NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed sexual assault allegations brought against rapper Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation produces the Super Bowl halftime show.

Goodell said Wednesday the league’s partnership with the rapper and Roc Nation is ‘not changing,’ three days after Jay-Z was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl alongside Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in 2000.

‘We’re aware of the civil allegation, and Jay-Z’s really strong response to that,’ Goodell said during a press conference on Wednesday. ‘We know that obviously litigation is happening now. But from our standpoint, our relationship is not changing with them, including our preparation for the next Super Bowl.’

In an amended lawsuit filed Sunday by Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee, an Alabama woman — identified anonymously as Jane Doe — claims the billionaire music mogul, born Shawn Carter, and Combs drugged and raped her at an after-party following the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2000. The woman brought a lawsuit against Combs in October for the alleged assault.

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Jay-Z, who was 30 at the time of the alleged assault and is now 55, vehemently denied the allegations brought against him and called the lawsuit a ‘blackmail attempt’ in a statement Sunday.

Some social media users called on the NFL to cut ties with Jay-Z and Roc Nation following the allegations, but Goodell said Roc Nation has ‘provided a lot of value’ for the league.

‘They’re getting incredibly comfortable with not just the Super Bowl but other events that they’ve helped us on and helped us with,’ Goodell said. ‘They’ve been helpful in the social justice area to us on many occasions.’

The NFL tapped Roc Nation as the league’s live music entertainment strategist in 2019, as part of the NFL’s ‘Inspire Change’ initiative. The social justice initiative aims at ‘reducing barriers to opportunity, particularly in communities of color, and showcasing how the NFL family is working together to create positive change,’ the league says. The NFL and Roc Nation extended its partnership in October.

In September, Kendrick Lamar was announced as the Super Bowl halftime show headliner. Super Bowl 59 is scheduled for Feb. 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Jay-Z’s wife Beyonce will perform during halftime of the Christmas Day matchup between the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens, which will broadcast exclusively on Netflix.

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Bill Belichick’s return to coaching won’t be on a NFL sideline.

The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach was officially named the University of North Carolina’s next head football coach pending approval by the board of trustees and board of governors, the school announced Wednesday night.

‘I am excited for the opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill,’ Belichick said in a statement released by the program on social media. ‘I grew up around college football with my dad and treasured those times. I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill.’

Belichick’s 333 career victories (including the postseason) are 14 shy of Don Shula’s record for victories by an NFL head coach. The former New England Patriots head coach was not brought back for the 2024 season after 23 years with the team, and he did not land any other coaching positions during the offseason after being a finalist for the Atlanta Falcons job.

The Athletic reported Belichick’s deal with the Tar Heels was five years and $50 million. But the school’s official announcement said the agreement was for five years. The full contract and terms will eventually be available through public records requests as part of USA TODAY Sports’ college football coaches’ salary database.

The mutual interest between UNC and Belichick was first reported last week. During his weekly appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Monday, Belichick – in his classically terse fashion – said he has had ‘a couple of good conversations’ with Chancellor Lee H. Roberts while adding he didn’t want to give away too much information about the specific nature of the talks.

Belichick did elaborate on his vision for a college program and said it would be a professional outfit in terms of nutrition, strength and conditioning and player development.

‘I think there are a lot of (college) football programs being structured similar to pro programs,’ Belichick said.

After parting with the Patriots, Belichick became active in the NFL media space this season. In addition to his weekly spots with McAfee, he’s also a guest on every ‘ManningCast’ for ‘Monday Night Football.’ He co-hosts a preview show with Peyton Manning for ESPN and is a cast member of ‘Inside the NFL’ every week.

Belichick has never coached in college. His coaching career started as a special assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1974 and he spent time with the Denver Broncos before landing with the New York Giants in 1980. The first of his eight career Super Bowl victories came as defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells with the Giants, and his first head-coaching gig came with the Cleveland Browns before his 40th birthday in 1991.

Belichick’s father, Steve Belichick, was a longtime coach at the United States Naval Academy during Bill Belichick’s youth. Prior to that, however, Steve Belichick coached at UNC, and the McAfee Show displayed a photo of Bill Belichick as a child sitting in the bleachers at Kenan Stadium.

Belichick’s son, also named Steve Belichick, is currently the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington, and would re-join his father’s staff (he and his brother Brian worked for Belichick with the Patriots). Multiple reports last week indicated Steve Belichick would likely be named coach-in-waiting, but the school did not make an announcement about any arrangement.

At 72, Belichick is the oldest coach in college football. The previous oldest coach is the man Belichick is replacing at UNC, Mack Brown, who coached the Tar Heels in two separate stints and won the 2006 national title at Texas. Brown was fired by the school on Nov. 26.

Over the weekend, a trio of Belichick’s former players in New England – Brady, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski – shot down the idea of Belichick wanting to coach in college. But with name, image and likeness funding and the transfer portal, college programs are operating more like NFL organizations.

As part of the negotiations with Belichick, the school agreed to increase its NIL funding from $4 million to $20 million, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY’s Matt Hayes. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract was not yet official.

Belichick’s sixth Super Bowl victory came after the 2018 season. After Tom Brady’s departure in 2020, the Patriots made the postseason once. Following a 4-13 season in 2023, the Patriots replaced Belichick with Jerod Mayo; New England is 3-10 this year.

‘He is a great coach,’ Mayo said Monday on Boston radio station WEEI. ‘And to me, it doesn’t matter if you’re a young man or a 10-year vet in the league, like he’s a great teacher. And I wish him nothing but the best. It doesn’t really matter what level, I think he’ll be successful.’

This story was updated with new information.

The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the team’s plans for the rookie guard.

It had been reported earlier this season that James, the son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, didn’t plan to play in G League road games. However, the Lakers and Bronny kept options open and have since decided that he will play in select G League road games.

Bronny has played in three G League games this season, averaging 8.7 points on 29.4% shooting, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks for South Bay. He scored 16 points in his most recent G League game Saturday. He has also appeared in seven games for the Lakers as he shuttles back and forth between the NBA and G League and develops.

Bronny was the No. 55 pick in the second round of the 2024 draft. He was moving up draft boards before he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest just before the start of his freshman season at Southern California in July 2023.

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Earlier this season, LeBron and Bronny became the first father-son combo to play in the NBA at the same time.

ESPN was the first to report that Bronny will play in a G League road game.

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The Kansas City Chiefs head into Week 15 with one of the best records in the NFL, but they’ll be entering a tough stretch of games over a short time.

Kansas City will play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, host the Houston Texans next Saturday and then play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day, a Wednesday. In total, the Chiefs will play three games in an 11-day span, with each game coming on shorter rest than a typical NFL schedule.

‘It is not a good feeling,’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes said on Wednesday. ‘I’m excited to play on Christmas to hopefully get back from what we did last year (when the Chiefs lost on Christmas 2023 to the Las Vegas Raiders), but you never want to play this many games in this short of time. It’s just not great for your body. But at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.’

Mahomes said all the team can do is focus on the practice and next game it faces, but admitted he tried to prepare his body ‘all year long for this stretch.’

‘The coaches do a great job of taking care of us on the practice field. We practice hard as anybody, but they know how to kind of dial it back when we need it,’ he added.

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The Chiefs aren’t the only team that will have the unique stretch; the Christmas Day teams of the Texans, Steelers and Baltimore Ravens also will play three games in 11 days, on the same exact days that Kansas City plays.

However, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said two weeks ago his squad has gotten the short end of the stick because of when their bye weeks were. Pittsburgh had its bye week in Week 9, while Houston and Baltimore had theirs last week. Kansas City’s lone week off came in Week 6 in early October.

‘One thing I’m doing this offseason is I’m going to the NFLPA, especially with us having three games in a (11-day) span, that we’re mandatory to have a late bye week,’ Jones said. ‘With our schedule, it’s kind of awkward, to say the least. That’s a conversation to have this offseason. If a team has somewhat of a schedule like that, they have a mandatory late-season bye.’

With Christmas in the middle of the week, the two games will be a rare Wednesday NFL game. Before this year, the last Wednesday game occurred in 2020 when the Ravens faced the Steelers. The game was moved to a Wednesday because of a COVID-19 outbreak within the Ravens.

Before that, the 2012 opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants was moved to a Wednesday because then-president Barack Obama was set to deliver his speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention that Thursday. Prior to that, the last Wednesday game occurred in 1948 in a contest between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions.

‘That’s a unique situation. You just have to manage it,’ Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. ‘It is what it is. You make the best of it. One thing is you’ve got to get guys ready for a game, give them the chance to do whatever you present to them. So, I help them out now. We’ve got a normal week right here, so we’ve got to take care of business.’

DALLAS − Scott Boras was fatigued Wednesday morning, his voice raspy, spending most of the night on the telephone negotiating with teams, and now addressing the media, with a flight scheduled Thursday morning to New York for a press conference at Citi Field to officially announce Juan Soto’s historic $765 million contract.

Yet before he leaves town, he could have one more massive contract finalized, with ace Corbin Burnes expected to land a deal exceeding $250 million – the third-richest for a pitcher in history.

Boras has been in serious talks with the San Francisco Giants for Burnes, and has spoken to the Boston Red Sox and others, acknowledging the possibility that Burnes’ deal could soon be agreed upon.

“I think Corbin Burnes is kind of like Elvis,’ Boras said. “He’s got that burning love for a No. 1 starter. You’re really feeling it today and every morning, I might add.’’

The Burnes signing would conclude a frenzied week at baseball’s annual Winter Meetings where there was $1.3 billion spent on free agents including three contracts in excess of $180 million and four trades involving 17 players.

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Certainly it has been a sharp contrast to a year ago when just $138 million was spent, and the biggest free-agent contract was starter Eduardo Rodriguez’s four-year, $80 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“It rings a definition of resources for the teams,’ Boras said. “Media (TV contracts) is understood, more defined, as to what the plan will be ahead. I also think that expiring contracts in this market something have a lot to do with it.

“But the real lesson is that star-level players, playoff-caliber starting pitching, power in the postseason are winning consistently. And those are the things that teams understood with just great aggression.’’

Indeed, Soto has a World Series ring with the Washington Nationals and helped the New York Yankees reach the World Series. Max Fried, who signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees has won a World Series with Atlanta and has pitched in 20 postseason games the past seven years. Nathan Eovaldi, who signed a three-year, $75 million contract to return to the Texas Rangers, won two World Series titles. Willy Adames, who signed the biggest contract in San Franciso Giants’ history with his seven-year, $182 million deal, has been to the postseason five times in the past six years.

Now, with Burnes pitching in the postseason in four of the past seven years while winning a Cy Young award and finishing in the top eight in four other seasons, he’s expected to command the third-largest contract in history for a pitcher behind only Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325 million) and Gerrit Cole ($324 million).

Boras also represents third baseman Alex Bregman, who has won two World Series championships and been to the postseason every year since 2017, could land a deal exceeding $180 million from the Houston Astros, Red Sox or the Yankees.

“We’ve had numerous talks with teams and owners, and we all know what comes after an A (Alex) and a B (Bregman) is a C – champions,’ Boras said. “And it’s Bregman’s case, that’s C-squared. All of these teams realize what a leader he is and what a champion he is, and plus his skill level to boot. He’s very much in demand.’

Boras could also get a similar contract for free-agent first baseman Pete Alonso, a four-time All-Star who has hit 226 homers in his six seasons.

“A lot of market locomotion going on regarding Pete,’ Boras said. “The Polar Bear Express is rolling. … Power in this game is such a commodity, and you can see that as we filter through the market the availability is something that most teams recognize as a real core lineup need.’

While the market appears slow for Alonso, Boras didn’t rule out a return to the Mets, even after their massive spend on Soto.

“I think it’s pretty evident the Mets have decided that they’re going to pursue winning and winning for a long time,’ Boras said. “They made it very clear to us that they’re not limited to signing one great player, but multiple great players. So you know they’re going to be very steady and have a heavy commitment to acquiring the best talent.’

While Boras refused to talk publicly about the Soto negotiations until Soto completes his physical, the soaring price of the pitching market has captivated everyone’s attention at these winter meetings, reaching levels no one quite envisioned. There have been six pitchers who have signed contracts guaranteeing at least $20 million a season, with Snell leading the way with his five-year, $182 million contract, averaging $36.4 million a season.

“You’re seeing the real demand for pitching,’’ Boras said. “I think with COVID-19, we used a lot of our Double-A and Triple-A young starters. We brought them to the big leagues. Some worked out, a lot didn’t.

“And now we have a need for veteran pitching because we have severe gaps and the need to fulfill those 800 or 900 innings of starting pitching.’

While most team executives and agents left Dallas at the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft Wednesday afternoon, there’s expected to be a flood of signings in the next week before the Christmas holidays.

And, yes, all of the way until teams report to spring training, there will continue to be an outpouring of complaints from the small and mid-sized market teams, as the payroll disparity gap grows wider and wider.

“Part of the sports league is disparity,’ Boras said. “There’s always a Goliath. And there’s always the David. I don’t care what league it is. I don’t care whether you have salary caps or not, you start to see those things happen in sports. It’s always been that way.

“So I’ve listened about market disparity and needs and such, but the one thing that’s common is that every ownership that was bought for $100 million or $200 million is now worth $2-$3 billion. That’s the greatest part of being in a sports league, and the disparity part is just merely a competitive choice that you choose while being in the league that is appreciating at dramatic levels.’’

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