May 15, 2023

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Among the many revelations from the NFL’s schedule release last week: For the second consecutive season, the Seattle Seahawks will travel the most of any team, logging 30,000 miles. Check out their trajectory [[link removed]]. ✈️

Fanatics Agrees to Pay $150M to Acquire PointsBet’s U.S. Assets [[link removed]]

PointsBet Fanatics

Fanatics’ aim to launch sports betting in a dozen states by the start of the NFL regular season got a boost Sunday night.

Fanatics is paying $150 million cash to acquire PointsBet’s U.S. operations, the companies announced in a joint statement. The move — which will require approvals by PointsBet shareholders at the end of June and by regulators — will eventually give Fanatics a dozen states where it doesn’t operate now.

“While there are still several steps in the process to complete the acquisition, both parties are confident in the outcome,” PointsBet and Fanatics said.

PointsBet will retain its Australian and Canadian operations. The company hired [[link removed]] an investment firm last month to explore a sale of the assets Fanatics agreed to acquire.

Fanatics Betting and Gaming’s app is currently in a wide beta in Tennessee and Ohio. It is expected to roll out mobile gaming in Maryland — where it launched the first sportsbook inside an NFL stadium at the Commanders’ FedEx Field [[link removed]] earlier this year — and Massachusetts in the coming weeks.

Fanatics, a private company valued at $31 billion, won’t just take over PointsBet’s states. Still, the sports merchandise manufacturer and retailing giant also gets risk management and trading software in the deal.

Once the transaction becomes final, it’s expected that Fanatics will integrate that tech — including code from PointsBet’s 2021 acquisition of Banach Technology [[link removed]] — into its betting app. Until then, the PointsBet app will remain operational.

PointsBet’s commercial commitments with NBCUniversal will be transferred to Fanatics as part of the deal, according to the joint statement.

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🎙️ They Said What?

“You look at Deion Sanders and you immediately think Prime Time — the guy who played football and baseball on the same day, the guy who high-stepped his way into the end zone. … If Colorado wants to be unique, that’s the way to do it. If they want visibility, that’s the way to do it.”

— Barrett Sallee, CBS Sports college football writer, on what drove the University of Colorado to hire former NFL star Deion Sanders. For more on Sanders and the impact he’s having on the college football landscape, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today.

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

Magic Meets Maryland Governor as Commanders Seek New Home [[link removed]]

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Days before the finalization [[link removed]] of Josh Harris’ $6.05 billion agreement to purchase the Washington Commanders, the biggest name in the ownership group was already wooing lawmakers.

Magic Johnson met with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore within the last month, a source told Front Office Sports. While it’s unclear what the two discussed, the meeting comes as lawmakers in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. gird for a potential three-way battle to land the next Commanders stadium.

“The Commanders have called Prince George’s County home for 25 years, and Gov. Wes Moore is committed to continuing this long-standing partnership,” Carter Elliott, Moore’s press secretary, wrote on Twitter [[link removed]].

Harris is expected to get Fed Ex Field and the 200 acres where that outdated stadium sits in Landover, Maryland after NFL owners vote to approve the deal sometime this summer. The Commanders’ lease at FedEx Field expires in 2027 but could be renewed.

Lawmakers in Virginia are seeking safeguards [[link removed]] for taxpayers before a special session expected to be called next month, where a new stadium bill could be offered. With investigations swirling around Snyder and the team, Virginia legislators shelved [[link removed]] stadium legislation a year ago.

Then there’s the RFK site in D.C., which the team once called home. But the land is controlled by the National Park Service and likely would require Congress to transfer the land to the District.

Mayor Muriel Bowser is on board, [[link removed]] although other city leaders and those who live around the site are expected to mount an opposition — if D.C. ever gets control of the land.

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Published by Sports Innovation Lab and Jung von Matt SPORTS, the report [[link removed]] shares insights on how US soccer fans are unique. It’s the world’s first comprehensive study of US-based soccer fans that emphasizes the necessity of an authentic and fan-centric approach to unlock the huge commercial potential for brands and other stakeholders on the road to the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

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A’s Allow Exclusive Negotiating Window in Oakland to Expire [[link removed]]

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

While the A’s approach a crucial juncture in their quest for a Las Vegas ballpark, the city of Oakland is now free to negotiate with other entities on the site where the team initially planned to build.

The A’s exclusive negotiating window on Howard Terminal expired on Friday night, allowing the city to explore other options. Oakland has secured at least $375 million in grants toward infrastructure around the site and has removed Howard Terminal’s designation as being exclusively for port use.

The A’s had planned a new stadium and surrounding neighborhood there, which would’ve included housing, retail, restaurants, and park space.

A’s fans used the public meeting on the expiration of the negotiating window to urge the city to reengage the A’s, showing the team that a stadium could be constructed quickly.

The expiration doesn’t eliminate the possibility of the city striking a deal with the A’s, though at the moment the team’s efforts are focused on Las Vegas.

Nevada legislators are expected to consider a bill providing state assistance to the team, but the A’s haven’t yet committed to a location for a Las Vegas-based stadium, with both the Bally’s-run Tropicana site and a 49-acre area owned by Red Rock Casino both in play.

Nevada’s legislative session ends on June 5. It is unclear whether the governor would call a special session to continue talks if a stadium bill fails to pass before then.

A-Rod Reportedly Seeks Massive Sports-Focused Buyout Fund [[link removed]]

Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Rodriguez is reportedly looking to launch a buyout fund to invest in sports teams.

The New York Post reports [[link removed]] that its source says, “A-Rod is gunning for a war chest in ‘the billions.’”

A representative from A-Rod Corp declined to comment when contacted by Front Office Sports.

The former MLB star is looking to purchase minority stakes in franchises across the NFL, MLB, and NHL. Rodriguez, who already co-owns the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, might also consider soccer and cricket franchises overseas.

Marc Lore, who invested $250 million with A-Rod for a 20% stake in the Timberwolves in July 2021, is reportedly not a part of Rodriguez’s plans for the buyout fund. A-Rod and Lore increased their stake [[link removed]] in the Timberwolves to 40% in March with plans to make another payment that would increase their stake to 60% over the next year.

A-Rod’s potential fund would jockey with an array of private equity firms that have committed to buying shares in major sports teams — including Arctos Sports Partners, RedBird Capital, Ares Management, Sixth Street, and Dyal Capital.

In 2020, Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez led an investment group seeking to buy the New York Mets prior to Steve Cohen’s $2.4 billion purchase of the team.

“The truth is we tried to make a run at the Mets, and we had a hell of a run. We came second to Steve Cohen, who’s doing an incredible job,” Rodriguez recently told [[link removed]] Bloomberg.

The ex-slugger’s A-Rod Corp has invested more than $5 billion in real estate assets. The firm also manages a SPAC called Slam Corp [[link removed]] that attempted to merge with Panini to take the collectibles company public in 2021, but those plans never materialized.

Weekend's Best XFL, USFL Surviving in NFL’s Shadow [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]XFL and USFL could have some staying power with new business model. With Layoffs Looming, ESPN Staffers ‘Looking Over Their Shoulders’ [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Staffers brace for another round of layoffs. Sports Betting Has Reached a Tipping Point [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]PASPA was invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 14, 2018.

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