Mozeliak told reporters. β€œHas payroll gone up? Yes. Did it go up as high as your expectations? That’s in the eye of the beholder.”

NBCUniversal extends deal with PointsBet

Axios broke the news this week that NBCUniversal had extended the five-year sports betting partnership it agreed to in 2020 with the Australian sportsbook operator PointsBet for another two years. It also amended the amount of advertising dollars PointsBet is required to commit to NBCU properties, allowing the operator to concentrate its efforts in the 14 U.S. states where it accepts wagers.

PointsBet has been trying to expand its U.S. presence since launching in New Jersey in 2019. The initial deal was worth $500 million and gave NBCU an equity stake in PointsBet. It also gives PointsBet exclusive game-day integrations across NBC’s regional sports networks.

Axios reports that PointsBet will be required to spend $58 million per year on marketing with the NBCU channels. Initially, the operator had agreed to spend roughly $90 million per year, so the reduction fits into an industry-wide pattern of cutting marketing spend.

ShareTweetShare
Mark Saxon

Mark Saxon

Mark has been covering sports for more than 30 years at stops that include The Athletic, ESPN.com, the Orange County Register, and Oakland Tribune. A Major League Baseball beat reporter from 1998 to 2021, Mark also has covered college football and basketball extensively and dabbled in nearly every other major sports league. He has been a lifelong sports gambler. He pays special attention to developments in the sports betting world in New York. Contact Mark on Twitter (@markasaxon) or via email at [email protected].

Related Posts

whats on tap
Industry

What’s On Tap: March Madness, World Baseball Classic, Aaron Rodgers’ Decision

March 13, 2023
George Kubas/Getty Images
Industry

New Bally’s CEO Eyes Data-Driven Approach To Revive Sports Betting Division

February 24, 2023
Load More

Top Stories

taylor mathis

Taylor Mathis Got Sacrificed At The Altar Of Responsible Gambling

March 20, 2023
fanduel baseball wall

Premade Same Game Parlays Are Sucker Bets

March 13, 2023
maginfier-over-small-print

Read The Fine Print: A Proposed Federal Rule Could Change Everything For Indian Gaming

March 6, 2023
roman reigns wwe

Colorado Denies Report Stating That It’s Considering WWE Wagering

March 8, 2023

State Sports Betting Guides

Ohio (U.S. state) flag waving against clear blue sky, close up, isolated with clipping path mask alpha channel transparency, perfect for film, news, composition

Ohio Sports Betting – Where To Play, Bonus Offers And Promo Codes

by Brian Pempus
March 21, 2023

Downtown Detroit at twilight (Shutterstock)

Michigan Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks, And FAQ

by Brett Smiley
March 21, 2023

VA captial

Virginia Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks And Bonus Offers

by Brett Smiley
January 17, 2023

nj flag

New Jersey Sports Betting — Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks, And FAQ

by Brett Smiley
October 20, 2022

pa online sportsbooks

Pennsylvania Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks And Bonuses

by Brett Smiley
October 6, 2022

Canada Sports Betting Guides

Canada Sports Betting – Best Sportsbook Apps & Bonus Offers

British Columbia Sports Betting – Legal Update, Available Sportsbooks, and FAQ

Ontario Sports Betting – Legal Status And Where To Play

SportsHandle

  • Analysis
  • Casino
  • Features
  • Horse Racing
  • Industry
  • Legal
  • Legislation
  • Opinion
  • Podcasts
  • Poker
  • Politics
  • Promotions
  • Regulation
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Better Collective

This website is owned and operated by Better Collective USA. Trademarks and copyrights referenced on this website are and shall remain the exclusive property of their respective owners and/or licensors. Please be sure to visit the operator’s website(s) to review their terms & conditions. We advise you to read these carefully as they contain important information. Copyright Β© 2023 USBets.com | Better Collective USA
21 Play Responsibly
Gamble Aware West Virginia
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
GameSense

Search Sports Handle

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us / Contact
  • Responsible Gambling

No Result
View All Result
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
  • News

loading

Please wait while you are redirected to the right page...