Victor Wembanyama is headed to the Alamo. The San Antonio Spurs won Tuesday night’s NBA Draft lottery and the right to select the French sensation in next month’s draft.

Spurs Managing Partner Peter J. Holt, who represented the team on stage at the lottery reveal, shouted with joy when the results were announced. “I might faint, I’m so excited,” said Holt, whose team had a 14% chance of winning the lottery.

Wembanyama, who was watching with family and friends in France at 2:30 a.m. local time, made it clear he was ready to get to his new home. “I’m trying to win a ring ASAP,” the teenager told ESPN.

While the fans in San Antonio deservedly celebrate, Wembanyama won’t officially join the Spurs until the NBA Draft takes place on June 22. Wembanyama will finish out his time with the Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92, which are headed to the LNB Pro A playoffs after finishing second in the French league’s regular season.

FOS senior writer Owen Poindexter explained the massive hype surrounding Wembanyama on Tuesday’s Front Office Sports Today podcast.

Ticket Bounce

The Spurs will no doubt start utilizing the prospect of Wembanyama to energize their fan base and boost morale for next season. San Antonio ranked 25th in NBA attendance this past season with an average of just under 17,000 fans at the AT&T Center, about 92% of the arena’s capacity.

Keep an eye on Spurs’ season ticket sales numbers in the aftermath of the lottery win, and don’t be surprised to see new corporate partners come on board to join the Wemby hype train.

The second-wealthiest soccer club in the world is taking a rare financial loss thanks to a botched sponsorship contract.

Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid has reportedly lost a claim for $440 million in the Court of International Trade in Paris for the breaking of a sponsorship agreement with the International Petroleum Investment Company in 2017.

In 2014, the La Liga legends brought on IPIC — now controlled by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company — to be the naming rights partner for the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, which was set for major renovations. Those upgrades didn’t go as planned, and IPIC eventually pulled out of the pact.

Real Madrid started a court battle in 2018 to recoup what it said was owed in sponsorship money, but have now been denied.

While the court battle has dragged on in recent years, Real Madrid found new financial partners in the Sixth Street investment group and entertainment experiences company Legends. Ongoing renovations at the Bernabeu could be completed by the end of this year.

Last year, Real Madrid reported a financial profit for the third straight year as it has continued to emerge from the pandemic.

If the Professional Football League — French pro soccer’s governing body — has its way, it will nearly triple its annual revenue from its top flight’s international media rights.

The LFP is reportedly seeking $218 million per year for its next cycle of Ligue 1 international broadcast rights — a significant jump from the $76.3 million it gets from BeIN in a deal that expires after the 2023-24 season.

The French soccer organization and the Qatari media group first began their partnership in 2011.

LFP president Vincent Labrune emphasized the importance of quality performance in international club competitions as being a driver of media revenue: “French clubs and their investors will quickly understand that being successful in the Champions League can provide resources greater than those of national rights.”

The French federation is following the lead of Italy’s Serie A, which in October claimed to be looking to triple media rights revenue by 2030.

Serie A’s current deal is for $658 million between 2021 and 2024 — a distant shout from the $6.55 billion England’s Premier League is bringing in from international media rights between 2022 and 2025.

Ligue 1 could draw in more American eyes in the near future: Reims striker Folarin Balogun announced Tuesday that he would be changing his national team allegiance from England to the United States. Balogun currently ranks fifth in Ligue 1 with 19 goals.

Earlier this week, the French government announced that it has rescinded its decision to host the 2025 Rugby League World Cup.

The country cited financial reasons for the decision, saying it couldn’t guarantee it would make money by hosting the event. 

France won a bid for the 2025 tournament in January 2022 and has spent the last year-and-a-half preparing. Officials needed an extra three months to determine ways to make the event financially viable, but ultimately couldn’t.

“I respect the French government’s decision amid the challenges they are facing, but I can’t hide my disappointment — that I conveyed clearly to them in person,” International Rugby League chair Troy Grant said in a statement.

The nation is currently embroiled in major political turmoil, as massive demonstrations have broken out across the country against the raising of the country’s retirement age and to voice general displeasure with president Emmanuel Macron.

Future Bidders

Australia and New Zealand have both expressed interest in the difficult task of staging the 2025 Rugby League World Cup — but they’ll have about 18 months fewer to prepare than they normally would.

The countries did co-host the 2017 World Cup — and given the existing popularity of rugby in the two countries, the turnaround could be possible.