Seven men from Chile have been charged in Florida federal court with allegedly orchestrating burglaries at the homes of prominent professional athletes around the country.

The FBI complaint in Tampa federal court doesn’t name the athletes, but it lists burglaries already made public involving the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as players for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies.

Authorities say the Chilean group stole about $2 million in expensive watches, jewelry, cash and other valuables, including a safe the group later cracked.

NFL

Chargers to open 2025 season in Brazil

The Los Angeles Chargers will play their 2025 season opener in Brazil, making the franchise the first to play on five continents.

The Chargers’ opponent is expected to be announced in May, when the NFL’s regular-season schedule is released.

The Chargers will be the home team for the Friday, Sept. 5 game at Neo Quimica Arena in São Paulo. The venue hosted a Week 1 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers last season in the first NFL game in South America.

Eagles promote Patullo to OC

The Eagles decided to not draw out their search for Kellen Moore’s replacement, announcing that they promoted pass game coordinator and associate head coach Kevin Patullo to the role of offensive coordinator.

Patullo, 43, will take over play-calling duties. He has been on staff since Nick Sirianni was hired in 2021, and the two coaches have worked together since 2018, when Sirianni was the offensive coordinator in Indianapolis and Patullo coached receivers.

Patullo has been Sirianni’s right-hand man with the Eagles, and his elevation to this role was a strong possibility after Moore departed to become the head coach of the Saints.

NFL projects salary cap to rise by $26M

The NFL salary cap will be between $277.5 million and $281.5 million for the 2025 season, rising as much as $26 million from last year.

It’s significant for teams projected to be over the cap when the new league year begins in March.

NHL

Hull had CTE at time of death 2 years ago

Bobby Hull’s widow says the Hall of Famer and two-time NHL MVP who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup had chronic traumatic encephalopathy when he died two years ago. Researchers at Boston University’s CTE Center found that Hull had stage 2 CTE when he died in 2023. He was 84. Hull struggled with short-term memory loss and impaired judgment over his final decade. He chose to donate his brain after seeing former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Stan Mikita decline late in his life.

Deborah Hull says Bobby “felt strongly no other family should have to endure CTE.”

CTE is a degenerative disease that that can be diagnosed only posthumously.

NBA

Lakers’ Doncic off minutes restriction

Luka Doncic is going back to work with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he’s likely back to full speed as well.

Coach JJ Redick says Doncic probably won’t have a minutes restriction this week after his deliberate start to his Lakers tenure before the All-Star break.

When the Lakers host Charlotte, Doncic will play in his third game back following a 6 1/2-week absence due to a strained left calf suffered on Christmas while playing for the Mavericks.

The Slovenian superstar played in both of the Lakers’ final two games before the All-Star break, but he played only 47 total minutes.

college football

Badgers’ Fickell gets one-year extension

Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell is receiving a one-year extension on a contract that will now run through the 2031 season.

The school’s athletic board approved the one-year extension recommendation.

Fickell originally agreed to a seven-year contract paying him an average of $7.8 million per year when Wisconsin hired him away from Cincinnati in December 2022.

That contract calls for him to get an annual review that would result in a one-year extension based upon satisfactory performance, the athletic director’s recommendation and the athletic board’s approval.

nascar

Daytona 500 pole-winner dealt penalty

Daytona 500 pole-winner Chase Briscoe was dealt a major penalty when NASCAR said Joe Gibbs Racing had a modified spoiler on the No. 19 Toyota in time trials.

Joe Gibbs Racing was docked 100 driver/owner points and 10 playoff points. The spoiler base is a single-source part that cannot be modified and was discovered in NASCAR’s inspection process.

JGR also was fined $100,000 and crew chief James Small was suspended for four races. Briscoe now goes to Atlanta Motor Speedway with negative 67 points in the standings. He dropped from 10th in the standings to 39th.

Briefly

mlb >> Reliever Lucas Sims and the Washington Nationals agreed to a one-year contract. Sims, 30, was 1-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 58 relief appearances last year for Cincinnati and Boston.

NFL >> The Colorado Rockies agreed to a one-year contract with left-hander Scott Alexander. Alexander, 35, is coming off a season with the Athletics in which he finished with a 1-3 record and 2.56 ERA over 45 appearances.

media >> The 16 regional sports networks owned and operated by Main Street Sports Group under the FanDuel Sports Network umbrella are now available as an add-on subscription through Prime Video. Fans in those markets will be able to purchase a subscription for $19.99 per month, allowing them to watch their local teams games and other live events.

— From news services