The city of Detroit fired back at Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham for her comments Tuesday about it being selected for WNBA expansion. Cunningham said in an interview prior to that evening’s WNBA Commissioner Cup final that she didn’t know “how excited (players) are to be going to Detroit or (Cleveland).”

That led to the official X account for the city of Detroit drumming up a response. It cited the success of the previous WNBA franchise, the Detroit Shock, which won three championships in its existence from 1998-2009. It also called Detroit a “sports city,” noting the success of its other professional teams.

“The last time we were home to a WNBA team (Detroit Shock) we ranked top five in attendance for five straight seasons, No. 1 in attendance for three straight seasons and set a single-game attendance record of 22,076 fans at Game 3 of the 2003 WNBA Finals,” the post read. “Additionally more than 775,000 people were excited to come to Detroit for the 2024 NFL draft. Detroit is a sports town. We’re sure we’ll see the same excitement for the WNBA returning.”

The Detroit Shock were highly successful during their time as a franchise, and there was plenty of fan interest. They led the league in attendance for three straight seasons from 2006-08.

However, the team dropped to fifth in attendance and lost $2 million during its final season in 2009, according to the Detroit Free-Press. After owner Bill Davidson died, his wife, Karen, sold the team and the new owners relocated it to Tulsa. The franchise stayed in Tulsa through 2015 before relocating again, and is currently the Dallas Wings.

Detroit is also home to NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL teams. It has the fifth-most championships among the four major sports with 22 total.

Sophie Cunningham’s point was less about the city of Detroit supporting the team and more about whether players would want to live there. She argued that there were more desirable destinations, at least from her point of view.

“You want to listen to your players, too,” she said. “Where do they want to play? Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? I do think that Miami would have been a great one. Everyone loves Florida. Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City, amazing opportunity. There’s a huge arena downtown that no one’s using. I think the women’s soccer league is showing that people draw.

“So I’m not so sure what the thought process is there. But at the end of the day, you also want to make sure that you’re not expanding our league too fast. …So I just think it’s kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or (Cleveland).”

In the modern era of NIL, every team is looking for an advantage and a way to make more money for their NIL program to give their program an upper hand in recruiting and NIL for players.

Revenue sharing should slow that when you look at trying to find an upper hand to pay current players, but the revenue sharing model does not say anything about recruiting. As a result, some programs are still shelling out significant money on the recruiting trail.

So, how do programs make money? Some teams increase ticket prices, while others, like Tennessee, are putting sponsors’ logos on the football field.

Another SEC team is looking at going the same route as Tennessee, with On3 Sports reporting that the LSU Tigers are planning to sell jersey patch advertisements. The advertisements are pending NCAA approval, according to the report.

The Tigers are one of the premier schools in the SEC, and appear to be spearheading one of the biggest changes in the SEC this upcoming season. Some teams, namely in the NBA and the NFL, sell jersey patch advertisements during training camp and, for the NBA, the regular season.

While Alabama has not yet made a change like that to the traditional Alabama uniform, would you want to see Alabama make this change and sell jersey patch advertisements?

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men’s basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.

Superstar Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith shocked the sports apparel world Wednesday by inking a lucrative NIL contract with Adidas, the major rival of Nike, which is the Buckeyes’ official team sponsor. Minutes after Smith’s deal with Adidas was announced, former NFL receiver Dez Bryant took to social media to call out Nike for quite literally dropping the bag with Smith.

“Nike about to lose all credibility,” Bryant wrote Wednesday. “How did they lose Jeremiah Smith to adidas?”

Bryant also believes that by signing Smith — widely considered the best receiver in all of college football — Adidas is making a play for Nike’s spot as the top-ranked sports apparel brand.

“Adidas coming for the #1 spot,” Bryant tweeted.

Smith enters the 2025 college football season as the sport’s biggest brand name without the surname Manning after helping spark the Buckeyes to the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship with a Big Ten-best 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns on 76 receptions as a true freshman.

But given Nike’s longstanding relationship with Ohio State, which is in the midst of a 15-year apparel agreement that began in 2018, Smith’s signing with Nike’s biggest brand rival is already sending shockwaves through the sports apparel world.

“One of the most memorable moments from last season was losing my black stripe and officially becoming a Buckeye,” Smith said in a statement released by Adidas. “Fast forward a year and I’m blessed to be adding three, joining the fastest brand in football. It’s crazy to be partnering with a brand that has such a talented roster of players and that I’ve been wearing since I was a young kid. We’re not done yet.”

Jeremiah Smith vows to never lose to Michigan for rest of Ohio State career

Jeremiah Smith had a borderline perfect first season at Ohio State. The wide receiver busted onto the scene, catching 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns during the Buckeyes’ national championship run.

He dazzled in every way possible, but there was one major blemish on his team’s season as a whole. Ohio State once again fell to Michigan, suffering a highly-publicized and scrutinized 13-10 loss to the Wolverines on Nov. 30.

Smith caught a touchdown in that game, part of a five catch, 35-yard performance. That was far below the standard he’s set for himself though, and the one he’ll be trying to reach in his sophomore season.

After all the success he’s enjoyed thus far in Columbus, the loss to Michigan still sticks in his craw. Ahead of the 2025 season, Smith spoke with Manny Navarro of The Athletic, where he vowed to never lose to the Wolverines again, as long as the wide receiver is suiting up for the Buckeyes.

“I’m not a sore loser, but I hate losing, and losing to that team up north was pretty crazy,” Smith said, via The Athletic. “In the end, I think it really helped us play the way we did in the playoffs. But I didn’t want to go to Ohio State and lose to that team up north.

“I just hate them. Just something about them. For the next two years, I promise you, I will not lose to them. I can’t lose to them in the next two years.”

— On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this report.

It’s a mess. I don’t think this is a correct fix.

I think NIL is going to try turn this into something that is frowned upon if you try to take the Audit clearing house to court. I think there will be some sort of team rules or expectations that if you come to this university than you are expected to follow and respect the process.

I am not a fan of that. I am not a fan of Ohio State following the rules to a T because our AD is leading the NIL board. I think that kind of relationship is a double edge sword. I hope the plan works and college football follows the Buckeyes example, but so far the SEC and other programs aren’t.

I believe in the Buckeyes, but all this mess takes the fun out of recruiting for me. I used to get fired up about following a kid from HS to signing day to draft day, and now a days that passion is slipping away for me.