April 18, 2023

Read in Browser [[link removed]]

POWERED BY

After months considering bids, the Glazers seem set to keep Manchester United and settle for minority investment. Doug Greenberg joins Front Office Sports Today to break down the latest developments. Then — just in time for Tax Day — we hear from Venable LLP attorney Lawrence D. Mandelker on how for athletes, receiving generational levels of wealth can lead to problems paying off expenses.

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

Deals Commanders Sale Still Not A Done Deal [[link removed]]

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Harris’ group shared the terms of his $6.05 billion bid to purchase the Washington Commanders with the NFL in recent days, sources told Front Office Sports.

Although Harris and Commanders owner Dan Snyder have agreed to a framework of a deal, the transaction still isn’t final, which leaves an opening for another bidder.

Sources close to Brian Davis told FOS that the former Duke men’s basketball player also forwarded his documentation to the NFL in an effort to bolster his mysterious [[link removed]] $7 billion bid.

Bank of America — the firm handling the sale on Snyder’s behalf — hasn’t commented on Davis’ bid or much else since Snyder put the franchise on the market in November.

If successful, Davis would be the first Black controlling owner in NFL history.

Sources told FOS that the funding appears to have originated from the Middle East, although there are still those with firsthand knowledge of the process who aren’t taking Davis’ bid all that seriously.

“It must be a typo,” one source quipped to FOS. “They probably meant $7,000.”

The NFL’s full vetting process doesn’t begin until a winning [[link removed]] bidder is selected and the application — which must be accompanied by a certified check for $25,000 — is sent to the league office. That kickstarts a review of the bidding group that typically takes more than a month before an ownership vote is scheduled.

A three-fourths vote (at least 24 owners) is required for approval.

AWARDS

Rising 25 is back, and it’s time to nominate an up-and-coming young professional changing the game in the business of sports!

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. To date, we’ve honored 150 individuals and we’re looking for our next group of young stars.

Nominations are open NOW through Tuesday, May 2. Winners will be announced in June.

Nominate [[link removed]] today!

Real Estate Atlanta Area Planning $1B Sports Arena [[link removed]]

The Gathering at South Forsyth

The Atlanta area is planning for a potential mixed-use development to rival The Battery in Cobb County — and the $1 billion arena at its center is fueling rumors of the NHL’s return to ATL.

Local businessman Vernon Krause is reportedly [[link removed]] in the planning stages to transform a 100-acre lot in Forsyth County into a residential and entertainment area larger than The Battery (2.25 million square feet), site of the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park.

The new project, tentatively named The Gathering at South Forsyth, will feature shops and restaurants, a business hotel, and residential spaces. The whole development is projected [[link removed]] to cost “$1.5 billion to $2 billion,” according to Carl Hirsh, managing partner of Stafford Sports, which is representing Krause.

But the centerpiece of the plans is a $1 billion, 18,000-seat arena capable of hosting any number of sports and entertainment events. “It will be a multipurpose arena that has whatever you’ve seen in arenas, wherever you’ve been — we will be able to accommodate [it],” Hirsh said.

Speculation is growing that the NHL could return to the Atlanta area, despite commissioner Gary Bettman saying [[link removed]] in March that the league is “not in expansion mode right now.”

The Atlanta Flames and Thrashers both played in the area for a time — but each ultimately moved north to Calgary and Winnipeg, respectively.

“We’re hoping to make this the entertainment hub of North Georgia,” said Hirsh. “If the NHL at some time decides they want to expand, we would love to talk to them about that.”

SPONSORED BY CBS SPORTS GOLAZO NETWORK

All Soccer. All Day. Streaming Free.

CBS Sports Golazo Network [[link removed]], the first-of-its-kind, free, 24/7 channel dedicated exclusively to global soccer coverage is NOW STREAMING on the CBS Sports App, Pluto TV and Paramount+!

Get your morning started off on the right foot at 7 a.m. ET with Morning Footy [[link removed]], their weekday, soccer culture-driven morning show.

And stick around for their comprehensive programming lineup including FREE live matches from the NWSL, Italy’s Serie A, Scottish Premiership, Brasilierão, Argentina’s Liga Profesional de Fútbol and the UEFA Europa League. Plus, UEFA Champions League re-airs, original studio shows, highlights, documentaries and much more.

CBS Sports Golazo Network is the ultimate year-round streaming destination for fans of the beautiful game. Stream now [[link removed]].

Law Shaq Finally Served As FTX Fallout Continues [[link removed]]

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has finally been tracked down by a Florida law firm representing thousands of investors in a lawsuit against the collapsed crypto exchange FTX.

The Miami-based Moskowitz Law Firm tweeted [[link removed]] that O’Neal had been “running from us for three months” as lawyers tried to serve legal papers to the “NBA on TNT” analyst for his role in promoting FTX. The firm said lawyers stood outside TNT’s Atlanta studios all week hoping to hand their legal complaint to Shaq, but security didn’t allow them in the building.

On Sunday, the firm said it served legal papers to him outside his house, an encounter captured on video surveillance cameras.

“We made it very clear that he is not to destroy or erase any of these security tapes, because they must be preserved for our lawsuit,” the law firm tweeted.

Moskowitz said O’Neal was the only FTX celebrity endorser evading them and “all other FTX celebrities have agreed to receive their complaints.”

Shaq, Tom Brady, and Steph Curry were named as defendants in a class-action lawsuit [[link removed]] filed against FTX in Florida last November claiming U.S. consumers sustained over $1 billion in damages from the collapse.

A video [[link removed]] uploaded in June 2022 to FTX’s Twitter account introduced Shaq as the company’s newest partner. O’Neal helped promote FTX despite telling CNBC that he didn’t understand [[link removed]] cryptocurrency.

Shaq told [[link removed]] FOS in 2021 that he tried to avoid crypto partnerships.

Conversation Starters Dan Snyder’s pending sale of the Washington Commanders could fetch the highest price ever paid for a U.S. sports team, eclipsing last year’s $4.65 billion sale of the Denver Broncos. Check out the rankings [[link removed]]. The 2023 NCAA Gymnastics Championship was ESPN’s most-watched [[link removed]] gymnastics telecast ever, drawing 1.02 million viewers — up 10% from last year. Bills GM Brandon Beane says Damar Hamlin — who suffered cardiac arrest on the field during a game — has seen three specialists, all of whom cleared [[link removed]] the safety to resume full football activities. Sports orgs have reported losing access to Twitter LiveCut. Now is the perfect time to level up with WSC Sports, joining 300-plus global sports entities using it to create content automatically with AI. Learn more [[link removed]].*

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS SOCIAL

The Fastest Growing Sports Publisher on LinkedIn

Is your LinkedIn feed in need of some useful information? Wouldn’t you rather hear about the latest trends and storylines in sports instead of reading novels from corporate influencers?

Read all the best business of sports stories you see in our newsletter and the Front Office Sports site, plus, stay up to date on virtual events and conversations with leaders across the industry. Follow us on LinkedIn for refreshing takes on the business of sports.

Follow [[link removed]] and join the conversation.

What to Watch

The New York Knicks will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.

How to watch: 7:30 p.m. ET/TNT

Betting odds: Knicks +5.5 | ML Knicks +194 | O/U 214

Refer Friends, Win Merch

Ready to rep your favorite newsletter? Refer your friends and colleagues to Front Office Sports and you could win FOS merchandise.

It’s easy to spread the word. Copy and paste your unique link below and share it in an email or on your timeline.

Referral Count: 0

Copy your invite link: [link removed] [[link removed]]

Or share on social media: [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20the%20Front%20Office%20Sports%20daily%20newsletter!&body=This%20newsletter%20from%20Front%20Office%20Sports%20summarizes%20the%20four%20biggest%20stories%20in%20the%20sports%20business%20world%20every%20weekday...all%20in%20five%20minutes%20or%20less.+[link removed]] DISCLAIMER

*Sponsored Content

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Pro [[link removed]] Written by A.J. Perez [[link removed]], Doug Greenberg [[link removed]], Andrew Cohen [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]

Copyright © 2023 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

80 Pine Street Suite 3202 New York, NY 10005