May 3, 2023

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Game 7 of the NBA first-round playoff series between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings — which featured an epic 50-point game from Steph Curry — was the league’s most-watched [[link removed]] first-round game in 24 years. ABC’s telecast averaged 9.8 million viewers and peaked at 11.9 million — the network’s biggest non-Finals audience ever.

Big 12 Plans To Establish Long-Term Presence In Mexico [[link removed]]

BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN

In October, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark told [[link removed]] Front Office Sports he was hoping to take the conference “international.” Now, a plan is beginning to materialize.

The Big 12 is working on staging basketball and football games in Mexico, a conference source confirmed to FOS.

The Houston Chronicle, which first reported [[link removed](Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral] the news, noted games could begin as early as this upcoming season and be held at Mexico City’s Arena CDMX for basketball and Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA for football. Yormark reportedly visited Mexico recently.

The plan is all part of the Big 12’s intention to establish a long-term presence in Mexico with games over multiple years, the source told FOS. The conference also plans to celebrate the local culture via everything from digital marketing strategies to enlisting well-known local performers.

“Mexico is a natural extension for the Big 12,” the source said. “The commissioner has seen the success the NBA, NFL, and professional leagues have had building their brands in Mexico and plans to replicate that.”

The conference will have a future lineup of at least four Texas schools near the Mexican border, including TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor, and incoming Houston — and Yormark’s stated intention to expand to the West Coast could bring another if a Southern California school makes the cut.

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🎙️ They Said What?

“I saw the sporting culture here [in the U.S.] and there are all these multibillion dollar sports properties … so I thought, I’m going to start Asia’s first global sports property — and I’m gonna do it off of Asia’s greatest cultural treasure, which is martial arts.”

— Chatri Sityodtong, CEO of ONE Championship, on how he came up with the idea to create the Asia-based martial arts league during the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

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

Highest-Paid Athletes List Loaded With Middle Eastern Money [[link removed]]

Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

Five Americans are among the world’s highest-paid athletes — but the Middle East has opened its purse strings to become a stronger player in the sports arena.

When LIV Golf hit the scene in 2022, the new league dished out guaranteed money to PGA Tour members, placing several in Forbes’ world top-10 world’s wealthiest [[link removed]] athletes.

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund bankrolled [[link removed]] the upstart LIV Golf tour, throwing tens of millions at stars like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.

“Forbes estimates that Mickelson received a guarantee of $200 million to sign with the tour, and Johnson $125 million, half of which they are believed to have received upfront,” noted the magazine.

The Saudis and Qatar also pay the mega-salaries of the top three athletes on this list (in order): Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappé.

While the above three are all international soccer players, three NBA superstars (LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant) and two LIV golfers (Johnson and Mickelson) feature in the top 10.

With Middle Eastern money flowing into golf and soccer, the world’s top athletes are making more money on and off the field than ever.

According to Forbes, the top 10 highest-paid athletes collected a record $1.11 billion before taxes and agent’s fees over the past 12 months — up 12% from $990 million last year and a 5% increase over the previous record of $1.06 billion set in 2018.

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Drafting Success

NFL Draft night – one of the biggest nights in football. A night that determines the fate of teams, families, and players alike.

You see the bright lights, big names, and boundless pressure. But what you don’t see is the behind-the-scenes partnerships that help make it all possible.

As an Official Technology and Cybersecurity Partner of the NFL, Cisco [[link removed]] ensures the league is always connected and protected – especially on Draft night.

From securing split-second Draft choices to powering the Countdown Clock, Cisco technology plays an integral role in everyone’s Draft experience.

Read the full story here [[link removed]].

Wrexham’s First U.S. Game Has Already Sold Out [[link removed]]

Wrexham AFC

Wrexham Fever is coming to the U.S. with a whole lot of momentum.

Last Thursday, tickets to Wrexham AFC’s July 19 match against Chelsea FC at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan Stadium went on sale. By midday on Monday, the game was completely sold out.

“It’s no surprise that the pairing of global football and one of American college football’s great venues is a hot ticket,” said Steve Hogan, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports, which is organizing the match with Unified Events. “This a must-see match on the summer soccer calendar in America.”

UNC is just the first stop on Wrexham’s first American tour: The Red Dragons will play MLS reserve team LA Galaxy II in Los Angeles on July 22, followed by Manchester United in San Diego on July 25.

It’s all part of a huge coming-out party for the small Welsh side, which was purchased by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in February 2021 for a reported $2.5 million.

The club has gained additional media exposure through FX’s docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham,” which Reynolds and McElhenney created to document their ownership of the team.

In April, Wrexham secured [[link removed]] promotion to EFL League Two by clinching the National League title with a 3-1 win over Boreham Wood. On Tuesday, the team paraded [[link removed]] through the streets of Wrexham with the championship trophy — amid plans [[link removed]] to take the celebration to Las Vegas soon after.

Ohio Halts All Betting on Alabama Baseball After Suspicious Activity [[link removed]]

Courtesy of BetMGM

Ohio sportsbooks have paused betting on the University of Alabama baseball games following reports of dubious sportsbook activity at the Cincinnati Reds ballpark.

Las Vegas-based bet monitoring firm U.S. Integrity recognized [[link removed]] suspicious wagering activity on Friday’s Alabama-LSU game at Great American Ball Park via the BetMGM sportsbook. Alabama lost 8-6.

On Monday, the Ohio Casino Control Commission instructed licensed sportsbooks in the state to halt accepting any wagers involving the Crimson Tide.

FanDuel reportedly decided to not only pull all Alabama baseball wagers in Ohio, but remove Crimson Tide bet offerings in all states within its sportsbook.

Ohio has had a rocky start to legalizing sports betting as the state’s casino commission also accused BetMGM, Caesars, and DraftKings in January of advertising violations [[link removed]].

The American Gaming Association announced new guidelines in March that asked sportsbooks to no longer sign [[link removed]] marketing deals with universities, but BetMGM struck a multiyear deal with the Reds in October 2022 to open a sportsbook at its ballpark.

Other MLB teams with stadium sportsbooks include the Washington Nationals [[link removed]] (BetMGM) and Arizona Diamondbacks (Caesars), while the Chicago Cubs plan to open a DraftKings sportsbook at Wrigley Field later this year.

Conversation Starters In partnership with ZIYNX and Pepsi, Front Office Sports introduces Difference Makers [[link removed]] — a series highlighting how four amazing student-athletes are using their life lessons and skills honed through sport to be equally successful on the corporate field.* Playfly Sports and BMW partner with LA Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler, Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton, Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr., and Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies on a new star-studded MLB campaign [[link removed]].* Newcastle United has reached a $31 million-per-year front-of-shirt sponsorship deal [[link removed]] with a company from the Middle East, according to The Times — but not from from Saudi Arabia, whose Public Investment Fund purchased Newcastle United for around $400 million in 2021. Warner Bros. Discovery Sports says its first-round NHL playoff broadcasts [[link removed]] on TNT and TBS reached an average of 959,000 viewers, making it the most-watched first round of the NHL playoffs ever on cable. Viewership for NHL first-round games on TNT and TBS was up 18% year-over-year. In November, the Washington Commanders announced [[link removed]] that owner Dan Snyder planned to sell the franchise. In the following week, the team sold the number of suites they typically sell in an entire year, president Jason Wright says.

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How Top Brands are Leveraging NIL in 2023

Brand NIL investment is up 300% in 2023. Thousands of advertisers are adding college athletes to their activations, and top companies are leading the charge – 29 of the top 50 Fortune 500s currently use Opendorse [[link removed]] to manage NIL deals.

This report [[link removed]] offers insights from leading advertisers, shares input from college athletes, and breaks down deal data to deliver the report brands and agencies need to win with NIL.

You’ll learn:

Who earns the most dollars per deal? What brands are spending big? Where are deals often activated? When does sponsor spending spike? Why are athletes effective influencers?

Download [[link removed]] your free NIL report for brands and advertisers today.

Question Of The Day

How many audiobooks have you listened to in the past 12 months?

0 [[link removed]] 1-4 [[link removed]] 5+ [[link removed]]

Tuesday’s Answer

49% of respondents typically watch the US Open tennis tournament.

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Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Pro [[link removed]] Written by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]], Michael McCarthy [[link removed]], Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Andrew Cohen [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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