October 2, 2023

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Boulder may be the Hollywood of college football — but Taylor Swift at an NFL game [[link removed]] brings rival, if not greater, star power. Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Hugh Jackman would normally get plenty of recognition during a “Sunday Night Football” contest. Last night [[link removed]], they were merely part of Swift’s entourage at MetLife Stadium.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Apple Reportedly Making Push For Global Formula 1 Rights [[link removed]]

Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

After seeing unprecedented success [[link removed]] in the first season of its 10-year, $2.5 billion media rights deal with MLS, Apple appears to be setting its sights on a more considerable asset.

The tech giant is reportedly showing strong interest in acquiring the worldwide media rights to Formula 1 races, according to BusinessF1 Magazine [[link removed]]. Apple may be willing to pay $2 billion annually, which would double what the circuit brings in.

F1 has a long list of broadcast partners that vary by country — from ESPN [[link removed]] in the U.S. to Sky Sports in the U.K. to Fox Sports in Australia and Mexico. Some contracts run for at least five more years.

Per the report, Apple could start acquiring rights and pay a pro-rated fee until it attained 100% exclusivity. It is unclear when Apple could make an official bid.

World Views

Should the F1 deal come to fruition, it would align with Apple’s stated sports strategy of going all-out for a property or staying away altogether.

“We’re a global company,” Apple senior vice president of services Eddy Cue said [[link removed]] earlier this year. “We have customers in every country in the world … and it’s not exciting for me to have something that you can have but you can’t have.”

Apple tried [[link removed]] to acquire the Pac-12’s exclusive media rights this summer before the conference broke apart. Apple was also a finalist [[link removed]] in the bidding for NFL Sunday Ticket before negotiations with the NFL fell apart, and the package ended up with Google’s YouTube.

PODCAST

🎙️ They Said What?

“The Colorado sidelines have turned into a place to be seen, like the Kentucky Derby or Monaco Grand Prix … It’s like these [celebrities] want to be there just so the camera can get a glimpse of them.”

— Newsletter co-author David Rumsey on what the atmosphere is like at Colorado football games. To hear more from Rumsey on the scene in Boulder, check out the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today

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

Colorado Football’s $14M Ticket Revenue Surge Amid Revival [[link removed]]

Syndication: The Coloradoan

BOULDER, Colorado — Colorado suffered a second straight loss to a Pac-12 opponent, falling 48-41 to USC on Saturday — but five games into the Coach Prime era, the football program has already achieved monumental financial success.

Ticket revenue for football games is up $14 million from last season, the school tells Front Office Sports — that’s about half the cost of Deion Sanders’ five-year, $29.5 million contract that Colorado athletic director Rick George said [[link removed]] they didn’t have the money for at the time of his signing last December.

In April, the Buffaloes sold out of season tickets for the first time since 1996, and after their 3-0 start, tickets for the entire season sold out for the first time.

Single-game ticket revenue is up threefold this season, thanks partly to Colorado’s strategic dynamic pricing techniques since 2016. But, the athletic department carefully kept things in perspective while capitalizing on the demand.

“We made decisions to stop at some points,” Colorado senior associate athletic director for external operations Alexis Williams told FOS. “We didn’t want to totally out-price, for instance, what fans were paying for tickets on the secondary market.” So far, get-in prices for several of Colorado’s games have reached hundreds of dollars.

Bigger Is Better

Colorado created a rooftop lounge area this season to add more ticket options at the 53,000-seat Folsom Field. The space has limited field views but still drew strong interest from fans looking to be in the building for a game.

Colorado sold close to 20,000 season tickets and plans to add to that number for 2024 when the Buffs join the Big 12. Those will likely go on sale before this season ends to capitalize on the current momentum.

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Audiologists and sports enthusiasts alike have been raving about Horizon’s powerful German technology [[link removed]] and modern, sleek design. These cutting-edge devices will ensure that you catch every detail – from the roar of the crowd to the whistle of the referees.

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Arctos Sports Partners Join Race To Invest In PGA Tour [[link removed]]

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Add Arctos Sports Partners to the list of U.S.-based investors reportedly trying to partner with the PGA Tour and potentially replace Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has a framework agreement to pump at least $1 billion into professional golf’s top circuit.

According to Forbes [[link removed]], Arctos — which has stakes [[link removed]] in more than 20 sports teams across the NBA, MLB, NHL, and soccer — is showing interest in the PGA Tour. This follows earlier reports [[link removed]] that Endeavor and Fenway Sports Group were among the companies looking to invest in the Tour.

Last week, the PGA Tour confirmed that PIF negotiations had “resulted in unsolicited interest from other investors,” which could potentially be a move to quell politicians’ concerns.

Saudi Deal in Doubt?

The PGA Tour says its focus remains on completing a definitive agreement with the PIF and DP World Tour, but the questions raised by the reports of new investment interest cannot be understated.

If any grouping of investors can offer similar financial backing as the Saudis, it would be fair to speculate if the PGA Tour could change course and choose new partners that would theoretically be less controversial.

However, any deal not involving the PIF could make it much more likely that LIV Golf will remain intact and continue to disrupt the pro golf landscape. A key portion of the PIF deal has been the perceived ability of the PGA Tour to largely control LIV’s future.

FIFA Down To Two Candidates For 2026 World Cup Final [[link removed]]

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The hotly contested race to host the 2026 World Cup Final is down to a pair of competing stadiums, according to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

The marquee event is likely a race between MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home of the New York Jets and Giants, and AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

FIFA is set to make a decision and announce the match selections before the end of the year. As that choice nears, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been visiting [[link removed]] many of the venues, including AT&T Stadium for a Cowboys-Jets game on Sept. 17, and the Jets-Patriots game at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 24.

“[FIFA is] going around, but they’ve been pretty clear publicly that it’s Dallas or here in our bid with New York City,” said [[link removed]] Murphy, who has been active in the New York-New Jersey bid. “It’s not just the final. That means every stadium gets their package of games. So you don’t know the teams, but you know the dates and you know what you’re going to sell generally.”

Murphy’s comment notably omits California’s SoFi Stadium, the $5 billion venue home to the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers that also has been vying for the final. Venue owner Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, however, has been [[link removed]] at odds with FIFA over revenue-sharing components of the event.

The U.S. is co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada.

Meanwhile, FIFA is also establishing a greater U.S. presence, recently finalizing plans to move [[link removed]] more than 100 jobs from its headquarters in Switzerland to Coral Gables, Florida. That new American unit will house the organization’s legal department, and the audit, compliance, and risk management teams.

Conversation Starters It was a ‘Toy Story Funday Football’ Sunday for Disney as the company launched its debut kids-focused NFL game. How was a touchdown celebrated in the Falcons-Jaguars matchup? See [[link removed]] for yourself. The $2.3 billion MSG Sphere opened in Las Vegas on Friday night. Check out [[link removed]] how U2 took advantage of the massive arena. The Bowling Green football team loves to accept big-dollar games against Power 5 programs. On Saturday, the Falcons topped [[link removed]] Georgia Tech in Atlanta and took back $1.1 million back to Ohio.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS AWARDS

Are You One of The Best Employers in Sports?

Whether it’s great leadership, focus on diversity, equity and inclusion or commitment to employee wellbeing, the Front Office Sports Best Employers in Sports Award [[link removed]]recognizes organizations who do right by their employees.

How do we determine who wins the award? We don’t — employees do! The award is based entirely on anonymous survey results from sports industry professionals.

Responses will be evaluated in collaboration with our primary research partner, Canvs [[link removed]], using patented AI technology free from all subjectivity and human bias. There is no word count limit and you can even use slang, text abbreviations, sarcasm or emojis to complete the survey.

The 2023 employee survey is now open through October 20. Take the survey [[link removed]] and tell us why your organization should make the cut.

Editor's Picks How College Football’s Biggest Games Took Over Saturday Night [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]Network competition and West Coast storylines helped college football stage a coup. Ryder Cup’s Future Hanging In The Balance Amid Saudi Disruption [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]An unexpected change could be coming to the Ryder Cup. Baltimore Looks To Return To The Oriole Way [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]Lease deal offers new hope, but market and economic challenges remain. Shohei Ohtani Tops MLB Jersey Sales List For First Time [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]He's the first Japanese player to headline the list in MLB history Question Of The Day

Did you watch any of this year's Ryder Cup?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Friday’s Answer

58% of respondents have participated in a running race.

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 Greg Lee [[link removed]], Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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