January 30, 2024

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Football icon Tom Brady is making more big moves with his business holdings. … FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment hits the New York Stock Exchange with a bullish outlook. … England’s FA Cup generates an underdog story for the ages. … And a peek inside the Mizzou athletics department’s books shows the cost of playing with the big dogs.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Tom Brady’s Next Big Move: Merging TB12, Brady Brand with NOBULL

NOBULL

Tom Brady has struck a deal with apparel company NOBULL to merge his wellness company, TB12, and his apparel line, Brady Brand, with the sportswear outfit NOBULL. The combined company will retain the NOBULL name.

Brady becomes NOBULL’s second-largest shareholder after BodyArmor founder Mike Repole, who bought a majority stake in the company in July of 2023 through his investment firm, Impact Capital. Repole said at the time that he would explore taking the apparel brand public.

“It was kind of a no-brainer for me,” Brady said on Tuesday’s Front Office Sports Today [[link removed]] podcast. “When I retired from playing, I had much more intention to focus on the business things I had going on, and this [merger] was step number one.”

The Brady-infused NOBULL aims to be a “complete wellness company,” centered around footwear, apparel, and nutrition. Brady’s TB12 sells supplements, protein powders, electrolyte powders, and equipment. Brady Brand offers workout and lifestyle clothing.

Repole says that the team is still discussing how best to leverage Brady’s name and stature.

“They’re all going to be on this one platform,” says Repole. “We haven’t decided between Brady, TB12, NOBULL, how it’s all going to play out.”

The deal with Brady begins a new chapter for NOBULL after a year of transition. The company laid off [[link removed]] around 35% of its staff in May of 2023, two months before Repole took the reins.

“There’s no linear path to success,” Brady notes. “Mike jokes with me a lot about losing three Super Bowls and I would say the losses that I’ve experienced in my life have taught me much more than the wins.”

Still Eyeing Owner’s Booth

Brady was recently in talks about buying [[link removed]] a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, and he says that he is still interested in owning a team.

“It’s [a city] on the rise,” says Brady, noting that Las Vegas has NHL, NFL and WNBA teams, plus UFC’s presence there. “There’s going to be a basketball team at some point, a baseball team at some point. … There are shows. There’s the Sphere. It’s a big small town.”

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY They Said What?

“I started a business in 2013 because that was still a long time for a career from 2000 to 2013. I didn’t realize I’d play another 10 years.”

—Tom Brady on how he’s progressed as a business person over the past 11 years. To hear more from Brady on how he’s merging TB12 and Brady Brand with NOBULL, tune into the Front Office Sports Today podcast.

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

Betting on U.S. Market, FanDuel Makes Much-Anticipated NYSE Debut [[link removed]]

NYSE

American investors now have a direct way to invest in the market share leader in sports betting, setting up yet another market battle between FanDuel and DraftKings.

Shares in FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment began trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, as scheduled [[link removed]], and closed the first day of trading up 0.24%, retreating from gains earlier in the day, at $205.50.

Beyond the continued status as the industry’s largest [[link removed]] operator, the Ireland-based Flutter recently said [[link removed]] that its full-year 2023 revenue rose by 25% to $12.1 billion, and that it captured 43% of gross U.S. sports betting revenue in the critical October-December period, a stretch that included the heart of the NFL and college football seasons, MLB playoffs, and start of the current NBA and NHL seasons.

Flutter has now initiated further efforts to move its primary stock listing from London to this new issue in New York. The U.S. market debut also arrives shortly before Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, a game expected to set company records for betting handle.

“We believe a U.S. primary listing is the natural home for Flutter given FanDuel’s No. 1 position in the U.S., a market which we expect to contribute the largest proportion of profits in the near future,” said Peter Jackson, Flutter’s CEO.

FanDuel’s chief rival, DraftKings, is also publicly traded and has been since 2020, and those shares have risen in value by more than 167% over the past 12 months and more than 18% so far this year—rebounding from a prior major decline in 2022—as the sports betting market has continued to expand [[link removed]]. Because of that market expansion, initial analyst ratings on Flutter are generally strong, and a lift is also projected for DraftKings shares. To that end, DraftKings stock rose 3.7% on Monday to $39.91 per share, easily beating the Flutter increase.

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Seasonshare [[link removed]], the leading customizable ticketing technology platform in the sports and entertainment industry, announces the launch of LivePass [[link removed]], a subscription-based marketplace connecting fans to unsold inventory across a variety of entertainment experiences.

LivePass subscribers pay a monthly fee in exchange for points that can be put towards tickets for various sporting events, concerts, comedy shows, and other live events across the country.

LivePass allows event operators to enter a broader marketplace where they can set point requirements and inventory for each event without degrading the value of their other ticket offerings. Through LivePass, teams and venues are able to foster a direct relationship with a new generation of consumers who crave affordability, flexibility, and a digital-first experience.

Learn more [[link removed]] about how LivePass is driving the future of live event attendance.

Your New Favorite Soccer Team Has $20 Tickets and Seats 792 [[link removed]]

If you love watching Ryan Reynolds’s Wrexham or Ted Lasso’s Richmond take on the top dogs of English football and win, do we have the story for you. Two levels below Wrexham, in the National League South (five levels below the Premier League), sits Maidstone United, your new favorite football club, which toppled the Championship (second-tier) team Ipswich Town 2-1 on Saturday in the FA Cup fourth round. Further propelling the David-Goliath story-building: Maidstone’s two goals came off only two shots, compared to 38 by Ipswich.

The victory propels the Stones into the fifth round of English soccer’s in-season tournament, marking the first time a non-league team (level five or below) has done so since 1978. (Their next opponent: the winner of a Sheffield Wednesday-Coventry City replay next Tuesday. Both of those teams play in the English second-tier Championship.)

Here’s why this victory is so exceptional from a financial and logistical lens:

Home field Gallagher Stadium [[link removed]] has a capacity of about 4,200: bleacher seating for 792 fans, plus standing room. (By comparison: Manchester United, which Maidstone could still face in the FA Cup, seats nearly 75,000 at its home.) An adult ticket to attend a home match costs £17 [[link removed]] (about $21.60). Kids under 11 get in free. In October 2022, the club’s player budget was around £1 million [[link removed]] (about $1.27 million), after increasing the budget by 50% from the year prior, according to its co-owner. (United’s salaries in 2024 total nearly £200,000.) Player salaries in the National League (levels 5-6) average about £1,000 to £1,500 [[link removed]] per week ($1,270 to $1,900). The first iteration of Maidstone United closed in 1992 due to financial reasons. The team only holds training [[link removed]] two to three times a week. ONE BIG FIG Every Dollar Counts

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

$1

The Missouri athletic department’s reported difference in 2023 revenue (a school record $141,558,287) and expenditures ($141,558,286), keeping the school just in the black for the second consecutive fiscal year, per the St.Louis Post-Dispatch [[link removed]]. Missouri spent the previous six years in the red as the school struggled to adjust to the added costs of competing in the Southeastern Conference, which it joined in 2012.

Conversation Starters San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy, like the Drake song, “started from the bottom” as Mr. Irrelevant. Now he has a chance to win the NFL’s biggest prize. Check [[link removed]] it out. American Airlines just added more flights from Kansas City to Las Vegas. The company used some catchy [[link removed]] numbers familiar to Chiefs and Taylor Swift fans to identify the flights. More on the pop star: Swift will be in Tokyo for a concert a day before the Super Bowl. The singer is expected to cheer on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, in Las Vegas. See [[link removed]] the journey Swift would have to take. Editor’s Picks LSU Athletic Department Reports $4 Million Deficit Despite Multiple National Championships [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]National championships didn’t translate to financial wins. Tyrell Hatton Becomes Latest PGA Tour Member to Defect to LIV Golf [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]LIV offer is nearly triple Hatton’s career PGA earnings. Viewership Records and Crying Swifties: Taylor Swift and the NFL’s Budding Business Relationship [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Swift’s impact on the league, from TV records to a new fanbase. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Margaret Fleming [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Peter Richman [[link removed]], Adam Duerson [[link removed]]

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