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Many popular sports, especially at the professional level, receive extensive news coverage. Wikipedia is not a newspaper. However, transactions involving hirings/signings, trades, and firings/releases are often considered encyclopedic for articles on a season for a league/team, or biographies of athletes and other key personnel.
When extensive coverage exists, reliable sources may report breaking news on a transaction based on anonymous sources. Indications that news is speculative include phrases such as "a person with knowledge of the negotiations says", "spoke on condition of anonymity", "has not yet signed a contract",[1] "are expected to acquire",[2] "cannot become official until",[3] and "still trying to confirm details".[4] Additionally, some sports leagues have periods where negotiations can take place, but a deal cannot become official until a future date e.g. the July moratorium in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[3] In these cases, the transaction should not be presented as having been completed, and infoboxes should not be updated.
In the past, some unofficial transactions were not consummated due to reasons including players reneging on verbal agreements,[6] vetoes by the league,[8] complications with no-trade clauses,[11] or a different transaction materializing altogether.[14] If anything is to be presented at all, it should be limited to prose attributed to the source that is reporting the transaction. For example, "On March 5, 2013, ACME News reported that John Doe will sign with XYZ." It would be inappropriate original research and future speculation to present this as "On March 5, 2013, John Doe signed with XYZ."
A transaction can be considered official if sources report it as completed and attribute it to a named, reputable league or team official.[15] Sometimes players that are free agents may announce their agreement to a contract before the team confirms a contract has been signed and completed. Consensus at Wikipedia articles may determine that the player should be reflected in the article as being a member of the team, even prior to an official announcement by the team.[18] Otherwise, it may be a lengthy discussion on the distinction between an "official signing" and a player's publicly announced agreement to sign.[19]
- ^ "Aaron Brooks to rejoin Rockets". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 4, 2013. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013.
- ^ a b Mitchell, Houston (December 8, 2011). "Chris Paul for Gasol and Odom, good deal or bad?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013.
- ^ a b "Sports Briefs". The New York Times. Associated Press. July 6, 2006. Archived from the original on March 12, 2013.
- ^ a b Bowman, Mark (July 23, 2012). "Confirmed Ryan Dempster is coming to the Braves". twitter.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013.
- ^ "DeAndre Jordan rejoins Clippers, snubs Mavericks". ESPN.com. July 9, 2015. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016.
- ^ In the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2015, DeAndre Jordan re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers after originally reaching an agreement to join the Dallas Mavericks.[5]
- ^ "NBA rejects Paul-to-Lakers blockbuster trade". NBA.com. Associated Press. December 8, 2011. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013.
- ^ In the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2011, Chris Paul was allegedly traded to the Los Angeles Lakers until the league rejected the trade.[7] An earlier report by the Los Angeles Times had conditional phrases such as "The Lakers are expected to acquire..." and "Paul, 26, would replace ..." (underlining added for emphasis).[2]
- ^ Calcaterra, Craig (July 23, 2012). "UPDATE: Ryan Dempster traded to the Braves for Randall Delgado — maybe". hardballtalk.nbcsports.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013.
- ^ "Dempster: I never turned down Braves deal". ESPN.com. August 1, 2012. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013.
- ^ In Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2012, Ryan Dempster was allegedly traded to the Atlanta Braves until the deal fell through. An initial report said the deal was "confirmed" while the reporter was also "still trying to confirm details".[4][9] Dempster was deciding whether to waive his no-trade clause, but the Braves moved on after their self-imposed deadline passed.[10]
- ^ Feldman, Dave (October 27, 2014). "Report: Knicks waiving Travis Outlaw to make room for Travis Wear". nbcsports.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014.
- ^ "Knicks Complete Trade with Philadelphia". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
- ^ In the National Basketball Association in 2014, Travis Outlaw was reported to be released according to a "source with direct knowledge of the situation",[12] but he was later traded.[13]
- ^ "He's Back – Rockets Sign Free Agent Aaron Brooks". NBA.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013.
- ^ "Heat lock up Bosh, push for Wade". ESPN.com. July 12, 2014. Archived from the original on July 31, 2014.
- ^ Wallace, Michael (July 31, 2014). "Pat Riley says Heat will be fine". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2014.
- ^ In the NBA in 2014, Chris Bosh's July 12 post on Twitter was interpreted by the media as affirmation of his intention to re-sign with the Miami Heat.[16] However, his signing was not officially announced by the Heat until July 30.[17]
- ^ See related WikiProject National Basketball Association discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject National Basketball Association/Archive 26#Agreeing to vs. signing a contract