Some fans would put Tim Weah on the list, or Chris Richards thanks to his recent rise in the English Premier League. They have good cases, as does Folarin Balogun with his talent at striker.
Does Antonee Robinson also merit a claim? That might become a barroom debate as the World Cup nears, over those early-morning Premier League games on the big screen.
It might not help that he’s a left back, a position that’s often easy to overlook — even though the U.S. didn’t have a really good one for years before he arrived in 2018. (His senior U.S. debut happened to arrive at Subaru Park.) Nor does it help that he has been injured in recent months.
But no American currently in the Premier League, the top domestic league in the world, has played more games there than Robinson’s 145 since 2020. That ranks No. 8 all-time among U.S. men’s national team players in English top-flight history, and four of the men above him are goalkeepers.
Antonee Robinson (right) on the ball for Fulham against Manchester City last season.
Robinson is widely regarded as a leader in the U.S. locker room, but those injuries have kept him from conveying it for over a year. He hasn’t played for Mauricio Pochettino’s squad since November 2024 because of knee issues. The closest he came was last October, when he made the squad but was ruled out of games.
Now, though, he’s finally healthy. He returned to action last month and started six straight games. If he stays healthy until the summer, every World Cup roster projection will have him in ink.
Robinson said he isn’t thinking about that yet. But he is thinking about the March FIFA window when the U.S. will play its last games before the World Cup is set, high-profile friendlies against Portugal and Belgium in Atlanta.
“The goal is obviously going to be that at the end of the season,” he told The Inquirer. “I’ll have my eye on March for now, trying to make sure I’m fit for that and get back in the team. Because realistically, I’ve not played for the States in over a year now, so my position’s kind of gone. I need to earn it — I need to get back, called up in the squad, healthy, and playing the game again.”
Antonee Robinson at work during last October’s U.S. national team camp, when he made the squad but wasn’t fit to play in games.
An easy fit in Pochettino’s playbook
Robinson should look very good in the 3-4-2-1 formation that Pochettino has used lately. The 28-year-old has played the setup’s left wingback role for clubs over the years, and knows its combination of defensive hustle and charging forward to help the attack.
“You never know what each game’s going to demand, but I think it definitely suits me,” he said. “The team’s been playing it really well, so I’m looking forward to hopefully getting back in the team, playing it, and just getting to grips with getting that chemistry back with the boys.”
Watching film of the November U.S. wins over Paraguay and Uruguay, Robinson said “it looked really fluid — it looked like they’d all got to grips with how ‘Poch’ wants us all to play.”
Robinson generally plays a more traditional left back role in a back four at Fulham, but he has similar liberty to get forward. This reporter attended the Jan. 1 game at Crystal Palace, a London derby to ring in the new year, and focused on Robinson’s work on and off the ball.
It was a good game to pick, played at one of England’s many great old stadiums. Selhurst Park’s main stand was built 101 years ago, with the press box perched in the back. No one minds that the view is occasionally blocked by cast-iron columns that hold up the roof.
The 101-year-old main stand at Selhurst Park, with columns supporting the roof near the front and the press box at the back.
Down on the field, Robinson had three tackles and two clearances, won four of his six duels, and completed 50 of 61 passes. Five of those passes went into the attacking third, and he created three scoring chances for teammates — including a terrific cross that Mexican national team striker Raúl Jiménez headed off the post.
Off the ball, it was a lesson to watch Robinson’s positioning. An outside back is always waiting for the split-second moment when everything could change. Unfortunately, that happened in the wrong way on Palace’s goal, as Nathaniel Clyne cut past Robinson before teeing up Jean-Philippe Mateta’s finish.
But Robinson made up for the lapse with a big role in Fulham’s 81st-minute equalizer. He gave a key pass before a teammate’s assist, then continued his run to pull apart Palace’s defense.
Fate denied him the chance to play against another U.S. stalwart, Palace centerback Chris Richards, who was deservedly just named U.S. Soccer’s Male Player of the Year for 2025. Richards suffered a foot injury in late December and missed four games. (His first game back made the wrong kind of headlines: the Eagles were stunned by sixth-tier Macclesfield in the FA Cup.)
While Antonee Robinson plays in west London for Fulham, Chris Richards (left) plays in south London for Crystal Palace – though he’s out injured right now.
Asked if it would have been better or worse to play against Richards, Robinson answered with a hearty laugh.
“It would have been worse,” he said. “I don’t want them at their strongest, and he’s a big part of that. Disappointed that I didn’t get to see him, but for us, their team not being as strong as they could have been is a benefit.”
Robinson has continued playing well since, helping Fulham to a seven-game unbeaten run through this past weekend. But at that point, he didn’t think he was all the way back yet.
“I’m just trying to get up to speed, really,” he said. “I haven’t had a lot of training sessions since I’ve been back at the team, and it’s been a lot of games over this period.”
Asked how far off his best he thinks he is, he said “it’s hard to tell, really — I feel good physically, which helps.”
The mental side was the next step.
“It’s just all the little details in games that have come from playing a lot of games … obviously I haven’t had a long spell out of the [club] team for years now,” Robinson said. “I’m sure it’ll come back soon enough, but happy enough that I’ve been in the team … I feel like I’m contributing, so that’s the main thing.”
He referred to absences from Fulham specifically, scattered games for the club from last April through September. The nine games missed from mid-October to mid-December were indeed his longest time out with the club, but that doesn’t measure his summer shutdown that cost him the Concacaf Gold Cup.
“He’s a crucial player for us right now, like he was last season, two seasons ago, three seasons ago,” Fulham manager Marco Silva said. “He’s getting better and better. Of course, it was a long absence from a player like him that …was always ready, week in, week out, going to the national team, coming back, always ready to play.”
Fulham manager Marco Silva (center) gives instructions to centerback Issa Diop during a game earlier this month.
Robinson said he’s been “keeping in touch” with U.S. Soccer’s medical team, and the men’s program’s top assistant coach Jésus Pérez.
“Just to kind of check on how I’m feeling,” Robinson said. “I think it was a surprise to them as much as me how quickly it kind of turned around, from not being involved to playing 90 minutes back-to-back-to-back [upon his return]. So they’re just checking in making sure I’m OK, and making sure that I feel good in how I’m doing, how I’m playing.”
There’s a long way to go until March. Fulham has 11 Premier League games before then, including visits to Manchester City, Manchester United, and Brenden Aaronson’s Leeds United on Jan. 17. The club could also play two more FA Cup rounds after Saturday’s win over Middlesbrough, where Robinson came off the bench to face U.S. midfield candidate Aidan Morris.
But it’s no surprise that Robinson is thinking ahead. The World Cup is the sport’s pinnacle, and playing one on home turf is an honor like no other.
“For [the] boys, myself included, lads who have been in and out of the team, it’s the last sort of audition to put yourself forward to be in that World Cup squad — which is going to be a huge honor for whoever gets called up,” he said. “It’s a big goal for everyone who’s in the pool. … I’m just, for everyone’s sake, myself included, hoping that everyone stays in form, stays healthy and gives themselves the best chance to link up with the team and make sure we have the strongest squad possible.”
John Harbaugh and the New York Giants are working on an agreement to make him the team’s head coach, two people with knowledge of the decision said early Thursday morning.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been finalized. Negotiations are ongoing, but Harbaugh is expected to end up in New York.
Harbaugh has plenty of options if the sides can’t reach an agreement but the goal is to “reach the finish line.”
Harbaugh interviewed in person with the Giants on Wednesday, spending hours at the team facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Super Bowl-winning former coach of the Baltimore Ravens was believed to be New York’s top candidate in the search for Brian Daboll’s full-time successor.
Fired by the Baltimore Ravens after missing the playoffs on a missed field goal attempt at the buzzer in the season finale, Harbaugh is on track to pick the Giants over other possible landing spots, including Tennessee and Atlanta.
The Ravens made the playoffs 12 times during 18 seasons with Harbaugh in charge and won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season, a year after the Giants’ most recent championship.
General manager Joe Schoen, who’s back for a fifth season running the football operations department, said he would cast a wide net in the coaching search. Interviewing Raheem Morris and Antonio Pierce satisfied the NFL’s Rooney Rule requirements for minority or female candidates, and Harbaugh’s visit to northern New Jersey paved the way to make a hire before any of the more than half-dozen teams with a vacancy.
There are plenty of value-priced wines to choose from these days. Indeed, there are so many that it can be a challenge to select a bottle with any confidence, since wine quality can range quite dramatically within each price tier. It’s tempting to simply spend more to increase your odds of drinking a well-drafted wine, but if you are willing to do a little homework, there is a reliable way to identify wines that are likely to overperform.
The lowest-priced wines from respected, top-notch winemakers will almost always be superior to similarly priced wines from less ambitious competitors. This entry-level Willamette Valley pinot noir from Ken Wright is a perfect example, offering a wine that is more nuanced, more complex, and has far more integrity than most pinot noirs available at this price.
Ken Wright was among the earliest Oregon winemakers to earn recognition for the quality of his wines. A stint working in high-end restaurants inspired him to study winemaking in California in the 1970s. There he made lifelong friends, some of whom made the trek north to Oregon in search of terrain and climate that could produce better pinot noir than what was then possible in California. Inspired by their experiences, Wright brought his family to the Willamette Valley in 1986 and quickly became one of the region’s rising stars. Ken Wright Cellars was founded eight years later and to this day is revered for the richness, grace, and fine-tuned balance of its single-vineyard pinot noirs.
This wine is their most modestly priced cuvée, a blend that includes barrels that don’t make the cut for the winery’s top bottlings. Wright’s wines are known for their plush generosity of fruit and lithe, food-friendly balance. This dry, midweight red offers bright blueberry and cherry flavors that feature a faint whiff of cinnamon and cocoa rarely found in wines that see no aging in new oak barrels.
Ken Wright Pinot Noir
Ken Wright pinot noir
Willamette Valley, Oregon; 13.8% ABV
PLCB Item #100032864 ― on sale for $22.99 through Feb. 1 (regularly $24.99)
Howie Roseman says Eagles will make ‘sacrifices’ this offseason
Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni will have to balance the team’s roster needs with financial pragmatism.
The Eagles are at an interesting point in the state of their roster. They have an aging and expensive offense that is underperforming relative to its cost, and a young and inexpensive defense. That will change soon. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis are in line for extensions. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are right behind them. The Eagles need to improve at edge rusher and have other holes to fill.
“As you get better you have a natural arc of the team, and I think that, when you look at our team, we drafted a lot of offensive players, we re-signed a lot of offensive players,” Howie Roseman said when asked if the team had the resources to keep the players it wants to. “We drafted a lot of defensive guys that were young and on rookie contracts. There’s natural transition in what we do … in terms of where you’re paying your guys, which side of the ball you’re paying your guys who are coming up.
“The important thing for us is, there are players we can’t lose — obviously we’re going to do what’s best for us … but within reason — and that we want to keep around here because they’re really good players, homegrown players that are really good people, that are part of our core. With that, you’re going to have to make sacrifices. That’s on me to make sure the sacrifices we make are filled in with really good players again.”
“If it doesn’t end with confetti falling on our head, I don’t feel like it’s good enough,” Roseman said. “I know we’re not going to win the Super Bowl every year. I think I know that from a broad perspective, but I believe we can. I go into every offseason thinking we’re going to do whatever it takes to win a Super Bowl and when we fall short I look at myself. I look at the things that I could have done different and I look to improve.”
It was not Roseman’s best offseason coming off of last year’s Super Bowl. The Eagles did not get great production from their 2025 draft class, though they also had a roster without many openings. It’s worth noting that their first two picks in 2024 were All-Pro selections this season, and the jury is still out on their first two picks from the most recent drafts. They did not, however, make adequate upgrades on the edge and twice had to lure players off their couches to join the team before being forced to use a draft pick to acquire Jaelan Phillips. They don’t have obvious answers for what’s next for an aging and declining offensive line.
They need to get younger and cheaper at some positions, but they also have the talent to try to push for another championship. Finding the next offensive coordinator is a big part of that, but roster construction is critical. Roseman’s offseason task is to balance it all.
“You can do whatever it takes to win now and still build for the future and still have those parallel paths,” he said. “I just don’t want it to get confused that we can’t do whatever it takes to build a championship-caliber team next year and also continue to have really good players on this team for the future.”
Murphy: Roseman’s forceful vote of confidence in Sirianni speaks volumes
Eagles GM Howie Roseman shared his support for head coach Nick Sirianni Thursday.
There isn’t a whole lot of literal truth you can glean in most press conference settings. That’s especially true in the NFL, where the shield on the logo carries more than a little metaphorical weight. They are messaging platforms, not intelligence briefings. It can be frustrating. It can also be instructive, in certain moments.
Take Howie Roseman, for instance. On Thursday afternoon, the Eagles general manager was sitting next to Nick Sirianni listening to the head coach wind down an answer to a question about the team’s search for a new offensive coordinators. As soon as Sirianni was finished speaking, several reporters began talking over each other to ask the next question. But Roseman had something he wanted to add, and so he jumped in.
“I’ve got a lot of things I could say about coach and the job that he’s done here,” the general manager said. “I’m incredibly proud of him. He’s shown that when we bring people in he’s open to doing whatever’s best for this football team. That’s all he cares about is winning. When he’s brought in people he’s given them the flexibility to put their own spin on things. Obviously I sit here and I feel incredibly grateful that I’m working with someone who as a head coach is elite at being a head coach, elite at building a connection with our team, elite about talking about fundamentals, game management, situational awareness, bringing the team together, holding people accountable, and when you’re looking for a head coach those are really the job descriptions.”
The strongest votes of confidence are usually the unsolicited ones. It would be hard to interpret Roseman’s statement as anything else. Two years ago, the Eagles did Sirianni a disservice with the way they handled the fallout from their late-season collapse and one-and-done showing in the 2023 playoffs. From their decision to wait nine days to announce that Sirianni would return amidst rampant speculation that his job was in jeopardy, to their external hunt for an offensive coordinator, the Eagles left the impression that the coach was being Office Spaced out of power. Not only was it an indignity, it led to an offseason full of distractions that easily could have metastasized during the Eagles’ 2-2 start to the 2024 season.
This time around, Roseman made it a point to eliminate any doubt. As he should have.
One-time Eagles defensive coordinator might end up back in the NFC East.
Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was scheduled to interview with the Washington Commanders Thursday for their defensive coordinator position, according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Gannon, fired after three subpar seasons with the Cardinals, is also expected to interview with the Tennessee Titans for their head coaching job Sunday, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
The Commanders are looking for new offensive and defensive coordinators after moving on from Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr. following a disappointing 5-12 season one year removed from appearing in the NFC Championship game.
Lane Johnson is under contract with the Eagles through 2027.
All-pro offensive lineman Lane Johnson missed the final eight games of the season, including the wild-card game, after suffering a Lisfranc injury in Week 11 against the Detroit Lions.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said prior to the injury, the 35-year-old was playing “at an elite level,” but couldn’t say whether Johnson would be back with the Birds next season.
“I think all those conversations that we have with our players are between us,” Roseman told reporters. “Obviously, you’re talking about a Hall of Fame player who has been a huge, huge part of any of our success we’ve had. And when you watch him play, he’s still playing at an elite level.”
Eagles GM Howie Roseman called A.J. Brown “a great player.”
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman stopped short of saying the team wouldn’t trade A.J. Brown, but suggested there was still a place on the roster for the star wide receiver.
“It is hard to find great players in the NFL, and A.J. is a great player,” Roseman said. “I think from my perspective, that’s what we’re going out and looking for, when we go out here in free agency and in the draft, is trying to find great players who love football, and he’s that guy. So that would be my answer.”
Sirianni on what he’s looking for in a new offensive coordinator
In terms of the potential offensive coordinator candidate, Nick Sirianni said he’s looking for someone who will help Jalen Hurts and the offense evolve going into next season.
“I think there are many different ways to be successful on offense, and everybody has different styles, has different players, and there’s many different ways to be successful,” Sirianni said. “It’s about going out and finding the guy that best fits us. I’m looking forward to that interview process and being able to go through some really good candidates.”
As for who will call plays, Sirianni said it’s way too early for those decisions to be made.
“This year, I got involved more in the offense as the end of the season came, because that’s what I needed to do as the head football coach,” Sirianni said. “So we’ll see where all that goes as far as that goes. … But we’re not there yet.”
Sirianni on not moving on from Kevin Patullo sooner
Nick Sirianni speaks to reporters Thursday.
Speaking to reporters at an end-of-year news conference Thursday, Nick Sirianni explained why he didn’t move on from offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo during the season as the offense struggled.
“We did some different things as we continued to go through, like I told you guys I did more, got involved more,” Sirianni said. “At the end of the day, I thought I did what was best for the football team.”
“We didn’t reach our goals, so obviously it didn’t work out,” Sirianni added. “I think it’s important to continue to evolve as an offense and that we go out and do what’s best for this football team.”
Sirianni said he appreciated Patullo and everything he brought to the staff during his five years with the team. But said it was time to move Patullo out of the offensive coordinator role.
“At this particular point I just felt like that’s what I needed to do to be the best thing for the football team.”
Nick Sirianni on why he didn’t make a move earlier in the season, and what led to Kevin Patullo’s eventual dismissal: pic.twitter.com/l07WwMnPzO
Watch: Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman speak to reporters
// Timestamp 01/15/26 12:35pm
Eagles reportedly interested in Ole Miss offensive coordinator
Former Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.
While the Eagles are reportedly seeking an experienced NFL play caller to replace Kevin Patullo, at least one college coach’s name has been linked to the team’s coaching search.
As of now, Weis is following Lane Kiffin to LSU after spending four seasons with him at Ole Miss. Weis was Jaxson Dart’s coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss and is the son of former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis.
Eagles have a decision to make on their free agent punter
Braden Mann averaged a career-high 49.9 yards per punt in 2025.
A punter is like someone’s breath — you likely only notice it if it stinks.
The Eagles have taken whiffs of poor punters in the past. Just a few years ago, one of the team’s biggest concerns entering the offseason was Arryn Siposs, who struggled in Super Bowl LVII with his botched punt in the fourth quarter that contributed to the Eagles’ loss.
The Eagles don’t have to have that concern anymore. Siposs’ successor, Braden Mann, is fresh off his third season with the Eagles, from which he emerged as the most consistent of the team’s specialists. Mann registered a franchise-best 49.9 yards per punt in 2025 and has averaged 49.5 yards in his Eagles career, the best mark in team history.
Will he have a chance to continue that dominance? Mann, 28, is one of the team’s 19 pending unrestricted free agents. On Monday, even with the season’s demise still fresh, he wasn’t hiding his hopes for the future.
“I’ve loved my time in Philly, and hopefully that continues,” Mann said. “It’s just been a blast for me, personally, just kind of working my craft and seeing what happens. Excited to see any opportunities here or anything that comes.”
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown hasn’t spoken with reporters in over a month.
Former Eagles center and current ESPN analyst Jason Kelce thinks A.J. Brown needs time to clear his head.
“Aaron Rodgers goes on the darkness retreat? Kelce said on 94.1 WIP Thursday morning. “A.J. needs to step away.”
Like everyone else, Kelce saw the incident on the sideline during the Birds’ wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers, where Brown got into a heated argument with Nick Sirianni.
“The frustration was palpable watching it,” Kelce said. “I don’t think it is completely unwarranted… Some guys just let these things affect them more.”
“Receiver is a very frustrating position, because ultimately there are so many things that need to go right for you to have success on the football field,” Kelce added.
Jason Kelce thinks A.J. Brown needs to step away:
"I think he needs to get away from things. I think that whole team needs to kind of step away for a second and re-evaluate…and get ready to attack it when they all get back together." pic.twitter.com/kUluSMhnyU
Jonathan Gannon lasted just three seasons with the Cardinals.
A familiar name to Eagles fans might not be finished as a head coach yet.
Former Arizona Cardinals head coach and ex-Birds defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will reportedly interview with the Tennessee Titans Sunday, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Gannon went just 15-36 (.294) in three seasons with the Cardinals, and his team was completely uncompetitive in the NFC West (0-6). In fact, the Cardinals lost more games last season (14) than the rest of the NFC West combined (13).
He isn’t the Titans’ only candidate. Tennessee will also reportedly interview former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Potential Eagles offensive coordinator target heading to the Giants
Former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken is expected to join John Harbaugh in New York with the Giants, per source. This has always been the plan.
Giants set to hire John Harbaugh as new head coach: reports
The #Giants will spend the morning finalizing a 5-year deal with former #Ravens coach John Harbaugh, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid coaches. But Harbaugh has accepted the job, as the first opening is filled. pic.twitter.com/AG8s3tpPyz
Eagles reportedly have had some initial talks with coaching candidates
Former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is reportedly among the candidates the Eagles are considering for offensive coordinator.
It remains quiet in Philly on the offensive coordinator front nearly two days after the Eagles parted ways with Kevin Patullo
The Birds have yet to announce any interviews with potential candidates, though the team began reaching out to coaches Wednesday, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Two candidates are reportedly at the top of the team’s list – former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel (columnist David Murphy’s favorite) and former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who spent time with Jalen Hurts at Alabama.
Former ESPN and CBS Sports NFL insider Josina Anderson reported Wednesday night initial talks with some candidates “have gone well,” with some looking to make sure they’ll have “complete autonomy” over the Birds’ offense.
All accounts point to the Eagles adding an established play caller. In addition to McDaniel and Daboll, other names mentioned in multiple reports are former Cleveland Browns head coach (and Philly native) Kevin Stefanski and Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, whom the team previously vetted, according to Jeff McLane.
What about QB whisperers Josh McCown or Cam Turner?
Josh McCown has served as the Vikings quarterbacks coach for the last two seasons and was a big part of Sam Darnold’s resurgence in 2024.
The Eagles don’t just need an offensive coordinator. They need a quarterback whisperer.
They need Josh McCown. Or maybe Cam Turner.
Kevin Patullo wasn’t ready for the OC job in Philly, but then, Bill Walsh and Sid Gillman wouldn’t have won a Super Bowl the way Jalen Hurts played in 2025.
Hurts’ development has stalled. He might even be broken. He’s largely the same quarterback at the end of the 2025 season as he was at the end of 2022. Defenses know that, and they exploit it. As the offensive line deteriorated, and as Saquon Barkley and A.J. Brown started to show their age, more was asked of Hurts, who delivered ever less.
No, the Eagles don’t just need a play-caller.
They need an offensive coordinator who can invigorate a veteran quarterback whose career is idling. Both McCown, a former Eagles backup quarterback, and Turner, who has the bluest of NFL bloodlines, have done just that.
— KYW Newsradio – NOW ON 103.9 FM! (@KYWNewsradio) January 14, 2026
Jason Kelce clarifies Kevin Patullo comments
Former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo (left) chats with Jason Kelce in December before the Eagles-Rams game.
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce played under Kevin Patullo after he became the team’s passing game coordinator in 2021. A year after Kelce’s retirement in 2024, Patullo was promoted to offensive coordinator for this season.
“The expectations [for the offense] should be much higher than what they put out this season,” Kelce said on the latest episode of New Heights. “I know I made some comments on Monday Night Football, and I do love Kevin Patullo. I’m not trying to absolve him of blame. … The offense wasn’t up to the task this year. It regressed. The main reason it regressed was the run game, and the offensive line’s inability to stay healthy, and to open up holes.”
While removing Patullo as coordinator was one of the franchise’s first moves after Sunday’s 23-19 playoff loss to the 49ers, Kelce suggested that players should also take accountability for the disappointing finale.
“It’s one of the highest-paid offenses in the NFL, and they were mediocre across the board,” Kelce said, echoing some of his comments from Monday. “The bottom line is this offense didn’t live up to what it should have. Patullo, as the offensive coordinator, bears responsibility, and so do the players. …
“I don’t think it’s ever fair to just throw it on one guy. Jalen [Hurts] said it after the game: Right now isn’t the time to put it on any one person.”
“It would probably behoove the Eagles to bring in somebody with a fresh perspective on where it’s at currently,” Kelce said. “When you’re in it, you’re thinking about how you’ve had success in the past. When you bring in somebody else, we can bring in some fresh ideas and find ways to maximize things.
“I don’t think it needs to be anything that drastic. We probably want somebody who’s been proven offensively as a successful coach, and he could come in and look at things under a new lens with a lot of similar pieces.”
The two seasons the Eagles went to the Super Bowl under Nick Sirianni, they had offensive coordinators with experience at the position: Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore, both of whom were hired as head coaches the following year.
As soon as De’Andre Hunter had dropped his bags at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ hotel in Philly on Tuesday, he headed to Dalessandro’s Steaks.
“That’s mandatory any time I’m here,” Hunter said of visiting the local cheesesteak giant.
Spoken like a true Philly native. And one who, because of unfortunate scheduling around an in-season trade, never played in his hometown in 2024-25.
Hunter relished finally being back in front of family and friends inside Xfinity Mobile Arena Wednesday night. That “love in the air,” he said, powered his 17 points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench in the Cavaliers’ 133-107 thrashing of the 76ers. The performance also helped rebalance shooting struggles that have hindered Hunter’s first full season with Cleveland.
“When he plays like that,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said of Hunter’s outing, “we’re tough to beat.”
Entering Wednesday, Hunter was shooting a career-worst 30.3% from three-point range, while his percentage from the floor (42.5%) was the lowest since his rookie year. Those dips somewhat mirror the disappointment so far surrounding the 23-19 Cavaliers. They were expected to be a Finals contender after boasting the Eastern Conference’s best regular-season record last season, but exited Wednesday as the seventh seed (a half-game behind the fifth-seeded Sixers, who are 22-17).
When the Cavaliers acquired Hunter, a Friends’ Central School graduate, from the Atlanta Hawks at last February’s trade deadline, they envisioned him as the final player needed to make a championship push. The 28-year-old wing possessed the 6-foot-7, 220-pound frame to guard multiple positions, and was thriving as an off-ball, catch-and-shoot offensive player.
Hunter’s initial transition was described in March by Atkinson as “seamless” and “as quickly as I’ve seen anybody acclimate.” As a key reserve, Hunter averaged 14.3 points on 48.5% shooting from the floor — and an eye-popping 42.6% from beyond the arc — in 27 regular-season games with the NBA’s most efficient offense, while adding 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
After Cleveland fizzled in a second-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers, however, Atkinson said he looked forward to getting to know Hunter better during offseason visits. Today, the coach says he has learned even more while Hunter has faced personal adversity through the regular season’s first half.
“It’s like your kid, right?” Atkinson said before Wednesday’s game. “One that’s struggling a little or things aren’t going perfect, you probably spend more time with him.”
Through those conversations, Atkinson said, Hunter has reiterated he cares most about winning. After Cleveland’s home loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday — which was part of a 2-for-10 shooting slump from Hunter — the coach said he needed to do a better job of putting Hunter in his comfort zone on the floor. And Atkinson appreciates that the struggles have not sent Hunter “into a shell” or affected the rest of the Cavaliers’ locker room.
“It’s been the opposite with him,” Atkinson said. “His body of work speaks for itself. He’s done it for a long time in this league, and it’ll come back.”
Hunter, meanwhile, has leaned into his work habits. To try to regain rhythm, he recently completed individual workouts that were deliberately intense — “despite how your body’s feeling” — and simulated game-like scenarios.
“Keep doing what I know how to do,” he said. “I’ve been shooting for years.”
It took multiple bounces on the rim for Hunter’s first three-point make to fall through the net Wednesday. But then he scored in the lane, and splashed another deep shot. Though a three-point try at the first-quarter buzzer rimmed out, he let the ball fly again just before halftime to give Cleveland a 60-47 advantage.
Hunter then helped cool the Sixers’ rally attempt in the third quarter, when twice he got free in transition for a layup and one-handed dunk. Shortly after hitting a turnaround jumper early in the final period, Hunter got to enjoy the rest of the night from the bench as the Cavaliers finished off a dominant victory.
“His aggression was the biggest thing,” star guard Donovan Mitchell said of Hunter’s impact after the game. “ … That’s the ‘Dre that we all know, and it’s great to see. He puts the time in. He puts the work in.
“So the biggest thing now is just keep going. Keep doing it. We believe in him.”
De’Andre Hunter (left) has struggled from the field to start his season, shooting a career-worst 30.3% from three-point range.
The Cavaliers and Sixers will square off again Friday, giving Hunter a longer-than-usual regular-season visit to Philly. That means there is time for another Dalessandro’s trip.
Then, he gets the opportunity to finally generate some on-court consistency in his first full season with the Cavaliers — while again playing in front of family and friends.
“That’s something I’m working on, and something I’m looking to do,” he said. “… What they expect from me, just providing that every night.”
Let’s be clear: The primary reason to be vaccinated against shingles is that two shots provide at least 90% protection against a painful, blistering disease that a third of Americans will suffer in their lifetimes, one that can cause lingering nerve pain and other nasty long-term consequences.
The most important reason for older adults to be vaccinated against the respiratory infection RSV is that their risk of being hospitalized with it declines by almost 70% in the year they get the shot, and by nearly 60% over two years.
And the main reason to roll up a sleeve for an annual flu shot is that when people do get infected, it also reliably reduces the severity of illness, though its effectiveness varies by how well scientists have predicted which strain of influenza shows up.
But other reasons for older people to be vaccinated are emerging. They are known, in doctorspeak, as off-target benefits, meaning that the shots do good things beyond preventing the diseases they were designed to avert.
The list of off-target benefits is lengthening as “the research has accumulated and accelerated over the last 10 years,” said William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Some of these protections have been established by years of data; others are the subjects of more recent research, and the payoff is not yet as clear. The first RSV vaccines, for example, became available only in 2023.
Still, the findings “are really very consistent,” said Stefania Maggi, a geriatrician and senior fellow at the Institute of Neuroscience at the National Research Council in Padua, Italy.
She is the lead author of a recent meta-analysis, published in the British journal Age and Ageing, that found reduced risks of dementia after vaccination for an array of diseases. Given those “downstream effects,” she said, vaccines “are key tools to promote healthy aging and prevent physical and cognitive decline.”
Yet too many older adults, whose weakening immune systems and high rates of chronic illness put them at higher risk of infectious diseases, have not taken advantage of vaccination.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that about 31% of older adults had not yet received a flu shot. Only about 41% of adults 75 and older had ever been vaccinated against RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, and about a third of seniors had received the most recent COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC recommends the one-and-done pneumococcal vaccine for adults 50 and older. An analysis in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, however, estimated that from 2022, when new guidelines were issued, through 2024, only about 12% of those 67 to 74 received it, and about 8% of those 75 and older.
The strongest evidence for off-target benefits, dating back 25 years, shows reduced cardiovascular risk following flu shots.
Moreover, many of these studies predate the more potent flu vaccines now recommended for older adults.
Could the RSV vaccine, protective against another respiratory illness, have similar cardiovascular effects? A recent large Danish study of older adults found a nearly 10% decline in cardiorespiratory hospitalizations — involving the heart and lungs — among the vaccinated versus a control group, a significant decrease.
Lowered rates of cardiovascular hospitalizations and stroke did not reach statistical significance, however. That may reflect a short follow-up period or inadequate diagnostic testing, cautioned Helen Chu, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Washington and co-author of an accompanying editorial in JAMA.
“I don’t think RSV behaves differently from flu,” Chu said. “It’s just too early to have the information for RSV, but I think it will show the same effect, maybe even more so.”
Vaccination against still another dangerous respiratory disease, COVID, has been linked to a lower risk of developing long COVID, with its damaging effects on physical and mental health.
Probably the most provocative findings concern vaccination against shingles, aka herpes zoster. Researchers made headlines last year when they documented an association between shingles vaccination and lower rates of dementia — even with the less effective vaccine that has since been replaced by Shingrix, approved in 2017.
Nearly all studies of off-target benefits are observational, because scientists cannot ethically withhold a safe, effective vaccine from a control group whose members could then become infected with the disease.
That means such studies are subject to “healthy volunteer bias,” because vaccinated patients may also practice other healthy habits, differentiating them from those not vaccinated.
Although researchers try to control for a variety of potentially confounding differences, from age and sex to health and education, “we can only say there’s a strong association, not a cause and effect,” Maggi said.
But Stanford researchers seized on a natural experiment in Wales in 2013, when the first shingles vaccine, Zostavax, became available to older people who had not yet turned 80. Anyone who had was ineligible.
Over seven years, dementia rates in participants who had been eligible for vaccination declined by 20% — even though only half had actually received the vaccine — compared with those who narrowly missed the cutoff.
“There are no reasons people born one week before were different from those born a few days later,” Maggi said. Studies in Australia and the United States have also found reductions in the odds of dementia following shingles shots.
In fact, in the meta-analysis Maggi and her team published, several other childhood and adult vaccinations appeared to have such effects. “We now know that many infections are associated with the onset of dementia, both Alzheimer’s and vascular,” she said.
In 21 studies involving more than 104 million participants in Europe, Asia, and North America, vaccination against shingles was associated with a 24% reduction in the risk of developing dementia. Flu vaccination was linked to a 13% reduction. Those vaccinated against pneumococcal disease had a 36% reduction in Alzheimer’s risk.
The Tdap vaccine against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough) is recommended for adults every 10 years, with vaccination among older adults often prompted by the birth of a grandchild, who cannot be fully vaccinated for months. It was associated with a one-third decline in dementia.
What causes such vaccine bonuses? Most hypotheses focus on the inflammation that arises when the immune system mobilizes to fight off an infection. “You have damage to the surrounding environment” in the body, “and that takes time to calm down,” Chu said.
The effects of inflammation can far outlast the initial illness. It may allow other infections to take hold, or cause heart attacks and strokes when clots form in narrowed blood vessels. “If you prevent the infection, you prevent this other damage,” Chu said.
Hospitalization itself, during which older patients can become deconditioned or develop delirium, is a risk factor for dementia, among other health problems. Vaccines that reduce hospitalization might therefore delay or ward off cognitive decline.
Health officials in the Trump administration have assailed childhood vaccines more than adult ones, but their vocal opposition may be contributing to inadequate vaccination among older Americans, too.
Many will not only miss out on the emerging off-target benefits but will remain vulnerable to the diseases the vaccines prevent or diminish.
“The current national policy on vaccination is at best uncertain, and in instances appears anti-vaccine,” said Schaffner, a former member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. “All of us in public health are very, very distressed.”
“The New Old Age” is produced through a partnership with The New York Times.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
Television characters who experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital are more likely to receive CPR than people in real life. But the CPR on these shows often depicts outdated practices and inaccuracies about who is most likely to experience cardiac arrest and where, according to newly published research from my team at the University of Pittsburgh.
During the CPR training we held at Pittsburgh area middle schools and college athletic programs, participants frequently asked whether they should check for a pulse or give rescue breaths. Many mentioned seeing CPR on television shows like “Grey’s Anatomy.” While these are steps that medical professionals do when giving traditional CPR, hands-only CPR is an effective version recommended for untrained bystanders. After determining the person needs help and the scene is safe, hands-only CPR has just two steps: Calling 911 and giving hard and fast chest compressions.
As someone who researches how medical topics on screen influence viewers, this piqued my curiosity. I wondered whether participants asked about checking a pulse or giving breaths in part because they saw these practices on screen.
However, we hadn’t found any studies examining how seeing CPR on screen influences viewers. While previous studies on in-hospital cardiac arrest and CPR found inaccuracies with chest compression technique and survival rates in media, none had looked at portrayals of cardiac arrest that occur outside of hospitals and CPR conducted by a lay rescuer.
Performing CPR on TV
My team searched the internet Movie Database to identify episodes in American TV shows that depict out-of-hospital cardiac arrest or hands-only CPR. We limited our results to episodes released after 2008 — the year the American Heart Association first endorsed hands-only CPR. Of the 169 episodes that fit our criteria, we documented the sociodemographic characteristics of the character experiencing cardiac arrest and the primary witnesses, as well as whether, how, and where hands-only CPR was administered.
On a positive note, we found that over 58% of on-screen characters who experienced cardiac arrest outside a hospital had a layperson perform CPR. But in real life, fewer than 40% of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital receive CPR. Seeing such high rates of CPR being performed on screen could motivate viewers to act, as in the case of a 12-year-old boy who saved a life in 2023 using the CPR techniques he saw on “Stranger Things.”
However, fewer than 30% of episodes showed hands-only CPR being performed correctly. Almost 50% of episodes showed characters giving rescue breaths, and 43% of episodes had characters checking for a pulse. While we didn’t directly assess whether these episodes influence how viewers behave, based on our observations while conducting CPR training, it’s clear that these depictions may mislead viewers about how to administer hands-only CPR.
Who gets CPR and where on screen
Our findings also raise concern that how cardiac arrest is depicted on TV may mislead viewers about where cardiac emergencies happen and who may need CPR the most.
Of the on-screen cardiac arrests that didn’t occur at a hospital, we found that only 20% happened at home. In real life, over 80% of nonhospital-based cardiac arrests occur at home.
Additionally, those experiencing cardiac arrest on screen were younger than those in real life, with over 50% of characters under age 40. In real life, the average age is about 62.
Lastly, we found that almost 65% of the people receiving hands-only CPR and 73% of rescuers performing CPR were white and male. This is consistent with real-world statistics, where people of color and women who experience cardiac arrest outside the hospital are less likely to receive CPR from a layperson.
Accurate TV to save lives
The American Heart Association’s 2025 guidelines for CPR and emergency cardiovascular care emphasized the need to help the general public envision themselves performing hands-only CPR and improve CPR education to ensure all people who need CPR receive it.
Our team is working to understand what viewers take away from TV depictions of CPR, with the goal of collaborating with public health and medical professionals to improve how CPR is portrayed in Hollywood.
Previous research has shown that entertainment narratives have the power to inspire altruistic behavior, and news reports have documented instances of people who perform CPR after seeing it on screen. Similarly, I believe scripted, compelling television may be a powerful, cost-effective way to improve CPR education and ultimately save lives.
Beth Hoffman is an assistant professor of behavioral and community health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.
CharlesDickens, a few weeks away from his 56th birthday, arrived near midnight in Philadelphia on Jan. 12, 1868.
He would stay at the Continental Hotel, and most notably, would give readings at the Concert Hall on Chestnut Street to sold-out audiences.
His first visit here, in March 1842, Dickens had mixed feelings.
He was horrified of how prisoners were treated at the “solitary prison” Eastern State Penitentiary, but delighted at meeting Philly’s other literary hero, Edgar Allan Poe.
He also called Philly “distractingly regular” in his 1842 memoir, American Notes.
He also called the city “handsome,” and “What I saw of its society, I generally liked.”
In December 1843, he would publish his most seminal work, A Christmas Carol, in England. Philadelphia publisher Carey & Hart would publish the first notable U.S. edition of the story, which could help explain why the city fell in love with the author and his penchant for highlighting working-class and underdog characters.
Dickens’ second visit was most notable for his readings from A Christmas Carol and his first novel The Pickwick Papers to “unbounded enthusiasm and loud applause,” according to an Inquirer report from the time.
“The rude and boisterous mob which, with flaunting banners, tossing hats and loud cries, follows the horse of some victorious general,” The Inquirer wrote.
Dickens died in 1870, at age 58. And while the whole world mourned his death, the city he so enraptured would take it a step further.
In 1905, Philadelphia became the first city to build a statue of him, despite explicit wishes written into Dickens’ will against the honor.
Of all the things Betsy Kenney thought she might go viral for, whispering about Wawa wasn’t one of them. But the 38-year-old comedian’s Philly “ASMR” videos have taken off on TikTok and Instagram, turning Kenney — who spent more than a decade pursuing a comedy career in New York City — into an unlikely local celebrity.
If you aren’t familiar with ASMR, which stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, it’s a relaxing sensation triggered by soft sounds or repetitive patterns. People watch ASMR videos of soft tapping, scratching, whispering, or crinkling to unwind. A video of someone getting a scalp massage? Pure bliss. A video of someone with a strong Philly accent asking if you know their cousin while scraping a spoonful of Rita’s water ice? Less so. And therein lies the joke. “People find the Philly accent to be like nails on a chalkboard,” Kenney said. “And I thought it would be funny to combine the two.” The contrast clicked immediately.
Kenney’s videos have racked up millions of views, circulating through group chats and comment sections thick with recognition and debate. They’ve drawn fans far beyond the region and even earned an endorsement from Kylie Kelce, who rated Kenney’s Philly accent an 11. For Kenney, the sudden attention has been somewhat surreal, considering it only arrived after she stopped chasing it.
Betsy Kenney, the woman behind Philly ASMR, in Philadelphia, December 11, 2025.
For years, she had been grinding through the familiar comedy circuit in New York. She took improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade, acted in commercials to stay afloat, and wrote constantly. “I really wanted to do comedy as a living,” Kenney said. “And it turns out it’s really hard.” There were moments of traction. Kenney and her writing partner had a short film debut at the Tribeca Film Festival. They created a web series that was acquired by IFC. They hosted a podcast that found a sizable audience. “That was big,” she said. But none of it added up to stability. Then came COVID, two babies, and a move to Kenney’s hometown of Philadelphia, a return that quietly reshaped how she worked.
Back home, the pressure shifted. Kenney was no longer measuring every idea against an imagined career outcome. She was tired, busy, and short on time, and that looseness made room for something new. In September, she posted her first TikTok: an impression of “Phillies Karen,” aka the lady who stole a baseball from a kid at a Phillies game. It went viral. Before that, she said, she’d always been too self-conscious to post comedy online. Now, with less to prove and less time to overthink, she kept going.
She began posting whenever inspiration struck. Ideas surfaced in the slivers of time she had to herself, like in her car after school drop-off, or before pickup. Some of her best brainstorming happens in the shower, which is why her hair is often still wet in her videos. “I’m not trying to do a soaking wet Kim K thing,” Kenney said. “It’s literally the only time I have.” (Kenney is a full-time parent.)
A few days after “Phillies Karen” took off, she posted her first Philly ASMR video. Then came her impression of Ms. Rachel if she were from Philly. She tried non-Philly bits, too, but they didn’t land the same way. Viewers were clearly responding to the specificity of her hometown voice.
Betsy Kenney, the woman behind Philly ASMR, in Philadelphia, December 11, 2025.
Kenney isn’t the only creator to build a fan base on the back of the Philly accent. There’s also Olivia Herman, whose no-nonsense impression of a Philly mom has attracted over 200,000 followers and a brand deal with Burlington Coat Factory. But where Herman leans into parody, Kenney aims for recognition. The humor doesn’t come from exaggerating the accent, but from treating it as ordinary. That’s no small task considering how difficult the Philly accent is to fake. “It has one of the most complex vowel systems of American English dialects,” said Betsy Sneller, a professor of linguistics at Michigan State University, which makes it difficult to imitate if you didn’t grow up with it.
Kenney did. She was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia by two parents from the area. “Philly is all I knew,” she said. Sneller said that familiarity is evident in Kenney’s use of Philly-specific phrasing — “it’s so expensive anymore,” “youse” — and regional slang and cultural references like Mom-moms, bo-bos, and the Roosevelt Mall. “There’s such an identifiable feeling of place,” Sneller said. “It feels so specific.”
In fact, Kenney has found that the more specific she is, the more people connect with her work. In the comments section of a video where she asks which parish “Father John ended up at,” viewers pile on with recognition. “Wow, so we all had a Father John then, lol,” wrote one. “We all Father John in eastern PA,” wrote another. Even the Eagles chimed in: “My kinda ASMR.”
Now that she’s back in Philadelphia, the specific details her audience loves are easier to access. Kenney improvises most of her videos, following associations as they surface. So a trip to Franklin Mills might trigger a memory about a childhood birthday, which turns into a video about Stock’s pound cake. Her family is another steady source of material, especially her father, who works in a Philly courtroom as a stenographer and comes over every week with fresh stories. “If I ever need inspiration,” Kenney said, “there it is.”
Back home, surrounded by the people and places that fuel the work, Kenney isn’t in a hurry to turn her TikTok success into something bigger. She isn’t chasing the next step the way she once did in New York. “This is the first time in my comedy career that I’m just having fun,” she said. “And now that I’m back in Philly, and that’s what’s blowing up, I’m just really happy.”
At local colleges with major sports programs, some student athletes are now getting paychecks — from their athletic departments.
Pennsylvania State University, Temple, Villanova, St. Joseph’s, Drexel, and La Salle are among the Pennsylvania schools that have begun to directly pay athletes following a settlement last year in federal class-action lawsuits over student athlete compensation.
The move arguably ends college athletes’ status as amateurs and begins to address long-standing concerns that players haven’t fairly profited from the lucrative business of some college sports.
It also raises questions about how schools will fund the athletes’ pay and whether equity complaints will arise if all athletes are not comparably awarded. Some also question how it will impact sports that are not big revenue makers.
Locally, most colleges have been mum on how much they are paying athletes, and some have also declined to say which teams’ athletes are getting money through revenue sharing, citing competitive and student privacy concerns. Villanova, a basketball powerhouse that has 623 athletes across 24 sports, said it will provide money primarily to its men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Erica Roedl, Villanova’s vice president and athletic director, speaks during a news conference at the school’s Finneran Pavilion in 2024.
“Our objective is to share revenue at levels which will keep our basketball rosters funded among the top schools in the Big East [Conference] and nationally,” Eric Roedl, Villanova’s vice president and director of athletics, said in a June message after the court settlement.
St. Joe’s, another basketball standout, said its arrangement is also with men’s and women’s basketball athletes, like its peers in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Temple University established Competitive Excellence Funds that allow all of its 19 teams to raise money for revenue sharing, but declined to say which teams are currently distributing money to athletes.
“Donors could, if they wanted to, make sure their money went to a certain sport,” said Arthur Johnson, Temple’s vice president and director of athletics. “They have that ability.”
Other local colleges, including St. Joseph’s and Villanova, also launched funds to help raise money for revenue sharing. And all three schools also plan to use athletic revenue.
Under the revenue-sharing framework established by the court settlement, each college can pay its athletes up to a total of $20.5 million this academic year. Football powerhouse Penn State, which has about 800 athletes, has said it intends to reach the cap, according to a June 7 statement from athletic director Pat Kraft.
“This is a rapidly evolving environment that we are monitoring closely to ensure our approach remains consistent with applicable rules, while supporting the well-being and academic success of our student-athletes,” said Leah Beasley, Penn State’s deputy athletic director for strategic engagement and brand advancement.
Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft gives two thumbs up to the student section following a 31-0 win in a football game against Iowa in 2023.
‘It’s a job’
To athletes, revenue sharing seems only fair, given many are so busy practicing and playing through summers and other breaks that they don’t have time to work.
“It is a job at the end of the day,” said former Villanova University basketball player Eric Dixon, who holds the Wildcats’ record as all-time leading scorer. “You put a lot of time into it every single day, every single week.”
Players get hurt and can see their sports careers harmed or halted, said Dixon, who grew up in Abington and played at Villanova from 2020 to 2025. College may be their only time to earn money for their sports prowess.
Villanova’s Eric Dixon drives against Alex Karaban of UConn during the 2025 Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Dixon didn’tbenefit from revenue sharing. But he got money through external name, image, and likeness (NIL) endorsements and sponsorships that the NCAA began allowing in 2021. Dixon declined to specify how much he received, but said it was “seven figures” over four years and allowed him to help his family.
Like some other schools, Villanova, he said, provided players with financial guidance so they could make wise decisions on how to use their money.
External NIL arrangements, though, he said, were a little “like the Wild West.”(NIL compensation is allowed to continue under the lawsuit settlement, but deals of more than $600 have to be reported.) Revenue sharing from colleges will offer athletes more predictable income, said Dixon, who now plays for the Charlotte Hornets’ affiliated team in the G League.
Tyler Perkins, a Villanova junior from Virginia, currently plays for the Wildcats, who won national championships in 1985, 2016, and 2018. While he declined to say how much he is receiving, he said revenue sharing is helping him prepare for his future and “set up for the rest of my life.”
Maddy Siegrist, also a former Villanova basketball player who now plays for the Dallas Wings in the WNBA, is pleased universities are able to share revenue directly with athletes.
“It will be interesting to see how it all plays out,” said Siegrist, the Big East’s all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball and Villanova’s overall highest scorer, of men’s and women’s basketball.
Dallas Wings forward Maddy Siegrist celebrates a three-point shot during a WNBA basketball game against the Chicago Sky in 2024 in Arlington, Texas.
While the big revenue sports are likely to see the money first, she said, “I would hope there will be a trickle-downeffect where almost every sport is able to benefit.“
A lawsuit spurs changes
For years, there have been growing concerns that athletes were not getting their fair share of the profits from college sports, which make money onbroadcast rights, ticket sales, and sponsorships. Meanwhile, coaches can be among the highest paid in a university’s budget.
In 2020, former Arizona State swimmer Grant House became the lead plaintiff in House vs. NCAA, a class-action antitrust lawsuit that argued athletes should be able to profit from the use of their name, likeness, and image and schools should not be barred from paying them directly.
The settlement approved in June of that suit and two others against the NCAA requires the NCAA and its major conferences to pay $2.8 billion in damages to current and former Division 1 athletes. Another provision gave rise to the revenue sharing.
It initially applied to the major sports conferences: the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference, and the Big 12. Penn State belongs to the Big Ten and the University of Pittsburgh to the Atlantic Coast.
But other athletic conferences, along with many of their members, decided to opt in to the agreement to remain competitive in select sports. St. Joseph’s, La Salle, Villanova, Drexel, and Temple all are part of conferences participating in revenue sharing with athletes this year.
“We support student-athletes’ ability to pursue value among their peers and to leverage commercial opportunities that may benefit them or the institution,” said Maisha Kelly, Drexel’s vice president and director of athletics and recreation.
Temple belongs to the American Athletic Conference, which said its members must agree to pay at least $10 million over three years to its athletes. Johnson, Temple’s athletic director, noted that total also includes new scholarships, not just pay.
No tuition, state dollars to be used
Pitt alumnus J. Byron Fleck has called on the Pennsylvania State Board of Higher Education to advise three state-related colleges — Penn State, Temple, and Pitt — not to use tuition dollars, student fees, or state appropriations to fund athlete payments.He also asked lawmakers to take action.
“It doesn’t relate to any educational or academic purpose,” said Fleck, a 1976 Pitt alumnus and lawyer in California.
Karen Weaver, an expert on college athletics, higher education leadership, and public policy, said the same concerns about public funds being used to pay athletes have risen in other states, including Michigan and Washington.
But Penn State, Temple, and Pitt all said in statements that they would not use tuition, student fees, or state appropriations to fund revenue sharing with athletes.
“Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics is a self-sustaining unit of the university,” said Beasley, Penn State’s deputy athletic director.
Pitt said it would use athletic revenues.
In addition to donations, Temple, too, is using athletic department revenues, such as ticket sales, but it is also looking at other “nontraditional ways” to raise money, Johnson said.
“We’re turning over every stone,” he said.
Weaver, an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said she worries that as the caps on revenue sharing get higher and costs grow, schools, especially those tight for cash, may start raising recreation and other student fees. The University of Tennessee added a 10% student talent fee for season ticket renewals, according to the Associated Press, while Clemson is charging a $150 per semester student athletic fee, according to ESPN.
Roedl, the Villanova athletic director, said in a statement that it had launched the Villanova Athletics Strategic Excellence (VASE) Fund to raise money for the payments.
“Additionally, we are looking for other ways to maximize revenue through ticketing, sponsorships, and events, and identifying cost efficiencies throughout our department,” he said.
St. Joe’s, which has about 450 student athletes, said that it started a Basketball Excellence Fund to raise revenue and that payments also are funded by the basketball program. Athletes that receive funds “serve as brand ambassadors for the university,” the school said in a statement. “… These efforts have included community engagement — particularly with youth in the community — and marketing initiatives that directly support the Saint Joseph’s University brand.”
La Salle declined to say how much student athletes receive or in what proportion.
“We can share that any funds provided to students come from external sources and not tuition dollars,” said Greg Nayor, vice president for enrollment management and marketing.
Weaver, author of a forthcoming book, Understanding College Athletics: What Campus Leaders Need to Know About College Sports, said plans that call for the bulk of revenue sharing to go to football and basketball players would lead to legal action, charging that female athletes are not being treated equally.
“Any day now I expect we’ll see a huge Title IX lawsuit,” she said.
