The Justice Department has reportedly opened an investigation into whether the NFL is using “anticompetitive tactics that harm consumers,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

While the exact “nature and scope of the investigation” is not known, per the WSJ, it could involve the league’s ability to allow teams to negotiate their own TV rights packages. Congress has raised concerns in recent months over how difficult it is for fans to watch games due to various rights deals with networks and streaming services.

That’s a stark difference compared to 1961, when the Sports Broadcasting Act was introduced. The statute granted some antitrust protection to the NFL and its teams, allowing them to negotiate media-rights deals.

But television has changed greatly since then, when most games could be viewed on broadcast television. Now, NFL games are split between multiple broadcast networks and streaming services, including Netflix and Prime Video. Those streaming services require subscriptions, making it harder for fans to watch every single game.

In February, Republican Sen. Mike Lee — chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights — estimated fans needed to spend “almost $1,000 on cable and streaming services” if they wanted to watch every NFL game last season.

Both the Justice Department and NFL declined to comment when reached by the WSJ. The NFL, however, did release a statement Thursday, claiming it has the “most fan and broadcaster-friendly” media-distribution model in sports.

It’s unclear what the Justice Department is seeking to accomplish with its reported investigation. The government entity, however, could be looking to get ahead of the issue before the NFL’s next opportunity to renegotiate its media-rights deals.

That’s expected to come after the 2029-30 NFL season, when the league can opt-out of its current deals with CBS, Fox, and NBC.

The 2025 Masters was a journey in resilience for Rory McIlroy. After years of trying — and failing — to win the event, McIlroy overcame another potential collapse, winning the green jacket and celebrating a career grand slam.

Now, it’s up to McIlroy to prove he can do it again.

But like every other year, McIlroy will go up against some elite competition during the event, including favorites like Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Ludvig Åberg, among others.

Here’s how the top-10 leaderboard is shaping up at the 2026 Masters as of 8:45 a.m. ET:

(Click here for a full Masters leaderboard)

2026 Masters schedule

The first round of the Masters will begin Thursday, April 9, with the earliest tee time starting at 7:40 a.m. ET. The event will run through Sunday, the final day of the 2026 Masters.

While the actual Masters starts Thursday, the Par 3 contest was held at Augusta on Wednesday. Aaron Rai won the event. No golfer who has won the Par 3 contest has ever won the Masters that same year, a bad omen for Rai.

How to watch the Masters

All times ET

Thursday, April 9 | Round 1
Amazon Prime Video: 1-3 p.m.
ESPN: 3-7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 10 | Round 2
Amazon Prime Video: 1-3 p.m.
ESPN: 3-7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 11 | Round 3
Paramount+: 12-2 p.m.
CBS: 2-7 p.m.

Sunday, April 12 | Round 4
Paramount+: 12-2 p.m.
CBS: 2-7 p.m.

WNBA legend Sue Bird isn’t done with the game just yet. Bird, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last year, will reportedly join NBC and Peacock as a WNBA analyst, according to Front Office Sports.

Bird’s role with the network is unclear. It’s not known whether she’s provide analysis from a studio or will perform color commentary during broadcasts.

NBC is returning to the world of WNBA this season after agreeing to a massive deal with the league — and the NBA — in 2024.

On the NBA side, NBC brought in legend Michael Jordan to break down the game and provide analysis. Jordan’s role, however, turned out to be more limited than expected.

While Bird’s role remains unannounced, she should bring a similar level of accomplishments and expertise on the WNBA end. Bird, 45, is widely considered one of the best WNBA players of all time.

Over her 21-year career in the league, Bird was a 13-time All-Star, eight-time All-WNBA selection and four-time WNBA champion. After retiring in 2022, Bird was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025.

Bird, who was selected by the Seattle Storm with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft, spent her entire career with the franchise. She had her jersey number retired by the team in 2023 and had a statue erected outside the team’s arena in 2025.

With the Sacramento Kings ahead by one point and time winding down in the fourth quarter, the team decided to do something unexpected. Kings forward Doug McDermott intentionally fouled Seth Curry, sending the Golden State Warriors’ guard to the free-throw line.

One player on the court couldn’t believe the sequence. Following the contest — which the Warriors won 110-105 — Draymond Green ripped the Kings for blatantly tanking. He then offered up a solution to NBA commissioner Adam Silver to stop the practice.

When asked about the play-in tournament, Green brought up the issue of tanking, calling out the Kings for their late foul on Curry.

“I saw a team tonight foul Seth Curry with three minutes to go in a game for no reason. In the penalty,” Green said.

Green was then asked a follow-up about teams tanking. He took a second to think about the question before offering up an answer.

His response read:

“I get fined when I do wrong. Just fine the hell out of people. We love taking money from players. Keep fining the teams. I’ve seen two fines. And we all know everybody tanking. But you’ve seen two fines. If it was players, snatch that money in a heartbeat. Why isn’t it the same? Everybody love money.

“The punishment for players is always ‘let’s take the money.’ Well, now it becomes time to punish teams and all of the sudden nobody know what to do. Why not? We know exactly what to do when somebody gets a technical foul or suspended for a game. We know exactly what to do.

“Now, all of the sudden, we’ve got team issues and we don’t know what to do. What happened to the whole take the money stuff? Everybody else trying to reach a quote too. But when it comes to player discipline, we want to snatch the money as fast as we can. When it comes to team discipline and we see 12 teams tanking, we’ve seen two fines. If my math serves me correctly that’s 10 that ain’t been fined.

“We don’t keep that same energy. When it comes to teams, when it comes to officials, when it comes to everybody but players, we don’t keep that same energy. But it’s a players’ league.”

The two fines Green referenced in his answer were given to the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers. Both teams were fined in February for “overt” tanking behavior.

The Jazz were hit with a $500,000 fine after removing Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. from two games early. Neither player was announced with an injury. The Jazz led both games when Markkanen and Jackson were taken out. The team lost one of those contests, though managed to win the second.

The Pacers received a $100,000 fine for violating the NBA's Player Participation Policy. The team held out forward Pascal Siakam and two other starters from a Feb. 3 game, but an independent doctor claimed those players were capable of participating in the contest.

With just a few games left in the regular season, seven NBA teams have 25 wins or fewer. The 2026 NBA Draft promises an immensely-talented freshman class to teams bad enough to secure a top selection, giving those teams motivation to tank down the stretch.

That hasn’t gone unnoticed by Green, who wants to see teams punished more harshly for engaging in the tactic.