July 24, 2023

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After a dramatic sports weekend, Formula 1 is looking to milk every last possible economic opportunity from the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix, fans provide Adidas an unexpected economic lifeline — and a potential record-shattering deal creates new concerns in global soccer.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Mbappé’s Potential Record $1B Deal Threatens Soccer’s Economic Balance [[link removed]]

Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

The potential record-setting transfer of French soccer star Kylian Mbappé threatens an already delicate financial balance in world soccer.

Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal is preparing [[link removed]] a $1.1 billion offer to sign Mbappé from Paris Saint-Germain, including a $332 million fee to PSG and a one-year, $776 million salary — a deal that would double as a way for Mbappé to then join Real Madrid after the 2023-24 season, as is his reported intention.

Both numbers would shatter prior records in global soccer, beating the $262 million transfer fee PSG paid in 2017 for Brazilian star Neymar and also the annual $214 million Cristiano Ronaldo earns [[link removed]] from Saudi team Al Nassr, including commercial deals.

Mbappé’s deal — which involves two oil-rich nations, given PSG’s Qatari-based ownership — could further erode the economic parity FIFA has sought to promote and enforce via its Financial Fair Play rules.

Allan Saint-Maximin’s proposed move from Saudi-backed Newcastle United to Saudi team Al Ahli has already raised [[link removed]] concerns, and given pushback [[link removed]] from fans about ticket pricing, Mbappé’s situation applies additional economic pressure.

In Perspective

In comparison [[link removed]] with other lifetime earnings and franchise valuations, the numbers behind Mbappé’s potential contract are even more eye-popping.

$531M: LeBron James’ all-time NBA earnings $494M: Patrick Mahomes’ deal through 2031 $450M: The value of the Arizona Coyotes $367M: The New York Mets’ entire payroll $332M: Tom Brady’s all-time NFL earnings $225M: The 2023 NFL Salary Cap $185M: The value of the Seattle Storm $157M: Tiger Woods’ career PGA earnings

“I think if you have enough money, you can get away with anything, including murder, and try to sign up all the top players in the world,” said [[link removed]] Tony Khan, vice chair of the Premier League’s Fulham FC and Jacksonville Jaguars chief strategy officer, last week on “The Dan Le Batard Show.”

F1 Cashing In Every Way Possible On Las Vegas GP [[link removed]]

Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

Formula 1 knows how to make a dollar — and the circuit is squeezing every last cent out of its upcoming grand prix debut in Las Vegas this November.

Bars and restaurants adjacent to the 3.8-mile track, which will blaze through the famous Las Vegas strip, will be charged potentially millions of dollars to keep their venue’s view of the race unobstructed, according [[link removed]] to the New York Post.

Venues in prime viewing locations will be charged a fee by F1 calculated by multiplying their maximum capacity by $1,500. The move is standard practice for F1 in major cities elsewhere on its schedule, like Monaco’s famous Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, the ultra-luxurious event is somehow becoming more expensive for everyone involved.

Founding partners of the Vegas GP are offering hotel and casino packages [[link removed]] for well over $1 million. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will spend $19.5 million to sponsor [[link removed]] the race for three years.

This is all leading to what F1 parent company Liberty Media is expecting to be huge returns, despite already spending $500 million to build out infrastructure for the mega-event.

“​We’re going to have a high-revenue stream, we’re going to have a high-cost stream,” Liberty CEO Greg Maffei said [[link removed]].

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So come to Wendy’s and fall in love with our BOGO $1 deal [[link removed]].

Yeezy Buyers Bail Out Adidas By Snapping Up Leftover Inventory [[link removed]]

Shutterstock

Sports footwear and apparel giant Adidas has received some welcome economic news after cutting [[link removed]] ties last year with Ye, formerly known with Kanye West, due to his antisemitic comments.

The company has reportedly [[link removed]] received more than $565 million worth of orders for its outstanding Yeezy shoe inventory during an initial online sale — greater than its most optimistic forecasts — which could help avoid a costly write-down on its remaining stock.

Adidas said [[link removed]] in May it would sell its unsold Yeezy merchandise and donate a “significant amount” of the proceeds to charities fighting racism and antisemitism. By early June, initial orders amounted to more than 4 million pairs of shoes.

The robust sales allowed Adidas to tell [[link removed]] investors on Monday that the potential writeoff of remaining Yeezy inventory is now about $443 million, down from an estimated $554 million.

“Potential future Yeezy drops would further improve the company’s results,” Adidas said.

The Yeezy sales news was part of Monday’s reported preliminary second-quarter results. Adidas posted revenue of $5.92 billion, flat in currency-neutral terms, and an operating profit of $195 million, down 55% from the same period a year ago.

The company said both top- and bottom-line results were “positively impacted” by the initial Yeezy sales, with the projected quarterly loss now at $499 million instead of the prior $775 million. Adidas has also raised its full-year revenue guidance for 2023.

Adidas will release full quarterly results Aug. 3 — and will hope to follow a first quarter that beat [[link removed]] analyst expectations.

Conversation Starters This week, Ole Miss football will unveil [[link removed]] its newly-upgraded Manning Center — which has undergone $45.7 million in renovations. Sold-out international soccer matches [[link removed]] across the U.S. this past week include Wrexham-Chelsea at UNC (attendance 51,000) Arsenal-Manchester United at MetLife Stadium (82,000) and AC Milan-Real Madrid at the Rose Bowl (100,000). Brian Harman wanted to play baseball growing up, but his dad convinced him to play golf instead, considering his 5’7” stature. Since then, he’s earned $29 million in winnings — and just won his first major [[link removed]] at age 36.

SPONSORED BY PWCC

Ohtani’s Global Rookie Roster

Although yet to play in the postseason, the phenomenal Shohei Ohtani [[link removed]] is already in elite card company.

Over the past three years, the hitting hurler accounts for 2.6% of total secondary market baseball card sales volume. That’s ninth most. Outside of teammate Mike Trout, those ahead of Ohtani are all vintage icons of the game, including Mantle, Ruth, Robinson, and Mays.

When it comes to collecting and investing, rookies are often the most popular issues to target.

But the definition of a rookie can be murky. With his career arc not as straightforward as most Major Leaguers’, there’s a bit of discussion around what counts as Ohtani’s true RC [[link removed]].

With the Angels vying for the playoffs, now could be the time to explore Ohtani collectibles [[link removed]].

Editor's Picks ESPN’s College GameDay Reveals New Crew Following Disney Layoffs [[link removed]]by Andrew Cohen [[link removed]]

The show lost two longtime faces amid widespread layoffs at ESPN.

Packers See Venture, Investing as Way to Diversify Beyond Core Business [[link removed]]by Andrew Cohen [[link removed]]

TitletownTech's total capital has now reached $95 million.

New NFLPA Head’s Former Firm Pays $377 Million Settlement to U.S. Government [[link removed]]by Andrew Cohen [[link removed]]

Booz Allen reached “one of the largest procurement fraud settlements in history.”

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