🔥Upside Video Chat: Dr Ron Dick, Duquesne University, on the WNBA, NCAA, Shedeur Sanders, MLB's First Female Empire, KD Trade, NBA's European Expansion, and More

This week we have the honor to interview again Dr. Ron Dick, associate professor of sports marketing at Duquesne University in the school of business. Ron also worked for 20 years in sports, including 15 years in the NBA with the Sixers and the Nets, and then five years in the NCAA.

Watch the full video interview by clicking on the link below:

You can read the full transcript of the podcast interview with Ron located at the top of this blog post.

📝Show Notes: Through this interview, we touched on the following topics:

1. WNBA: Should WNBA players get paid more?

2. NCAA basketball: Colin Gillespie

3. NFL: Shedeur Sanders, is he NFL ready? Tom Brady’s statue with the Patriots.

4. MLB: First female empire in the MLB.

5. MLB has no salary cap.

6. MLB. MLB teams standings

7. NBA: KD trade, coaching trade (Mike brown to the NY Knicks..).

8. NBA's team expansion in Europe.

9. SEC Football Netflix documentary

Here are the best quotes from our interview with Ron:

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1. WNBA – Should WNBA players get paid more?
"You have to look at where the league is now compared to when it started in 1997. The value of teams is going up. Television ratings are going up. Ticket sales — especially with Caitlin Clark’s games — are going up. Parking, concessions, merchandise — all of it is trending upward. The revenue is there. The players are helping create that revenue, so it’s only fair that they share in it. They’ve already made progress — for example, they don’t fly commercial anymore; now they fly charter. That’s the same change the NBA made in the mid-80s. Other women’s leagues failed in the past because they didn’t have that foundation the WNBA had through the NBA — arenas, sales teams, sponsorship people. Now, with the growth we’re seeing, it’s time to pay these players more."

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2. NCAA Basketball: Colin Gillespie
"When you look at players like Colin Gillespie, he was on a two-way contract and made less than a million dollars last year, while two of his former Villanova teammates were making over a million dollars each to play just 30 games. I just don’t see how schools like Villanova or others in the Big East can sustain paying 12–15 players on a roster that kind of money. The television and ticket revenue just isn’t there, nor is the annual giving. I think we’re heading for a sort of dot-com bust moment where we’ll move backward a bit to reevaluate the money situation. The big conferences will be fine — the TV money will keep them afloat — but there will be growing pains and resentment within conferences like the ACC when certain teams get more exposure and more revenue than others."

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3. NFL – Shedeur Sanders & Tom Brady’s statue
On Shedeur Sanders:
"You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. He came in, had a couple of injuries in that quarterback room in Cleveland, and played better than a lot of people thought he would. They drafted a quarterback ahead of him, they had three veterans already in the room, but he proved he could play. Now, does one good performance make him Hall of Fame material? No. But it does earn him another opportunity. He still had some non-traditional, even bizarre, interviews before the draft that scared some teams away. But good for him, and good for his dad — if he plays well again in his next game, maybe he becomes the opening day starter. And for a franchise like Cleveland, which has had some of the worst luck with quarterbacks, finding a capable starter could be huge."

On Tom Brady’s statue:
"How could he not get a statue? He absolutely deserves it. The bigger question is whether Bill Belichick will get one too. Right now, there are some bad feelings between Belichick and ownership, and it reminds me of situations like Jimmy Johnson with the Cowboys. It took decades before he was properly honored despite his Hall of Fame status. If you’re in the Hall of Fame, you should be on the wall of fame or have a statue. We’ll have to see how the Patriots ultimately handle Belichick’s legacy."

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4. MLB – First female umpire
"On August 9th, Jen Pawol became the first female to ever umpire a Major League Baseball game. She’s 48 years old, went to Hofstra, and is from West Milford, New Jersey. This prompted me to look at other sports — the NBA had Violet Palmer in 1997, the NFL had Sarah Thomas in 2015, who’s even officiated playoff games and a Super Bowl. The NHL, however, still has zero female referees. My prediction is that Kate Guay will be the first. She’s done Olympic games, went to Brown, and has worked a ton of AHL games. I think by 2025 or 2026 she’ll break that barrier. Honestly, I don’t know what the NHL is waiting for — it’s time to make that move."

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5. MLB – No salary cap
"For casual fans, enjoy the rest of 2025 and all of 2026, because in 2027 we’re heading toward a major work stoppage. The owners want a salary cap like the NFL, NBA, and NHL have. Right now there’s only a luxury tax — if you go over a certain payroll, you pay into a pool that’s supposed to be shared with smaller markets. But players want unlimited salaries and also a salary floor so small market teams have to spend up to, say, $100M–$125M on payroll. Many small market owners don’t want that floor. So both sides are entrenched, and it’s going to get ugly — whether it’s a strike from players or a lockout by owners."

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6. MLB teams standings
"Right now, the Brewers are white hot and have the best record in baseball. The Phillies are doing better than the struggling Mets. In the West, the Dodgers are two games ahead of the Padres. But the Yankees — who just won the World Series last year — are six and a half games back of Toronto, with Boston in between. In the Central, Detroit is up six games over Cleveland. And in the AL West, Houston and Seattle are battling it out. On the flip side, the Colorado Rockies are in real danger of having one of the worst records in MLB history — they’ve only got 30 wins at the 118-game mark. Hopefully they can at least get to 40 or 42."

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7. NBA – KD trade, coaching changes
On KD to Houston:
"Texas is attractive to players because there’s no state tax, and Florida has that same advantage. KD’s still playing at a high level despite his age and mileage. He’s had a Hall of Fame career, and moving to Houston could work out well for him if he’s surrounded by the right talent. I hope he has the supporting cast to make a run in the West."

On Mike Brown to the Knicks:
"The NBA is a carousel for coaches — it’s constant movement. Mike Brown has plenty of head coaching experience, including success with LeBron in Cleveland. Personally, I would’ve stayed with Tom Thibodeau, but I’m biased because I worked with him in the Sixers organization. Still, Brown is experienced, and with that, you give him a shot."

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8. NBA – Team expansion in Europe
"Expansion is going to happen — I think it’s inevitable. I can see teams in Paris, London, maybe Berlin. Europe will be first, then Asia — possibly a team in China or Japan. It’s going to be a challenge logistically, but the NBA has the global brand and the financial incentive to make it work. Imagine the ticket sales and TV revenue from those markets. My prediction: Europe first, Asia second, within the next 5–10 years."

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9. SEC Netflix documentary
"The SEC is the closest thing to the NFL in terms of talent level and fan passion. Along with the Big Ten, it’s where most NFL players come from. The stadiums are sold out, the rivalries are intense, and for people who haven’t worked in college athletics, the scale might be eye-opening. The documentary gives that behind-the-scenes look fans love — just like NFL training camp series where you see players get cut or make the team. It even captures moments like Vanderbilt upsetting bigger programs, which is huge for those schools. And yes, Nick Saban once famously said the SEC was a war every week ‘except when you go to Vanderbilt’ — and he had to eat those words."

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