The big picture: The stark change in the league's positioning isn't coincidental. Sports betting is progressing across the country whether the NFL is ready or not.

• The timing: 13 states have legalized sports betting in 15 months with 6 NFL teams (Colts, Steelers, Eagles, Bills, Giants, Jets) playing in those states.
• The league is projected to make $2.3 billion annually from sports betting, per the American Gaming Association.
• "The NFL has typically been a little more cautious than some of the other leagues, but I think they recognize what sports betting means in terms of fan engagement," Bill Miller, AGA president, says.

The other side: The NFL's picture isn't quite as rosy, the New York Times reports.

You can’t even predict which states will legalize when and under what constructs, and what the U.S. sports book market will look like, or the advertising market.

The bottom line: The NFL is embracing sports betting, but we still don't know exactly how much the league wants it as part of its future. As the market stabilizes, that picture will become clearer.

Go deeper: Sports leagues struggle to deal with data

Why it matters: Different international standards and flat out mistakes by judges have muddied scores in the past, but VAR theoretically fixes that by sticking to one standard.

What's next: The technology will be used at the world championships in October, and if the test goes well, it could be deployed at the 2020 Olympics.

Thought bubble from Axios' very own former gymnast, Sara Fischer:

"As a gymnast, your energy is always placed on the standard point deductions. The stress to me wouldn't be that VAR is biased against you, but that it makes it easier for judges to see things they normally wouldn't catch. That could be good or bad."

Go deeper: The creation of sports highlights is being automated

Why it matters: Curry's donation creates a gateway to golf at a historically black university (HBCU) with a demographic the sport has failed to reach — black and brown youth.

• By the numbers: As it stands, only 3 of 250 active golfers on the PGA Tour are of African American descent, per the New York Times, and just 6% of all NCAA golfers are of African American, Latino or Native American descent.

The big picture: Curry's initiative has a chance to shift these numbers by injecting an HBCU, its students and their culture directly into golf's pipeline.

• Between the lines: For it to work, however, minority students have to actually be involved. HBCUs have traditionally trotted out teams full of white golfers, author Lane Demas notes in his book "Game of Privilege."
• A team of white golfers "would probably have the opposite intended impact on golf’s perception in nonwhite communities," Demas tells Axios.

The bottom line:

Golf is a game where youth tend to get involved not because they see someone on TV. ... They get involved when immediate family and friends get them involved, or when the local community actively encourages it. That's the key.