The 2023 women’s World Cup is the most recent women’s sports property set to cash in big on its next media rights deal.

The tournament could be worth more than $300 million, according to The Wall Street Journal — which would make it the most expensive women’s tournament in the world.

The revelation came after FIFA — inspired by the 1.12 billion viewers for the 2019 edition across all platforms — began looking into the value of the women’s World Cup as a separate property from its men’s counterpart.

Previously, there were no available estimates for the package.

Similar Situation

The NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament has faced a similar conundrum to the women’s World Cup, as its current media rights deal packages it with 28 other NCAA sports. 

A media rights consultant estimated that the tournament could be worth between $81 million and $112 million annually in 2025, when the next deal rolls around. The current deal averages $34 million a year for all sports combined.

Since then, new NCAA President Charlie Baker previously told Front Office Sports the NCAA is conducting a market analysis, with the help of Endeavor, to determine the most lucrative way to sell the package. 

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told FOS he believes there should be a thorough exploration of selling the women’s tournament on its own.

FC Barcelona has the green light for its $1.6 billion Espai Barça project — highlighted by a massive renovation to its Camp Nou stadium.

The legendary Spanish club’s board of directors officially agreed to financing with 20 investors for the project — as well as confirmed reports from earlier this month that it will be able to repay all construction-related debts by 2047.

Barça plans to pay in installments at five, seven, nine, 20, and 24 years, a plan that will include a flexible structure and grace period. The club also confirmed it didn’t use any team assets as a guarantee or take out a mortgage on the stadium.

The club will use revenue generated from the renovated stadium and hosting games again to repay the debt — estimated by the team to be $271 million annually.

Barcelona has counted several notable financial institutions among its partners during the financing process, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, JLL, Pérez-Llorca, DLA Piper, Key Capital Partners, Legends, and IPG 360.

In addition to the Camp Nou revamp, Espai Barça will build up the team’s facilities and surrounding infrastructure in the Les Corts neighborhood of Barcelona.

The construction on Camp Nou has been a long time coming, as the stadium’s poor condition has reportedly incurred fines for failing to meet European competition standards.

The Atlanta Hawks’ owner is looking forward to bringing some new neighbors to his team.

Ares Management co-founder Tony Ressler is going forward with a development near his team’s State Farm Arena and Mercedes Benz Stadium, home to the Atlanta Falcons and MLS club Atlanta United.

The project at the 50-acre Centennial Yards site will include housing (20% of which will be affordable housing), office space, retail, and parks. Ressler brushed off concerns related to inflation and interest rates regarding the project.

Ressler’s group — which includes NBA Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal and Grant Hill as well as civil rights leader Andrew Young — owns around 35% of the project, while the real estate company CIM Group owns the rest.

“Supporting small businesses, and of minorities in particular, is good for the economy and good business,” Ressler told Bloomberg. The project has committed to 38% minority contractor participation.

The $5 billion project is receiving around $2 billion in tax incentives, and city and state taxes collected at the site will go to its developers for a 30-year period. The group will also pay reduced property taxes for 20 years.

Atlanta’s status as one of 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup adds urgency to complete the project, Ressler added. That tournament’s games will be played at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

Ressler, who bought the Hawks in 2015 for $730 million, is worth an estimated $7.2 billion. His Ares Management has raised $3.7 billion for sports-related investments and has offered to buy a minority stake in Manchester United.

The acquisition of superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers is turning the New York Jets into prime-time darlings.

The four-time NFL MVP makes the Jets instant Super Bowl contenders — and the league’s TV partners are scrambling to add Gang Green to their fall schedules.  

The Jets could be featured in six prime-time games, according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. The 7-10 Jets played in only one nationally televised game in prime time last season, a Thursday night loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

CBS Sports should be the main beneficiary of the 39-year-old’s move from the NFC to the AFC, as it has the latter’s rights package. 

Still, the NFL is likely to give at least one Jets game window to each of its TV partners, which include CBS and Fox Sports (Sunday afternoons), NBC Sports (“Sunday Night Football”), ESPN (“Monday Night Football”), and Amazon Prime Video (“Thursday Night Football”). 

On Sundays, Rodgers’ Jets should be heavily featured in CBS’ and Fox’s late-afternoon game windows, which draw the highest weekly audiences. And with both NBC and ESPN able to employ “flex scheduling” this season, several Sunday afternoon Jets games could be moved to prime time to reach a national audience.

“The conversations are ongoing,” said one source.