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But when Flagg came up as the poster child for the NIL era in an interview between sports reporters Howard Bryant and Bob Costas this week at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Bryant blew that number out of the water. Bryant asked Costas whether he knew how much Flagg earned, then teased that he had the answer. “He had a $13 million deal with New Balance and then $15 million with Fanatics,” Bryant said.
Tarter will find out next week if he is a finalist to be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. He's been nominated by some elite former pro basketball players, including Julius Erving (Dr. J), and legendary sports broadcaster Bob Costas. "I was so surprised and stunned when I found out. I had no idea it was coming – or even that it was a possibility to imagine," said Tarter. "I’m still not sure I can get my arms around it."
They had plenty of help. Dropping Dimes has an advisory board backed by big names in sports, media and basketball. Among them are Bob Costas, Reggie Miller, George McGinnis, Julius Erving, Myles Turner, Peter Vecsey and Bob Netolicky. "They all came together," Tarter said. "It was kind of a labor of love."
As of January 5, 2022, Wasserman COO Jason Ranne announced the acquisition of The Montag Group, a New York-based talent agency founded by Sandy Montag. The agency prides itself on representing a variety of talent in media and broadcasting, including the likes of NBC’s Bob Costas, TNT’s Kenny Smith, and ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt.
Wasserman, the global sports talent agency founded and led by entertainment and sports executive Casey Wasserman, is acquiring The Montag Group, home of many big name sports broadcasters including Bob Costas, James Brown and Jim Nantz. The deal combines Wasserman, which represents top athletes like the National Basketball Association’s Russell Westbrook and Major League Baseball’s Giancarlo Stanton, with the firm founded by Sandy Montag, the longtime agent of late football coach and broadcaster John Madden.
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Dropping Dimes has done sophisticated calculations. If the NBA agreed to help the 108 remaining ABA players with the minimum $400 a month, it would cost the NBA $1.8 million a year. "The bottom line is the amount of money it would take to fully fund reasonable pensions, not exorbitant pensions," said Bob Costas, "is a relative pittance." One year's salary for the 12th guy on the bench of an NBA team could fund all of it. And, by attrition, that amount is only dwindling, said Costas, who is a board member of Dropping Dimes and got his start in broadcasting calling radio play-by-play for the ABA’s Spirits of St. Louis.
“I continue to believe that the people-to-people exchanges we’re seeing in China are positive, and it’s helping,” Silver told CNN’s Bob Costas on Tuesday. “It helps cultures learn about each other.” Silver asserted that previous American administrations had encouraged the NBA to enter China as a way to “promote American values.”
Marc Stein: NBA commissioner Adam Silver tells Bob Costas on @CNN that his “best guess” is that next season will begin in January at the earliest
Mark Medina: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on CNN to Bob Costas about the NBA bubble: "It's working out so far. But my favorite emoji has been the 'fingers crossed' one."
Bob Costas, former play-by-play announcer, the Spirits of St. Louis: Terry did a really good job of talking to the right people, selecting the quotes, organizing them, and presenting a real sense of how weird, wonderful, funny, dopey that whole spectrum that the ABA was, and how it was maybe the last sports league that has any elements of legend about it because most of the stories are word of mouth. Some people saw the same thing in different ways with different perspectives, whereas now everything’s documented.
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One of the more memorable clips shown in that episode of the documentary is from the NBA on NBC pregame broadcast before Game 1 where Bob Costas said many were calling it the “biggest mismatch in NBA Finals history.” And that’s even though the Bulls had just eight more wins in the regular season than the Sonics and Seattle had even split the season series between the two teams 1-1. “Back then we just played,” said Schrempf, noting that the Sonics had short rest between their Game 7 win over the Jazz and Game 1 vs. the Bulls, who had been waiting at home after sweeping the Orlando Magic. “Now they’re saying, oh, people were saying we were gonna get swept – I forgot about that.”
The colorful legacy of the American Basketball Association will be celebrated at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 7, 2018, when the ABA’s 50th reunion is held. All proceeds will go to the Dropping Dimes Foundation, an Indianapolis-based charity that assists former ABA players, coaches, and team employees in need of financial or health care assistance. The event will bring a retro ABA All-Star weekend feel to downtown Indianapolis. Many of the league’s greatest players and coaches are scheduled to attend, including former Pacers legend George McGinnis and legendary Pacers coach Slick Leonard, Julius Erving, Spencer Haywood, Dan Issel, George Gervin, and Artis Gilmore. NBC announcer Bob Costas will serve as master of ceremonies. During the program, the list of the ABA’s all-time 50 greatest players will be announced, as voted on by a media panel.
But there is a reluctance, more by Daniel, 69, than Ozzie, 80, to keep fighting the league, said one of the people who discussed the agreement. Although wealthy people often plan their estates, much of the Silnas’ riches from the N.B.A. is already in family trusts. Bob Costas, the NBC sportscaster who called Spirits games, said in a telephone interview, “My guess is that for the N.B.A., the upside is that in the foreseeable future, there will come a time when they will not have to look at this and blanch and it will be in the past.”
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