Last offseason, Daniel Jones had a choice: return to the Minnesota Vikings for a training camp battle with J.J. McCarthy or sign with the Indianapolis Colts, where he might more easily win a QB1 job. He made the right decision. Jones signed a meaty contract extension on Wednesday, locking him in as the Colts’ quarterback for the next two seasons at a price point of up to $50 million per year.

Indianapolis made its choice, and Minnesota’s quarterback picture may have shifted with it.

The Colts hinted in the last four months that they wanted Jones for the long haul, and they were not bluffing.

Daniel Jones’s Deal Could Clarify the Vikings’ Next Move

Cross the Colts off the quarterback carousel list.

Jones Secures $50 Million Per Year in IND

Jones, indeed, got his bag after betting on himself. It’s a done deal.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted Wednesday, the third day of free agency, “The Colts and QB Daniel Jones are finalizing a two-year, $88 million deal that can be worth up to $100 million with incentives, sources tell me and Ian Rapoport. Originally on the transition tag, Indiana Jones gets over $60 million guaranteed on a deal done by AthletesFirst.”

Bleacher Report‘s Andrew Peters added, “Per Spotrac, the Colts had $280.32 million counting toward the cap prior to the deal. That gave them $31.6 million in space to work with. Jones, who was released by the New York Giants during the 2024 campaign, signed with the Colts last offseason after spending the latter half of the previous season with the Minnesota Vikings.”

The Colts will now consider themselves contenders for at least the next two years.

The Updated QB Carousel

Another piece of the NFL offseason quarterback puzzle has snapped into place. Here’s a look at the landscape:

Browns: TBD
Cardinals: Gardner Minshew
Colts: Daniel Jones
Dolphins: Malik Willis
Falcons: Tua Tagovailoa
Jets: Geno Smith
Raiders: 99.9% Fernando Mendoza
Steelers: TBD but Aaron Rodgers Expected
Vikings: TBD but Kyler Murray Expected

This leaves quarterbacks like free-agent-to-be Kirk Cousins and perhaps Mac Jones in San Francisco looking for QB1 jobs in a now-skimpy market.

Jones’ 2025 Performance

Even prior to the Achilles tear in December, Jones’ performance was trending downward, a fact largely unnoticed nationally, though efficiency metrics clearly indicate a drop-off.

The first half of the season was a different story altogether. Throughout September and October, Jones led Indianapolis to an 8–2 start, fueling MVP consideration.

Before the injury, Jones was on pace for the following season-end stats:

• 4,055 Passing Yards
• 31 Total TDs
• 10 INTs
• 68.0% Completion
• 7th in EPA+CPOE Ranking

Fans even labeled him “Indiana Jones.” Then, in December, everything changed. Jones tore his Achilles, causing the Colts’ season to collapse, and Indianapolis struggled through the remaining weeks. In a desperate attempt to salvage the season, the front office even coaxed Philip Rivers out of retirement, but the move failed to revive the offense, and their playoff hopes vanished.

ESPN added context to Jones’s new contract Wednesday: “Jones, recovering from a torn Achilles, is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season and one source told Schefter he ‘absolutely’ expects him to be ready for training camp. The Colts had placed the rarely used transition tag on Jones before the March 3 deadline. That allowed the Colts to match any offer sheet he might have signed.”

“If he had played on the tender, he would have been paid $37.833 million this season. That decision allowed top wide receiver Alec Pierce to test free agency, but the Colts were able to re-sign him to a four-year, $116 million contract at the start of the free agent negotiating period. They then traded wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers, saving $24 million against the salary cap.”

Path Cleared for Kyler Murray to MIN?

How do the Vikings factor into this development, aside from one of their own hitting it big? Well, the Colts were a theoretical landing spot for Murray, who is on the verge of a roster release by the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona has visited the postseason just once in seven seasons with Murray at the helm, and a new coaching staff evidently wants a clean slate at quarterback.

Murray should be officially a free agent soon, and any minute now, based on the above quarterback carousel, his choices appear to be down to the Vikings and Steelers.

As a kid, Murray cheered for the Vikings, and he has never been shy about announcing it. With Rodgers probably heading back to Pittsburgh — his longtime head coach, Mike McCarthy, is now in charge — Murray to Minnesota feels inevitable, especially with the Colts no longer seeking a QB1 alternative.

Jones will turn 29 in May, and Indianapolis will hope his midseason decline in 2025, along with the busted Achilles, don’t matter.

In what will likely be the first of several instances of players challenging NIL rulings by the College Sports Commission (CSC), 18 Nebraska players are going to arbitration after NIL deals with a combined value in excess of $1 million were rejected, Yahoo Sports reports.

The NIL deals — made with Nebraska media rights partner Playfly — were rejected due to a practice called “warehousing,” in which an entity buys a player’s NIL rights for all future partnerships and endorsements. In order to comply with CSC guidance and get the green light from the NIL Go clearinghouse, deliverables like TV commercials and autograph signings must be listed in the contracts.

Husch-Blackwell will represent the players in the arbitration case, and the law firm has experience with cases related to college sports.

This will likely not be the only time that players reach arbitration with the CSC over rejected NIL deals. Per Yahoo, athletes at several universities are mulling the possibility of challenging an NIL Go ruling.

As reported by CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello, the CSC is already having trouble keeping up with the amount of NIL deals that have been submitted for review. In January and February, 3,704 NIL deals worth a total of $39.29 million were approved. Meanwhile, another 187 deals worth $14.36 million were rejected.

“I don’t think the system was designed with this amount of associated deals in mind,” CSC CEO Bryan Seeley told CBS Sports.

At the time, Marcello reported that 18 NIL deals had reached arbitration, and we now know that all those involved Nebraska players. They were all consolidated into one arbitration case because the deals were so similar.

“In general, in arbitration, deals are consolidated because the issues are essentially the same,” Seeley said. “And what that often looks like is they are different student-athletes, but it’s the same or identical deal, or similar or identical deal, and they’re all from the same school.”

Because of that volume, the turnaround time on reviews has increased. Seeley downplayed the idea that the staff shortages at the CSC are the main factor in the slow review process. Instead, he argued that the nature of the deals, as well as a lack of information from entities involved in the deals, were the biggest problems.

The CSC launched NIL Go last June, and since then, more than 21,000 deals totaling around $16.5 million have been submitted as schools try to find ways to spend above the revenue-sharing cap.

The PGA Tour’s best have made their way to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for the 2026 Players Championship, the most significant event ahead of major championship competition. The Tour’s flagship event always seems to deliver drama thanks to the unique test of TPC Sawgrass, and The Players has produced a tremendous list of recent winners, including the top two players in the world currently. 

Rory McIlroy enters as the reigning champion after winning in a playoff over J.J. Spaun, adding a second Players title to his résumé; however, his status for the week is up in the air due to lingering back spasms. Scottie Scheffler also has a pair of Players Championships, winning back-to-back at Sawgrass in 2023-24. Those two are trying to join Jack Nicklaus as the only three-time winners at The Players, but they’ll face stiff competition from a group of contenders that seems to be growing by the week. 

This season has seen some resurgent veterans and emerging young stars rise to the top of the game, and the result is a field deep with talented players that seem capable of winning at the Tour’s biggest events.

Collin Morikawa is third on the odds sheet this week after winning at Pebble Beach and keeping his strong play going with top 10 finishes at the next two signature events. Chris Gotterup has cooled off a bit since his red-hot start, but he’s still the only two-time winner on the PGA Tour this season. Akshay Bhatia, like Morikawa, was a frequent loiterer near the top of the leaderboard in big events this year and finally cashed in with a win last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Other names to watch throughout the week include Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Min Woo Lee and Ludvig Åberg, who have each flashed at times from the end of 2025 into early 2026.

With so many players seemingly rounding into top form — amid questions lingering about Scheffler coming off a rough start at Bay Hill and McIlroy withdrawing last week with back spasms — the 2026 Players is setting up to be a fascinating tournament. 

Here’s how you can watch all of the action this week at TPC Sawgrass as the PGA Tour’s best battle it out for the biggest purse in golf. 

2026 Players Championship TV schedule

All times Eastern

Round 1 – Thursday, March 12

Round 1 start time: 7:30 a.m. [Tee times]

TV coverage: 1-7 p.m. on Golf Channel

Live streams: 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on PGA Tour Live

• Featured Holes (Nos. 3, 12, 16, 17)
• Featured Groups

Radio: 12-7 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio 

Round 2 – Friday, March 13

Round 2 start time: 7:30 a.m.

TV coverage: 1-7 p.m. on Golf Channel

Live streams: 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on PGA Tour Live

• Featured Holes (Nos. 3, 12, 16, 17)
• Featured Groups

Radio: 12-7 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio 

Round 3 – Saturday, March 14

Round 3 start time: 8 a.m.

Live TV coverage: 2-7 p.m. on NBC
TV simulcast live stream: 2-7 p.m. on Peacock

Live streams: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on PGA Tour Live

• Featured Holes (Nos. 3, 12, 16, 17)
• Featured Groups

Radio: 1-7 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio 

Round 4 – Sunday, March 15

Round 4 start time: 7:30 a.m.

TV coverage: 1-6 p.m. on NBC
TV simulcast live stream: 1-6 p.m. on Peacock

Live streams: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on PGA Tour Live

• Featured Holes (Nos. 3, 12, 16, 17)
• Featured Groups

Radio: 1-7 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio 

Costelow has remained with the Wales squad to recover from an ankle injury suffered against Scotland.

He is in camp ahead of the Principality Stadium fixture against Italy along with hooker Ryan Elias, flanker Josh Macleod, centres Hawkins and Eddie James and Ellis Mee, Blair Murray and Tom Rogers in the back three.

Scarlets are stretched, but have been boosted by the return of centre Johnny Williams, who missed the trip to Edinburgh with a calf injury.

“Almost two thirds of our team are away with Wales at the moment, but I am really happy with the side that we are able to select,” added Davies, who names his team at midday on Thursday.

“It’s a really competitive team with some exciting players in it, so I am not dismayed. We have a strong squad and these boys are capable of fronting up.”

Scarlets would climb above Dragons into 14th place with victory in Galway.

Connacht would leapfrog Ospreys into ninth and a bonus-point victory would move them level with Bulls in the last play-off spot.

Uncapped Billy Bohan was this week called into the Ireland squad to join fellow prop Finlay Bealham, back row forward Cian Prendergast and centre Bundee Aki.

NEW DELHI: The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is set to host matches in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2026 season, but there is a significant condition attached.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the schedule for the first phase of IPL 2026, which will run from March 28 to April 12. The 19th edition of the tournament will begin with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

However, the matches scheduled at the iconic venue are subject to approval from a government-appointed expert committee.“As three states are scheduled to undergo State Assembly elections during this period, the full schedule of the tournament will be announced once the poll dates are announced,” BCCI said in a release.A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues in the first phase — Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.BCCI also clarified that the matches in Bengaluru will depend on a final safety clearance from the authorities.“The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka. The committee will conduct a meeting and inspection of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 13, 2026, during which a full-scale mock demonstration of match-day arrangements will be carried out to assess the stadium’s preparedness for hosting IPL matches,” BCCI said.During the first phase, the tournament will feature four double-headers, with afternoon games starting at 03:30 PM IST and evening matches at 07:30 PM IST.

IPL 2026: Schedule

The first double-header of the season is scheduled for April 4, when Delhi Capitals face Mumbai Indians in the afternoon at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, followed by Gujarat Titans taking on Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.Rajasthan Royals will start their home campaign in Guwahati, where they will host Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. Punjab Kings, meanwhile, will play their early home matches at the PCA Stadium.As per the current plan, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home games in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamsala, while Rajasthan Royals will split their home fixtures between Guwahati and Jaipur.However, the final confirmation for the Bengaluru matches will depend on the outcome of the inspection and clearance by the Karnataka government’s expert committee.

RCB Schedule IPL 2026: Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season on Saturday, March 28, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Chinnaswamy hasn’t hosted a high-profile match since 11 people died in a nearby stampede during IPL’s title-winning celebrations in June 2025. As a result, RCB’s matches in Bengaluru are subject to a BCCI clearance, which will take place on March 13. Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and co. enter IPL 2026 after guiding RCB to their first-ever title in the 2025 season. (IPL 2026 FULL SCHEDULE)

Here is Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s IPL 2026 schedule in full:

RCB vs SRH – 7:30 PM IST – March 28 – M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

RCB vs CSK – 7:30 PM IST – April 5 – M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

RR vs RCB – 7:30 PM IST – April 10 – Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati

MI vs RCB – 7:30 PM IST – April 12 – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

RCB Full Squad for IPL 2026:

Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Salam, Abhinandan Singh, and Suyash Sharma, Venkatesh Iyer, Mangesh Yadav, Jacob Duffy, Satwik Deswal, Jordan Cox, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Vicky Ostwal.

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Mike Tyson has assessed Terence Crawford’s chances against the Four Kings, determining how successful ‘Bud’ would have been in such a competitive era.

With Crawford calling time on his decorated career last December, after becoming a five-division world champion, many have wondered how he would fare against the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran.

During this iconic era, all four of champions competed at the highest level for a number of years, with Leonard, Hearns and Duran campaigning across multiple weight classes.

Hagler, meanwhile, remained at 160lbs for the entirety of his career, making 12 successful world title defences before losing a controversial split decision to Leonard in 1987.

During his near seven-year reign, though, ‘Marvelous’ scored a unanimous decision victory over Duran and stopped Hearns in the third round of a firefight which, for many, stands alone as the greatest of all time.

As for the other Four Kings, who also campaigned at welter, super-welter and super-middleweight, it could be said that their careers are closer aligned with that of Crawford’s.

Regardless of the weight class, though, former heavyweight champion Tyson has told Ring Magazine that Crawford would have shone brightly in the Four Kings era.

“That would have been some beautiful fighting. There were people back then that weren’t as good as [Crawford] was, [but they] were champions.

“He would’ve done good [in that era].”

Despite never previously fighting at super-middleweight, Crawford was able to dethrone Canelo Alvarez and become a three-division undisputed champion last September.

His greatest success, however, arguably came at 147lbs, where the American halted seven opponents before engineering a destructive ninth-round finish over Errol Spence Jr in 2023.