August 3, 2023

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“When is Netflix getting into live sports?” For years, this has been on a short list of the most pressing questions in the sports business. With 238 million-plus global subscribers and more than $8 billion in cash on hand, no other streaming platform has as much singular reach to reshape the market. Senior reporter A.J. Perez provides [[link removed]] an important look at how Netflix is scouting its entry into live sports.

Meanwhile, Adidas reports a massive lift from its Yeezy closeout sales, Tom Brady’s sports portfolio expands across the pond, and college football continues to divide into hunters and prey.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Tom Brady Adds Yet Another Team To Portfolio With English Soccer Club [[link removed]]

Birmingham City

Tom Brady gifted himself another addition to his expanding pro sports ownership portfolio on Thursday, the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s 46th birthday.

English soccer club Birmingham City FC announced that Brady has purchased a minority stake in the team and will serve as chairman of a new advisory board.

Last season, Birmingham finished 17th in the second-tier EFL Championship, where it has played since 2011 after being relegated from the Premier League. Brady will be involved in most areas of the club, from sports science to marketing and sponsorship.

Brady’s sports ownership portfolio now includes:

NFL: Las Vegas Raiders (minority stake [[link removed]]) WNBA: Las Vegas Aces ( minority stake [[link removed]]) EFL: Birmingham City FC Major League Pickleball: Las Vegas Night Owls ( ownership group [[link removed]]) E1 Series: Electric boat racing ( team ownership [[link removed]])

Perhaps the move shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given Brady’s association with Birmingham’s ownership group, Knighthead Capital Management. The MLP team Brady is a part of is owned by a Knighthead-led group, and the private equity company is a major investor in Hertz, one of his biggest commercial partners.

It’s not the first time Brady has parlayed one investment into another. Earlier this year, Brady’s investment in the Aces quickly led to an ownership stake in the Raiders, both teams owned by Mark Davis.

Looking ahead, the E1 Series that Brady invested in was co-founded by Alejandro Agag, who also founded two other electric racing series in Formula E, an F1-style circuit, and Extreme E, an off-road series. If Brady’s past investment trends are indicative of his strategy, the future Hall of Famer could be looking to cash in on more electric racing properties in the near future.

EXCLUSIVE

Netflix, Premier Lacrosse League Had Sales Talks

Netflix had talks last year to acquire the Premier Lacrosse League, sources told FOS. While that deal — along with sales talks with the World Surf League — didn’t materialize, it shows that the streaming giant’s interest in live sports content, as Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos recently said, “remains unchanged.”

Read more about this in-depth report [[link removed]] by FOS senior reporter A.J. Perez.

The Pac-12’s Future Could Be Decided This Week [[link removed]]

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The future of college football amid conference realignment remains a hot topic — not least in the Pac-12, where the remaining nine schools are currently weighing media rights options and pondering whether to jump ship to a rival league.

On Thursday night, the Arizona Board of Regents will meet for a second time this week to potentially discuss the University of Arizona and Arizona State moving to the Big 12. A meeting agenda includes a section “discussion regarding university athletics.”

An industry source recently told [[link removed]] Front Office Sports that Apple’s reported proposal for Pac-12 media rights is still “going to be tough on reach and distribution priorities.” Beginning in 2025, the Big 12 will be bringing in at least $380 million annually from ESPN and Fox.

Big 12 Not The Only Hunter

Also meeting Thursday night is the University of Washington Board of Regents. The Huskies are targets of the Big Ten, which is back [[link removed]] in the conference expansion game and also looking at Washington’s southern neighbors, the University of Oregon.

Meanwhile, Florida State president Richard McCullough made an intriguing comment [[link removed]] on Wednesday: “I believe FSU will have to at some point consider very seriously leaving the ACC unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution.”

The ACC’s long-term deal with ESPN — about $240 million annually — will put it fourth behind the Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 once it kicks in. “I’m not that optimistic that we’ll be able to stay,” McCullough added.

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Adidas’ Bottom Line Gains Big Boost From Yeezy Sales [[link removed]]

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

As predicted, the early returns from the ongoing sale of Adidas’ discontinued Yeezy inventory have already provided a massive boost for the company.

After prior reports [[link removed]] that Adidas received more than $565 million worth of orders for Yeezy shoes, Thursday’s quarterly earnings report showed the brand generated $437 million in revenue from that stock. The Yeezy sales helped lift a second quarter with flat revenues of $5.8 billion on a currency-neutral basis and an operating profit of $192 million.

“The sale of the first part of Yeezy inventory did, of course, help both our top and bottom line in the quarter,” said Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden. “We will continue to carefully sell off more of the existing Yeezy inventory. This is much better than destroying and writing off the inventory.”

Adidas cut [[link removed]] ties last year with Ye, formerly known with Kanye West, due to his antisemitic comments.

The bullish financial results also follow a first quarter that beat [[link removed]] analyst expectations and the brand’s recent record-setting kit deal [[link removed]] with Manchester United.

Kraft’s Influential Role

Adidas plans to donate at least $120 million of the proceeds from the Yeezy shoes — and perhaps more — to anti-hate advocacy groups. One of those is the Foundation To Combat Anti-Semitism, led by New England Patriots and Revolution owner Robert Kraft.

Kraft reportedly [[link removed]] has been directly involved with Gulden in developing the closeout sale plan, and Yeezy shoes sold in North America will now include a blue square pin created by Kraft’s foundation as a symbol of solidarity in fighting antisemitism and hate.

Conversation Starters Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel is opening [[link removed]] his own bar and nightclub in College Station this fall: Johnny Manziel’s Money Bar. Michigan State gave players a first look [[link removed]] at their new locker room — the first stage of the $78 million Tom Izzo Football Building. MSU alum and Suns billionaire owner Mat Ishbia pledged [[link removed]] $32 million toward the new facilities. He requested it be named after Izzo — the Hall of Fame basketball coach he played under.

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Editor's Picks Fox Sports And Fox News Have Split Narratives On Women’s World Cup [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp. is telling two stories about Women's World Cup. Can Lionel Messi Pressure MLS Clubs to Abandon Artificial Turf? [[link removed]]by Andrew Cohen [[link removed]]Midfielder Alejandro Bedoya says MLS, NFL players would "love" switching to grass. Nike Leans Into In-Person Fitness As Lululemon Cuts Back [[link removed]]by Andrew Cohen [[link removed]]With fitness classes already on Netflix, Nike now plans in-person studios. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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