(NEW YORK) — The NFL and the NFL Players Association have reached an agreement on team salary caps. On Wednesday, the league and its players’ union agreed to cap each team’s salary at $182.5 million in 2021 — down 8% from last season, according to a memo obtained by ESPN.
In previous years, teams saw increasing salary caps as league revenues continued to rise. But as the COVID-19 pandemic forced city and statewide lockdowns, game attendance fell by 92% and caused a decline in 2020 revenues.
Teams must comply with the new salary cap limits by next Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET — the start of the new league year. The decreased limits will likely mean teams will have to make difficult roster decisions and release a significantly high number of players into the free agent market to bring team salaries below the league’s required cap.
As COVID restrictions relax and the NFL works to lock in new broadcasting deals, pro football attendance and revenues are expected to rebound in the 2021 season.
Capitol Records Nashville In honor of her birthday on Wednesday, Carrie Underwood has shared “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus,” off her gospel album, My Savior.
Carrie adds an acoustic guitar to the hymn that dates back to 1876, along with background harmonies from Bear Rinehart of Christian rock band Needtobreathe.
“#NothingButTheBloodOfJesus is my birthday gift to YOU!” Carrie says on Instagram.
“I feel like this one was the one we were searching for,” she expands in a behind-the-scenes video about the song, adding that they wanted to add “tempo” and “harmonies” to the performance, which inspired her to call upon Bear. “We were talking about how we could hear a certain voice in the mix, just make it sound a little more current, and I definitely feel like we did that.”
“Nothing but the Blood of Jesus” is the third song Carrie has released from My Savior, alongside “Softly and Tenderly” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” the latter featuring CeCe Winans.The album will be released March 26.
Photo by JORAS/GC Images(LONDON) — In a day and age where any given celebrity scandal usually ends in a series of apology interviews, Piers Morgan isn’t backing down over comments he made on U.K. TV disparaging Meghan Markle. following her and husband Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Morgan’s criticism of the Duchess of Sussex included Piers doubting Markle’s claims that she was “suicidal” after joining the Royal Family. This led to an on-camera tiff with Morgan’s Good Morning Britain co-anchors, after which he walked off of the set. He later quit the program in a parting of the ways with U.K.’s ITV that he told the U.K. The Mirror was “amicable.”
To the tabloid’s cameras that were waiting outside his London home Wednesday morning, Morgan said, “I believe in freedom of speech, I believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. If people want to believe Meghan Markle, that’s entirely their right.”
He added, “I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth and I think the damage she’s done to the British monarchy and to the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible.”
The Mirror reports ITV told Morgan to apologize, but he refused.
“[W]e agreed to disagree,” Morgan told the tabloid. “If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.”
Piers said he was on a “temporary hibernation,” adding defiantly, “…although the woke crowd will think that they’ve cancelled me, I think they will be rather disappointed when I re-emerge.”
Morgan’s comments about Markle apparently led her to file a formal complaint with ITV, Variety reports.
FOX(LOS ANGELES) — Naya Rivera’s dad, George, is not too happy with TV producer Ryan Murphy — and he took to Twitter to let the world know why.
Late Tuesday evening, George blasted the Glee creator for not fulfilling his promise to create a college fund for his grandson, Naya’s son, Josey Dorsey.
“Everyone needs to know what Ryan Murphy really did … or didn’t do !!! I’m about to blow up this story …. and make sure he’s knows that I know,” he declared.
George added claims that Murphy was full of “Broken Promises,” “fake outrage,” “hollow gestures,” and even claimed that he never received a phone call from the Hollywood star following Naya’s death.
“When you are part of the Hollywood elite, some people treat others as they are ‘less than’ …. vocalize a good game , but it’s as shallow as the sets on stage , that they create,” George tweeted. “Promises made in public, only to fade with time and excuses… even in [an] unexplainable tragedy.”
Following the series of accusations, Murphy issued a statement of his own, explaining that he actually is working on fulfilling his promise.
“Myself, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan have committed to create a college fund for Naya Rivera’s child Josey through the Naya Rivera Estate Trust,” he wrote. “We have been in repeated conversations with the appropriate executors of her estate.”
Scott Taetsch/Getty ImagesBY: LEIGHTON SCHNEIDER, ABC NEWS
(MIAMI) — The Miami Heat have announced center Meyers Leonard will be away from the team indefinitely after Leonard used an anti-Semitic slur while streaming a video game he was playing on Twitch.
“The Miami HEAT vehemently condemns the use of any form of hate speech. The words used by Meyers Leonard were wrong and we will not tolerate hateful language from anyone associated with our franchise. To hear it from a Miami HEAT player is especially disappointing and hurtful to all those who work here, as well as the larger South Florida, Miami HEAT and NBA communities. Meyers Leonard will be away from the team indefinitely. The Miami HEAT will cooperate with the NBA while it conducts its investigation,” the team said in a statement.
“I am deeply sorry for using an anti-Semitic slur during a livestream yesterday. While I didn’t know what the word meant at the time, my ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse and I was just wrong. I am now more aware of its meaning and I am committed to properly seeking out people who can help educate me about this type of hate and how we can fight it. I acknowledge and own my mistake and there’s no running from something like this that is so hurtful to someone else. This is not a proper representation of who I am and I want to apologize to the Arisons, my teammates, coaches, front office, and everyone associated with the Miami Heat organization, to my family, to our loyal fans and to others in the Jewish community who I have hurt. I promise to do better and know that my future actions will be more powerful than my use of this word,” Leonard wrote.
ASTRO Gaming, a gaming headset maker, announced on Facebook they are no longer going to sponsor Leonard.
“We are aware of comments made by sponsored streamer, Meyers Leonard. ASTRO is committed to creating an inclusive gaming environment and one that combats racism and other forms of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. For that reason, we are ending our relationship with Meyers Leonard, effective immediately,” the post said.
Leonard is in his 9th season in the NBA and his second with the Heat. He sustained a season ending shoulder injury in January and only appeared in three games this season. He can become a free agent this summer if Miami does not pick up his option for next season.
EricVega/iStockBy CARMEN COX, ABC News
