Sports
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signs order allowing schools to pay athletes
Dec 30, 2023; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; A detailed view of the Georgia Bulldogs helmet during the 2023 Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order Tuesday that effectively allows the state’s universities and colleges to pay students directly for the use of their name, image and likeness.
Kemp’s order specifically prohibits the NCAA or any collegiate athletic conference from punishing Georgia schools for “offering compensation, or compensating an intercollegiate student-athlete for the use of such student-athlete’s NIL.”
College athletes were granted the ability to profit off their names, images and likeness in the 2021 Supreme Court decision of NCAA v. Alston. Still, the current rules and regulations don’t allow schools to pay players directly. Rather, players often enter agreements with affiliated but independent “collectives,” or they strike NIL deals with companies on their own.
As part of an antitrust settlement that could further alter the landscape of college sports, the NCAA did agree to drop the restriction on direct payments. But the settlement is still pending and may not kick in until the 2025-26 school year.
Georgia’s order goes into effect immediately.
“We extend our sincere gratitude to Governor Brian Kemp for his leadership today,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks and Georgia Tech athletic director J Batt told ESPN in a joint statement. “In the absence of nationwide name, image and likeness regulation, this executive order helps our institutions with the necessary tools to fully support our student-athletes in their pursuit of NIL opportunities, remain competitive with our peers and secure the long-term success of our athletics programs.”
Other states are considering similar measures, which is the opposite of the stated goal of Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey in July, when he called on Congress to restore and further develop “national standards for college athletes.” Georgia athletes participate in the SEC.
“I’m actually the voice of our student-athletes because they have said over and over, we deserve better as student-athletes than to have a patchwork of state laws that tell us how to manage our name, image and likeness. We deserve better than a race to the bottom for competitive purposes on a state-by-state basis, and we as student-athletes want to know when we line up for a kickoff, tip off in a basketball game, first pitch in a softball or baseball game, that the people occupying the other uniforms are governed by the same set of standards governing us,” Sankey said at SEC Media Days in July.
Georgia wasn’t the first state to adopt its own governance on the matter.
The Virginia Legislature passed a law in July that aims to protect its schools from NCAA penalties for paying college athletes directly.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rangers activate RHP Cole Winn from 15-day injured list
Texas Rangers pitcher Cole Winn (60) throws against Detroit Tigers during the fourth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday, May 1, 2026. The Texas Rangers activated right-handed reliever Cole Winn from the 15-day injured list on Tuesday after he was sidelined since May 23 by arm fatigue.
Winn, 26, takes the spot on the 26-man roster vacated by right-hander Luis Curvelo, who was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.
Winn allowed two runs on two hits in a third of an inning of his most recent outing that came during a 5-2 loss to the host Los Angeles Angels. He exited the game after three batters with fatigue and soreness in his right shoulder.
In 22 appearances this season, he is 2-1 with one save, a 5.59 ERA, seven walks and 23 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings.
In 68 career relief appearances, Winn is 2-3 with one save, a 3.91 ERA, 28 walks and 72 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings.
Texas made Winn the 15th overall selection in the 2018 MLB Draft.
Curvelo, 25, had a scoreless inning Sunday in the Rangers’ 10-0 victory over the visiting Guardians. He has a 4.91 ERA, two walks and four strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings over seven relief appearances.
He was on the 15-day injured list with a right biceps strain from April 15 to May 19.
In 24 career relief appearances since 2025, Curvelo is 1-1 with a 5.47 ERA over 26 1/3 innings
–Field Level Media
Sports
Frances Tiafoe outlasts Daniel Altmaier in first round at Stuttgart
Jun 1, 2026; Paris, France; Frances Tiafoe of the United States returns a shot during his match against Matteo Arnaldi of Italy on day nine at Stade Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images Sixth-seeded Frances Tiafoe saved 7 of 9 break points and outlasted Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 to post a first-round victory at the BOSS Open Tuesday in Stuttgart, Germany.
Tiafoe had 24 winners and 30 unforced errors while prevailing on the grass surface after the end of the clay-court season. Altmaier had 15 aces among his 40 winners but committed 42 unforced errors.
Tiafoe next faces Australia’s Rinky Hijikata, who rallied for a 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory over German wild card Tom Gentzsch. Australia’s Nick Kyrgios beat the only other seeded player in action, prevailing 6-3, 6-4 over No. 8 Corentin Moutet of France.
The other winners Tuesday were Marcos Giron, Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff and Yannick Hanfmann, Australia’s James Duckworth, France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro.
Libema Open
Adrian Mannarino of France hit 25 winners while posting a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory over defending champion Gabriel Diallo of Canada in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Mannarino ended a nine-match drought in singles play dating back to the Miami Open in mid-March. Diallo had 52 unforced errors against just 20 winners. Mannarino committed 44 miscues.
Martin Damm advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Spain’s Jaume Munar. Also, China’s Zhang Zhizhen registered a 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-1 victory over Jenson Brooksby.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Bengals restructure Joe Burrow's, save $10M in cap space
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws a pass to a teammate during practice on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Kettering Health Practice Fields in downtown Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Bengals have created $10 million in salary cap space this coming season by restructuring Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow’s contract, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.
The Bengals moved from near the bottom of the league in effective cap room, $7.1 million, per reports, to in the middle. The team could have restructured up to $19.2 million by converting his entire base salary to a bonus, per the reports.
The team announced on Tuesday that second-round draft pick Cashius Howell, a defensive end out of Texas A&M, signed his rookie contract, meaning all of the Bengals’ seven draft selections are under contract.
Burrow signed a $275 million, five-year contract extension in September 2023, including $219 million in guarantees, according to reporting at the time.
Now 29, Burrow has been supportive of the Bengals’ uncharacteristic spending on free agents and a blockbuster trade since finishing 6-11 and missing the playoffs for a third straight season in 2025.
“We’re going to go win a lot of games this year and play great and win a Super Bowl,” Burrow told reporters after a voluntary workout last month.
Cincinnati signed former Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook to a three-year, $40.25 contract and former Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe to a three-year, $60 million deal. The team also signed former Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Jonathan Allen to a two-year, $25 million deal.
The defense also got a major boost when the Bengals traded the 10th overall pick in April’s NFL draft to the New York Giants for three-time All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who signed a one-year, $28 million extension for the 2028 season following the deal.
Cincinnati selected Burrow with the first overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft out of LSU.
Burrow is a three-time Pro Bowl selection, including in 2025 when he completed 66.8% of his passes for 1,809 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions in only eight games (all starts) because of a turf toe injury.
He has started all 77 regular-season games that he has played and completed an NFL-record career-best 68.5% of his passes for 20,810 yards, 157 TDs and 51 interceptions. Burrow has thrown for another 1,826 yards, nine TDs and four picks in seven playoff games.
He was voted the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in both 2021 and 2024.
–Field Level Media
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Rangers activate RHP Cole Winn from 15-day injured list
