April 6, 2023

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The Masters starts today — and senior writer Mike McCarthy joins Front Office Sports Today to break down this year’s tournament. Plus: 2008 Masters champ Trevor Immelman gives us an inside look at Augusta’s annual “tradition unlike any other.”

Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

Media MLB Ready to Sell Sponsorship for Popular Pitch Clock [[link removed]]

Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-USA TODAY Sports

Major League Baseball is ready to start fielding sponsorship bids for one of the most popular sports innovations in years: the pitch clock.

Baseball could reap tens of millions in new sponsorship fees by allowing a global marketer such as Timex, Omega, or Rolex to attach its brand to the new “pitch timer,” which is shortening games [[link removed]] by a half-hour this season.

“MLB is open for business,” said one source.

An MLB-wide sponsorship with a watchmaker or technology company would be worth $10 million or more a year, estimated Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing analyst at Pinnacle Advertising.

“That’s worth eight figures or more,” he said, especially if the sponsor’s brand is standardized and visible behind the batter.

MLB’s 30 teams could also sell local pitch clock sponsorship for millions apiece.

“I would think any time-related company would jump on it. Particularly this season. It’s got so much attention. It’s successful, “ Dorfman said. “Everybody seems to be loving it. Any watch- or time-related company would jump all over it. Even TIME magazine.”

MLB started 2023 with 35 corporate sponsors, including Budweiser, Nike, Mastercard, FanDuel, T-Mobile, and Taco Bell.

Global watch brands have long sponsored sports, teams and leagues.

Tissot is currently the official timekeeper of the NBA. Timex and the UFC announced a global sponsorship/licensing deal in late 2021. Rolex serves as the official timekeeper of the United States Golf Association and championships.

Timex’ long-running “Takes a Licking and Keeps On Ticking” campaign aired for years on the Super Bowl.

MLB declined to comment.

AWARDS

The Front Office Sports Rising 25 Award [[link removed]], presented by Anheuser-Busch, celebrates the careers of the brightest young stars in the business of sports. Established in 2017, the Rising 25 Award has become one of the most competitive and prestigious awards in the industry.

Know someone who deserves to be recognized? Nominate [[link removed]] them today! Nominations are open NOW through Tuesday, May 2. Winners will be announced in June.

Real Estate Coyotes Sue Phoenix for $2.3B with Arena Vote Looming [[link removed]]

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Coyotes are biting back against their former hometown.

The team’s development firm countersued [[link removed]] the city of Phoenix for attempting to sabotage a proposed development in neighboring Tempe.

The Coyotes are seeking $2.3 billion in damages — an amount equivalent to what it hopes to spend developing an arena, housing, retail, and restaurants in Tempe.

The dispute centers on the location of that proposed development, which Phoenix says violates an agreement about how close housing may be built to the city-owned Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The team has agreed to protect the airport from noise-related lawsuits, but Tempe hasn’t signed on to other key demands: that it wouldn’t build more housing in that area or oppose the airport’s future growth.

At an impasse, Phoenix sued last month to stop the project, asking Maricopa County to rescind the land use agreement that legally allows the development to move forward.

The dueling lawsuits could have a political impact as well: Tempe will put the decision of whether the Coyotes’ arena project should move forward in the hands of the voters in a special election on May 16.

The Coyotes are in desperate need of a new arena, as the team currently plays at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena, which seats 4,600 for hockey games.

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Exclusive Career App for Student-Athletes

Resume-only recruiting puts student-athletes at a disadvantage by not having the same free time to stack their resumes with internships, extracurricular activities and being able to realize their GPA potential due to their time commitment to sports.

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Did you know 52% of women in the C-Suite played college sports?

If you’re a company looking for difference-makers, or a student-athlete ready to start your career journey, click here [[link removed]] to learn more.

Law LIV Golf’s Legal Problems Continue to Mount [[link removed]]

Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Network

LIV Golf’s legal setbacks spanned both sides of the Atlantic Ocean this week.

On Thursday, a U.K. arbitration panel ruling [[link removed]] backed the DP World Tour’s ability to sanction [[link removed]] players for competing in LIV Golf events. And as the first groups began play at the Masters, there were indications that two key rulings by a U.S. federal judge favor the PGA Tour in LIV’s antitrust case against it.

U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman’s rulings in the case remain under seal ahead of a Friday hearing, but her provisional rulings in the court docket were instructive:

Freeman upheld U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen’s ruling [[link removed]] that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and its governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan are subject to discovery, and that Al-Rumayyan must sit for a deposition. The PGA Tour’s request to conduct the depositions of Al-Rumayyan and other PIF officials in the U.S. was also granted. Freeman overruled van Keulen’s decision that the depositions of PIF officials could be conducted in Saudi Arabia.

If lawyers for LIV and PIF signal before or during the hearing that they will seek an appeal of the discovery decision to the 9th Circuit, Freeman could move to push back the trial’s January 2024 start date.

Conversation Starters This year, The Masters app will feature generative AI [[link removed]] announcers taking over sportscasting duties for the thousands of shots hit by golfers that don’t normally get air time. EA Sports FC — the new replacement [[link removed]] for EA FIFA — is expected to release more information on its first new game in July. Take a look inside [[link removed]] Las Vegas’ $25,000-per-night “Hardwood Suite,” which boasts a private basketball court, pro locker room, game room, dance floor, 11 TVs, and a 24-hour butler.

SPONSORED BY MAGNIFI

How Technology is Shaping the Future of Sports

In today’s modern media age, consumers demand content 24/7. Sports fans want — and expect — engaging content from their favorite teams, leagues, brands and players across platforms all year long.

Join Front Office Sports [[link removed]] on April 11 at 1 p.m. ET for an inside look at how teams, leagues, conferences and broadcasters utilize technology to create compelling content that attracts new viewers, reaches younger audiences and increases fan engagement.

The virtual summit [[link removed]] includes discussion with representatives from organizations across the sports industry, including the NBA, San Francisco 49ers, New Jersey Devils, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, ACC and the University of Miami.

Grab your spot and register now [[link removed]]!

What to Watch

The Denver Nuggets will take on the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on Thursday night.

How to watch: 10 p.m. ET, TNT

Betting odds: Nuggets +4.5 || ML Nuggets +160 || O/U 226.5

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