But now, thanks to a revolutionary new surgical procedure that’s gained favor in European soccer leagues, recovery and rehabilitation from ACL surgery could be possible in as little as four-and-a-half months. The concept, devised by Scottish orthopedic surgeon Gordon Mackay, uses what’s known as an internal brace (IB) to help repair and augment the injured ligament. That technique is in direct contrast to the traditional ACL repair and reconstruction approach which took a ligament from the patient’s hamstring to replace the injured knee ligament.

The upside to using the IB method, Mackay says, is that it protects the damaged ligament and allows it to heal without further weakening the knee joint. That’s important since the ACL is the main ligament through the center of the knee which serves to stabilize the joint. And, by protecting and reinforcing the damaged ligament and allowing it to heal, the IB procedure minimizes atrophy, speeds up early-phase recovery time, and significantly reduces the chances for re-injury.

The inspiration for the IB concept came from the external braces Mackay had noticed athletes wearing to protect their knees during games and to help stabilize them during recovery from injury. And it isn’t just for ACL injuries. IB surgery got former Saints quarterback Drew Brees back on the field just five weeks after tearing a thumb ligament in 2019 and allowed golfer Brooks Koepka to compete at The Masters in 2021 just four weeks after he’d dislocated his kneecap and damaged ligaments in his knee.

Though the IB was developed by Mackay in conjunction with American medical device manufacturer Arthrex – and it’s been adapted for use with 17 different body parts – its use for ACL repair has largely been confined to European footballers. And, while more surgeons are adopting the technique and there are over 200 academic papers on its effectiveness, Mackay cautions new ideas can often be slow to take hold.

“It is a big step forward and is transforming sports surgery around the world. I believe it is going to have a big impact on world football too,” Mackay told The Athletic. “It takes time to change approaches and attitudes, but the evidence is building.”

In addition to athletes, the use of the IB has been embraced by the United States military special forces to speed recovery from paratroopers suffering ligament damage in their ankles. However, while the IB has been applied successfully in other joints in the United States, it’s important to note that every ACL injury is different, and American football players face different stresses (think 300 lb. linemen) than European soccer players. Hence, more time and research may be needed before the use of the IB procedure for ACL repair is fully embraced in America.

Until then, Mackay intends to continue working toward even better ways to apply the IB procedure to ACL repair and other applications. That research has already led to the discovery that a second internal brace placed on the outside of the knee can potentially reduce the risk of reinjury even further.

Hopefully, you’ll never suffer an ACL injury, or any other ligament injury, in whatever sport you play. But if you do, as the IB procedure demonstrates, it’s no longer a career ender and you may not need a long, grueling recovery and rehabilitation to get back to 100%. And for that, you can thank Dr. Gordon Mackay.

In the aftermath of the World Cup, however, things have gotten messy for Team USA. There was the team’s noted lack of scoring during the World Cup, as well as the limited minutes for rising star Gio Reyna, coach Gregg Berhalter’s remarks on Reyna’s work ethic afterward, and now, an apparent feud involving Reyna’s parents, Berhalter, and the US Soccer Federation.

With all that in mind, where does the USMNT go from here? In order to move forward and make a better showing in 2026, three areas need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Coaching

During the World Cup, coach Gregg Berhalter was lauded for his tactical decisions. That was especially true during the Group stage match against England when Berhalter’s decision to go with a flat 4-4-2 formation neutralized England’s midfield and allowed American forwards more room and speed to attack England’s backline.

However, Berhalter was also criticized for his decision to use Gio Reyna sparingly, which seemed to limit the team’s scoring ability. His post-tournament remarks criticizing an unnamed player’s work ethic and attitude (generally believed to be Reyna) have now mushroomed into a scandal of its own with revelations of Berhalter’s 1991 assault of his girlfriend (who is now his wife) and the fact that the information was revealed by Reyna’s mother.

While all of the above has played out, Berhalter’s contract expired at the end of 2022 and, for now, Anthony Hudson has been named as the USMNT’s interim coach for its upcoming friendlies. Does US Soccer go forward with Berhalter? If so, will there be a rift between Berhalter and Gio Reyna, who will be 24 and in the prime of his career in 2026? That decision is likely the first thing that will need to be decided as the USMNT moves on from the Qatar World Cup.

The Young Core

In Tim Weah, Brenden Aaronson, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Yunas Musah, and Giovanni Reyna, the USMNT has perhaps its most talented young core of players ever. But potential is one thing, and playing in the top European leagues doesn’t always equate to success in the World Cup. While those players are all expected to improve and gain experience in the next four years, the USMNT needs to continue nurturing those core talents to build upon the ‘22 team’s success.

Whether that job falls to Berhalter, Hudson, or another team manager, what’s most important for the continued growth and success of the USMNT is the ongoing improvement of that young core. Many consider Weah, Aaronson, McKennie, Adams, and Reyna generational talents. The future success of the USMNT hinges on making the most of that talent while they’re in their prime.

Christian Pulisic

At age 24, Christian Pulisic is the undisputed star of the US Men’s National Team. But, while he was surrounded by potential in the ‘22 World Cup, it was obvious that the USMNT will need Pulisic to continue his evolution as a premier player. Though he was just the fourth American to notch three or more goal contributions in a World Cup, Pulisic will likely need to avoid injuries and notch up his game as not only a Premier League star, but on the world stage as well.

In addition, with the 2026 World Cup being held in North America, there will be plenty of added pressure on Pulisic’s shoulders. How he responds to that pressure, in the years ahead, and in the next FIFA World Cup will likely play a big role in how far the USMNT advances. But, regardless of his own abilities, remember it took Lionel Messi five appearances before winning a World Cup with Argentina. Pulisic’s future World Cup success will likely depend not only on his own skill but on the talent and growth of his teammates as well.

While that disparity is primarily caused by the lack of high-profile professional leagues for women’s sports, things may be starting to change. And that’s because almost every female college athlete can now cash in on name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals just like their male counterparts.

Notable among those high-earning female athletes are Auburn gymnast Sunisa Lee, LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, Haley and Hanna Cavinder, twins who play basketball for the University of Miami, and University of Connecticut basketball player Paige Bueckers. Bueckers is especially notable, as she was the first college athlete ever signed to endorse Gatorade and, though she’ll miss this season due to a knee injury, she’ll still likely earn more income as a college athlete than she would as a top pick in the WNBA.

“I mean, she (Bueckers) is going to make well over a million dollars. It’s not even a question,” said Jason Belzer, the chief executive of Student Athlete NIL, an agency that works with brands doing campaigns for student-athletes. “She probably has more value as a student-athlete from a marketing and endorsement perspective than she will as a pro, unless she becomes an absolute All-Star, Sue Bird-like person.”

However, though Bueckers, Dunne, Lee, the Cavinder twins, and others have earned NIL income thanks to their social media following and marketing savvy, many other female athletes in non-revenue sports now have income streams equal to or greater than their male counterparts. For some, it’s just spending money, but for others, it’s cars, cash, food, merchandise, and a steady revenue stream.

The downside to the NIL boon is that not all female athletes have received the same opportunities. Marketability, visibility, and social media presence plays a big role in that, but for some critics, sex appeal is selling more than social media presence. While it’s always up to the athlete to choose how they share themselves, many feel the pressure for women to use their sex appeal in their endorsements is a step backward.

“I guess sometimes we have this swinging pendulum, where we maybe take two steps forward, and then we take a step back. We’re fighting for all the opportunities to compete, to play, to have resources, to have facilities, to have coaches, and all the things that go with Olympic-caliber athletics,” said Stanford women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer. “This is a step back.”

VanDerveer’s criticism overlooks one of her own players, player of the year candidate Haley Jones, who chooses not to play up her sex appeal. Instead, Jones’s endorsement deals with Nike, Beats by Dre, SoFi, and others, rely on her social media presence where she highlights her life as a student-athlete without being overtly provocative. But not every female athlete makes the same choice or has the same opportunities.

Ultimately, it may be too early to decide that NILs will put both female and male athletes on an equal playing field, as many observers expect the market to recede once sponsors assess the return on their investment. But, until then, how a female athlete portrays herself is still the choice of that athlete. And, for now, thanks to NIL deals, female student-athletes now have income opportunities comparable to male athletes, and the power to choose what they want to endorse and how they want to be viewed as they endorse it.

Hockey Canada’s facade began to crumble in March when it was revealed the organization had paid to settle a lawsuit brought by a woman who accused members of Canada’s men’s world junior hockey team of sexual assault after a Hockey Canada-sponsored event in 2018.

The lawsuit alleged that Hockey Canada “ignored or failed to reasonably address institutionalized and systemic abuse” and “had knowledge that over the last number of years, its players were subjected to sexual assault and also encouraged to sexually assault others.”

Though there were eight members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team cited in the lawsuit, they were identified only as “John Doe 1-8.” And, while Hockey Canada said it had initiated an investigation upon receiving reports of the assault, no players were ever disciplined and it is unknown if or where any of those players are in organized hockey.

Paying off a lawsuit to make it go away happens every day in the corporate world. But Hockey Canada is a non-profit organization, and the money used to settle the lawsuit came from amateur hockey registration fees from all across Canada. Even worse, it was revealed that Hockey Canada maintained three secret funds to settle uninsured sexual assault claims and had paid off 10 other sexual assault claims since 1989.

So, with the most recent claim, there are 10 sexual assault cases settled by Hockey Canada with money from three secret funds. According to Hockey Canada officials, the money was kept secret so that the organization wouldn’t become a target for lawsuits. Further, with less money on the books, Hockey Canada could have a stronger bargaining position in the sexual assault cases that were settled. And don’t forget that there’s also no evidence of any action ever taken against any individual accused in any of the sexual assault lawsuits.

The revelation of the secret funds and the “pay-to-make-it-go-away” attitude toward sexual assault accusations has cost Hockey Canada almost all of its major sponsors, including Tim Hortons, Nike, Esso, and Canadian Tire. In addition, several provincial hockey associations are threatening to withhold the registration fees they pay annually to support the organization. In spite of all that, it ultimately took pushback over remarks by Interim Director Andrea Skinner that claimed Hockey Canada was the victim to compel Skinner and the rest of the Hockey Canada board of directors to resign.

So where does Hockey Canada go from here? Step 1 is to work to regain the public trust by naming a new CEO and directors that represent a broader, more inclusive cross-section of amateur hockey, including women and men. Step 2 is to become more transparent in how the organization handles its finances, how it investigates claims of sexual assault, and how it conducts its business on and off the ice.

Hockey Canada has existed in some form since 1914. But all the goodwill the organization established over the last 108 years has unraveled completely in just six months. The rot in Hockey Canada likely started years ago and only recently came to the surface. However, now that it has surfaced, Hockey Canada will effectively have to start anew from the inside so that it can regain the public’s trust and once again be seen as the true guardian of the game.

Old habits die hard, especially in baseball. While MLB might have been the first major sport to embrace analytics, the traditional clubhouse spread of things like hot dogs, nachos, pizza, and chicken has remained. But just as data output has modernized baseball’s scouting and evaluation process, each team now has a dietitian to keep an eye on the team’s food input. And according to a recent article in The New York Times, junk food is out. Food for recovery and refueling is in.

“Junk food and corn syrup do not provide quality nutrients for adequate recovery,” explained Alexa Scully, the Philadelphia Phillies’ dietitian, who oversees a dugout menu of almonds, dried mango, beef jerky, string cheese, and peanut butter pretzels. “When carbs are mixed with a little bit of fat, fiber, or protein, this helps keep blood glucose from spiking and provides sustainable energy over a longer period of time.”

Slowly but surely, baseball players are discovering that a better diet can benefit them on the field while also increasing stamina and speeding recovery. To that end, traditional clubhouse supplies of gum, candy, and sunflower seeds have been replaced with fruit, jerky, nuts, string cheese, Kind bars, Honey Stinger waffles, and sugar-free gum. Sunflower seeds and gum are still there for the players who want them, but healthier choices will always be more readily available.

Even the once ubiquitous water coolers and sports drinks have been superseded by protein shakes and hydration drinks custom-tailored to account for each player’s sweat and sodium loss. The goal is better hydration, increased energy levels, and faster recovery.

Of course, the clubhouse spreads have changed too. Hot dogs? Nachos? Pizza? Fried Chicken? Beer? Ice cream? While every team’s dietitian and or chef has a different philosophy, if it hasn’t been replaced already, the traditional baseball clubhouse spread is going, going, and likely, soon to be gone. Hot dogs may have powered the Babe, but today’s major leaguer fuels up with salad, pasta, and salmon.

Granted, most non-major league baseball teams lack a dietitian or chef on staff, and pretty much every amateur player is on their own when it comes to nutrition. And for many ballplayers, old habits can be hard to change. For many, the issue might even be one of habit and superstition. Consider that Red Sox and Yankees Hall-of-Famer Wade Boggs famously had to eat chicken before every game. But, while generations of baseball players grew up on the “Babe Ruth Diet,” players like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton now know that the food they put in their bodies can improve how they perform on the field.

If your goal is to become a major league baseball player, scouts will always look at your speed, power, ability to hit for average, fielding skills, and arm strength. They may not consider your diet, but if you take a lesson from major league dietitians and focus your food intake on performance and recovery, what’s on your plate can definitely help you be better at the plate, on the mound, or in the field.

The feeling of being pushed off a carousel is also an apt metaphor for what’s happened so far in the college football coaching ranks. These days, as the coaching carousel spins ever faster, more coaches are being fired and shucked off the ride much sooner than ever before.

Nebraska fired head coach Scott Frost on Sept. 11th after an 0-3 start and a 16-31 overall record. While that move required the university to pay Frost a $15 million buyout, had the school waited until Oct. 1st, the buyout price would have been only $7.5 million. A week later, Arizona State fired Herm Edwards after a 1-2 start and an overall record of 26-20 with three bowl appearances. Edwards’s buyout could be worth $9 million.

Finally, just last Sunday, Wisconsin booted Paul Chryst after a 2-3 start to the season. Chryst’s dismissal was even more shocking, considering he led the Badgers to a 67-26 record in seven seasons and to the Rose Bowl in 2019. His buyout cost, which could have totaled almost $20 million remaining on his contract, was negotiated down to $11 million. Even more shocking was Chryst’s termination marked the first time in 33 years that Wisconsin had fired a head football coach.

As these early season coaching dismissals show, with the college football coaching carousel spinning faster, coaches are being tossed aside earlier than ever, regardless of the costs involved. But why is that carousel spinning faster? Consider these elements:

More Money

Until recently, athletic directors would have kept coaches around longer to avoid the steep buyout payments that Frost, Edwards, and Chryst received. However, thanks to athletics-related fundraising and astronomical television contracts for both NCAA football and basketball, college athletic departments are flush with cash. Much of that cash has gone to coaches in the form of exponentially higher salaries (see Lincoln Riley at USC and Brian Kelly at LSU) and to improved facilities. But with those higher salaries come higher expectations. If a coach isn’t winning, schools and donors are now more willing to spend the money earlier to buy out a coach and move on.

Ascendant Assistants

As the pay scale for head coaches has risen, many football programs turn to assistant coaches for a quick, easy, and affordable transition. For many college football programs, firing a head coach early in the season provides a chance to hand the reins over to a younger, up-and-coming assistant coach while also keeping that coaching talent in-house and away from a bidding war with other schools’ offers.

If that coach shows he has what it takes on the sideline and on the recruiting trail, a school can lock up that coach to a contract at a lower cost than they’d pay an established coach. If it doesn’t work out, then the school can at least tread water for the remainder of the season while identifying other coaching candidates to hire immediately following the season.

Playing The Portal

The NCAA’s transfer portal now offers many college football programs the opportunity to rebuild on the fly. Therefore, firing a coach early in the season no longer means a program has to start from scratch with a new coach or wait for recruits to develop. Handing the reins to an assistant provides continuity and allows that coach to apply their skill as recruiters to incoming freshmen and potential transfers via the portal. In other words, if an athletic director doesn’t like the current trajectory of his school’s football program, firing the head coach earlier gives his successor more time to enhance the team via the transfer portal.

In pro football, most coaches know they’re hired to eventually be fired. That’s just the business of the sport. However, as college football has become big business too, wins and losses matter far more than GPAs and graduation rates. And as the coaching carousel spins faster, it seems college coaches are being hired and fired faster than ever before.

Compared to that era, today’s college football stadiums are self-contained, multimedia universes. The giant video scoreboards show the games in real-time as well as replays, highlights, hype videos, advanced statistics, out-of-town scores, crowd shots, and more. If you want to watch another game, you can stream to your phone via the stadium wifi. Any dead air left by the stadium announcer is filled with music spun by a DJ and blasted through a state-of-the-art sound system. And home team scores are often celebrated with July 4th-worthy pyrotechnic displays.

But somehow, all of that still isn’t enough to keep fans engaged and in the stadium. That was driven home recently when University of Mississippi head football coach Lane Kiffin called out his school’s fan base for their lack of engagement with the team at games. More specifically, Kiffin wasn’t happy with fans showing up late before the game, then leaving at halftime and returning late in the third quarter, if they return at all. And the problem isn’t only at Ole Miss.

College football has a built-in, constantly replenishing fan base, and thanks to lucrative TV revenues and generous alumni donations, stadiums to hold them keep getting bigger. But fewer fans are filling those stadiums. The average attendance for a college football game nationally has declined for each of the last seven years. While the pandemic may get the blame for some of that, the attendance average of 39,848 was the lowest number since 1981. And the fans that do show up aren’t always staying for the whole game.

So what’s keeping college football fans away from the stadium? The experience might be unique on each campus, but some things are common at every school.

The Party

It’s no secret that plenty of alcohol is consumed before, during, and after college football games. But, since many schools have shied away from alcohol sales for a variety of reasons, enjoying a beer during the game meant leaving and coming back or sneaking it in. Both of those options became more difficult after 9/11, but as the example at Ole Miss shows, leaving the game to grab a beer is still pretty easy.

As game days have become bigger events, the parties surrounding the game have grown exponentially. Campus bars host tent parties offering cheap beer while also showing the game on huge big screens. Tailgate parties, which were once as primitive as hot dogs grilled on a hibachi in the parking lot and a cooler of beer in the trunk, are now set up to feed hundreds in designated areas on campus with a spread that would rival any game day buffet. And thanks to portable generators and smart, flat-screen TVs, one can enjoy a full, on-campus game day experience, a great meal, and watch the game while having a beer without even going to, or returning to, the game. And, it seems more people are doing just that.

Television

Whether it’s via broadcast, streaming, or pay-per-view, just about every college football game is available on television now. Those game broadcasts have better views of the game, better camera angles, and better analysis and replay options than you’ll ever get sitting in the stadium. And for those reasons, many fans no longer feel the need to watch the entire game from their stadium seats.

The number of televised games may also be the reason for declining attendance overall. Today’s fans can park in their media cave, watch their alma mater on a 100”, high-definition, view a second game simultaneously, and stream a third on their phone, tablet, or laptop without the hassle or expense of a day spent on campus. Throw in texting and FaceTime, and fans can even interact with friends and family wherever they might be.

Distractions

As noted above, thanks to the Internet, satellite TVs, streaming, and smartphones, people have more opportunities to be distracted. That’s also created a shorter consumer attention span. Add in a more diversified broadcast menu, a more diversified student body, and the tradition of college game day rituals may no longer be enough to keep fans glued to their stadium seats.

Is There A Solution?

At many stadiums, the privileged few with access to stadium suites do enjoy all the perks that most others seek outside the stadium. Some schools are beginning to offer alcohol at games, and others are installing big screens, party decks, beer gardens, and food court areas. Will that be enough to keep college football fans engaged and in the stadium? Only time will tell.

More Replay Reviews

The NCAA began allowing replay reviews in 2005. Since then, college games average just two reviews per game, each one averaging about two minutes. While four minutes may not seem like forever, that’s an extra four minutes where nothing happens during the game. It can be an important four minutes, but it’s an extra four minutes, or more, that are pushing college games longer.

While the NFL limits reviews to coaches’ challenges and the last two minutes of each half, college games can be stopped for review by coaches or officials at any time, though college coaches must call a timeout to do so. That often leads to more replay reviews and even longer delays. Could the NCAA put a time limit on replay reviews? Possibly, but that could be counterproductive in reviews where officials run out of time to review every angle of a given play.

More Passing

In the 1976 Oklahoma – Nebraska game, the Sooners attempted their first pass with 3:30 left in the game and finished with two completions on two attempts. Granted, the Sooners ran the run-heavy, triple-option Wishbone offense back then, so passing was never a priority. Obviously, today’s college football game features a lot more passing than there was 46 years ago. One might think that more passing would mean more clock stoppages, but incomplete passes have actually decreased slightly on average in the last 20 years. However, completed passes mean more first downs. More first downs also mean the clock stops more. However you look at it, more clock stoppages means longer games.

The NCAA could make some small tweaks to minimize those clock stoppages. That includes restarting the clock after the ball is set for play after an incompletion, or simply no longer stopping the clock after first downs. While both of those changes could penalize an offense fighting the clock to catch up, that could be minimized by teams going no-huddle and hustling back to the line of scrimmage.

One other effect caused by the increase in college football’s high-powered passing offense is more scoring. In 2002, college football games combined for an average of 9.1 touchdowns and field goals per game. In 2022, that number has risen to 10.3. More scoring leads to…

More Television Timeouts

Television networks usually have a minimum of four commercial breaks each quarter, each one running from 30 seconds to three minutes. Inevitably, breaks after touchdowns or field goals stretch to two or three minutes. Add that up, and that’s 13 minutes a quarter and almost an hour of game delays for TV timeouts. As just about every game is televised in some form these days, they all have TV timeouts and run longer.

Granted, networks are limited in the length and quantity of TV timeouts they can run. But they also charge advertisers big money for those TV spots, so don’t expect the number of TV timeouts to change. What could change, if the networks and advertisers get on board, is in-game advertising. That is, some form of TV ads that during the game telecast, such as during measurements or timeouts. Networks have experimented with it in the past, but it would need to be expanded to make a notable difference.

While most believe college football has changed for the better with more passing, replay review, and more comprehensive television coverage, those changes take time, literally. And to shorten the time now needed to play a college football game, the NCAA and the networks need to adapt and change too.

Those players – primarily those with “near-NBA” talent and skill levels – now seem to be staying in school rather than jumping to the NBA at the earliest opportunity. The availability of NILs is the big reason, but other factors are at play, too.

Money

While a college basketball player may declare for the NBA draft, it doesn’t always mean he’s a lock to earn a roster spot, or even get drafted. While bad advice, bad judgment, or bad timing might affect when a college player leaves school with eligibility remaining, a bad outcome might leave that player on the outside of the league looking in.

Once a basketball player leaves college, his options are the NBA, the developmental G League, or other minor league circuits. Outside of the NBA, none of the other leagues are very lucrative. But thanks to NILs, a player can stay in college and theoretically earn the same or greater amount of money than he would in a minor league circuit. And don’t forget, a college basketball scholarship also receives free room and board, which, when combined with a player’s NIL earnings, makes staying in school a wiser financial choice. Plus, staying in college can also leave more time for…

Development

With the allure of NBA money, many players have jumped into the draft before they had a full set of NBA skills. Whether it was a March Madness hero cashing in while he was in demand or simply a player leaving college to make a living, the lure of a salary and endorsement income has often pushed players toward a level they weren’t developmentally ready for.

But now that NIL deals can provide an income to college athletes; basketball players are staying in school longer to enhance their athletic development. In fact, at the highest levels, some players can earn more via NILs in college than they would in a developmental league. For players who may not have a complete, NBA-ready game, staying in school provides them more time to develop in those areas and more opportunities to demonstrate their potential to pro scouts.

In addition, when the NBA lowers its minimum draft back to 18, fewer so-called one-and-done players will take up college roster spots. And that will open up more scholarships, playing time, and development opportunities for other players. With some form of NIL income, that extra playing time will allow more time to raise their profile for a pro career.

Education

Now that college basketball players can earn an income and continue their development while on scholarship without turning pro; more players will stick around to earn their college degrees. For those who may not have all the skills needed to go pro, earning a degree while getting paid to develop in college is a no-brainer. Will every college basketball player stick around and earn his degree in the age of NILs? Probably not, but the opportunity to earn a degree as a backup plan should a pro career not pan out will keep more college basketball players in school for the duration of their eligibility.

Traditionalists think NILs will professionalize college athletics and ruin their favorite sports. But, for college basketball players, NILs are creating a pathway to stay in school, enhance their games, and still get a degree.

Sunday’s Falcons vs. Seahawks game was delayed for about eight minutes in the 4th quarter after a drone was spotted in the air in the vicinity of Lumen Field in Seattle. Security officials cleared the field and waited for the unauthorized drone to clear the area. The operator of the drone, and why it was in stadium airspace, was unknown.

While this was the first drone delay in NFL history, it was the second such incident in as many days in the Seattle area. On Saturday evening, the University of Washington game against Stanford was delayed when a drone was spotted over the stadium. It was later discovered the drone belonged to the University of Washington and had, reportedly, gone rogue.

While a more specific reason was not provided, a drone “going rogue” most often means the drone is no longer responding to commands from its remote control. That can be caused by signal interference between the drone and the controller, the drone’s “return-to-home” function (which automatically returns a drone to its launch point with the loss of signal or waning battery power), or a combination of the two.

Since 9/11, airspace around large outdoor sports events has been tightly controlled by the FAA without proper training, licensing, and flight plan approval. And, given their notable increase in quantity, size, and power, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are now subject to even more stringent restrictions at all times. In most cases, flying drones in the vicinity of the stadium is prohibited starting one-hour before and ending one hour after the game in the NFL, MLB, NCAA Division I Football, NASCAR, and Indy Car events. That no-fly window is enforced within a three-nautical mile radius of the stadium or venue.

Violating a no-fly zone at a sporting event can have serious consequences. Most recently, two Ohio men were charged in federal court over separate incidents where each flew a drone over stadiums full of fans in Cincinnati.

With all that said, should you see a drone over a major sporting event, it’s likely it has permission to be there. Many professional sports organizations have adopted drones to bring television viewers closer to the action and to provide better views of the action. Most notably, in 2022, Major League Baseball has been experimenting with using drones at field level to follow runners as they round the bases after home runs and pitchers as they head for the dugout or emerge from the bullpen.

Finally, to keep this sports news-related, the drone delay wasn’t the only first in Seattle on Sunday. The Falcons beat the Seahawks 27-23 for their first win of the 2022 season. Atlanta was led by running back Cordarrelle Patterson, who ran for 141 yards and one touchdown, and rookie wide receiver Drake London, who hauled in three passes for 54 yards and a touchdown.