Sports · Sunday, 27 September 2026

01 Briefing what happened

Stephen Curry signs for about $20m less than he could have, to leave the Warriors room to spend

The Warriors' 38-year-old star agreed two more years for $116m on Friday. The gap gives the club about $10m more to spend on other players next summer.

$116m

for two more seasons with the Warriors, agreed on Friday

about $20m below the $136.7m he was allowed to ask for [1][2]

$10m

more the Warriors can spend on other players next summer

because Curry took about $10m a season less than the most allowed [1][2]

$652m

Curry's total NBA pay by the end of this deal

no other player has passed $600m [2][6]

games Curry played last season, out of 82, because of his right knee

he still averaged 26.6 points a game [1][3]

The lead story — what happened

Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors' 38-year-old star, agreed a two-year contract extension worth $116m on Friday. [1][2]
He could have signed for up to $136.7m over the same two years. He took about $20m less, roughly $10m a season. [1][2][3]
The NBA limits how much each team can spend on its players in total. So the money Curry left behind is about $10m the Warriors can spend on other players next summer. [1][2]
The idea came from the club. When Curry became eligible on 29 August, the Warriors showed him several options, including a slightly smaller salary. [2][4]
Two big contracts end next summer: Jimmy Butler's $56.8m and Draymond Green's $27.6m. ESPN puts the Warriors' spending room then at $38m to $55m. [2]
Curry's pay falls from $62.6m this season to $55.7m in 2027-28. He can choose a third year at $60.2m, when he will be 40. [1][2]
The deal takes his career pay to $652m, the first NBA player past $600m, and puts him top of the list of the best-paid players in the league's history. [2][6]
He played only 43 games last season because of a sore right knee, and still scored 26.6 points a game. The club still worries about the knee. [1][3]
The Warriors missed the playoffs last season and failed to sign LeBron James this summer, so the extra room is how they plan to add talent. [1][2]
On Wednesday Curry had said he was not going anywhere. He signed three days before training camp starts in Hawaii. [5][2][4]

$136.7mMost he could sign for

$116mWhat he signed for

Both are totals for the same two seasons. The gap is about $10m a year that the Warriors can spend on other players next summer.

Who is involved

Stephen Curry

the Warriors' guard, 38, starting his 18th season, all with the same club; he took less pay than he could have
Mike Dunleavy

the Warriors' general manager, who runs the team's signings; he announced the deal
Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green

two Warriors players whose contracts, $56.8m and $27.6m, end next summer and free up money
Golden State Warriors

the San Francisco basketball club, which missed the playoffs last season and wants room to rebuild around Curry

How it unfolded

29 Aug Curry can sign an extension; the Warriors lay out options [2][4]
Wed 23 Sep Curry says he is not going anywhere [5]
Fri 25 Sep he agrees two years and $116m [1]
Next week training camp starts in Hawaii [4]
21 Oct the season opens against the Lakers in Los Angeles [4]
Summer 2027 Butler's and Green's deals end and the Warriors can spend [2]

Where this points

The next test is next summer, when Butler's and Green's contracts end and the Warriors have $38m to $55m to spend on players good enough to win while Curry still plays. [2]

What is pushing on the whole day

The bar and the word are our reading of how hard each one is pushing today. The arrow is where it is heading. The evidence is in the stories below.

Players choosing when to be paid Building↑

Stephen Curry took about $20m less so the Warriors have more to spend next summer. [1] Jalen Duren, the Detroit Pistons' 22-year-old centre, has turned down $200m over five years. [25] He could take $9.6m for one season and offer himself to every team next summer. [25]

Bills for sacked coaches High↑

The Los Angeles Sparks, a WNBA team, owe their fired coach $950,000 for a season she will not coach. [26] Firing Maryland's football coach, Mike Locksley, would cost the university about $9.94m. [29] Georgia sacked its national coach and gave the new one a contract to 2028. [31]

Injuries in the biggest games High→

Fremantle's captain, Alex Pearce, left the AFL Grand Final with a leg injury. [7] The San Francisco 49ers, an American football team, will have 16 players on their injured list. [35] Indiana, a top college football team, lost running back Turbo Richard to a leg injury on Saturday. [34]

The rest of the day

22 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

02
Brisbane win a third AFL title in a row

The Brisbane Lions beat Fremantle 96-89 in the Australian Football League Grand Final on Saturday, in front of 100,023 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. [7][8] The AFL is Australia's top league in Australian rules football. Fremantle led by 17 points with about four minutes left. [8][9] Brisbane then kicked four goals in a row, the last two by Logan Morris. [7][8] It is Brisbane's sixth title and their second run of three in a row, after 2001 to 2003. [7]

Why it matters — Fremantle finished top of the table and are still waiting for their first title; this was their first Grand Final since 2013. [7] Their captain, Alex Pearce, was hurt in the third quarter. [7][8] Their Shai Bolton became only the fifth player on a losing side to win the medal for the best player in the final. [8]
03
Spain beat England and stay unbeaten

Spain, the world champions, beat England 3-2 at Wembley on Saturday in the Nations League, a competition between European national teams. [10][11] It was their first match since they beat Argentina to win their second World Cup. [12] Lamine Yamal scored inside two minutes after taking the ball off Marc Guehi. [10] England led 2-1 at half-time. Then Harry Kane slipped and hit the crossbar with a penalty, and Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal scored for Spain. [10]

Why it matters — Spain have now gone 39 games without a defeat, a run that started in 2018. [10] Two England mistakes came from Manchester City players, the day after City were found guilty of breaking the Premier League's money rules. [11] England's coach, Thomas Tuchel, said he could imagine the verdict was a distraction for them. [11]
04
Vollering wins the one title she lacked

Demi Vollering of the Netherlands won the women's road race at cycling's world championships in Montreal on Saturday. [13][14] She beat Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney in an uphill sprint at the end of 180km, the longest women's race in the championships' history. [13] Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy was third. [14] About 15 riders crashed early on, and the defending champion, Magdeleine Vallieres of Canada, had to stop. [14][15]

Why it matters — Vollering, 29, has won the Tour de France Femmes, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour of Flanders, but had never won the world title. [13][15] The men race 273.2km on the same Montreal circuit on Sunday. [16]
05
An American wins the under-23 race alone

Ashlin Barry of the United States won the under-23 men's road race at the world championships in Montreal on Friday, his birthday. [17] He rode alone for the last 30km, the longest winning solo in the race's history. [17] Spain's Hector Alvarez was second and Norway's Jesper Stiansen third. [17] Barry's mother, Dede Demet, won an Olympic silver medal for the United States, and his father, Michael Barry, raced as a professional for Canada. [17]

Why it matters — Four days earlier Barry was fourth in the time trial, 22 seconds off a medal, in the race he had thought was his better chance. [17]
06
The Phillies' place is down to one game

The Philadelphia Phillies lost 2-0 to Tampa Bay on Friday, their third defeat in a row, while the Arizona Diamondbacks won their sixth game in a row. [18] That cut the Phillies' lead for the last National League playoff place to one game, with two left to play. [18] On Tuesday the lead had been four games. [18] The San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs had already taken the other two wild-card places, the playoff spots for good teams that did not win their division. [19][20]

Why it matters — The Phillies have scored two runs in their last three games. [18] Luis Arraez, one of their regular hitters, twisted his left ankle on Thursday and is out. [18] The playoffs start on Tuesday. [23]
07
Both Chicago and Cleveland reach the playoffs

The Chicago White Sox reached baseball's playoffs on Thursday by beating Kansas City 9-1. [21] They are the first team to get there straight after two seasons of 100 or more defeats. [21] The Cleveland Guardians clinched a place the same night by beating Boston 1-0. [22] The Chicago Cubs also clinched that day, the first time both Chicago clubs have done it on the same day. [21]

Why it matters — The Guardians led the White Sox by one game in their division going into the last weekend. [22][23] The division winner skips the first round, a best-of-three series, so the last three games decide who has to play it. [22]
08
Second-best record, but no rest

In baseball's American League, the two byes past the first round go to the division winners with the best records, not to the two best teams. [24] So the New York Yankees, second-best in the league at 89-66 on Tuesday, must play a best-of-three wild-card series. [24] The Cleveland Guardians, then 81-75, held the second bye as leaders of a weaker division. [24] If the table holds, it will be the second year in a row, and the third time in four years. [24]

Rays, seed 195 wins
Yankees, seed 489 wins
Guardians, seed 281 wins
Wins by Tuesday 22 September. The Guardians held the second seed with eight fewer wins than the Yankees, because they led their division.

Why it matters — The Boston Red Sox would rather finish as the third wild card than the second, because the second has to play the Yankees. [23] Whoever wins that series then meets the Tampa Bay Rays, the top seed. [24]
09
Crow-Armstrong reaches 40 and 40

Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs reached 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases for the season on Thursday. [23] It is only the seventh season like that in Major League history. [20] He is the favourite to be named the National League's most valuable player. [23][20] The Cubs score more runs than any other team in the majors. [20]

Why it matters — The Cubs start the playoffs as a wild card on Tuesday, with the most runs in the majors and, most likely, the league's most valuable player. [20][23]
10
Detroit raise their offer to Duren

The Detroit Pistons raised their offer to Jalen Duren, their 22-year-old centre, from $190m to $200m over five years, fully guaranteed, The Athletic reported on 21 September. [25] Duren, named to an All-NBA team last season, could be paid up to $287m and has said no so far. [25] If no deal is signed, he can take a one-year offer of $9.6m by 1 October and become a free agent next summer. [25]

$200mDetroit's offer, 5 years
$198.8mOne year, then the market
Both are five-year totals, as The Athletic worked them out. The second path only works if another team pays him the maximum next summer.

Why it matters — The Sacramento Kings have signalled they would pay him the maximum next summer. [25] A $2m rise in next season's spending limit means one year at $9.6m and then a four-year maximum elsewhere would pay about $198.8m, almost the same as Detroit's offer. [25]
11
The Sparks fire their coach and still pay her

The Los Angeles Sparks, a team in the WNBA, the US women's basketball league, fired coach Lynne Roberts on Friday after two seasons and a 37-51 record. [26][27] The Sparks have now missed the playoffs six seasons in a row. [26] Roberts was halfway through a four-year contract. Because she was fired without cause, the club owes her $950,000, her pay for next season. [26]

Why it matters — The Sparks traded their best player, Kelsey Plum, on 2 August, and went 8-20 after her last game for them. [27] Their general manager was let go in July, so the club is replacing both people who built this team. [26]
12
Maryland lose 54-3, and a sacking costs $10m

Maryland lost 54-3 at home to UCLA on Saturday in American college football. [28] It was their 10th defeat in a row against teams from the four richest conferences under coach Mike Locksley, now in his eighth season. [28] Locksley earns $6.4m this year and is signed until 2028. [28] Firing him now would cost the university about $9.94m, half of it within 60 days. [29]

$6.4mLocksley's pay this year
$9.94mCost to fire him now
Sacking the coach now would cost Maryland more than a full year of his pay.

Why it matters — Maryland's athletic director, Jim Smith, did not hire Locksley but kept him after a second 4-8 season. [28] Locksley said he would have to earn back people's confidence. [28]
13
A market puts LaFleur's sacking at 90%

The Green Bay Packers lost 35-14 at home to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday and have won one of their first three games. [30] On Kalshi, a website where people trade on the outcome of events, the price on coach Matt LaFleur being gone by 1 March jumped from 12% before the game to 90% after it. [30] LaFleur has coached Green Bay since 2019 and won 77 games and lost 41. [30]

Why it matters — He has taken the Packers to the playoffs six times in seven seasons, but not deep into them. [30] On Thursday his defence let Atlanta's Bijan Robinson run for 194 yards. [30]
14
Georgia sack their coach mid-week

Georgia's football federation sacked its manager, Willy Sagnol of France, on Saturday after a 1-0 home defeat by Northern Ireland in the Nations League on Friday. [31] Sagnol took over in 2021 and led Georgia to their first major tournament, Euro 2024, where they reached the last 16. [31] They then lost five of six qualifying games and missed the last World Cup. [31] Ramaz Svanadze, coach of the under-21 team for five years, takes over on a contract to the end of 2028. [31]

Why it matters — Svanadze's first game is at home to Ukraine on Monday, so the federation changed its coach between two matches of the same week. [31]
15
Peterborough look for an eighth manager

Peterborough United, in English football's third tier, sacked manager Luke Williams on Saturday 19 September after a 2-0 home defeat by Doncaster Rovers. [32] It was their fifth league game without a win and left them second from bottom. [32] Williams had been in charge for 11 months. [32] The club, run by chairman Darragh MacAnthony for 20 years, is now looking for its eighth permanent manager in ten years. [32]

Why it matters — Peterborough won two of their last 22 league games under Williams. [32] In two home games this season they did not have a single shot on target. [32]
16
O'Neill weighs his future at Celtic

Martin O'Neill, Celtic's 74-year-old manager, says he will use the international break to think about his future after two defeats by Rangers, Celtic's Glasgow rivals. [33] Celtic also lost at home to Ferencvaros in the Europa League, and threw away a 4-0 lead over two games against LASK in a Champions League qualifier in August. [33] They are still two points clear at the top of the Scottish league. [33]

Why it matters — O'Neill won the league and the Scottish Cup last season as a stand-in manager. [33] Paul Lambert, a former Celtic captain, said he would be shocked if the club sacked him, but not surprised if he left. [33]
17
Indiana win but lose running back Richard

Indiana, ranked fifth in American college football, beat Northwestern on Saturday but lost running back Turbo Richard to a right leg injury. [34] Richard had run for 315 yards and four touchdowns in the first three games. [34] His replacement, Lee Beebe Jr., ran for 203 yards. [34] Coach Curt Cignetti said Richard was hurt by a hip-drop tackle and then hit out of bounds, and no penalty was called. [34]

Why it matters — Northwestern closed to 22-20 in the fourth quarter, so the fifth-ranked team needed its backup runner to win. [34]
18
The 49ers run short of injury places

Nick Bosa, the San Francisco 49ers' star pass rusher, strained a calf in practice on Thursday and will miss a few weeks, coach Kyle Shanahan said. [35] That would put 16 of the team's players on its injured list. [35] Players put on injured reserve sit out four weeks, and a team can bring back only eight of them during the season. [35] Six of the 10 defensive linemen who made the team have been hurt in two weeks. [35]

Why it matters — So the club has to choose between spending one of its eight returns on Bosa or keeping him on the roster while he cannot play. [35]
19
The NFL plays in Rio for the first time

The Baltimore Ravens and the Dallas Cowboys play on Sunday at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, the first NFL game in the city. [36] The 78,000-seat stadium has hosted two football World Cup finals and Olympic gold-medal matches. [36] It is one of a record nine NFL games outside the United States this season. [36]

Why it matters — The Maracana is best known for football, the other kind, and for matches between South America's biggest clubs. [36]
20
The NFL keeps its 10% limit on investors

NFL team owners have no plans to let private-equity firms, investment funds that buy stakes in businesses, own more than 10% of a team, three sources told Front Office Sports. [37] Baseball raised its limit this summer from 15% to 20% for one firm, the same as the NBA. [37] The NFL first let such firms in with a 31-1 owners' vote in August 2024. [37] The Patriots, Chargers, Bills, Browns and Dolphins have all sold them stakes. [37]

Why it matters — Forbes values the average NFL team at about $9.5bn, up from $7.1bn a year ago, so even a 10% stake costs close to $1bn. [37]
21
Warwickshire champions, Hampshire go down

Warwickshire won English cricket's County Championship this season, and Hampshire were relegated to the second division for the first time since 2014. [38] In the last round Sussex beat Hampshire heavily and finished with seven wins, as many as the champions. [38] Many Sussex players are leaving the club after this season. [38]

Why it matters — Hampshire earned only four batting points all season, the points a county gets for making big totals. [38] They start next year in Division Two with two new signings, from Sussex and Leicestershire. [38]
22
Cardiff win the first Welsh derby

Cardiff beat the Scarlets 21-15 in Llanelli on Saturday in the United Rugby Championship, the league Wales's professional rugby clubs play in. [39] All three Cardiff tries came from driving line-outs, where the forwards push the ball-carrier over the line from a throw-in. [39] Only 7,073 people came to a game that kicked off at 7.45pm on a Saturday. [39]

Why it matters — Cardiff were the only Welsh team to reach last season's play-offs, and the Scarlets finished 14th. [39] Scarlets hooker Ryan Elias played his 200th game for the club. [39]
23
Martin leads MotoGP by 12 points

Pedro Acosta won his first race in MotoGP, the world championship for motorbike racing, at the Austrian Grand Prix on 20 September. [40] He passed Jorge Martin for the lead on lap nine. [40] Martin finished second and leads the championship with 306 points, 12 ahead of the reigning champion Marc Marquez, who was fifth. [40] Acosta rides for KTM and moves to Ducati's factory team at the end of 2026. [40]

Why it matters — The next round is the Japanese Grand Prix in October, with the title between two Spanish riders. [40]

02 Lesson why it matters

Finishing first over a season earns an easier path, not the title

A season's results earn a team an easier path, but the title goes to whoever wins the last games.

The twist

Fremantle finished top of the AFL table after the regular season. Brisbane beat them by seven points in the Grand Final, and the Grand Final is the only game the title is given for.

The picture

Top of the AFL tableFremantle

Won the Grand FinalBrisbane

Fremantle finished the season first. Brisbane beat them by seven points on Saturday and took the title.

How it works

A long season ranks every team
The best records earn an easier path, not the title
The title goes to a short knockout at the end
In one game, one injury or one miss can outweigh months
So the team that topped the table can go home early

The same force, elsewhere today

Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

Brisbane win a third AFL title in a row

Fremantle topped the table, then lost the one game that counted after their captain went off hurt and Josh Treacy missed from right in front of goal.
Second-best record, but no rest

The Yankees won more games than every American League team but one, and the rule still sends them into a best-of-three series first.
The Phillies' place is down to one game

A four-game lead built over the whole season shrank to one in four days, and two games now settle it.

Where you've seen this

School exams

a year of good class work, and the grade can hang on one paper sat on one morning

Job interviews

years of good work, and the job goes to whoever does best in one hour

Driving tests

months of lessons, and the licence depends on one drive with an examiner

The catch

Some competitions have no final at all. England's county cricket and football's Premier League give the title to whoever tops the table, so there the whole season is the test.

And the whole of it

Fremantle's players, the Yankees and the 100,023 fans at the MCG all live with a format that was chosen long before this season began. Most of us are judged the same way somewhere, on a year of work and then one exam or one interview.

03 Truth what's really going on

What is really going on

Stephen Curry took about $20m less than he was allowed, and the saving goes to whichever players the Warriors sign next summer, not to him. [1][2] Elsewhere on the day, clubs paid for old decisions: the Los Angeles Sparks owe a coach they fired $950,000, and sacking Maryland's coach would cost about $9.94m. [26][29]

Why it works on us — The Warriors' general manager praised Curry's sacrifice, which makes the pay cut sound like a gift. [1] Curry himself said he wanted to play on a team that can win, and that it needed room to make moves. [2][4]

Who gains

The Golden State Warriors — They keep Curry for two more seasons and have about $10m more to spend on other players next summer. [1][2]
Lynne Roberts — Because the Sparks fired her without cause, she is owed $950,000 for a season she will not coach. [26]
Jalen Duren — Detroit's offer rose $10m while he waited, and a rise in the league's spending limit made waiting worth almost as much. [25]
Ramaz Svanadze — Georgia's under-21 coach got the senior job and a contract to 2028 the day after a home defeat by Northern Ireland. [31]
The Cleveland Guardians — A rule that gives byes to division winners gave them the second seed with eight fewer wins than the Yankees. [24]

Who pays

Stephen Curry — He gives up about $20m over two years, about $10m a season. [1]
The University of Maryland — Firing Mike Locksley now would cost about $9.94m, half of it within 60 days. [29]
The Los Angeles Sparks — They pay $950,000 to a coach they no longer employ, while also replacing the general manager they let go in July. [26]
The New York Yankees — The league's second-best record still sends them into a best-of-three series before they reach the top seed. [24]
Fremantle — They topped the table and lost the Grand Final by seven points after their captain was hurt. [7]

What nobody knows yet

Open questions from across today’s stories — ours included.

01

How much the Warriors will really have to spend next summer.

On Friday ESPN put it at $38m to $55m, depending on Butler, Green and Brandin Podziemski. [2] On Wednesday ESPN had said more than $100m, falling to about $45m if Curry took the maximum. [4] The two figures rest on different guesses about who stays.
02

Whether Curry's right knee lets him play a full season.

He played 43 games last season, and the Athletic says the knee is still a worry inside the club. [1][3] He says he feels no hesitation going into camp. [2]
03

Who won the last National League playoff place.

After Friday the Phillies led the Diamondbacks by one game with two to play. [18] Our sources stop before Saturday's games.
04

Whether Saturday's Presidents Cup sessions changed the match.

The International team led the Americans 7-3 after two days, and the Americans led all four of Saturday's first matches early on. [41] Our sources stop there.
05

Whether Jalen Duren signs with Detroit before 1 October.

The Pistons can push the deadline back, and it is not clear they will. [25] The Athletic reported that Duren might not show up to training camp. [25]
06

Whether Manchester City's guilty verdict affected its players at Wembley.

Roy Keane, a former Manchester United captain, said it certainly had. [11] England's captain Harry Kane said club football was put to one side. [11]
07

Exactly when Logan Morris kicked Brisbane's winning goal.

Reuters says in the final 60 seconds. [7] Sporting News says with 90 seconds to play. [8]
08

Whether Maryland keeps its coach.

Mike Locksley expects to meet the athletic director on Monday as usual. [28] Any sacking before the season ends costs about $9.94m. [29]

04 Hope carry this

The Chicago White Sox lost at least 100 games in each of the last two seasons. On Thursday they reached the playoffs, the first team ever to do that straight after two such seasons.

Also true today

Demi Vollering won the world road race title in Montreal on Saturday, the one big title she had never won, at the end of the longest women's race in the championships' history.
Ashlin Barry of the United States won the under-23 world road race on his birthday, after riding alone for the last 30km, the longest winning solo in the race's history.
Stephen Curry signed for about $20m less than the most he could get, so the Warriors have about $10m more to pay other players next summer.